Shelly called over her shoulder. “See you again soon, I hope.”
Jenna waved and nodded. This was a whole new world, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
Ten minutes later Mason came through the same door. He heaved his duffle bag over one shoulder and smiled at her sheepishly. He didn’t speak. Instead he set his forehead against hers and kissed her gently on the lips. When he righted himself, she noticed he’d suffered less damage than Brody. Maybe a blue circle around his left eye, but that was about all she could see.
She winced, thinking about him being injured, and berated herself for caring. “So, is that the big secret? You fight in your free time. And I’m not supposed to get involved with you because you’re some kind of badass?”
He took her hand and led her down the hall. “Hardly. That’s a small piece of me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m pretty sure I could’ve handled it.”
He grinned down at her, turning around to walk backward as he watched her face. “You think? You enjoyed watching me kick some guy’s ass out there?”
“Well no. Not exactly, but I wouldn’t say your fighting would definitively make or break my feelings toward you.” She bit her lip.
“So you have feelings toward me.” He raised a brow, his infectious smile making her giggle.
“Maybe.”
“Bet I can still change your mind.”
“Good grief. What is this? How to lose a woman in three dates?”
“Something like that.” He winked. “So you’re counting each of our previous encounters as dates now?”
She shrugged as he opened the door and led her outside. She glanced both ways before she addressed him. “Even though you never officially asked me to go out with you, I’d say making it to third base on both occasions counts.”
“Hmm. I bet you won’t want to go to third base with me again after we make our next stop.” He opened her car door and ushered her into the car.
As he rounded the hood, she watched him. He’d changed into something completely different. Black jeans and a tight black T-shirt. He was smokin’ in black. She wished she could see the tattoo beneath his sleeve again. Maybe later…
When he settled into his seat, she spoke again. “If you don’t want to go out with me, you could just take me home. Why all the fanfare?”
After he buckled his seatbelt, he turned to her and grasped her chin, holding her face steady as he looked her in the eye. “Don’t get me wrong. I want you like I’ve never wanted another woman in my life. You don’t have any idea what you’re getting into.” He released her and started the engine. It roared when he pressed the gas pedal without releasing the break. He winked at her. He did that a lot.
She relaxed into the seat and stared out the window while he drove. How bad could it be really?
Chapter Seven
“So, what’s The Fight Club?”
Mason turned toward Jenna and smiled. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Shelly.”
“Who’s Shelly?”
“The woman I sat next to at the fight.”
“Ah, right. Brody’s girlfriend.”
“Is it some secret club for men who like to hit each other?”
“No. Not exactly. It’s just six of us guys from the gym. Katy’s uncle, Joe, coined the term a few years ago. It stuck. Now everyone calls us that.” He shrugged, not wanting to elaborate right then about what else he and his friends did together besides fight. She’d find out anyway in a few minutes.
Mason gripped the steering wheel with both hands as he drove. He blew out long breaths, knowing his time with Jenna was about to blow up in his face. It was necessary, though. He couldn’t keep pretending he was an ordinary guy who dated ordinary girls. Hell, he didn’t date anyone.
The only way he could get her out of his system was to show her firsthand what he did on Friday and Saturday nights. A demonstration of the kind of man he was would slam this relationship into a brick wall.
Mason pulled into a parking space at Extreme and popped his seatbelt. He turned toward Jenna as she peered out the window, trying to get a glimpse of the building in front of them.
He let his gaze rove up and down her body. She wasn’t dressed for this venue, but it couldn’t be helped. Nothing in her closet would have come close to fitting the parameters of the rest of their night.
She squirmed in her seat and faced him. “Where are we?”
He ignored her question and took her hand in his, staring down at her dainty white fingers and rubbing his thumb over the knuckles. “Listen. I’m not who you think I am. I’m not a roses and chocolates kind of guy.” He shook his head to clear his mind. “This isn’t coming out quite right. I can’t explain in words. I need to show you.” He released her hand and opened the car.
For the first time in his life, he actually lacked confidence. He liked this woman. Really liked her. And he was about to put the brakes on anything that could ever happen between them. It was the right thing to do, but he didn’t have to like it.
His hand actually shook as he reached for hers. He rubbed her palm with his thumb. Soft. He squeezed her hand with his, probably too tight, but he couldn’t resist.
Mason cleared his throat as he opened the solid black door along the back wall of Extreme. He stepped inside before her and led her toward the entrance area.
“Mason. Dude. Where have you been?” Harper Stevens slapped a hand on Mason’s shoulder and then turned his gaze toward Jenna. “And who have we here?” He raised an eyebrow at Mason, clearly holding back a laugh.
Jenna held Mason’s hand tighter and grabbed his arm with her other hand.
“This is Jenna. She’s…new. Okay, scratch that. She has no idea where I’ve brought her. So be gentle, will ya?”
Harper rubbed his hands together. “Seriously? Dude, you have some balls.”
“Yeah, and I’d like to keep them.”
“Okay. I hope you know what you’re doing.” He pulled a clipboard out from under the desk and held it up.
“Would you mind if I show her around for a minute first? I doubt we’ll be staying.”
