Dance for Me

by Kay Elle Parker

  His usually upbeat and cheerful manager looked as though someone had dropkicked his puppy off a rooftop. Gray eyes were haunted, rimmed with dark circles—Braun wasn’t lying when he said Liam would scare off the customers. The boy had lost some weight over the last couple weeks, and Braun was concerned for him.

  William Carradine was a good friend, an excellent manager, and Braun trusted him not only with his club, but with his reputation. Bisexual with a leaning more toward men, the Dominant held everyone’s respect and the subbies flocked to him like rats to the Pied Piper.

  “Phone’s off,” Liam muttered as he polished a glass with lethargic precision. “Won’t answer my calls, my messages. I think she’d slam the door in my face if I went to her apartment. I fucked up, Braun. I seriously fucked up.”

  Yeah, his friend needed a good kick up the ass, all right. Good job Braun had already taken steps to get his buddy back into the right frame of mind. “You sound more like a submissive than a goddamn Dom right now, boy. Maybe I should ask Connie to take you upstairs for a few hours, spank this shit outta you.”

  Capable hands set the shined glass on the shelf beneath the bar, picked another up out of the dishwasher and began to polish. “I know you’re joking, but I’d deserve it. What I said was out of order. Her family’s a huge sore spot for her and I opened my big mouth without thinking and punched her right where it hurts.”

  Braun rubbed his chin and propped a heavy boot on the stool next to him. He much preferred his current attire to the damn monkey suit he’d been forced to wear today—black jeans, black silk shirt, and his steel-toed boots set him in the right mood for dominating pretty little subs. “She’s what, early thirties? She’s an adult, Liam, my lad. She’ll come around.”

  “Twenty-seven,” Liam corrected with a sigh. “Her family is...they’re fucking assholes, to be blunt. They’ve treated her like shit since she was a kid. Her sister got in an accident when they were younger, and her parents blamed Bodie. They made her life hell until she moved out, then they started taking money off her as soon as she got a job and started earning.”

  Eyes narrowed, Braun tried to digest that. “What, a few dollars every month?”

  Liam’s laugh was brittle and bitter. “I wish. She handed over almost two grand about six weeks ago. It was everything she had saved up, her rent money, the lot. And before you say something about her not giving into her family’s demands, the assholes operate the same as any blackmailers do. If she doesn’t give them everything when they order her to, bad things happen.”

  Fury kindled in his gut. “Bad things?”

  Liam swapped glasses again. “She refused them a couple times when she was younger. I think the first time she was maybe eighteen. Just moved into her own place, some shithole she could barely afford. The landlord was an asshole, refused to do repairs, harassed her if she sneezed. She came home and her father was waiting for her. He’d trashed the place, smashed up the door and spray painted the walls with obscenities. He roughed her up pretty bad, warned her if she didn’t pay what she owed, he’d send his friends next time...and they’d do more than just smack her around.”

  Heavy boots hit the wooden floor like gunshots. “Her father threatened to have his friends rape her?”

  “Abraham doesn’t threaten. If she hadn’t paid him everything she had at the time, he’d have done exactly that.” The same fury bubbling in Braun’s blood gleamed in Liam’s eyes. “The second time was a few years later. Bodie had enough of handing over her savings and stood up to her mother. Brave of her, considering she’s...not endowed in the confidence department sometimes. She hates confrontation, and her mother thrives on it.”

  What the hell kind of family had raised the girl? Braun wondered. They sounded more like monsters than humans. His hand clenched tightly around his soda, hard enough he thought he heard the glass crack. “What happened?”

  “Diane’s a hardcore bitch. She’s notorious in the area where we grew up. By the time she was fifteen, she ran her own gang out of her parents’ garage and terrorized the neighborhood for years. Robberies, muggings, assault and battery...you name it, Diane had a hand in it.”

  Braun set his drink aside before glass and soda exploded over the spotless bar. His rage was no longer kindling but a roaring wildfire. “Tell me, Liam.”

