Red Hots by Yvette Hines

continued, “Many people have
stressful jobs. Hell, her job can be all consuming when she’s deep in
research.”
    “There’s
a difference between the two of you.”
    “She’s
white and I’m black,” Kindle jested and shrugged. A façade because Masaun could
see the tight corners of her mouth. She was a smart woman, a brilliant attorney
most likely, and she would be able to clearly see the signs showing where the
conversation was headed.
    “She
has an outlet and you don’t,” he declared.
    Pulling
off a chunk of baguette, she ate it and sat silent as she blankly stared off to
the side, with her hands in her lap.
    He
watched her chest rise high and fall slowly, as if she were gaining control or
folding inside some secret corner of herself. He took another sip of his wine
and waited. The music in the place was still low, the hour too early for people
to start dancing.
    When
her gaze met his, her stoic, professional mask was in place. That look, the
same one he’d seen in her office, had been the catalyst for him to give her his
number. The reason he was here tonight. Kindle needed him, even if she didn’t
know it yet. He’d seen that look before in other subs and some Doms. Like a
wild animal had when it was alone and trapped, they showed a brave, strong face
to the world. Attempting to prove they were alright and had things under
control.
    But,
it didn’t last for animals or subs. And it wouldn’t for Kindle either; sooner
or later she would lose it if she didn’t have an egress. He was determined that
would be him.
    “Look,
Masaun, I don’t know what Lolli led you to believe about me…but I’m perfectly
fine.”
    “Your
friend may have sent me to you. However, I’ve been a Dom for too many years to
allow anyone to pick and choose who I take on, scene with.”
     She
waved a hand in front of her body. “I’m not even sure what that means entirely.
Anyway, if not for my friend’s request, then what’s all this about?” She
pointed at their meals on the table, indicating their date.
    “You.”
    “Me?”
The tension in her features was starting to show around the edges of her mouth,
nose and eyes. “As I told you alre—”
    “You
may be an excellent attorney professionally, I don’t doubt that. However,
personally, you’re walking a tightrope that could snap beneath your feet at any
time.”
    A
muscle in her jaw flexed as she leaned forward and lowered her voice to barely
above a whisper. “You don’t even know me. So, what makes you think you have the
right to comment on any part of my life?”
     Lifting
his left hand, he rested his forearm on the table beside his plate, palm up.
“Give me your hand, Kindle,” he commanded, keeping his voice low and
controlled.
    She
glanced from his face to his hand and back again. Emotions and thoughts swirled
in her gaze, making the indifferent mask she held her features in start to show
cracks.
    He
wouldn’t be happy until it fell away completely.
    Sitting
there, calm, he waited. He wouldn’t rush her. A submissive, even an unaware
submissive, had to yield to a Dominant on her own.
    Letting
out a harsh breath, Kindle set her right hand in his, palm down. The light
weight of her slender hand caused warmth to crawl up his arm and spread through
his body. It wasn’t a great leap of trust, but even such the small amount of
faith Kindle showed in him caused his gut to tighten and a volt of pleasure to
race from base to tip of his cock.
    “Is
this just about sex?” she asked, as if reading his response to her.
    Even
if that were true and she’d witnessed the level of his desire or felt the spark,
it had no influence on helping her to discover another way to ease the weight
on her shoulders and mind.
    “No.
I’ll admit, you are a beautiful and sexy woman. You could get a man in your bed
with one of your rare smiles.” His gut clenched at the thought of her with
another man. He went on, “I’m attracted to you on many levels, but that’s not
what