Crack the Whip (5 page)

Especially if she happened to run into the man.

Oh, lordy. What was she going to do?

She stepped out of the shadows into the lounge area, heading to where she’d last seen Dane, but suddenly something big and tall blocked her way. She looked up, into eyes blacker than the night but at the moment, blazing with something she didn’t want to put a name to.

“Hello, Katie.” His voice still sent shivers skittering down her spine.

“Reece.” She nodded.

“How about having a cup of coffee with me? We have a lot to catch up on.”

No. I can’t do this. I need time to prepare myself. Time
to…what? Still keep trying to get over him? Apparently that’s
not happening, but I can’t let him know.

“I have things to do, Reece.” She waved in the general direction of the entryway. “Dane’s probably waiting for me.”

His big hands rested lightly on her arms, the contact sending heat blazing through her. And something else. The urge to bow her head and acknowledge him as Sir.
No, damn
it. Not with Reece.

“I already told Dane you’d be occupied for a while.” He smiled, and her heart kicked into triple drive. “You can’t avoid me forever, darlin’. You work for me. Remember?”

How could she forget? Lord, what a mess she’d gotten herself into. At least it had been her ticket out of Atlanta.

“You’re right. We probably have a lot of business to discuss.” She wiped her palms against the skirt of her dress.

She really needed to keep it together here. “Okay, then.

Coffee sounds good.”

And right now about all she could handle with him.

Reece led her to a table in a corner tucked away from the main activity of the lounge. Katie had learned to accept whatever went on in the clubs where she worked without blinking. In ten years there wasn’t much she hadn’t seen. But she hadn’t expected having to sit among naked people and demonstrations of flogging with Reece sitting barely two feet away from her. The low hum of conversation punctuation by cries of pleasure was playing havoc with her senses. Along with the very male scent of the man across from her.

Don’t let him know. Do not let him know.

An attendant brought two china cups and a carafe of coffee, bowed and moved away. Reece filled both cups and took a sip from his, his eyes like twin telescopes watching her over the rim.

Katie lifted her own cup, grateful to see her hands weren’t trembling. When she set it carefully back on the saucer, she gave Reece a direct look. “You said you wanted to talk to me?”

A slow smile crawled across his face, the same smile that had always made her heart skip a beat, her nipples harden into diamond points, and cream soak her panties. And it was happening again. Right now. Shit. She was in such trouble here.

I can do this. I can do this. I need this job.

“I’m curious how the same woman who ran out of my hotel room like her clothes were on fire because I suggested a little kink ended up working in the industry. Am I missing something here?”

She folded her hands in her lap, gripping them to keep herself centered. Her heart was thudding and she wanted to knock the table aside and shout that she’d made a mistake and changed her mind. Anger bubbled up inside her. How was it that, after seeing her for the first time in years, he could still have gone into that room and had a session with the sub waiting for him?

Because it’s just sex, you idiot. You should be used to it
after ten years in the business.

And what makes you think he even cares after all this
time? He’s obviously moved on. You should too.

But the anger just wouldn’t go away. She had to accept the fact this Reece Halliday was a lot different from the one she’d been so in love with.

Check that. Still was.

Don’t let him see it, you fool.

“Things change in life, you know.” She tilted her head.

“You did.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “You’re right.”

“So maybe if you tell me how it happened, I’ll answer your question about me.”

“Fair enough.” He set his cup back in the saucer.

“Remember Chad Willoughby, my college roommate?”

Katie nodded.

“Chad’s brother was into the life big time. When Chad graduated from law school, he got Chad a guest pass at the private fetish club he belonged to and said he could bring a friend.” He looked down. “I’d…been to a club twice before when we were together. But never did any more than watch,”

he added quickly. “That’s when I brought everything up to you. I was fascinated with the lifestyle and wanted us to try some of these things together.” His grin was rueful. “My idea didn’t work out so well, as I remember.”

