Auctioned to Protect [The Spectrum Auctions 2] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Doris O'Connor

  “Perhaps you’d like me to display him in the stocks for everyone to administer several lashes with the cane? Or perhaps you have a more intimate punishment in mind for him, Nolan?”

  “We could just let Bea here loose on him, I reckon.” There was the hint of laughter in Nolan’s eyes now as the middle-aged Dom smiled at her. “This is the first time we’ve got to play since the baby was born, so I reckon Bea is itching to teach brass a lesson.”

  Scarlett felt the shock rippling through Mike’s big frame and this time she couldn’t hide her grin.

  “That sounds like an excellent idea to me, Nolan. Perhaps brass can babysit for you, so that you can resume this another night? How about that, boy?” She dug her whip handle under his chin to force his head up, and her amusement fled at what she read in his eyes. Confusion, hurt, sorrow, and pain. Emotional or physical she couldn’t quite be sure, but her heart turned over in her chest and she loosened her grip on his neck until it turned into a soothing caress.

  Some of the tension went out of his body and he finally uttered an appropriate apology.

  “Forgive me. I was not aware you were in a scene. I just saw an assault, and served to protect. It was not my intention to offend, Sir.”

  There was an awkward silence as Nolan just looked down on him, and then he shook his head.

  “On second thought, your sub seems contrite enough, Scarlett. I’m going to take Bea and rescue what’s left of the evening. Do with him as you see fit, and in future…boy, look at me when I’m talking to you.”

  Mike looked up as ordered and Nolan nodded.

  “In future, never, ever intervene in a scene unless you have your Mistress’s permission. No sub will have no or help as a safe word, and I can assure you had I ignored Bea’s safe word, Scarlett would have been the first person to stop me. Jumping to conclusions and trying to throw your weight around at Spectrum will not wash, brass. Leave the uniform at the door and follow Scarlett’s lead.”

  Mike nodded just once and seemingly satisfied, Nolan took Bea’s hand and led her away.

  * * * *

  Confused didn’t even begin to describe what Mike felt right now. He’d been so sure he was witnessing an assault that he’d simply reacted on instinct and intervened. He didn’t need Scarlett’s obvious disapproval to tell him that he’d fucked up big time. Five minutes into this assignment and he already ballsed it up. How the fuck was he supposed to protect her if he had no clear idea who the baddies were and what the rules were?

  Fuck it. He thrived on rules, on knowing right from wrong. It was why he joined the police force in the first place. Rules were there for a reason, and this whole fucked up lifestyle changed them all and left him floundering.

  “Up.” Scarlett’s whip-like command made him scramble to his feet, and even though he towered over her, the disapproval he read in her eyes left a nasty taste in his mouth, which didn’t make any sense at all. But for some inexplicable reason he cared too much about what she thought of him.

  She turned on her heel and continued her brisk walk down the long corridor, and he followed like he was expected to. He counted several padded doors, each with their own keypad for entry. Scarlett stopped in front of the last one and entered the required code in a flurry of fingers that meant he didn’t catch the number, and the door swung open.

  The overhead light came on automatically when they entered, and the heavily padded door shut behind them. They were in a well-equipped dungeon, not unlike the one he’d found Slade and Laura in a mere three months ago. Had it really been only three months since he’d fallen out with his sister completely?

  Mike shifted from foot to foot at the uncomfortable reminder of that scene, and Scarlett’s cool hand cupping the side of his face surprised him.

  She studied him, her expression unreadable, and when he opened his mouth to say something, she silenced him with a finger on his lips. The simple contact made him harden again as it suddenly dawned on him that they were completely alone. This close to her, her scent wrapped itself around his senses like a lover’s embrace and he inhaled deeply. Dark, sensual, and deeply seductive, her perfume suited Scarlett and mixed in with the unique musk that was all her. Sexual tension pulsed between them and he dipped his head lower, intent on claiming her full lips. Her green eyes darkened to the color of deep moss, and she met him halfway. Scarlett’s breasts pressed against his naked chest briefly, and she inhaled sharply before she stepped away.

  He must have imagined that brief flash of feminine surrender, because she reverted back to her distant Mistress persona instantly.

  “Get on that table for me, and do not say a word!”

  Mike thought it wisest to simply keep his mouth shut, and he dutifully sat down on the padded massage table in the middle of the room. He really didn’t want to piss her off, not while he was in this torture room. There was a complicated suspension kit hanging off the ceiling. Several gym mats had been placed underneath, presumably to stop any injury to whoever was being suspended. He smirked at the only feminine area in the room. The floral settee was covered in a cozy spread and had an array of scatter cushions thrown over it. Next to it was a mini-fridge and a lamp stood on a low stool, where a half-read paperback lay face down. He couldn’t see the title from here, but judging by the cover it was one of those erotic romances women seemed to be so fond of these days.

  In direct contrast to the welcoming feel of that corner, a whole array of assorted whips, floggers, canes, and paddles decorated one side of the room. The heavily padded spanking bench, and of course an equally heavily padded St. Andrews Cross in the opposite corner all gave him palpitations, not to mention the old-fashioned looking stocks. He hadn’t forgotten Scarlett’s suggestion to Master Nolan earlier, and the thought of being that exposed wrapped a cold fist of dread around his dick, and his previous arousal subsided.

