Tony closed the door and returned to the driver’s seat, pulling away from the curb as Evan still remained silently sitting at Cassie’s side. He hadn’t reached out to touch her or even offer a smile in greeting when she got in the car. His muteness made her insides tremble and gave her much too much time to think about what she was about to do.
She wasn’t an exhibitionist. She’d never had any desire to expose herself in front of others or have someone watch her have sex. How many people did Evan want to show her off to? What the hell was he going to do to her at the club? Why was she doing this now?
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t accompany Evan to a BDSM club. It was going too deeply into the lifestyle. She would be too susceptible to getting hurt if she let this side of herself out into the open. She had to put a stop to it right now.
She opened her mouth and whispered, “Yellow,” when she’d really planned to say, “Red.” She thought maybe she didn’t say it loud enough because it took Evan another few heartbeats to answer.
“Okay, Cassie. I hear you,” Evan spoke in a low modulated voice that immediately slowed down her erratic pulse. He pressed the call button on his side of the car and directed Tony to take a scenic route through Central Park. Then Evan turned in his seat to face Cassie. “Look at me, Cassie.”
She lifted her gaze off of her clenched fingers and met his eyes.
“Tell me what you are thinking and feeling.”
“I don’t know if I can do this, Evan. This is a really big step to go this far into the lifestyle.”
“You’ve come so far already. This is just the next step. You need this, Cassie. You crave it.”
“That probably means I shouldn’t do it.”
“Why?” he challenged.
“We only crave what we know we shouldn’t have. I crave ice cream, but I’ve never craved broccoli,” she argued.
He grinned. “Your logic is faulty. You don’t crave broccoli because you know you can eat as much as you want. Ice cream has its place in life. It’s a treat. It’s a special food that holds more than nutritional value. It holds pleasure within it. You crave the pleasure. What’s wrong with that?”
“Too much ice cream makes me fat,” she offered lamely. It was useless in trying to make him see her point, mostly because she was hiding it from him.
“Then don’t eat too much.” He shook his head. “Besides, you don’t need to worry about being fat or not. You’d be my sexy sub either way.” He studied her for a moment. “Now tell me what this really is about. Be honest with me, Cassie. That’s all I ask from you.”
She held her answer back just a bit longer as her gut roiled. Then she finally said in a quiet voice, “I’m afraid.”
He gave her an encouraging smile. “That’s my girl.”
Her insides quivered with his praise.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked.
“Why do you want me to parade around in front of everyone?” she replied.
“You didn’t answer my question, Cassie.”
She swallowed hard, knowing he wasn’t going to let her get him off topic. “I…I’m afraid of going too deep…of being too…vulnerable.”
“Cassie, do you trust me?”
“Yes, but the problem isn’t you. It’s me.”
“Explain.”
“I was in a very bad mental, emotional place after Trent…took advantage. I can’t go through that again.”
“That makes it my problem.”
“No! It’s me.”
“Yes. You don’t trust me yet, which means I haven’t done my job as your Dom well enough.” He dragged a hand through his hair and drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Cassie.”
“For what?” She suspected she wasn’t going to like his answer.
“For not giving you enough of what you needed to feel secure in our relationship.”
“Evan—”
He cut her off by placing a finger over her lips and pulling her into his side with his other arm. Then he whispered in her ear, “Cassie, I’m never going to let you go. I’m never going to let anyone hurt you again like your bastard ex-boss did. You are mine, and I take care of what’s mine.”
She shivered at the delicious warmth of his breath on her ear and the words he was saying. She wanted to be his. She wanted to believe every word he said.
“Now, should I tell Tony to take us back to your place?” Evan asked, tracing a finger down her neck to the opening at the collar of her trench coat.
She stared up at him a moment before answering. “No, Evan. Take me to the club please.”
“That’s my good girl.” He rewarded her with a grin, and her pussy grew wet.
She was still scared to the point of wanting to bolt, but she did trust him. And she knew she’d forever regret not taking this opportunity to step foot in the exclusive club. Then there were her feelings for Evan to consider. Would she feel differently about him after playing with him tonight? Would it bring them closer together or create a distance between them?
She would never know the answers if she didn’t give it a try, and she’d never been one to back down from a challenge.
* * * *
With Evan at her side, Cassie stepped into the foyer of the townhouse a few blocks east of Central Park and got the impression they were in a private hotel. The concierge desk was on the left with a young man dressed in a dark suit, two leather chairs sat on the right arranged at an angle with a small table between them, and directly ahead was a shiny set of gold elevator doors.
Evan pressed the up arrow after giving the concierge a nod, and the doors parted to reveal a mirrored interior.
Cassie’s heart beat triple time as she walked inside.
“Breathe, baby,” Evan whispered in her ear after pressing a button marked “4”.
His deep tone momentarily settled her nerves, but when the doors opened to reveal a small lobby filled with men and women in various types of fetish wear, Cassie forgot to breathe again. She stumbled out of the elevator after Evan, catching her heel on the carpet.
Evan caught her easily around the waist and straightened her before she landed on her face.
A woman to the left clapped and whistled loudly. “Bravo, Evan! Your sub made a grand entrance. Now let’s see what she has hidden under that coat.”
