world had gone white. There was nothing more thrilling than the first snow of the season and it lifted her spirits, falling around them in heavy, fat flakes.
“What are you doing?” Liam asked, opening the passenger door to a red sports car, waving her inside. Katie laughed, tilting her head back and trying to catch snowflakes, turning in lazy circles.
“Whoa, there!” Liam grabbed her around the waist as a wave of dizziness washed over her. He smiled, bemused. She liked his smile. “Get in. Before you end up face down in the snow.”
Katie let him urge her into the car. “Oh don’t worry, I’m sure my humiliation bucket is quite full for the day.”
He laughed, shutting the door, telling his brother to follow him before getting in beside her.
“What kind of car is this?” she inquired, running a finger over the pristine white, leather interior. The car was a deep, dark red, very low to the ground. The engine purred to life when he turned the key.
“A Maserati.” He glanced over, raising an eyebrow. “Put your seatbelt on.”
“Buckle up for safety.” She giggled, pulling the harness across and searching for the latch. He let her fumble for a moment before reaching over and taking it out of her hand, clicking it seamlessly into place.
“You’re good at that.” Katie felt his breath against her cheek. They were just inches away from each other in the closed space of the vehicle, just close enough that she could focus on the little flecks of gold in his dark eyes. She hadn’t noticed that before.
“Thanks.” He smiled-she really did like his smile-and moved back fully into the driver’s seat, reaching for his own buckle.
“ Click it or Kick it.” She giggled again as he looked sideways at her, that sexy smile playing on his lips.
“I think it’s Click it or Ticket,” he corrected, putting the car into reverse-it was a stick shift, and watching him manipulate the gearshift was… well, it was hot.
“I think I’m a little drunk,” she confessed, watching out the window as Patrick finished clearing her little Honda’s windshield of snow.
“Lightweight, huh?” He chuckled, pulling out of the driveway, checking in the rearview mirror to make sure his brother was ready to follow.
“It’s a convertible?” She fingered one of the buttons, curious.
“Yes.” He took her hand and put it back into her lap.” But I don’t advise letting the top down. Not in this weather.”
“Sorry.” She blinked at him as he stopped at the corner, looking at her expectantly.
“Which way, Katie?”
“Oh…” She giggled. “I get to give you directions? I bet that’s a switch.”
“Yes.” He laughed, turning left when she pointed. “And for the record, I’m all Dom, sweetheart. Not an ounce of Switch in me.”
The roads were slick with snow-it was coming down even heavier now-but Liam took the curves without any hint of hesitation. She glanced back over her shoulder, making sure Patrick was following. She had driven her vehicle long enough to know it couldn’t handle roads like this quite as well as Liam’s sports car.
“Are you cold?” Liam glanced over at her, huddled against the door. “You’re shivering.”
“I am?” She hadn’t noticed but her teeth chattered when she said it. “My feet got wet. Stupid clogs.”
“That’s what you get for trading practicality for fashion.” He turned on the heat.
Katie sighed with relief, leaning in toward the vent. The air was warm against her cheeks, but her lower half was still cold.
“Put your feet on the dash.” Liam pushed another button and she felt warm air near the windshield.
She hesitated, looking sideways at him and then at the spotless, white leather dashboard. It looked soft and supple enough to sleep on. “Are you sure?”
“Take your shoes off,” he instructed. “And put your feet up.”
She did, leaning back in the seat, the warm air beginning to thaw her frozen toes. “Ohhh that’s so yummy.”
Liam guided the car onto the expressway at her direction-it was almost a straight shot to her house now- glancing occasionally in the rearview to check on his brother, and keeping an eye on her in the passenger seat.
“How fast can this car go?” she inquired, watching him shift gears, easing the vehicle faster.
He shifted again, settling at a respectable speed, considering the weather. “About two-hundred miles an hour.”
She gave a low whistle, shaking her head. “I bet no one can keep up with you.”
“You could say that.” He didn’t look at her, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Katie wiggled her toes-they were finally getting warm-and watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was way more handsome than Patrick, she decided. Less boyish and far more broad than his brother, Liam had an air of quiet confidence and experience about him that made her feel immediately at ease. She remembered how quickly he had taken charge of things in the basement, but she didn’t dwell on that thought, her face burning at the memory. What had she been thinking?
“I’m really sorry about what happened back there, Katie.” Liam’s words jerked her out of her own thoughts, and she looked at him, startled, wondering if he could read minds. “Patrick never should have posted that ad.”
“It was my fault. I just…” She sighed, toying with the button on her coat. “At the last minute, I freaked.”
“It happens. Don’t blame yourself.” His enormous hand covered hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before moving back to the gearshift. “It was Patrick’s responsibility to take care of you, and he failed.”
She glanced in the side mirror, seeing the headlights of her Honda-dusk was quickly turning to evening-Patrick following close behind. “Don’t be too hard on him.”
“I’ll be as hard as I need to be.” Liam’s jaw tightened and she didn’t argue. She doubted anyone argued with him much.
“I just…” She shrugged. “I realized at the last minute…” Pausing, she tried to find a way to tell him what she’d felt in that moment, how her sudden realization had made it so urgent for her to stop any forward motion.
“That you’re not submissive?” he offered, that smile back again.
“No!” Her protest came out quite forcefully, surprising her.
His smiled widened. “I didn’t think so.”
“No,” she said again, softer this time, trying to explain. “I just realized that if I went through with it, that I would regret it.”
He cocked his head, curious. “Why?”
“Because…” She looked down, toying with her button-the one on the other side was missing. “Because…”
Because he isn’t the one.
But she couldn’t tell him that. “I guess it just felt wrong… with Patrick.”
“I don’t doubt that.” Liam nodded, glancing over at her. “You should always trust your instincts.”
“What did you mean when you said that Patrick was a top, but not a Dom?” She thought she knew the answer already-she’d read everything she could get her hands on and had memorized all the terms and their definitions.
Liam was quiet for a moment, the only sound the hum of the engine and the wet slush of the tires on the road. “My brother is focused on how much control he has over someone else. That makes him a top, not a Dom.”
His answer surprised her, going far deeper than anything she’d ever read. “So what’s a Dom, then?”
“A Dom…” He looked thoughtful, his lower lip pulled between his teeth, eyes on the road. “A Dom measures how much control he has over himself, not how much control he can exert over a submissive.”
“Oh.” She blinked at his response. For some reason, it made her feel warm all over. In fact, the heater was now making her rather… hot.
“Too complicated?” Liam half-smiled as she took her feet off the dash, her socks dry now, slipping them into her clogs. “I guess what I’m saying is that tops act. Dominants simply… are.”
She turned more toward him, her knee brushing against his hand on the gearshift. “So you’re a Dom?”
“Yes.”