  His prick was going to give itself whiplash at this rate with the constant up and down state. He hadn’t vacillated this much since his teenage years, and he didn’t particularly relish that thought. If only he could simply grab that infuriating woman, who was now washing her hands in the sink installed in the adjacent bathroom, and fuck her senseless, all would be well. However, he got the distinct impression that should he try and pull that, he would indeed find himself in the stocks, with things shoved god only knew where.

  Scarlett finished washing and approached him now, a first-aid box in her hands, which she sat next to him on the table.

  “Show me your wrists,” she said.

  She uncurled what was left of the broken chain and pursed her lips at the raw, broken skin she discovered.

  “This needs tending to. I don’t want this getting infected. Knowing you, you’d end up suing the club.”

  “I would never—”

  “Spare me, Michael.” Scarlett interrupted him and fixed him with a glare that took him right back to his childhood years. His mother, may she rest in peace, used to use that exact tone of voice when he’d done something he shouldn’t have done and tried to wriggle out of it. She, too, had been a tiny woman who’d ruled the household with an iron fist, until her untimely death in that awful car accident, when everything had changed.

  Michael frowned at the direction his thoughts were taking, but ever since Slade’s return and his hookup with Laura, long-suppressed memories surfaced all the damn time and robbed him of his sleep and his sanity.

  “You have done nothing but try to shut this place down since Laura first set foot in here, so do excuse me if I find your sudden change of heart a little hard to believe. I will patch this up and then you’re free to leave. I don’t need protecting, least of all by someone like you.”

  He winced when she dabbed on the antiseptic with far more enthusiasm than his scrapes merited.

  “And besides, having you as my sub, my reputation would be down the toilet faster than you can say stupid-ass cop, especially after the stunt you just pulled out there.”

  He ground his teeth and yanked his wris
ts out her grasp. Scarlett looked up at him with a frown, and he crossed his arms over his chest. The movement sent shards of pain up from his wrists, but he was fucked if he let her see that. Some of it must have shown on his face, though, because Scarlett rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

  “Don’t be even more stupid than I first thought. Those wrists need dressing and you do not impress me much by pretending that doesn’t hurt.”

  “It doesn’t and it’s nothing. I’ve had far worse over the years. I’ll live. And you do need protection, and like it or not, I’m it.”

  A snort was his only response, and she narrowed her feline eyes and stared at him until the prickle between his shoulder blades became too much to ignore. He dropped his eyes and stuck his wrists back out at her.

  “Fine, have it your way.”

  “I usually do, brass. You’d do well to remember that whilst you’re under my care, and as such it falls to me to look after you. So, shut up, and let me dress these, before I’m forced to gag you.”

  “I’d like to see you try,” he grumbled, and much to his surprise she laughed.

  “It really is a shame you’re not here to be trained. I would have such fun ridding you of the attitude, big boy.”

  * * * *

  Mike pouted, that was really the only way to describe it, and Scarlett’s amusement deepened. Now if she just kept her gaze from lingering on his muscle-packed body, she’d be just fine. It had been a long time since her wayward hormones had kicked in with such a vengeance, but seeing Laura’s brother up close and personal like this seemed to have awakened every feminine cell in her body.

  Scening for Scarlett was always about the power exchange. It gave her a heady thrill to see men at her feet, at her mercy, begging her for release, and she got immense pleasure from knowing that she gave her submissive what he or she craved. Rarely did sex enter into it. Not for Scarlett. Not since the last time she gave her heart, only to have it returned to her in a gazillion little pieces. However, there was something about Mike that called to her on an instinctive level.

  Getting involved with him on any deeper level would be a dangerous move for her, she knew that. He made her want to let down her guard and snuggle into his big frame and allow him to do just what he was here for. To protect and to cherish her.

  She shook her head in disgust at herself and busied her hands by wrapping the thin gauze around his abused wrists. They flexed under her hands, and he tightened his legs around her hips until they made contact with her. Involuntary she stepped closer still, until his big body surrounded her. Scarlett didn’t miss the way his breathing sped up to match her own, or how his dick once again threatened to split the laces of this thong.

  His cock looked long and thick, and she licked her lips, eliciting a groan from the man that trembled right through her and settled in her throbbing pussy. Already the crotch of her suit felt damp and uncomfortable, and being this close to the muscle-packed hunk did little to alleviate that discomfort. She needed to regain control of this situation and fast, and by far the easiest way to achieve that was to simply get rid of him.

  “There, you’re all done. I’ll escort you out.” Her voice sounded far too breathy, and sure enough Mike took it for the invitation it was and wrapped his large hands into her loose hair. Instead of pulling her into him as she was expecting him to, he simply lifted a strand to his face and inhaled. Startled, she looked up at him, and he had the oddest expression on his face before he masked it and she found her voice again.

  “Have I given you permission to touch me?” she asked.

  He simply smiled in answer and this time did tug her closer to him, until their breaths mingled, and her whole body went soft in need. This was ridiculous. What was wrong with her today?

