Skin Deep

by Evans, Anna J.

  “He’s not here,” she said.

  It wasn’t a big surprise—there were only four or five couples active in the large room at the moment—but Jackson still felt his spirits sink. What if the man decided not to come? Not that he was in any hurry to see the sociopath who’d made Nicky’s life a living hell, but after all their planning it would be beyond frustrating if Derrick didn’t show. And Jackson knew Nicky would be devastated. She was so thrilled by the thought of seeing her daughter again.

  Jackson was pretty thrilled himself. He couldn’t wait to meet the little blond-haired, brown-eyed girl he’d seen in Nicky’s pictures. Abby was the spitting image of her mom, a fact that made him love her before he’d even met her.

  God, he was a hopeless case where this woman was concerned. And probably the world’s sappiest dom. If Nick knew half the thoughts running through his head, his “big and bad” rep would be out the window in seconds.

  “Nope, no Derrick, but I really like that bench in the corner.” She ran her tongue lightly over her lips. “I mean really, really like it.”

  “It’s called a Black Stallion,” Jackson said, letting his hand wander down to cup Nicky’s ass through the soft satin. “They’re exceptionally well built, made to support a lot of weight. I could position you at one end, spank you until your pussy is dripping down your thighs, and then climb up and fuck you from behind. It would support both of us.”

  Nicky’s breath came faster, her breasts rising and falling in a way that made Jackson ache to get her tits in his mouth. “You think the boys in the van got all that?”

  “No. I have the switch to turn on the cameras and mics right here. It’s a remote control built into my watch.” His fingers teased under the hem of her shorts, tracing the curve of her ass, making her shiver. “I don’t want any of them hearing or seeing anything but what they need to hear and see. Tonight, you’re mine.”

  “Yes, I am.” Her eyes slid closed and her lips parted, an invitation Jackson couldn’t resist.

  He captured her mouth with his, slipping his tongue between her lips, tasting the shot of brandy they’d each had and the sweeter, spicier taste that was pure Nicky. As his tongue tangled with hers, his fingers found their way between her legs. Pulling the scrap of fabric masquerading as her panties aside, he plunged first one finger and then a second into the molten heat of her pussy.

  “You’re wet already,” he said, his own breath coming faster. “You little slut.”

  “Dirty little slut,” she amended, contracting her inner muscles until they gripped his fingers. “Who can’t wait to get fucked.”

  Jackson kissed her again, moaning against her lips as his cock thickened within the tight confines of his leather pants. God. Damn. How had he managed to go nearly three days without touching her? How had he resisted the overwhelming need to get his fingers, his mouth, his cock inside her sweet little pussy?

  “Are you going to fuck me, Jackson?” she asked, her hands molding to his chest. “Are you going to take me in front of all these people? Show them that I’m yours?”

  “We agreed no penetrative sex, Nick. I’m not going to change my mind about that. But I will make sure you’re satisfied. If . . .” His words trailed off as he drove his fingers in and out of her pussy one last time, making her eyelids flutter and her breath rush out on a moan.

  “If what?”

  “If you’re a good girl.” He pulled his hand from between her legs and brought his fingers to his lips. Holding her eyes, he sucked the two that had been inside her into his mouth, taking the taste of her from his own skin.

  Nicky’s eyes grew impossibly wide and her nipples tightened until they poked through the thin fabric of her top. “I’ll be good. What can I do to show you how good I can be?” She licked her lips again, bringing to mind images of Nicky on her knees, sucking his cock the way she had that first night in the cabin.

  “Soon. Not just yet.” With no small degree of effort, Jackson forced himself to get his mind back on business. It would be so easy to fall into a scene with Nicky, to get swept away in pleasure and forget the real reason they were here. But he couldn’t let that happen. Nicky and Abby were both depending on him being man enough, dom enough, to make sure this night went according to plan.

