Negotiation: Daddy P.I. 0.5, E Frost [best thriller novels of all time txt] 📗

that in a lot of different ways. Probably bondage most often, but I’m not tied to that method.” He gives me a little grin at the pun. I shake my head at him, as I’m supposed to, even though I love the way he plays with words. “I’ve done everything from flogging to knife play. Only toys I don’t use are bullwhips, just because I haven’t spent enough time practicing with them. But if my bottom told me that whipping was the one thing that would really send her over the edge, I’d clear out a corner of my basement, set up a target and get cracking.”

I snort at the pun and splutter tea. Oh, very graceful. I expect HIM to offer a soul-crushing comment, but the voice is silent and Logan continues as though he hasn’t noticed, although I’m sure he has. He’s as acutely observant as a big predator on a Discovery channel program.

“All I ask of my bottoms is that they trust me and that they let me push them to the edge. I promise to always be in control and be respectful of your safe word. If you use it, I’ll stop. Doesn’t matter what we’re doing. I’ll stop, check in with you and if whatever we’re doing has gotten to be too much, on any level, physical, emotional, whatever, then that’s the end of the play and we’ll do aftercare. If you want to go on, and I think you can, then we’ll keep going, but maybe dial it down a notch. Either way, there’s no shame in using your safe word. Have you needed to before?”

I’m so lost in those dark eyes and how wonderful what he’s saying sounds that it takes me a minute to register that he’s asked me a question.

“Emily?”

“Uh, sorry. Yes, I’ve used my safe word.” In fact, Matthew was the only Dom I’ve dated that I haven’t had to use my safe word with. Ironic, given that he was a sadist, but I’ve always felt safest with sadists. As much as they get off on hurting me, they’ve also been the ones who have taken the best care of me.

Logan takes a few more bites of tiramisu before he says, “I’d like to say that my bottoms haven’t had to safe word, but that wouldn’t be true. It hasn’t happened in the past three years, though. I’ve gotten much better at reading my bottoms’ body language. I don’t want a bottom to have to use her safe word with me.”

I take one last bite of his lovely coffee-creamy dessert, before I wipe my mouth with the cloth napkin and say, “Sir, please don’t take this wrong. You seem so nice, and omi-goodness, so normal. I just don’t understand why you’re not with someone already. I mean, why would you put up with a sub who’s married? You could have anyone.”

“I didn’t put up with Miranda. Quite the opposite.” Logan shrugs and sips his coffee. “If she’d given me the slightest indication she was unhappy with her husband, I’d have asked her to leave him. But she didn’t.”

He shrugs again.

Oh, no, he’s still in love with her. Of course, he is. Why would I ever think that a thirty-five-year-old, good-looking Dom would actually be single?

“Also, I’m probably not the easiest person to be with. I travel a lot for work. Two years ago, I ran in trouble with the taxman because I’d spent so much time in England that year. They wanted me to start paying taxes there. Like I don’t pay enough here between state and federal.” He shakes his head. “Even when I’m home, I often have to work nights and on weekends. It’s tough to be with someone on my schedule. A couple of ladies have given me the boot because they said I wasn’t paying them enough attention, which was probably true. I’ll try not to repeat that mistake with you.”

His schedule doesn’t bother me at all. My own schedule’s quite flexible, and since my Doms have always had full-time jobs, I’m very used to being a casual playmate. It gives me time to write.

“Besides, I am with someone,” he says. Warmth returns to his eyes. “I’m with you. My baby girl, who’s going to show me a whole new side of something I’ve been doing for a long time and thought I was pretty good at. I like challenges.” He lifts his coffee cup to me in a little toast.

“I’m told I can be challenging,” I say, which is the truth.

“Perfect match.” He salutes me again with his coffee cup. “You want anything else, sweetheart?”

I shake my head. Logan flags down the waiter and asks for the cheque.

“If you’re not raring to join Rick and Daisy in the nightclub, how about we head upstairs?” he asks. “There’ll be scenes going on now that we can watch. Once you’re comfortable, we’ll go into the library and do our own scene. It’ll be above the panties tonight, okay? There’ll be a first time for us, hopefully damn soon, but I don’t want it to be here. We need privacy for our first time together.”

I stare at him, lost again in the wonderfulness of what he’s saying. He really cares that much about the first time we have sex? “Yes, sir. That all sounds perfect.”

“Good.” He pauses and hums in his throat before he continues. “When we go upstairs, you’ll probably meet a number of the house submissives. They’re employees of the club. I’ve topped most of them. I don’t know if you heard Rick talking about a woman named Rachel while we were in the car. I trained her as a sub and we dated for a while. Things got a little messy between us at the end. That was before Christmas. She has a different Master now, and there’s nothing further between us. I just don’t want you to be taken by surprise.”

“Do you—do you still top them?”

Logan shakes his head firmly. “After things ended with