Thomas spread his hands. “She’s dating that dom you punched. Eli Watson. You better not have broke his pretty nose either. That’ll cost me a fortune to fix.”
“Bullshit. That’s petty cash for you.” Nash leaned forward in his seat. “That still doesn’t tell me why she’s working here.”
“Fiona can give you the details. That’s not my story to tell.”
***
Fiona reached Thomas’ office just as Nash came storming out and glared at her.
“Guess the truce is over?” She looked up at him and bit her lip.
He ignored her and growled, “Your turn,” then hitched a thumb at the door before he stomped off down the hall.
She sighed and watched his retreating back as she entered the room. Peace between them would be nice, she wanted that, but her gut told her it would take some work.
Thomas waved to the chair when she came in. “Sorry I didn’t tell you he was here,” he started before she could sit. “I was going to, but with you just getting here last week, everything that’s been going on, it slipped my mind.”
“It’s okay, Thomas.” She held up a hand to indicate no hard feelings. “But if you’re trying to play Cupid…”
He chuckled. “No games. I promise. I got buried under paperwork and truly forgot.”
“You didn’t tell him why I’m here, did you?”
He soothed her worry. “That’s confidential. He tried to get info. You know my brother. But I said that was your story to tell. Only you, me, and Eli know.”
“Thanks.” She smiled as she exhaled her relief. “I just don’t want him playing white knight. If he finds out—”
“He’ll kill Peter?” Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I know.” Then he leaned over the desk, took her hand, and gave it a friendly pat. “Club’s closing in ten minutes. Why don’t you lock yourself in your apartment, take a hot shower, and relax?”
“Sounds good.” She nodded. “I promised Eli I’d check up on him first.”
She left the office and headed down the hallway, glancing at pictures on the crimson walls as she walked to the small medical unit the club held. Pictures of different BDSM scenes were captured in stark black and white or deep shadows. As strange as it would seem, they made her feel right at home. This place was a safe haven for Fiona, and Thomas was like a brother. She was grateful for his help after the scandal inside Strength Inc. stripped her of her career.
She forced thoughts of Peter and the drama out of her mind as she entered the medical unit.
Eli sat on a gurney, still bare chested, but the blood had been cleaned from his nose and pecs. Mary, one of the few nurses they kept on staff, was talking to him as she pressed a cold pack nestled in a cloth to his face. “Ten to twenty minutes of this, at least three times a day.”
He nodded as Fiona drew near. Then he turned to her and said, “Nothing broken.”
“I said it doesn’t look broken,” Mary corrected. “But go get that x-rayed, Eli. You could have a hairline fracture.”
“Yeah, if it heals crooked you’ll mess up your pretty face,” Fiona said.
He shrugged “It’ll add character.”
Fiona and Mary both scowled at him.
Eli held his hands up. “Okay, fine, I’ll go get it x-rayed.” He rolled his eyes as Mary walked away, then he slid off the gurney and wrapped an arm around Fiona’s waist as they walked out of the medical unit. “But not unless you promise to come home with me. You shouldn’t be alone tonight.”
She turned to him and stopped, placing her arms against his broad chest. “I’ll be fine. Actually, Eli, I’d like some time alone tonight. I just need to …” Fiona rubbed her forehead. “Kind of collect my thoughts.”
Eli scowled. “What if that asshole comes back while Thomas is locking up? He is his brother. I don’t want him hassling you.” Eli’s anger had spiked higher when Fiona confessed who Nash really was.
She smiled, caressed his stubbled cheek. “Don’t worry, please? Nash won’t be back. I’m going to have a hot shower and fall into bed. I’m exhausted.”
He curled a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. “All right,” he said, but his tone indicated he wasn’t happy about leaving her alone. “I’ll swing around after I’m done at the hospital to check on you.”
“Deal.” She stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss over his soft lips. Their tongues briefly met before nurse Mary came out of the medical unit and cleared her throat.