“No. It didn’t.” If only she hadn’t reacted so badly. “So what happened at the club?

“It seemed I was finally going to experience the things I’d only fantasized about. Chad’s brother arranged for each of us to have a sub for the evening along with a trained instructor.”

He paused to sip more coffee.

“And?” she prompted.

“To be blunt about it, I discovered a desire for it I didn’t even know I had. It was the most explosive night I’d ever had sexually. And that’s taking nothing away from what you and I had together.”

“But you wanted more.” Oh, she was sure of that. She felt a trap opening, yawning like a big hole before her. “On a regular basis.”

“I did. A lot more. And more often. I for sure couldn’t look for action anywhere around the Hill Country. You know how conservative the ranching community is. Not even my brothers know about my…preferences.”

Katie gave him a quizzical look. “So what did you do?”

“Joined the club in Tampa Chad’s brother took us to. They have an arrangement for guest privileges in other clubs around the country. I…took a lot of business trips.” He stopped to take another swallow of coffee.

“Your brothers didn’t ask questions?”

He shook his head. “I timed my trips to coincide with legitimate business. Conventions. Meetings. Whatever.” His eyes raked over her face possessively. “But here’s the plain truth. I really wanted you, Katie. I wanted it all. You and the life.”

“Which is what led to the scene in our hotel room.” When she so childishly ran away. It wasn’t just the things themselves he was proposing. It was the total implication, the fear that she could lose herself in him completely. A very dangerous edge.

He grinned. “Yeah. That was some scene. I still remember how you looked, spread out…”

“Stop.” She held up her hand. “That’s not what I meant.

Can we stick to the conversation at hand?”

The look he gave her nearly incinerated her dress. “Afraid to talk about it, sugar?”

She shrugged. “There’s nothing to talk about. At least not…that.”
Breathe in. Breathe out. Don’t give him any hint.

“Anyway, didn’t you think maybe you should have actually discussed your needs with me before dropping your suggestions like lead pipes?”

“It just fell out of my mouth.” Another grin. “Call it the spirit of the moment.”

Yes, and that spirit had stayed with her all these years.

“Your turn,” he reminded her. “How did you get into this business?”

Katie sighed. She’d look like a fool when she told him.

“Katie?”

“All right, all right. I didn’t want to come home after graduation. I wanted to stay in Atlanta. But of course I needed a job. A friend of mine said someone she knew was looking for a bookkeeper for some private clubs they owned.

Three of them, in fact. She got me an appointment for an interview.”

Reece sat back in his chair, laughing softly. “I’ll bet it was quite a shock when you walked into that meeting.”

“Actually, I met with their vice president at their headquarters in a separate office building. I hadn’t planned to use my degree to be a bookkeeper, but the salary they were offering was too good to bypass.” She drained her coffee cup and poured fresh liquid from the carafe. “After the interview he told me what kind of clubs they were and said I’d need to see them before I could agree to take the job. If I turned it down, he’d completely understand.”

“I’d give my best breeding bull to have been there when you got your first look at it,” Reece said.

“Yes, well, it certainly was…mindboggling.” She gave him a tiny smile, remembering the first night she’d walked into one of those clubs and the instant turn-on she hadn’t expected. “But I was curious, too. I wanted to know what interested and excited you so much that you wanted to bring it into our relationship.”

He leaned forward, his eyes darkening. “And what did you find out?”

She shrugged, determined to be as casual as possible. Not to give any hint of her fascination—make that obsession—with D/s play. “I found out it didn’t offend me the way I thought it would. Especially after I started working for the business and met a lot of the people.”

“But you said the offices were in a different place.”

“Like I told you, those were the corporate offices. They owned a lot of properties and businesses besides the clubs they managed at their headquarters. I had a tiny office in each of the clubs where I split my time. The hours were weird because a lot of my work was done in the evenings, checking receipts and inventories, but the pay was outstanding.”