  “Diane ambushed Bodie on her way home from work a few nights later with a few of her old gang buddies. They hacked off her hair, stripped her naked and chained her to a construction site fence. Sliced up her back from nape to ass, spray painted fuck me down her front, and left her. Luckily the site manager arrived earlier than the rest of the crew the next morning, a decent guy who didn’t take advantage of Bodie’s condition. He called the cops and an ambulance. He was still trying to cut the chains when the police arrived, but Bodie wouldn’t talk to them.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t go pay them a visit.” His voice was tight, and he reined his temper in before he did something he’d regret. He hated violence against women—and yes, he was aware of what happened in his club and what he himself did with whichever submissive he played with, but the difference came down to consent.

  Liam slapped his cloth down on the bar top and scrubbed his hands roughly over his face. His blond hair was stuck up in spikes and he’d given up shaving since this disaster kicked off, so he sported the makings of a damn fine beard, giving him the appearance of a young Viking warrior. “I offered. Hell, I was frothing at the mouth. But Bodie, she knew what would happen. Just like she knew the consequences of talking to the cops. Even if they locked Abraham and Diane away, they both have connections capable of hurting Bodie on their behalf. I couldn’t take that risk.”

  Braun resumed drumming his fingers on the wood. “No, I don’t think I could either. So, you compared your girl to her family which, now you’ve explained a bit more, seems like a sucker punch. I can’t see you knocking boots with a lass who’s anything like what you’ve described, so what made you do it?”

  His friend absorbed the hit, then reached for a shot glass and poured a good slug of vodka. “First off, she’s not my girl and we’re not knocking boots as you so eloquently put it. I don’t think Bodie’s been intimate with anyone since she lost her virginity to the neighborhood jackass when she was sixteen. She’s my best friend and, fuck, maybe I have feelings for her that aren’t strictly in the friend zone, but you know my kinks, Braun.”

  Okay, Braun thought, we’ll avoid the second half of the question for now. “I’m familiar with them, yes. You’re also a Dominant with a fucking good radar for submissives. Are you telling me she doesn’t possess one iota of submissiveness you can work with?”

  Liam downed the shot and eyed the bottle longingly. Knowing Braun’s rules for drinking and playing, he dutifully set his glass in the dishwasher and returned the bottle to its shelf. “She’d submit. I know she would; it’s been programmed into her for years. I just don’t know if she’d enjoy it in this context. There’s a lot of anger buried deep inside that sweet girl, a lot of issues. Her father’s prejudices have taken root to some degree and when she’s nervous or afraid, she lashes out with the same crap that spews from his mouth. It’s the reason why I didn’t tell her where I work or what I am. It’s what I used to hurt her.”

  “Did you want to hurt her?”

  His friend paused, his glum expression turning thoughtful. It pleased Braun that he hadn’t immediately denied his intentions, whatever they were, but that he was taking the time to consider the possibilities before answering. It was that kind of thinking that made Liam an asset not only to Braun’s working team, but to the Dominant force within the club.

  “No, I didn’t say it to hurt her,” he said slowly. “She asked me if I was ashamed of this place, of being what I am, because I hadn’t told her about any of this. I just wanted to explain why I thought she wasn’t ready and...shit, I wasn’t trying to be cruel.”

  Braun thought of the slim little female he’d come across on the street corner. The la
ss had expressive eyes. A little fearful, fascinatingly blue, and sad down to the soul. He’d seen the weight of the world dangling in that unhappy gaze. “If it was said without malice, you stand a chance of righting it, boy.”

  “She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

  Braun grunted. “You’re a Dom, Liam. You’ve earned your stripes on the battlefield of men and women; you know how to deal with a stubborn woman. If she doesn’t want to talk, you make her fucking listen.”

  A laugh rumbled free. “Sneaky, boss.”

  He lifted one broad shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “Been called worse.”

  “I bet.”

  Braun frowned as his phone signaled a security alert. The doors were unlocked as both he and Liam were inside the club, but he’d left the alerts on so he knew who was on the property in the hours before official opening.

