Sanctuary

by Eden Bradley

  She took a long swig of the hot coffee, cursed under her breath when it scalded her tongue. There was nothing she could do to get him out of her head, except give it some time.

  Or see him again.

  Dangerous.

  Oh, yes, he was dangerous. He was dangerous to her sanity already. How much worse would it be if she saw him? But now that it had occurred to her she could barely think of anything else.

  All she had to do was show up at the club next Friday night. She could go by herself, just watch him through the crowd. See if he was still as intriguing in person as he was in her imagination. Why not? She didn’t even have to talk to him, let him know she was there, if she didn’t want to.

  Except she’d want to. Who was she kidding? She was going, dangerous or not. For once in her life, she’d do something totally illogical. Something on a whim, without thinking it through. It was about time she challenged herself. She ignored the underlying suspicion nagging at her brain, the one that told her going to see Shaye could have long-term consequences. But what the hell, he was only a man, like any other.

  Wasn’t he?

  * * *

  Nine o’clock on Friday night. She’d put it off, still arguing with herself tonight even after arguing with herself all week. But finally, she’d taken a long, hot bath, dried herself, and put on her makeup, going a little heavier on the eyeliner than usual. She’d found a short, black wraparound skirt in her closet, a black stretchy tank top, black stiletto-heeled boots she’d bought last winter but hardly worn because they were so high. She realized she was dressing for the event. And somehow dressing itself felt like some sort of ritual, as though she were preparing herself for him.

  She loved the idea.

  She zipped up the boots and stood, her heart hammering in her chest. She felt daring, a little wild. All she was doing was going to a club alone, something she’d never done before, but plenty of other people did all the time. She took a deep breath, grabbed her leather jacket and was about to turn the knob on her front door when her cell phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s me.”

  “Hi, Kimmie.” She took a step back.

  “What are you doing tonight?” Kimmie asked. “There’s this band playing at that new place on Fillmore. I got us on the list. Wanna go?”

  “I…um…not tonight. Thanks, though.”

  “Are you okay, Dev? What’s up?”

  Devin bit her lip. “I just need to get caught up on some work.”

  “Are you sure? You sound a little weird. Are you getting sick? I could stop by with some hot and sour soup on my way out.”

  She cleared her throat, tried to clear away the heaviness of the lies on her tongue. “No, I’m fine. I’m just tired and want to stay home. Thanks, though.”

  “Okay. I guess I’ll ask Renee to come with me, then.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Get some rest. You really don’t sound so good.”

  “I’m okay. But I will. Rest, I mean. Bye, Kimmie.”

  “Bye.”

  This was the first time she’d ever lied to her best friend about anything. It felt strange. But she also thought if she told anyone what she was doing she’d feel…she wasn’t sure what. Maybe too foolish for chasing down a guy like this? Too unlike herself? Either way, she had to do this on her own.

  She opened the door and went downstairs, walked a few short blocks to Lombard Street and hailed a cab, climbed in and slammed the door shut.

  “Where are you headed?” the driver asked.

  “Take me to Club X.”

  * * *

  The hard throb of music and the black-clad crowd of gyrating dancers was the same as the week before, but there was a new aura of excitement for her the moment she entered the club. She felt open, raw, as though anyone who looked at her knew why she was there. Yet at the same time she had a sense of being utterly isolated from all of it: the lights, the music, the people. Of being in her own head.

  She checked her coat, then made her way across the main dance floor, through the heat of hundreds of bodies. She glanced at the bar, but she didn’t want a drink. She needed to be clearheaded. Or as clear as she could be right now, with her lust-addled brain directing her.

  He couldn’t possibly look as good as she remembered. Still, her pulse raced at a thousand miles an hour as she pressed through the dense crush of bodies, catching whiffs of sweat and perfume as she went, the sharp scent of alcohol. She made her way up the stairs to the loft above the dance floor, pushed through the crowd already surrounding the Ring. Somehow she managed to get right to the front, until the metal bar which separated the Ring from the rest of the club was pressed against her stomach. People jostled her on either side and it took a moment for her to get her balance. She looked up, and saw him.

  Shaye walked to the center of the Ring to look at tonight’s crowd. It was packed already, even though it wasn’t ten yet. That was good. He liked to work in front of a crowd. It gave him a hell of a thrill, which was why he worked there almost every weekend. And of course, he loved working the girls who came, the innocent ones who just wanted to try a little spanking, to get flogged in front of their friends. Cheap thrill. But not for him. For him it was the real thing. Or, as real as it got in this manufactured kink environment.

  If only they knew the evil thoughts that went through his head when he stripped them down to their underwear and gave them the first paddling of their lives. Virgin flesh.

  He surveyed the throng already surrounding the enclosed dungeon area of the loft, looking for prospects. The girls often had to be enticed, flirted with, cajoled into entering the Ring. That was easy for him, almost too easy. But he didn’t care. All he cared about was that exchange of energy, of sensation and response. That’s what he got off on. He didn’t even have to sleep with them, rarely took any of these girls home. It had been months since any had captured his attention in that way, and none had ever managed to hold it for long. He wasn’t built for permanence. Yeah, he was a chip off the old block, wasn’t he?

