Page 13 of Role Play
Lucy
Breathe, Lucy. So, what? Your boss just walked into the bar where you’re getting tipsy. Your very hot boss. At the very sexual BDSM bar where your best friend and roommate works. Oh yeah, nothing to freak out aboutthere…
Air pulled into my lungs through my tight lips and I squeezed my eyes shut, almost like closing my eyes would make this whole scene disappear. “Ash comes here?” I hissed at my bestfriend.
Andrea swallowed, looking side to side. “I’m not at liberty to discuss our clients,” she answered in a rehearsed way. Once more, her eyes flicked up, catching the lights from the dance floor. “But it looks like you’ll get a chance to ask him yourself. Here hecomes.”
“What?” I squeaked, and immediately ducked my head into my hands.Oh, God. This was nothappening.
“Mr. Livingston,” Andrea said, and I could hear the lilt in her voice; that sweet tone she used when working or in a meeting or charming her way out of trouble. “I’m surprised to see you out here in the mainbar.”
“Not all of us members are so worried about people knowing our kink,” he said, his voice a deep, velvety baritone that—if I had been standing—my knees may have given out onme.
“Yourusual?”
“Please.”
I kept my eyes firmly cast down, studying the granite bar top like my freaking life depended on memorizing each detailedline.
Through the tops of my lashes, I could see Andrea pouring a tumbler of amber colored liquid. And practically in slow motion, I saw as her elbow connected with my glass of vodka and Diet Coke, sending the half-full tumbler crashing over and spilling all over mylap.
I squealed and jumped to my feet as the icy liquid landed in my lap. Shocked, I jerked my gaze up to Andrea, who met my eyes with an archedbrow.
“Lucy?” Ash said, besideme.
“I’m so sorry,” Andrea said. and used a rag to mop up the mess. “I’ll get you anotherdrink.”
I glared at her. Shesodid that onpurpose.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Ash standing beside me. His eyes were wide, his mouth parted; those full lips wet and sokissable…
I opened my mouth to speak, but words didn’t quite form properly. Where I meant to say,Ash, hi, weird running into you here;all that came out was a cracked, “Ahh, Iphuu—”
Phu. I actually said “phu” to Ash Livingston. Yeah. That’s not even a word!I cleared my throat and tried again. “M-Mr. Livingston. Uh,hi.”
He blinked and in a moment, whatever shocked expression he had, vanished. In its place, my cool, collected boss was back. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and ran his palm over his stubble. “What are you doing here?” he askedcarefully.
Out of reflex, my eyes darted to the back door. The door where Andrea had told me some of the patrons pay astronomical amounts to have private rooms for their… um…fetishes.
“I, um… well…”Seriously. Use your words, Lucy!I scolded myself. But that one simple look toward the back door must have given Ash the wrong impression. That I was here togointo that backroom.
His eyes grew even wider and as Andrea handed him his drink, he took a big sip. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he whispered. I got the impression that I wasn’t supposed to have heardit.
I swallowed, my mouth feeling like it was lined with cotton, and I reached for my drink to wet my throat only to discover it was still empty from the spill.Goddammit,Andrea.
Sensing that I was seconds away from either running away from the scene entirely or just altogether pretending I didn’t know where I was, Andrea refilled mydrink.
“On the house,” Andrea said, smiling atme.
Yeah, it sure as shit better be. I grabbed the glass and sucked about half the icy liquid that was in it through the straw. Immediately, a cramp pulsed in my sinuses, like I was ten years old and drinking a Slurpee too fast. I slapped my palm to my head and hissed… just like I did back then, too. Only, now? I looked like even more of an idiot. People expect kids to be hasty and get brain freezes. No one expects a twenty-two year old working adult to need a hit of vodka so badly that she renders herself both useless and unsexy. That basically defeated the whole damn point of alcohol, didn’tit?
Ash chuckled behind his fist in a sad attempt to hide his amusement. “Brainfreeze?”
I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut against the stabbingcramp.
His touch glided over my jaw and my eyes shot open to find Ash standing over me. One hand threaded into my hair, tilting my head back. “Part your lips,” he said, his voice gruff butquiet.
Standing over me like that, his hand cupping my head back; I felt like I was in a fairy tale being dipped by the handsome prince. Except in this case, the handsome prince was a member of a BDSM club and also my freaking boss. With the pad of his thumb, he brushed over my lips, pulling them apart, then cupped his hand over my open mouth. Not suffocating me, but making it so I was breathing the hot air of my ownbreath.