Fiona and Eli parted and she headed up the wrought iron staircase, toward the small apartment where the outburst between her client and his ex-wife had ensued earlier. Thomas was letting her stay here until she got things straightened out. Peter had made a complete mess of her finances as well as her career, and she only had herself to blame for it. She should have gone straight to Daniel Milligan, the CEO of Strength Inc., when Peter first threatened her, should’ve told him about Peter’s addiction. But her stubborn streak made her hold back. That and she’d really thought Murphy was just bluffing. She’d given him the benefit of the doubt one too many times.
Moment later, her leather pants, corset, and the rest of her clothes lay in a heap on the floor. Normally she’d take the time to hang them back up or put them in her dry cleaning bin, but tonight she was just too tired. She grabbed a towel from the armoire near the bathroom and headed for the shower. When hot water sprayed over her face and shoulders, she relaxed and let her shoulders sag.
The last person she’d expected to see today was Nash Falcon. And meeting up with him had thrown a wrench into her equilibrium. Fiona hated that he’d still had an instant physical effect on her. How the body could betray common sense always pissed her off, but she’d bluffed aloofness pretty well, until the kiss Eli intercepted.
Eli … She squeezed shampoo into her hand and scrubbed it vigorously into her hair. Eli Watson was a great guy and a skilled dom. He was a big part of why she’d stayed here to lick her wounds and remake her life. But did she love him? Bah, she didn’t want to think about it. Yet the question continued to haunt her as she walked under the spray to rinse her hair.
Eli was a switch, like her, but primarily worked as a dom for hire for Surrender Inc. She’d met him three months ago, just after the scandal with Peter blew wide open. One late night after a few too many drinks, she’d let Eli pick her up and take her home. Instead of sleeping with him, though, she’d spilled her whole miserable story into his lap. How pathetic. Yet he’d listened, empathized, and, as fate would have it, he worked for Thomas at his Surrender club.
She’d confessed something to Eli that she’d never told anyone. That she was curious about BDSM and the lifestyle attached to it. She knew a bit about the club Thomas ran, but not much. She’d researched the subculture, as it was in her curious nature to do.
“I never had the guts to tell Nash I wanted to try it,” she’d told Eli that night, after one too many tequila shooters. “After the way he acted when I told him if he got two girls, I should get two guys…”
Eli had laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Ever heard of a place called Claim Me?”
“Hell yeah. My ex-brother-in-law owns that club.”
“It’s a small world.” Eli’s broad grin had widened. “I work there.”
He’d offered to train her. She needed a job anyway, especially now she was nearly broke since Peter wiped her one account clean. And he’d promised to take it slow. No sex unless she wanted that. He’d been a kind and patient dom from day one.
Yet he didn’t spark the same instant chemistry that Nash did. Or maybe that was just lunacy Fiona was mistaking for lust.
Some relationships just took longer, needed time to grow, she reasoned. Love would evolve. She was still on the rebound, after all, and probably shouldn’t have been getting into another relationship so soon. She just needed some time to breathe and settle in with Eli.
Through the transparent shower curtain, movement caught her eye after she rinsed body wash from her face. She grabbed the pla
stic edge, blinking water and suds from her vision as she peered around the barrier. Her heart thudded in her ears.
“Just me, sweetie,” Eli said, holding up his hands before he started to shed his clothes.
“Shit.” She breathed deep, feeling dizzy from the sudden adrenaline rush. “I thought you were that client’s crazy ex coming back to shoot me.”
They shared a laugh then a naked Eli slipped in the tub stall with her.
His big arms wrapped around her, making her feel safe, protected. Full lips pressed into her neck then teeth grazed her skin and she shivered. He stepped back to squeeze some soap into his large palms then he massaged the fragrant, sudsy liquid into her shoulders, working his way down her back. Fiona’s eyes fluttered closed and the last of her tension melted away.
