by Grant, Livia
“Let me buy you a drink on the house. You look like you could use it.”
He knew he could use a drink, but he stopped the DM just the same. “Naw, I’m hoping to play tonight, so I don’t want to drink another one.”
“So, the plot thickens. I can’t wait to see who has Shane Covington nervous.”
“Fuck you. I never said I was nervous.”
“No, you didn’t, but you don’t normally tear the labels off your beer bottle while glancing up at the entrance every two minutes, either.”
Busted.
Okay, if truth be told, he was a little nervous. It had been a long time since he’d met a sub as perfect as Nalani seemed for him. That she was a complete newbie to the lifestyle was a huge turn-on to him. Her shy uncertainty, paired with her reluctant sexual hunger when he pressed her out of her comfort zone pushed every carnal button he had.
That, right there, was the problem. He knew he had the power to really fuck her up and didn’t take that responsibility lightly.
He needed to take this slow. She didn’t know it, but she’d been thrown into the deepest pool in town, and he didn’t know for sure yet if she even knew how to swim. He felt a lot of pressure to be her lifeguard, ready to throw her a life vest, while his dark side hungered to hold her head under water until she came up gasping and sputtering for air.
Fuck, he really was an asshole.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” Elijah teased as Susie delivered her boss his beer.
“Sorry, man. I’m a bit distracted.”
“I see that. Wanna talk about it?”
“Naw, I’ll figure it out.”
Elijah took a drag of his beer before answering. “If you say so.” Shane thought he was done until he tacked on, “But I’m guessing you’ve finally found someone who might be into the fucked-up mind-games you like to play.”
“Asshole. I confide in you, and now, you throw my shit back in my face?” Shane retorted defensively.
“Fuck you. I’m not throwing anything in your face. Have you forgotten what my job is, asshole?” Elijah snapped. The DM stopped to take another swig of beer before continuing, a bit calmer. “It’s my job to help members through this complicated shit. We both know a good portion of the members come here for a bit of privacy, and that’s fine. Others for a little slap and tickle to feel naughty before they go home to their vanilla life.” Elijah leaned in closer, speaking softer, “But there is a group of hard-core members who really take their kinks to the edge. I count you in that category, and that means it gets complicated.”
“Complicated is the understatement of the year.” Shane stopped short of apologizing to the DM for his defensive outburst.
Elijah chuckled, proving he hadn’t taken Shane’s comments personally.
“You’re doing better than a lot of people around here.”
“How’s that?” Shane asked, taking the last warm swig of his beer.
“You’ve taken the time to figure out what makes you tick, what you need. Most people bounce along, trying shit, never really figuring it out.”
“So, the fact I know I’m a sick bastard who could do irreparable psychological harm to my subs if I’m not careful is my strength?”
“Whoa there, partner. That seems a bit melodramatic. You’re at Black Light, which means anyone walking through that door knows the score. Give her some credit she’ll be able to safeword if you go too far.”
Shane sure as hell hoped Elijah was right. He looked at his watch for the tenth time in the last hour. Fuck.
“Well, I may be worrying for nothing, anyway. She’s thirty minutes late. Maybe she already came to her senses.”
“She’ll show. Women don’t pass up a chance to scene with Shane Covington.”
Shane wasn’t so sure about that. And why did the word scene seem out of place to describe what was going on between him and Nalani?
He was deciding if he wanted to take Elijah up on that next beer or just head upstairs and call it a failed night when Elijah whistled.
“Holy shit. What the fuck is she doing here? Dressed like that?”
Shane followed his friend’s gaze toward the entrance, and his heart lurched. Holy fuck, she’d come. And she looked… different.
Nalani glanced around the social area, finally smiling when she saw him at the bar. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she weaved through the mingling couples between them. She was in an understated little black dress that hugged her curves. The scoop neck showcased her pert breasts, and the high heels made her look taller and more confident.
Elijah stood, preparing to go to her. “I wonder why she’s here.”
Shane solved the mystery for his friend. “She’s my date.”
The shocked look on Elijah’s face as he turned back to confront Shane spoke volumes.
“Let me guess… your little pep talk about anyone playing with me being able to take care of themselves doesn’t apply to Nalani.”
“Hell no, it doesn’t. She’s not a member. She’s not even in the lifestyle, for Christ’s sake.”
“Like you said. It’s complicated.”
“No. She’s off limits,” Elijah argued, moving to stand between Shane and the approaching woman.
Unexpected jealousy flared up as Elijah reached out to grab Nalani’s arm as she tried to walk past him to get to Shane.
“The hell she is. Who are you, anyway, her father?”
“I might as well be,” Elijah retorted as he pulled Nalani closer to him.
“You’re old enough, old man,” Shane spat like a tenth grader in a schoolyard scrape.
“What’s going on?” Nalani broke in between the men.
Hot anger turned Elijah’s face red. “You’re going home, that’s what’s going on.”
Shane kept his attention on Nalani, watching for any evidence she was reassured at her friend’s suggestion. To his relief, she looked angry at her co-worker as she yanked her arm out of Elijah’s grasp.
