The Dom with a Safeword (Badass Brats #1)

by Silverwood, Cari

  Q came through the doorway followed by Cross. A big man with bristly black hair and multiple tats, Cross looked like he was used to working out, and like he could swallow Q and spit out her bones.

  “Brought your lumber.” Cross nodded at Sabrina where she’d perched herself on a stool before a plate stacked with pancakes. Then he cocked his head. “Aren’t you Q’s friend, from the shop?”

  She sucked maple syrup off her finger and waved vaguely. Red washed over her cheeks. “Umm. Yeah, I am. Hi.”

  “Did you wear the outfit Q got you?”

  She nodded and said quietly, “To a concert.”

  He glanced at Q then winked.

  All Sabrina’s energy seemed to have drained away to be replaced by a quiet embarrassment while her face grew ever redder. Jude studied her. Of course – she’d said she didn’t want this relationship known in public, and here she was sitting in his kitchen in PJs. He looked at Q and she looked back, a small frown of anxiety marring her forehead. Guess she hadn’t thought Sabrina would count Cross as public.

  “Cross. Let’s get that wood off your truck. I really appreciate your help.” After swallowing the last chunk of toast and some coffee, he slipped from his stool. “The girls are staying with me for a couple of days.” Inspired, he thought of a distraction, “Sabrina is a bit of a ghost hunter so she’s investigating a ghost I might have.”

  “Here?” Cross’s eyebrows arched upward.

  “Yes. Here.” Maybe ghosts weren’t his thing?

  “I got a picture.” She grinned like a Cheshire cat on crack. “I can’t wait to do it again. But not alone. And with a better camera.”

  All of them stared at her.

  Looking bemused, Cross headed for the door. “Finish your coffee, Jude. I’ll go back the truck in. Let me know if you need a hand with anything else, while I’m here.”

  “I will. Thanks.” When he got up to put his mug in the sink, something smacked against his backside. He swung around, expecting to find Sabrina smiling with her hands behind her back. It surprised him when Q smirked then leaned against the opposite counter.

  With a head shake and a chuckle, he told her, “I’ll take care of you later.”

  Cross looked back and forth between the two then rumbled as he passed, “You’d better keep a firm hand, man. They’ve got you outnumbered.” They’d had this discussion at the club awhile back. Cross hadn’t been sure what he thought about bratty subs.

  Luckily, Jude liked them just fine.

  Chapter 11

  Q

  The girls giggled as they slid out of the backseat of Jude’s car and straightened their clothes. Q tugged surreptitiously at her short skirt, wishing he’d let her wear jeans. She felt more naked than naked. Fortunately, he had parked on the side of the building away from the door and windows, and no one was in view.

  “You really never wear dresses, do you, Q?” Jude asked. “If you stopped pulling at it, it would be much prettier.”

  “No, she doesn’t wear them anymore.” Sabrina laughed. “She used to wear skirts and dresses all the time when I first met her.”

  “Nico forced me to wear dresses. I hated it. I gave them all away not long after I moved in with Sabrina.”

  “Well, they look beautiful on you.” Jude smiled. “You shouldn’t stop wearing them out of spite.” He adjusted his jeans. “It’s a good thing you two decided to wear the same shade of lipstick,” he grumbled. “It would have been less distracting if you had put it on directly, instead of Sabrina putting it on you, Q, and you kissing it back onto her.”

  “We had to touch it up anyway,” Sabrina smiled slyly. “Besides, you shouldn’t have been spying on us in the rear view mirror. And don’t even think of complaining about us switching shirts.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of complaining about that, Sabrina girl.”

  The other two walked off through the parking lot arm-in-arm, then paused as they realized that Q was lagging behind.

  “Coming?” With the sun having sunken below the building already, Jude’s face was partially in shadow.

  She stayed where she was, by the side of the car. Dressed like this, she felt like a complete idiot. She scratched at the gravel with the pointy toe of her knee-high boots. “I think I’ll stay out here for a while. I’ve always wanted to take up smoking. It seems like a good time to start.”

  “Come on! It’ll be fun,” Sabrina encouraged.

  “Remind me why we have to go out again?”

