“Why are you trying to get away from me?”
The Dom voice penetrated her body with a warm buzz but her brain, for once, stayed online. “I saw something. Someone. The guy from the wreck.”
Suddenly he was all attention and protection. “Where?”
“By the tree over there, near the foyer.”
Steve called out to Derek, waved and waded through the crowd in the general direction of her gestures, his hand now wrapped around her upper arm, his face tight with anger. She only hoped he didn’t kill the guy in front of all these nice people.
“He was talking to a blonde,” she told him.
Once out of the crowd, Steve turned in a circle until he spotted a woman with short blond hair. “Were you talking to man right here a few minutes ago?”
She lowered her eyes. “Yes, Master.”
“Tell me his name.”
The sub’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Master. We didn’t exchange names. I’ve seen him in other clubs, but I don’t know anything about him.”
Steve tipped the woman’s head up, his thumb stroking her chin, and a stab of jealousy lodged in Dena’s gut. Unreasonable, but painful none the less.
“If you see him again and learn who he is, contact me here or leave a message with any of the staff.”
“Yes, Master. Of course, anything for you, Master.”
The tightness in Dena’s chest expanded, tendrils working their way to the nether regions of her soul.
He let go of her chin and the woman’s eyes dropped to his torso, then to his feet before she backed away and was absorbed by the crowd.
“What?” he asked, and the need to look away pushed her buttons hard.
He snatched ahold of her arm and drew her to him. “Dena, it’s who I am. I have no desire to touch any woman but you right now. However, seeing your jealousy—well, let’s just say I enjoy it.”
“Bastard.” Whispered, but loud enough for his ears. She hoped. He had the audacity to laugh, proving the point of his parentage.
“I’d planned for us to stay awhile, but I think you’d be better off at home.”
She sucked in a breath, a fear of being alone catching her unaware. Screw it. She’d lived alone for over a year and liked it that way. She didn’t plan on giving up her house and she refused to let a few strange incidents take away her personal freedom.
Derek and Mark flanked her while Steve explained what had happened to her this morning. The men, all three of them, weren’t impressed with the situation. Derek and Mark both offered help, and Derek insisted on walking out to Steve’s truck with them, saying something about an extra set of eyes never hurting.
“I’m sorry I ruined your evening,” she told him after her head cleared. She hated the way all this drama made her body not her own, and she hated disappointing Steve.
“Don’t worry about the club. It’ll be there for a long time, waiting for us to play again.”
“You’ll take me there again?”
His head turned to her for a minute, then flipped back to the dark road. “Of course. I thought you understood my claim on you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That collar around your throat. It means you belong to me for as long as you wear it.”
“Are we talking ownership?” This wasn’t sounding like a regular dating situation at all. Sure, he was amazing in a wild kind of way, but possession?
His hand covered hers on her lap. “Dena. This is who I am. I explained my way of dating on our first date. Do you want to be free of me? Say the word and I’ll release you.”
Well, shit-heck-darn. She didn’t want him to drop her but the thought of belonging to him was more than scary. Great sex shouldn’t come with whips and paddles and an audience.
However.
Past experience had shown her that good sex was a rarity.
“Do you plan to spank me all the time? If I stay with you?” It never hurt to be prepared before you committed-something her mother taught her long ago.
“I’ll manage your behavior as I need to, and if you object to your treatment, you can always use your safe word.”
Her heart stuttered with the mention of that word. Did it mean the end of the relationship if she used it, or something else. “Tell me about what happens if I use my word.”
“Everything stops.”
“Everything?”
Steve sighed, like he was talking with a recalcitrant child. “Yes. But you should only use it when you can’t take any more of whatever we’re doing.” He patted her hand. “I’ll push your limits, and you might feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable. That’s where trust comes in. You need to trust me to take care of you without hurt-mental, emotional, or physical. The safe word is for times that you are hurting to the point you can’t handle it or if you’re truly scared.”
“And that ends our relationship.”
The truck whipped into an empty parking lot and came to a complete stop with a curse hanging in the air. “No. Fuck, no.”
He popped his seatbelt and leaned across the cab, his face inches from hers, his breath fanning her chin. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, doll. Safe word stops the action of the moment. Ending a relationship in the lifestyle is just like in any other situation.” His head tipped until his forehead touched hers. “Is that what you’re trying to tell me? That you want out of this?”
Oh, God. This was not a conversation she was prepared for. With no idea how he really felt, even when it seemed he cared, she was unsure. Her brain, in fact, was scared to the point of shutting down. Even as she analyzed and rationalized, her heart wasn’t willing to give up the way he made her feel.
“No. I just want to be sure what’s happening between us. I’m out of my comfort zone on this, Steve. I don’t know all the rules yet.”
His mouth brushed across hers and anything else she might’ve said slipped into the wind with the truck’s air conditioner. She reached for more, but they were already back on the road, flying home.
His home, which made her feel cherished and protected. And a spear of excitement danced down her body at what he had in mind when they arrived.
