Another check. “Family background also seems important to you. Let’s discuss a bit more. Are you looking for a woman whose parents are still together? Or are you looking to avoid alcoholism, drug abuse, or disease within the family genes?”
He shifted his weight. The arrogant cloud misted away, and she caught the first signs of discomfort. “I’m up for partner at my law firm. I’d like a woman who has no skeletons in her closet or family members who could pose a problem. We’ll be attending formal business dinners, functions, and most of the partners are conservative.”
“Understood.” She scrawled her pen over the page. “Personality is the other aspect that’s quite important. Do you enjoy a woman who’s funny? Shy? Assertive? Colorful? Tell me a bit about your past affairs or relationships.”
“I prefer a woman who is conservative in public. Loyalty is key. I dislike flirty women who crave attention. I want her to be strong within herself, but follow my lead when I need it.”
“When do you need it?”
“Excuse me?”
Kate looked up from her papers. “When do you need her to follow? Around your business partners? Your family? In public? Or in the bedroom?”
The air charged around her, but she ignored it. Talking about personal preferences in sex was a ticking bomb, but experience had taught her a few lessons. The more businesslike and unshocked she was, her clients ended up relaxing into the topic and usually confessed their innermost wants. “You want to know how I like my sex?”
“Yes, I do. Sex is one of the most important aspects in a relationship. If you want shy and virginal, tell me. If you like BDSM and enjoy tying your partners up, it’s a good item for me to note, because I won’t set you up with a woman who may go screaming for the door. I make no judgments or opinions. Just tell me what you want.”
Why was her heart pounding so loudly? Her throat constricted, and her muscles tightened anticipating his response. Wow, she’d been physically attracted to some of her clients but had never experienced such a primitive pull straight from her gut. She kept her gaze averted so he wouldn’t catch her female weakness and exploit it.
His laugh exploded through the room. The dark, husky tones stroked her like fingers plunging between her thighs and urging her to explode. Kate concentrated on breathing slowly and went back to the puppies in the shelter. “You want to talk about sex, huh? Okay. Let’s talk about sex.” She pretended to be busy scribbling so she wouldn’t have to look up. “I enjoy pleasure. I enjoy sex. I prefer a woman who asks me for what she wants so I can give it to her exactly the way she likes it, because one of the sweetest sounds in life is a woman screaming my name.” His voice lowered, whisper soft and wicked hot. “I’m not into BDSM, but I’ve used blindfolds, scarves, and toys in pursuit of the ultimate experience. I don’t like to be tied up but prefer to do the tying. And I don’t need a woman on her knees unless she wants to be there. Does that help answer your question?”
Kate bobbed her head up and down in a frantic nod. Her power of speech disappeared, and fire licked her veins. She reached for her water, took a large swallow, and managed to gather her composure. “Yes, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She pretended to look for something in her file, since her voice threatened to be wobbly. After a few moments, Kate dove back in. “Let’s talk past relationships. Have you ever been married?”
“Yes.”
She paused and ventured a glance under her lashes. His previous amusement vanished, and a wall slammed down between them. Ah, she’d hit pay dirt. “Divorced?”
“Yep.”
“What happened?”
“We broke up.”
“Care to tell me why?”
She waited him out. This was a turning point, because information on his past helped her plan his future. “I plead the Fifth.”
His wife had hurt him. Ex-wife. The knowledge softened her heart and beckoned for her to reach out and touch him. She’d avoided any skin-on-skin contact, afraid the attraction would be more difficult to fight, but his comment made her curl her fingers into tight fists to keep from closing the distance. Kate gentled her voice. “Slade, I don’t mean to pry and upset you. Our past makes up who we are and what we want. It would help if I knew what happened so that I can avoid setting you up with someone who can hurt you again. Not that there are guarantees, of course.”
He tapped his finger against his chin and studied her with brooding eyes. “How about we play truth for truth? Why aren’t you happily married? Unless you are and you like hearing other people’s horror stories to get your kicks and excitement?”
The familiar pain sprang up, but she pushed it back down with an expert ease that should have scared her. “No, I’m not married.”
“Kinnections not working for you?”
She lifted her chin. “The truth is, no man has ever wanted me enough to propose.”
The silence pulsed and hummed. She’d learned early that fair was fair. If she asked her clients to trust her with their backgrounds, she owed it to them to do the same. He cleared his throat and spoke with no emotion. “She cheated on me. But it was my fault. I was too involved in law school and ignored her for too long. Classic formula for the classic divorcee.”
Kate wanted more but knew how much the words cost him. God, how that must have affected him. He was obviously a strong man, and once trust was shattered, it took years to rebuild confidence in love. His profession was pretty deadly to any optimism regarding relationships. “Thank you. Makes sense loyalty and trust would be among your number one requirements. That will help me.” She lightened the topic, switching back to easy territory. “Give me your celebrity crush.”
“Huh?”
She smiled. “If you got to pick the celebrity female you want to sleep with, who would it be?”
“Angelina Jolie.”
The name slipped out so fast from his lips he looked surprised. Kate laughed and made the note. “Nice choice. But I must say a bit cliché. Do you know how many times men and women rattled off her name?”
“Now I’m embarrassed. Change it to Zooey Deschanel.”
“Ah, better. So definitely brunettes with curves. Too bad my friend’s sister is happily married. She always reminded me of Zooey.”