  He’d renovated the small farm on the outskirts of Phoenix to his exact specifications. The farmhouse was his personal space and off limits to members, but the rest of the farm was utilized for play purposes. With three buildings and five acres of land designed to keep his clientele happy, he’d had a lot of fun—and frustrations—coming up with fresh ideas.

  Like the corn maze in summer. Setting the subbies loose with a headstart into the sheer acreage of twisting corridors and dead ends was great fun, especially when it was booby-trapped with a whole host of Dominants on the inside and a team of pursuing Masters on the submissives’ heels.

  Being thirty minutes outside the city limits meant very few visitors just popped by on a whim. Privacy and member safety were his top priority.

  “Want me to go check it out?” Liam asked, recognizing the alert.

  Braun smiled and wondered if his errand earlier that day had paid off already. He ran his tongue over his teeth and shook his head. “Nope. Door’s open if they want to come in.” He glanced around idly. Most of the hardcore equipment was in the other barns, although there were a few questionable items of BDSM furniture in here if someone looked carefully enough. “The other areas are still locked up tight. If we’ve got a snoop, they won’t find anything to write home about.”

  “Your call.” Liam picked up his cloth and resumed polishing the remaining glasses still waiting for attention. “Thanks for the talk, Braun. Maybe I’ll pay Bodie a visit tomorrow.”

  Braun’s lips twitched as he heard the main door squeak open. With one eye on the entryway, he waited. Normally the doors to the sign-in area were closed but through the day, he liked to have the main doors and inner doors propped open while his cleaning crew were busy to let fresh air sweep through. The main doors were shut when the crew left in the early afternoon, and the internal doors closed before opening hours.

  A small figure eased into view, looking timid and radiating nerves.

  “Don’t think that’s gonna be necessary, boy.” Braun lifted his drink, sipped slowly as the woman inched into the club bit by bit. Raising his voice, he called out, “C’mon in, little one. We don’t bite.”

  There was a soft gasp as she recognized his voice, clever little minx. “You!”

  “Boadicea? What are you doing here?” The love and surprise in Liam’s voice was lovely to hear. No matter what had been said in frustration, the boy’s feelings toward his friend hadn’t changed in the slightest. “I’ve tried calling you, messaging you, but...wait, you know Braun? What the hell?”

  Braun didn’t move a muscle, waiting to see what the shy mouse would do next. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she struggled to cast off the nerves and stand tall enough to exhibit some degree of confidence.

  Liam was right; she wasn’t a naturally confident individual.

  “I-I’m not here to see you.” The words were shaky, but she managed to spit them out. Her footfalls were tentative, quiet on the wooden floor, which told Braun she knew how to tread so she wouldn’t be noticed. Too bad for her she was already on his radar. “I came to find the man who gave me something earlier, and he’s sitting right there.”

  “What did you do, Fitzpatrick?”

  Smiling quietly, Braun cocked his head. “You’ve been a miserable bastard, William, for a fortnight. Members have expressed their concerns and I decided it was time for one of you two to make a move toward reconciling this shitshow. So, I paid a visit to your ballerina over here and left the rest to chance.”

  Bodie had come close enough for the scent of blueberries and lilies to drift on the air. Not strongly, it was quite faint, and didn’t quite mask the odor of despair. “Why did you do this?”

  He looked at her then, turning his head to rake his gaze over her. It only took him ten seconds to assess she wasn’t in the best place. He scowled at her, almost pushing off his stool to yank her to him for closer inspection, but the way she shied back triggered his protective instincts. He stayed seated and lost the scowl. “Do what, little one?”

  “This!” She thrust out a small hand with fingers he could easily nibble on. In her palm rested the bait he’d hooked her in with. “Is this a bribe?”

  “Jesus,” Liam said softly. “How much money?”

  Bodie’s eyes glanced toward the blond, Braun noticed, and the pain in them deepened before she wrenched her gaze away and locked it onto his. Pain morphed to feminine anger. “A thousand fucking dollars? What were you expecting me to do for that?”

  Oh, she had some fire in her. He liked that. “Say thank you?”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock as her eyes flared wide, that delicious blue turning confused. “T-Thank you?”

