Glacier blue eyes winged across the open space to lock on hers, and she found herself taking a hasty step back from the power of them. She recognized the gleam in his gaze, and it was one that terrified her beyond measure.
This was a man who took pleasure in hurting people.
“Bodie, you’re safe, I promise.”
No one was safe when men like this were walking around. Hell, she was tempted to run back to Braun’s office and hammer on the door until he let her in. She’d rather be confined in his company than be introduced to a man whose inner core mirrored her father’s.
“Suspicious little thing, aren’t you, poppet?” Blondie straightened and assessed her from head to toe. “At a guess, you’re remarkably skilled at reading people. What do you see, I wonder?” His voice was so different to what she expected, she blinked in shock. Smooth, cultured, pleasant. Not a hint of the rough and threatening tone she thought he’d possess. “Someone’s hurt you, haven’t they, poppet? I find people—women in particular—see the sadist in me so much more clearly when they’ve suffered.”
Was it that easy for him to admit what he was? No skirting around it, just, there’s a sadist in me whether you like it or not. Her breathing picked up pace and she was inching away slowly as though the eyes of the hunter weren’t already pinned on her.
“Jasper, you asshole. We’ve only just persuaded her to stay, we don’t need your big mouth scaring her off.” Liam rolled his eyes in exasperation. “And she’s not here to play, she’s here to work.”
“No, I don’t imagine she’d enjoy my style of play,” Jasper conceded.
“Oh good, we’re all in agreement then. Bodie, baby, come here.”
A few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have hesitated to hurry to Liam when she was feeling scared and insecure. Twenty years of friendship would have drawn her to him no matter the peril that separated them. Now, when her defenses were already on the rocks, broken trust didn’t offer the same support.
Braun let sadists loose on his customers.
Was he insane?
“I may be a sadist, poppet, but I don’t enjoy terrorizing an unwilling submissive. Ghostly white really isn’t a color that suits you with that hair.” Jasper’s gaze softened slightly, and to her dismay, he became infinitely more approachable. Not that she would go near him if the fucking club burned down around their ears and he was the only one capable of saving her from a fiery death.
“I’m n-not a submissive.” Way to sound assertive there, Bodie.
“No? Well, that’s fifteen years as a Dom wasted,” he said cheerfully, then snapped his fingers and pointed to a spot in front of him. “Come here. Now.”
Bodie’s heart sank as she took a step forward. Sheer willpower stopped her from taking another, but the fucker had made his point and he knew it.
The smug grin on his face was proof of that.
“Don’t let the fear of the unknown scare you away from taking an adventure, poppet. Submission is a gift only a moron would abuse, and Braun has no patience for morons in his club.” Jasper inclined his head toward Liam. “I have a scene to prepare for, so I’m going to get out of your way and let the nervous subbie take a chance to catch her breath. Catch you later.”
“Yeah, thanks for that, J.”
Bodie’s breath strangled in her throat as the Dominant headed straight for her. Her small moan of relief when he walked past her without making a move to touch her was completely audible and humiliating. She swore she felt the power of him brush over her as tangibly as his hand. “Fuck.”
“The key to Jasper,” Liam called to her, “is not to let him intimidate you. Once he knows he’s gotten under your skin, he’ll play on it. Sadist through and through, but he’s a bit of a prankster as well.”
“Yeah, well, he can shove his pranks up his ass.” There, now she felt better. She hated feeling lesser than other people and Jasper made her feel so off-balance. “Is everyone here like him?”
“Everyone’s different, Bo. They’re people, after all. We have some Doms who are stricter than others, some who have a wicked sense of humor. Master Atticus is a hardass, for example, but a lot of subs say he gives the best aftercare. Mistress Connie comes across as a sweetheart, which she is unless someone pisses her off. Then she’s...think T-Rex crossed with an angry mama bear.” Liam chuckled to himself, obviously amused by his description. “Master Loki is the group troubleshooter. Nervous and novice subbies flock to him for advice. Luckily, he likes the attention.”
