by Mayburn, Ann
“I wish it was that easy.”
“It is. Please, my lord, please meet me at Wicked tonight. Just to talk in a neutral setting, nothing more. At the very least give us a chance to work on this. I need you, my lord.”
His weary sigh let her know he’d agreed even before he spoke. “I’ll see you there at nine p.m. Meet me in the public lounge.”
Chapter Eight
Kira strolled through the front doors of Wicked after passing through the small security check, and a shiver of anticipation raced up her spine. Regardless of whatever happened between her and Bryan, she couldn’t help the pulse of arousal as she crossed the threshold into what was basically an adult fantasy land. A large black onyx desk was situated next to the front door. The handsome African American man behind the desk with a name tag that said Tashawn smiled at her. “Good evening, Ma’am. Lord Bryan would like me to inform you that he is waiting for you at the Hall of Mirrors lounge. Is there anything I can do to further your experience at Club Wicked tonight?”
“Yes, I’d like to go barefoot. Could you please have someone put my shoes into a locker?”
“Of course.” Tashawn looked over his shoulder to a room that was just out of Kira’s point of view. “Jessica, we are in need of your service.”
“Thank you, Tashawn.” Kira slipped off her shoes. Her body still a bit stiff from last night, and she didn’t feel like wearing her heels. While she could have gone into the women’s sumptuous dressing room to change, she was too eager to see Bryan. Even though she was afraid he wouldn’t want to see her anymore, the waiting was killing her. Patience was not one of the virtues that she was born with. Probably explained her need to rush through things that most people were afraid to do.
A lovely Asian woman in a frilly french maid costume came around the corner and took the shoes from Kira. She gave Kira a shy but flirty smile, and the soft scent of her jasmine perfume tickled Kira’s nose. “Thank you, Ma’am. My name is Jessica, and if you need anything to heighten your pleasure this evening, please don’t hesitate to ask for me.”
There was no doubt about the open sexual nature of the offer, and it gave Kira’s ego a much-needed boost. She smiled at the other woman and put a bit of heat into to it. “Thank you, Jessica.”
The other woman curtsied low enough to show off her impressive cleavage before departing with Kira’s shoes. Despite her nerves, Kira couldn’t help but admire the lush sway of Jessica’s bottom as she sauntered away. Kira could understand Bryan’s urge to spank a full ass like that. Hell, she wanted to do it just to see what it was like. It wasn’t like she suddenly wanted to be a Domme, but she’d always had a thing for Asian women, and Jessica was hot. Besides, thinking about something other than the conversation ahead of her helped calm her nerves a tiny bit.
Giving herself a mental shake, Kira looked away from Jessica’s departing figure and tried to gather herself. The long, flowing royal-blue gown Kira had chosen was almost demure in cut but scandalously transparent. Held in front by a gold chain looped between two diamond pins, it covered her from her collarbone to her feet. Except she wore nothing beneath other than her skin-tone panties, which gave the illusion of being naked. She’d added rouge to her nipples to make them darker, and now they stood out plainly beneath her dress in the warm lighting of the club. Yes, it was far more outrageous than anything she’d worn here before, but she needed to pull out the big guns. Besides, she was wearing a mask, which resembled glittering ocean waves, and there was nothing about her that could be easily identified by the members of Wicked. Of course the staff knew who she was, and probably some of the members since she didn’t keep her identity a secret, but she loved the feeling of being a mysterious woman in a mask. It was kind of like getting into character for a role she was playing in a movie by dressing the part.
The fabric molded to her legs as she strolled across the enormous entryway, the tiles were heated so her feet wouldn’t get cold. That was one of the perks of belonging to Wicked. They thought of everything. Taking the archway to the right, she went down a long corridor with several hallways stretching off it. At the end, the golden light of the public bar spilled out over the black walnut floors.
Despite her best efforts to remain calm, by the time she crossed the threshold, her heart pounded against her ribs like a fist.
He was here already.