  Jude walked to her and looked down with his blue, blue eyes. “I thought it would be fun for all of us to go out somewhere together.”

  “To avoid the inevitable likelihood of having to fuck us all evening?” she asked, arching a brow.

  “Take pity on me, Q. I’m only one man.”

  “I’m sure we’d have no problem finding volunteers to stand in for you,” Q quipped. She turned to look self-consciously at her reflection in the car window. How did she manage to attract men anyway? Nico used to say it was because she oozed sexuality, even though she wasn’t feminine enough to be beautiful. Other people had told her she was gorgeous, but Nico had heartily disagreed. He believed in Painful Truths, but only as they pertained to other people.

  A tight fist in her hair startled her. Jude pressed her forehead to the car and leaned in close to her ear. She gasped and mewled as a hard throbbing began in her groin. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  “You plan on replacing me, do you?” he growled. “Do other men give you what you need?”

  “No!” she squeaked. Her voice had gone up several octaves.

  “No what, little brat?”

  “No, your Majesty?” The words were out of her mouth before she could swallow them. She had only just managed not to add “purple” before “majesty”.

  He shook her a little by the back of the hair. She thought of him yanking down her panties and fucking her against the car and she squirmed.

  “Do you seriously think I’d be that easy to replace?” He didn’t sound like he was playing anymore.

  “No, Sir,” she whispered. “Sorry, Sir.”

  “Good girl,” he rumbled, kissing the top of her head. He released her and looked down into her eyes when she turned to face him.

  The sight of his satisfied smirk made Q squirm inside. Ever since they’d gone to Jude’s to paint, it was hard for her not to kneel at his feet whenever he walked into a room. The protocols she’d learned with Nico were far more ingrained than she’d thought. Jude had dommed her ass good, and now she couldn’t help acting all goofy schoolgirl around him. Temporary. Temporary. She had to keep reminding herself. She was going to be crushed when he left, no matter how hard she tried to stay emotionally distant. They clicked way too well for comfort.

  He walked away and rejoined Sabrina. Q looked back at her reflection in the car window, trying to regain her composure. She smoothed her hair and walked after them, worried that at some point this evening – before they got somewhere private – he was going to magically transform her skirt into a belt.

  The unpromising exterior of The Rig was nondescript stucco that was looking the worse for wear. As they rounded the corner, they saw that, despite the building’s disrepair, a crowd had formed itself into a line. Trance music drifted out the door and the heavy bass throbbing through Q’s body made her think of fucking even more.

  “Why would someone drive all the way outside of town to go to a dive bar?” Q whispered, hoping that no one overheard.

  She held her arms at her sides, hoping a stray breeze wouldn’t flip her skirt. Jude had insisted they wear sexy panties. Hers and Sabrina’s matched – wispy blue thongs that were more mockery than undergarment. Tonight, when he’d picked clothes for them out of Sabrina’s closet, it felt like he was dressing up his new toys.

  Sabrina grinned. “They didn’t use to card girls that were a little underage so I used to party here a lot.”

  The idea of Sabrina in a dive bar seemed incongruous to Q. “I’ve never been. I did most of my unde
rage drinking at pit parties.”

  Jude shook his head at them in mock exasperation. “Underage drinking? I hope you both got spanked for being so naughty.”

  They glared at him. He hadn’t been whispering and two guys in line turned to check them out with appreciative leers. Q reddened.

  Jude cleared his throat. “Anyway, the new owners have rebranded the place and it’s kind of artsy and edgy now.”

  When they reached the door, Jude was allowed in directly, but the girls both got carded. “I guess you look like you’re robbing the cradle,” Sabrina said. He swatted her ass and she squeaked.

  After settling them on a funky, zebra-print couch, the padded back of which extended several feet up the wall, Jude went off in search of drinks. The room was cavernous and dark. The trance music and throbbing lights made the figures on the dance floor sinuous and erotic. Q shifted in discomfort, trying to get enough skirt under her to shield her bare ass from the couch. She reassured herself that even if there were people in the room that she and Sabrina knew, they’d never recognize them. Although she felt like she was dressed like a whore, most of the young women dancing wore even less.

