"Someday soon, Melina, you'll come to me. That's how it has to be, has to be your first step." She watched his face so close to hers and wanted to pull him into the car with her. Instead, she just nodded.

"Thank you for a lovely evening and my sash," she managed.

"You'll bring it with you the next time, and then we'll decide how to use it." He gave her no time for a reply, simply leaned forward and kissed her chastely on each cheek before standing tall and closing her car door. He tapped the roof and turned to walk away. It took her several long seconds before she could put the car in gear and slowly drive away. He didn't wait to watch her leave.

All the way home she kept reinforcing that this was the last time she'd see him. She wouldn't go to him, sash in hand, expecting some magical sexual encounter. She'd make a fresh start from this moment. The future was hers and she'd find what was comfortable. Her determination lasted until she was about half way home, when she remembered how he felt pressed against her shoulders at the railing. Melina slammed her hand on the steering wheel as she turned into the driveway.

"Damn that man!" she said to nobody but herself and knew she was damming herself too. Whether she went to him or not, she'd never be the same and she'd always wonder what might have been. Maybe it was time to find out who she'd turned into was more appropriate. Often since the sinking she'd thought to pack up and return to Brooklyn, to be near her family and Tony's. And each time she did, all she could picture was a life she no longer fit into.

ADULT EXCERPT

"Did you really think I'd embarrass you in front of all these people?"

"I'm not sure what I thought, only that I'd been rude to you earlier and you could have used your home-court advantage." She smiled and he laughed aloud.

"I'd thought about a wooden paddle but figured you'd never speak to me again."

"A good decision, Mr. Kerrr." He was holding her closer this time, the distance between them minimal. The dance was slow and quiet, the moonlight sparkling off the pool surface.

"I never did ask about your arm," she said. "I'm sorry, I should have inquired."

"It wasn't a problem, just an inconvenience for a few days."

"How ever did you get a replacement sash? It came with the suit."

"I have my ways, Mrs. Calabrese."

"If I had mine, I could think of a few new ways to use that sash." Paden stumbled a step and stared at her. The corners of her mouth tried to stay straight but kept pulling upward into a smile. Finally she grinned openly and he joined her.

"What did you see, Mr. Kerr? Our perspectives might be different."

His voice husky and low, soft enough that only she could here him, he said, "I saw you with your hands bound, stretched high above you as you lay across my bed, your hair tousled and your lips swollen from my kisses. I saw you watch me enter you and make you writhe, make you come from my touch." There had been no hesitation with his answer and she wondered how much he had thought of her.

"I saw something completely different," Melina mused.

"And what would that be?"

"You blindfolded with the sash, not knowing where or when my touch would land against your skin. I saw you breathless with anticipation and I saw me in control of you, riding you, taking you deep inside me on my terms."

"Is that what you need, Melina? To have me on your terms?"

"I've never seriously considered it before." Melina glanced to Paden and he tightened his hold on her when she would have bolted. It was obvious she had been considering it and was embarrassed.

"Don't go. This is just between us." She relaxed only a bit before he taunted, "I'll give you your visions if you'll give me mine?"

"Fantasy and reality are two very different things."

"They don't have to be if we're both of the same mind and mood."