Strictly Yours: Hooded Pleasures, Book 3 by Sheryl Nantus Read Free Book Online

changed into her workout clothing and set about working the punching bag, feeling the power in her hands every time she slapped the leather.
    Not as good as sex.
    But it’ll have to do.
    Jen grinned as she landed another right hook.
    * * * * *
    The streets were quiet tonight. Nathan would have said too quiet, but that would have tempted fate, and right now he didn’t want any bad luck.
    The world could spin on a dime, and he’d land flat on his ass the way his mind was everywhere—except on the job.
    Nathan glanced at the young man in the seatbeside him sipping from a disposable cup.
    McDaniels was a quick learner, a smart man who would go far if he wanted to.
    He also didn’t mind picking up the tab for coffee every now and then, which made him a great partner.
    They were sitting in the parking lot of the same convenience store they’d visited earlier in the week.
    “This isn’t half-bad.” McDaniels looked over at Nathan. “Once you add a shit ton of sugar and creamer.”
    “And hold your nose,” Nathan added. He looked into his own thick drink. “Put hair on your chest.”
    “I’ve got enough, thank you very much.” The young man motioned at the nearby empty street corner. “It seems your idea worked.”
    “At least for now.” Nathan grimaced as he took another mouthful. “Not a perfect world, but we do what we can.”
    “I was telling Allie about this. She approved your idea,” Henry said.
    Nathan laughed. “I’m glad to hear it. Anything else we need to run by your wife?”
    Henry’s face went red. “Don’t be giving me a hard time. I talk to her about stuff like this.”
    “I’m not.” Nathan took another sip and grimaced. “This job gets to be hard at times, and it’s good to have someone on your side, someone you can chat to.”
    The rookie looked over. “You got no ring on. Someone special in your life?”
    “Never found the right lady. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve had quite the dance card.” Nathan chuckled. “Just not lucky enough to find the right one yet.”
    He wasn’t going to tell Henry about the near-misses, the women he’d dated who had been good in bed and wonderful to be with.
    Because, without fail, as soon as he mentioned his rather unusual wishes, they’d found a reason to cut and run. Some did so on good terms, with a smile and a wish for his good future, and others had laughed and walked out the door.
    It wasn’t as if he didn’t enjoy sex.
    He just liked to add stripes to the vanilla.
    Henry shrugged. “Can’t ask for more than that.”
    I can. I do.
    Nathan took another swig of coffee and thought for the umpteenth time about Danielle.
    She was worried about something, and he wanted to help her.
    Because she was his Mistress.
    Because he cared about her.
    Probably more than a client should.
    But he wasn’t going to apologize for being who he was.
    And he had the power and the ability to help.
    He couldn’t stand by and let this continue.
    He had to figure out how to get her to tell him what the hell was going on.
    Nathan glanced at Henry, engrossed in drinking his coffee.
    Protect and serve.
    It wasn’t just a motto painted on the side of his car.

Chapter Four
    Jen hadn’t thought about Lucas for days. To be more accurate, she didn’t have the time to think about him. Between the local flu outbreak that had filled the clinic with nonstop requests for inoculations and another employee booking off sick and giving her double shifts for most of the week, she had barely been able to make her appointments with her Hooded Pleasure clients.
    Those she wouldn’t have missed for the world.
    Jake and Charles were wonderful men, excellent fellows and lovely submissives. They deserved her attention and her devotion, and she was glad to give it to them, accept their gift and return it with interest.
    Nathan was scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday.
    Frankly, she needed the break from work. It’d turned out to be a crazy shift from the start, the evening crowd rushing in