  “Good girl,” he murmured in a praising tone and gained some satisfaction in seeing her blush prettily. Those two words cooled her temper considerably, although it was plain to see she was digging deep to find the source of her anger again. Liam had been correct when he said she had a lot of the damned stuff locked inside her. “You didn’t need to drive all the way out here to say thank you, but I appreciate the gesture.”

  Bodie blinked. “I-I didn’t.”

  “You didn’t drive? Hell, it’s a long fucking walk.” He masked his grin with his drink as she spluttered, bewildered. “Liam will drive you home when you’re ready to leave. It’ll be dark soon and it’s not safe for a lone female to be wandering the roads by herself.”

  “I—no. I drove here but I didn’t come to say thank you. I came to give you this back!” Damn if she didn’t nearly stomp her little foot in a temper tantrum. She shoved the money toward him again, keeping her distance. “Here, take it. I don’t need anything from anyone. I can’t accept this.”

  “Sure you can. There’s no strings attached to it, little one.”

  “There are always strings attached, one way or another.” When he wouldn’t take the money from her hand, she slapped it down on the bar. “There. Now I owe you nothing.” She visibly quivered under his assessing stare, her eyes meeting his for a few seconds before they dropped meekly to study his boots. “I appreciate it, I really do, but I can’t take it.”

  Submissive, Braun thought with satisfaction. He’d bet the full amount of cash he’d given her she didn’t even know what these moments of capitulation were. She was too full of piss and vinegar, brimming with that simmering antagonism, to truly understand what a treasure she had to offer. “Tell me, little one, when was the last time you ate?”

  Liam was wisely holding his tongue, but his gaze arrowed in on Boadicea—and wasn’t that just a lovely name—with all the focus of a hunter sighting his gun on an albino moose.

  Bodie’s eyes flickered from side to side without lifting. Braun studied the flutter of her lashes as she worked out truth and lies. She wouldn’t look at him when she whispered, “Lunchtime.”

  Little fibber. Hardening his voice to steel, Braun snapped, “Don’t lie to me, girl. One thing I won’t tolerate is being lied to.” He gave her a few seconds to shudder in the face of his displeasure, her arms coming up to self-comfort, then asked again in the same tone of voice. “When was the last time you ate?”

  Her weight
shifted from foot to foot. “I don’t know.”

  Braun growled. Her face held a gauntness that spoke of several days’ starvation. She might be scavenging scraps here and there, enough to keep her body functioning, but it wasn’t enough. He snapped his fingers and pointed between his spread legs, intrigued whether she’d obey his silent order or give him a resounding fuck you.

  The pretty little thing bit her lip worriedly, then stepped forward into the cradle of his legs. But when he stroked his hands gently down her arms, she snarled at him and stepped back again.

  Interesting.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, little one. Come back here please.”

  Hands wringing together, she shook her head. “I didn’t come here to play twenty questions with a stranger. Whatever games you play here, I don’t want to know. I just want to go home and forget I was ever in this place.”

  His eyebrow winged high. “Well, darlin’, you’re in this place right now, and anyone who comes into my domain shows me respect. Dominant or submissive, kinkster or vanilla. Have I shown you respect under my roof, Boadicea?” He drew her name out, adding a hefty dose of thickened Irish accent to lure her in. There was always the softest twang in his voice if people listened carefully enough, but he knew how to broaden it for maximum impact.

  Her blush turned crimson, rising up her neck into her cheeks and ears. It was a nice change to the almost sickly pallor of her skin. “I...yes.”

  He’d prefer a yes, Sir, but he had no right to push it. Already he was standing on his own boundary lines. “Good, I’m glad we both understand the rules. Now, would you please come stand here so you can look me in the eyes when you lie to me.”

  Her breath hitched, but instead of the tears he expected, she battled the emotions bubbling under her skin back. Rather than a boiling pot of upset female, Bodie presented him with a calm, controlled woman in charge of herself. She moved to stand in front of his knees but came no closer.