Bodie moved closer, intrigued by the picture he was building in her head. The terms he used—Master, Mistress, Doms, submissives, aftercare—meant little to her, but the way he spoke about people she’d never met poked her curiosity awake. “And you? Are you a...a Master?”
“For two years now. I started coming here about five years ago when I realized I needed more out of my sexual encounters. I was in a relationship with Asshole Aaron, if you remember, and he was...a lot kinkier than I was at that time. But he opened my eyes to the lifestyle, brought me to Avalon, and let me explore things I never would’ve had the balls to try without his influence.” Liam sighed wistfully and propped his elbow on the bar. “That man was the biggest fuckwit in the history of mankind, but he sure did know how to educate.”
She remembered Aaron and asshole described him perfectly. The man had been a diva of the worst kind, always wanting to be center of attention and creating any form of drama to make sure the spotlight was on him. She had never worked out why her best friend stayed with him for so long—now she knew.
“After Aaron and I split up, I kept coming. It really is an amazing sanctuary, Bodie. The friends you can make, the familial bond that binds a number of us together...even if you don’t want to play, the connection would enrich your life. Braun offered me club manager eighteen months after my first visit. I’d tended bar for him for a while, and it was the natural next step to take over the running of the club. Six months after that, he made me a Master. Best day of my life, and a title I hold with pride.”
Yes, she could see that. Liam was insanely proud of what he’d accomplished, even if she couldn’t understand it. After his junkie mom nearly ruined his life at such a young age, he was happy. “What kind of...Master are you?”
“I’d like to think I’m fair. I can be as much of a hardass as Atticus, as sweet as Connie, and my ears are always available for a chat with an uncertain subbie. Being bi, I’m extremely lucky to be able to top men and women, so I’m kept busy between running things and taking care of those who require my attention.”
Hmmm, sounded accurate. In true Liam style, he hadn’t embellished his achievements that she could tell, but told her the truth as he saw it. She had a feeling Jasper wouldn’t have been so modest if asked the same question.
“And...and Braun?”
As soon as she said his name, Liam’s eyes lit with consideration. He took a long moment before answering this time—was he weighing up his reply to make Braun seem more appealing, or was he figuring out how to spin his boss’s bad points more favorably? “Braun is one of the best men of my acquaintance in the lifestyle, Bo. He’s been my mentor for quite some time, especially after Aaron fucked off with his toyboy. Braun’s got the patience of a saint, he’s skilled in several areas, and he’s earned the respect of each and every member of the club.”
Bodie grunted quietly, mulling that over.
“Let yourself relax, Bo. Why don’t you go put some music on and take a spin on the stage before the horde starts piling in? The music system is to the left of the stage, you can’t miss it.”
Damn him for using his knowledge of her to settle her down. He knew the best way to calm her nerves was music. And dance...dance gave her an outlet for all her frantic energy and the emotion she sometimes couldn’t bottle up.
“Is there time?” There were no freaking clocks in the club that she’d seen.
“Yeah, you’ve got time. Go burn some stress off, get those endorphins pumping.”
Her feet headed in the direction of the stage of their own accord. Before she could talk herself out of this whole sorry mess, she’d travelled up the short set of five steps and surveyed the area with which she had to work.
A lot of space, which pleased her immensely. From below, the stage looked quite small and cramped but up here, she had more than enough room to play with choreography.
The floor was smooth, perfect for slides and splits, and shone under the warm lights illuminating her new territory. Marked here and there, but she wasn’t going to think about how the scars had gotten there.
Looking up, she was impressed by the amount of lights at her disposal. White lights, colored filters, spotlights...whatever her mood required, she could set it up easily. There was some sort of rigging above her head, but again, she ignored it. It wouldn’t get in her way, so she didn’t need to ponder the possibilities.