  “You can’t have it both ways, My Lady. You either want me here, and thus I give you permission to boss me about, or you get rid of me and we do this my way. Either way, I’m here to stay. I have a job to do. There is a sicko out there intent on doing you harm, and that’s not going to happen on my turf, so deal with it.”

  She put both hands on his chest in an effort to push him away, but the softness of his skin and the way his hard muscles flexed under her fingertips made that action almost impossible to complete.

  “My, we do have a big ego to take down a notch or two, haven’t we?”

  “You should know,” he said with a smile that lit up his face, and showed an even set of white teeth. He really was a handsome man when he wasn’t scowling and threatening to shut down her club. Her fingers itched to trace the outline of the goatee adorning his strong chin. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like against her pussy as he ate her out and a renewed gush of her essence dampened her crotch. She squeezed her thighs together to stop that insistent ache and she couldn’t help but lean into him when he slid his rough hands up to frame her face.

  “I could help you with that, My Lady.” His voice had dropped an octave and had taken on that sandpapery quality Scarlett found irresistible in any man. Oh, it would be so easy to simply let him.

  “Why are you calling me that?” she asked instead and forced her gaze up from his lips to his eyes.

  Dark pools of oceanic blue, they reflected his need for her and pulled her further into his spell, until she found it quite impossible to breathe.

  “I have to call you something, and that seems a fitting title. I could cope with that. I’ve done my research, you see. I had to, to make this work, and I gather that dynamic I could work with—being your knight, so to speak.”

  Her heart gave a suspicious little lurch in her chest at his muttered words, and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to pull away from him.

  Mike frowned but he let her go and sighed.

  “I’ve overstepped the mark again, somehow, haven’t I? Jesus, I’ll never understand this. Every time I think I’ve got a handle on this kink stuff, it turns out I know fuck all.”

  Scarlett had to smile at the look on his face and her stomach tightened when he ran a hand through his military-short hair. The action made his bicep flex and his stomach muscles ripple, and had she been the sort to swoon, well, she would have done it right then.

  “You can only learn so much from doing research. You’re doing okay, really.”

  “That’s not what you said out there.” He gestured to the door and snorted in disgust. “I royally fucked that up, and you clearly don’t want me calling you My Lady, so what shall I do. Call you Mistress, ma’am? Or—”

  “Actually, I would like you to call me My Lady,” Scarlett interrupted him and his eyes widened. “You’ve got that right, at least. In my personal life, when I had a full-time submissive, that’s the dynamic I preferred. Here at the club, I have a reputation to uphold, and the men who seek training usually want a more hands-on approach from me, which is fine. It serves my needs to boss them about, as you put it.”

  She smiled at his smirk, surprised at herself for admitting that much.

  “However, you’re also right that you fucked up big time out there. Don’t ever do that again.”

  “I won’t, and I am sorry, but were they really in a scene? I mean what woman would want that? I meet assault victims every day in my line of work, and I find it hard to believe that any woman would choose that as a turn-on.”

  Scarlett shrugged her shoulders.

  “You’d be surprised what some people find a turn-on. One thing you learn in this lifestyle is never to judge. As long as it’s safe, sane, and consensual between adults, then whatever happens is nobody else’s business. Capture fantasies are very common for both men and women, for that matter.”

  “Bullshit.”

  She laughed when he shook his head and uttered that curse.

  “No, really. It’s all about control, and these scenes are carefully negotiated beforehand. In Master Nolan’s case, his sub and he have been married for over ten years. They know each other inside out, and he would never harm her on purpose, regardless of ho
w it must look to bystanders. I appreciate that’s a hard fact to wrap your head around, especially for a cop, but trust me on this.”

  Mike snorted again, and she knew she had to show him.

  She stepped away and he blanched when she pulled the knife out of the drawer of the sideboard in which most of her equipment was hidden from view.

  “Take knife play for instance.”

  “No fucking way.”

  “Yes, way. If you insist on staying around, then we need to establish some ground rules and the most basic of those is trust. Let me show you how this works.”

  Chapter Three

  Mike’s heart crashed against his chest bone, and his whole body tensed as adrenaline flooded his system at the sight of that knife.

  “I warn you now. You come near me with that fucking knife and woman or not, I’ll take you out. This isn’t funny.”

  He kept his gaze trained on that wicked-looking blade, and breathed a sigh of relief when Scarlett put it down on the massage table. She cocked her head to one side and regarded him steadily with an extremely unsettling small smile on her full lips.

  Now what was the blasted woman up to?

  “I mean it, there’s no way you’re getting near me with that thing. Knives are not for playing stupid games.”

  “I agree, and I take knife play very seriously. It’s also the most effective way to test your trust in me.”

  “You’re fucking losing the plot, here.”

  Scarlett laughed and drew herself up to every inch of her five-foot-nothing frame. She fixed him with that look again and stood to one side.

  “No, I’m not losing the plot here, you are. Look at yourself. Not so brave now, are we?”

  “What has you getting some kick out of cutting me with a fucking knife got to do with bravery? Been there, done that, got the fucking T-shirt and the scars to prove it, so—”