  “Let’s check out the other room,” he said, unable to resist running his knuckles over her nipples through the gauzy material as he spoke. “Then we’ll find a place to play.”

  “Yes, sir.” Nicky’s words were perfectly submissive, but the look she cast up at him through her lashes was tinged with defiance. They let him know she wanted more out of tonight than a confrontation with her ex, that she wanted him to stake his claim and there would be hell to pay if he tried to deny her.

  Jackson turned back to her, nearly encircling her narrow waist with his hands and squeezing none too gently before leaning down to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to spank you, bind you, and make you scream my name as you come while all these people watch. Don’t doubt that for a minute.”

  Nicky’s hands drifted up to cling to his biceps, but he stopped her with a word. “No. Hands at your sides. Keep your hands to yourself until I tell you otherwise. Show me you can be patient and obedient.”

  “Obedient, yes. Patience, however, isn’t a virtue.” She narrowed her eyes, clearly not thrilled with the idea of waiting much longer.

  “Give me another look like that one again and you’ll be punished.”

  “And how would you punish me?” she asked, the arousal in her voice enough to make his cock twitch in his pants. She knew just how to play him, how to dance the edge between obedience and defiance, to arouse and frustrate him at the same time—both of which ramped up his own desire to a ridiculous degree.

  “I think nipple torture would be most fitting,” he said, smoothing his hands up to capture her tits in his palms. He pinched her nipples between his fingers as he continued to speak in the same low, soothing whisper. “First I’ll touch you like this, until you squirm and your pussy drenches those little panties you’re wearing.”

  Nicky sucked in a ragged breath, but didn’t say a word.

  “Then, I’d find some real nipple clamps. Or, in a classy joint like this, they might have dual electrode attachments for breast play. Have you ever had electricity shooting across your nipples, Nicky?”

  “I heard that could be dangerous. That it . . . could cause . . . a heart attack,” she said, her hands fisting at her sides as she fought to hold still despite the fact that he’d only intensified his attention to her nipples. “I think we have enough electricity already.”

  “I agree. But above-the-waist electrical play can be completely safe. If you know how to do it the right way.”

  “And I bet you know just how to do it the right way, don’t you?” Nicky’s words ended in a gasp as he pinched her nipples—hard—one last time and then pulled away.

  “Of course I do.” He smiled down at her, not letting himself think about how stupid it was to keep demanding a true power exchange from Nicky.

  It didn’t matter that this was their last night together. They had to make their relationship look like the real thing. Besides, he couldn’t seem to treat Nicky any other way. He behaved as if she was really his submissive, his girl, and they were learning how to be a pair, a dom-sub couple for life.

  The thought filled him with a longing so fierce he felt like a jolt of electricity had surged into his heart. Maybe Nicky was right and they already had enough of that particular energy.

  “Now why don’t we check out the other room?” He took her hand in his and walked toward the hall connecting the two playrooms.

  The passageway was constructed so it appeared to be carved through solid rock and took patrons behind the waterfall located in the main lounge. There were several nooks and crannies along the way, perfect for a couple looking to hide in the shadows, but he and Nicky were the only patrons in the darkened tunnel. It was only nine thirty and most of the clientele still seemed to be in the
drinking, snacking, and chatting phase. If Under My Thumb was anything like other clubs he’d been to, the real action wouldn’t start up until closer to midnight.

  “Look, the backside of water. I always wondered what that looked like,” Nicky said, then laughed softly.

  “You’re the dorkiest sex symbol I’ve ever met.” Jackson smiled at her over his shoulder.

  “I know.” She laughed again as she turned back to look at the waterfall. “I really am such a dork, I—”

  She suddenly froze, her hand going slack in his, the look on her face making his heart race.

  “What’s wrong?” Jack asked, twining his fingers through hers and pulling her close, as if he could protect her from whatever she’d seen. More like whomever. There was little doubt in his mind that it was the man who had inspired the fear and anxiety in Nicky’s eyes. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. He’s sitting at the bar.” Her voice was little more than a whisper.