Her overtaxed brain switched from fretting over sex and big mean Doms to thinking of songs and routines she knew by heart. Tonight was not the night to start plotting out new choreography, not this close to her club debut. If she was going to make dancing at Avalon a biweekly event, she needed to be flawless, to stir the audience into a frenzy that had them begging for more.
Bodie wandered to the left and discovered a treasure trove of music hidden along the back wall. Four six-feet high bookcases crammed to the gills with CDs and, praise sweet baby Jesus cuddled up in his crib, organized alphabetically. Her fingers trailed across slim plastic spines as she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
Country and Western? Line dancing? No.
Pop music? Something down and dirty? Maybe that would be appealing.
Good old-fashioned rock? Nope.
She wished she had her phone. There’d been some really good, fast paced remixes on there that would have knocked the socks off Braun’s clientele. Never mind, she’d find something suitable, but for this moment in time...
Plucking an album from the shelf, she carried it to the sound system and studied the fancy contraption. It took her several moments to figure out what buttons controlled what, but eventually she got the CD in and let it play until she twiddled the volume dial high enough to have the bass pulsing through the room. Loud enough to drown out thoughts and nerves and everything beyond the edge of the stage.
With the volume where she wanted it, she lined up the track she required and paused the CD. Pocketing the remote, she went hunting for the lightboard, discovering it on the opposite side of the stage. Another ten minutes of her time was occupied with fiddling with colors and brightness.
When she stepped into the middle of the stage, she couldn’t see anything but the lights. If she couldn’t see what was going on when the club was in full swing, she couldn’t get distracted or spooked.
Bodie inhaled slowly and stripped off her hoody as the lights warmed up the stage. She’d have to rethink her costumes—collapsing due to dehydration and heat exhaustion was a definite no-no. But for now, she’d dance in jogging pants and a tank top; she’d just have to hope she didn’t sweat herself into a puddle on the floor.
Using the remote, she set the track playing and closed her eyes as the first notes of Kesha’s Woman thundered into the club. Her feet kicked off the party, the rhythm crawling up her legs into her knees, then her hips. Shoulders and arms next.
She surrendered herself to the music, eyes still tightly shut, and let her instincts take over. Blessed silence blanketed her thoughts, and the peace it brought her after a rough day was so much more than welcome.
It was vital.
Her body picked up speed, the beat flowing through her veins and guiding her movements. She opened her eyes as she flowed into a spin, her arms outstretched before rising above her head. But even as she lost herself in the rhythm, something didn’t feel quite right.
There was something missing.
Still, she kept dancing, let everything go but the music, and by the time the song ended, she was sweaty, breathless, and her mind was clearer than it had been for a while.
“Well hell,” someone called out from below her, “Braun went and hired us a sexy as fuck dancer for the evening’s entertainment. Think we can keep her? I’d sure like to watch her dance like that under me in bed.”
Her hands fisted. Her breath sucked in so hard, she made a growling noise in the back of her throat. Using the lights to blind herself was a mistake; if she could have seen where the asshole was, she’d have already launched herself off the edge of the stage at him.
No. Braun said not to.
As indignant fury filled her to the brim, Bodie trembled and remembered she’d promised the club owner she wouldn’t cause that kind of trouble. There was to be no mouthing off to anyone in Avalon and in return she wouldn’t have to suffer through a punishment.
“Shut the fuck up, Jacob. You’re already skating on thin ice with Braun after that stunt you pulled.” Liam’s voice was taut with disdain. “Leave the talent alone because he’ll fucking scalp you if he finds out you’re hassling her.”
Bodie fumbled for the remote with shaking hands and switched off the music. Her excellent high was quickly fading as she listened to Liam wade straight into an argument with the man she couldn’t see.
“I’m a member, Liam. We get benefits,” Jacob hissed the word lasciviously.
“Memberships are easily revoked when members turn into lecherous assholes. This club doesn’t tolerate the kind of behavior you’re prone to displaying, Jacob, and I’d be well within my rights to terminate your access to Avalon. Braun really won’t have an issue with losing you.”