Silence lay between them like a living thing.

“And now?” Reece asked finally.

“And now I’ve seen pretty much everything and it doesn’t bother me. There are a lot of things I’d never want for myself, but I think it’s that way for everyone.”

His eyes glittered. “Do you mean there are things you
want
? Things you’ve done?”

She pushed away from the table, unable to take this discussion any further. She was already wet and throbbing, visualizing herself with Reece in his private room. She had to make an exit before she gave herself away. He’d obviously moved on with his life. Well, so had she. Sort of.

“I don’t think my private life is part of my business contract with you.”

“Hands off?” He leaned even closer. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“I think it’s for the best. Don’t you?”

God, could I sound any more priggish? I don’t think I’m
anything more than unfinished business to him anyway.

He studied her for a long time. Finally, he nodded. “Okay, fair enough. For now. I won’t crowd you, Katie, but I’m not going away. Maybe things will just follow the natural course of events.”

Katie stood up. “Thanks for the coffee, Reece. Be sure to let me know if you have any special needs.” Before he could make a crack, she added, “Just as with any other member.”

Reece refilled his coffee cup and leaned back in his chair, his eyes following Katie as she moved through the lounge. He was amazed at her matter-of-fact attitude when she passed clients in various stages of undress caressing each other.

Even the threesome on the curved settee didn’t seem to affect her, nor did the flogging demonstration being performed on stage in the big glass-enclosed area. Her head swiveled one way, then the other, but it was no more than an efficient manager checking the club activities. He watched Dane flag her down at the hallway to the private rooms. She paused for a moment of conversation, and then the two of them headed off to the big locked supply area.

He still couldn’t quite get his mind around Katie Warren managing a fetish club.
His
fetish club. And that in itself presented a big problem. No fraternizing with the employees.

He and Clint had established the hard and fast rule when they opened Rawhide. If a relationship ended badly, it could create a sticky situation in the club and a headache they didn’t want or need. But hell! He wanted Katie more than he wanted his next breath. He needed to find out if they could pick up the pieces of what they’d had and take it from there.

Because, if he was truthful with himself, he’d have to admit he had never stopped loving her. Really loving her. And that had his gut twisted in too many knots to count.

Watching her while they talked, he was struck by her reaction to certain tones of his voice, certain things he said. It could have been his imagination, wishful thinking, but his instinct reared up and told him Katie Warren was a true submissive. Jealousy twisted a knife in him at the thought someone else had trained her. Taught her the rules and the behavior. He wanted to kill the son of a bitch, and he didn’t even know who it was. He really wanted Katie to be his sub.

Permanently.

What a fucking mess.

“Is there a problem we need to talk about?”

Reece looked up as Clint Chavez dropped into the chair Katie had just vacated. He frowned. “Problem?”

“Yeah. You know what I mean.” Clint signaled for a clean cup. “I asked you earlier if having Katie working here as the manager would be a problem for you and you said no. But the two of you looked like you were having a pretty intense conversation.”

Reece blew out a breath. “I know the rules we set up.

Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

“Yeah?” Clint studied him for an extended moment.

“Reece, we’ve been partners for a long time and friends for a lot longer. I know how badly you want to settle down with someone and how hard it is for you to find someone who fits into all aspects of your life. I don’t want the decision you make to screw things up for you either personally or professionally.”

Reece thought before answering. “I don’t have a decision to make. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know how Katie feels anymore. Or how I do, either. Ten years is a long time.”

His partner poured coffee from the carafe into his cup and took a sip, watching Reece over the rim of the cup. “I’d say there’s a lot of unfinished business between the two of you that needs attending to. I’ll trust you to know what you’re doing.”

“I’m glad one of us does.”

“Just remember what I said earlier.”

“I know, I know. And I remember what I said, too. Damn it.” Reece pushed back his chair and stood up.

“If you see a problem coming, I want advance notice from you before you start waving your dick at our manager.