“Why would I do that?”
“You aren’t a member. You can’t be here,” Elijah reasoned.
“So, let me get this straight. You’re fine with me coming down here several times a week to clean. You’ve even invited Madison, Avery, and me down for nightcaps, more times than I can count. But now, tonight the place is off limits?”
Shane was so proud of her. He was seeing a whole new side of his little housekeeper, and he liked it. Maybe she did have the backbone to keep his demons in check.
“It’s not the club that’s off limits. It’s Covington. He’s not a good fit for you. You want to learn more about the lifestyle, I’ll hook you up. There are a lot of Doms who’d….”
“I don’t want other Doms. I want Shane.”
I want Shane. It was ridiculous how happy those three little words made him feel.
“You don’t know him well enough.”
“I know. That’s why we’re going on a date.”
Elijah barked a manic laugh before correctly pointing out, “The fact that you call anything that happens here at Black Light a date means you have no clue what you’re getting yourself into with him.” Elijah paused before adding, “Nalani, please. I know what I’m talking about here.”
Shane had sat on the sidelines, not sure how to defend himself since he’d been thinking the exact same things about himself before the DM had arrived. He was an asshole for enjoying the tortured indecision on her face as she tried to decide which side of the tug-of-war between the men she would end up on. Shane was determined it would be his.
“There’s no rule that says employees can’t date customers. Not at Runway and not at Black Light,” Nalani reasoned with the DM. “So, why are you trying to stop me from doing something that literally every other employee has done in the past?”
“Not every employee…”
“Oh, please. Tyler plays with a different member every week. Susie accepts orgasms as a form of payment for drinks, and I’ve seen you playing with at least
three members. And that doesn’t even count Madison dating Trevor. How is what I’m doing any different?”
Damn, she was schooling the DM good. He almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Their argument was attracting the attention of those around them. How ironic that Shane got off making his subs do all sorts of humiliating things in public, but here, now, he felt protective of Nalani.
He stood, reaching out to her as she rushed forward into his arms. She hugged him tightly as the two dominant men started their stare down behind her back.
“You hurt her—and I mean really hurt her—and I’ll hurt you,” Elijah promised. “Got it?”
The Hawaiian beauty was trembling in his arms, reminding him he didn’t want to fuck her up any more than Elijah did.
“Got it.”
The men had come to a tenuous agreement.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” Nalani spoke against his chest. “Or upstairs.”
Shane was ready to agree when Elijah injected, “No. You should stay down here. I may not like it, but at least I can keep an eye on you down here.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Nalani groaned.
So, his little sub was embarrassed for her friends to see her playing. Shane could make that work in his favor.
Asshole.
Shane nodded at Elijah. “We’ll at least start out down here.”
Her muffled, “Yes, sir,” surprised Elijah even more than it did Shane. With a curt nod, the older DM turned and stalked away from the bar area, heading behind the velvet curtain to the racier areas of the club.
He held her long enough for her trembling to stop before pulling back so he could look into her expressive eyes. She’d applied layers of eyeliner, mascara, and false eyelashes. The smoky eye shadow enhanced her golden-brown eyes, but it was the red lipstick that had his cock standing at attention. He wouldn’t rest until he’d wrapped those lips wide around his cock, choking her until tears smeared that mascara.
He shook his head, asking her, “You hungry? Thirsty?”
“No. I ate a while ago. I’m good.”
They turned to return to the bar where he helped her onto the tall stool next to his.
Only once they were sitting in silence, each looking forward to seeing the reflection of the other in the bar’s back mirror, did it hit Shane how nervous he really was. The encounter with Elijah has made things worse, reminding him just how out of her league Nalani was, yet he was helpless to stop the game—not yet.
“What color are you right now, Nalani?”
“Color? But we haven’t even started…”
“Color?” he repeated more sternly.
“Green, sir,”
Before he did anything else, Shane had one final thing to say to the innocent next to him. “Get used to the question. I’m going to ask it often tonight. As much of a prick as Elijah was to butt in, he isn’t wrong to try to protect you from me.”
Her lips curved up into a smile. “Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
“No, just trying to be fair to you.”
“And just what is it you think you’re gonna do to me that isn’t fair?”
She’d asked so nicely, served it up superbly—he couldn’t resist. Turning to look directly into her eyes, he loosened the reins of his control.
“I’m gonna hurt you, Nalani. I’m not going to stop until you’re screaming my name at the top of your lungs between your sobs.”
Perfection—her feral fear was tangible, so damn beautiful.
Yep. An asshole.
* * *
Holy shit, what the hell had she gotten herself into? Even after she’d calmed down enough from the disastrous exchange with Mr. Ainsworth to decide to keep her date, she’d still almost chickened out several times before she got here. Before arriving, she’d been more worried she’d be a disappointment to the celebrity who could date any woman he wanted. But now, she wasn’t so sure.
She hated that Elijah had been right about one thing—she wasn’t Shane’s date. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was to the dominant, but the way he was looking at her, she felt more like a lamb on the way to slaughter.
