“Joseph,” Rick called in greeting. “You look harried.”
“Beer?” Jonas asked as he flagged down the bartender.
He shook his head. “Single malt, top shelf.”
Jonas grunted. “One of those days, eh? Highland Park 25 for Joseph, Ben.”
The bar manager’s eyes widened. Jonas had gone beyond the top shelf and ordered him a shot from a $500 bottle of scotch.
“Dex got a case as a thank you from a client,” Rick explained. “Only you and Cap drink the stuff, so it’s yours whenever you want it, Joe.”
“Appreciated.” A stool opened beside Jonas and he sat, taking off his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes. “Elena really pulls in a crowd.”
“Yeah, too big,” Jonas commented as he shifted to survey the room. “We’re going to have to move our open sub night to when Elena isn’t headlining. It defeats the purpose when the subs are hanging around the stage instead of the Doms.”
“Good idea,” Joseph agreed. “It’s almost ten and I haven’t had time to circulate, not that I could in this crush.”
“Still on the hunt for the perfect sub, old man?” Rick chuckled. “Don’t get discouraged, she’s out there.”
“Let’s hope she wasn’t among the dozen or so Dex had to turn away at the door.” Sean put in as he came up behind them. “He hates doing that. There were a lot of disappointed faces when he broke the news. He gave them vouchers hoping they’ll return next time. Unfortunately, some won’t have the nerve.”
“What was the breakdown tonight?” Rick inquired.
“Twelve red, fourteen white,” Sean replied.
“No pink?” Jonas said in surprise.
“Only one. A stunning blonde. She came in alone, so I sat her with the girls.”
Jonas whistled. “That’s a brave girl.”
“More like a brave woman. Thirty-five, I’m guessing.”
“She might be what you’re looking for, Joe,” suggested Rick. “Not a newbie to try your patience or too well trained thereby lacking a challenge.”
“I think you gentlemen have read my file,” Joseph murmured as he pulled out a linen handkerchief and began to clean his lenses.
The three owners chuckled. When he settled his frames back on his nose, he followed their eyes to the head table. Their lovely ladies were instantly recognizable, fixtures in the club for months, some for years. Except Mara, who wasn’t actually new, but had been absent for a time. His eyes fell on the woman sitting next to her. The long golden fall of wavy blonde hair made him surge to his feet. Even across the jam-packed room, she was achingly familiar.
It can’t be.
Sidestepping to get a better look, he was thankful for his above-average height that gave him a better view over the crowd. He watched as her head tilted back, sending the blonde waves brushing across her shoulders and the curled ends bouncing along her back. Almost positive of her identify, he became more sure as his body responded as it had so often in the past.
“Her name?” His question, uttered in a disbelieving tone was directed at Sean.
“How’s that?” Sean responded, leaning in as a crack of thunder shook the room.
“Her name, man,” he demanded. “What is the lovely pink ribbon’s name?”
“Olivia. Don’t have the last name, but it’s on file.”
“That won’t be necessary.” His disbelief was expressed in a whisper. He knew the lovely blonde without a doubt and intended to find out what the hell she was thinking coming here alone. Tossing back the dregs of his scotch, he slammed the glass down on the top of the bar and stepped away.
He felt the men’s eyes on him. “Something wrong?” Jonas asked.
A colossal understatement to be sure. Something was most assuredly wrong.
Without answering Jonas, he moved forward through the teeming crowd. He felt like his head was going to explode with incredulity. For three years she’d sat outside his office door, quite literally at his beck and call, efficiently following his directives, bending over backwards to please him, calling him sir while he nursed a perpetual hard on. He thought she was efficient and professional, not submissive. Dammit! Why hadn’t he recognized what was beneath his very nose?
Of course, he’d noticed her beauty. Her thick, glossy hair, the full pink lips that she kept slick with gloss, and her stunning, curvaceous figure. With the snug skirts she wore, how could he not notice? Especially when she bent over to get a file or like earlier this afternoon when she retrieved her purse from the bottom drawer and the material had pulled tight across her hips and that full, round, spankable derriere. It hit him, as sure as his cock lengthened in his trousers. He had noticed all of that, but not consciously. He’d suppressed a lifetime of dominant urges all this time. The question remained, why?
