“I’m sorry for that,” I say honestly. “But I know you understand how I feel. I know, because you do the same thing.”

His brows rise. “I don’t think so.”

“Yes,” I insist. “You do. You see this city and you think only of the bad things. You run from it because it’s stained with all the memories you want to leave behind.”

His eyes widen almost imperceptibly, and I realize he gets it. And knowing that I’ve given him a new perspective makes me feel powerful. More than that, I want to show him that my perspective on him has changed, too. Not just in the club, but out here in the world. Yes, he reminds me of my father. Yes, he reminds me of that night. But that’s not all there is to Riley Blade, and I see a lot more of him now than just those memories that I’d attached to him in my mind.

With a playful little smile, I move onto the wide floorboard, then kneel in front of him.

His brows rise, but he doesn’t say anything.

I put my hands on his knees. “I like being your submissive,” I say.

His lips twitch. “Do you?”

I nod. “But now it’s my turn to take charge.”

“Is that so?”

I nod. “You need good memories of this town, Riley.” I glance pointedly at his cock. “I think it’s time I gave you some.”

Chapter Seven

Riley was pretty damn sure that he’d never seen anything more erotic than Tasha’s pink tongue licking his rock-hard cock. Good God, the woman surprised him. First in the club, when her combination of open trust and radiant curiosity had almost pushed him over the edge so many times. And now this, when she’d gathered the courage to turn the tables on him in the most delicious way possible—and still managed to be submissive even in the act of taking control.

She fascinated him. Aroused him.

Hell, she amazed him.

He’d been almost certain that she was submissive by nature. Not because she was subservient in her professional life—on the contrary, he’d seen how much control and responsibility she shouldered in her job with Lyle—but because the burden of that responsibility made him believe she’d fall willingly and gracefully into a submissive role.

She was a woman who needed to let go and give herself over to pleasure in order to learn just how much power she truly had. Because God knew, she held absolute power over Riley. For that matter, he thought, she’d wielded that power for years without ever even knowing it.

So yes, under the right circumstances he could imagine her collared and leashed in a club. He’d imagined that very thing more times than he’d liked to count.