Free Perfect Alignment by KB Alan

He gestured for her to take a seat on the sofa and sat next to her, as close as he could without quite touching.
    “I hope you like strawberries and champagne.”
    “When the strawberries are dipped in chocolate, I certainly do. This is lovely.”
    She started to reach for one, then stopped and looked at him, dropped her hand. “Are we starting?”
    “Would you like to be starting?”
    “I guess since you ordered me into my own bathroom, we already have.”
    She said it wryly enough that he chuckled. “I guess we have. Would you like to have a snack here, then go out? Or stay in and start now, snack included?”
    She watched him as if he were going to give her a clue to his preference, then drew a deep breath. “I’d rather stay here.”
    “Is there anything you need to tell me? Any negotiations? Anything different for you since last time we were together?”
    Keeping her gaze steady with his, she shook her head no.
    “You’re sure? Because I won’t be relying on handcuffs to hold you down this time.” Her responding shiver kicked his pulse into a higher gear, but he forced it down. He wanted to take things slow and steady tonight.
    He reached out, caressed his fingers down her cheek. “All right then.” Picking up a strawberry, he swiped it through the whipped cream, painted her lips with it.
    “How’s that taste?” he asked.
    She ran her tongue through the cream, swallowed.
    “Very good.”
    He raised a brow.
    She blushed a little and looked down. “Very good, Sir.”
    He added more cream and nudged the strawberry between her lips.
    “Bite.”
    She did, licking her lips when she’d finished chewing to clean up the mess he’d left behind. Her eyes had closed in appreciation of the dessert and his cock jerked. He leaned forward and kissed her, tasting sugar and chocolate and Emma. His hands were threading through her hair, holding tight, before he knew it. Another reminder to himself to slow down had him pulling back.
    “You had lunch with your friend?”
    She blinked a couple of times before answering.
    “I did, yes. It was good to see her and we had a great talk.”
    “Does she know the other reason you came up here?”
    “No.” She frowned. “I thought about telling her, but it never felt right for the conversation. Do you find it annoying, having to hide things like that? Or is it stupid to even assume that you hide too?”
    “Not stupid, no. And yes, sometimes I find it annoying, but not as annoying as trying to live a totally vanilla lifestyle.”
    “Which you’ve tried.”
    “Honestly, I haven’t had much luck in long-term relationships, vanilla or not. I think—” He drank some champagne, knowing it was a stall tactic. He didn’t want to sound like a cynical bastard, but he didn’t want to lie, either. “I won’t say it’s the same for everyone in the lifestyle, but for myself, I’ve come to the conclusion that permanent, long-term relationships aren’t really possible. I don’t think it’s compatible with the life I’ve chosen to live.”
    He watched her carefully, waiting for anger or even doubt. For some reason her nod as she swallowed her food was…surprising instead of a relief.
    “That’s kind of what I’ve been thinking. When I move back to California, I’m going to have to figure out a way to balance living with my family, being the person that I want to be around them, and yet not denying this part of myself. I’m not quite sure how it’s going to work. I want to be true to myself but then again, a lot of what I do isn’t really other people’s business.”
    “That is a very true statement.” He handed her the other glass of champagne while he bit into a strawberry. “Do you think you’d try a vanilla relationship?”
    She shook her head. “No, I don’t really see how that would work. I mean, maybe if I met the right guy I could introduce him into the lifestyle, but that would be too risky. And he’d have to be pretty amazing for me to want