Chapter 6

• “Oliver.” She blinked. “Hello.”
• Oliver’s lips curled at the edges. He leaned halfway across the table and brushed a kiss against Megan’s cheek.
• “Hey gorgeous.”
• Megan started to adjust the lapel of her jacket but forced her hands back down to her lap. “What are you doing here?”
• “Same as you. Checking out the selection.” Oliver sat back in his chair and crossed his legs at the knee. He looked good. Better than good.
• He looked downright edible. His black hair was carelessly combed back, and he was poured into a combination of tight jeans and a V-neck shirt that was extremely casual but still really sexy. “Also, Emily sent me an invite.”
• Megan looked across the room to where Emily had scooted her chair around the table so she could lounge all over her partner. She pursed her lips and tried not to send her a chilly glare. Just what did she think she was doing by inviting Oliver? Trying to humiliate her with witnesses? Or was she matchmaking?
• “Why?”
• “Fuck if I know. She said I’m one of the few single she knows, so why the hell not? I’m surprised she’s here. Isn’t she dating that Landon guy?”
• “Yes, but Emily is just here for fun.”
• “Ah. I thought maybe they were open.”
• Megan waved the suggestion off. “Open relationships don’t work.”
• “I think they’re difficult to maintain.”
• “Difficult or impossible?”
• Oliver grinned.
• “Something funny?” Megan asked.
• “A little.” Oliver nodded discreetly across the restaurant. “Our people run in an insular little circle.”
• Megan followed his gaze. Around her, the conversations screeched to a halt. Her humiliation, awkwardness, and jumbled reactions to seeing Oliver all faded away at the sight of her half brother’s tall, muscular form and shock of strawberry blond hair. Aiden.
• He had not stumbled Into this particular establishment at this particular moment by chance. No, not at all. He was seated at one of the mahogany tables with his arm around a woman who was a full head shorter, slighter, and had the kind of long, shining hair that belonged in a shampoo commercial. The pair of them sat facing a third man.
• “Did you know they swing?”
• Her eyes flew back to Oliver. “I didn’t even know he was dating.”
• “Oh.” Oliver went on as though the revelation was no big deal.
• Yes, she should have been very happy. Especially when Oliver reached out to squeeze her shoulder as if thanking her for telling such a random joke. She should have leaned into that touch, relished his tactile nature, and moved on. But she couldn’t.
• “How do you know him?” Megan asked.
• Oliver wiped his eyes and sagged against his chair with a sigh. “I met him and Joyce at a party a couple of years ago. They’re pretty static in the scene.”
• “What scene?” Megan leaned forward. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Oliver, and we’re about to run out of time.”
• “We can always talk later, you know.” He looked amused again.
• “They’re in the kink scene.”
• “Wha—” The end of the sentence didn’t come out. Megan sat there, gobsmacked. “How—”
• “It’s a very selective group of wealthy and individuals with different kinky sex. It’s hard to get an invite to the parties if you’re new, but I manage if I bring a friend.” When Megan continued to stare, Oliver looked on the verge of laughing again. He restrained himself. “It’s not a big deal, darling. We’re all in the same semi or totally closeted boat when it comes to our jobs or families. It’s actually a really healthy group. Figuratively and literally. You’ll be happy to know that you have to show the hosts a clean bill of health to get in.”
• “Oh shut up.”
• “I like it when you’re feisty.”
• Megan looked at Aiden and Joyce again. Kink.
• Oliver’s expression softened. He nudged his foot against hers and then dragged it up, caressing her ankle.
• “It’s not too late to talk to him about it. We can all do dinner after this.”
• “No, Oliver. It’s fine.”
• “I’ll handle it,” he reassured. “It will be great. But in the meantime, try to have more fun while you’re here. It’s kind of depressing when one of the most attractive women in the room looks like she’d rather punch you than talk to you.”
• “That is most certainly not how I look,” Megan said, losing some of her conviction at Oliver’s sideways stare. “Oh no. Is that how I look?”
• “Yes. You’re intimidating. Beautiful and sharp and really serious. You can’t help your demeanor at this point, but try to keep it light so people aren’t terrified of approaching you. You of all people should know that these guys hate being rejected. They think they’ve already found their place on Mt. Olympus. Your resting face is reminding them that they’re mortals.”
• Never in her life had Megan ever perceived the lack of interest in this manner. Was there something to it, or was Oliver shellacking a glossy coat over the shitty reality of her situation? Somehow he didn’t strike her as the type who would lie for the sole purpose of pumping up her ego.
• “I hate to break it to you,” Megan said, dragging her attention away from Aiden again, “but I have nothing remotely interesting to say to these people. I’m shit at flirting.”
• “Just be yourself,” Oliver said easily. “Even if it’s the you that you’re normally too afraid to be.”
• And with those words, the bell rang and it was time to switch.
• Oliver’s advice echoed in Megan’s ears. She wanted to follow it, to portray herself as someone mysterious and clever – the person that Oliver saw when he looked at her across a crowded room and labeled her neutral expression as serious and intriguing – but she couldn’t. She was too distracted by the languorous way Aiden moved about the room with his glossy-haired lover, and by the conflicting emotions that crowded in her chest and demanded dominance over the others.
• It was difficult for Megan to stop watching them, and several of the men who landed at her table noticed. Some were annoyed while others commented on Aiden and Joyce's relationship. These guys had only visited the pair for mere moments but already had crushes.
• Maybe not on Aiden or Joyce themselves, but definitely on the easy freedom of their lifestyle. And Megan would be lying if she said she didn’t envy them. She wished she’d had the courage to find what she wanted in the past decade instead of outing herself and continuing to live like a member of the clergy. Her life had been built on lies and strictness.
• Time went by faster now that her thoughts were fixed elsewhere. All she could do was watch Aiden and his gorgeous lover from the corner of her eye, and wonder how he’d gotten away with this for years. Her father had forbidden her to date because she was the eldest from her mum and she must remove herself from distraction that could come her was as he trained her to take his place in his company.
• Not only had her step brother embraced dating while keeping it away from their father, but he’d slipped into a crowd that was associated with their father’s people. A kink group at that? The type of things their father hated the most? How had he done it?
• How had she not done it? Why was she the only one who’d followed the principles that had been laid out before her, and yet she was still the one who’d been castigated?