“Fucking faggot, who do you think you are, threatening me?”
Bodie bristled and turned toward the stairs. After Liam came out of the closet as bisexual, he’d taken more than his fair share of verbal and physical abuse from homophobic asshats like this one. She abhorred ignorant jackasses who thought bullying others made them big, macho men.
How tall would he be in the glare of her ire, she wondered as she stomped across the stage like a woman with murder on her mind. She’d reduce the fucker to a whimpering heap by the time she got through with him.
“Little one, take another step and we’re going to have a problem.” Braun’s deep voice rumbled, loud and clear. It boomed through the barn, silencing Jacob’s disgusting tirade of abuse. “Stay right there, Bodie. I’ve got my eye on you.”
She froze, obeying the command etched into his tone. It was that same dark, inarguable tone that made her panties wet and her belly ache. The fire thrumming through her veins with her vexation simmered down from a roaring inferno to a quiet glow, calmed but ready to flare again with one wrong word.
“Jacob. I take it you haven’t learned your lesson from the other night? You were told not to come back until you learned manners and how to respect a submissive in your care.” Braun did not sound amused; quite the opposite, in fact. The coldness in his voice sent a bolt of ice down Bodie’s spine. “Not only have you broken my rules on conduct, but you’ve blatantly disregarded the terms set in your contract by entering Avalon outside of business hours and verbally assaulting my manager.”
“Manager,” the man scoffed and, to Bodie’s disgust, made a loud hocking noise followed by spitting. “That limp-dicked wanker does nothing but perv over people paying good money to come to this shithole. Fucks men and women alike, spreading his diseases all over the county and back.”
That’s it. Bodie charged the remaining distance to the steps and clattered down them with her furnace stoked back to screaming. If there was steam coming out of her ears, she wouldn’t be surprised. “You homophobic, inbred, piece of shit!”
“Well, lookee here. Another slut under the faggot’s spell.”
“Stay right where you are, Bodie!”
“Ah fuck, boss, grab her!”
Cutting the strings loose on her temper, Bodie launched herself at the man standing in front of Braun. Her fists were clenched, and she swung at him as soon as she was within reach. Her scream
was one of pure outrage as an incredibly strong arm banded around her waist and snagged her in midair, pulling her up tight against a broad chest and pinning her.
“Get that bitch under control.”
The body holding her captive seemed to snap with a burst of energy, and she heard the dull thud of flesh meeting flesh, then flesh meeting wood. “Consider your membership revoked, Jacob.” Braun snapped, barely breathing hard. “Liam, call Jasper in here and get him to give you a hand taking the trash to the end of the road. This fucker shows his face again at my club, you call the fucking cops.”
“My pleasure,” Liam drawled.
Bodie snarled as the room spun around her. “Put me down!”
Chapter Four
Carting his enraged armful of squirming submissive back to his office was not helping his erection in the slightest. Watching Bodie dance had encouraged his cock to life, but when she’d defied his direct order and come flying down the steps from the stage like a raven-haired warrior, her face furiously focused, her rage palpable as she attacked Jacob...
There was more blood in his lap right now than in the rest of his body.
Magnificent. It was the only word to describe her.
Bucking, kicking, snarling, she fought him every step of the way. Something had snapped inside her, releasing some of that pent-up shit she kept hidden away, and she wasn’t showing any signs of cooling off anytime soon.
No matter. He had his ways and means of subduing a riled female.
His shins were bruised and throbbing before he reached his office, and he had a good mind to reciprocate the discomfort on her ass. He shoved open the door and all but tossed the spitting woman into his office before slamming the door hard enough to rattle the frame.
There, that got her attention.
Braun flipped the lock and leaned back against the jamb, assessing Bodie’s condition and his own. The little spitfire was seething with rage, and he couldn’t blame her—the vile vitriol Jacob spewed out there had ignited his own need to defend Liam.
Dance for Me Page 6
