Wicked Weekend

by Gillian Archer

  She snorted a second time. “Hardly.”

  “That’s good news.”

  A giddiness swept over her. If she’d had any doubt about his interest, she didn’t any longer. He liked her! She took a bracing sip of her drink and tried to keep her excitement from showing all over her face.

  “A local, huh? I haven’t seen you around the Cave.”

  She tried not to choke on her whiskey. The Cave was the hottest BDSM club in Vegas. But it was a locals-only underground club. Attendance was by invitation only. And Lord knew she didn’t hang out in those circles.

  She just dreamt and fantasized about them.

  “I—I…um…I’ve never been.”

  “Oh.” Jamie braced his palms on the bar top, his arms tense like he was going to push away.

  “But I’ve heard of it,” she threw in as a last-ditch attempt. “I’ve driven by a few times.” Shit. Now she sounded like a deranged loony. Her cheeks burned anew and she quickly threw back the rest of her drink.

  “Really?”

  She looked up at the interested tone in his voice. Maybe she hadn’t freaked him out after all.

  “What do you know about the scene?”

  “I’ve read quite a lot about BDSM. I know about safe words and limits. I know that you’re flagging.” She paused to nod at his back pocket. “The black means S&M and the left side means top. You’re the kind of man who likes to be in control.”

  “So you weren’t just checking out my ass.” A wide smile spread across his face.

  “Well, that too.” She ducked her head in embarrassment. She couldn’t believe she just said that. Where are you when I need you, brain?

  “Sounds like you’ve read a lot about BDSM. But what have you done?” The smile in his voice had her own lips curling in response.

  “Uh, not much. I convinced a few boyfriends to try some moderately kinky stuff. I’ve never done anything that would require a safe word.”

  “Because you always had control of the scene.”

  Lauren had never thought of it that way before. He was right. She had been the instigator, the one encouraging her boyfriends to spank her harder, the one who supplied the handcuffs. She’d never really been satisfied with their level of play.

  “How would you like to give up control tonight? To submit and let someone else design the scene of your seduction.”

  Her mind whirled in a jumble of thoughts, desires and fears. She couldn’t believe she was having this discussion with such a hunk. If this was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up. Oh God, don’t let me wake up yet!

  “B-but…aren’t we supposed to negotiate first?”

  “That’s what this is, kitten. Ask away.”

  She took a steadying breath and tried to remember what she had read about negotiations.

  “Do you respect safe words?” She didn’t know where the question came from but the approving look on Jamie’s face told her he thought it was a good one.

  “Absolutely. We’ll have a safe word and if you use it, the action will stop. No questions, no cajoling.”

  She nodded at his answer. A little bit of the tension eased out of her shoulders.

  “I have a question for you.” He leaned toward her and his voice dropped to a husky whisper. “What are you interested in? What things would you want to explore?”

  “Spankings.” The word came out before she even had a second to think. And judging by the snicker on her other side, it might have come out a little too loud. She felt her cheeks warming again as she hung her head.

  “Come on.” Jamie took her hand and pulled her away from the bar. “Let’s go someplace a little less crowded.”

  Chapter Two

  Lauren trailed behind him as he took her to a relatively empty corner of the bar. Her heart pounded at the feeling of his roughened hand on hers. She took the chair he held out for her and watched him take the one next to her. She licked her lips as he picked up her hand again and ran his thumb across her palm.

  “So where were we? Ah yes, spankings. I think we can definitely do that. Anything else?”

  She opened and closed her mouth, suddenly mute. She knew there were tons of things she wanted to explore, tons of things she had dreamed of and secretly pined for, but for the life of her she couldn’t come up with one. Probably had something to do with the combination of the look in his eye and the feel of his hand. It was a seductive mixture.

  “Uh…I…um…” She trailed off with a helpless shrug.

  “Hmm shy, huh? Well, how about I suggest a few things and you give me the yea or nay?”

  She nodded.

  “Nipple clamps.”