He determined to reflect on his cluelessness later. Right now his mission was to get to her in the throng of bodies because something was definitely wrong here, many things in fact. Foremost, that Olivia had driven two hours in the pouring rain, in her piece of shit car, most likely. The one he’d had to jump start for her twice in the last month. It tied with her coming alone to an unfamiliar club—a sex club of all places—which he found beyond reckless and in his mind wholly unacceptable. Ranking right up there as a close third, was the pink ribbon she wore, which was intriguing, but also left him seething with jealousy that someone else had initiated her into the lifestyle. Lastly, it infuriated him that they were obviously in search of the same thing, but neither had the guts or the intelligence to open their eyes and see what was right in front of them for three long years. That was definitely a terrible wrong and one he was determined to put to rights pronto, as soon as he maneuvered his way to her side through the mass of wall-to-wall people.
*****
As the first set ended, Livvy sat back thoroughly enjoying herself and the remains of her giant size strawberry margarita. With the band on break, the bone jarring decibel level had decreased to one more conducive to conversation, giving the women at her table an opportunity for introductions.
“Olivia, let me acquaint you with the owner’s girls,” Mara said as the bright stage lights dimmed. “Megan is with Cap,” she waved her hand, indicating the beautiful curvy blonde across from her, “and Regan, the extremely pregnant red head there, is her twin.”
The petite, small-boned woman, who looked decidedly uncomfortable, shifted in her chair as she rubbed her protruding belly. Livvy’s eyes shifted back and forth between the two women, deciding they looked nothing alike until Regan yelped and pressed her hand to her belly as the baby made its presence known. When she looked up, her eyes were the same stunning blue and she flashed a smile identical to her sister.
“She’s married to Master Rick,” Mara went on to explain. “Lexie, the sun-kissed brunette across from you is engaged to Master Jonas, and last but not least, the ageless, gorgeous blonde wonder on the end is Joanna. She’s married to Master Peter.” Each woman smiled warmly and nodded in turn. “Elena,” Mara continued, again waving a hand, this time toward the vacated stage, “is our resident rock star and belongs to Master Dex.”
“First timer?” Megan asked with a smile.
“Yeah, I drove two hours and almost didn’t get in. About a dozen girls behind me were turned away.”
“Poor girls,” Regan murmured as she shifted restlessly, “some of the newbies will never get up the nerve to return.”
“Where are you from, Olivia?” Joanna inquired.
“Call me Livvy, please. All my friends do. I’m from Austin.”
Mara refilled her drink from the pitcher. “Since you’re here on an open sub night, bedecked with a ribbon, it’s not a stretch what you’re looking for. We have a single Dom from Austin.”
Megan shook her head. “I don’t know. She looks too sweet for Master J.”
The name was familiar, the girl out front having the same negative reaction.
“That’s the second time I’ve heard his name mentioned in a not so positi
ve light,” Livvy blurted out. “Is he a hulking brute or something?”
They all turned to Mara as if she had the answer.
“You’re asking me?” she replied with surprise. “How would I know?”
“You know him better than anyone else,” Megan prompted.
“I know him professionally, not as a submissive.”
“Tell us what you do know,” Regan prompted.
“All I know is the rumors from the sub grapevine that he’s a rather strict Dom and partial to the cane.” She paused for a moment, turning thoughtful while biting her lower lip. “Personally, I found him rather hard to get a handle on. Fortyish, handsome and extremely tall, taller than Lil T and Tony, even. He’s extremely intelligent, full of confidence, but not in an obnoxious way, and has a wonderfully vibrant infectious laugh. That he wraps it all up in a fuddy-duddy tweed suit, wire framed glasses and a bow tie on occasion is what throws me off. When Joseph represented me last year, I nicknamed him the swaggering nerd.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that. He’s really not a nerd. More like... conservative, yes. That’s a good adjective for him, better yet, old-fashioned.”
