“I don’t give a shit, British. Come on, you’ve been trying to get me to do this for some time. Bring it.”
Dane kept his fists down. They circled each other.
No blows came as the shine of headlights came down the alley.
Cadeon and Stephen got out of the car, followed by Lucas and Sean.
“Seriously, after all the camera crews and news stations, you’re going to start a fight in the middle of an alleyway where anyone can see?” Stephen said, slamming his door closed.
James kept his eye on Dane. The man may be on their side, but he still refused to trust him.
“He’s your responsibility, not mine.” James dropped his fist and then turned to the other men who’d turned up. They were all his friends, or at least he thought they were.
“We all agreed to get to the bottom of this. Not just for us but for Isabella and Rebecca. They need to know the truth.”
Isabella was Lucas’s younger sister. She’d spent six months in the hospital recovering from several years of starvation and neglect. They’d found her behind a load of bushes in the local park. Rebecca was another matter. She was the ex-wife of Lloyd Black and possibly the only real link they had left of Dominic Green’s business.
James hated the way their lives were turning out. They were not supposed to be part of something like this.
“Where are Tate and Kevin?” James asked.
“At Possession with Rebecca and Isabella. They’re keeping an eye on things,” Stephen said.
“Get him out of here,” James said, turning his back on his friends.
“We need to talk, James,” Cadeon said.
James closed his eyes trying to block them all out. Talking wasn’t resolving anything. The last year with having the press diving into his past and his life had left him open. James didn’t feel like his old life would ever return. They were all becoming part of something a lot bigger than them. How could the others not see the dangers being brought to them?
It had taken a long time for him to realise it. When he’d agreed to help with Dane’s release and the women involved with his friends, he hadn’t seen the real danger to them.
They were not white knights or soldiers. They were men from wealthy backgrounds where their money got work done. None of them would ever be prepared for anything else.
“I’m not talking tonight.” He walked away toward Prudence.
****
“Anyone else thinking that good old James has gone off the rails?” Cadeon asked.
Dane kept his mouth shut. The last thing he needed was to be part of their stuff. He had a short period of time to get the money together and do the exchange, money in exchange for the girl.
“He’s clearly not handling everything well,” Stephen said, looking at him.
He climbed into the back of the car. These bastards drove around in luxury, so there was more than enough room for the three of them in the back. Lucas and Sean sat either side of him. He knew these men had gone through a lot of trouble. Dane also knew what Isabella had gone through. He wouldn’t talk.
These men, no matter how hard they tried to help, were not equipped to deal with the men who were running this thing. In comparison to people like Dominic, these boys were country folk. Cadeon and Stephen climbed back into the car. The engine was started up, and they pulled out of the alley. It was the cleanest alley Dane had ever seen. Most of them were dumps with the smell of rotting food and piss.
He shook his head. The biggest mistake he’d done so far was bringing his shit to their door. To a point he understood their need. He’d felt it once before himself. Only once and he knew unless he got her back, he’d never feel it again.
“Why does James hate you so much?” Lucas asked.
“Because I’ve killed people. I think it makes him a little green to think of someone like me in his place.” Dane didn’t understand why. He thought BDSM was some freaky shit, and from what he’d seen in the basement, that was pretty much torture to some people.
Being forced and paid to hurt people or even worse, kill them, took all the possible fun out of kinky games in the bedroom. He liked his sex rough. He didn’t like his sex with whips and chains, that was too rough for him.
“So have I,” Lucas said, on a whisper.
He knew the background of the two men beside him. They’d served their country like noble men, fighting for a cause they believed in. He admired them for it. They killed because it was their job. In the force, it was either them and their team or the enemy.
His kills were nothing like that. He had to kill to show his loyalty. Dane shook away the sound of their screams. The pleading tone of their voices could threaten to send him over the edge. Pushing it away, he stared past them out of the window.
Dane wished he could be like all these men. Calm and collected with plenty of money to be secure. Instead, he was under the radar with a fake identity.
What the hell had he done?
****
Prue sat on the end of the bed seething. Her father had never marched her out of a party or embarrassed her in front of her friends. The way her friends had looked at her had been a combination of pity and fear.
She wasn’t afraid of James. He was all bark and no bite. She’d witnessed how sweet he could be with her sister. There was nothing to him. Tapping her foot on the thick carpet, she watched the door for signs of James. She’d screamed and banged at the hard wood with no promise of being able to escape.
Looking around the room provided her with nothing. There were no personal effects. All that was there was a bed. One bed, nothing else to help her deal with her boredom.
The lock turned in the door. James appeared, and she glared at him. From the expression on his face, he wasn’t in the mood to argue.
Too fucking bad.
“How dare you control me like that?” She got off the bed and moved toward him. James closed the door behind him leaning against the doorframe.
“It was for your own good,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. The defiant act pissed her off. She wanted him to say something else.
