Amanda waited a few moments, staring at the dashboard before quietly asking, “But what if I don’t want to ask?”

Chase chuckled again. “How about just give me a hint?”

She didn’t answer him and tried unsuccessfully to hold back the sigh. Either he was being dense on purpose, to partake in one of his particular forms of enjoyment, watching her fumble while trying to talk about it, or he really didn’t understand her conundrum. There were times when she made it all about him—she wasn’t putting on nurse and school-girl uniforms for her own enjoyment, although she certainly didn’t mind. But there was an indescribable excitement that came from watching him get all worked up and react, knowing she was the only one with the ability to make him. It took the intimacy of their relationship to a whole new level, pushing him just far enough for him to go from doting to domineering, minus the voice, of course. If he was really upset with her and he used the voice, it would take all the fun out of it and she’d end up miserable. Occasionally, it was so much more rewarding to tease him into it, just short of making him mad. That certainly seemed to qualify as topping from the bottom. If she was going to embrace the lifestyle, shouldn’t she be getting it right? Would she blow her chance at happiness by being a bad fit for an alpha male? Even in the air-conditioned car, thinking about it suddenly made her backside feel warm and tingly.

“I can practically hear your brain working,” Chase mused into her ear, and the warmth increased just a bit, radiating slightly onto her thighs. “It’s my job to know what you need, and you’re a pretty easy read. It’s all about control for you. You can’t stand the thought of relinquishing it, but because you trust me, you don’t mind my stripping you of it. I fully realize the sacrifice you make by giving it up to me.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or sincere. You don’t think this has anything to do with you challenging your own control?”

“As soon as I lay my eyes on you it challenges my control. But I have to be in control at all times or I could hurt you. It’s taxing enough that you’re practically insatiable.”

If he thought he was being cute, it didn’t translate. In fact, it irked her. “You make that sound like you’re doing me a favor. I don’t appreciate it. My sex life was fine before you got involved.”

His Jag came up to a stoplight, and he nearly slammed on the brakes. His right hand white-knuckled the steering wheel and his left hand swept across his chest, his face tight with anger, all playfulness gone. He pointed a deliberate finger at her. “Hey. We had a deal. We don’t talk about the people we’ve touched in the past. I admit I’m a possessive savage. Don’t ever talk about another man touching you again. It makes me see red.”

Amanda quickly sat back up straight, startled by the distinct edge of the voice now reflected in his tone. She detested that her stomach immediately dropped in response to it. Curses, she made that deal when it was going to curtail the revolving door of women in his past, not the three buffoons from hers. Damn it, would any of these conversations ever go in the direction she wanted? Every time she tried to illustrate a valid point on this particular topic, he would turn all toppy and arrogant, never failing to reinforce their roles. There were times when she really resented the power he had over her. This was rapidly turning into one of them. She crossed her arms, sitting fully back in her own space.

“Okay. I get it. No dirty words, no ex-boyfriends,” she said, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the heat on her backside intensifying yet again. She wriggled the tiniest bit in her seat to try to relieve it.

“I’m not trying to get into an argument with you here,” he said, his ire dismissed as quickly as it appeared and replaced with congeniality, completely unaware that anything was amiss. As if he didn’t know he was mentally paddling her to tears, the bastard. “I’m just saying that I’ve been at this a lot longer than you. I’ve honed the skills. If I don’t know how to handle the likes of you, I need to hang it up.”

“The likes of me?” Amanda asked, equal parts intrigued and annoyed. She tried to make the shifting in her seat to face him look like she was becoming fully engaged, but she was really trying to alleviate the inferno raging on her behind, which was slowly driving her mad. Surely he was some evil wizard disguised in adorable man/boy packaging. “That almost sounds like a challenge,” she snapped.

“Baby, if issuing me a challenge makes you happy, I’ll do my best to rise to it. You don’t need to get so worked up. You’re getting all flushed.”

