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guys.’
    Dominik agreed and they made their way to a nearby wine bar with an upstairs room where, at this particular time of day, one could still enjoy a quiet conversation without too many eavesdroppers hanging around to interrupt the flow.
    â€˜So what’s this all about, Lauralynn?’
    â€˜I liked your style, at the crypt.’
    â€˜You saw it all?’
    â€˜Not quite. The material of my blindfold was loose enough.’
    â€˜I see.’
    â€˜I know Victor. He had a good inkling of your plans for Summer and engineered it with me that myself and the two other remaining members of my quartet would make ourselves available for your scene.’
    â€˜So you all knew?’
    â€˜No. Just me, and Victor . . . I had to report back to him,’ Lauralynn revealed, an awkward smile stretching her lips.
    â€˜The bastard,’ Dominik said.
    â€˜Not really,’ Lauralynn remarked. ‘He’s just a player. Like you. Like me.’
    â€˜I’m flattered you’re willing to accept me into your circle.’
    Lauralynn took a sip from her glass of Beaujolais. The wetness of the red wine shone across her full lips.
    â€˜Oh, but you are, Dominik – you’re one of us. More than you know. To some it comes naturally, to others accidentally. It’s just that you don’t always realise at first. Doms, subs, it happens gradually, almost without your being aware of it. Until the day comes when you assume it fully, accept it, banish the personal doubts. It’s nature, not nurture, you see.’
    â€˜An interesting perspective on things,’ Dominik admitted, still curious about her intentions. ‘So is Victor behind you now getting in touch with me, by any chance?’
    â€˜No, not at all,’ Lauralynn replied. ‘This is just me putting out feelers. We haven’t been in contact for ages, in fact. I’m on a solo mission, so to speak.’
    â€˜Tell me more,’ Dominik said.
    Lauralynn shuffled in her seat and sat back against the brown leather of the alcove armchair, facing him with a flirtatious look spreading across her attractive features as she brushed away a strand of blonde hair from her eyes with an imperious gesture.
    â€˜No, you tell me, Dominik. How do you feel when you’re commanding a woman, getting her to do things that common mortals would disapprove of? Does it give you a kick, provide you with pleasure, or do you feel detached, like a spectator? I’m interested in finding out, in determining exactly what you are. Or could be.’
    â€˜That’s a lot to consider,’ he replied, standing to fetch another round of drinks from the downstairs bar.
    â€˜I like to use people,’ Lauralynn had said, later that day, as they had continued their conversation over a meal in Chinatown. ‘It brings me alive.’
    She hadn’t been trying to justify herself; it had just been a matter-of-fact statement in which she took no pride or vicarious enjoyment. An explanation.
    Dominik’s initial reaction had been one of denial. Surely this didn’t apply to him too. He loved women. He wasn’t cruel to them, was he? In the act of seduction, there was not only sexual enjoyment at play, the naked pursuit of pleasure, but also a deep desire for closeness, empathy, a determination to understand what made a particular woman tick. Even down to wanting to know how she felt.
    Later, tossing and turning in bed that night, equally aroused and fascinated by the can of worms Lauralynn had opened , he couldn’t help thinking back to Kathryn and the new cravings she had triggered inside him.
    And, he reflected, also within herself, which had shocked her to the extent that after their break-up, Dominik knew, she had not only remained with her husband but in reaction to the affair embarked on a complete new life, leaving the area and giving birth a couple of years later to twins, following IVF treatment. She who, in his