Page 13 of Relentless Pursuit

“No.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’ve piqued my interest. I hope you’ll indulge me.”I hope you’ll do more than indulge me.“Will you have dinner with me?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Anything.”

“Are you with someone now?” She traced the rim of her glass. “A match?”

“No.”

“Why not?” She looked into his eyes. “You could have access to anyone you want.”

“I don’t use the service to find long-term commitments.” Could he tell her what he did use the service for? “My job is very involved and takes up most of my time. I’m not looking for a relationship. When Blake finds a suitable match, I’ll do dinner and sometimes more, but it’s never intended for anything serious.”

“That’s why I decided to try the service,” she admitted. “Connie made it sound appealing. Something I might like.”

“You’re twenty-two years old. How could you know you don’t want anything serious? According to your application, you’ve only been in two relationships. Both were unsatisfying, but what college student finds mind-blowing sex the first or second time out?”

“Exactly,” she challenged. “I need a more experienced man to show me what I’m missing. I don’t want to have any regrets when I’m thirty and still have no idea what fantastic sex is.”

Well, he couldn’t argue with that reasoning, but why the submission aspect?

“Great sex can come without you surrendering control.”

“This from the man who never relinquishes control.” When she giggled, something inside his gut sparked. For a moment, he thought this was what it must be like to fall for someone when you least expect it.

Fuck, no! That cannot happen. You don’t commit. Ever.

“Being in control brings me a great deal of pleasure, but only when I’m with a woman who truly understands what it means to hand over the control for a few hours a night.”

He thought about the women he’d been with over the years. They were strong, independent, career driven, and eager to give him their submission because that was a form of control for them. He’d never asked for anyone’s submission outside of a sexual role. Boundaries were drawn and limits were set. Those match-ups were some of the best of his life. No commitments and no expectations once the sun came up. Could Kayla be a ‘no strings attached’ fling? Did he want her to be?

“I want to learn to be that woman.” She broke his concentration. “The kind who can still be who she needs to be. You know, the one who won’t lose herself in a man, but still be able to do everything he wants and needs in the bedroom.” She played with the edge of the napkin in front of her. He sensed something was off. She spoke the words, but he didn’t believe she meant them. She still had no idea why she was there. If she couldn’t figure it out on her own, then there was no reason to take this any further.

“There is no doubt in my mind that a determined woman such as yourself will have any trouble doing exactly that.”There is also no doubt in my mind that you are the woman for me.

The servers came in with two salads to start with. He’d requested a four course meal. He wanted to keep her there long enough to learn all he could about her. Once they were served, he continued his questions. She answered them as if she had prepared for an exam. Never giving more detail than she had to, but that was because she had no experience with the kind of man he had become. He wanted to switch gears and stop talking about sex and relationships for now. The evening was supposed to be about finding out who she had become, not who she thought she wanted to be.

“Did you enjoy your time at Princeton?” he asked.

“Very much.”

“What do you do at the station?”

“Oh, that.” She rolled her eyes as she placed a forkful of salad into her succulent mouth.

He imagined her lips wrapped around his cock as he fisted his hands in her hair, setting a relentless pace. God, she could probably make him lose his load faster than any other woman before her.

What the hell is wrong with you?

“The station was my father’s idea. He said I could only live in the city if I had a job that had to do with my degree.” She shrugged. “I don’t want to be a news reporter.”

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