Respect and beautiful?

Lorelei could not understand how being dominated by a man had anything to do with that. From what she had read it was mostly about pain and degradation.

She wanted to pull away from Jesse, but the smell of his cologne was keeping her close. She was only inches away from him. Up close, Lorelei could see the dark circles under his eyes and the small scar on his chin.

Lorelei's phone started to ring. Jesse pulled back and Lorelei felt like she had been released from his hold. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw Molly's name flash across the screen. It was her phone call to save her from the potentially bad date.

"I'm sorry," Lorelei said.

She ended the call and typed out a message to Molly.

She tucked her phone back into her pocket. Jesse was watching her with his bright blue eyes. His stare was so intense that she could feel the heat rush up to her cheeks. She ran her fingers through her hair as she broke eye contact.

"It's okay to be nervous," Jesse said.

"I'm not nervous," Lorelei said.

Her voice betrayed her and came out high-pitched. Jesse chuckled.

"When I started this seven years ago, I was really self-conscious," he said. "Once you get into it most of those worries go away."

"You've been doing this for seven years?" Lorelei asked.

"Going on eight," he said. "I am not some fake dom who is only going to use you for sex. This is all about trust. We need to get to know each other first before we can play with each other."

Lorelei nodded her head and she pushed her empty coffee cup from hand to hand. She chewed on her lip as she stared at the table. Jesse reached across the table and put his hand over hers. Her heart fluttered and her chest tightened. His hand was rough and warm.

"Look at me," Jesse said.

Lorelei swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. She took in a deep breath as she looked up at Jesse. He gave her a soft smile.

"You can leave at any time," he said.

Since seeing Jesse's profile, it was all that she could think about. She was intrigued and it filled her with fantasies. She couldn't leave now, especially since she was now attracted to the man behind the profile.

"I want to stay," she said. Her voice did not come out in a squeak.

"Okay," he said. "Is there anything you want to know about me?"

Jesse had not removed his hand off of hers and the tightness in her chest did not ease. She looked down at their hands. She had been so distracted by his tattoos that she had not noticed the black stains on his fingers and nails.

"What do you do for work?" Lorelei asked.

"I'm a mechanic," he said.

"Okay."

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them. Jesse tightened his hold on Lorelei's hand, urging her to go on.

"I have a lot of questions," she said. "I don't know where to start."

"We'll take it one step at a time," he said. "If it makes you feel more comfortable, we can talk about this when we are alone."

"Alone?"

"If you are comfortable with that."

"When?"

"I want to see you again. Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Lorelei furrowed her brows. She was a nervous wreck, and he still wanted to be around her. She could not understand it. She had never been this nervous around a man before, not even when she first met Matthew. He made her nervous, but she wanted to be around him.

"Yes," she said.

Jesse's smile grew. Lorelei couldn't stop herself from smiling as she watched the dimple formed in his cheek. Only one cheek. Very asymmetrical, just like the balance of tattoos on his arms.

"I'm glad," he said. "Is there anywhere special you want to go?"

"Just nothing fancy," Lorelei said. "I prefer casual."

"I can do casual."

A chill ran up Lorelei's spine when he slid his thumb away from his hand and used it to caress her hand. His rough finger felt odd against her soft skin. Matthew was an accountant who grew up in the city. His hands had never grown rough from hard labour.

"Did you grow up in the city?" Lorelei asked.

"Not this city," he said. "I'm from Vancouver."

"What brought you to Toronto?"

"A girlfriend. I was pretty established when she left me, so I never bothered moving back."

Lorelei was shocked to hear that his girlfriend left him. He was gorgeous and seemed nice enough. She wanted to ask why they broke up, but she knew that he would ask the same question about Matthew. She was not ready to talk about that with anyone, including Molly.

"You grew up here?" Jesse asked.

"I did," Lorelei said. "My Dad recently moved to Nova Scotia with his new wife though."

"What about your Mom?"

"We aren't close."

Jesse's smile dropped. He squeezed her hands and her heart fluttered. She was used to fake sympathy when she told people about her strained relationship with her mother, but she could see something genuine in Jesse's eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"It's okay," she said.

She never knew what to say in this situation. There was a time that she loved her Mom, but after she betrayed Lorelei she stopped answering her Mom's calls. Lorelei was just relieved that she no longer inappropriately laughed when she talked about it.

There was a ring, but Lorelei did not recognize it as her cellphone. Jesse sighed as he pulled his hands off of Lorelei. A shiver ran through her as the coldness of the spring air hit her hands. She had not realized how warm his hands were until they were gone. Jesse pulled his phone out of his pocket and swiped his thumb across the screen. He rolled his eyes as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to go," Jesse said. "A friend has an emergency."

Lorelei held onto her breath. That is always what she said when her dates were going terribly. She wondered if this was his excuse to leave. She breathed again when she remembered that he asked her to dinner.

Lorelei stood as Jesse did. She grabbed her iced coffee. She was so nervous that she forgot to drink it. She followed him as he weaved his way past the tables. They stepped out onto the sidewalk and Jesse turned to face Lorelei.

"I had a good time," he said. "I'll text you about tomorrow night."

"Okay," she said.

Lorelei gasped when Jesse leaned in toward her. She thought he was going to kiss her, but instead, he pressed his lips against her cheek. They lingered there for a moment before he brought his mouth next to her ear.

"Don't think I didn't notice you not wearing a bra," he whispered into her ear.

He pulled back and winked at her before walking away. Lorelei was frozen, shocked by the whole encounter.