by Lila Dubois
Alton shook his head. “You should send her to me. She’d be better for it.”
“No. She’s mine.” Lane turned back to Helen. “I’m sorry, I know this screws up the plan for the book, but I saw both sessions, and it’s enough material. There’s probably pictures in there that could be used for Alton’s section.”
“You ignored her wishes and watched her session with Emory?” Alton asked.
Lane looked over. “She’s mine. Of course I did.”
“And now you’re dating one of the guys.”
“Yep,” Addie mumbled and smiled. She couldn’t help it, thinking about Lane made her smile. The pins she had between her lips shifted, stabbing her tongue. Wincing, she dropped the hemline she was repairing and took the pins out of her mouth.
“So what’s going to happen if you don’t do the sexy shoot with the other scary strict guy, Alter, do you have to give back a third of the money?”
“Alton, and I don’t know. Lane went to talk to them yesterday. I was going to go but he says he’s known Helen for a long time and he’s hoping to convince her, as a friend, to use the pictures they already have for the whole book. If they have to find someone else I bet I will have to give the money back.”
“Well, it was worth it, either way, because you had some amazing sex and you met a nice guy.”
“I didn’t actually have sex, remember? Well, not as part of the job. But I did meet an amazing guy.”
“Here’s the important question, when do I get to meet him?”
“I told him to pick me up here at six, we’re going on a date.”
“Aww, how sweet, you’re dating, after he’s used you as a fetish sex toy for pictures and you’ve fucked him all night long.”
Addie threw a scrap of fabric in Lulu’s general direction.
Lulu, looking adorable in a Lucy Ricardo-esque dress, checked the slim silver watch on her wrist.
“We’d better get out there. It’s been busy lately, and with only one pair of eyes, I’ve noticed an increase in missing inventory.”
“Lulu, I’m sorry.” Addie sat back, feeling awful. Lulu had a problem with younger kids who wanted to break away from the suburban chain store stylings their parents stuffed them in, but who didn’t have the money or were too embarrassed to buy cherry barrettes, retro wallet chains and phone cases with pictures of burlesque dancers.
“Kids do what they have to do to express themselves.”
“Little shits.”
Together they made their way to the main floor of the shop, where Addie unlocked and propped open the doors. Lulu switched on the music. Addie headed behind the register to make sure she was set up for the day and Lulu checked the floor.
When Muskrat Ramble came on, Lulu broke into a solo Charleston between display tables. Addie leaned on the counter and wolf-whistled as her friend picked up the edges of her skirt and whipped it back and forth. They were both laughing as Lulu finished her dance.
Someone clapped.
Addie twisted toward the door, salesclerk smile in place. Her smile dropped and she straightened, very slowly.
Lulu, who had no idea who the man standing just inside the shop’s front doors was, curtsied. “Thank you. Welcome to Lulu L’amore.”
Master Alton examined Lulu from head to toe. He was dressed simply enough in dark jeans and a black button-down shirt open at the throat, but to Addie he seemed as dangerous as if he’d walked in wearing leather and carrying a whip.
“Your store is very unique. I like it.” His voice rumbled through the space, low and compelling.
Addie watched as her friend’s posture changed. The easy smile faded to a forced one and her shoulder’s stiffened as Lulu picked up on the dangerous vibes radiating off Alton.
“Thank you for that, we’re happy to offer both restored vintage pieces and one-of-a-kind, retro-inspired designs. Is there something particular you’re looking for?”
Alton looked at Addie. “Yes.”
Addie curled her fingers around the edge of the counter. It wasn’t much protection, but she’d take what she could get.
“What do you want, Alton?”
“Alton?” Lulu looked between them. “Oh!” Her gaze whipped back to him, her eyes wide. Lulu examined Alton, as if looking for a tell that said “sexual Dom”.
“I came to see if what Lane said was true.” Alton’s attention was practically a physical thing, pinning her in place.
Addie’s stomach clenched. “Yes. Whatever he said was true.”
“You’re his now.” Alton advanced toward the counter. “You’re his sub, collared and claimed.”
Addie wasn’t entirely sure what he was talking about, but she raised her chin. “Yes, I am.”
Their gazes met and Alton’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t been taught anything. You’re submissive, but he’ll handle you wrong.”
“And you think you’d handle me right?”
“Yes.”
The word hung there, full of promise and threat.
Addie took a breath, took a moment to think about her next words. “Maybe I don’t know all the rules to this world, but you know what, Lane doesn’t know all the rules for my world yet either.”
Alton’s eyes widened in surprise.
“It doesn’t matter what you think I should be, because I want to be with Lane. And he wants to be with me. That’s what’s important in any relationship, that’s what’s important to me, and Lane. I don’t care if I’d be the best submissive in the world if you mind-fucked me into it.”
Alton looked down and his shoulders dipped a bit. Addie had the strangest feeling that she’d hit a nerve.
He walked away.
Lulu looked at Addie, her eyes wide. Addie cocked a hip and dusted off her shoulder. Damn right she’d sent the big bad Dom packing.
At the door, Alton turned back.
“I’m coming back.”
