Bound and Pleasured (The Masters) by Lisa Renee Jones Page A

details.”
    Darla walked him to the elevator, and just before he stepped inside, she remembered a question. “Oh, yes. I meant to ask who I should thank for referring you?”
    He stepped inside the car and turned to face her. A hint of a smile played on his dangerously sensual mouth, warning her that before he said the name, he knew the impact it would have. “Jacob Remington,” he replied, a second before the doors closed, which she had no doubt was planned.
    Darla stood there, her black high heels wobbling dangerously to the left and then again to the right. The last she’d heard, through a mutual friend, was that Jacob had been on an extended mission somewhere in a third-world country. But Jacob knew Marcus. On some level she suspected her erotically charged thoughts during their meeting had been telling her that, already connecting the two men. Maybe Jacob had mentioned Marcus to her at some point in the year they’d been together, maybe it was just the raw sensuality that dominated the air around them—a powerful essence the two men shared and few others possessed.
    Her heart exploded in her chest, thinking of the rumors of a secret sex society, wondering if Jacob was a member. Jacob, whom she’d loved, probably still did. Jacob who’d pushed her to the erotic edge, to trust him completely, and she’d responded by pushing him away. How many times had she wished she could turn back time, to see Jacob again, to feel him again. Yet she’d waited too long to contact him, convinced herself she couldn’t, she shouldn’t. And now, he’d thrown her a twig through Marcus, whether it was meant as an invitation into his life or not, she didn’t know. She didn’t even care. Jacob was back, and so was her opportunity to revisit the past and make it right.
    Darla inhaled a fortifying breath. She was going to that wine tasting Friday night, and she was going to do whatever it took to convince Marcus she belonged in his world so she could show Jacob she belonged in his world. And if Jacob didn’t want her there, at least she was done running from the past and from herself. It was time to face her darkest desires.

Chapter Two
     
    It was Friday night, the evening of the wine tasting. Still dressed in her dark blue business suit, Darla pulled her Ford Fusion into the parking garage of the Houston high-rise only a few blocks from her office and sat in the darkness of her car. Adrenaline pumped through her, a combination of nerves and excitement.
    After a week of thinking, of analyzing, of fretting, she was more certain than ever that she had to do this. She had to talk to Marcus about his society, had to explore her own sexuality, her own wants and needs, and see where it would lead her. Maybe it would be back to Jacob—she hoped it would be back to Jacob. No matter what the outcome, she was tired of denying herself her desires, as if they were something to be ashamed of.
    There was a reason why every date since Jacob had been a disaster, a reason why the few sexual encounters had been dissatisfying. Jacob had awakened something in her, a burn for something more, something exciting and erotic. Inhibitions and fear had kept her from exploring them with him, the man she’d loved. The man she was pretty darn sure she still loved.
    Resolve settled within her, and Darla shoved open her car’s door, more of those nerves zipping through her and settling with a thud in her stomach. She was going to do this. She was really going to do this. Her steps became lighter, the hot Texas night even hotter. It was liberating to know she was acting, rather than hiding behind her conservative attorney shell, behind the expectations of society, by entering a whole different kind of society.
    The elevator of the high-rise took her down to the Alexander’s Wine Cellar, which was appropriately located in the basement of the building. But this was like no basement Darla had ever seen. The instant she exited the elevator, she was surrounded by