Livvy stiffened, her stomach doing a flip flop.
No! It can’t be.
“What do you do for a living, Olivia?” Lexie asked. “Maybe you have something in common with Master Joseph. He’s an attorney.”
“Oh my god!” Livvy bolted out of her chair, knocking it over. “Are you by chance referring to Joseph Hooks?”
Mara stood too. “That’s him. Do you know him?”
“She’s gone white as a sheet,” Lexie remarked with concern. “Livvy, maybe you should sit back down.”
Mara ignored Lexie’s suggestion and pressed the newcomer for more information, although she wrapped a supportive hand around her arm as she did. “Do you know our Master Joseph?” she repeated.
“Know him!” Panic was obvious in her voice now. “I freakin’ work for the man. Merciful heavens! I’ve gotta go.” She whirled and started pushing her way through the crowd, her focus on the front doors.
“Olivia, wait,” Mara called after her.
She didn’t slow or look back, having only one goal in mind, getting out of the club unseen. When she pushed through the heavy double doors and entered the lobby, thunder rumbled long and loud. There was a man at the desk she hadn’t noticed on the way in. Dressed all in black, his snug t-shirt had a gold lettered emblem that said Rossi Security on the upper left side of his broad chest.
“It’s a gully washer out there, miss,” he cautioned. “You’ll need to wait until it slows.”
Disregarding his warning and refusing to be waylaid by weather, she started for her only means of escape. “I need to go. Now.” When she pulled the heavy doors open, she was assailed by wind and rain, the force of both ripping the handles from her grasp. Immediately, she moved to close them, struggling against the torrent’s sustained force when large male hands appeared next to her smaller ones and easily pushed the doors shut. “I’m sorry,” she gasped, leaning against the doors, already feeling the chill from the drenching as the A/C wafted over her wet skin. “I had no idea it was storming so badly.”
Livvy turned back to the security guard to further her apology. Only it wasn’t the guard whose hands curled around her upper arms. It wasn’t his black T-shirt clad chest that filled her vision either. Instead, she stared at a burgundy vest and a gray check tweed jacket. Following it upward, she encountered a perfectly knotted gray tie, a clean shaven, tightly clenched jaw, and full, sensuous lips set in a hard line. She stopped there, knowing who she’d find if she went further. Closing her eyes tightly, she prayed for the power of teleportation as her face burned.
“Olivia.”
His voice, usually a mellow tenor, rang sharp like a hammer forging steel.
“Look at me, little one.”
The endearment, one he’d used on occasion with her before, when her mother passed two years back and when he’d dropped by her apartment the time she’d had a debilitating case of the flu. The pet name, common to the lifestyle, hadn’t registered at the time. Now, it rang clear as he used it as a Dominant would with his errant submissive. She swallowed hard, feeling trapped.
“Now, Olivia.” The order was uncompromisingly compelling and she responded as though she had no will.
She looked up into his familiar green eyes. As they gazed intently down at her with more fire than she’d ever seen, she got dizzy. Maybe it was the alcohol or the stress of coming here all alone, or it could be low blood sugar because she’d skipped dinner, much too nervous to eat. No matter the cause, her world turned on end. Her rubbery knees gave way and she crumbled right into the arms of Joseph Hooks, senior partner at Hooks, Jeffers, and Mahoney, Attorneys-at-law, her boss, her fantasy Dom and the secret love of her life. Then Olivia did something she’d never done in her entire life; she fainted dead away.
Chapter Four
From across the room, he watched her wake, her eyes blinking open and staring at the unfamiliar ceiling overhead. Suddenly, she winced, her hand coming to her forehead to rub away a headache, no doubt, as her delicate brows gathered together. Pink lips, usually soft and curved in a smile, were downturned as she grimaced and sat up in bed. She looked down at the expanse of the king-size bed, her hand flaring out and smoothing over what he knew to be mega-thread count, soft, sumptuous linens. Her head swung up and her eyes swept over the room. When she located him seated casually in a high-backed chair in the corner, her eyes flew wide and her cheeks, usually a lovely peaches and cream, flooded with crimson. She quickly looked away.
