He could see their friends out of the corner of his eye, hanging out by the bar like they usually did, all of them pretending they weren’t watching him and Ellie. No doubt their respective significant others would be arriving soon, which would either distract them or double the number of people pretending they weren’t watching.

“I have the School Room reserved, unless you’d prefer to play in the Dungeon,” he said, keeping his tone casual.

Other than with Andrew, he’d never seen Ellie play in the private rooms. He wanted her all to himself, but for this first scene, he’d let her choose her comfort level.

Ellie blinked.

Opened her mouth.

Hesitated.

Hope rose in his chest.

“The School Room?” she asked, sounding wary but curious.

Michael grinned mischievously at her, reaching out with his free hand to tug a tendril of hair resting on her shoulder. “I thought it might be fun, considering how we know each other.”

So what if he hadn’t had fantasies about her in high school? Now that they were older and it wasn’t perverted for him to be attracted to her, he’d had a few classroom fantasies. And he’d hoped the school room would tempt her, considering he’d been aware she definitely had harbored a crush on him in high school.

It looked like it was working too. Ellie might not normally utilize the private rooms, but the idea of being in a classroom with him had her considering it.

She stared up at him, her eyes slightly unfocused; he could practically see her thinking. Hesitating. He waited patiently, ignoring the hum and conversations happening around them, the people walking past, the distractions, and just looked down at her. Letting her take her time.

“Okay,” she said finally, despite the apprehension clear on her face. “We can do the school room.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” he said, smiling down at her. Keeping his hold on her hand, he turned and began to lead her towards the stairs.

Victory tasted sweet.

Thank you for trusting me.

Michael’s voice echoed in her head, nearly making her stumble as she followed him blindly, hand tucked trustingly into his.

How had he struck so close to the heart of the matter so quickly?

She trusted him. Despite her actions, despite how she’d run from him, she trusted him. Hell, part of the reason he scared her so badly was because she trusted him far beyond any of the other dominants she had scened with. That and his connection to her past and all the things she didn’t want to think about and definitely didn’t want him to know.

But she went along with him anyway, hand in his, heart pounding, body thrumming with anticipation. As they passed by the bar, Angel and Lexie both gave her a thumbs up, and Ellie smiled, even though she was definitely feeling a little apprehensive.