“One more and I promise I’ll move.”

This kiss was tinged with sweetness and a heady tenderness she hadn’t realized he was capable of, but he’d somehow known she’d needed.

He lowered himself onto the floor next to her.

How awkward would this be when they looked at each other again instead of staring at the ceiling tiles?

Then Knox reached for her hand. Just that one simple point of contact relaxed her.

After a bit she said, “What happens now?”

Knox didn’t answer right away. “No idea. All of these thoughts keep spinning in my head, reasons why we should just chalk this up to one of those ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ things.” After a moment he sighed. “Why don’t you tell me how you see this playing out?”

“I don’t know.” She rolled onto her side and faced him. “This isn’t a situation where we can just be fuck buddies, because we have to work together.”

“And you being what you are, a fuck-buddy arrangement wouldn’t work for you anyway.”

She’d wondered if he’d bring up Mistress B. “No, it wouldn’t. What usually works for you?”

“I’m good with one-offs, one-night stands, whatever they’re called. But when sleepovers start to become regular and exclusive, it veers into relationship territory.”

“Is that what you’re looking for at Twisted?”

“I don’t analyze the time I spend there.”

“You should.”

“Why?”

She took a chance and said, “Because it’s not giving you what you need.”

Knox propped himself up on an elbow, facing her.

Shiori locked her gaze to his.

“Don’t do that, She-Cat.”

He’d already put a wall back up between them. “Don’t do what?”

“Play the Mistress card. One night at the club and one kiss doesn’t make you an expert on me and what you think I need.”

“You’d be surprised by what one can learn in a single night. Or with a single kiss.” She traced the wide angle of that stubborn jaw. “I dreamed about you last night. It was disturbing in that . . . the scenario was far out of the realm of possibilities for us. Or so I thought. But everything changed with one kiss.”

“You talking in riddles again?”

“Perhaps. But only because you are intent on skirting the topic at hand.”

His eyebrows squished together. “The question of whether we’ll be lovers?”

“No.” She didn’t know if she could do this, because he wouldn’t believe her. She sat up and then stood to gather her things.

“Come on, She-Cat. You’ve got me all kinds of wound up. Are you sorry I kissed you?”

She zipped her gym bag and turned around. “I’m not sorry you kissed me, because it was as mind-boggling as I’d imagined. But the best thing to do now is to chalk it up to the ‘heat of the moment’ thing you mentioned earlier and go back to the way things were.”

“So you alone get to decide that?”

Shiori stared at him. Posture intimidating, eyes angry, teeth gritted. She wanted to tell him to kneel and she could soothe him, because she knew her touch could do that for him. But he wouldn’t see the truth of what he was. He’d argue and bluster. She hitched her strap over her shoulder. “This conversation has deteriorated, as it tends to between us. So it’s best if I go. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

Knox stormed toward her, trapped her head in his hands, and kissed the breath right out of her. She didn’t manage to gather her wits until he ripped his mouth free from hers. He panted against her ear, “Don’t tell me you don’t want more of that.”

“I do. But you can’t give it to me on my terms, Knox.” She took a breath and a really big chance. “I’m very good at that one-off, one-night stand thing too. I let men think they’ve taken the lead when in truth I’ve directed everything to my liking. I leave them with a smile on their faces, and that’s all they remember. But I know differently—I know what I need.”

“A lapdog. A man you can crush under your heel,” he practically sneered.

Oh, he had it so wrong, and that sliced through her. Even being around the lifestyle, he didn’t get it. “I’ll ignore that remark because you’re lashing out without thought.” Shiori got right in his face. “But be assured if you were my submissive talking to me that way? I’d lash out too. With my flogger on your ass.” She held her hand up when he opened his mouth. “Before you piss me off further . . . the mask I wear as part of my public persona as Mistress B isn’t just a prop; I am that Mistress inside, every day. I can’t ignore that part of me. It took me a long time to come to terms with who—and what—I am.”