Well, she hadn’t actually seen him yet, but she could feel him. A charge flowed through the sexually saturated air, a private touch for her soul alone. Either that or she was acting like a lovesick teenager. Both were equally possible.
Moving through the crowd, she was stopped by several Masters and Mistresses, each complimenting her on her outfit. While they were all polite, there was a carnal undercurrent to their words, a look in their eyes like she was a plump and juicy rabbit to their wolf when they saw that she wore no collar or any other marks showing she belonged to a Dom. Coming around the far side of the bar, she finally spotted Bryan sitting and talking with Jesse.
Ah, fuck. She didn’t want Jesse to see her goodies. She knew him.
Before she could try and figure out what to do, Jesse spotted her and grinned. He put his fingers to his mouth and made a loud whistle of appreciation, the noise cutting through the crowd.
“Those are some of the nicest tits I’ve ever seen. Makes me want to tie them up and fuck them.”
Bryan didn’t turn, but his whole body stiffened. He must have given Jesse a look, because the other man winked at her and laughed at Bryan.
Somehow she managed to make it through the crowd without dying of embarrassment, but that was only because she intended to kill Jesse when she got to him.
Passing Bryan’s stool, she stopped next to Jesse. It was nice having enough height so he didn’t loom over her while sitting down. He still had that shit-eating grin on his face, so she decided to wipe it off before she beat him senseless. “Jesse, you’re my friend, and while I value our friendship, I won’t have you yelling things at me like I’m some kind of whore working on the corner. Your mama taught you better than that.”
Jesse cleared his throat and actually flushed. “My apologies, Kira.”
She smiled at him and bumped him with her hip so he’d know he was forgiven. “Thank you. I know you probably want to paddle my ass, and I would totally allow it if you, like, you know, needed to save your Dom reputation or something, but any punishment will have to first be approved by my lord.”
Without another word, she turned to face Bryan, finding his kissable lips curved up in the barest hint of a smile. She moved as gracefully as she could to her knees, her damn hip giving her a little twinge. Once kneeling, she placed her hands on her thighs like she’d seen other women here do and thanked the good Lord that the floors at Wicked were clean enough to eat from.
For a long moment, neither man said anything, and she wanted to look up and see what they were doing but didn’t dare. Damn, she’d probably screwed up really bad with Bryan. Submissives were supposed to be submissive, to take whatever a Dom wanted to throw at them. Well, that wasn’t quite true. She could safeword anytime, and if public humiliation was on her hard list, any Dom she was with, who agreed to her terms, would have to abide by his word.
A few moments later Bryan stroked his hand over her hair, pulling her head closer until it rested on his thigh. All the tension she’d been holding on to slowly drained out of her and into the ground, leaving her almost light-headed with relief. Still, she needed to be the best submissive she could be, and her behavior with Jesse would be unacceptable with most Doms.
She needed to apologize.
The men were talking about the Redskins, and she waited for a lull in the conversation before tugging at Bryan’s pants and peeking up at his face. “My lord?”
He looked down, his expression closed and the fine muscles around his eyes tight. Oh yeah. He was angry at her. She could feel it and wondered why he’d touched her with such tenderness if he was this mad. Then she looked closer and saw the sad
ness and uncertainty he was trying so hard to hide. Poor guy, he really did expect her to freak out and leave him at any second.
“What is it?”
“My lord, I beg for your permission to take a punishment for my rude behavior. Please let me make it up to Master Jesse.”
The men exchanged a look, but she kept her attention on Bryan. She was trying to do the only thing she could to please and reassure him, submit to his will.
“Stand up and lean against the bar with your face down on its surface. If that position is uncomfortable for you, stand with your hands braced against the edge of the counter.”
A tremor ran through here, part longing to please and part fear. What would Jesse want as a punishment? She knew Bryan’s tastes in punishments ran to the darkly sexual, but she didn’t feel right about Jesse touching her that way.
She wet her lips, conscious of the way Bryan watched her with an intensity that was almost unsettling. “I didn’t know they allowed sex out here, my lord.”
