Hearts Aflame Collection: 4-Book Bundle (8 page)

Andrea Nichols looked in the mirror again for
what must have been the hundredth time. Her stomach roiled
uneasily, and she swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.
She knew she shouldn’t be so nervous; after all she looked great.
Her blond hair was piled high on her head in an elegant bun, with a
few tendrils curling around the sides. Her make-up was perfect, and
the dress she wore hugged every curve of her body just right. The
high hemline showed off her lean and muscular legs, and the low cut
bodice showed just the right amount of cleavage to be alluring, but
not too slutty. Best of all, it was the same shade of blue as her
eyes. She knew that most guests at the Christmas party would be
wearing red or green and she’d be sure to stand out, only now did
she suddenly regret that decision and wish she’d chosen a dress
that would allow her to blend in. No matter how hard she tried, she
just couldn’t shake off that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of
her stomach when she thought of having to see Evan again
tonight.

“Get a hold of yourself Andie!” she
admonished herself. At twenty-six years of age, she had a lot going
for her. She was smart, beautiful, and had a great career. She
shouldn’t let her ex-boyfriend get to her so badly and yet she
couldn’t stop herself. After all, she had been with Evan Harrington
for two years and three months. That’s a total of twenty-seven
months of her life that she’d wasted, waiting desperately for him
to ask her to marry him. Because she thought she loved him, she’d
put up with his controlling nature, even though she hated the way
it made her feel inside. He told her what to clothes to wear, what
food to eat, what places she could go, and even who she could be
friends with. Finally, it got to be too much for her, and they’d
had a huge fight. He’d stormed out of her apartment, and she hadn’t
seen or talked to him since. That was just three days ago. Now, she
knew she’d have to see him again for the first time tonight, and
she wished more than anything that she could just stay home, but
that would be like letting him win.

“If you don’t want to go; don’t go” her best
friend Melissa had said simply, over lunch that afternoon.

“Evan knows that I’ve been looking forward to
this Christmas party for weeks. If I’m not there, he’ll know it’s
because I’m avoiding him. I can’t give him that satisfaction.”

“Then go, and be the hottest girl there!”
Melissa said, slapping her palm on the table. “Show him that you
don’t need him telling you what to do anymore. Let him see that
you’ve gotten over him and are doing fine on your own!”

“I will!” Andie had said with a confidence
she didn’t quite feel, especially now that the time had come to
actually face him. She still remembered all the awful things he had
said to her the night he left. She’d been expecting him to propose
when she saw a ring in his dresser months ago and finally worked up
the courage to ask him about it. He’d laughed at her callously.

“That’s my grandmother’s ring” he’d scoffed
condescendingly. “Why on earth would have thought I was planning to
give it to you? Get serious! Now hurry up, or we’ll miss our dinner
reservation. Wear the red dress I gave you.”

“I like what I have on.” Andie had said,
somewhat sullenly. His comments about the ring had more than hurt
her feelings. They’d been dating for over two years, why wouldn’t
he want to give her his grandmother’s ring? Did he think she was
beneath him?

“You can’t wear what you’ve go on.” Evan said
with an insulting sneer. “It makes you look like a tramp, and not
even an attractive one. Looks like I’d better order you something
with a few less calories tonight at dinner.”

“Actually, I’d like to order my own food
tonight.” Andie had dared to say. “I’d like to make my choices from
now on.”

“I always order for you. Don’t worry; I know
what you like.” Evan said dismissively. “Now hurry up and
change.”

“No. I told you, I like this dress. I’m going
to wear it, and I’m going to order my own food. I don’t need you
controlling my life Evan. I can make my own choices.”

He’d exploded with rage then, yelling awful
things at her, putting her down in every conceivable way. She’d
thrown him out of her apartment then, and he vowed never to take
her back as he slammed the door behind him. Now, it was two weeks
until Christmas Day, and Andie was left wondering if she’d done the
right thing. She had. She knew she had. She just wished she didn’t
have to see him tonight at this party. What if he came up to her
and wanted her back? Even worse, what if he didn’t want her back at
all, and she was alone?