  When Jude didn’t come back right away, Sabrina shifted closer to Q, their bare legs pressing together from knee to upper thigh. “You okay? You looked a little rattled after the smack-down you got in the parking lot.”

  “I’m fine. Probably just a little too horny and naked to be in public. I’m glad it’s dark.” She brushed Sabrina’s knee with her fingertips, then dragged her nails up the side of her bare leg. Sabrina shivered. Even in the dim light she could see the hardened points of Sabrina’s breasts bumping the fabric of her thin top. “So what are your rules for PDA with me?”

  Sabrina gave a short laugh. “Here? It’s dark and people are getting drunk. If we get caught by someone we know, I’ll just say I was drunk.”

  The words hurt a little, but she understood. Sabrina had family close by and Q knew she didn’t want to be out about their relationship. Despite that, she couldn’t help but feel like Sabrina was a little ashamed of her.

  A moment later, Jude was back with a fancy girly drink for Sabrina and a whisky and soda for Q. It was disturbing how he knew their preferences, even though they’d never told him. “Only two each then you’re switching to something non-alcoholic.”

  Q glared and Sabrina pouted.

  “Hey, I’m not drinking at all. If we’re going to play later, I don’t want anyone drunk.”

  “You wouldn’t screw two drunk girls?” Sabrina snorted. “As if.”

  “Oh, I’d fuck you both. But I won’t play with a drunk girl. Your body won’t respond right and I might not get the messages I need from you. I don’t want to damage either of you.” He winked, sliding in between them as Sabrina shifted back over to make room.

  With one of Jude’s arms around each of them, they watched the dancing crowd and commented on people who caught their eye. Jude and Q were amused to discover they had the same taste in women, even beyond Sabrina.

  The latter became indignant – jealous girl that she was – and Jude pulled her into his lap. Lowering his head, he kissed her. Q casually ran her fingers under Sabrina’s legs and up toward her panties. She stroked her pussy through the delicate fabric. Sabrina made a small noise that even Q could barely hear over the music then settled against Jude’s chest. Staying still must have been a struggle, knowing Sabrina. She was already damp. Q hoped no one else could see anything, and she watched the crowd to make sure. Jude might have been oblivious except for the brush of Q’s hand over his thigh.

  When he lifted his mouth from Sabrina’s and sat back against the couch, Q withdrew her hand and let it rest innocently on her own lap.

  Jude’s amused gaze met hers. “Were you being mean, Q?”

  She arched a brow. “She’s my toy, too. I’ll play with her when I want to.”

  “I’m not a toy.” Sabrina frowned somewhat convincingly. If Q didn’t know her so well, she might have been fooled. The sparkle in her eye suggested she wanted to be told that she was, indeed, a plaything.

  “Really?” he looked displeased.

  “Well, as long as you don’t tell me I can’t. Sir,” she amended swiftly. Being both a sub and a Domme in the same relationship was confusing – like being two people with two personalities simultaneously. Prior to this summer, she’d been one or the other. With Nico, she’d been submissive, even allowing him to push boundaries toward making her a slave. Before him she’d thought she was all Dom – not Domme, since she didn’t identify with being that female – and had a short and tumultuous relationship with a girl who had introduced her to being both bi and dominant. Although it had been fun before Q had gone away to college, the girl hadn’t been nice or very bright. They hadn’t even bothered staying in touch after the first couple of months.

  “I can’t foresee myself limiting you there, unless there’s a very good reason.” He looked down at her and stroked a hand through her hair.

  Damn, he was gorgeous. She took the last sip of her drink and felt the alcohol making her mellow. Not as good as the afterglow from a beating, but there was time for that later. The Rig’s spastic lighting was on the verge of giving her a headache, but it emphasized Jude’s strong cheekbones and sensual lips. She arched up and gently bit his jawbone. Before she drew back, he caught her to him with his free arm and kissed her deeply. For a moment she forgot to breathe.

  “Go on now, my little brats,” he drawled. “Entertain me.”

  Q’s gaze snapped to him in alarm. He looked back and forth between her and Sabrina – who was also goggling at him – then started to shake with mirth. “Not like that! Go dance for me.”

  She groaned aloud. “But I hate dancing!”