Chapter 16
The alarm blared and he slapped it off, thought about throwing the damn thing across the room, but pulled the pillow over his head instead. Sleep had been fitful and elusive, his mind racing to find a solution to his money problems. The deadline for payment was coming up fast and if he didn’t have something to give his private banker, he’d be dead. And that was the good option. He’d never been late with a payment to this guy, but he knew a few who had. It wasn’t pretty.
The smell of stale coffee met him at the bedroom door. Lloyd was crashed on the sofa, the laptop on the coffee table cycling a screensaver of shifting stars. They’d been up most of the night trying to figure out what code the Lindsay bitch used to create her passwords. If they could get into her brokerage files, they could make a quick million in the market and disappear before anyone accused them of insider trading.
But the damn bitch was either highly intelligent or a damn fool with a paper file as a key to the passwords.
Nothing they did got them past the login on any of the three companies he needed. And he needed it three days ago. From what he’d overheard from his uncle, one of his inner circle of friends had a big merger pending, followed by a stock split that would make every investor a butt load of money. All three had accounts at Lindsay & Associates. With just enough money squirreled away to invest, he was going to finally get out of debt and live high on his own.
Hence the robbery and all the man-hours hunched over computers with nothing forthcoming.
Approaching the girl at the scene of the wreck was a spontaneous opportunity gone wrong, since she now knew what he looked like. Last night proved him a first class idiot. He’d seen Gladston walk away with her at the wreck and should’ve stayed out of Private Delights, but he couldn’t resist the lure of the club and the fuck bunnies he wanted to whip int
o submission. Another desire the bitch took away from him.
“Rise and shine, dumbass. We need to get in today, or we’re both dead.”
“Huh?” Lloyd pushed into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. “What do you mean, dead? What have you done, Ethan?”
“My money man wants to be paid tomorrow. If I go down, so do you.”
“I didn’t get into this to pay off your loan shark. That wasn’t the deal you offered me.”
Ethan rinsed out the coffee pot and started fresh. “Deals change. Don’t screw with me, just get the job done.”
“How much do you owe the guy?”
Ethan turned to face his co-conspirator and leaned on the counter. “Too damn much to talk about. Are you any closer to figuring out the passwords?”
“No. I can’t find any combination to open the file marked passwords, and I’ve tried a few other files, too, on the off chance that file’s a dummy. I built a randomizer to come up with possible logins, but it’s going to take a while to finish combing through all the data.” Lloyd looked at his watch and rose. “Man, I’ve got to get to work. Leave the laptop running and I’ll come back at five to check the results.” He was out the door before Ethan could stop him, feet flying like the devil was behind him.
The apartment door shut with a thud and Ethan poured a cup of coffee. A few sips cleared a little of the fog and he went over to look at the program on Lloyd’s laptop. Data was flowing, but he had no idea what it meant. He opened his own computer and checked in with the world. He had a date with Sara much later, and he needed to make arrangements. No way he’d bring her here. No, for this little rendezvous he needed a place out and away from town, where no one knew him and he could pay in cash. He’d missed the fun last night, but tonight he’d take all he wanted.
At exactly seven, he knocked on Sara’s door. She looked great in a black dress and heels that made her ass move when she walked, just what he liked in a woman. “How do you feel about Italian food?” he asked, helping her into the compact rental he’d picked up for the night, courtesy of a friend who owed him a few bucks. He’d chosen a restaurant known for good food, one that didn’t take reservations and was usually busy. They waited twenty minutes before a small table in the back opened up. With customers knee deep at the bar, conversation was close to impossible, which was just what he wanted.
He was socially obligated to feed the woman before he banged her, so he did. It was the only rule his mother forced him to follow once his uncle took over his education. He ordered two glasses of wine and waited until she left to go to the restroom to drop the pill into the red-tinged glass. His good time was a sure thing tonight and she’d remember nothing.
Fuck her memory of him. If Lloyd’s program didn’t come up with a usable password by morning, Ethan was giving serious thought to getting on a plane and getting well out of town. He didn’t have enough money to start over, but he had enough info about his cousin to work a blackmail scheme of his own. Might be worth investigating.
In two days, maybe three, he could be good and gone. If he kept his money man off his ass that long.
Ethan watched Sara wend her way through the crowd, her curly blond hair down her back, a smile on her lips. In his mind he could already see her on her knees. He’d hold her in place with a handful of her hair wrapped around his knuckles while she sucked him off. He smiled back at her when she sat across from him. Yeah, he was looking forward to the after dinner part of the date.
Lifting his glass, he proposed a toast and, of course, she joined him in a long drink of the wine. Their appetizer arrived and he nibbled while she made conversation instead of going for the food. With some encouragement and a discussion of the wine, he had her drinking steadily. Between the alcohol and the sweet pill, she was giddy and playful by the time they got back in the car.
She didn’t even notice the rundown hotel on the edge of town. Or the handcuffs strategically placed over the headboard.
