“Okay. I’ve only been out with a couple of men since my divorce. The first one I met on an Internet forum, and we dated for about a month.” She rolled her eyes at the memory.
“What happened?”
“He probably found a younger woman. Men are always running after a tighter tushie.”
Jackson raised a heavy auburn eyebrow. “Do you mind if I ask how old he was?”
“Rick said he was thirty-five. I guess it doesn’t take a genius to figure out there’s an obvious pattern forming here.”
“It’s fine with me that you’re attracted to younger men.” He smiled and casually picked up his glass to take another small sip of bourbon. “What kind of forum did you meet on?”
Mika took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. “Do we really have to do this?”
His head inclined toward hers. “We’re being honest with each other, remember?”
She nodded as her face reddened. “It was a spanking forum.”
“My first instinct was that you were wired a little different than most.” He grinned and put his drink down.
“Is Benny right? Are we two peas in a pod?”
“It’s certainly beginning to sound that way.” He paused and looked into her eyes. “You said a couple of dates. Did you go back to that forum to meet someone else?”
She nodded reluctantly. “A few days after we met in the bar. I know it wasn’t smart, but you seemed so conservative and traditional, so…”
“Vanilla?”
“I should’ve called you, but instead decided to take one more stab at the Internet.”
“Interesting choice of words, considering the situation.”
“After meeting on the forum, we messaged each other privately about playing a scene.”
“Keep going…” He leaned forward, ready to absorb every word.
She spoke in a small, quiet voice. “We met for coffee, and then I invited him up to my apartment.”
“Jesus, Mika. With all that’s been going on? Did you tell anyone you were meeting him?”
“No. The coffee shop was really busy, and I’m not even certain if my doorman got a good look at him. I know it wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I’m sure there’s more to this story.” Jackson lowered his voice and stared at her with intensity.
“He doubled his belt and strapped my bare backside,” she mumbled as her eyes filled with tears.
“Did you agree to that beforehand?”
“No. It was supposed to be a scene ending with a sexy hand spanking over his knee.”
“Did you tell him to stop? Did you have a safeword?”
“Of course I begged him to stop,” she countered with an indignant attitude.
“I’m assuming he didn’t.” He crossed his arms in disapproval of her tone.
“It scared the hell out of me, and right then I decided never to go back to that forum. I called you a couple of days later.” She reached over and gently uncrossed his arms in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I remembered vanilla being a tasty flavor, too.”
Jackson’s lips formed an angry, straight line.
“That’s not a happy face. Am I in trouble?”
“That depends. Are you done playing dangerous games on the Internet? Do you want to be my girl?”
She nodded.