“I…” She what? She hadn’t the first clue what to say to a man who’d just promised to hurt her and make her cry. Thank you seemed wrong. A thrum of fear burned in her tummy, but it was overshadowed by excitement. She felt alive.
“Do you want me to leave?” she finally asked.
He hesitated before answering with a simple, “Hell, no.”
“Then, I’ll stay.”
Shane stood, helping her down from her stool, still acting the gentleman, before reaching down to pick up a black leather bag she hadn’t seen on the floor, slinging it over his shoulder. Grabbing her hand in his, he took off for deeper in the club. She had to almost jog to keep up with his long strides.
The music got louder with a strong sexual beat once on the other side of the velvet curtain. She could feel the bass humming deep inside her, vibrating near the elusive orgasm she was desperate to find. It had taken all of her willpower not to masturbate at home to take the edge off. Nalani was pretty sure Shane would have never found out, but she’d have known she hadn’t obeyed him, and since it was one of the first commands he’d given her, she had been determined not to mess it up.
He weaved them through several of the platforms setup for members to play on. It took her self-control not to stare at the salacious scenes on the occupied raised stages. She tugged on Shane’s hand to slow down as they passed a woman artfully wrapped in ropes, hanging from the rigging in the ceiling. Even over the loud music, Nalani heard her moans of pleasure as her dominant used a flogger on her exposed patches of skin.
Shane’s lips were on the shell of her ear as he leaned down. “You want to be tied up and whipped, little girl?”
It was a ridiculous question she would have laughed at a week before, sure it was a joke. Tonight, it felt more like a challenge. He was testing her.
Be brave.
“The ropes look interesting. I’m less sure about the flogger.”
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. If you let me, I can make you fly high with a flogger.”
She tore her eyes away from the spectacle to look up into Shane’s eyes.
“What does that mean? Fly high?”
His grin was alarmingly perfect, taking her breath away.
“I love how new all this is to you.”
She felt blood rushing to her face. Was he making fun of her innocence?
“Sorry I asked,” she mumbled, feeling foolish.
“Don’t you dare be sorry. I mean it. I love that I get to introduce you to so many things I take for granted. Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions.”
Nalani searched his handsome face for signs of humor, but all she saw was sincerity.
Before she could come up with a response, he pulled her back into motion toward an empty plush chair right in the middle of the action where they would be surrounded by debauchery.
“Why can’t we go to one of the rooms along the back hallway?” she called to him over the music.
He turned as he got to the lone seat to answer her. “I rarely play in the back rooms, Nalani. Can you guess why?”
His voice was so damn sexy—too bad the chill in his words scared her.
Her brain screamed the answer. “You like them to watch you?”
“Not really.” When she didn’t guess again, he added, “I want them to watch you as you struggle to follow my directions. The more they’re paying attention, the more it’s going to push you where I want you to go.”
The look in his eyes warned her she may not like the answer, but she asked anyway. “And where is that?”
“Sometimes, it’s heaven… but to be fair, sometimes it might feel like hell.”
Holy fuck.
Before she processed the shocking words, he turned and pulled her the last few feet to the chair.
“Now, let’s
get comfortable. We’re just gonna be voyeurs for a bit tonight. Ease into this before we jump all-in.”
Nalani pushed down her disappointment. Her brain knew she should be grateful he was taking things slow. Still, it was as embarrassing as hell to know he thought of her as a newbie.
If the shoe fits, wear it.
Shane sat, leaving her standing awkwardly in front of him with nowhere to go. Did he expect her to pull over a chair from another sitting area? She glanced around to see if there even was seating open nearby. Finding none, she looked back at the actor in confusion.
“Kneel.” Several intense seconds had passed before he spoke his one-word command.
The word was so simple, but obeying felt anything but. On the surface, there wasn’t anything particularly sexual about the request, but knowing where they were—steeped in the sounds of pain and pleasure—she knew it was just the first of what she suspected would be many tests.
She wouldn’t fail—at least not yet.
Nalani glanced down before slowly lowering herself to the floor and its industrial grade carpet that covered the seating areas. The fabric didn’t give much cushion to her bare knees, but she couldn’t think of that now.
Shane had spread his legs wide, motioning for her to take up the intimate place in between. He’d kept his leather bag in his lap, letting her watch as he unzipped it to rummage around and come out with a few items he hid from her.
“Color?”
True to his previous promise, he was checking in with her. She appreciated it.
“Green.”
“Excellent. He moved his hands forward quickly, not letting her get a glimpse of what he had in his hand until he was wrapping it around her neck.
“It’s what I call a kitty necklace—others would call it a posture collar, but it’s not quite thick enough for that.”
He buckled the stiff leather into place, the leather fitting her neck as if she’d sat for a fitting as. Wonderfully snug, but it felt heavy on her neck, impossible to ignore—which was probably the idea.
She found it odd to take comfort in the click as he clipped a leash to a hook on her collar, tying them to each other. She liked the idea of being tied to Shane Covington.
The leash had had an effect on the dominant as well. Nalani’s heart raced at the feral look in Shane’s eyes as he let his gaze move lower to stare at her cleavage before reaching out to cup her breasts through the fabric of her dress.