Page 10 of Desire

“Have you heard from Joey lately?” he asked.

Joey, Joey, Joey. It was always about Joey with him. She would forever be just Joey’s little sister to him. She wanted Dante to see her as grown-up and her own woman. But then again, that was selfish thinking. Dante and Joey had been best friends for a long time and Joey hadn’t been very communicative in the last few years. Emma bit back a sigh. Still, she wished they could talk about things other than her brother.

“I get a letter from him at least once a month. If I’m lucky, more than that. But it always comes from a PO Box, so I don’t know where he is right now, except that it’s...”

“Classified,” they both said at the same time.

She shared his smile and suddenly it was nice to be with someone who knew her brother so well.

“Still, from what he tells me, he’s enjoying his work and is not in any danger. But I suppose if he was in danger, he wouldn’t tell me because he wouldn’t want me and our parents to worry.”

“How are they?”

“The same. Mom is marching on Washington later this month. And Dad is planning a trip to Rome to research his latest conspiracy theory.” She rolled her eyes.

Dante chuckled, and she nearly melted into a puddle at his feet. He was so very handsome when he loosened up. He almost never did. He looked much younger and carefree when he let down his guard.

“I’m glad some things never change,” he said.

“You should come by one Sunday for dinner,” Emma offered eagerly. “I know how much you love my mom’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes.”

She couldn’t read the quick play of emotions that flashed across his face, but once it was done, the amusement was gone and the cold mask that Dante usually wore around Couture was firmly back in place. “I’ll check my schedule,” he said.

It wasn’t a no, no matter what his tone said. So she pushed a bit, lifting her chin up at him in defiance. “I can check your schedule for you. I don’t believe you have anything happening on Sundays.”

This time, she recognized the flashing surprise in his eyes and a sardonic smile twisted his lips. “You don’t manage my personal schedule.”

“Touché. But I know my parents would love to see you. It’s been a few years. Surely you can make some time in your very busy schedule to see them?”

Dante winced. “You wield the guilt hammer like I wield a whip.”

“I didn’t mean to leave any marks.” Emma placed her hand on his strong forearm. Her fingers tingled when it brushed the silky hairs on his arm. She had it bad for him. And he had no clue.

“All right, you’ve convinced me. If it’s fine with your mother and father, I’ll be there next Sunday.”

Next Sunday was the day after club Inferno’s Halloween party. “They’ll be thrilled.”

She wondered if he’d be able to look her parents in the eye if Emma managed to get a spot in his dungeon on Saturday. She wondered if she’d be able to look her parents in the eye if her bottom was too sore from the spanking he would hopefully give her. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Of course, this was all contingent on him not marching her ass right out of the dungeon when he recognized her.

Then again, she was going to be wearing a mask. And he didn’t think she was coming to the Club Inferno party anyway. Perhaps if she didn’t speak much and disguised her voice, they could have an anonymous hookup. Well, it would be anonymous for him. She would treasure the memory with him forever and ever. And who knew, maybe once it happened, it would be easier to have a second or a third time. But even if it didn’t, she would get a memorable evening with him.

“Have you heard from your parents?” Emma asked tentatively.

Dante didn’t scowl, but the cold mask grew impossibly colder. “No,” he said, and that was the end of that conversation. His father had been an abusive son of a bitch, and his mother had never been there for Dante, even when she was there.

Anastasia Ashton, or A.A. as her son called her, spent most of her time out of the house, doing everything from charity projects to going to Tupperware parties. Unfortunately, that left Dante alone with his father, and he took the brunt of his father’s temper and frustration at his inability to keep his wife at home.

She knew that Dante had enjoyed going to the elite boarding school that they sent him to. And after that, she had heard, he had gotten a degree in psychology from Stanford.

“What brought you back here from California?” she asked. What she really wanted to ask was why wasn’t he in a practice somewhere instead of working full-time as a Dom in a sex club?

“I grew bored with the lifestyle out there,” he said casually as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. The soft touch of his fingertips sent shivers up her spine and made her nipples impossibly hard.

“The BDSM lifestyle?” she asked.

It startled a laugh out of him, and she felt like an idiot.

“No, the nine-to-five grind of working in an office.”