jaw hard, his mouth flattening into a slash. “Absolutely not. A lot could be said about me, but I’d never take advantage of a woman like that.”
“I believe you. Mostly.” She smiled to take some of the sting out.
She started to open the new bottle, but he interrupted. “What you’ve already opened is fine for me.”
Keeping an eye on him, she reached up to the top shelf and pulled down a wine glass. “So what resources did you use to find out about me?”
“First, I scouted the local clubs to get the lay of the land.”
She poured him a healthy glass of merlot and led the way back into the living room. He waited until she chose a seat, but whether politeness or an attempt to be submissive, she couldn’t tell. He was very apologetic, but also intense. It wouldn’t surprise her if he’d already devised several plans of attack depending on how the first minute, five minutes, half hour went. Plan A: Apologize. Plan B: Work my way into her house. Plan C: If she refuses…pay off her mortgage? She wouldn’t put it past him.
“You don’t seem like the club sort to me.”
He smiled, and this time it seemed to be genuine. His eyes sparked with amusement instead of disdain, and for once, he wasn’t playing the part of Mr. Asshole determined to have everything his way. “I admit, it’s not my ideal scene. But I had to start somewhere. I asked around and eventually heard the name Mistress L.”
She kept her face smooth and didn’t press him for answers. She didn’t want him to know how much it would bother her if one of her clients had spoken to him.
“Even then, it wasn’t easy. Mistress L hadn’t been at the club in quite a while. I couldn’t get her real name. Finally one of the older Doms admitted to having worked with a Mistress L and eventually gave me your name.”
She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and then sucked in a deeper one when he continued.
“I hired a private investigator to follow you. He identified your clients and tried to speak to them.” Mr. Morgan kept the smile, but his eyes narrowed, revealing lingering irritation. “However, none of them would cooperate.”
“You hired a PI to investigate me? That is super super SUPER creepy.” However, she was relieved none of her clients had betrayed her. “Do you really want to commission a stained glass project from me, or was that just a way to get me to talk to you?”
He leaned forward, radiating determination, intensity and absolutely nothing of submissive obedience. “At first, just to get you into my office so I could interview you myself. But now, I want the windows done as much as I want you, and I don’t want anyone but you to oversee it.”
“What if I say no?” She kept her voice light and soft, watching his reaction.
His eyes locked onto hers. “Then I’ll find a way to convince you to say yes. I might be submissive, but I’m not the kind of man who’s ever going to settle for no.”
He’d never ever dreamed of a Mistress like her. Dressed simply in jeans and some old ratty shirt not fit to use as a cleaning rag, she watched him with cool detachment. When she wanted to project her will, she definitely had presence, he’d give her that. But right now, she was just Lilly Harrison, a middle-class single woman living in a traditional townhome in a normal suburb. The interior of her home was boring beige and traditional. Completely disappointing after seeing the picture of the Mistress with the killer red heels. Where’s the personality in her home? Is she trying to hide from everyone…even herself?
Her feet were bare, her toe nails painted brilliant scarlet, and he found he couldn’t avert his gaze. Sitting in her chair with her knees pulled up before her and her hair all wild and tumbled about her shoulders, she looked vulnerable and unsure. It brought out all his protective instincts to war with the side of him wanting her orders and punishment.
He wanted to draw her