He was confident to the point of sounding condescending; self-assured to the point of being smug. She resumed the crossed-arm battle stance in her seat, fighting back tears of frustration at the whole exchange and his ability to roast her derriere without laying a hand on her. And then she caught sight of it, in the far right corner on the digital display in the center of the dashboard. A tiny icon of a car seat appearing, then disappearing, intermittently flashing, and underneath it read, 86 . . . then 87 . . . and then 88. As soon as it fully registered, Amanda dug her feet into the floor mat, heels and all, and arched her body off the seat as best she could.

“What’s the big idea!” she shrieked.

“Just a little reminder, angel.” He chuckled, depressing the button on his steering wheel with his thumb to shut off her seat warmer. Watching her subdued squirming reach its crescendo was easily the best thing he’d see all day, at least until he picked her up after his game when all her seat warming would be courtesy of his right hand. “You really hung in there. I was beginning to worry the leather would start smoking.”

“You’re not funny, Chase,” she said, unable to keep from laughing at her own stupidity for thinking he had that sort of mental hold over her. At the same time, she was also relieved.

“Sorry, baby,” he said, smiling out his window, completely unrepentant.

She gingerly settled back down, satisfied the seat had cooled. And then she thought about how he could use a little reminding of his own. They drove the rest of the way to the Cold Creek in silence. He was thinking about how endearing all her wiggling was. She was thinking about how to up the ante. When he pulled up to the curb, he grabbed her hand to pull her in for a sound kiss. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said after grudgingly unlocking their lips. “Stay off the Internet. It gives you bad ideas.”

“Have a great game,” she told him lovingly, pulling away and reaching for her door handle. Once safely outside the car but before closing the door, she leaned back in and added, “This means war, you know.”

“I would expect nothing less from you,” he replied happily. “You have my debit card if it can be of assistance. Give it your best shot.”

She closed the door and he watched her walk away, his view from the passenger-side window a perfectly framed picture of her behind provocatively swishing within the confines of a respectable Ralph Lauren dress. He smiled; the game was already afoot. He watched her until she disappeared into the restaurant, thinking she should be glad he didn’t believe in topping from the bottom since it was becoming apparent she had a real knack for it.

“Bring it on, baby,” he said out loud to himself, pulling away from the curb and back into traffic, admitting he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Amanda walked into work and found Eric on his side of the bar. Sitting across from him was a tearful Nicki. They were holding hands. It was drama of a different kind, and she approached the pair cautiously.

“You found a roommate?” Amanda asked.

They both turned to her with bittersweet smiles.

“Sort of,” Eric said, squeezing Nicki’s hand again. “I’m moving to California.”

Amanda smiled, spreading the bittersweet around. “Now I also have to find a bartender?” She thought on the matter logically. It could be Liam’s first real test. It was all so serendipitous. Liam had shown up with all his zeal at precisely the same time she began to feel left behind when Chase had to travel. Even more cosmic timing, Eric and Nicki had been with her since she opened. They had helped her with their own blood, sweat, and tears for a lot of sixty-hour weeks.

“Afraid so,” Eric said, biting his lip and looking Nicki up and down. “They have some great waves in California. And curves, lots of great curves.”

Nicki returned his look with a little lip-biting of her own, and it was easy to see that she and Eric had left the friends-with-benefits zone.

“Was I the only one who didn’t see this coming?” Amanda exclaimed.

“You’re busy being swept off your feet,” Nicki told her. “Whether you want to admit it or not, your luck’s about to change.”

It wasn’t said with malice. It was a complete revelation. One that Amanda’s friends had come to before she did.

“Yeah, don’t blow this,” Eric agreed. “You just won the love-story lottery.”

“And it’s funny,” Nicki continued. “Watching the whole thing go down is what really gave me the push to make the move. It’s like watching your dream come true made me really want to go for mine.”

Amanda nodded, saying nothing. She wasn’t sure when she gave anyone the impression that being the trophy of a well-known sports figure was her dream, but apparently she had. Or was she just having other’s dreams projected onto her? Either way, whatever it took to give someone a rush of perseverance was a good thing, and she was glad she could help.

Eric cast another affectionate look at Nicki before adding, “And watching you make excuses to try to fight off the man who adores you made me realize that the person I loved was right in front of me. I just had to get over thinking it was too much to compromise. As soon as I opened up to the possibilities, it dawned on me, I can tend bar anywhere.”