SATED: #3 in the Fit Trilogy Read online

  “He wasn’t wrong, but will I sound like a complete hypocrite if I say yes, I do want to know more? Armando and Grant are more like brothers. I can’t really talk to them about sex.”

  “Nothing hypocritical about being curious. But before I get into it, let me tell you about some of my other interests.”

  “Oh yes. Please do.”

  “I enjoy puzzles and I love to bowl. And I try to go to the movies at least once a week.”

  “No, wait. Let’s go back to the puzzles.”

  “I love puzzles.” Daniel lifted his arm off the table a bit. “They helped me with my rehab and they’ve been a bit more of hobby ever since.”

  “Interesting. Do you mind me asking how…? Jesus. Never mind.” Keira really, really needed to shut up, but Daniel just laughed her latest faux pass off.

  “It was an accident on my first set. Our lead was an idiot, didn’t check to see if I was clear of the blast zone and the effects went off.”

  “Oh my god.”

  “I’m on the mend, I promise you.” That wink of his was too much.

  “I see that. Um, back to your other interests. You said something about going to the movies. Would you…like to go with me some time?” Keira took the leap then instantly regretted it when Daniel practically froze behind his menu. “Sorry. I know this wasn’t that kind of hang out. I just—”

  “No. I would love to.”

  “Are you sure? You’re not saying yes now to be nice, but then you’re gonna call me sometime next week and tell me you can’t?”

  “No, no. How about this? Keira, would you like to go on date with me in the next seven days. Your schedule permitting, of course?”

  “I would love that.”

  “Excellent. Now I say we see about these waffles and then I’ll tell you more about my attempt at the jigsaw puzzle world record and how I was off by a full fifteen minutes.”

  Keira managed to hold back her laughter, but still she smiled.

  ✶

  Keira plopped down on her couch with her laptop. As soon as she pulled it open, a chat box lit up the screen.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: TELL ME EVERYTHING!!!

  Keira snorted at her friend’s enthusiasm. Lori was one of several online buddies who had to back out of the Con, and the person Keira missed the most. She lived in Milwaukee with her wife and their kids. Unfortunately wife and the kids came down with a horrible flu and Lori couldn’t bear to leave them. Keira understood, but she was still bummed. Lori was her best fandom friend. They’d only met in person once, but they talked on the phone or online and texted every day.

  ItsKeiraTime: How are the babies?

  LoriNLynn+Twins: there is snot everywhere. i have kid snot in my fucking hair. and Sammy threw up on me this afternoon.

  ItsKeiraTime: lol omg im so sorry.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: tell me your day was better than mine. how was the con? send me all the pics. did you get to see Selia? was JD there? Did JD take off his shirt? did Selia take off her shirt? did they simulate a sex act on stage during the panel?

  This was why Keira loved Lori; she was just as obsessed with everything Galaxis as Keira was.

  ItsKeiraTime: no sex, but i think i got a date out of it.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: what? SPILL!!!

  Keira set about explaining how she met up with Daniel at the convention and how she’d ended up asking him out, even though their time together was only supposed to be a friend-type thing. Then she casually mentioned that Daniel was JD’s brother.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: WHAT THE FUCK!!! I feel awful for abandoning you and then you end up scoring a date with JD’s brother??

  ItsKeiraTime: i know. he introduced me to JD and Selia too.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: Brb dying on the floor. i can’t fucking believe this. should I ditch you more often?

  ItsKeiraTime: maybe.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: why don’t you sound more psyched? you met JD and Selia and now you have a chance to pork JD’s brother. I can feel it through the computer. you’re not psyched.

  Keira knew exactly what was bothering her. She’d had such a good time with Daniel, and he was so cute, but…

  ItsKeiraTime: I think I might have spoke too soon. Jumped the gun in asking him out. He’s into the bondage stuff.

  She included a somewhat conflicted frowny face.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: And?? Let him tie you up.

  ItsKeiraTime: No!

  ItsKeiraTime: He’s the real deal, Lor.

  Not that she actually knew for sure, but from the way he talked and the mere fact that he ran in the same circles as Grant and Armando? Yeah, they were pros. And Keira? She wasn’t, nor did she want to be, any type of sexual professional.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: What made you say yes, then? Did we not learn a lesson with Travis McLoser? Don’t go out with guys you don’t like.

  ItsKeiraTime: I DO like him. That’s the problem.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: Afraid you’ll let him do more than tie you up?

  That was exactly what Keira was afraid of. What if she ended up really crushing on Daniel? What if he ended up being really good in bed and he turned her into some weirdo perverted sex addict who had to go to therapy because she’d been arrested for public indecency?

