Excitement warred with trepidation. Annabelle had said Tyler hadn’t been present during her time at the Salon. Maybe he didn’t spend any time there.

But Kate wanted to see it.

“Kate, is everything okay?”

She turned to find Tyler watching her, concern clear in his expression.

“I’m fine. Will you show me the Salon?”

She hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, but she couldn’t think of any other way to bring up the subject. And since she’d decided tonight was not going to include fear of any kind, she didn’t take it back.

Not even when Tyler looked like he’d been punched in the gut.

Which he quickly covered with one of those half smiles he was so good at. And that looked so good on him.

“What exactly have you heard about the Salon?”

That Annabelle had had one of the most exciting and arousing nights of her life there.

So that’s exactly what she told him.

Tyler’s expression never wavered but the air seemed to thicken around them. Her sex clenched as she thought about the scene Annabelle had painted for her. The visuals had left her breathless. To think she might actually get to experience a bit of that for herself . . . Oh my.

“Did she tell you I don’t typically attend Jed’s games?”

“She said you weren’t there that night.” She took a deep breath. “So you don’t use the Salon?”

Another pause. “Not regularly, no. But when we first opened and Jed set it up . . . yeah, I went.”

Not wanting to appear too eager but too curious not to ask, she leaned forward. “I’m not a prude, Tyler. And I won’t judge. Everyone’s entitled to their own happiness, so long as they don’t hurt anyone else.”

“But what happens if someone does get hurt?”

She paused, because the look in his eyes made her stop and reconsider the way he’d phrased the question. And his emphasis on the last word. “I guess it depends on how. Are we talking physical or emotional? If you’re talking emotional, then I guess you need to be sure you’ve done everything you can to not be a monster about it.”

She’d tried so hard to minimize the damage with Arnie, but she’d known it wouldn’t take the entire sting away.

“If it’s physical”—just the thought made her heart speed up in a way she barely understood—“then it has to be consensual.”

His smile turned just the slightest bit wicked. “I agree. On both counts. So tell me, Kate. What if I asked to tie you up? Would you let me?”

She tried hard not to be shocked. It wasn’t like she’d never heard of bondage. She’d seen her share of porn. She actually loved to read romances that dealt with light bondage. The whole aspect of giving up control to someone you trusted implicitly was a strong trigger for her. Not that she’d ever told Arnie. She’d been too afraid he’d be shocked. Or repulsed.

Which should have been a huge red flag and you totally ignored it.

“I’m sorry, Kate.” Tyler’s voice intruded on her thoughts, the hint of self-recrimination in his tone totally drawing her attention back to him. “I never should’ve—”

“I think once I get to know you better”—she paused to smile—“there won’t be anything I won’t let you do to me. And that’s a little scary.”

* * *

Tyler felt Kate’s softly spoken words reverberate through his body with the force of a blow to the head.

He couldn’t help but wonder if she was slightly drunk, but she didn’t slur her words, her gaze steady on his. Her cheeks held a slight flush, but that could be attributed to lust.

The desires he hadn’t fed in years began to gnaw at his gut, urging him to pull her out of the booth and into an elevator headed for the fourth floor.

“Kate . . . would you like a tour of the Salon?”

She didn’t hesitate. “I’d love one.”

He took her out the way they’d come in. He’d recognized several people in the bar and didn’t want to get caught in a conversation with any of them.

He wanted Kate to himself.

Taking her to the staff elevator, he nodded to the few employees they passed. Most of them were too well-trained to show any indication of surprise at Kate’s presence. But he knew they’d talk among themselves.

They hadn’t seen him with a woman since Mia’s death so the fact that he’d brought a woman to the hotel and was leading her through the inner sanctum was a huge break from protocol.

And he couldn’t care less.

Jed was right. It was time to move on. He’d mourned long enough.

Being with Kate felt . . . right.

As he waved her onto the elevator, she turned and flashed him one of those mysterious, amused looks. “I never realized there was a whole secret world behind the scenes of a hotel. Reminds me of those old movies in English castles with secret passageways.”

