Free The Denim Dom (Siren Publishing Sensations) by Tymber Dalton Page A

next to him.
    He raised an eyebrow at Loren, who blushed a pretty shade of pink before quickly turning away and taking her seat on the other side of Shayla, next to Ross.
     
    * * * *
     
    Shayla found it easy to like Loren. She felt as if the woman had taken her under her wing. And Loren’s friends were all nice, welcoming, and more than willing to answer her questions.
    The gathered group of people was no more remarkable than any other group in the restaurant in the way that they were dressed. Although Shayla noticed Leah wore a necklace of braided silver chain that appeared to have a small, silver heart-shaped padlock on it. Anyone else might have thought it simply a pretty locket. Clarisse wore a silver choker necklace that Shayla suspected also meant more than others might think. Cris wore a heavy silver bracelet on his right wrist, as did Mac.
    Landry and Tilly were married, and it wasn’t until Shayla was able to talk with them for a few minutes that she was able to clarify Cris’ place in their dynamic as an equal partner. Sully, who walked with a noticeable limp and used a cane, was married to Clarisse, although they were also apparently equal partners with Mac.
    She filed those factoids away for future reference. She’d need an entire article dedicated just to poly dynamics to cover it properly. Even then she wasn’t sure she could do it justice.
    Hell, it’s confusing enough trying to figure it out when the people are sitting right here talking with me.
    By the time they finished dinner over an hour later, she realized all of these people were ones she could easily be friends with. They had widely varying interests. Sully, Mac, and Clarisse, who revealed they were expecting a baby in November, owned a boat and ran dive and fishing charters. Apparently more as a hobby than anything because Sully, a retired cop, was also a published and successful author and seminar teacher. Seth and Leah managed properties, but before that, Seth had attended nursing school. Both Seth and Mac were former military, although Seth seemed more open to talking about that part of his life than Mac.
    “Would you be willing to let me interview you for my article?” Shayla asked them.
    She noticed how both Mac and Clarisse looked to Sully for their answer. When he nodded, so did they. “We probably should do it tonight,” Sully suggested. “Maybe at the club after we play. Unless you want to do it over the phone or come up to Tarpon Springs.”
    “Tonight would be great, thank you.”
    Ross owned his own business, and Loren was usually a stay-at-home wife, although she helped Ross out sometimes. Loren, Leah, and Tilly were heavily involved volunteers and event organizers for local charities. Landry and Cris ran a software firm.
    “But my main job,” Tilly, also a former nurse, said, “is keeping my two men in line.”
    For some reason, that elicited a round of hearty laughs from all at the table and prompted Loren to lean in and say, “I’ll tell you later.”
    These people weren’t sexual predators or weirdoes or people on the fringes of average society.
    They were everyday people. Hardworking people. Respectable people with responsibilities and who not only contributed to society, but to their communities as well.
    Nice people.
    What she wished she could ignore was how quickly she felt comfortable talking with Tony.
    Why would he be interested in me ?
    She discounted the thought. He was a handsome and apparently well-off man who likely had his pick of women. Why even set myself up for disappointment?
    When the checks were settled, Tony turned to Shayla with a smile that nearly dampened her panties. “Ready to dive headfirst through the rabbit hole, Alice?”
    She swallowed hard and nodded.

Chapter Six
     
    During dinner, the sun had dropped into the Gulf. The last vestiges of purple light struggled to maintain a tenuous grasp on the landscape despite the holes being punched into the deep shadows here and there by