Out of Control by Teresa Noelle Roberts

either. If he was going to do it, he wanted to give it a real shot, which meant not playing with his various friends in New York and Boston—and Jen not fooling around with anyone she might have been seeing casually.
    He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until Jen said, “Makes sense. I’m cool with whatever people do as long as they all agree on it, but I tend to be a one-guy-at-a-time type of woman.” She grinned. “Doing poly right sounds like a full-time job, and I have enough jobs. Relationships should be fun.”
    Relationships should be fun. What a concept. He had a lot more he felt like he should ask her, a lot more that they should cover. But they’d have time. Start slowly, with things that she’d already said she’d be into trying, build from there, keep talking.
    “One last question…”
    “I’m on the pill and I got tested for everything and then some a few months ago—and haven’t done anything that might change my clean bill of health since then. But I’m all for condoms as a precaution.”
    “Same with me.” He paused. They’d reached the exciting but awkward point of moving from discussion to action. It was easier when you just forged ahead and damn the consequences! Not a smart idea, but definitely easier.
    Jen had been looking intently into his eyes, but now she glanced at the clock on the microwave to his left. “Now that we’ve talked, I’d love to get naked and see what comes up, but I need to allow time to get cleaned up again and head to work. It’s a twenty-minute bike ride.” One hand fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she said it, as if she wanted to peel the shirt off, strip naked and be taken on the kitchen table.
    Which would be a great idea if Drake knew the rickety table, a leftover from his great-aunt’s day, could handle it. The counter definitely could. But the toys and rope were in the bedroom, and he had ideas. More ideas than he had time to pursue now. Possibly more than he had time to pursue in a lifetime. But he should be able to follow through on one or two of them. “I’ll give you a ride,” he said. “The bike can go on the roof rack.” He didn’t like the idea of her riding in the dark, especially on a weekend when tipsy students might be behind the wheel, but he wasn’t in a position to make rules about that yet. Especially since she didn’t have a car and he couldn’t promise he’d always be available to drive her or pick her up in the morning.
    He stood. “So what are you waiting for? Upstairs, now.” He meant to sound stern and commanding, and there was a bit of that edge to his voice—but he knew he was undercutting it by grinning like a blessed fool.
    To make up for the grin—and because he couldn’t imagine circumstances under which he wouldn’t want to—he smacked Jen’s butt as she passed by. She yelped, “Hey!” and turned to glare at him.
    Or at least she tried to glare. He could see the struggle on her face as she tried to look miffed. But the glare didn’t last for more than half a second. Her eyes were too soft, her body language too eager, to pull off indignation convincingly.
    Instead, her attempt at a glare turned into a dreamy smile. She pivoted in place, leaned over, bracing herself on the counter, and looked back over her shoulder at him as if to say, Well, what are you waiting for?
    “Tempting. Very tempting. But the toys are upstairs. Not to mention the condoms.” Which he’d recently restocked, knowing Jen was moving in. He hadn’t planned on needing them so soon, but plans and Jen didn’t fit in the same sentence.
    Unable to resist the temptation, though, he spanked her once more, enjoying how her ass felt under his hand—firm and soft at the same time. The cotton painter pants were loose but worn enough that they were soft and drapey and transmitted the heat of her skin. Then he made a shooing motion with his hand. She sighed and rolled her hips, and he almost lost his resolve on the spot. It