Page 60 of Mine

Just give me time, that little voice said.

FIFTEEN

PEPPER

I did exactlyas Salt told me to on Tuesday evening.

I wore a red dress, black heels, and black pantyhose.

And that was all.

The work day had flown by and I was all too aware of the fact that he was meeting with Tommy on Friday morning. If their meeting went well, I’d be receiving an email by the end of the week with information about the man I’d had phone sex with last night, asking for my approval.

Rosethorn would be lucky to have him. I knew that. And as I told him, that’s what made all of thiswrong.

I tugged my skirt down my thighs, hyper aware that if I spread them, anyone would be able to see my pussy. The Uber driver occasionally glanced back at me, but didn’t say anything to me on the drive, which was a relief.

My phone vibrated against my palm. I turned it over, seeing Ellen’s text across the screen.

Want to get dinner tonight?

Not tonight! Later this week, please

Okay, just figured you needed to get out of the apartment…

If she only knew where I was headed.

I texted her back a flimsy excuse about just wanting to enjoy a movie and a bubble bath to relax and forget about everything to do with my company. She bought it, because why would I have a reason to lie?

Going out in the middle of a work week to a club to hear a twenty-five-year-old play music was so out of character, no one would ever guess that was exactly what I was doing.

With no panties on.

I had no reason to follow through on this, even after our conversation last night. I knew he was using my desire to go to a BDSM club against me, but I liked that. It was a little ruthless, and that turned me on.

Did I really want to try this sort of stuff with anyone aside from Salt? That was the biggest question.

I knew the answer and hated it. I hated that I was feeling things I’d never felt before, because emotions like that got in the way of making good decisions. That’s why I always put emotions on the back burner.

He was corrupting me, but I was reveling in that corruption. I was clinging to the fringe of something I’d never had before—sex with someone who wanted me in a way that was captivating. The desires he’d dug up were shackling me to him and all of the bad decisions we were making.

Going to him tonight meant he’d introduce me to a club, which meant I could find another Dom, and put this all behind me. That was the professional thing to do.

Not that showing up to see a client without underwear was professional in any way, but I was doing my best.You’re playing with fire.

The car came to a stop, and I got out, giving the driver a wave before heading towards the front door of Russo’s. There was a line, but Salt told me to give them my name, and that they would let me in. I avoided eye contact with the people waiting as I approached the bouncer, holding my head high even as a cool breeze brushed my skin through my pantyhose.

The man raised a brow as I approached. “Hi,” I said. “Salt told me to come to the front door. My name is Pepper.”

The man snorted. “Oh, yeah. Is that like a kink thing or something?”

Heat immediately rushed to my cheeks. “What?”

“Your names? Salt and Pepper?”

“Oh. No, it’s not,” I said, completely taken aback.

“Okay, then. Alright, well, go in. Show starts in thirty and your boy has a fucking crowd.”

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