Handcuffed in Housewares: Tulle and Tulips, Book 3 Read online

  “Yes.” She blinked. Her cheeks twitched as if she wished she’d answered differently. “Though now isn’t the time to discuss it.”

  As calm and seemingly unaffected as she’d been when he was nude, she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. “Let’s set a more convenient time.”

  He kept staring at her. She could try to keep things business. He wasn’t against business, but the woman had seen him naked. The rules were blown away before they’d gotten started.

  “This evening. Five o’clock. Strike Often.”

  “I have plans with friends.”

  “Bring them. We’ll get two lanes instead of one.” He didn’t have to ask if it was her kind of place or not. He knew it wasn’t, but he wanted to see her out of her element. “After, you and I will talk.”

  Chapter Four

  Burton got to Strike Often fifteen minutes early to get on the list for a lane. The place could get crowded even on a Monday. He walked in to find that there would be no waiting, though. Leigh and her friends were already there. The man from the hardware store had already secured a lane and was trying to convince Misty that putting on shoes hundreds of other feet had worn was half the fun.

  Leigh stood by the rack of balls with her lips pursed in a sideways crush. She’d changed from the slacks she’d worn earlier to a pair of jeans. The denim fit snugly, and like the ones she had on in the hardware store they highlighted her curves to perfection. Her long-sleeved T-shirt, with little rhinestones circling in an intricate design he couldn’t make out, hugged her torso and stretched over her jeans. A clunky belt accentuated her narrow waist. Her dark hair was in its normal bun, and, oddly, the look worked as well with jeans as it did with business attire.

  She wasn’t a petite woman. She probably watched every calorie to keep from gaining weight, but he liked that she hadn’t won the battle. He loved a woman with curves. He especially loved that Leigh didn’t try to shroud her form in baggy clothes.

  Burton rolled his bag to her. “Too many balls to choose from?”

  She turned to him, her cheeks flaring red. Either she was easily embarrassed or that had sounded as bad to her as it had him. The woman seemed to have that effect on him.

  “I’ve never done this before.”

  “First BDSM shopping trip. First bowling outing. Today is a day of firsts for you.”

  “So it seems.” She nodded toward the bowling bag at his feet. “You, however, seem to travel with your own gear.”

  He shrugged. “I grew up in an odd house. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my parents made sure we had a family night at least once a week. When we were old enough, we joined a family bowling league.”

  “I can relate to the lack of money.”

  “Your parents weren’t as involved?”

  “My parents died when I was little. I grew up in foster care.”

  “Well, tonight I’m going to give you a crash course in a great pastime you seem to have missed out on.” Choosing a ball, he handed it to her. “How’s this feel? Too heavy?”

  She took the ball and held it for a minute, lifting and lowering her hand a little. “No. It’s fine.”

  “Good. Now slip your fingers in the holes. Are they too tight?”

  “Excuse me?”

  Again her cheeks rouged. He’d done that one on purpose. He was realizing, now that he’d found his stride with her, how fun it was to say scandalous things that caught her off guard. And he liked to see her blush.

  “The holes. You don’t want them to be too loose around your fingers. You don’t want them to be too tight either.”

  Ducking her gaze, she slipped her fingers in and out of the holes. “They’re snug, but not tight.”

  “Perfect.” He placed a hand at her waist and led her to the lane where her friends waited. “Now you just need to learn to handle the ball.”

  Her back stiffened beneath his palm. The tiny hairs at the base of her neck, shown off thanks to her bun, stood on end. He enjoyed bowling, but something told him tonight’s game would be the best he’d ever experienced.

  “So you never stopped bowling.”

  “Nope. In fact, it put me through college.”

  “Bowling?”

  “It’s a sport,” he defended. “And when you have an average score like mine…”

  “So you’re good.”

  “Yes.”

  “How good?”

  “Good enough I almost joined the pro league.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Too much travel.” When his marriage fell apart and he’d decided to make a change, he’d chosen to move closer to his family. He hadn’t seen them much over the last few years.