She was wet and ready when the phone rang and he cursed a blue streak when he heard the ringtone. Not wise to let it go to voicemail. He slipped a wadded bandana into her mouth and opened the connection. “I told you it’d be next week.”
“Not good enough. And don’t leave me messages. You want to negotiate, speak to me in person or from the grave.”
“I don’t have it yet, but I will. Soon, I promise.” Fucking bloodsucker loan shark would have to wait until he scored. “I’m working on it.”
The man growled another threat and Ethan flinched. A long painful death spread over several days didn’t sound like fun. “I’ll get it to you. Soon. I promise.”
“Two days. After that, you owe double.”
The connection closed and Ethan dropped the cell on the crappy nightstand. The girl on the bed moaned and squirmed, the medicine doing its job, but he walked away, thinking. There was no way he could come up with twenty-five thousand in two days, not even half of that. He didn’t fucking have enough to skip town, just maybe eight hundred in his account. A hum brought him out of his head and he looked down.
Her purse was open on the chair, her cell bright and vibrating with a call. He waited for the message to drop before he picked it up. Nice phone, lots of memory. All kinds of apps.
One marked ‘specials’ caught his eye. When he opened it, there were a series of number/letter combinations. Passwords. When he scrolled down to the bottom of the file, passing a shitload of white space, he found a list of bank names.
For a rich college student, she wasn’t very bright.
He checked over his shoulder and found her just as he’d left her, arms over her head and tied to the headboard, a gag in her mouth, legs splayed and waiting for him.
An idea rolled in, a crazy stupid idea that just might work all the way around if he played it right. It was a long shot, but he liked to gamble. Besides, if it didn’t go well, he’d be dead and if he didn’t at least try, he’d be dead.
Might as well jump in with both feet and play it to the end.
Shit. He could do both and no one would be the wiser. Fun first, and collect the cash after.
* * * *
Dena stretched her neck and shoulder muscles and resettled on the pillow, her body warmed from the back. Steve’s hand made a lazy pass across her hip and over to her belly, heat flowing along the path. Sharing a bed was much more than she’d imagined, even with the restraints.
Steve used only the best, the softest wrist cuffs, and she appreciated his concern for her. Three consecutive days and nights sleeping, or not, in his bed made her more than appreciate his care. She’d never been more pampered.
“Ready to get up, sweetheart?”
Hard to decide, since other things were hard and reminded her of what they’d done before sleep took them.
“Maybe.”
He hummed and a wet tongue caressed the skin below her ear. “Not an answer.”
“Master, whatever you choose will please me.”
“Good answer, sub.” His hand covered her nipple and tugged, sending shards of sensation outward to infect the rest of her body. With his sure touch, it didn’t take but a moment or two for her entire body to sing with the need he conveyed.
The tether holding her wrists to the headboard allowed room for movement and he used the slack to reposition her on the bed. Spread wide for him, she waited while he left the room. A minute later, footsteps sounded and the lights went out, something soft covering her eyes.
“There you go, Dena. One more change, and we’ll begin.” A squishy plug lodged in her left ear. “This will help you focus on what you’re feeling.” The other ear was blocked. The edge of panic crept into her head and then a rough hand landed between her breasts.
Steve.
The texture and size of his hand had become a welcome pleasure the last few days. The knowledge that he’d never intentionally hurt her banished the panic and left only curiosity.
The hand moved away and a different texture, light and tickling, swiped down her stom
ach and between her legs. She wiggled and it stopped, replaced with the flick of a soft flogger across her abdomen, one frond lashing against her right breast and making her jump.
A thumb and finger grasped the nipple and squeezed, taking the pain to a new level of pleasure and a moan slipped out. The flogger crossed her skin again, then again, her recognition only from past experience with the toy.
Considering his toys as weapons had fallen by the wayside early yesterday morning. He’d been more than convincing. He’d been devilish.
He’d turned her into a wanton woman.
The bed moved as he did, and her nipple was consumed by wet heat and suction. And then fire lashed through the tight bud when a hard object took possession of it. She cried out and he left the bed.
Hot air caressed her other breast and she tried to control the anticipation of pain. But again, her breast was taken by his mouth, then a duplicate of what he’d used a few minutes before. The sting morphed into an intense pleasure when his fingers played between her thighs, and she hoped he didn’t have another one of those things for down there.
He pushed her feet further apart, flexing the knees to splay her like a Thanksgiving turkey, and the bed dipped as he climbed between them. When he pushed inside, every nerve in her body went on high alert, erotic pressure zinging in every direction.
And when he moved in and out…
Heaven have mercy, when he moved within her, lights flashed in her eyes, no matter the blindfold, and her body took flight like a jet launching from a carrier.
With no sight or sound, her judgment of time disappeared and she floated, pulsing with waves of pleasure as he took her again and again.
Her inner muscles slowed their contractions and he followed their pace. His body shifted but she could still feel his thickness rammed deep inside her. Fingertips caressed the swells of both her breasts, lifted away, and ignited a firestorm of pleasure.
Take a Chance Page 11
