Handcuffed in Housewares (Tulle and Tulips #3)(4)
Author: Nikki Duncan

She was a tempting mystery he wanted to solve.

“This one is soft.” Misty, the one with the short skirt, ran a length of rope between her fingers. “I could easily bend it in and around the flowers.”

“Soft is fine, but you want strength too.”

Tabatha nodded at what the man said as she took the rope from Misty. She smiled mischievously at Burton as she pulled on each end of the rope to test the strength. “This one is good. Soft. Sturdy. Not too easy to slip out of, but it won’t hurt either.”

Burton smiled back. She was trying to shock him. Willing to play her game, he stepped forward, reached around Leigh and picked up a roll of rope. “Try this one. It will give you softness, strength and a little stretchiness.”

Tabatha oohed. “A man who knows his ropes.”

Burton shrugged. “I got an Eagle in the Boy Scouts.”

“So you know how to tie all those fancy knots?”

“Yes.” He smiled for Tabatha, but his gaze remained on Leigh, who hadn’t moved since he spoke. “Of course, it all depends on what you’re doing with the rope.”

Testing Leigh, curious to see if she would turn to face him, he brushed against her as he moved back. Sparks shot along his arm where his bicep brushed hers. She flinched the tiniest of flinches. If he hadn’t been touching her in that instant he might have missed it, but she reacted.

“Is this what you would choose if you were tying someone up?”

“I guess that would depend on why I was tying them up.” He nodded to the other man, who held himself like he’d had some military training. “For instance, if I were tying up an enemy I wouldn’t want any give and I wouldn’t give a damn if the rope hurt them or not.”

The other man grinned.

“Now, if I were binding a woman…” He hesitated a moment, looked at Leigh to see if she would look at him. She sent him a sideways glance and her cheeks flushed the same sweet pink as when she’d handed him the robe. “I wouldn’t want her to be hurt, so I would choose the softest cotton fiber rope.”

Leigh turned to more fully face him. Her friends faded into the shadows of his periphery when he looked at her directly. Tabatha said something, but he didn’t notice anything other than Leigh’s green gaze locked with his.

“You said you called?”

“What?”

“A few minutes ago you said I hadn’t returned your calls.”

“Oh. My. God.” Misty gasped.

“You’re the nak*d man?” Tabatha asked.

He heard them, but could only care about how Leigh reacted. She had talked about him, but until he knew what she had said, and to who, he couldn’t determine how damaging it would be to his business.

Her stare was just as distracting as before, almost hypnotizing, but at least his brain seemed to be working better. “Did you need me, Leigh?”

“Yes.” She blinked. Her cheeks twitched as if she wished she’d answered differently. “Though now isn’t the time to discuss it.”

As calm and seemingly unaffected as she’d been when he was nude, she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. “Let’s set a more convenient time.”

He kept staring at her. She could try to keep things business. He wasn’t against business, but the woman had seen him nak*d. The rules were blown away before they’d gotten started.

“This evening. Five o’clock. Strike Often.”

“I have plans with friends.”

“Bring them. We’ll get two lanes instead of one.” He didn’t have to ask if it was her kind of place or not. He knew it wasn’t, but he wanted to see her out of her element. “After, you and I will talk.”

Chapter Four

Burton got to Strike Often fifteen minutes early to get on the list for a lane. The place could get crowded even on a Monday. He walked in to find that there would be no waiting, though. Leigh and her friends were already there. The man from the hardware store had already secured a lane and was trying to convince Misty that putting on shoes hundreds of other feet had worn was half the fun.

Leigh stood by the rack of balls with her lips pursed in a sideways crush. She’d changed from the slacks she’d worn earlier to a pair of jeans. The denim fit snugly, and like the ones she had on in the hardware store they highlighted her curves to perfection. Her long-sleeved T-shirt, with little rhinestones circling in an intricate design he couldn’t make out, hugged her torso and stretched over her jeans. A clunky belt accentuated her narrow waist. Her dark hair was in its normal bun, and, oddly, the look worked as well with jeans as it did with business attire.

She wasn’t a petite woman. She probably watched every calorie to keep from gaining weight, but he liked that she hadn’t won the battle. He loved a woman with curves. He especially loved that Leigh didn’t try to shroud her form in baggy clothes.

Burton rolled his bag to her. “Too many balls to choose from?”

She turned to him, her cheeks flaring red. Either she was easily embarrassed or that had sounded as bad to her as it had him. The woman seemed to have that effect on him.

“I’ve never done this before.”

“First BDSM shopping trip. First bowling outing. Today is a day of firsts for you.”

“So it seems.” She nodded toward the bowling bag at his feet. “You, however, seem to travel with your own gear.”

He shrugged. “I grew up in an odd house. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my parents made sure we had a family night at least once a week. When we were old enough, we joined a family bowling league.”

