[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

A few minutes later, Jovanna spoke again.  Sorry about dinner last night. David
and I got distracted. Leaving you alone with Sam wasn t the plan.
Melanie s pulse sped up and she tensed. Trying to keep her tone neutral, she said,
 It was fine. Everybody was finished eating anyway.
 Yeah. Jovanna paused before asking,  What did you two do after leaving the
restaurant?
 We walked over to the Bellagio to see the fountain show. The nail technician
sprayed Melanie s hands with a drying agent and promised to come back shortly to
check the polish. Once they were alone, Melanie half-turned in her chair to look at
Jovanna.  Do you know him pretty well?
23
Emily Ryan-Davis
 Who, Sam?
Melanie nodded.
Jovanna drummed her crimson-lacquered fingertips on the arms of her chair,
obviously trying to decide what to say in reply.
Before the other woman could deflect or give a vague answer, Melanie spoke again.
 I know he s, uh, kinky. So if you re trying to figure out a way around that, you don t
have to worry about preserving my pristine innocence. I just want to know other stuff
about him.
 Like what? Jovanna asked warily.
Melanie took a deep breath.  Like whether he has a contract with anybody right
now.
Jovanna cringed.  Oh my God. What do you know about contracts? Have you slept
with him?
 Um. There hasn t been any sleeping, no.
At that moment, Jovanna s phone chimed with an incoming text. While she read
and responded, Melanie slumped in the chair. She wished she hadn t opened the
subject of Sam up for discussion.
 I don t know him well enough to have any details about his personal life, Jovanna
said several minutes later.  I don t think anybody does. I ve heard vague rumors that
he s kind of hardcore, but people make up stories to fill in the blanks they can t fill with
facts. He owns Bondage but he doesn t actively engage with anybody while he s in the
building, that I ve ever noticed. Whatever he does when he s not in the building, he
keeps it to himself. Hence the rumors.
 I am so not going to ask what you do at Bondage, Melanie said. She was familiar
with the fetish club everybody was but she d never been inside. Not only was
Bondage a membership-only establishment except for one night a month, but it was
also a little bit scary. Even Brooke, who d had three Masters, steered clear. Melanie
probably wouldn t ever visit now, not knowing if she might encounter David among
the crowd. Ew. She shuddered. Extra ew.
 Thank God for the little things, Jovanna muttered. Louder, she said,  He s very
experienced. He s respected. He s straight. He s& whether the rumors have any basis or
not, he might be too serious for you, Mel. I don t think he s the right man for
experimenting or having a little fun.
 He seems like he could use some more fun in his life.
 Don t play with him, Jovanna warned, giving the exact opposite advice she d
received from Brooke early that morning. Brooke suggested some serious playing-with
and insisted men like Sam thrived on being provoked.
 But he s fun to play with. I don t think he knows what to do with me. Her lips
curved and she closed her eyes. She d rather follow Brooke s approach, since she
suspected provoking Sam was the only way she d get him to look her way.
24
Tangled & Bound
Jovanna sighed and continued texting.
* * * * *
Sam sat at a poker table with David, David s father Howard and another man
named Joaquin, who David introduced as his stepfather. Four hands into the game, the
two Burkes began to discuss Melanie. Since the day was so early and the casino crowd
slim, the dealer didn t comment on the amount of conversation.
Sam requested a beer from a passing server and glowered at his cards while he
waited for the cocktail waitress to return.
 I ve decided to cut her off, Howard Burke said.  She has to learn she can t keep
throwing away money on stray cats. She calls me every month asking me to send her
deposit through early. How can she have nothing left for her actual needs?
David flipped a plastic chip into the pot to up his bid.  Leave her alone, Dad. The
cats make her happy.
Joaquin chewed on the end of his cigar and placed his own bid, nothing to add to
the conversation. Nothing in English, anyway. He muttered to himself in a language
that didn t filter through Sam s rudimentary background in French.
Howard grunted.  You re going to be taking a new wife home with you. Your
sister s happiness shouldn t be your concern, not if you want your marriage to last.
What does Jovanna think about having eight or nine flea-ridden felines in the garage?
 Jovanna likes animals. David glanced at his phone and, frowning, started tapping
out a text with one hand.
 She won t like them once she s wearing a wedding ring. Howard folded and
leaned back in his chair.  Trust me, son. You want to worry about your wife s
happiness, not your sister s. When Melanie has a man of her own, she can have her
fleabags again. Even better, the man will take her in hand and put a permanent stop to
it. For God s sake, she could get rabies from one of the little mongrels.
Sam stared at his cards until the cocktail waitress finally returned. When he looked
up, he found David watching him with an inscrutable expression.
Sam steeled himself to maintain eye contact and asked,  Your sister likes cats? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]