Harper hesitated and then nodded. “If you wish. But don’t do anything without coming back here first.”
“Got it.” Shouldn’t be a problem. No way was Jenna going to want to stick around long.
Mason took a deep breath and pushed through the second door.
As he emerged on the other side, Jenna whispered behind him. “Mason. You’re making me nervous. Please tell me where we are.”
“I think it’ll be quite clear in a moment.” He needed a drink, bad. But there was no way he was going to imbibe tonight. Hell, Extreme didn’t serve alcohol, anyway. Even if he took her someplace after, he still had to drive Jenna home…if she didn’t run screaming toward the entrance and hail a cab.
Jenna held him tighter as he stepped toward the bar. She gasped behind him, her fingers digging into his bicep. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for her, and he wrapped his arm around her and held her at the waist as he ordered two bottles of water.
The bartender eyed him suspiciously, a smirk on his lips, but he didn’t comment. The man knew Mason well. And Mason never brought a woman here.
Mason grasped the bottles in one hand and twisted around to find Jenna staring wide-eyed in every direction at once. Her face didn’t move, but her gaze darted around the bar area as though she were in a video game.
“Mason?” she asked.
“I’m a Dom, Jenna. This is who I am.”
“A what?” She swallowed visibly and lifted her gaze to his.
“A Dominant. I control women.” There was no easy way to put it. She needed the truth.
She didn’t move or appear to breathe, and then she licked her lips, and he wanted to close his eyes against the gesture, wishing he could control himself around her. Her damn tongue got him every time.
“It may have been chicken of me, but I couldn’t think of any better way to te
ll you than to show you.” He grasped her shoulders gently, pulling her out of a line of people squeezing through and making sure she didn’t faint at the same time.
“A Dom. Huh. Like…as in…bondage and whips and…”
He nodded. She wasn’t freaking out—yet.
She glanced around again, twisting her head to look to each side. Women and men in all sorts of attire filled the place. It was almost eleven. It would be packed inside by midnight.
A woman leaned over the bar next to Jenna and ordered a soda. Her ass was totally visible since she only wore a thong, and her tits settled on the top of the bar, covered in simple round pasties.
Mason knew her. She was a switch. At the moment, he couldn’t tell if she was topping tonight or not. She was dressed appropriately as a submissive, but it didn’t explain her assertive stance at the bar.
“You’re full of surprises,” Jenna declared. She stood with a bit more spine than she had when they’d first entered. “Are you going to show me around?”
Mason was stunned enough to pause, speechless. He gazed into her eyes hard, making sure she was as right as rain as she professed verbally. Finally, he decided to take her lead. “Yep.” He laced his fingers with hers and led them away from the bar. He didn’t normally hold hands with his submissives, but Jenna was anything but subdued right now. She had no idea of the role of a sub. And besides, he liked holding her hand.
Mason meandered through the crowded club slowly, not releasing Jenna for a second. Somehow he felt like he had a line to her soul if he could keep a hold on her hand. He leaned in to whisper in her ear as they walked. “Look around. Ask me if you have any questions.”
Jenna’s eyes remained wide open, but she didn’t say a word.
He paused at several scenes, taking cues from her stance. At a St. Andrew’s cross, she stood frozen for several minutes, nibbling on her lower lip but otherwise giving nothing away about her reaction. At least no one around them could know for sure. Mason could feel her heart beating rapidly when he leaned into her back.
A woman was roped to the cross, her back facing the spectators. She was naked, and long red welts lined her back and buttocks. She moaned, her head ducked, her chin resting on the smooth wood of the center of the cross. Her Dom stroked her skin, tracing the pink lines.
Jenna twisted her gaze to Mason and lifted on tiptoes to reach his ear. “She enjoys this?”
“Very much. The release is amazing.” Mason kissed her ear after he spoke, sending a shiver down her body, which he felt clear to her hand.
They moved on to another alcove where two men were acting out a scene. One was trussed to chains hanging from the ceiling. He wore only a G-string, and his toes barely reached the floor. His partner was teasing him with several different lengths of floggers, switching from one to another without pausing. He hadn’t been swatting the man very hard yet. There was no evidence in the way of marks. The man attached to the ceiling was slipping into sub space.
Jenna inhaled a sharp breath, but she didn’t comment.
Mason was shocked. He couldn’t believe her compliance. Perhaps curiosity had its grip on her. It means nothing, Mason. She could still run screaming at any moment.
The scene was going to last a long time. Mason gave Jenna a gentle tug and lured her forward. They passed numerous members of the club in all manner of attire. Several Doms nodded at Mason, but none interrupted him. He knew most of the regulars at Extreme. He’d been a member for several years. It was common practice to greet one another early in the evening. But later, as the evening wore into night, people generally entered into their own mindset and focused on themselves and their subs.
Most of his buddies from the gym had arrived by midnight also. He nodded at Rider and Gage as he passed them.
Jenna whispered in his ear. “Didn’t I see those guys at the wedding?”
Mason nodded. He didn’t elaborate. He spotted Zane across the room. He hadn’t seen Conner yet. And then there was Rafe. He knew Rafe wouldn’t be there. He’d taken Katy to a movie. No way was Jenna ready to face that little fact.