  He pulled his shirt over his head, threw it on a bench and moved toward the railing, still scanning. He loved it all, the powerful vibe of the people, the scents of leather and sweat and the faint aroma of fear when a new girl stepped into the Ring with him. He loved the pounding throb of the music that he used to create a rhythm in his swing. He loved the feel of tender flesh beneath his hands. Couldn’t get enough of it.

  His gaze moved from one end of the crowd to the other, slowly. And then he saw her.

  That girl from last Friday night. Devin, she’d said her name was, and he hadn’t forgotten it, had thought of her all week, hoping she’d come back. Beautiful girl, sweet-looking face. Innocent, even though she was a bit older than most of the others. But he loved that. There was a lot more to her, he could tell from her eyes, the way she held herself. He moved closer. She hadn’t seen him yet.

  He watched as she glanced around, as her hands gripped the railing in front of her, and he went hard just looking at her fine-boned hands, at her lush red mouth. He’d love to kiss that mouth, to really kiss her, to feel her melt under him.

  Shit. Where the hell had that come from? But there was no doubt he was getting hard just looking at this girl, his cock coming to life.

  Down, boy.

  She was all dressed in wicked black tonight, her short skirt showing off long, lean legs. He knew if he spun her around her ass would be flawless. He moved in to get a closer look, and while she had her head turned away he quietly slipped his hand over hers.

  “Little Devin.”

  “Oh. Hi.” Her face broke into a sunny smile. There was no pretense of the seductress here. No, she was simply happy to see him. She hid it quickly enough, but he’d seen it. Too late to pretend.

  “You came back.”

  “Well I was here, you know…”

  “It’s okay. I like it that you came to see me.” He gave her hand a squeeze and watched her blush. Charmi
ng. “Does this mean you’ve come to play?”

  “Oh, no! I mean, I came to watch. That’s all.”

  Better than nothing. Pretty damn good, in fact, knowing she would watch him tonight. His streak of exhibitionism would love that. Not as much as if he could get his hands on her, but it was a start.

  “Stay right here, then. Things will get started soon. Are you sure you won’t join me?”

  She nodded, her auburn hair swinging. Looked like heavy silk. He wanted to touch it.

  Shit.

  Instead he lifted her hand and brushed a kiss across it, felt her small shiver. He smiled.

  “I have to work now. Promise me you won’t go anywhere without telling me.”

  “Yes, okay.”

  He lowered his tone. “Promise me, Devin.”

  Her cheeks went gorgeously pink. “I promise.”

  He left her and strode back into the Ring, where he prepared his work area, lining up the usual array of floggers, paddles and straps on a bench toward the back of the room. His whole body was still buzzing with the faint, sweet taste of her flesh on his lips.

  The first girl came into the ring and Daniel, the ring master, sent her Shaye’s way. Nice-looking girl. Young, blonde, pretty but hollow. Not nearly as attractive as Devin. Still, he took her to his station, to one of the X-shaped St. Andrew’s crosses, stripped her down to her bra, bound her to the cross at wrists and ankles with her bare back to him.

  He went right to work on her, starting an easy rhythm with a light flogger, nothing that would hurt too much, just getting her warmed up. He focused on the music, watched the girl’s breathing, pausing to check in and make sure she was okay.

  But half his mind was on the other girl, the one watching from the sidelines. The one who made his blood boil like no one had in a very long time. Like no woman had, ever.

  Devin watched the muscles flex in his arms, his shoulders, his back, loved the way the heavy lines of his tattoos moved with each ripple of flesh. He was strongly built, heavily muscled but natural-looking. He moved gracefully for a man of his size and build. Every stroke was smooth, in beat with the music, which was some techno trance piece. The young blonde woman was quiet, her body swaying just a little beneath the strike of the flogger he was using.

  And Devin’s blood was humming through her veins in that same throbbing cadence.

  She wished it were her up there, stripped down and under his hands.

  No, no, no.

  Too much, too foolhardy. Too unlike her. Hers was a life of perfect order, and this seemed like some form of bedlam to her. Yet she couldn’t look away. Couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to what she was seeing.

  She took a moment to glance at some of the other people playing in the Ring, but none of them held the fascination for her Shaye did.

  Dangerous, her brain reminded her. She didn’t want to listen to it right now. But neither was she brave enough to fight against it completely, no matter how much she wanted to.

  She focused on him again and her body warmed up, a kind of molten heat that made her arms and legs tingle, go weak. Her sex was absolutely on fire with need.

  What would it be like to spread my legs and let him touch me…?

  She moaned softly as she watched him. He moved around the woman, switched from flogger to paddle. He pulled up her short plaid skirt and swatted her round bottom. Devin squeezed her thighs together. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from him, from what he was doing to the girl. Her hands gripped the metal railing.

  If he asked her to come into the Ring with him now she wouldn’t be able to refuse.