  She sounded so much younger and weaker than the Nicky who had sassed him in the other room or joked about that backside of water a few seconds ago. And the bastard in the other room was responsible. He was the one who had done his best to break the spirit of the woman next to him. It made Jackson wish for the hundredth time that he was going to be allowed to break the other man’s face.

  Instead, he moved behind Nicky, wrapping his arms around her chest as he pulled her back against his front. He dropped a soft kiss on top of her head before he spoke. “Which one?”

  “The one in the long-sleeved black shirt. With the sandy blond hair.”

  Jackson didn’t know what he’d expected, but the man seated a dozen feet away certainly wasn’t it. Derrick was amazingly . . . average-looking. Probably around five feet nine, average weight, average build, average California tan and light brown hair, even an average-looking profile with a slight bump on the bridge of his nose. The only thing unique about the man was that he was sitting with a gorgeous, if rather artificial-looking, blonde with enormous breasts wearing a white slip so transparent it made Nicky’s look positively modest.

  “He’s with someone. I should have known he’d be with someone,” Nicky said. He could tell by the way she spoke she was nibbling her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit, and reminded him that, no matter how average-looking, this was a man capable of inspiring fear in the woman he loved. “What if this doesn’t work the way we planned?”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Jackson hugged her a little tighter. “Just because he’s here with someone else doesn’t mean he won’t be pissed to see you here with another man. Besides, that woman has nothing on you. She’s an imitation—you’re the real thing.”

  She laughed, but it was no longer a carefree sound. “Derrick likes imitation. He’s been trying to convince me to get implants and a tummy tuck ever since Abby was born.”

  “He’s certifiable,” Jackson growled. “You’re perfect. Women pay thousands of dollars to try to look half as beautiful.”

  “Derrick didn’t think so. He saw every line and stretch mark.” Her hands trembled as they moved to grip his forearms, her fingers squeezing gently before abruptly dropping back to her sides. “Sorry, I forgot I wasn’t supposed to—”

  “Don’t worry about it, babe,” Jackson said, feeling like a complete ass for putting more pressure on Nicky. She didn’t need to be worried about obeying dom-sub rules when she was getting ready to confront the man who had threatened their daughter’s life.

  “No, I want to worry about it.” She turned in his arms and lifted her troubled eyes to his. “I need you, Jackson.”

  “I’m here. Anything you need. And I’ll be close by when you ask him to go out—”

  “No, not that.” She sucked in a deep breath and nibbled her lip again for a moment before continuing. “Don’t back down. Don’t take it easy on me. Make me yours.”

  “Nicky, I—”

  “Control me. Dominate me.” She smiled, a sad little twist of the lips. “Even if it’s just for tonight.”

  So she knew. She could sense that this was the end. “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything.” The eyes that met his were filled with a longing so intense, Jackson felt like he’d been sucker punched in the gut. “Make me forget he’s here, and that he could be watching everything. Make me forget about everything . . . but you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nicky could barely breathe as she followed Jackson back to the spanking bench she’d had her eye on a few minutes earlier. Her mouth went dry and her lips buzzed. Her body felt numb except for where Jackson’s hand squeezed hers, and she figured there was a better than decent chance she was going to pass out.

  She couldn’t do this. Not really. She’d been a fool to think anything about this night would be bearable, let alone enjoyable.

  Derrick was in the other room. If he swiveled around on his bar stool, he’d be able to see her without even leaving the lounge. There was no way in hell she’d be able to concentrate on obeying Jackson, let alone enjoy what he was going to do to her. Not knowing her ex could be watching. What had seemed like such a fantastic idea in theory was proving very, very disturbing in real life.

  She already felt violated by Derrick in so many ways. Now she wanted to add this to the list? Let him watch while she submitted to another man, the very thing he’d always wanted her to do when they were first together? No matter how much she’d wanted to please him back in the early days, she’d never been able to bring herself to do as he asked.