  “Burton, hi.” Tabatha jumped up from her seat and greeted him with a hug. Leigh stepped away to put her ball on the turnstile shared by the two lanes they’d use. He’d told her to bring friends. She’d taken him more seriously than he'd have expected.

  He didn’t miss that while she tried to appear casual, Leigh’s eyes didn’t leave Tabatha’s arms wrapped around him. He also didn’t miss the pleasure her interest sparked.

  “Hi.” He patted Tabatha’s shoulder and hoped she’d step back quickly. He wouldn’t have returned her embrace even if he hadn’t been more interested in Leigh. He wasn’t typically a toucher, let alone a hugger.

  She did step back and made introductions to the rest of the group. Misty, the other woman who’d been with them in the hardware store, was engaged to Jace. She was a florist. Lori and Trevor weren’t engaged, but he asked her every day. It was a game they supposedly both enjoyed when he wasn’t running his company and she wasn’t making and fitting dresses.

  Jenny was responsible for keeping them all on time for appointments. Shayna apparently had a professed love affair with papers and fonts. Tabatha knew every venue in town and how many people could be seated in each arrangement available. It sounded a little strange until Lori shook his hand and cleared it up with one sentence. “I own Tulle and Tulips Designer Weddings. We design custom weddings.”

  And Leigh helped people shop and spend their money. She did the registries.

  “And is this all of you?” That shed a new light on the conversation he’d heard earlier. They were planning a wedding for clients who lived the BDSM lifestyle. Why else would Misty care about using rope with flowers?

  “This is only half of us.”

  Tabatha bumped a shoulder to his side. “You’d never survive all of us at once.”

  He nodded. It was the only acknowledgement he’d give her attempt at flirtation. She needed no encouragement.

  “You thought we were into some seriously kinky stuff, didn’t you?” Tabatha asked.

  “I heard you talking about BDSM and debating ropes. What else could I have thought?”

  “You could have thought about me tied to your bed.”

  “Tabatha.” Lori took Tabatha’s hand and pulled her away from Burton. “You’re embarrassing the man.”

  Embarrassing, not really. The woman was nice, but she came on a little too strong. He’d been married to Tabatha. Or a woman like her. She was confident, outspoken, flirtatious, sexual. She attracted men with a glance and didn’t think about who might get trampled.

  Once upon a time he’d have gone for her. Now, she was better suited to a man who was just as outgoing and certain enough in his ability to keep her from straying.

  Burton had grown to prefer someone a little less flirtatious. Someone more understated who didn’t attract a lot of attention. Someone who blushed when he made a joke, but who had the kindness to uncuff him without giving him too hard a time.

  He preferred someone like Leigh.

  “Okay.” Shayna clapped her hands once. “Everyone is on the board. Tabatha, Misty, Jace and I are on one team. Trevor, Lori, Leigh and Burton, you’re on the other.”

  “Ha.” Jace laughed. “You put all the virgins on one team.”

  “We’re not all virgins.” Burton smiled as he locked his gaze with Leigh.


  They all split into the sides of their lanes. Shayna went first. Burton leaned close to Leigh and gave her pointers since she would go next. Mainly he used the excuse of explaining things as a reason to get close.

  Being close, he drew her scent deep into his lungs. The aromas of the food being cooked in the place couldn’t compete with her unexpected scent of honey. Savory and smooth. Warm and welcoming.

  Shayna knocked down eight pins with her first ball. She snagged the spare with her second. Acting victorious, she did a sassy dance in time with the music as she returned to her seat.

  “You’re up, Leigh. Let’s see you beat that.”

  Outrageous was the best description for Shayna, especially when she stepped out of the office, but something about Burton’s presence had her in high gear. That same something must be getting to Leigh too, because she was feeling unusually…vocal.