  She sucked in a quick breath as her nipples tingled at the suggestion.

  “I’d say that’s a yes,” he murmured. “Role play?”

  “Uh, I guess. Maybe? Depending on the scenario…”

  “Okay. How about bondage?”

  She immediately shook her head. She wasn’t going to go up to a stranger’s room and let him tie her up. She might be foolish for even agreeing to this whole endeavor, but something about the thought of bondage with a stranger tripped her “hell no” meter.

  “Fair enough. How about this first time we keep it light? No heavy stuff. And if we want to play again, we’ll renegotiate.” He stroked his fingers across her wrist.

  She shivered at his touch. “What do you consider light stuff?”

  He looked at her with an approving glint in his eye. “Spankings, nipple clamps, orgasm denial, some dirty talk. That’s it. No surprises. Sound like what you are looking for?”

  “I, uh, I um… Yes. That’s what I want. But I have one more question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Uh… Do you have anyone who will, uh, recommend you? Vouch for you I guess?”

  “Yeah sure.” He turned his head to yell across the room, “Hey, Sawyer! Come here a minute!”

  “S-Sawyer? You know Sawyer?”

  “Ah fuck, you too? I swear I can’t walk five feet in this town without stumbling over a hot chick he already slept with.”

  She warmed at the “hot chick” comment. “Uh no, we haven’t slept together. I’ve never even met the man.” Just followed everything he said or did online. Probably best not to admit to that. She didn’t want to sound like a crazed stalker chick. She just admired his views on BDSM. And the man wasn’t shy about sharing details from his personal life.

  “Thank God.” His gaze raked over her in rapt appreciation.

  She bit back a smile at the fervent reply. He wanted her. Out of all the pretty people there, he chose her.

  “Since when do you need a wing man, Jamie?” The smooth, familiar voice slid over their table.

  She turned to find an attractive, dusty-blond man, slightly shorter than Jamie, standing behind them. Bright blue eyes hid behind a pair of wire-frame glasses, but his trimmed goatee couldn’t hide the flash of dimples when he grinned. She wouldn’t have been able to tell the man from Adam until today. But his voice…

  “Lauren here asked for a recommendation. You, of course, were the first guy I thought of.”

  Sawyer shook his head. “You couldn’t close the deal on your own, so you had to call in the big hitter, huh?”

  “Fuck you, man. Are you gonna give her the rec or not?”

  “Classy guy as usual.” Sawyer rolled his eyes before turning to her. “I’ll vouch for the man. He might not know better than to swear like a sailor in front of the women folk, but he’s a damn good top. He respects safe words and has a deft hand at rigging. Not as good as me of course, but good enough.”

  “Great, thanks.” Jamie turned his back and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. “Now get lost. I don’t need you scamming on my lady.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Lauren shivered before snuggling into Jamie’s embrace. They both watched in silence as Sawyer circled their table and walked away, a gray hanky waving from his left back pocket. Figures the reigning king of rop
e and bondage would be flying a gray flag. Nice ass though.

  “So how do you know Sawyer?”

  She jerked back to the hottie hugging her tightly to him. It really wasn’t a good idea to ogle one butt when you had a better one so close at hand.

  “I, uh, um…might be a fan of his podcast,” she muttered.

  “Wow. You really have done your homework haven’t you?”

  She shrugged. “He is the most famous top in Vegas.”

  “Doesn’t mean he’s the best though.” He grinned. “I’m gonna show you things tonight you’ve only dreamt about. You ready?” Jamie stood and held a hand out to her.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She rose and took his hand. “Oh, wait a minute.” She snatched back her hand and dug through her pocket for her cell phone. Lauren selected her best friend’s number from speed dial and waited for her to pick up.

  “Hey, Lauren. This is earlier than I thought it would be. How’s the weekend from hell?”

  “Fine. I don’t have time to chat. I’m going to spend the night with Jamie…” She covered the mouthpiece with her hand. “What was your last name again?”

