Member Review

Chapter 1

The next afternoon, between one meeting and prior to another beginning in a half hour, Senator Noah Grant sat at the private table at The NYC Bean Café. It was a restaurant he came to often because the staff offered him the privacy he required. But the privacy came at a price: a yearly donation of ten thousand dollars to the owner’s charity. Noah never minded, it was money well spent. Not only was the children’s charity a fantastic cause, but he could use this space whenever he wanted, which also gave him the option to leave through the back door. All necessary requirements for his life, considering he was a member of SiR. Because SiR wasn’t a swipe-right type of dating app. It was a service for dominants, created by dominants who required a certain level of privacy to find submissives for play.

Noah needed that privacy.

The space around him was small, with no windows in sight of the half-circular booth with dark gray velvet fabric and a gold light fixture hanging above the table where he sat. He reached for his black coffee as dishes clattered in the kitchen off in distance and the scent of fresh bread infused the air. He had just taken a sip of the piping hot brew when a loud beep pierced the air. He grabbed his cell off the table and discovered a text from Jared Griggs, a private investigator he kept on the payroll.

Olivia has a friend with her. She’s waiting at the bar.

Noah inwardly sighed. Of course he understood why women brought backup on a blind date—he had Jared, his private investigator, there for that reason—but it also complicated an already complicated situation. Last night, after he’d seen Olivia’s profile on SiR and had claimed her as his submissive for the week, he had contacted Jared. Being a premium user of the app—which came with a high annual price tag—meant he was notified of new submissives first before most. The picture on Olivia’s profile had immediately caught his eye. The photograph had obviously been a candid shot. Her smile wasn’t for the photograph, but for whatever had made her laugh. There had been something uniquely beautiful about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Something that feverishly drew him in.

Jared had completed a quick search of Olivia’s background last night and hadn’t found any cause for concern. If this meeting went well, he’d dig deeper, ensuring Noah wasn’t walking into a trap.

Though that thought was soon thwarted when Olivia entered the private room. Everything faded then. Noah’s gaze narrowed on her.

Olivia’s beauty wasn’t in her looks alone, it was in something far more powerful. She possessed an innate ability to render Noah hopelessly intrigued. Her brows began to gather as she approached, obviously giving him a closer look. She wore a black dress that touched her knees and strappy sandals. A good few inches shorter than him from what he could tell, she had olive-toned skin and a great body. Her beauty was subtle, and maybe that was because she didn’t need anyone to see her as beautiful. She was comfortable with herself and that was his favorite type of woman. Her beauty was meant for his eyes alone and he liked that.

Before she could reach his table, he rose and met her halfway, offering his hand. “Olivia?”

She gave him a dazed look, her hands resting at her sides. “Noah?”

“Yes.” He smiled gently, hoping to reassure her, and gestured with his hand. “You’re beginning to make me feel unwanted.”

“Oh, please forgive me.” She blinked then quickly slid her hand into his. “Excuse me, Mr. Grant.”

Ah, so she knew him. Only one woman he had met through SiR hadn’t recognized him. He wrapped his fingers tighter around hers. Her touch was soft and delicate, and he liked the way she glanced at her hand when he dragged his fingers from hers, purposely making the touch intimate. “I’m sorry to have surprised you.” He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the table. “But please, call me Noah.” Once she sat, he returned to his seat then said, “I’m afraid before we talk any further, we need to discuss your friend.”

Olivia slid him a look. “How do you know my friend came with me?”

“My security.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, but she recovered quickly. “I know I broke the rules and all, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be a murderer.”

His mouth twitched. Her honesty was refreshing. Most times in the political world Noah lost himself between the truth and lies. “No need to worry. I’ve never killed anyone.” He hoped that would shake her surprise and she’d laugh. She didn’t. She continued to stare at him, statue-still, so he nudged her along. “Would you please go and get your friend, so I can talk to her?”

“Ah, ya, sure.” Olivia vanished through the doorway, returning a minute later with her blond friend, whose eyes were now bulging with surprise.