  “You’re pretty cocky for someone who hasn’t had her turn.” Leigh looked sideways to Tabatha. Then she turned her gaze on him. “Burton, would you mind showing me what you were saying?”

  His eyelids flared for the briefest moment before he got up and walked toward her. It wasn’t really a walk, though. More accurately, it was a strut. A strut that said he knew who he was, what he wanted and how to get it. His confidence could be the mystery power over them. Maybe if she could draw on his power she’d find a way to be more confident outside of registry planning.

  He clearly got to her. She never flirted openly, but she was flirting. She never invited a man to touch her in public, but she was asking for help with her technique, knowing full well he’d have to get close enough to touch her. At least she hoped he would touch her. That he would stand close enough for her to feel his strength and catch his clean scent.

  She claimed the ball Burton helped her pick out and stepped up to the marks on the floor. He moved in behind her. His chest brushed her back with each breath, tempting her to forget about bowling and just lean against him.

  “First, you need a solid starting stance.” He moved his leg around the outside of hers, hooked the back of his foot around her ankle and pulled her foot back a couple of inches. “Keep your weight on the balls of your feet. It’ll keep your step lighter.”

  “Uh-huh.” Energy pulsed along the outside of her thigh. His pelvis bumped her ass. The biggest mistake of the evening—asking for his touch—could become her favorite memory.

  He put his right hand under hers, supporting almost the full weight of the ball. His left hand came to rest on her hip bone. “Hold the ball waist high with your thumb pointing to the right. When you release it, keep your wrist parallel with the floor. Don’t worry about spin or rotation.

  “You’ll take three steps, beginning with the back foot. On that step, raise the ball.” He moved her hand with his, demonstrating. “On the second, bring it back. On the third you’ll release it.”

  She released a shaky breath. She couldn’t believe how close she was to him, how intimate his touch felt. The thrill of danger she’d promised herself to never feel again whipped up, yet with Burton she felt safe. “Okay.”

  “Use the arrows on the lane to line up your shot. Focus on aiming at the right corner of that front pin. You don’t want to hit it straight on or you’ll end up with a split that’s hard to pick up.”

  Distracted by his scent and hard muscles, Leigh lost some of his words. Admitting it could mean he’d repeat himself. It could also turn him off the idea of her. “Got it.”

  Removing his hand from beneath hers, he placed his palms on her shoulders and pressed down lightly. “Relax. Breathe.”

  She turned her gaze from the lane ahead of her and looked at him. They were so close her breath brushed his neck as she tilted her head up. “Do you give all the girls lessons like this?”

  “You’re my first.” He nodded toward the lane. “Now focus.”

  “Oooh,” Tabatha crowed. “Leigh has a bossy coach. Will you help me with my technique, Burton?”

  He stepped back, giving Leigh space. His gaze never left her. She felt the certainty of it without turning to look. Felt it in the field of heat that hovered like she’d opened an oven door and been bathed in the lingering waves.

  Leigh tuned out Tabatha’s advances and moved purposefully. At the line she wasn’t supposed to cross, she released the ball with as much force as she could put behind it. It rolled quickly in a straight line toward the pins. It didn’t hit hard, but it wasn’t weak, either. It smacked into the pins with a dull thud. One fell and knocked the next down. Then the next and the next until all ten pins tumbled to the oiled wood floor.

  A grin stretched her lips and flexed her cheeks. She’d expected to watch her ball roll straight into the gutter. Instead, she’d knocked all the pins down. When she turned and met Burton’s answering smile, her sense of victory expanded.

  He’d been right earlier. The day had been one of firsts for her and she’d just added another—her first strike—to her list. Maybe it could be fun to add her first one-night stand to the list.

  Chapter Five

  Burton braced a hand at Leigh’s back as he escorted her to his truck. He’d had a great time getting to know her friends. He’d had more fun watching Leigh release some of her shyness. And she had a natural talent for bowling. Before their game was over she was rotating her wrist, putting a spin on the balls and adding more and more power. She never walked away from her turn with more than three pins standing, and she hadn’t left that many standing more than a couple of times.