  “It’s true. She never dances. And I’m no good at it,” Sabrina said.

  “Hmm. I don’t recall asking for opinions or excuses from either of you. Do as you’re told or suffer the consequences when we get back to your place.” His jaw muscle popped as he set his face in the stony expression they were becoming very familiar with.

  “Come on, Q.” Sabrina slid off Jude’s lap and pulled Q up by the hand. “I think I’d prefer sex to whatever he’s threatening. Let’s give the man what he wants.”

  They walked arm in arm to the dance floor, staying as close to Jude as it allowed. Q leaned in. “Interested in putting on the kind of show that will make him uncomfortable?”

  Sabrina’s gaze swept the other dancers. Couples all around them danced suggestively, grinding together to the heavy beat. “Okay. But your hands have to stay over my clothes for this. And nothing too rude.”

  Q aimed an evil look over her shoulder at Jude and started dancing. She grabbed Sabrina’s hand and pulled her in close. Sabrina’s half-nude body and the memory of her damp arousal spurred Q on and she circled her as they danced, sliding her hands over the bare skin of her neck and collar bone. She kept casting looks at Jude to make sure he watched them. Sabrina caught on and joined in. Q ground against her and grabbed her around the waist, holding her close. One song flowed into another, then another without pause, becoming a long series of thuds in her head – a shared heartbeat of the writhing horde.

  Sabrina lost her inhibition and rubbed against her, their faces inches apart. The smaller girl’s arms slid up around her neck and pulled Q’s lips down to hers. They stopped moving though the chaos continued around them. Their lips brushed and Q groaned. Her heart accelerated and throbbed roughly in her chest. Sabrina deepened the kiss, her tongue probing Q’s mouth. Anxious yet unable to help herself, Q let her, hoping her friend wouldn’t regret this later. When their lips finally parted, Q’s head spun. Sabrina no longer needed kissing lessons.

  Looking incredibly smug, Sabrina grabbed Q’s hand and led her off the dance floor toward Jude. His eyes were riveted to them in the gloom and a lazy smirk played across his lips. His approving look made Q’s already hard nipples ache for attention.

  Sabrina’s steps slowed. A ma
n was sitting with him. As they got to the couch, the baby-faced man grinned up at them hugely, ridiculous in his enthusiasm. The stranger hopped to his feet and zoomed off toward the bar.

  “Friend of yours?” Q asked.

  He nodded. “My brand new best buddy, as a matter of fact. I think he said his name was Jon. He realized we’re all together and he had a fanboy moment. Wanted to know what my secret was. I think he’s coming back.” He chuckled. “He asked if he could buy you two a drink, but I told him it wasn’t safe for you to accept drinks from strangers. He tried to buy me one first.” Jude drew them down to the couch and they draped around him like concubines.

  Moments later Jon returned with a drink in one hand, his phone in the other. “This is so awesome! Can I take your picture?” Jude shook his head, but the man’s eagerness was undeterred. “I guess that’s kind of creepy. Right. Well, can I get a picture with you Jude? I want to remember this. Maybe someday I’ll figure out your secret, but for now this will remind me that it can happen!”

  He held the phone out to Sabrina who laughed but accepted it. When she and Q rose from the couch, he sat beside Jude. As Sabrina raised the phone, Jon grinned and put an arm around Jude’s shoulder, pointing at him with the hand that held his drink. Apparently Jude was the shit.

  The girls’ peals of laughter seemed lost on Jon and he chattered to Jude. Sabrina tossed his phone back and the girls headed toward the restroom together.

  The line extended almost into the hallway, of course. Sabrina waved Q off. “You go. I’ll find my way back on my own.”

  After Q gave her lipstick a quick check, she grabbed her phone out of Sabrina’s handbag. “I’ll wait in the hall.”

  She was reading status updates when a hand stroked up the back of her bare thigh. “Sabrina!” She jumped and turned, about to give her shit for scaring her. It wasn’t Sabrina.

  “Nico,” she breathed, fighting to maintain eye contact. She trembled a little but tried to not to betray her surprise and anxiety. It was always like this, since they’d split. “What the fuck are you doing here? It’s not really your kind of place.”