“I can relate to the lack of money.”

“Your parents weren’t as involved?”

“My parents died when I was little. I grew up in foster care.”

“Well, tonight I’m going to give you a crash course in a great pastime you seem to have missed out on.” Choosing a ball, he handed it to her. “How’s this feel? Too heavy?”

She took the ball and held it for a minute, lifting and lowering her hand a little. “No. It’s fine.”

“Good. Now slip your fingers in the holes. Are they too tight?”

“Excuse me?”

Again her cheeks rouged. He’d done that one on purpose. He was realizing, now that he’d found his stride with her, how fun it was to say scandalous things that caught her off guard. And he liked to see her blush.

“The holes. You don’t want them to be too loose around your fingers. You don’t want them to be too tight either.”

Ducking her gaze, she slipped her fingers in and out of the holes. “They’re snug, but not tight.”

“Perfect.” He placed a hand at her waist and led her to the lane where her friends waited. “Now you just need to learn to handle the ball.”

Her back stiffened beneath his palm. The tiny hairs at the base of her neck, shown off thanks to her bun, stood on end. He enjoyed bowling, but something told him tonight’s game would be the best he’d ever experienced.

“So you never stopped bowling.”

“Nope. In fact, it put me through college.”

“Bowling?”

“It’s a sport,” he defended. “And when you have an average score like mine…”

“So you’re good.”

“Yes.”

“How good?”

“Good enough I almost joined the pro league.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Too much travel.” When his marriage fell apart and he’d decided to make a change, he’d chosen to move closer to his family. He hadn’t seen them much over the last few years.

“Burton, hi.” Tabatha jumped up from her seat and greeted him with a hug. Leigh stepped away to put her ball on the turnstile shared by the two lanes they’d use. He’d told her to bring friends. She’d taken him more seriously than he’d have expected.

He didn’t miss that while she tried to appear casual, Leigh’s eyes didn’t leave Tabatha’s arms wrapped around him. He also didn’t miss the pleasure her interest sparked.

“Hi.” He patted Tabatha’s shoulder and hoped she’d step back quickly. He wouldn’t have returned her embrace even if he hadn’t been more interested in Leigh. He wasn’t typically a toucher, let alone a hugger.

She did step back and made introductions to the rest of the group. Misty, the other woman who’d been with them in the hardware store, was engaged to Jace. She was a florist. Lori and Trevor weren’t engaged, but he asked her every day. It was a game they supposedly both enjoyed when he wasn’t running his company and she wasn’t making and fitting dresses.

Jenny was responsible for keeping them all on time for appointments. Shayna apparently had a professed love affair with papers and fonts. Tabatha knew every venue in town and how many people could be seated in each arrangement available. It sounded a little strange until Lori shook his hand and cleared it up with one sentence. “I own Tulle and Tulips Designer Weddings. We design custom weddings.”

And Leigh helped people shop and spend their money. She did the registries.

“And is this all of you?” That shed a new light on the conversation he’d heard earlier. They were planning a wedding for clients who lived the BDSM lifestyle. Why else would Misty care about using rope with flowers?

“This is only half of us.”

Tabatha bumped a shoulder to his side. “You’d never survive all of us at once.”

He nodded. It was the only acknowledgement he’d give her attempt at flirtation. She needed no encouragement.

“You thought we were into some seriously kinky stuff, didn’t you?” Tabatha asked.

“I heard you talking about BDSM and debating ropes. What else could I have thought?”

“You could have thought about me tied to your bed.”

“Tabatha.” Lori took Tabatha’s hand and pulled her away from Burton. “You’re embarrassing the man.”

Embarrassing, not really. The woman was nice, but she came on a little too strong. He’d been married to Tabatha. Or a woman like her. She was confident, outspoken, flirtatious, sexual. She attracted men with a glance and didn’t think about who might get trampled.

Once upon a time he’d have gone for her. Now, she was better suited to a man who was just as outgoing and certain enough in his ability to keep her from straying.

Burton had grown to prefer someone a little less flirtatious. Someone more understated who didn’t attract a lot of attention. Someone who blushed when he made a joke, but who had the kindness to uncuff him without giving him too hard a time.

He preferred someone like Leigh.

“Okay.” Shayna clapped her hands once. “Everyone is on the board. Tabatha, Misty, Jace and I are on one team. Trevor, Lori, Leigh and Burton, you’re on the other.”

“Ha.” Jace laughed. “You put all the virgins on one team.”

“We’re not all virgins.” Burton smiled as he locked his gaze with Leigh.

They all split into the sides of their lanes. Shayna went first. Burton leaned close to Leigh and gave her pointers since she would go next. Mainly he used the excuse of explaining things as a reason to get close.