After he punched the button for the fourth floor, he leaned back against the wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wanted to grab her and keep her against him but didn’t want to rush her. “I haven’t seen a lot of movies like that. I like movies that blow things up. Most of those aren’t set in English castles.”

Her smile broadened. “So you are a typical guy in some ways.”

A typical guy? “Is that good or bad?”

She shrugged. “It’s interesting.”

“How so?”

“Because I don’t think of you as typical in any way.”

He thought about that as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. The fourth floor was available only to certain staff and a select group of trusted friends. His and Jed’s personal offices as well as their apartments were located on this floor, as were two private suites.

The Salon occupied the other half of the floor.

The staff elevator opened at the opposite end of the building from the Salon. Jed had personally chosen the artwork for this floor so the walls held a collection of bold modern artists that didn’t make Tyler cringe, even though he much preferred the pieces in the Salon.

Of course, Jed had chosen those too, but he always consulted Tyler before buying anything. Tyler did the same with any major decision involving the finances. They trusted each other’s judgment in a way their father never would have.

To say their parents had been shocked when they’d announced they were going into business together would be an understatement. And when they’d told their dad their plan, the battle had turned vicious. It’d only been in the past year that he’d come around. Mostly.

They fell silent as he led her down the hallway. Her dark eyes missed nothing as she considered the artwork, studied the carpet, ran her fingers along the molding.

He and Jed had thrown every bit of the considerable fortune their grandfather had left them into making Haven the truly one-of-a-kind experience they’d envisioned.

“I remember thinking how gorgeous my room was when Annie and I stayed here New Year’s Eve. You and Jared really did an amazing job with this place.”

“Thank you.”

Any other time, with anyone else, he would’ve gone on about the features the hotel offered or the accessibility to downtown Philadelphia or some other business-related detail. Jed was the showman, but Tyler was the salesman.

Right now, he wasn’t thinking about anything to do with the hotel. His entire attention was focused on Kate and getting her to the door at the end of the hall. He could have taken her through his office. Like Jed’s, his had a private entrance into the Salon. But that would’ve required a slight delay and he had no time for that.

Finally, they reached the door. Pulling an old-fashioned brass key from his pocket, he turned the lock and pushed open the door.

Soft illumination sparked, and Kate’s mouth dropped open as she entered the room.

“Oh, my God.” Her voice rose barely above a whisper. “I feel like I just stepped through a time portal into Victorian England.”

“Jed was involved in every aspect of designing and decorating this room. My only request was the piano but Jed had already worked that in.”

She slid him a quick glance before returning to study the room. “It’s amazing.”

He had to agree.

But the room was no more stunning than her.

The glow from the crystal chandelier hanging dead center in the ceiling fell over her as she moved into the octagonal room. The light sparkled off her satin dress and her dark hair in a way that made him want to run his hands all over her.

Again, she studied everything, from the ornately decorated ceiling to the plush carpets on the floor.

Lush fabrics covered the chaise lounges, chairs, and ottomans set in several seating groups throughout the room while the octagonal game table with matching chairs sat directly beneath the chandelier.

Golden silk paper gleamed on the walls and a baby grand piano held court in one corner, lit by a leaded glass piano light. He’d spent a lot of time in front of that piano after Mia had died. Luckily, the room was soundproofed so no one was disturbed by his attempts at working out his grief.

Kate began walking around the room, letting her fingers brush against chairs and the heavy purple velvet drapes in front of the windows on either side of the room.

When she reached the fireplace on the opposite side of the room, she actually caressed the carved marble face and mantel.

His jaw clenched. He wanted those fingers to caress his body.

Locking the door so they wouldn’t be interrupted—not that he expected to be but he wasn’t taking any chances—he walked to the nearest seating group and sank into a velvet wingback love seat.

She’d made her way to the huge, glass-front walnut display cabinet that occupied an entire wall of the room before she paused.