“My own good? I was talking to a guy at a bar, James. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. You had no right to do what you did.” She poked his chest getting little satisfaction as the simple press of her finger did nothing. James was all muscle. She’d seen him without his shirt, once, while living at her sister’s apartment. That one look had kept her fantasies alive.
She was a horrible sister. James was her sister’s ex. How could she even think of having him for herself?
“This is my club, Prudence. I make the rules, and if I tell you what to do you’ll fucking do it, or else!”
His voice rose with each word. She heard the warning behind them. The rebel inside her was too hard to ignore. Prue stared up the length of his body, taking in every part of him. He was tall, not as tall as Dane but tall enough to crowd her. His shoulders were twice the size of hers with thick arms well defined with plenty of muscle. She could only imagine the kind of strength he possessed. All of him was larger than she. He made her feel small and delicate in comparison to his size and weight.
She stared up his body going to his lips. They were pressed together in a hard line of disapproval. She wondered how they would feel pressed against her own lips with pleasure being his only intent.
Stifling a moan she moved up to his eyes. They were brown and always made her freeze on the spot. Sometimes she was sure they were as black as the night depending on his mood. She’d spent way too much time analysing this man’s body. Next, his hair, which was black apart from the few shades of grey she saw streaking it. This man was twenty-three years old than she, and yet he was the most attractive man she’d ever seen.
Licking her lips, she looked down at the floor. Did James have any idea how she felt? His words finally penetrated her perusal of him. She frowned. Or else?
“Or else? Or else what, James? You’ll spank me? Put me over your knee and tell me what a bad girl I�
��ve been?” Once she started it, there was no stopping.
Prue closed the small distance between them, pressing her body against him. He didn’t push her away or pull her closer. Taking his silence into account she leaned up so she was able to whisper into his ear.
“I’ve heard all about this club, James. You’re a dominant man, and I know what dominant men do.”
He caught her arms pulling her back.
“I don’t know what has gotten into you. I suggest you take my advice and don’t come back here.”
James stared down at her. She gazed into his eyes, watched as they turned black. Heat swamped her pussy. She waited for him to speak. When he didn’t say anything she placed her hand against his chest.
“I’ve never been good at being told what to do, James. I don’t like being told what to do.” She stroked his chest feeling the warmth vibrate against her palm.
“You’ll do as I say,” he said.
There was too much arrogance in his tone.
“And why would I follow your instructions when I wouldn’t even follow my parents’?” she asked.
He leaned down, freezing her to the spot. His hand came out to caress her cheek. She sucked in a breath when his thumb trailed along her bottom lip. What she’d give for him to put his lips on her.
Her heart pounded inside her chest. Her clit was swollen. She knew she’d need to find some release tonight.
“Because when I threaten, Prudence, I mean every single word. If you don’t listen to what I say then there will be consequences.”
He leaned in close. His lips were centimetres away from hers.
She closed her eyes waiting.
“There is a taxi waiting for you downstairs, Prudence. He’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
In the next moment he released her and then was gone. Leo stood outside the door waiting for her. She wanted to find James and kick him. She’d made a total ass of herself, and she didn’t like it.
Leo held her coat in his hand. She snatched it off him then followed him out of the front of the club.
“He means well, Prue,” Leo said.
“I don’t give a shit what he means. No one, especially not a guy, orders me around.” She wrapped her coat around her, climbed in the back of the taxi, and gave her home address.
She’d long since moved out of her sister’s apartment. Veronica was now a happily married woman with two young children.
Tonight, however, she was staying with Prue. The taxi pulled up outside of her home. She went to pay the driver. He reassured her that her taxi had been paid for.
Shrugging her shoulders, she got out of the car and made her way to her front door. The driver pulled away when she was locking her front door.
“You took a long time,” Veronica said.
That was it.
Prue turned around and confronted her sister. “How dare you ban me from Ravage or any club for that matter? How could you, Veronica?”
Her sister folded her arms staring at her. She saw the guilt written across her face. Prue cursed and charged past her. She was tired of being treated like a child. Her parents wanted to dictate her life to her, and Veronica kept protecting her in all possible ways.
“I did it for your own safety.” Veronica followed her into the kitchen.
Prue grunted while filling the kettle up. She placed it on the base and flicked the switch for it to start boiling.
“My safety? Everything you’ve done has been for my safety. When are you going to let me live my life the way I want?”
“Prue, it’s not that simple.”
“Actually, it is. When it comes to me, you simply butt out of my life.” She turned back to her sister, glaring at her perfection. Veronica was still thin even after a couple of kids.
No wonder their parents preferred her. She was the perfect housewife and mother whereas Prue worked in a dead end job with no boyfriend to speak of.
She shut all thoughts of James out of her mind.
“You’re young. I don’t want you to make mistakes.”
“They are my mistakes to make. You’re not protecting me. You’re smothering me, Veronica.”