Addie stiffened.
“For her.”
Alton looked at Lulu. Her lips parted in a little O of shock. Alton dipped his head in a slow nod, turned, and left.
“Here we are, ah, home sweet home.”
Addie hid a smile as Lane fumbled to get his key out of the deadbolt after opening the door. All through dinner and the movie he’d been endearingly unsure of himself. For a man who knew his way around a woman’s body, he treated a date like an expedition to a foreign land where he didn’t speak the language or know the terrain. He’d taken out four wineglasses for just the two of them.
“Thank you.” Addie stepped inside and twisted her shoulders to Lane, waiting for him to take her coat. There was an awkward silence. “Lane, could you help me with my coat?”
“Oh, right.”
There was a thump as the bag of dessert they’d picked up on the way to Lane’s place hit the floor.
Addie slid her arms out of her coat. Lane turned her with his hands on her shoulders.
“Have I told you yet how beautiful you are?”
“Yes, but only a stupid girl turns down hearing it again.”
“You’re stunning.”
Addie was wearing a form-fitting vamp-style dress in zebra print with purple stilettos and a purple silk flower holding back one side of her hair. The dress left none of her curves to the imagination, and the slit on the thigh meant that when they were sitting in the theater, Lane had access to almost the entire length of her thigh. He’d made good use of the access, and when he was touching her he was the easygoing, self-assured guy she was used to.
The moment his hands were on her, Addie felt the tension leave him. It was as if he didn’t know what to do unless he was touching her.
Addie lifted herself on tiptoe, one hand on Lane’s chest, her fingers inching under his blazer.
Lane cupped her neck and brought their lips together. The kiss was slow and sweet, with no movement or invasion of tongues.
Addie pulled back, tasting him on her lower lip. “Lane, I’m going to ask you something.”
“Anything
.”
“Are you always this awkward on dates?”
Lane rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. “This was a disaster, wasn’t it?”
“You were off your game.”
“I really, really suck at dating.”
Addie laughed. “Mr. Confident bad at dating? I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t lived it.”
“I told you I found BDSM after trying to resolve my issues with not being able to talk to girls.”
“But you were fine when you came to my house with pizza. Coming to my house with pizza and beer was probably one of the most romantic, sweetest things anyone had ever done for me.”
“But it wasn’t a date.”
Addie laughed until Lane captured her lips in a kiss, muffling her amusement.
“How about we don’t do any more dates?” he whispered against her lips.
Addie pulled back, cupped his face and smiled. “No. If you want to be with me you’ll behave like a proper gentleman. You’ll take me out on dates. I was promised dancing.”
“Do you really want to go dancing with me? You see how I am on dates.” He spat out the word.
“I’ll teach you.”
Lane dropped his chin to his chest. “I hate dating.”
Addie did a slow twirl out of his arms, taking her first good look at his apartment. He was on the second floor of a three-story building in a much nicer part of town than where she lived. His living room was dominated by two black leather couches and a massive flat-screen TV. The walls were white, the carpet a standard pale gray. The living room ceiling was two stories, with a skylight high above.
“Do I get the tour now?”
“Of course.” Lane offered his arm and Addie slid hers through it. “Here we have my living room. Having seen yours I realize you may not understand what these things are, but they’re known as couches.”
“Ha, ha. My living room says that I have hobbies and do interesting things. Yours says that you haven’t changed the paint color since you moved in and that you watch TV.”
“Change the paint color? Woman, be serious. Back here is the kitchen. Er.” Lane hastily pushed a few plastic glasses and bowls off the counter into the sink. It was a basic galley kitchen with mail stacked on the counters.
“Bigger than mine.”
“Down here,” Lane led her down a hallway, “are my bedroom and home office and bathroom.” He quickly showed her the bathroom, which was boy-ugly in the extreme, and his bedroom.
Addie was surprised to see there was no TV in his bedroom, no clutter of clothes on the floor. The massive bed had a dark-gray cover and matching pillowcases on all four pillows. The dressers on either wall matched the nightstands.
“I like this room.”
“I’m glad.”
Addie’s body, on a slow burn all night with Lane there, casually touching her, his smell in her nostrils, went into high alert at the sight of the bed. She wanted to be naked on the bed. Right now.
“Maybe you should give me a more detailed tour.” Addie curled her fingers in the lapel of his jacket and tugged him into the room.
“Actually, there’s something else I want you to see.”
Addie blinked in surprise, trying to reorient herself from sex-now to we’re-still-talking-about-stuff.
An opening off the hall revealed a set of stairs that led up to a bonus loft space. Lane quickly explained as he led her up that he’d decided to take the apartment because of this space. It was above the kitchen and bedrooms, and had originally been meant for a massive master bedroom suite.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Lane unlocked the door with a key he took from on top of the doorjamb. “After you,” he said, pushing the door open.
Addie’s belly was fluttering. She held Lane’s gaze. What she saw there reassured her enough that she sauntered into the room, making sure to sashay past him so that he’d look at her ass.
The loft was a BDSM wonderland/torture chamber. There was a tall twin bed with what looked like a leather fitted sheet on it, a gymnast horse, a straight-backed wood chair.
