He chuckled against her, lifted his head. As he did, she put her hands on his face, her thumbs passing over the dried tear tracks, her heart twisting anew at the sight of them.

“That’s what my mom always said, if I came home upset about anything. There was nothing that a good meal couldn’t cure.”

“For a teenage boy, I expect that’s true. And even more so for a big, strapping man with a healthy appetite. Just keep in mind I have a secretary’s salary.”

Max squeezed her, then lifted her to her feet. “Can’t fool me, ma’am. You’re Matt Kensington’s secretary, and he pays his people what they’re worth.”

“So the truth comes out. You’re after my money.”

“Nope. Just the sex.” He looped an arm around her waist, gave her a smile with a few less shadows behind his eyes, making her own heart lighter.

“I’d like to come back here with you. Whenever you and Amanda would like my company. Maybe I can teach her some ballet. Does she like to dance?”

“She always wanted to take ballet and jazz. We never had the money. I bet she’d love it.” They’d reached the truck and Max opened the door for her, put his hands to her waist to lift her into the passenger seat rather than her having to use the step. Once there, he held on to her, putting the two of them eye to eye.

“I love you, Mistress.”

Chapter Twelve

He hadn’t said anything else, just closed the door and crossed around to the other side. It had been an emotional afternoon, but Max didn’t strike her as the type that led with emotion for a declaration like that. He felt things strongly, that was clear, but he thought things through before he spoke. He hadn’t seemed to need her to say the words back, hadn’t followed up with her on it, but the words surrounded her heart, held them, made her feel…wonderful. Still, happy, flustered…anxious.

One of Gayle’s kids had come down with the flu and so they had to reschedule their visit with her for the next weekend. But Friday was still on the books. She had forty-eight hours to clear her mind and think about it, about him coming to Club Progeny as her guest.

Thursday she didn’t get to see him because he took Matt and Jon to Baton Rouge, but in the late afternoon she received an intriguing text, probably while he was out in the parking lot waiting on them.

Any special instructions for tomorrow?

Yes. Shave off all body hair and paint your nails hot pink. I’ve shipped an I Heart Justin Bieber T-shirt to your home. Wear that with jeans. No underwear of course.

Sorry. Urgent mission. All SEALs being recalled to active duty, Friday night only. Crisis in Tahiti involving a shortage of sunscreen on swimsuit models.

I’d rethink that mission, sailor. Doubt you’ll get out of that one alive. A not-so-friendly fire incident.

Love it when you’re possessive, Mistress.

That had made her smile. It wasn’t a bad feeling, thinking of Max as hers exclusively, especially when he seemed to reciprocate.

No special instructions. Just bring yourself. If you can find time to brush your teeth and put on deodorant, that would be appreciated.

Check. No sweaty man smell or spinach between my teeth.

No disagreement on the spinach, but she found she actually liked Max’s sweaty man smell. She’d prefer to cause that state, however, and planned on it for Friday.

Putting her cell phone away as the elevator opened, she was surprised to see Dana. Using her cane, the minister navigated her way efficiently to Janet’s desk.

“Janet, you wear the prettiest scents. Still making your own?”

“Always. I have a new honeysuckle and lemon verbena combination that’s lovely. I’ll send some home for you with Peter. Was he expecting you?”

“Not at all. With Max off in Baton Rouge, and everything wrapped up at the church early today, I had Wade bring me back here. Since I have some class tapes to review, I figured I could park in the back lounge area where I’ll be out of everyone’s way until the end of Peter’s work day. If that’s okay.”

“It’s a pleasure to have you here, as always. Can I get you a soda or snack?”

“No, I can check the break room. I’m not here to interrupt your work.”

Belying that, however, Dana lingered, parking a hip on the desk and fishing through Janet’s candy dish. She always knew which of the wrapped selections were chocolate. Of course, Peter’s wife had enhanced senses on many levels, as she proved now.

“So I hear you’re putting moves on my other man.”

Janet lifted a brow. “Surely you don’t mind sharing? Peter and Max are more blessings than any one woman deserves.”

“I’ve been so good, I deserve all the blessings that come my way.” Dipping her head so Janet could see her eyes over the edge of the sunglasses, Dana gave her a wicked wink. “Can I get raunchy? Are we all by ourselves?”

Janet chuckled. “Yes. Nearest occupied office is Lucas’, and he can’t hear us from here, unless we’re shouting. Plus he and his accounting team are working on quarterly taxes, which means he has his doors closed so I can’t hear him lavishing creative and vivid curses on the government.”