When he was done, she turned to face him, reaching up to cup his cheeks and bring him close for a hungry kiss. She needed this. The release and the intimacy. But as her tongue explored his mouth and his flit over her lips, Nash’s face kept flickering in her mind.
Angrily, she pushed his image to the bottom of her brain and focused all her desire on Eli, on their lovemaking. She pushed him into the shower wall and he yanked her closer, answering her ardent lust with his own. Hands roamed over soap slippery skin. His lips and tongue moved lower, teasing her wet nipples until they were hard peaks.
He went to his knees on the shower mat. Strong fingers sunk into her hips and pulled her closer. With one hand, he urged her legs wider apart and his face nuzzled into the cleft between them.
His tongue against her clit was hot, slippery, and it spiked her need higher. She pushed her pelvis into his mouth, buried her fingers into his long, wet hair. He lapped at the swelling bud until she bucked against his face and moaned. Then he sucked on the tiny bead of flesh, making release shiver through her quickly. The orgasm was small but satisfying, and it left her drugged on pleasure.
When he got to his feet, he pulled her close and whispered, “I’m not done with you yet,” then he stole her lips in another fierce kiss as he scooped her up in his arms.
Eli tore back the shower curtain, making its metal rings ting as he stepped out and left the water running. He carried her to the bedroom, nipping at her neck as they went. She let him have her completely. Fiona didn’t want to resist, and there was certainly no reason to. This was about more than physical release right now. This was about letting the stress of the day drain out of her every pore through intense bliss.
Nash’s face tried to edge its way into her mind once more when Eli threw her on the bed and climbed over top of her. When he looked down, wearing his sexy grin, his face briefly became that of her ex. But she chastised herself again internally and focused on her current lover. A protective man, a dominant, but a kind one she knew she could trust. It was about him and her tonight. Not about lovers from the past.
He placed her feet on his shoulders and stared down into her eyes as he sank deep inside of her. There were no worries about protection, for both had received a clean bill of sexual health when they’d been tested by Surrender Inc. in order to work at the club. And Fiona was on the pill to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Her pussy tightened around his shaft and pulled him father in. The sensation was sublime, and she lost herself in the rhythm of his thrusts.
She let herself float, forget … until the apartment door burst open.
***
Nash couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t get Fiona out of his mind. Seeing her today had been devastating, even more so when she introduced that big Polynesian gronk as her boyfriend. It stirred up all the shit he’d worked so hard to bury over the last six months.
He steered his Harley around a corner and came to a stop at the light. While he waited for it to turn green, he glanced over at Claim Me. What had brought him in the direction of the club on this late night ride? Habit, maybe. He didn’t want to overthink it right now.
As the traffic signal turned, he frowned. Light poured from the upper windows of Claim Me. He knew Thomas had left, because he’d left with him. So who the hell was inside?
Maybe Thomas just forgot the lights on, he reasoned, but after today’s adventures with a disgruntled ex-wife of a former Claim Me client, he wasn’t taking any chances. He steered the bike into the club’s parking lot and decided to take a look around, just to be safe.
As he climbed the wrought iron staircase to the second floor, Nash thought he heard water running, so he strained to listen. Was it coming from the same room the altercation had occurred in earlier? It was. He ran up the remaining steps and bolted to the door.
Locked. Damn it. But he knew where Thomas kept the keys. Only a minute later he was back and he let himself in.
Only to find his ex-wife and her new boyfriend fucking in the bedroom of this private play apartment.
“Jesus Christ!” The big guy growled as he and Fiona froze in mid-thrust. “Don’t you knock, asshole?”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Nash raged and he stalked toward the bed, fist already curling for a strike.
Fiona dashed off the mattress moments after Eli and got between the big men. “No more beating the crap out of each other.” She placed a hand on each of their heaving chests. “Calm your testosterone.” Then she turned to Nash. “Your brother’s letting me stay here. Give him a call. Ask him.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
“You bet I will.” Nash scowled at her and the big dom at her side. His hands flexed, released, flexed again. No way would he throw a punch when Fiona stood in harm’s way, but his fist itched to meet the guy’s face.
