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Chapter Eight

Brant had just finished eating his haer and E a couple seeined She had given hirounded in reality Dinner with her family had been lively and fun He didn’t have to fake his connection to her parents; it was genuine He had carried on a long conversation with her father on everything froe football Her brother had invited him for a stroll on the beach to "burn one," which he politely declined Her mother and her friends were a constant source of off-color jokes and stories about their husbands, boyfriends and neighbors As a group they were rather scary, but you had to laugh with them

Once the food was cleared from the table, he watched in curiosity as one of the wo from her purse and shook out some jewelry She passed what appeared to be a necklace to the other women Emma held hers up and he could see what looked like a tiny tie, so that looked like a mask andwhat thehandcuffs?

Emma smiled sweetly at his puzzled expression "Could you fasten this for me, honey?"

"U, "Well, I think that’shim a look that made Brant turn quickly away The love and passion between them was obvious in every interaction they had with each other "Honey, you’re welcoht, so you ave his wife a lingering kiss before straightening "I’ve got some calls to return I’ll see you when your friends leave Do you want o?"

As Kat nodded, Ken grabbed a couple of wine bottles fro with one of theht it was a strange pick for a book club , but as he to say since this was his first time As Ken walked by him on the way into the house, he clapped a hand on Brant’s shoulder, saying under his breath, "Good luck, son"

Twenty o from alarmed to traumatized When Doris was asked her favorite part of the book, she said, "I loved it when Christian took Anna into the red room of pain because nobody wants a vanilla relationship, do they?" He jerked back in alarm so hard that Emma almost tumbled off the seat beside hi and detailed discussion of floggers and paddles, he pulled E in her ear "What the fuck kind of book is this?"

She gave him an innocent look but couldn’t quite keep thein her eyes, iht you knew that Fifty Shades was erotica"

He gave her an incredulous look, hardly believing the shitstorm he had walked blindly into "You set , she admitted, "It’s one of my favorites; I’ve read it twice"

Part of him was still pissed, but another part,to knohat her favorite part of the book was As intrigued as he was, he knew one thing: He had to get the hell out of here before her mother detailed her favorite part and scarred hi her and E for the bad girl

He ju all eyes to land on him "I, erjust remembered that I need to call o on without meplease"

E left to have what Brant considered a porn discussion with her er over her chin, returning the siven him earlier "Take your tiet the ih and that had to count for soh the family room on the way to the stairs, E a straight face Brant shook his head, saying, "I guess you knehat that book was about"

"Yeahsorry, son This is far froet a su I don’t think there’s any such thing as a good old Western anyirl instead of the da Ken sure had a ords "No kidding If anyone everand never stop"

Ken waved the beer he was holding "You look like you need a drink You probably need soer than beer, but Boston is never around when you need him"

Apparently, Boston’s activities ell known in the farandfather who had raised them after their parents died He could be a hard-ass, but theof one-liners "Thank you, but I think I’ll just go on upstairs and stare at the walls for about ten hours" After a few hed with relief when he closed the bedroolad to have a few ht Those women needed soraphic details of their conversation

Pretending to be E Having her curled against hih he had been desperate to escape the book sex-talk, he had still been hard-pressed to leave her Having to keep up appearances in front of her fa like it usually was Gone were the barbs and insults and in their place was nothing but soft, sweet and a his hard-on, it would have been i a halt to his usual ith her was causing a problem that he had never expected He actually liked her now, s for any other wo a relationship with her With Eether--which, granted, seemed to be how everyone at Danvers found a mate, but he tried daree

He was alh to call his brother for advice He knew that calling his sister was out Although they were close, Ava didn’t do relationships and she would flatly tell hi from since his wife also worked for Danvers Did he want soe him? Damned if he knew