  Keira’s mind continued to run wild. Too many what-ifs. She wanted a boyfriend, but she wasn’t so sure she wanted a boyfriend who was a freak.

  ItsKeiraTime: He said he’s a switch.

  LoriNLynn+Twins: Oooh that means he goes both ways! You can tie him up.

  ItsKeiraTime: How do you know all this?

  LoriNLynn+Twins: google, honey. the internet is your friend. just do it. go out with him once. for me. i need this excitement.

  ItsKeiraTime: aren’t you gay?

  LoriNLynn+Twin: kid. snot. in. my. hair. i need this excitement.

  Keira leaned back against her couch, her laugh turning into a sigh. She wasn’t going to back out of her date with Daniel, but she needed something. Some sort of reassurance that everything was going to be okay. She had to know more about Daniel. She had to know he could seriously be with someone like Keira, someone who wasn’t into those kinky things. She had to talk to Armando and Grant.

  ✶

  Two days later and Daniel’s head was still all fucked up, clouded with different flavors of regret. He regretted not kissing Keira before they parted ways the night of the convention. He’d known a lot of people, fucked a lot of people, but as corny as the thought seemed, he’d never met anyone like Keira. Genuine was the best way to describe her; or maybe honest.

  He was proud of JD and the career he’d made for himself. Hollywood was not an easy place for Korean actors to navigate, but his brother was doing it. Galaxis was his brother’s livelihood and further proof that their mother had been right, encouraging them both to chase their dreams. But Daniel had only watched the show to support JD. He’d known fans of the material, but he’d never encountered a fan like Keira. He found her enthusiasm for the whole culture of the fictional world to be insanely attractive. He liked that she wasn’t too shy to embrace her inner nerd in front of strangers. He loved that he got to see the real her the first time they met.

  He got the feeling Keira wasn’t one to hide any part of herself and he dug that. Problem was, she wasn’t into kink, and that right there made him regret the hell out of taking her up on her invitation to spend more time together. Kink wasn’t just something he was into in his free time, as Keira had suggested. Kink was his life.

  He’d been into sadomasochism in some capacity since he was a kid. Along with setting things on fire, he started messing with bondage and pain play around the age of nine. Luckily his mom didn’t discourage either. Scouts, and apprenticeships with some of the stage acts at the Bellagio had handled most of his curiosity, helped him perfect his knots, but it wasn’t until he found Mistress Evelyn that he’d come to understand exactly what was going on in his head. He really only played with or even dated people he’d met through her and her husband, Master Philip.
>
  He’d become so accustomed to his life as a switch, so comfortable with other members of the community, that spending a romantic evening without some element of BD or SM didn’t make a bit of sense. So why was he even considering seeing this girl again? Why had he asked her out?

  Various reasons ran through his head. She’s beautiful. She’s smart. She blurts out exactly what’s she’s thinking and it’s adorable as hell. Even with her dark brown skin, he could tell when she was blushing. He wanted to see that smile again. He wanted to see if he could push her buttons, in a good way. He wanted something different.

  He’d drawn up a solution for Blake Carlisle’s stage show, then sent a team out to finish the tour. He’d gotten word that things were going smoothly, but he couldn’t think too much on it. He had other, more important projects coming down the line.

  Yeah, he definitely should have kissed her, but something told him he should wait. He wanted her to make the first move or least tell him when she was ready for him to call the shots. She’d told him that he’d hear from her via text, her preferred mode of communication, but she hadn’t reached out to him yet. He hoped she wasn’t following that stupid three-day rule. He supposed he could text her first…

  Daniel rolled his neck and clicked back into his email. The subject lines started to blur together for a moment before he shook his head and forced himself to focus. He had invoices to review before another meeting about the Super Bowl, the last massive event before Fourth of July madness turned the office upside down again. He glanced at his phone, reminding himself to sync his calendar, when he noticed a missed text from Armando.

  Thanks for meeting up with Keira, man. She’s been smiles all morning.

  That news made Daniel’s day. He had no idea what the hell he was doing with Keira, but this weird tightness in chest pulled even tighter at the thought of making her happy. He shot Armando a text back.

  Not a problem. She’s a great girl.

  Just as he hit send, another text hit his phone, this one from Keira. It must be break time at the gym. Daniel pictured Keira and Armando standing around talking about him.

  I Googled “switch”.

  That made him smile for sure.

  Oh yeah? What did you find?

  Naked people.

  Is that all?

  I got so caught up looking at all the naked people it was time for me to go to bed before I remembered my original plan.

  Plan? Daniel was definitely intrigued. What was Keira up to?

  Not telling. You’ll laugh me into next week.

  I won’t. He wouldn’t.

  Well you said a switch does both.

  I don’t think I’d be good at submitting.