  Peering through the dim and pulsing lights of the club, through the alternating lights and shadows, she saw the flex of his hand as he gripped the paddle, the ripple of muscle in his shoulder as he pulled back to swing, the smooth golden texture of his skin. With every strike he landed on the woman’s flesh, her own body surged with need. Desire flooded her system, until she could hardly stand to watch any longer. As he landed each strike, she felt almost as though the sensation reverberated through her. Over and over, in time with the music, which seemed to flood her head with sound.

  Her panties were absolutely soaked.

  He finished with the volunteer and the same woman from the week before, the one in the red corset, took the woman away to a bench at the back of the room. He set his wicked tools of pleasure down, used a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Then he walked right over to Devin and took her hand.

  He leaned in close enough for her to hear him over the music without him having to shout. “Come play with me, Devin.”

  The scent of him filled her nostrils, making her weak and shivery. She shook her head mutely.

  Say no, Devin. Say no.

  He moved in closer, until his lush, masculine mouth was only inches from hers. His breath was sweet, minty. If she moved in the tiniest bit, turned her face to his, she could kiss him.

  God.

  “Come on, Devin. I know you want to.” His voice was quiet, yet she could hear him over the pounding music, the crowd of people. And at this moment it seemed as if there was no one else in the world but the two of them.

  He went on. “I can see it, you know. In the rise and fall of your breath, in the gleam of excitement in your eyes. I can feel it, coming off you in waves. You want this. You can’t tell me you don’t.”

  She could only shake her head. She knew if she spoke she would have no control over what came out of her mouth.

  His fingers curled around her hand and he lifted it, held her palm to his bare chest, and she thought she might actually pass out.

  “Can you feel it? That’s my heart beating with need for you. I swear it.”

  His voice was ragged with desire.

  “Come with me, Devin. It’s okay. You’ll have all the power here. The power to say no. Do you understand? And you’ll be in my hands. I’ll keep you safe. And I’ll make you feel better than you ever have in your life.”

  The truth of his words hit her like a warm blow to the chest. The heat spread, infused her body, her throbbing sex. She couldn’t say no. And so she said all that was left to say.

  “Yes.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  He felt her tremble, her soft little hand still in his as he led her through the gate and into the Ring. A cry went up from the crowd as he brought her in, the excitement of new flesh. Yes, he always felt it, too, and the crowd loved it. But why was his heart hammering in his chest as though this were his first time?

  Jesus. He had to get himself under control.

  It was this girl, this beautiful girl, who was really scared to be here. Yet she had agreed to this, had wanted it. Still wanted it beneath the fear, he could tell. She held on tight to his hand. And the heat of her, the scent of her perfume, was driving him crazy.

  Just do your thing.

  He’d do his job, as he always did. But tonight, with her, would be different. He knew that already.

  He led her to a pair of leather cuffs suspended from a chain toward the back of the room. He didn’t want her right out in front, as he usually did, playing to the crowd. He wanted Devin to himself.

  What the hell was wrong with him?

  Just focus on her.

  Yes, easy enough when he looked at her—that perfect, porcelain skin with a light dusting of freckles, her flushed cheeks. Her green eyes were glossy, huge, her lashes long and dark, picking up a little of the colored lights on the tips.

  He was going to strip some of her clothes off her perfect little figure. Couldn’t wait. The noise of the crowd faded into the background as he reached out and brushed his fingertips across the fabric covering her stomach. She gave an answering shiver.

  He glanced at her, watched her nervous smile. Saw desire heavy on her face, in the way her eyes were starting to go a little heavy. Ah, she was going down already, although he was certain she had no idea what the sensation was. Subspace.

  He liked seeing someone go down for the first time, into that
trancelike state. Beautiful. Especially on her. He liked the sense of responsibility that came with it, that taking care of the person he was playing with was part of the control, the power trip.

  He ran his hand over her back, around her sides, down until he’d tucked his fingers beneath the hem of her top.

  “Okay, Devin?” he asked. “Still with me?”

  She nodded, smiled. Gorgeous smile.

  His cock twitched when he pulled her top over her head and her black lace-clad breasts came into view. Not too large, but so damn perfect. He watched her take in a few deep breaths. She was nervous as hell. But he could almost smell her desire. The flush on her cheeks had spread down over her chest. Oh yes, she wanted this. Was every bit as excited as he was.

  He spanned his hands around her tiny waist, just let them rest there for a moment, needing that contact to read her. Jesus, her skin was baby-smooth under his hands. What would the rest of her feel like?

  She looked up at him and those emerald eyes locked on his, held him. She was really and truly scared.

  He stroked her hair from her cheek with one hand. Jesus, exactly like silk. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of you. Can you trust me, Devin?”

  “I…I think so. I’m just…I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  “But you want to, don’t you?”

  She paused, then nodded her head.

  He leaned in and inhaled the scent of her. Like flowers and sex. He moved in closer, until he could speak right into her ear. “Relax,” he told her. “Put yourself in my hands. Turn yourself over to me. You can do it. Okay?”