“Get out now,” Eli said. “Before I return the favor.” He pointed to his swollen nose.
“This isn’t over.” Nash pointed at him as he stomped out of the room.
At the base of the stairs, he punched Thomas’ number into his cell phone. His brother answered on the third ring with a sleepy “You better be dying, Nash.” The soft voice of a female filtered through in the background.
“Why the hell is Fiona staying above your club?”
Thomas sighed. “Her apartment is getting fumigated or something. She needed a place to crash for a couple days.”
“Bullshit,” Nash spat as he swung a leg over his Harley. “There’s shit you aren’t telling me, brother. Spill it now.”
“Like I said earlier, that’s Fiona’s story. Not mine.” And, with that, Thomas hung up on him.
Nash muttered a curse and jammed his cell back into the pocket of his leather jacket. He would get answers. Tomorrow night, when the club closed, he’d hang around and wait. If Fiona had a story to tell, she would give him the truth, and he wouldn’t leave until he got it.
***
Nash had to wait it out. The next night, Fiona left the club with her new boyfriend Eli. Nash had learned a bit of this dom’s history from Thomas, but his brother wouldn’t give up anything confidential.
So Nash sneaked into Thomas’ office and scanned the schedule. He memorized Fiona and Eli’s client roster for the next couple days, searching for a time when they would be separated and he could get her alone. Okay, so he was acting like a jealous creeper, but he wanted answers, and dammit he wanted her back in his life. Maybe this was the wrong way to go about it, but his rage always did cloud his practicality.
When Eli went into a playroom above with a client, Nash asked another bouncer to cover him and he went looking for Fiona. He spotted her going into her apartment alone and he wasted no time getting up the stairs. He found her door unlocked and slipped inside.
She turned from the closet and dropped the robe she held, gasping when he entered the bedroom. “Don’t you ever knock?” A hand flew to her chest.
He shrugged. “The element of surprise works to my advantage.” Nash grabbed a chair, swung it around, and straddled it. He folded his big arms atop it, rested his chin on them, and watched her slip into the silky blue garment. “Why are you really here, sweetheart?”
“Your right to know such things ended with our divorce.”
>
Nash held up his hands. “Come on. If we’re going to work together, we might as well get along.”
Fiona raised an eyebrow as she sat on the bed. “I thought our truce ended?”
“Let’s renegotiate.” He smirked, but when she didn’t return his amusement, he added, “You all right? If something is wrong … I’d like to help.”
“I’m fine, Nash.” But she wouldn’t look him in the eyes when she spoke. “Really.”
“Why’re you working here then? I thought you were promoting Peter Murphy these days, plus a bunch of other fighters. That should be more than enough to keep you busy.”
She gazed at him, smiled a quick smile, fiddled with the quilt. “I’m not repping Murphy anymore. I just needed a break. Besides, this is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
“Spanking people?”
She laughed and shook her head at him. “Domination and submission. I’m into both, but I never felt comfortable telling you that. Especially after how you reacted to me wanting a threesome. I figured you wouldn’t be into it. That and you cheated on me so many times I kind of lost the ability to trust you.”
“I made mistakes in our marriage.” His shoulders sagged. “I was a hypocrite.”
“We both made mistakes.”
He nodded. “Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.”
He stared deep into her emerald eyes. “There’s been no one else since you. Oh, I’ve slept with other women, sure. But all their faces become your face.”
That got to her. He could tell by the way her eyes glimmered. The way her jaw worked as if she was lost for words.
“Prove it to me,” she said, her voice edged with lust. Then Fiona leaned over and opened a drawer in her nightstand. She removed something that winked silver under the overhead light.
BDSM Romance Collection Page 13