Cassie glanced over at the purple leather clad woman and her companion and couldn’t tear her eyes away from the man on his hands and knees at the woman’s feet. He wore a thick leather collar attached to a silver leash, which the woman held tautly in her hand.
“Mistress Milana, a pleasure to see you this evening,” Evan replied smoothly.
“Will you be sharing the pleasure of your sub with us tonight?” the Mistress asked.
“For display purposes only tonight, Mistress. It is her first visit to The Club, and I wish to have her to myself.”
“Then I will wait for her second visit, for she looks like a fresh tasty treat.” Mistress Milana sent Cassie a predatory smile then yanked the man’s chain and walked away with him crawling behind at her heels.
Evan reached for the buttons on Cassie’s trench coat. “Time to put this away for the evening.”
She stood mutely as he’d directed, while he took off her coat and handed it to a coat check girl who’d walked up to them.
“Good girl,” Evan murmured as he got his first look at her new outfit. “You are so beautiful.” He reached a hand under the front of her skirt, and she nearly yelped at being so publicly touched until she remembered where they were and why.
“You follow directions so perfectly,” Evan continued as his fingers found her naked cleft.
Cassie’s knees weakened as he fondled her swelling clit, but all too soon, he removed his hand and took a step backward.
“Follow me,” he ordered in a hard tone, making wet heat rush between Cassie’s legs.
He led her through the lobby and around the elevator to the left into a large open room. It seemed to encompass the entire wid
th and length of the townhouse building. Because of its size, it didn’t feel as crowded as the lobby, but there was still quite a crowd gathered around various spots along the walls and the sounds of play filled the air—the whistle of a whip through the air, the crack of a hand on skin, the gasping and yelping of subs enjoying their pleasure pain, and the murmuring appreciation of the bystanders.
As Cassie and Evan walked past the first small throng of people on the right, Cassie realized they were watching a Dom using a cane on the ass of a sub who was tied to a St. Andrew’s Cross. The number of long red welts across the pale skin indicated the scene had been going on for a while. Cassie winced in sympathy as the cane hit the sub yet again. She hoped Evan wasn’t planning to use one on her. They hadn’t negotiated tonight’s scene before leaving—a huge oversight she hoped she didn’t regret—but she trusted Evan. She wanted to believe he would know her limits by watching her body cues.
With a hand on the small of her back, Evan guided her to the far end of the long room where a padded bench stood thigh-high. Cassie glanced over her shoulder and found they’d attracted the attention of their own crowd, several of the people having splintered off from the other groups to gather around Evan and Cassie.
Her heart galloped in her chest, her palms grew damp, and she found it difficult to swallow.
“Breathe, baby,” Evan whispered low into her ear, soothing the fear that had been threatening to overwhelm her. “I’ve got you.” His warm hands caressed her bare arms.
When she was centered back in herself, he said, “Bend over the bench, Cassie.”
She glanced up at him then folded at the waist, her breasts hanging out of the bustier toward the floor and her naked ass and pussy on full display for the room behind her.
Evan ran a hand down her right cheek to her thigh. “Mmmm…my perfect sub,” he said loud enough for the audience to hear.
Several approving voices echoed his sentiment.
A shiver ran up Cassie’s back as she anticipated Evan’s next move. She wanted with all her heart to please him, and she hoped she wouldn’t do anything to embarrass him in front of his peers. She knew how important this night was to him. She wanted it to be good for him.
He walked around the bench and crouched down near her head. Using her knot of hair, he lifted her head to face him. “You are allowed to speak and make all your pretty noises, Cassie. In fact, I want to you to scream them out for me tonight.”
Cassie felt her wetness collect between her thighs. “Yes, Sir,” she replied huskily.
Evan’s eyes flared with heat. “That’s my good girl.” He released his grip on her hair and stood, returning to the other side of the bench.
Before she could consider what would happen next, a loud stinging slap landed on her right butt cheek, forcing a yelp out of her mouth.
The crowd behind her chuckled darkly.
Evan followed the first slap quickly with several more, heating both her cheeks evenly and giving attention also to the crease of her upper thighs where the skin was more sensitive.
The strikes grew in intensity, and Cassie’s yelps became sobs as tears gathered in her eyes, but she wanted with all her soul for Evan to continue, to mark her as his in front of his peers, as if this could guarantee she would have a forever place in his life.
Suddenly, Evan stopped the spanking, and she cried out with disappointment because she’d been close to her subspace. Then he dragged a finger between her folds. “Ah, my beautiful sub is soaking herself. Good girl.”
Cassie waited, hanging upside down, for Evan’s next move, but he was quiet at her back, and the audience was giving nothing away in their silent observation. The pause was gnawing on her nerves, bringing her back into the present moment, and she didn’t know if she could stand another minute of it.
Then Evan was at her back. He rammed his cock into her pussy and grabbed her hair knot, yanking her head back, so she faced the red brick wall before her. Leaning over her body, he growled into her ear as he slammed into her. “You’re mine, Cassie. All mine.”