“Feeling better?” He tried to keep his tone neutral, free of the equal parts amusement and lust he was experiencing, but he wasn’t certain he accomplished the feat when her face contorted ever so slightly, then she politely lied.
“Fit as a fiddle, thank you. I should go.”
The echo of her words hadn’t faded when a loud crack of thunder made her start. It was followed immediately by a flash of lightning, electrifying the air in the room.
“Obviously, you’re not going anywhere tonight.” He stood and crossed to the bed. Using his full height to impart his authority, he stood close to the bedside, staring down at her, his arms crossed imposingly over his chest. “I asked a question and this time I would like a truthful response.”
She glanced up at him briefly, her eyes reaching no further than his chest, then darted away, moving down to her tightly clasped hands in her lap. “I have a bit of a headache is all, sir. Truly, I’m fine.”
“How many cocktails did you have this evening?” As he posed his question, he crossed to the bathroom.
“One, but it was very large,” was her faint reply as he found aspirin in the medicine cabinet and filled a glass with water from the tap. He strode to her bedside and held them out for her, palm up.
“Aspirin,” he explained succinctly. “Take them without any fuss, please, Olivia.”
When she swallowed them down with only a small sip, he ordered further, “Finish it.”
Not hesitating in obeying this time, she downed the entire contents. He set her empty glass on the nightstand, then sat on the edge of the bed, close alongside her, his thigh pressing fully against hers. Leaning forward, his fists settled into the soft mattress bracketing her hips, which brought his face very near hers. With him in her space, she had nowhere to go but flat on her back in the bed. Being vulnerable beneath him clearly not part of her plan, she scooted up in the bed until she could go no further. Her eyes darted about the room, once again looking for an escape, but his body had cut off all exit routes. She was caged and she knew it. With few options left except to face the music, she lifted her face, eyes boldly meeting his. Brave girl.
“It’s late, a flash flood warning is out and you’ve been drinking. That’s a dangerous combination, which you won’t be risking, not on my watch. We’ll be spending the night.”
She bristled. “Exactly when
did it become your watch, sir?”
“The minute you walked into Club Decadence with your hair loose and gleaming like satin, wearing a dress meant to entice, in search of a Dom tonight. I am that Dom, Olivia. No other.”
He leaned forward, without touching her, forcing her back until she reclined fully on the pillows. Her hands came up to his chest reflexively. As he hovered over her, his upper body containing hers, his lips lowered as if drawn to her by an invisible force, a magnetism that he could no longer deny.
She whispered, “Don’t I get a say?”
“Certainly, you get to say yes.”
He took her mouth, her taste exploding on his tongue as it swept inside. She was as sweet and savory as he’d always guessed she’d be. Unable to resist her allure, his hand found the thickness of her hair as silky soft as he’d imagined, his other hand sliding beneath her back and holding her against him. He deepened the kiss, greedily plundering her mouth as the pirates of old did their treasure, continuing in that mode until she was whimpering softly in her throat.
Joseph lifted his head a mere fraction so that his lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “That was a sample, Olivia. Do you want more?”
“Yes, please.” Her husky, breathy and purely sensual response sent a jolt of need to his already rigid cock. Yet, he wanted to make his offer clear. “Say, “yes, please, Master, I want more,” and we have a verbal contract for the night.”
She hesitated, something flashing in the beautiful blue orbs before she agreed. “Yes, please, Master, I want much more. Please accept my submission.”
Forgetting her momentary uncertainty, his lips curved up in a slow smile. “It will be my absolute pleasure to take it, and you, pet.”
*****
The heat of Joseph’s mouth opening over hers was incredible, adding a scorching intensity to the kiss. His tongue swirled and stroked, robbing her of breath. As he trailed his lips down her throat, he tugged down the scooped neck of her dress and grazed along the plumped up mounds of her breasts. She arched her back offering him more, wanting with a desperate need to feel his lips on her aching nipples.
Hooked (Decadence Nights Book 1) Page 3