With a sigh, Crystal dropped off the food, grabbed her own muffin, and went to her office. She stowed her bag, then picked up a notebook and a pen.
She stopped inside the doorway of the conference room.
Jordan stood next to the small conference table, their coffee and three folders on the table in front of him.
“Why the conference room?” she asked.
“I want us to be comfortable as we talk.” He gestured for her to take a seat, then shut the door behind her.
Crystal fought to keep her breathing slow and even. She sat down, turned to her left and placed her notebook and pen on the table. She picked up her coffee cup and took a long drink. The chocolate exploded on her tongue, and the espresso perked her up.
Jordan sat down facing her. “You’re nervous.”
“Good guess.” She was. “I’m not sure about this, Jordan.”
“I am.” He sipped his coffee. “You need to understand the lifestyle so you can ask the right questions.”
That much was true. “I get that. But the whole attraction thing, that’s what I’m not sure about.”
“I pushed last night, and I’m sorry.” He sat his cup down. “I usually know when to back off.”
“This is all so new. Different.” Crystal tried to find the right words.Trust your instincts.Sierra’s words came to mind.
“I know.” He reached over and captured her left hand in his right. “I’ll try to take things slower.”
“That would be nice.” She bit her lower lip. “Before we go any further with this, I want you to understand.” She took a deep breath. Time to jump into the deep end. “I may be interested in the lifestyle and in being your sub. I need time to process it all.” The words rushed out of her.
“Agreed.” He squeezed her hand. “If I’m pushing you, say yellow.”
“A safe word.”
“Yep. I will instantly understand and adjust. Are you okay with that?”
Follow your instincts.“Yes.”
“Good. For this morning, I want to go over the NDA, background check, and application with you and get you all set up for Thursday night. Then go over the rules and questionnaire so you understand how this all relates to the case.” He released her hand.
“I think I can handle it.” A grin overtook his lips and made her insides turn over. She was glad she’d talked to Sierra about this.
“Then let’s start.” He picked up the first folder. “NDA, background check, club application.”
* * * *
Jordan watched as Crystal read the NDA, then filled out the background check and application while she drank her coffee and munched on her muffin. He was happy she was being open and honest with him. Those new to the lifestyle sometimes had a problem with the degree and depth of honesty required. Pride coursed through him as well. Some things made Crystal obviously nervous, but she didn’t let it hold her back. He liked that about her.
His dick twitched as Crystal bit her lower lip. Damn if that wasn’t sexy to him. He couldn’t wait until he could run his tongue over her mouth and soothe the sting of her bite. Hell, he wanted to use his tongue in other places too.
He reined his thoughts in. Hadn’t he promised to go slow? He flexed his fingers around his coffee cup. She wasn’t his sub…not yet.
She wasn’t ready for his dominance. He needed to give her time to adjust before he went full Dom on her. Even so, suppressing his dominant side was difficult. Jordan polished off his own coffee and muffin. But he hungered for her, not food.
“Done.” She handed the folder back to him.
“Thank you.” He picked up the next folder. “Why don’t you start reading this while I send the background check out.” He handed her the new folder, stood, and left the room.
Jordan scanned the document and checked the file.
Yep, perfect. Closing it, he emailed it to Logan, a police officer, who did the background checks for the club. He walked back into the conference room. Crystal was bent over, reading. He waited for her to say something, but she didn’t.