His claiming, his possession of her, his hard fast thrusts set her aflame. “Oh, Sir. I’m close, Sir. So close,” she whimpered.
“Not yet, my pretty girl.” He grunted as his hips pounded against her ass, mashing her clit against the padded bench.
“Oh, God, Sir. I’m close!” she screamed.
“Not till I tell you, girl.” He tightened his left hand in her hair and smacked her ass hard with his right hand.
“Please, Sir,” she begged, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, releasing some of her tension. The pain and the pleasure swirled together in an endless pool, and she lost touch with her surroundings.
“Now, precious girl. Come for me now!” he demanded as he slapped sharply at her ass.
Cassie screamed out her orgasm as Evan continued to bang her hard and fast against the bench. The addition of his climax sent her flying higher than she’d ever gone before. She let loose her sobs and tears, her breath catching in her throat and her body shaking uncontrollably.
It was never ceasing, yet at the same time ended much too soon. She returned to her senses to find Evan supporting her limp body in his strong arms as he leaned against the bench.
Facing her, he kissed her neck and shoulder with gentle lips, whispering soft reassuring words for her ears only. “That’s my girl. I’ve got you, baby. Take your time. No rush.” He brushed her cheeks with his thumb, wiping away some of the wetness.
She blinked her eyes open and hesitated to meet his gaze, choosing to stare at his tie instead.
He tilted her chin up with his hand. “Look at me, Cassie.”
Her body responded without hesitation to his command, and she found what she thought might be pure male pride shining in his eyes.
“You were perfect, baby girl.”
She responded with a tentative smile, still feeling shaky from the intensity of the scene.
“I have something for you,” he said, his attention fully on her, ignoring everyone around them.
He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a silver chain of infinity links. On one end was a heart-shaped lock.
It was a collar.
Cassie’s throat constricted, and her muscles bunched, preparing to bolt her out of the club. She wasn’t ready for a collar. She didn’t want to be anyone’s full time slave, not even Evan’s. She couldn’t take this side of her into public. She couldn’t lose her independence. Her eyes darted around, looking for an escape.
Evan’s brow furrowed. “Look at me, Cassie.”
Her gaze snapped back up to meet his.
“This is for our time at The Club. You are mine, and accordingly, from now on, you will wear this collar when we play at The Club. It signifies you are not available for play with others without my permission,” he clarified.
Cassie swallowed down her fear with the thought it was a temporary collar for their time together playing. He was offering her so much, and she could see a touch of vulnerability in his eyes. She wanted to please him more than anything else. She could do this for him. She could do this for them both.
She gave a slight nod, and he grinned broadly as he placed the collar around her bare neck, locking it in place. The chain was lighter than it looked, but fit snugly enough that she was aware it was there, aware that she belonged to Evan. And her heart swelled, filling the empty places in her chest and sending a calmness through her she’d never felt before.
Chapter Fifteen
On Friday night as Cassie danced in Evan’s arms at a gala fundraiser for a local children’s hospital, she glanced around at the sea of New York’s elite swirling around her on the dance floor to a slow beat. By now, she thought she should feel more comfortable in her fancy gown surrounded by all the elegant men and women of the upper echelons of New York society, but it all felt stiff and phony to her still, and she struggled with her sense of inferiority.
Evan leaned down to her ear and whispered, “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” And really nothing should be wrong. This should be a perfect moment in the arms of the man she really was going to have a future with…if her name was Cinderella, her inner cynic sneered.
He met her gaze, and his eyes narrowed. “You know you can’t lie to me. I can see you’re unhappy. You’ve got that little frown line above the bridge of your nose.”
“I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I really have been trying.”
He pulled her closer to his body with his arm around her waist. “Trying to do what?”
She paused before saying, “To feel like I fit in. But I don’t.”
“What do you mean? Fit in how?”
She lifted her hand from his shoulder and waved at the dancing couples around them. “With all these high society people. They’re all so educated and refined and different from me.”
His brows furrowed. “What does that matter?” His voice took on a slight edge.
“I never took a single college course,” she tried to explain. “I went from high school to flight school.”
“And got one hell of an education while flying Army helicopters in war zones.”
“So? What about all those liberal arts classes I missed? The holes in my knowledge?” she insisted.
“Trust me. The only purpose of reading all those books is to give knuckle-headed eighteen-year-olds a broader view of the world because they have no life experience. But you’ve had more life experiences than most people your age with college degrees.”
“But that doesn’t make me refined, like they are.” He just wasn’t getting what she was trying to say.
“What do you mean by refined? Are you talking about how they walk around with their noses in the air and never manage to bump into anything?”
She giggled at the image of a roomful of society’s elite running into each other like bumper cars as they stared up at the ceiling.
“I’ve never seen you use the wrong fork,” Evan continued, “or heard you mention inappropriate topics in conversation. You’re just as refined as any lady in this room, Cassie.”
She sighed at his obvious refusal to acknowledge the undeniable differences between her and every other woman in the ballroom, but she couldn’t help liking him even more for it. She snuggled closer to him as the slow song neared an end. He bent down and placed a warm kiss on her lips, making her feel, indeed, like the luckiest woman in the room.
TheBillionairesPilot Page 16