That seemed fair. “All right.”

“Good girl.” He winked.

Bastard. Damn, he was hot. She placed a hand on her hip and glared, trying not to crack a smile. He rose from the chair, reminding her of his size. Hot in a thuggish, terrifying way.

“Ooooh,” he said, pretending to be scared. “Evil eye. You sure you’re not a switch?”

She shrugged. “I suppose I could be for the right person. You interested in trying?”

“No. I’m one hundred percent dominant.” As a second thought, he added, “But I’m only interested in playing. Not a serious relationship.”

Wasn’t that just her luck? All the good ones had commitment issues. The fiasco with Scott should have kept her on guard when it came to relationships, but sometimes she still wore her emotions on her sleeve. “That’s fine. I’m not looking for long-term either.” Her uterus said otherwise.

“Great.”

“Great.”

“See you tonight?”

“Yup.”

He smiled wickedly. “See you tonight, Everly.”

Ooh. He remembered her name without being reminded, and the sound of it on his lips made her shiver.

She tossed him back a saucy grin. “I’ll be there around nine. You might want to take a nap first.”

His brow quirked, and for the first time in a long time she wondered if she was in over her head.

Chapter Two

Ambrose usually avoided The Catacombs. As BDSM clubs went, it was tolerable, but the owner went for an edgy, dark warehouse look that reminded Ambrose too much of work. Some of the warehouses they delivered to had a similar vibe, minus the bondage equipment.

Konstantin didn’t like it there much, either, but it was the only place in town to play if they didn’t feel like hosting a party. He’d offered to come along as his wingman. Kon’s current girlfriends, Anna and Sindee, had just fucked off to the washroom together, which meant he might get a word in edgewise. It was hard to have a conversation with Kon when he was covered in women, but then, that was his natural state.

“Are you sure she’s going to show?” Kon asked in his thick Russian accent. He may have moved to America when he was eight, but the accent had never faded. As a kid, he’d hated it and tried hard to get rid of it, but as an adult he’d decided he no longer gave a shit.

“No, she may not.” Ambrose chuckled. “She gave me a haircut and the next thing I knew we were in the middle of this bratty verbal sparring match. After I left, maybe she realized I’m not what she wants.”

“What woman wouldn’t want a goon as a play partner?” Konstantin mocked. “You have the intimidation factor going for you, even though you’re hideous.”

“I’m not that intimidating.”

Konstantin barked a laugh. “Anna was too terrified to speak in your presence for weeks.”

“Bullshit. With the crazy shit you’re into, I doubt Anna is afraid of much.” Ambrose leaned back in his chair and watched the crowd, looking for Everly. Hot, bratty, smart, with curves that made his palms itch to touch her. She was even mouthier than Shae had been.

What would she wear? If she showed up dressed like a schoolgirl he’d be a lost cause. Real schoolgirls did nothing for him, but a kinky girl dressed up as one . . . giving him the come-hither look . . . add some pigtails . . .

Then, like magic, there she was. Purple lacy corset, the same shade as the streaks in her hair, a short black flared skirt. Funky leggings, and boots that would suit a dominatrix. Fuck. The girl was full of attitude, and it made him crazy.

The girl was bad news.

Konstantin had been speaking but paused. “Ambrose, stop!”

His words pulled Ambrose up short, just as he was about to get to his feet and go to her.

“What?”

“I can tell you just spotted her. Get that look off your face or you’ll scare her.”

What the hell was he talking about? “What look? I don’t have a look. I’m just going over to say hi.”

Kon snorted. “You look like you’re going to throw her on the bar and fuck her. Try to be less obvious.”

“Obvious usually works just fine for me.”

Konstantin grimaced and waved Ambrose away. “Then, for your sake, I hope she doesn’t scare easily.”

She hadn’t seen him yet. He rose and pushed his way amiably through the crowd while thinking about Kon’s advice. He tried looking friendly instead of intense, but when people started flinching away from him, he guessed it wasn’t working. It’d been too long since he’d fucked a woman on a bar. Or against a wall or on a bed, for that matter. Plenty of women had tried, but for the past few months he’d cut himself off. No wonder he couldn’t manage an expression other than horny. This was the first girl he’d been seriously attracted to in a long time.

His track record had sucked for the past couple of years.

Shae had left him first, and then Kate. Shae had been his, though, and so he’d given himself permission to be a moping ass about her leaving him. Admittedly, it was so long ago now that maybe it was just a habit.

Kate, on the other hand, was his best friend’s slave and soon-to-be wife. Half falling in love with her when he was trying to get her and Banner back together had, in hindsight, been stupid and self-destructive. He’d known they were going to patch things up eventually, but sleeping with Banner’s exes had become so second nature that he’d fallen into the same old pattern. He seemed to have an involuntary attraction to dysfunctional relationships.

Everly’s back was to him. She was watching a bound and suspended sub writhe and scream as she was tickled by a grinning Dom. Although he was close enough to touch Everly, he watched her watching the scene, enjoying her expressions and reactions. A perfume company could make a fortune selling her pheromones.

Don’t think about fucking her on the bar.

Damned Konstantin. Like he needed any more ideas about what he’d like to do to the poor girl.

He moved up beside her instead of touching her shoulder to get her attention. There was no knowing if she had triggers, and he didn’t want to fuck this up.

Almost immediately, she turned her gaze to him, but had to look up to see his face. He hadn’t realized how much taller he was.

Her eyes rounded, and for a second he was worried she was going to run away screaming.

“Oh . . . hi!” Her laugh sounded slightly nervous, but then she smiled and drew him away from the scene.

“Hi. See something you like?”

“Um . . .” Her cheeks turned pink enough to notice even in the low light.

“I meant the scene you were watching.”

She laughed loud, a rippling sound that made him want to laugh too. “For a minute, I thought you were fishing for a compliment.”

He snorted. “Yes, well, I have major self-esteem issues because my friends are always reminding me that I’m ugly. I have to ask pretty girls to feed my poor, starving ego.”

“Aww . . . poor little ego. I would pat it for you, but I’m not that kind of girl.” Her impish grin suggested that if he played his cards right, he might change her mind.

“I was wondering if you were actually going to show up.”

“I said I would. If I weren’t interested, I would have said no.”

She shifted her stance, wincing a bit then looking down at her shoes. He knew enough about fashion to guess the heels were probably uncomfortable. Where were his manners? He wasn’t doing a good job impressing her. “Do you want to sit down? I’m at a table with Konstantin and his women.”

“Sitting sounds good.” She smiled.

They went back to the table, where Ambrose introduced the three of them. After a few pleasantries, Kon and his girls wandered off to play. As they left, Konstantin passed behind Everly and gave Ambrose the thumbs-up.