  She was a one-man girl, always had been. Once she fell for a guy, her ability to find any other male sexually attractive was severely impaired. She couldn’t let a man she wasn’t attracted to touch her, not even to please the man she loved. The idea made her skin crawl, and reminded her of those nights back in Carson City, when Jackson and Phil’s wife wouldn’t be home from work until late, when she’d be alone with Phil and the younger kids.

  Her foster father’s “attentions” hadn’t crossed the line until she was almost sixteen, and she’d always managed to escape anything worse than a few forced kisses and a little inappropriate fondling, but she’d known it was only a matter of time before his advances escalated. That’s why she’d run the morning after Jackson left the house for good. It was either get out or put out, there’d been no doubt in her mind.

  And there was no way she could have told Jackson. He would have gone crazy and gotten himself thrown in jail or worse. Besides, she’d been ashamed to tell him Phil sometimes had his hands on her only hours after she and Jack had been together. It made her feel dirty, as if she were the one who had done something wrong. Even years later, grown up and with psychology courses under her belt that should have taught her otherwise, she still felt some of that shame every time she thought of those last nights in her foster father’s home.

  Jesus. Nothing like thoughts of Derrick and Phil to kill every last shred of her desire. This just wasn’t going to work.

  “Jackson, wait.” She tugged on the hand he held, but he didn’t slow his stride for a moment. “Maybe I should just go talk to him and forget about this. If I tell him I’m with someone else, I’m sure he’ll—”

  “Quiet, don’t speak again until I give you permission.” The command was thrown over his shoulder, but Nicky could hear the determination in his tone loud and clear. She’d told him she was certain she wanted him to dominate her, and he’d taken her at her word.

  There was no turning back now.

  The knowledge awakened a thread of heat low in her body. She wasn’t nearly ready to mount the bench Jackson now circled with a critical glare, but neither did she want to vomit at the very thought of sex. Jack had banished her dark thoughts with a single sentence. It just went to prove what she’d been thinking since they left the cabin—he was the only man capable of mastering her completely, for now, for always. For life.

  Too bad he only wanted a one-night stand.

  “Listen, I don’t know—”


  “Quiet,” Jackson ordered in his low, silky dom voice, staring at her over the rounded leather hump of the spanking bench.

  It looked almost like one of those pommel horses gymnasts vaulted over, but with a ledge on either side to support the knees. In a few minutes she could be straddling the thing, her ass presented for Jackson’s disciplining pleasure. The very thought made her pussy plump inside her white thong panties, no matter how many reservations she still had.

  “Don’t make me ask a third time. If you defy me, this isn’t going to work.”

  Nicky’s breath rushed out through her teeth and she darted a quick look into the lounge. Derrick was still at the bar, and still had his back to them. Thank god.

  “Look at me.” Nicky obeyed, gazing up at Jackson, feeling her awareness of the outside world fade a bit as soon as their eyes connected. “Don’t look at him, don’t think about him. He’s not here. There’s no one else here. No one except you and me. Do you understand?”

  Nicky nodded her head, feeling her nipples draw tight against the thin fabric of her shirt. Just the sound of Jackson’s voice, so deep it seemed to vibrate against her skin, was enough to turn her on. The electricity that never failed to make an appearance when they were together arced between them, making her breath come faster, making her hands itch. She wanted to feel him, to run her fingers over the bulge in his leather pants, to feel his sex growing hotter, harder under her touch.

  “Come here,” Jackson commanded. “I want you to do something for me before we start.”

  Nicky circled to his side of the bench, turning her back on the lounge, which immediately helped her concentrate her attention on Jack and only Jack. From this position she could be any blond woman; Derrick would never guess her identity simply from seeing her from behind. She hadn’t been to a club in years, since before she was pregnant with Abby, and he certainly wouldn’t be expecting her at a VIP event.