“They don’t. Jesse is sticking to some stupid vow of chastity while Dove is over in Paris.”
She let out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness.”
A way to fix this mess came to her, and she felt an instant sense of calm. She had a way to show him just how much she trusted him, how much she believed in him and his ability as a Dom. Despite his arrogant mannerisms, she had a feeling that the sex-tape scandal had dealt a blow to his self-esteem. How could it not? The entire world had watched him whip a woman and then have sex with her. Sure, asking him to whip Kira would be potentially dangerous, but she trusted Bryan not to hurt her too badly. The man who’d stroked her hair last night while she was getting a massage wasn’t a man who would abuse her.
She took a deep breath and hoped she was doing the right thing, that he understood why she was asking. “My lord, would you please whip me for my insolence?”
Darkness flared within his eyes. “Jesse, would you excuse us for a moment, please?”
Clearing his throat, Jesse nodded. “Sure. I’ll be right here. But if you’re going to do a whipping demonstration on her, I want to watch. You’re amazing with the single tail.”
“Of course.”
Bryan stood and helped Kira to her feet. Without another word, he led her through the public bar and into the private portion of the club. He took them to an area of isolated alcoves seated back into the walls beneath enormous mirrored arches. Turkish tile work covered the ceiling and walls, while brass lanterns with real flames hung from the ceiling, adding the scent of melted wax to the air. The curtains covering the alcoves were sheer, and if the people inside wished, they could turn on different lights, illuminating them behind a dreamy haze.
Bryan jerked aside the curtain of an empty one and motioned her to the pillow-strewn floor. Actually, it wasn’t really a floor in the traditional sense. It felt more like some type of mattress. Mirrors covered the interior walls of the alcove, giving her a hundred images of Bryan as he dimmed the lights so they would be nothing more than dark blurs to anyone passing by.
Sexual tension filled the air like a switch being thrown, and she wished he would close the distance between them, then kiss her senseless.
“Kira, what are you doing?”
“My lord, I trust you. If you can make me orgasm with the whip, I’ll know you can make me come when you take me, despite any pain I might feel. And I want you to take me, more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life. That scares me.”
He moved a step closer, his handsome face all dark shadows and strong bone structure. “Why?”
“Because… Fuck it. Because I’m afraid you don’t want to see me anymore, and that now that you know my feelings for you extend beyond just sex, you’ll walk away.” She turned but could still see him in the mirrors. “Look. You seem to think I should be freaked out by that video. Well, I am, but that’s because seeing you with another woman like that makes me insanely jealous in some stupid, territorial way.”
He laughed, his warmth brushing against her back but not touching her yet. “I must confess. The thought of Jesse spanking you made me want to stab him.”
That made her spin on her heel so she could see his face. “Really?”
“Yes.” He took a deep breath and stared at her for a few moments, then nodded. “Are you sure? You can back out at any time, and I won’t think poorly of you.”
“I’m sure.” She ran her fingers down his cheek, stroking his goatee.
Grasping Kira’s hand in his, Bryan pulled her after him as they left the alcove. Enormous wrought-iron chandeliers dripping with black crystals illuminated the long hallway spilling out into the main dungeon. A stark contrast to the luxurious Turkish harem area they’d left, and adding to the fear now tingling through her bones. He stopped and looked around before hailing a nearby submissive. The curvy Indian woman in a see-through red sari moved quickly and knelt before Bryan.
“How may this one help you, my lord?”
Bryan fairly vibrated with a dizzying mixture of command and power. The submissive at his feet certainly seemed to sense something. Her eyes widened, and her nipples stiffened. Despite Kira’s fear of the pain to come, a dark rhythm began to beat in her own blood. What she was about to do, about to feel, was going to be intense. God, she’d missed this pulse-pounding adrenaline rush, the bitter foil taste of dread and excitement kindling in her blood. Add Bryan’s energy to that, and she found herself near shaking in anticipation.