Taking a deep breath for courage, Andie
grabbed her coat and her matching handbag and walked out the door
of her apartment.

Chapter Two

The party was everything Andie had dreaded it
would be and more. She felt like the only person there without
date, drowning in a sea of happy couples. No sooner had she escaped
from one excruciating conversation before she got dragged into
another, as she desperately tried to cross the room to the bar.

“Please excuse me, I need to refresh my
drink” she said, to Walter Fender and his new bride when they asked
her what her plans were for the holidays. Up until three days ago,
her plans had been to spend Christmas with Evan at his parent’s
house. It was so humiliating to have to tell people that she
suddenly had no plans for the holidays at all.

“Can I get a shot of Patron, please?” Andie
desperately asked the bartender, once she finally made it through
the crowd without being trapped into conversing with another happy
couple.

The bartender served her the drink and she
swallowed it in one quick gulp, and then asked for another. She
drank the second one just as quickly and finally felt the nerves in
stomach start to unclench as a warm feeling of relaxation filled
her.

She turned back to look at the crowd.
Everyone looked so joyful, laughing and talking and dancing.
Suddenly, she spied Evan. He looked more handsome than ever in his
black tuxedo. To her horror, he saw her too, and began to cross the
room towards her.

Andie felt waves of panic rip through her.
She wasn’t ready to be face to face with him! She wasn’t ready to
have to talk to him and let him rub all her faults in her face.
Desperate, Andie turned towards the guy innocently standing next to
her, grabbed him by the head, and kissed him on the lips.

Startled, the handsome stranger tried to pull
away for a second, and then relaxed into her embrace. He parted his
lips for her and their tongues intertwined passionately. She felt
his arms encircle her to pull her closer to him and she ran her
fingers through his hair. When they finally broke apart from one
other, Evan was standing there, with a shocked and angry look on
his face.

“Oh, Evan. Hi.” Andie said with fake
surprise. She turned to the stranger beside her and said to him,
“This is that guy I’ve told you about; my ex-boyfriend Evan.”

“Glad to meet you; I’m Ryan Miller. I’ve
heard a lot about you” the stranger said, extending his hand to
Evan, and putting an affectionate arm around Andie. Evan’s face
flooded with color and his nostrils began to flare.

“Pleased to meet you, too. Have you and Andie
been dating long?” Evan asked with a tone of jealousy, or perhaps
accusation.

“Long enough.” Ryan said firmly.

Evan grabbed Andie roughly by the hand and
said “This is ridiculous. Come with me. I want to have a word with
you alone.”

Andie clung to Ryan with her other hand,
desperately trying to resist being dragged away by Evan. To her
immense relief, Ryan maintained a strong grip around her waist, and
used his other hand to clamp down upon Evan’s shoulder, forcing him
to release his hold on her.

“I’m afraid she doesn’t have time to talk
with you.” Ryan said with an edge to his voice that made Andie’s
heart leap. “She and I were just leaving. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, we were.” Andie said. “Sorry Evan, but
I believe you said everything that needs to be said when you left
me.”

“That doesn’t mean this is over.” Evan said,
coldly. He stepped aside, however, and watched as Andie left arm
and arm with the mysterious stranger.

“Thank you so much for that!” Andie said, as
they rode the elevator down to the lobby. “I’m Andie by the way;
Andie Nichols.”

“Glad to meet you.” Ryan shook her hand. He
was a few years older than her, with wavy dark hair, warm hazel
eyes, and a friendly smile. “I’m always happy to help a beautiful
woman who kisses me in a party.”

“Does that kind of thing happen to you
often?” Andie laughed, embarrassed to realize that she had attacked
a complete stranger and then run off with him.

“No, you’re the first. Why don’t we go out
for pizza somewhere and you can tell me all about that jerk back
there. It’s the least you can do, since I had to leave the party
early and didn’t get to sample the food yet.”

“Okay.” Andie agreed, as her own stomach
rumbled with hunger. They went to a little pizzeria a few blocks
down the street, where they were both obviously overdressed, but
neither one of them cared. They shared a large pepperoni pizza and
a pitcher of beer; talking and laughing for what must have been
hours.

