Liz had done them both a favor, and Stephanie’s behavior was out of line.
“I even called you! And you still didn’t tell me he was a spanko.” Stephanie’s tone had risen to attract the attention of several groups of people congregated nearby.
“It wasn’t Liz’s place to share that with you,” Mark cut in to forestall further rudeness. He empathized with Stephanie’s anger, her feeling of betrayal, but her behavior had crossed the line. “Rod and Cane allows people in the lifestyle to enjoy the fellowship of like-minded individuals, but to speculate about a person’s practices would be impolite.”
Stephanie took another swig and shot Liz the evil eye. Otis’s wife inhaled and regarded her silently for a moment before glancing at Mark, and then again at Stephanie, whose cheeks were flushed by anger and probably the alcohol in the Bottom Burner. He was close to ushering her into one of the meeting rooms and coloring her ass the same hue as her face. It wasn’t what she said, but how she said it, the disrespect in her voice. Nor was a party an appropriate venue for the confrontation. He scanned the crowd for Otis and found him leaving the bar with two glasses of wine.
“If all this is so abhorrent to you, what are you doing here?” Liz asked.
“Fuck if I know.”
“Stephanie, that’s enough,” he ordered quietly.
She pressed her lips together but scowled at him. Obedient, yet still rebellious. She would make his life interesting. If ever a woman deserved to be spanked and then kissed senseless, she did.
A passing server cruised by, and Mark set his mostly untouched whisky and Stephanie’s near-empty Bottom Burner on his tray.
“Here you go, Lizzie.” Otis arrived and presented his wife with a glass of wine.
“Liz.” Mark curved his lips in an apologetic smile and then glanced at Otis. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to leave.”
“So soon?” he asked.
“’Fraid so. I’ll catch up with you later. Maybe racquetball?” He snaked an arm around Stephanie’s waist, and she stiffened.
“Sounds good. Stephanie, it was nice to meet you,” Otis said. “I hope we see you again.”
Mark pressed his fingers against her side.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. Not warmly, but at least not rudely.
“Good-bye.” Liz’s expression was surprisingly kind for the way she’d been treated.
“Yeah. Bye,” Stephanie said icily.
If they hadn’t been in a room full of people, he would have smacked her ass. Instead he steered her out of the mansion after depositing her guest badge in the reception desk drop box.
“Where are we going now?” she asked as he shepherded her to his car. “A kinky sex club?”
Mark opened her door and helped her in. Shaking his head, he crossed to driver’s side. He didn’t know whether to be amused or angry.
“I learned two things about you tonight,” he said as he started the engine. “One, you don’t hold your liquor very well.” He contemplated her mulish expression. “And two, you need a spanking.”
She jerked in her seat and riveted her gaze on his face.
“I’m taking you to dinner to get some food in you to mitigate the former, and afterward, I’m bringing you to my condo to remedy the latter.”
Chapter Five
If she’d been a little less nervous, she would have been a little more impressed. Mark’s sleek, modern condo was gorgeous. Dark hardwood floors spanned the open floor plan, the living, dining, and kitchen areas comprising one spacious room, done entirely in black and white. Ebony leather sofas squared at right angles across from a massive stone-and-glass coffee table. Masculine, hard surfaces, she thought, like the man himself.
Located in a downtown high-rise, his unit wasn’t on the penthouse floor, only midway up the tower, but his corner location permitted windows on two sides, an expansive deck, and a dizzying view of the city lights.
Or maybe his stated intention caused her lightheadedness, created the impression
“I even called you! And you still didn’t tell me he was a spanko.” Stephanie’s tone had risen to attract the attention of several groups of people congregated nearby.
“It wasn’t Liz’s place to share that with you,” Mark cut in to forestall further rudeness. He empathized with Stephanie’s anger, her feeling of betrayal, but her behavior had crossed the line. “Rod and Cane allows people in the lifestyle to enjoy the fellowship of like-minded individuals, but to speculate about a person’s practices would be impolite.”
Stephanie took another swig and shot Liz the evil eye. Otis’s wife inhaled and regarded her silently for a moment before glancing at Mark, and then again at Stephanie, whose cheeks were flushed by anger and probably the alcohol in the Bottom Burner. He was close to ushering her into one of the meeting rooms and coloring her ass the same hue as her face. It wasn’t what she said, but how she said it, the disrespect in her voice. Nor was a party an appropriate venue for the confrontation. He scanned the crowd for Otis and found him leaving the bar with two glasses of wine.
“If all this is so abhorrent to you, what are you doing here?” Liz asked.
“Fuck if I know.”
“Stephanie, that’s enough,” he ordered quietly.
She pressed her lips together but scowled at him. Obedient, yet still rebellious. She would make his life interesting. If ever a woman deserved to be spanked and then kissed senseless, she did.
A passing server cruised by, and Mark set his mostly untouched whisky and Stephanie’s near-empty Bottom Burner on his tray.
“Here you go, Lizzie.” Otis arrived and presented his wife with a glass of wine.
“Liz.” Mark curved his lips in an apologetic smile and then glanced at Otis. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to leave.”
“So soon?” he asked.
“’Fraid so. I’ll catch up with you later. Maybe racquetball?” He snaked an arm around Stephanie’s waist, and she stiffened.
“Sounds good. Stephanie, it was nice to meet you,” Otis said. “I hope we see you again.”
Mark pressed his fingers against her side.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. Not warmly, but at least not rudely.
“Good-bye.” Liz’s expression was surprisingly kind for the way she’d been treated.
“Yeah. Bye,” Stephanie said icily.
If they hadn’t been in a room full of people, he would have smacked her ass. Instead he steered her out of the mansion after depositing her guest badge in the reception desk drop box.
“Where are we going now?” she asked as he shepherded her to his car. “A kinky sex club?”
Mark opened her door and helped her in. Shaking his head, he crossed to driver’s side. He didn’t know whether to be amused or angry.
“I learned two things about you tonight,” he said as he started the engine. “One, you don’t hold your liquor very well.” He contemplated her mulish expression. “And two, you need a spanking.”
She jerked in her seat and riveted her gaze on his face.
“I’m taking you to dinner to get some food in you to mitigate the former, and afterward, I’m bringing you to my condo to remedy the latter.”
Chapter Five
If she’d been a little less nervous, she would have been a little more impressed. Mark’s sleek, modern condo was gorgeous. Dark hardwood floors spanned the open floor plan, the living, dining, and kitchen areas comprising one spacious room, done entirely in black and white. Ebony leather sofas squared at right angles across from a massive stone-and-glass coffee table. Masculine, hard surfaces, she thought, like the man himself.
Located in a downtown high-rise, his unit wasn’t on the penthouse floor, only midway up the tower, but his corner location permitted windows on two sides, an expansive deck, and a dizzying view of the city lights.
Or maybe his stated intention caused her lightheadedness, created the impression
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