  Jamie’s lips curved into a cute grin. “Forman.”

  Her own lips curled in response as she dropped her hand and murmured into the phone. “Jamie Forman. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Wait, you can’t tell me that and hang up! I’m assuming Jamie is a guy… Is he cute?”

  Lauren looked away from his smiling eyes and turned around to whisper into the phone. “Yes, very. I gotta go now. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  She hung up, took a deep breath and grabbed Jamie’s hand again. “Let’s go.”

  His eyes lingered on her breasts. “Can’t wait.”

  She suppressed the urge to squeal as they quickly made their way across the room. Euphoria had her light-headed until she drew to a stop in front of her small, blonde sister blocking their exit.

  Crystal’s lips curved with her barracuda smile. “Lauren! There you are. We were starting to worry about you. Did you forget all about us? We’ve been waiting just ages for our drinks.”

  Lauren’s shoulders hunched as she was faced with the vision of her perfect little sister. Every ounce of confidence drained out of her. Who was she kidding? This was why she never had a chance with Pierce. She couldn’t compete with her gorgeous sister. The last thing she wanted was to parade their glaring differences in front of Jamie too.

  “I—I, uh, I’m sorry, Crys. I was just—”

  “Never mind. Our waiter finally remembered us.” Crystal tossed her hair over her shoulder then blinked her long lashes at Jamie. “Lauren, you’re being rude again. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

  She never even looked at Lauren as she asked the question.

  “I, um, I’m s-sorry, would you…uh, I mean this is—”

  “Jamie Forman. And we were just leaving,” he cut in. Ignoring Crystal’s outstretched hand, he wrapped an arm around Lauren’s shoulders.

  Crystal tucked her hand against her hip. Her formerly toothy smile suddenly looked a little tight. “I don’t remember Lauren mentioning she’d invited a friend along. So rude of her. Unless… Don’t tell me! Did you guys just hook up tonight? Lauren, you naughty little thing.” She bent toward Lauren and asked in a stage whisper, “He’s not one of those gigolo-stripper types who preys on lonely women, is he? How much is he charging you anyway? I might want to hire him for a little special show later on.”

  Lauren gasped. Her face flushed as a red-hot anger began to burn in her chest. Although she might not have men regularly falling at her feet, she had never stooped to hiring someone for the evening. She opened her mouth to say as much, but a snicker from behind stopped her. If that stranger had heard Crystal, then Jamie had too. She closed her eyes and fervently hoped the floor would open up and swallow Crystal whole or Pierce would drag her sister away. Anything to make this mortifying moment end.

  “Excuse me?” Jamie stared at Crystal in confusion.

  “Oh sorry. You weren’t supposed to hear that.” She gave him her saccharine-sweet smile. “I’m the bride-to-be. She’s here for my party.” Crystal paused and looked Jamie up and down.

  A muscle flexed in Jamie’s jaw as if he were biting back words.

  “I might want to spice things up later. How much do you charge? Five hundred? Or are you negotiable?” Crystal leaned into Jamie and placed her hand on his chest.

  Lauren fought back the urge to slap it off.

  “I’m not for sale. And I don’t play with brides without the groom’s permission. Now if you’ll excuse us, Lauren and I have our own little party to get to.” Jamie picked up Crystal’s hand like it was a wet noodle and flicked it away. Grabbing Lauren, he swept her away from Crystal and toward the elevator.

  Lauren stood next to him in humming silence as they waited for the elevator. On one hand she was thrilled that Jamie had stood up for her. She felt a bit like a rescued damsel in distress. Him with all his manly grrr-ness, whisking her away from her evil sister. But on the other hand, she could’ve cheerfully slapped Crystal. How could her sister think she would hire someone? Lauren was so pissed off it took her a few minutes to get her breathing under control.

  Oh God. What did Jamie think about that scene? She stepped into the elevator with him silent at her side and watched him use his room card to access the penthouse floor. Was he thinking she was the desperate kind of woman who would actually hire someone for a night?