“So is this your BDSM room?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were into the BDSM lifestyle, I thought you kept it separate.” Addie was surprised to see something like this in his house. “If this is your house, what does someone like Alton’s house look like?”
“It is separate, it’s all the way up here. And I told you, C&C agreed, you don’t have to do the session with Alton.”
“Well, he came by the shop today. He wanted to make sure I really did ‘belong’ to you.”
“Alton came by?” Lane’s fists bunched. “I’ll talk to him.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t tell you because I need you to get all white knight. Though he did say he would come back for Lulu. I assume he was joking.”
“He doesn’t joke.”
Addie shook her head. “Seriously? Now Lulu and I are supposed to be worried about some crazy Dom?”
“Not crazy, just really hard core, and not someone I want touching you.”
Addie closed her eyes. This past week had been a roller-coaster ride fueled by sex and adrenaline. As nice a guy as Lane was, she wasn’t sure she could deal with all this. Seeing these things in his house brought home his involvement in this lifestyle, how being with him would mean accepting this part of him even after the novelty wore off.
“Tell me.” His hands settled on her shoulders.
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
“We’ll take it slow.”
“Not the actual sex, but the rest of it, seeing you.”
“Because I’m into BDSM?”
Addie heard the hurt in his voice and turned to face him. “I know it’s not fair, but I’m trying to be honest. How did your other girlfriends handle it?”
“I haven’t had that many, and they didn’t know.” Lane rubbed the heel of his hand against his temple. “I shouldn’t have shown you this tonight.”
“We’ve been moving really fast, and it wasn’t until I saw this, a whole room dedicated to it, that I realized what it would mean to date someone who was into this. It’s not like dating someone who’s,” Addie spun one hand in the air as she struggled to explain, “into cars, and you realize that you won’t see them during the day on the weekends because that’s when they work on their ride, and that their hands always look dirty.”
“I respect what you’re saying and how you’re feeling. But Addie,” Lane caught her hips and pulled her close, swaying them side to side, “I’m not ready to let you walk away.”
Addie laid her head on his shoulder and rocked with him.
“Come downstairs.”
Addie followed Lane downstairs and into his bedroom. She almost told him that she wasn’t in the mood, that her stomach was in knots and she would rather curl up on the couch and eat the mini Bundt cakes they’d bought.
But then Lane brushed the hair from her neck, kissed below her ear. His fingers stroked down her upper arms into the crease of her elbow. Addie sighed and leaned into him.
“Stay with me, if only for tonight.”
“Yes.”
Lane seduced her, as if he’d never touched her before. He kissed each inch of flesh he exposed as he unzipped her dress, his touch on her skin light but demanding.
When her dress fell to the floor, Addie pulled the flower from her hair, letting the soft waves fall against her face. She watched Lane watch her, felt his gaze trace the hair that fell across the top of her bare breasts.
She stood before him, naked except for a pair of black-and-red panties that tied closed at each hip, and her shoes.
Addie reached for Lane’s jacket. The moment her fingers touched the fabric he shucked it, and together they pulled off his shirt and pants. When he was down to a pair of black boxer briefs, he reached for her again.
“I like how you feel against me,” Lane said, rubbing their hips together. His erection bumped her hip, her belly.
“I like how you feel.” Addie hugged him, her breasts pressing against his chest.
Their lips met in a kiss. The kiss quickly deepened, became something rich and carnal. His tongue coaxed hers to dance until they were tasting each other.
Lane grabbed her ass, urging her up, and with a little hop Addie wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck.
“I’ve always wanted to do this.” She was grinning as he carried her to the bed.
“I’ve been thinking about this all night.”
Lane tipped her back onto the bed. Addie landed with a little bounce, her hair pooling around her head. She raised one knee, coyly tipping it across the other leg as she slid her hands along the smooth duvet.
“Joining me?”
“You’re gorgeous.”
“So are you, guapo.”
Lane shed his boxers. His cock was already hard, already ready for her.
He came down on the bed, pushing her legs apart to kneel between them before propping himself up on one elbow. He circled her left breast with two fingers, drawing a spiraling circle focused on her nipple. Addie was vividly reminded of the ice he’d slipped into her bra.
The memory brought a sharp spike of arousal. She gasped and Lane looked up, his fingers going still.
“Tell me.”
“I was thinking of the ice.”
He made a noise that was half groan, half growl.
Lips closed around her nipple, his fingers holding the meat of her breast tightly so it was plumped and ready for his attention, he licked and sucked the tender bud, pulling gently with his lips before switching to the other breast.
Addie stretched out a hand for his cock but it was out of reach and his big body had her pinned in place. She settled for kissing any part of him she could and running her fingers over his back, shoulders and arms.
“Lane, now, I want you now.”
“Anything, anything you want.”
His fingers fumbled for the ties on her right hip, she undid the ones on her left. When they were loose, Lane lifted himself off her so Addie could raise her hips and he could slip the panties free.
She was wet and ready for him. When his fingers slid between the lips of her pussy she felt swollen, desperate for him.