  On a high from doing so well on the lanes, her smile was wider and her back straighter than what he’d come to see as normal for her. Not that she typically came across as a frowning hunchback. She was just enshrouded in a cocoon of reserve.

  Burton put his bowling bag in the bed of the truck and went to open the passenger door for Leigh. She rested her hand on his forearm and hesitated before sliding onto the seat.

  Their eyes met, searched each other. Desire pulsed in his veins. Desire to touch her, to move in close enough to catch her scent. Desire to kiss her and see if it made her blush.

  She was in a good enough mood that he could talk her into it. Except, he didn’t want to talk her into it. He wanted her to want to be kissed. Maybe she would even make the first move.

  Surprising him, she pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed his jaw. “Thank you.”

  Flashes of pleasure swarmed in that moment and were instantly followed by images of pleasure that could come. If he were into exhibitionism, or thought she would be, he’d back her into the truck and pleasure her in the parking lot. There’d been a time not so long ago when he’d have given in to the urge, but he was over that.

  He was trying to turn over a new leaf, one that became increasingly more important when Leigh Schyuler had picked the lock on his handcuffs. “Anytime.”

  She climbed in and he circled the truck. When he’d joined her in the cab she turned to face him. “I never thought striking out could be so fun. Let alone so many times.”

  “I thought we were going to have to call the EMTs for Tabatha.” She thought she’d been on the perfect team for winning. Turned out Trevor hadn’t sucked on the lanes, either. Lori had given them a nice handicap, but even she’d gotten better by the end of the second game. Leigh had waited until they were done to mention Burton had almost gone pro. That’s when Tabatha really almost choked.

  “I love her like a sister and it’s fun to watch her use her hatred for losing in negotiations for venue spaces. No one ever tells her no without thinking it was her idea.”

  “An admirable skill in business. I’ll remember not to go up against her in a negotiation.”

  Leigh laughed. It was more accurately a short puff of air that suggested she was humored. “You’re already in one with her. You just don’t realize it.”

  “How so?” he asked as he pulled onto the road and headed to the quietest place he knew of to talk… His house.

  “She wants to have sex with you.”

/>   “And?”

  “And she’s never struck out when she’s set her mind on a seduction.”

  “You’d never met a naked man cuffed to a toilet.” He shrugged. “There’s a first time for everything.”

  “Yeah.” She looked at him for long, silent seconds before nodding and turning to look out the front window.

  Smiling, he settled into the comfort of her company and drove home. When he turned into his driveway she sat a little straighter. She opened her mouth but then closed it without questioning him. He suspected her trust was tenuous and her giving it without argument was another first.

  “My office is here. I thought we could have a drink and talk about the job you might have for me.”

  She nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “You really do have a potential job for me.” He leaned across her to open her door so she didn’t have to do it herself or sit and wait for him to round the truck. With his face close to hers he smiled. “Don’t you?”

  “Of course!” She’d told him as much as she knew about Jace’s idea before they made it into his house. “It’s not as large a job as Hearth and Home, so maybe you aren’t interested, but if you are I can get it arranged.”

  “I’m interested. Very.”

  He unlocked the front door and pushed it wide for her. “I enjoy the paychecks of the larger jobs, but I enjoy the smaller jobs too. They allow me to be more creative, and they generally come with fewer headaches.”

  Leigh stepped into the large foyer and looked from the unfinished floor to the split stairwell ahead of her that was currently without banister rails. “The rest of the house is in a similar state of disrepair, but I’m working on it.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “About a month.” He closed and locked the door. “I finished the office first since it’s where I spend most of my time.”

  “Did you gut the place when you moved in or was it like this?”

  “It was in pretty sad shape. Come on, I’ll make you a drink.” He led her to the kitchen that had plywood for countertops, or at least it would until the granite he’d ordered came in. “Believe it or not this is an improvement.”