  I was looking up how to be a good mistress.

  I’ll continue my research tonight.

  Let me know if you need any assistance.

  I will.

  Also I’m not saying that I’m going to dominate you or anything.

  I just like to know. I like to know things.

  And now he was hard. He could imagine it so clearly, being under her control. It made him wonder though, what had changed, what had Keira suddenly considering domination and submission, any aspect of it, beyond her so-called quest for knowledge? Daniel adjusted the crotch of his jeans then started to text back, but Keira’s next text beat him to it.

  Knowledge is power. Followed by a toothy smiley face.

  Daniel snorted with laughter. He’d only known her a few days, but he could imagine Keira saying those exact words, and the smile that came with it. Would she still be smiling when she got to know him though? Daniel wondered what she would think of his video collection. The hours and hours of footage he had of himself engaged in erotica acts. Some he’d uploaded to the internet for educational purposes, sharing them with friends. Hell, Armando had shared a few of his clips with Nailah when she was getting into the game. No, Keira wasn’t ready for that. There was a good chance she never would be.

  Daniel had sworn to Keira that he wouldn’t back out of their plans, but now that he was thinking of who he really was and what he really needed, and how things between then would probably end, jumping ship before things got complicated might be for the best.

  Wait. You guys are going out again? The text from Armando appeared at the top of the screen.

  “What the fuck?” Daniel said out loud as he clicked over, reading the text again. He was not in the mood for this shit, not when he was this horny and frustrated. He pressed the little phone icon next to his friend’s name. Armando answered right away.

  “What’s the problem, man?” Daniel said.

  “Nothing. Hold on.” Daniel waited while Armando probably took their conversation out of Keira’s earshot. “I came in and she’s talking to Grant about seeing you again and asking just how committed you are to kink and if she should date you and shit. What happened?”

  “Nothing happened. We spent the day together and we had a good time. We want to see each other again.”

  “I just didn’t think you guys would go out.”

  “I get that, but we are going out,” Daniel said, his regret shifting somehow into determination.

  “So what are you going to do, ’cause I just—”

  “You just what?” Daniel laughed. He’d known Armando for years. He had always been a possessive Dom, but Keira wasn’t his and Daniel wasn’t his to push around either. He was not going to let this shit slide. “You know you have your own girlfriend right?”

  “Fuck you. That’s not what I was getting at. She’s just vanilla, man. Extra strength vanilla. She’s not ready for all of you.”

  “Let me be the judge of that. Shit, let her be the judge of that.”

  Daniel’s phone beeped with another text from Keira. “I gotta go. Just be proud of the possible love connection you’ve helped facilitate.”

  This time Armando laughed. “Good luck, man. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Yeah, me too, he almost said. How the fuck was this going to end well?

  CHAPTER THREE

  Despite his freezing cold feet, and Armando’s odd, yet completely justified behavior, Daniel managed to nail down a date and time to see Keira again. At first they’d planned to go to the movies and out for some dinner, but she’d texted him that morning begging off for a night in. When she quickly clarified that she wasn’t in fact cancelling, they decided on a movie and pizza at her place. He was buying.

  On his way to pick up some beers, he got a text from his buddy, Marcos. Nothing official was planned at The Club that night, but Marcos was always up for something.

  You busy tonight? I got some new tails.

  After his accident, Daniel had gone through a long recovery period, learning to do a number of things with his left hand while his right arm healed. In the decade since, he’d become perfectly adept at functioning with both arms, with or without his prosthesis. But beyond healing, he’d become obsessed with perfecting his skills with a flogger. With hours spent practicing with Master Phillip, he’d crafted himself into somewhat of a legend in the community. He moved on to other implements; paddles, slappers, cat o’ nine tails, bullwhips, canes. He’d taught classes and seminars, made plenty of videos, performed night after night at the club and in private for his Mistress and her Master. It was only natural for Marcos to reach out to Daniel when he’d acquired a new toy. Daniel was the best person to help him break it in.

  Daniel read the backlit words again. Any other night he would have said yes. Had he made plans with any other girl he would have invited them along. But as curious as Keira was, what Marco had in mind would surely scare her off. A girl like Keira would need monogamy, for one. A girl like Keira would definitely need a little warm-up before he introduced her to his sexually fluid friends and their collection of whips and cat o’ nine tails. He texted Marcos back.

  Can’t tonight, man. I made plans. Thanks for thinking of me though.

  Something else stirred in his chest. First time in years he�
��d turned down an invite.

  Always. Have a good night!

  Oddly enough, even though he suspected their date would be vanilla and pretty tame, he had a feeling that spending a few hours just talking to Keira would make for a perfectly good night.

  ✶