“Get my single tail from my storage unit. Fetch Master Jesse for me, and inform him I’ll have a seat saved for him. Is the Russian Courtyard room open?”
The submissive stared up at him with wide eyes. “Yes, it is, my lord. May this one please ask if Master intends to do a public whipping?”
Now a larger dose of panic moved through Kira’s body. The way the submissive was looking at her, in a mixture of awe and disbelief, she wondered if she’d bitten off more than she could chew. Nearby, she heard excited whispers spreading from one person to another that Lord Bryan was going to do a scene.
Fuck, she didn’t know if she could handle people watching them.
Bryan nodded and gripped Kira’s hand harder, like he sensed her sudden reluctance. “I am.”
“Very good, my lord.” The girl’s tone fair tingled with eagerness. “May this one please be released to do your bidding?”
The whispers now rose to shouts as word began to spread through the club that Lord Bryan was going to do a single-tail demonstration with his new submissive.
Oh, fuckity fucking fuck. What had her adrenaline-junkie side gotten her into now?
“Yes, off with you. Oh, and tell Mistress Jennifer she may assign her submissive as a handmaiden if she wishes, and I need to talk to Master Rory about Jessica if she’s available.”
Bryan led her quickly through the halls of Wicked and stopped before a pair of double doors. They were made of heavy wrought iron and had a sense of great age about them. Bryan turned, and the heat in his gaze traveled through her soul and stroked the dark ember of lust back to life.
“Kira, you have your safe word. Do not be afraid to use it. I would never be mad at you for being strong enough to admit something is too much. Am I clear?”
“Yes, my lord.” She swallowed hard and moved a bit closer. “I’m afraid you’ve stolen my courage. I’m finding it hard to open those doors.”
Without preamble, he grabbed her by the back of the neck, hard enough to resemble the feeling of a collar, and pulled her into his kiss. Unlike his grip, the soft passing of his lips over hers was a delicious seduction. Eager for more, she opened her mouth for him and melted at the stroke of his tongue against hers. He took his time, seducing her and stroking her body with his free hand in a way that was both soothing and arousing. Slowly, carefully, he made sure every inch of her mouth had been touched by his tongue. Once she was horny enough to want to mount him right here in the hallway, her body and the public setting be damned, he pulled back and gave her his sinister
grin.
“Go through those doors. There will be submissives there to prepare you.”
“Prepare me?”
“You’ll see. Now stop dawdling.”
He gave one breast a slap, and she gasped at the sudden, harsh sting mixing with the lingering effects of his drugging kiss. Despite the pain—or maybe because of it—her nipples hardened into rock-solid points, and moisture slicked her swollen sex. He raised his eyebrows, and she quickly turned, not wanting to anger him and give him an excuse to punish her.
Well, any more than he already did.
Despite their weight, the doors opened easily on perfectly oiled hinges. The moment she stepped into the dim lighting, Bryan closed the doors behind her, locking her in. Startled, she backed up until her bottom pressed against the cool metal. She was in some type of circular stone courtyard, and a bright, full moon shone down from a ceiling far above, bathing the dark room in silver highlights and obsidian shadows. In the center of the courtyard sat a life-size white alabaster statue of a nude woman kneeling with her hands outstretched and her back curved into a graceful arch.
Chapter Nine
Nervous energy flooded Bryan as he paced around the staging room next to the Russian Courtyard. Jesse, the unhelpful bastard, had stopped by to tell Bryan he was playing to a full house. Every seat in the viewing gallery was taken and almost all the standing room. For a second Bryan wondered if the audience was there to see his skills as a Dom or to watch him whip someone again like he had in that fucking video that had ruined his life. One moment of recklessness when he’d let his ex-submissive videotape their encounter, not knowing she’d try to blackmail him with it.
Anger mixed with his nervous energy until he had to pace the room or go insane. Then he stopped himself and tried to consider this situation from an objective viewpoint. If he knew a scene was about to happen that would be a rare first time between a Master and his submissive, there wasn’t a doubt that he’d attend.
