She didn’t answer right away, but pulled out her phone. He assumed she was checking her calendar. Since her attention was elsewhere, he could study her without her feeling uncomfortable.

   She was a stunning woman, and the way she sat with her head bent down made her hair swing forward. The late-afternoon sun rays touched the blond strands, bringing out such beautiful hues, he doubted there were names for all of them. His fingers itched to pick up his camera and capture everything.

   Their time together had been short-lived, but left a permanent impression on him. She’d been relatively inexperienced sexually when they were together, and he’d already been heavily involved in the BDSM scene. He’d thought he’d surprise her that weekend when he brought the rope out. But the real surprise turned out to be her and how much she enjoyed everything they did together. The sight of her discovering her submissive nature had been one of the most beautiful and erotic things he’d ever witnessed.

   Damn, he’d been an idiot to leave her.

   He’d been wrong to walk away from her the way he had. It had been for the best they broke up, but he’d gone about it the wrong way. She’d been vulnerable, trying to come to terms with her newly discovered sexuality. He knew that now. He might have called himself a Dom, but he’d still had a lot to learn.

   “Okay,” she said, looking up. “I’m not saying I’m definitely going to do it, but I’ll agree to one session to see if I want to continue.”

   He nodded and tried to cover up his excitement. He’d get her in his studio and do everything within his power to make sure she’d come back. “I can work with that.”

   “Can you start this weekend or will you be busy with your club?”

   “I can start this weekend. The New Jersey club is doing well and the staff can handle a day without me.”

   Her head tilted. “I was sort of surprised you ended up building clubs, what with you being artsy and all.”

   “Photography became a side venture for me. I like managing the clubs, providing space for people to play safely.”

   “How many do you have now?”

   “Two as of today. Nathaniel and I are planning to build one in Wilmington, Delaware, but the contractor isn’t available at the moment, so the timelines for that one have been moved back.”

   “That’ll be good for the Partner’s Group. I’m assuming that’s who it’s for?”

   “Yes, Nathaniel said they needed a place to get together. Apparently, at the moment, they normally get together at another member’s house.” Luke recalled she worked with Abby; he needed to remember that. Something had happened between the two women early in Abby’s employment. From the pieces he’d been able to put together, whatever it was hadn’t been completely Meagan’s fault, though she had been negligent. To this day, Luke could tell Nathaniel didn’t care too much for her.

   “I can see how they’d want to get the new place built quickly,” she said.

   “Yes, well, some things can’t be helped.” And he’d put off working on the club for years if it meant he would be able to have Meagan in front of his camera again.

   “Anything in particular I need to do or bring this weekend? And where are we going to shoot?”

   “I’ll have everything we need. And”—he watched her carefully for the next part—“I have a studio at my house. If you’re comfortable with that, we could do everything there.”

   She sucked in the corner of her lip and bit it. “That should be fine.”

   “If meeting at my house makes you uncomfortable, I can book a studio.” It wouldn’t be optimal, but he’d do it in order to have her.

   “No, it’s okay. That’ll be fine.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I trust you.”

   Her words hit him squarely in the chest. That she could trust him, even after the botched-up way he’d left things years ago, touched him deeply. “Thank you, Meagan.”

   * * *

   Damn. Damn. And triple damn. Meagan glanced at the time on her laptop. It was almost midnight and she had to get the e-mail to The Taskmaster. She wasn’t about to have a naked picture of herself sent out to every person who worked at NNN.

   Truthfully, she hadn’t anticipated being out so late. Dinner with Luke had run a bit longer than she planned. After agreeing to do the one session and getting the information about the club he was building with Nathaniel, she couldn’t just up and leave the table. She hated to admit it, but Luke had been right when he came by her office that day. There was unfinished business between them and she really wanted to do at least one photo shoot with him.

   It would be useless to deny how thoughts of their last one affected her still. The way he’d looked at her with an intensity so strong he may as well have been touching her. Then, when he did touch her, even if he was only positioning her . . . God, she was an idiot, but she wanted to feel his hands on her again.

   After dinner, she made a spur-of-the-moment decision to work out of the office the next day and to check in at the bed-and-breakfast near the Hamptons she often visited when she wanted to get out of New York City. Traffic had been horrible, though, and it took her almost double the amount of time it normally did to arrive.

   She typed out a response to The Taskmaster’s last e-mail as quickly as she could.

The next club is in Wilmington, Delaware. Timelines have been pushed back. No opening date at the moment.

   She didn’t acknowledge his Taskmaster nickname or include her own. She looked back up at the time: eleven thirty-six. Close, but she’d made it.

   The reply came back almost instantly.

Cutting it awfully close, aren’t you?

   Anger pounded in her veins.

You said by midnight. I obeyed.

   He didn’t reply and that made her restless. There was only one person who could keep her mind off The Taskmaster and that was Luke. She sat back in the chair and closed her eyes. Remembering.