“I want you to be happy. To have what I have,” Veronica said.
“I don’t want what you’ve got.”
Silence met her answer.
“What?”
“Marriage, kids, the house, and the perfect life you lead, I don’t want it. Never have. I love what I’ve got. I need you to back off.”
Her sister gave her a look that made Prue think she’d grown three heads or something.
“Did you give James my letter?”
“Yes, I gave it to him. I don’t know if he’ll read it.”
“I’m pleased you got out of Ravage okay. I was so worried about you.” Veronica walked to her, wrapping her arms around her waist. Prue rolled her eyes. She loved her sister, but this was too much.
She pushed her away then made herself a cup of tea.
“You worked at that place for a couple of years, and you dated the owner of the club. Ravage is not a problem. It is as harmful as going to the library.”
“Prue, you have no idea what goes on in there. Trust me, Ravage is not safe.”
Shaking her head, she walked past her sister. “Are you staying the night?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind.”
“Stay all you want. I’ve got to work tomorrow, so post your key through the letter box when you leave,” Prue said, walking up the stairs toward her room.
“You’re working on a Saturday?”
She stopped to stare at her older sister. The shock on her sister’s face made Prue laugh. “Sorry, sis, we small people still have to work to keep a roof over our heads. See you tomorrow.”
Prue closed the door of her bedroom before placing her cup on the side of the bed. She walked over to the mirror over her dresser. Pulling the make-up wipes from her drawer, she slowly began to remove the make-up she’d worn.
Her thoughts returned to James. His presence alone was enough to make her melt. If only he hadn’t been with Veronica. She didn’t want to hurt her sister by dating her ex.
She finished removing her make-up then dressed in her soft teddy bear patterned pyjamas. Prue sat in the centre of her bed sipping her tea. She hated arguing with her sister. When her cup was empty, she walked down the stairs to see her sister curled up on the sofa. A romantic comedy was playing on the television.
“I thought you’d be asleep by now,” Veronica said.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you. I know you worry about me.”
Veronica turned the television off and then turned to her. “Apology accepted. You’re right, I do care about you. I don’t want you getting hurt. After everything that has been brought to light about James and his club, I don’t want you anywhere near it.”
She moved to the other end of the sofa and sat down.
“When you wear stuff like that, I forget that you’re an adult.”
Prue looked down at her night clothes, smiling at her sister’s comment.
“I know. I was wondering. What happened between you and James?” Prue asked. When her sister had broken it off with James, Veronica had never talked about what happened.
“We wanted different things.”
“Did you love him?” Prue asked, holding her breath.
“You’ve got a lot of questions tonight.”
“Are you surprised after the mysterious white envelope? You never talked about him, and when you were with him, you seemed happy.”
Veronica stared at her a few minutes before answering. “I was happy, Prue. He is an amazing man. I just wasn’t the type of woman he wanted. I think I’m going to go to bed.”
Prue watched her sister leave. Her heart was hurting. She wanted James, and she knew her sister still had feelings for him. Veronica hadn’t answered the one question Prue wanted her to answer the most. Did she love him? Prue was starting to think her sister hadn’t gotten over her feelings for
James.
Chapter Five
James watched as Lucas Sanchez spanked the sub before him. The other man was blowing off some serious steam, and the sub before him loved every second of his attention. James saw the look of rapture on her face. She was a regular at Ravage and was always looking for the right Dom to give her what she needed.
He flicked his cell phone open and then closed, keeping his hands occupied. Several other couples were dotted around the small room. The small bar served the voyeurs and helped to ease newer members into the lifestyle. James took pride in this part of his club. The bar and the main bulk of the club upstairs kept a regular supply of customers looking for a good time, while this provided many more needs, for himself and for others.
Lucas had been working the woman over for an hour. The show had brought a lot of attention from the select few of clients in his club. It amazed him how many people were in the lifestyle.
Staring down at his hands, he couldn’t stop thinking about Prudence. The way she’d felt in his arms. He wondered what it would feel like to wrap her two-toned hair around his wrist and to see the submission in her eyes.
For many years, he’d been able to spot a submissive a mile away. His father had trained him to take over the club. His father and Stephen’s when they were alive had been long-time friends. Their families connected as far back as over a hundred years. When they died Stephen had inherited Possession, and James had gotten Ravage even though he had been a frequent visitor and trained Dom before the club became his.
When he’d turned eighteen, his father had sat down and talked to him, openly and honestly. The conversation at the time grossed him out, but the content was important to him. From the moment he hit his teens and puberty, he’d known he was different. The way he felt about women and his needs during sex had scared him. Until his father gave him the talk.
He didn’t think of his parents in the lifestyle; that was too much for him to deal with. The moment his father brought him to the club, he’d known this was where he was supposed to be. He’d trained many subs over the years and helped plenty of couples to find their own way within the life of BDSM.
Owned by the Dom: Part One (The Owners) Page 4