He told her all about himself. He worked as a
chef at a nearby restaurant, was single, and liked all the same
things she did; dogs, going to museums, and just cuddling in front
of the television on rainy weekends.

She told him all about herself, her job at an
accounting firm, and her disastrous relationship with Evan.

“At first he had seemed so charming, but over
time he became obsessively controlling. I couldn’t make any
decisions on my own; everything had to be his way all the time.
Now, I don’t even know what I like anymore. I’ve completely lost
who I am and what I want” Andie said. It was painful and sad to
actually acknowledge those feelings aloud, and tears sprang to her
eyes as she said it.

Ryan just held her hand and listened, without
offering her condescending advice or pity. He just let her get all
her feelings out, which was the one thing she really needed.

“So, do you think he wanted you back
tonight?” Ryan asked, voicing the same concern Andie had felt.

“He might” she said with a worried frown, but
then her eyes lit up with a fire she hadn’t felt in years, “but if
he does, he’s going to be disappointed. I’m never going to let him
control my life like that ever again. My choices are my own! I
deserve to have things my way for a change!”

“I like that in a woman.” Ryan complimented.
His warm eyes stared into hers, and she suddenly became aware of
how close they were sitting to each other.

“You do?” Andie said, a little surprised at
happy it made her feel to hear him say that.

“Some men like a woman who is confident and
in control” he said. “A woman who isn’t afraid to ask for what she
wants and even demand it. I felt that kind of power inside you when
you kissed me at the party. You had complete control over me. It
was very sexy.”

He offered to take her home after that. He
pulled up in front of her apartment building, but suddenly Andie
didn’t want to be alone.

“Do you want to come up for coffee?” she
asked him. He hesitated for a moment, but her eyes pleaded with
him, so he agreed.

They talked about safe and silly topics for a
while, sitting on her living room couch, but there was something he
had said earlier that intrigued her, and Andie really wanted to ask
him more about it.

“So, what did mean earlier when you were
saying that some men like a woman who is in control?”

She thought she detected a faint blush of
embarrassment color Ryan’s cheeks, but it may have just been a
trick of the light.

“Have you ever heard anything about BDSM
games?” He asked her. She shook her head no, so he explained. “It
stands for bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism. It’s a type
of sex game, where one partner exerts control over the other.”

“You mean like those kinky slave and master
games?” Andie asked. Now it was her turn to flush with
embarrassment.

“Exactly” Ryan said. “One partner plays the
part of the Dominant, and is in control during the game. The other
partner plays the role of the Submissive, and must obey all
commands given by the Dominant.”

“It sounds so awful and degrading.” Andie
frowned. “Why would one partner want to be abused in that way?”

“Domination games aren’t about abuse, or one
partner being forced to do things against their will.” Ryan said,
sitting up and speaking with great intensity. “It’s about two
consenting adults, who both trust and respect each other, agreeing
to play roles together for their mutual enjoyment. The role of the
Submissive, or slave, in these games actually holds a lot more
power than people realize. They willingly chose to follow the
dominant because it gives them pleasure, but they have the power to
withdraw that consent at any time. The Dominant, in turn, actually
has a lot of responsibilities, as they must ensure the safety and
enjoyment of the submissive at all times.”

“It sounds complicated.” Andie said, exhaling
her breath for emphasis. “Why would anybody want to play these
types of games?”

“They’re really a lot of fun and incredibly
erotic.” Ryan grinned mischievously. “Would you like to see an
example?”

“I already told you, I’m never giving up my
freedoms to anybody ever again!” Andie said, standing up
angrily.

“I know, and I’m not asking you to.” Ryan
soothed. “Just try this experiment for a moment. If you hate it,
I’ll stop.” He got off the couch, and knelt on one knee on the
floor in front of her. “Please, let me see your foot for a
moment.”

Scowling, Andie lifted her foot, and rested
it on his thigh. Her curiosity outweighed her concerns, and she
trusted him and knew he’d never do anything if she told him not
to.