Bottoms Up by Miranda Baker Page B

when we were teenagers we used to sneak into the park after dark. Someone dared Lisa to climb to the top of the falls. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen to anything I said. She never refused a dare. The shale gave out beneath her and she fell, hitting every rock and ledge on her way to the bottom. I pulled her out of the water, but it was too late. She died on the way to the hospital. Broken neck.” He forced himself to meet her eyes before he continued. “An accident. A stupid, reckless mistake that fucked us for good. I’m sure Matt told you I never got over her, that I turned to the BDSM lifestyle to make sure none of my girls ever tried anything like that again.”
    Destiny shook her head and tilted it to one side, eyebrows drawn together. “He didn’t tell me anything. You liked this girl, right?”
    “I loved her.”
    “Then, if I remind you of her, that’s a good thing, right?”
    God, it would be so much easier to walk out the door right now, to just ditch the whole subject, but that hadn’t worked last night, and he found that he wanted Destiny to know why he was angry. “You were fucking Matt. I didn’t like it.”
    “It was your idea!”
    “I guess I was hoping that there might be a dare you wouldn’t take. I can’t be with a girl who won’t say no. I won’t put myself through that hell again.”
    Destiny dropped her chin and gave him a level look from under the slim arch of her brows. “I’m going to assume you know how utterly unfair that is. I wanted to please you last night, Johnny, and no matter what bullshit line you’re trying to sell me now, you were into it. You might think you don’t want a woman who is up for a dare, but you do. You totally do.” She arched an eyebrow and slowly shook her head back and forth. “Have you looked at the art on your walls lately? That Black Cat doesn’t look tame to me.”
    She stood up. “I apologize for trash-talking your friend Lisa, but I’m not thrilled with the fact that I remind you of a drunk, selfish teenager. There’s a huge difference between a girl who can’t say no and a woman who isn’t afraid to say yes. I know I’m reckless and impulsive. I have a wicked temper, and I don’t like to be told what to do. Submitting to you was a big deal for me. I feel different now. Everything that happened last night happened because I trusted you, and you broke my trust.”
    He took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm. “I’m sorry, Destiny.”
    “Thanks. I appreciate that.” Her sad smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Doesn’t really help as much as I thought it would, though.” She pulled her hand from his grasp.
    He followed her to the door. “Where are you going?”
    “Why? Worried you’ll find me hanging in the corners of your club looking for another Dom?”
    Shit, now he was.
    She snorted. “Don’t worry. I enjoyed submitting to you, but I don’t think it applies to other Doms.”
    Satisfaction twisted in his chest.
    She looked at his hand on her arm. He hadn’t realized he was touching her. Reluctantly, he let her go.
    She left his office without looking back.
    He eased out of the doorway and dropped into a chair. Destiny was right about the Black Cat—her daredevil persona enthralled him. He had put her on his wall, a safe way to capture a dangerous woman, but he had never made the connection to his life.
    It was possible, fast approaching probable, that he was an idiot. A bona fide , hardheaded tool. He had painted every woman willing to stand up to him with the same brush, assuming they were all like Lisa and would self-destruct eventually. He had wanted to curb Destiny’s defiant streak and make her his submissive, but, in fact, the opposite had occurred. She had broken him, instead.
    Destiny had turned his world upside down, first by reminding him that he liked spirited women and then by aptly pointing out that obedience was not a substitute for good judgment. She had neatly put the