Mason tried to imagine the club through Jenna’s eyes. Women dressed in very little, leaving nothing to the imagination. Men leading their subs around by leashes. In some cases this was the other way around. Every sort of relationship could be seen from female Dommes with male submissives to multiple female submissives under a single Dom or Domme.
The majority of the women in sub mode wore corsets or thongs, and in some cases nothing at all. Jenna was overdressed, but there were others who were new to the scene who had on clothing also. And some Dommes preferred to remain relatively covered to antagonize their submissives by not allowing contact with their bodies.
Jenna stopped walking. She sucked in a deep breath and held it. Her hand squeezed Mason’s tight and then went limp.
He followed the line of her sight and then stopped in his tracks also. Shit.
Katy and Rafe. Not only were they at the club tonight when Mason had thought them to have other plans, but they were in the middle of a scene.
Mason nudged Jenna, but she wasn’t interested in moving from her spot. She stood there, transfixed while Mason wanted to punch a hole in the wall.
This isn’t what he had in mind when he brought her here. He’d wanted to share this side of himself in order to solidify the fact she didn’t belong in this world and get her out of his system. Not this.
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as though perhaps Rafe and Katy wouldn’t still be there when he looked again. No such luck.
Katy was deep in sub mode. She had no idea her best friend was watching. She lay over a spanking bench, her bare ass a solid pink that indicated she’d received a long line of slaps already. Her eyes were closed, her head lying on one side so Mason could clearly see her face. She was peaceful. The scene was almost over, judging by her expression.
It wasn’t a sexual experience this time. It had been a release of endorphins.
Mason wrapped his arms around Jenna from behind. He settled his palms under her breasts and felt her chest heave with each breath. When he glanced down at her face, her cheeks were flushed, her bottom lip tucked in between her teeth as he’d seen so many times.
Was she turned on? Oh God. He watched her. She watched Katy, seemingly unaware he wasn’t enjoying the same view she was.
Her breath hitched each time Rafe swatted his wife. Jenna squirmed and crossed her legs. Holy shit. She was aroused. All the signs were there. Wrapping her arms up from under his, she gripped his forearms.
Mason stared at her fingers where they turned white from holding him so tight. Each of her fingers dug into his darker skin, the contrast making his cock grow harder.
Mason stroked his thumbs under her breasts, subtly at first and then increasing the pressure when she didn’t flinch. He grazed the underside of both breasts over and over. Her breathing increased, and her eyes glazed. She blinked several times, trying to keep her gaze on Katy, but fighting against the need obviously growing in her own body.
Mason kissed her temple, hanging on to the disbelief that she was aroused. He wouldn’t let himself fully internalize what might be happening before him.
He lifted his gaze to Rafe and found the scene winding down. Rafe rubbed his hands over his wife’s buttocks, soothing the areas he’d covered with pink lines of pleasure/pain. Several minutes passed, and then Rafe unbuckled Katy from the bench, covered her with a soft blanket, and lifted her into his arms.
It was then Rafe saw Mason and froze. He set a hand over Katy’s face and held her steady against his chest. Katy was clearly in a deep sub space, her eyes closed and mouth open, but Rafe didn’t want to risk jarring her at that moment. He loved the woman and would protect her at all costs. He shook his head in Mason’s direction and lifted one open palm up from under Katy. With his fingers spread, Mason clearly read his meaning. He needed five minutes alone before he could face Mason and Jenna.
Mason nodded and stepped back several
paces, towing Jenna with him. He didn’t release his grip around her waist. In fact he held her tighter. He didn’t want her to speak then, and he couldn’t fathom being separated from her. If anything, she needed as much comfort as Katy at that moment.
Rafe passed by them and headed to a sitting area.
Jenna opened her mouth, but Mason set his lips on her ear. “Shh. Give her some time.”
They stood rooted to their spot for several heartbeats, Jenna breathing heavily and Mason holding her steady. He stepped back a few more paces and leaned against a wall. Finally he turned her around in his arms and lifted her chin with one finger. “I didn’t know they would be here. I never would have brought you here if I’d suspected.”
“Katy told me they had plans to go to the movies,” Jenna mumbled.
“That’s what I thought. Something must have changed.”
“Although obviously she’s never told me they came here before, so who knows how often she’s fabricated a story?” Jenna grinned. She didn’t sound angry.
“I’m sure anything she’s ever told you was done with love to preserve your feelings.”
Jenna chewed on her lip and then leaned her forehead on Mason’s chest.
It felt so right having her there. So fucking fantastic. And she wasn’t running.
Mason waited. He’d give her all the time she needed. For anything. He was that whipped right then.
Finally she lifted her face. “Is there anything else you aren’t telling me?” She smiled and cocked her head to one side.
Mason chuckled. “Nope. That covers it.”
“I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked. You knew I would be. I’m going to need some time.”
“I know. I didn’t expect you to stay this long. I thought you would have run screaming long ago.”
“I don’t know why I haven’t, to be honest. I’m tied in knots right now. My mind is running in ten directions. I can’t begin to process all this.”
The Fight Club - Boxed Set Page 28