He arched an eyebrow. “I take it you know who I am?” he asked her.

The blonde nodded. “Um . . .”—she exchanged a long look with Olivia—“yes, I do.”

He offered his hand to her and gave his gentle smile he gave to the public. “Then I am at a disadvantage because I don’t know you.”

She gave a nervous laugh and returned the handshake. “Paige Ryan, Olivia’s best friend, and wingman.”

“While it’s a pleasure to meet you, Paige,” he said in all honesty, “I’m sure you can imagine why I prefer to keep why I’m meeting Olivia private.”

Her smile widened. “Yes, I can see why you would want that.”

He nodded, glad she understood, then told it to them straight. “For Olivia and me to continue here, I need you both to understand that because of my job, I require discretion. Politics is a nasty business, and I do not take chances with my career and my public image. Because of this, it is always necessary that I have everyone in my life sign a nondisclosure.” Yes, SiR had the clients sign one. But Noah’s went even further so that sharing any part of his life with the public was a bad idea. He never enjoyed this part, but the last thing he wanted was his sex life to be discussed on CNN by people who didn’t understand the dynamics between a dom and a submissive.

“Do either of you have an objection to that?”

Olivia’s gorgeous eyes scanned his face, his light brown hair, quickly glanced over his blue eyes, and lingered on his white dress shirt with tie until she regarded his forearms where he’d rolled up his sleeves, hoping to appear relaxed.

She finally shook her head and visibly swallowed deeply. “I have no objection.”

“Excellent.” He smiled.

Olivia accepted the document and the pen, and read each line before signing and dating the bottom.

He noted the shake of her hand before he addressed Paige. “And you?”

“It’s no problem at all.” She smiled then signed beneath Olivia’s name and dated the document.

Noah reached into his briefcase, took out the second nondisclosure he’d brought with him, signed and dated it, and handed the form back to Olivia. “For you.”

She laughed softly, staring at him incredulously. “You didn’t really have to do to that. I don’t care who you tell about me.”

“Fair is fair.” Done with the business end of this arrangement, he turned to Paige again. “Do I have your permission to have my security vet you? I know it’s intrusive, but it’s a necessary evil.”

Paige’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Vet me? Well, that’s all very serious. I mean, I’ve got nothing to hide.”

She hesitated then frowned. “Except for that shoplifting charge in my teens that I really don’t ever want to talk about.”

Noah began to see why Olivia brought Paige. She exuded strength while standing next to Olivia, who sat on the chair, exuding softness. “I won’t share your shoplifting charge with the public,” he told her, “if we can keep me out of the media too.”

A quick frown crossed Paige’s lips, her hands on her hips. “To mention you to the media would also mean I was mentioning Olivia, and I would never do that to her.” She gave Olivia a sweet look before addressing Noah again without any of that sweetness. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Good.” He nodded firmly.

Paige’s expression only tightened. “Take care of my girl here, Mr. Grant. I might not look like much, but I throw a wicked right hook.”

Noah smiled, respecting her loyalty. Their interactions said a lot about both these women. And he liked what he saw there.

Paige gave Olivia a quick hug. “See you at home.”

When Paige left, Olivia stared down at the table for a minute, then those gorgeous eyes rose to him, and he said, “You two seem close.”

“Incredibly. It’s just the two of us.” She smiled.


He sensed there was more to that story by the way her shoulders curved. But he was not there to chat with her about her past. Those conversations would come later. There were things he looked for—and needed—in a submissive to feel fulfilled. “Now Olivia . . .” He grabbed the side of her chair and pulled her closer. Her startled gasp hardened his cock to steel. “For this to work . . .”—he was always careful in these initial meetings not to implicate himself, saying just enough to get the information he needed—“the most important thing we need between us is chemistry.” He stared into her eyes, watching them dilate with her arousal. “It’s an incredible thing, don’t you think?” Her lips parted, and her tongue snuck out, both causing his dick to twitch. “How powerful it is that looking at someone alone can bring so much intensity.” He looked into her eyes again. “Do you agree?”
She nodded.