  “You shouldn’t let her treat you like that.”

  She jumped at his softly spoken statement. “What?”

  “Why didn’t you stand up for yourself? Do you always let people walk all over you?”

  Lauren looked away as she contemplated his question. Did she? Probably. At least with family. What was she thinking? She didn’t want to open up that can of worms with him. This wasn’t the time to discuss her twisted family history. How her sister always got her way or how their mother never seemed to notice. This—tonight—was purely about sex. No strings, just hot and naughty sex, nothing more. She was going to wring as much fun from this night as she could. Tomorrow and the reality of her life would return soon enough.

  She stepped out of the elevator after the doors swished open. “I don’t want to talk about my fucked-up family now.”

  He quietly surveyed her before shrugging. “Suits me. Let’s have fun then.”

  Lauren followed him to the door to his suite. One of only two rooms on this floor. She just hoped that her bravado would last through the night. “Then let’s get this party started.”

  Chapter Three

  Of course her bravado failed her the minute she stepped through the door. Holy crap, this was a huge room. Make that rooms. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what a set up like this would cost during the height of the season. So not only was he gorgeous and sexy, he was rich, as well. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She looked around helplessly from the ornate sofas to the dining room. He had a dining room, for crying out loud. He probably knew which piece of silverware went with which course. Once a week she ate ice cream with a fork because all her spoons were dirty. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God.

  She tried to take a calming breath against the rising panic. It’s not like they were going to be leaving the suite. She could do this. She wanted to do this. “Nice room,” she croaked.

  “What? Oh, thanks.” He turned around and faced her. “Would you like something to drink?”

  She shook her head. Probably better not to get too buzzed. She wanted to be able to remember every detail of what promised to be a memorable night.

  He brushed a hand down her arm before taking her palm in his. “Look at me.”

  She took a gulping breath and obeyed. He looked…in control. A glint of steel gleamed in his brown eyes yet his face was relaxed. Calm but authoritative. She loosened up slightly even as electricity arced up her arm at the touch of his hand.

  “All that�
�s left is a safe word. Your choice. Unless you have any more questions?”

  Her mind reeled, at war with the swirling butterflies in her tummy. Questions? She couldn’t think of any… She shook her head again.

  “Come on, kitten. You have to say something. Are you having second thoughts?” He dropped her hand and stepped back to the door, resting his hand on the knob. “Do you want to go?”

  “No!” She winced at her overloud voice in the quiet of his room. “No, I don’t want to go.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Condoms!”

  “Your safe word is condoms? That’s a new one.”

  She smiled at his teasing. “No. I just wanted to make sure you have them. And that you’ll use them.”

  He walked back to her and held her by the shoulders. “Of course. I insist on it.” He reached up and brushed the hair from her eyes. “Are you sure? Are you ready to follow my orders and let me control your pleasure?”

  She took a deep breath. A musky, slightly woodsy scent filled her head as Jamie filled her vision. She’d forever associate the scent with him and tonight.

  “Yes. I’m ready. Lawsuit.”

  “Your safe word is lawsuit?” His lips quirked in that appealing way of his, urging hers to curl, as well.

  She nodded in reply. A flush of warmth pooled in her lower abdomen and her nipples hardened. It was really going to happen. Him. Her. Spanking naughtiness. Oh God.

  “Fair enough. From now on you will address me as either ‘sir’ or ‘Jay,’ understand?” He paused for her nod then his voice turned hard. “Go into the bedroom, take off all your clothes and stand with your nose in the corner.”

  Lauren stared back in mute silence. This was it. Her fantasy coming to life. Her knees turned to jelly at the thought of what was to come, of what she was going to let him do to her. Oh, this was going to be good.

  “What are you waiting for? GO!”

  She flinched at his bellow and her feet moved of their own volition to the bedroom. Closing the door behind her with a soft click, she leaned against it. Oh God. She was really going to do this.