“I think I’m going to get a salad,” Lysette said, eyes on the menu. “I’m on a diet.”

“Again?” Everly chuckled. Her mom was perpetually on a diet, which she broke on and off as it suited her. “You need to embrace your curves.”

“Yeah, well, not everyone can be as confident as you are. I take no credit for that one.”

She shrugged. “I hate diets. I love food. I really didn’t have much of a choice. Learn to like my body or be unhappy.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.” She chuckled. “I remember in high school, all the girls were crash-dieting trying to get dates for the prom, and you kept eating cupcakes in front of them and laughing.”

“Meanwhile, I was asked out by three different guys.”

“Because you have a great personality.”

“No. It’s because I was confident and didn’t give a shit. And anyway, most guys like a little junk in the trunk. They just don’t say it out loud.”

She sighed loudly. “Well, anyway, I have a date next week. I can take the water weight off before then.”

Everly looked at her in surprise. It’d been a long time since her mother even considered dating after Jack had broken her heart. “A date? I didn’t know you were back on the market.”

“I’ve been on Mate.com.” She placed the menu on the table. “Hey, you should join. I’ve met a couple of great men there.”

Letting out a long laugh, Everly shook her head. “Uh, no thanks. I doubt many of them would be . . .” Kinky enough. “. . . my type.”

She clucked her tongue. “You’re too picky.”

“They’re called standards, Mom. You should be happy I have them.”

“I can’t imagine how you’ve been celibate so long.” She didn’t even bother to whisper. “Unless you’re having casual sex. If so, good for you, but make sure you use protection.”

“Oh my God, Mom. Shut up.” Her cheeks heated, and she glanced at the table next to them, but the restaurant was too loud for anyone to hear.

Lysette shrugged. “I’m just saying . . .”

“Okay, well, don’t. I’m so not talking to you about this.” Thank the Lord the waiter appeared.

They ordered their lunch—Everly went with a salad, too—then the waiter left. Thankfully, Lysette didn’t bring up her sex life again. She needed to learn the meaning of boundaries. They were close, but talking about dating and sex was a little too close. This was her mother, even if they were also friends. Though Everly felt a little like giving her a safe-internet-dating lecture, but she held back. Hopefully, her mother had enough common sense to be careful.

Lysette had been with her boyfriend Jack since before the internet, but when he’d picked up and left for a ranch job in Montana, it’d sent Everly and her mother reeling with shock. Lysette had offered to go with him, but he’d seemed so indifferent about her going, and she’d still felt obligated to stick nearby for Everly, so they’d split up. After ten years together, it’d been a hell of a heartbreak.

Everly felt it too. Jack hadn’t been so much of a father, but more like a sweet uncle that doted on her. For the last few months, Lysette had been especially lonely. Everly could feel it whenever she was around her. That was why she’d made it a priority to meet her for lunch twice a week. Her mom was prone to depression and her job at the hospital was only getting more and more stressful. They demanded more hours from their nursing staff with less benefits, and she kept getting passed up for advancement by younger employees, which had to hurt.

Maybe internet dating would be good for her.

Now if only she could find someone that easily. KinkWorld was sorta the same idea but was sometimes creepier. And when you dealt with S&M in a relationship it brought a whole other level of risk into the mix.

There’d been potential with Ambrose if he hadn’t spooked the other night. It was clear he had issues. The jury was still out on whether they were surmountable or not. Still angry about the brush-off, she’d decided to head to the club tonight. It felt good to be back in the scene, and after playing with Ambrose, she realized how much she missed it. Maybe she’d find another Dom to play with, even if it was temporary.

“Maybe you’re destined to be chronically single, like me,” her mom said around a bite of salad. “You didn’t have a great role model for family life.”

“You know I don’t blame you for that. You did the best you could with what you had.”

“I just wonder what it means for your future.” She sipped her iced tea. “Do you even want a husband and kids?”

Everly stared down at her salad, turning the question over in her mind. She didn’t go gaga over babies or pregnant bellies, but when she thought about herself ten years from now, she pictured marriage, kids, maybe a house. Nothing fancy. Not a million kids. Just . . . simple. She’d still work, of course. There wasn’t an ounce of stay-at-home-mom instinct in her.

“I do want kids.” She gazed out the window, watching the families walk by. “I do.”

*   *   *

The heavy beat of the music vibrated the soles of her feet. Why did they play it so loudly anyway? Maybe to drown out the screaming. But wasn’t that part of the whole dungeon experience?

Everly sighed and shifted her weight to her other foot. The fuck-me boots were already uncomfortable. About as uncomfortable as hugging the wall, avoiding eye contact.

What the fuck was wrong with her? She was no wallflower. She’d come here to play, so why was she shying away from every prospective Dom like some kink virgin? Frustrated, she extracted herself from the dark corner she’d been hiding in and walked up to the bar.

“Hello, miss,” the man behind the counter said, smiling but not making eye contact. A sub.

Did she look like a Domme or was he just being polite? Sometimes her fetish wear came off a little intimidating, but it was just her style. Tonight, the short black skirt, hot pink tank top, and stockings shouldn’t read one way or the other. Maybe if she’d worn pigtails she’d have been approached by now.

“How can I service you today?” he asked, eyes still lowered, his lashes so long they seemed to brush his cheekbones.

Maybe he was a service sub and got off on treating everyone like they were above him. Some people were into that. “Just a Diet Coke, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A moment later, he handed her a plastic cup. She put a few bills on the counter and sipped her drink. A man walked in the door, catching her eye. Long, dark hair, sinfully handsome, he was trailed by two women who looked like they were fighting over who stood closest to him.

She recognized him. Ambrose’s friend Konstantin. Eyes narrowed, she fought the urge to approach him and demand answers. Why had his friend acted like such a chickenshit the other night? But she resisted. It wasn’t any of her business. If Ambrose didn’t want her, she wasn’t about to get all desperate and clingy about it.

Konstantin stopped just inside the door and surveyed the room, like he owned the place, then his eyes landed on her. He walked toward her, his girls following behind him. His stride was cocky, like most Doms’, but it didn’t do much for her. He was too pretty. She liked Ambrose’s rough edge better.

“Hi,” he said when he reached her. “Nice to see you, Everly.”

“You too.”

He ran his gaze over her, but not in a lustful way. More like he was taking notes about her. “Are you here with Ambrose?”

“No. He made it pretty clear he wasn’t interested,” she said bitterly. The sudden anger surprised her. But there it was. And now Konstantin knew.

He nodded slowly. “You should know, he was . . . hurt in the past.”

“Yeah, I don’t have time for guys who have shit to deal with. By my age, you gotta work that stuff out.”

“I see.” He frowned, and for some reason, guilt speared her.

She scoffed at herself. Why should she care what this guy thought of her? She wasn’t about to let him get into her head and make her doubt herself. She’d given Ambrose a chance.