Danielle’s jaw dropped. “You lost your virginity while your parents were at the house? Are they ultraliberal or something?”

She laughed. “No. Just oblivious.”

Without looking, she felt a presence standing directly behind her, her body humming as it always did whenever he was in the same vicinity.

Danielle looked over Rachel’s shoulder with a wicked twinkle in her eye. “Logan, you remember Rachel.”

Rachel had met Logan a year and a half ago through their mutual friend Kate. Having just finished her report about a mother who killed her two kids and then stored their bodies in a freezer, Rachel hadn’t been in the mood to socialize. But she hadn’t wanted to disappoint Kate, so she’d gone out anyway.

Rachel had heard only good things about Logan and was eager to meet him. But after Kate had introduced them, he ignored her most of the evening, acknowledging her only to argue with her on every little comment she made. After an hour of it, she’d decided to keep her mouth shut, not wanting to ruin her friend’s night. She’d spent the rest of the evening observing the way Logan smiled at Kate . . . spoke to Kate . . . lit up for Kate.

That night, she’d realized Logan was in love with Kate.

And that he didn’t like her.

She stood and faced him, ready to try to play nice. She gestured to his hands. “Still playing with ropes I see.”

“Still pretending you’re not curious about them.” His expression didn’t change, but she heard the smirk in his voice.

“I’m not curious. I got over playing cops and robbers when I turned seven.” She tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “And by the way, I always did the tying up.”

He chuckled. “Of course you did.”

“Why would you say ‘of course’?”

He inched closer, the spicy musk of him reaching her nose. “Because you’re a control freak.”

She crossed her arms and took a step toward him, so close she had to tilt her chin up to look into his copper-colored eyes. “If the shoe fits . . . ”

He tossed the rope onto the small end table beside Danielle’s chair and wrapped his hand around the top of Rachel’s arm, the heat of his fingers searing her skin. “No, there’s a difference between me and you.” He lowered his voice. “I find serenity in control while you wouldn’t know serenity if it bit you on that finely shaped ass of yours.”

He let go of her and she stumbled back into the chair. If she wasn’t mistaken, there was a compliment blended in with that insult. Reminded by his comment of how she kept her ass finely shaped, she turned from Logan and nudged Danielle on the shoulder. “I do too have a hobby. I do Pilates five days a week. So there, I do something other than work.”

Danielle rose from the chair. “It doesn’t count if you’re on your cell phone the whole time.”

“I bet I could teach you how to relax,” Logan said from behind her.

She twirled around, raising her eyebrow. “You gonna let me tie you up and gag you? Because that would definitely put a smile on my face.”

Laughing, Danielle walked away, giving her a little wave. Traitor.

He chuckled, the sound of it low and deep, which for some reason created a warm, syrupy sensation throughout her body. “Not a chance. But an hour with me, your bones would turn to liquid and you’d have the best night’s sleep of your life.”

“All from a little rope?”

“No,” he said, backing her up against the wall. He caged her in, his right hand resting above her head and the other stroking her hip. “From the heart-pumping, thigh-clenching, eye-rolling orgasms I’d give you while you were bound and gagged.”

Her breath stalled in her chest as the image he suggested flashed before her eyes, threatening to steal the tightly reined control she kept on herself. Then she remembered most men were full of shit. Plenty of others had promised to rock her world in the bedroom and not one had ever succeeded. “Pretty cocky, Soldier Boy. Too bad there’s no way you’ll ever get to deliver.”

He lowered his head, his lips hovering dangerously close to hers. “Afraid to try, Tiger?”

Afraid? She’d gone skydiving. Swum with sharks. Interviewed serial killers. “What are you, twelve? If I decide to try something, it’s because it will help with the story I’m working on and not because of your not-so-subtle manipulation.”

He frowned. “I take it you’re still planning on doing the exposé, huh? I know Cole agreed to an interview, but he’s never going to allow a news crew inside Benediction or speak on camera for you.”

She didn’t believe in the word never.

She pushed him back with her hands on his chest, allowing them to linger long enough to feel his muscles ripple under her palms. “That’s because he doesn’t understand how this will benefit those who engage in the BDSM lifestyle. The majority of Americans view it as a dangerous perversity, and that’s because it’s kept secret. Knowledge is power. If it were brought out into the open, people would see some of it already finds its way into their own bedrooms.”

His jaw tensed, his lips tightening. “You may have fooled your boss into believing that angle of yours, but you’re not going to fool Cole and you certainly haven’t fooled me. Sex sells. You want to do this story to boost your own career, not to help the BDSM community.”

What was wrong with a woman fighting to become the best in her field? She was so sick of men telling her there was something wrong with her because she didn’t do relationships or seek a husband. As if the fact she was closing in on thirty years old should scare her into wanting more with a man than just a one-night stand. The men she fucked got an orgasm, and she got information. In the ten years since she’d left her parents’ home, a few men had tried to tame her, but she was out the door before they could get their pants zipped. No one would ever turn her into a spineless woman like her mother.

Realizing her hands were still on his chest, she let them drop to her side. “Can’t a girl do both? After all, true altruism doesn’t exist. I could be like all the other reporters and uncover the true danger of the underground debauchery, but instead I’m planning on showing a positive view of it.”

He grabbed her wrists and brought them over her head. “How can you do that without experiencing it firsthand?”

Chapter Three

RACHEL’S HEART BEGAN to race, excitement thrumming through her veins. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Just walking the floors of Benediction doesn’t make you a part of it. Until you surrender, you’ll never understand the truth of the lifestyle.”

“You’re making quite the assumption, Soldier Boy.” She brought her knee up to the level of his crotch and pressed it against him as a threat. “Maybe I’m the one who likes to be in control.”

He glanced down at her knee before smiling and shaking his head disbelievingly. “I’m sure you tell yourself that, Tiger, but that’s only because you’re not strong enough to surrender.”

“What’s wrong with being the Dominant?”

His smile disappeared, his expression growing serious. “Nothing if that’s what fulfills you.” He released his grip on her wrists, and in an odd display of what she would believe was tenderness coming from a different man, tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “But don’t you want to know what it’s like on the other side? I promise, I’ll keep you safe. You can even keep your clothes on.”

She could count on one hand the people she trusted completely, but since Logan would never jeopardize his friendship with Kate, she at least trusted him not to harm her.

Besides, wasn’t that why she was here? She wanted to know what it was like to be a part of this world, what drew her friends to this lifestyle. She didn’t get off on pain, and she couldn’t imagine enjoying submission, but bondage fascinated her. Some of the photos she’d seen of Japanese rope bondage were absolutely beautiful, more artistic than sexual.