“Bless the incompetence and greed of our government then. Seriously, Max is a good man. I was delighted to hear the boy is getting some. I was beginning to worry he’d retired that dick altogether, and that would be a sin, with a body like that.”

“And being a minister-in-training, you are an authority on sin.”

“Peter calls me the cause of original sin. He’s so sweet.” Dana unwrapped one of the chocolates and extended another to Janet. Deciding to roll with it, Janet took the candy, enjoyed the taste in companionable silence. Dana didn’t make a habit of wasting anyone’s time, so Janet expected there was more she wanted to say. While the woman was mulling it over, she decided to take advantage of the information source.

“Max has been volunteering at your church, hasn’t he?”

“He’s a godsend. Does a lot of heavy lifting, maintenance, plays basketball with the boys. They love him, though they’ve nicknamed him White Boy Can’t Jump. CJ for short. I tell them to give him a break, because they know they have a genetic advantage on him. He claims that’s racial profiling. I tell him it’s just the sad fact of why black people have taken over professional contact sports.” Dana smirked, but then sobered. “I love him to death, Janet. He’s tough as nails, but try not to pulverize his heart. I don’t think he’s offered it to a lot of women in his life. If he has a mind to give it to you, treat it with care, even if you decide to give it back.”

“He wants me to take him to the club on Friday night. As mine.”

Dana, about to rise, shifted into Janet’s guest chair with a decided thump. “Say again?”

“Yes.” Noting the concern on Dana’s face, Janet settled her hands on her desk, clasped them. “Do you think that will be a problem?”

She hadn’t intended the cool edge, but it was there. Dana didn’t take offense. “I wasn’t meaning anything against you, Janet. I just…he’s not a sub.”

“No, he’s not. I do know that. But he wants to show that he trusts me, and he wants to experience that side of me. It’s a gift, but I intend for it not to be one-sided.” She couldn’t really explain something so complex further, but fortunately, it seemed to make sense to Dana. She was as much a part of that world as Janet, only on the submissive side.

“That fits him. And you.” She hesitated. “Are you looking for advice?”

Janet felt her hackles ease. “I would welcome any, yes.”

“All right. I have a friend who’s married to a SEAL. She says the best way to turn them into basket cases is park them at a table in the center of a place that has about a dozen different exit and entry points. It’s like watching a bunch of cats in a roomful of rockers. Doesn’t matter that they know they’re on civilian ground. They’re trained and trained and trained until these things are like breathing to them.”

“So what would you suggest?”

Dana’s full, moist lips pressed together, considering. “Do your session in a private room. Let him see it before you blindfold him. If it’s at Progeny, the rooms only have one exit and entry point. Show him that it’s coded so that he knows once the door’s locked, the only one who can come in is a staff member with a master key override, and that only happens if there’s a safety issue. Even so, he’s not going to be able to handle being restrained to the point he can’t get loose. I know nothing’s more tempting to a Domme than seeing a man that fine bound and helpless, but it will make him edgy, nervous, and you don’t want to put a SEAL in that state.”

“Do you think he would do it, if I asked, despite that?”

“Yes,” Dana answered her bluntly. “But don’t make him do that, Janet. Please.”

She reached over the candy bowl and found Janet’s knuckles, tapped them. It was a plea and admonishment both.

“BDSM is so intense, it’s kind of crazy to call it a game, but it is, at one level, where the pleasure comes into it. Tying him up so he can’t get loose…that won’t be a game to him, and there’s no way you’ll be able to make it one. From what I understand from Peter, I think he’d pretty much do anything you wanted him to do at this point. Until he realized it was a mistake.”

Max had told her he loved her, which had been a shock to her system. She knew Max well enough to know he wouldn’t have shared that with anyone else, so hearing that the men she worked for had already detected his feelings was an additional surprise. Not necessarily unpleasant but…unsettling.

“No unexpected loud noises. We all hate those. I still can’t stand hearing kids play those dumbass war video games. If you go the way of blindfolds and light restraint, do a lot of physical contact. Keep connected to him by voice or touch, so he knows where you are in the room. You’d be amazed at how much control a SEAL has. He could pull up the nose of a gun a hair before a civilian pops out of the woodwork in front of his target, but he’s still trained to be a deadly force weapon. He wouldn’t be willing to do this unless he trusts you and himself enough to keep things safe, but you can help him do that.”