by Mayburn, Ann
“I’ve known this woman for the past five years. She’s a friend of Hawk’s, is on a couple charity boards, and one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. And I know rocket scientists, so that’s saying something.”
“She’s ugly, isn’t she?”
“What?”
“Well, you’re going on and on about her attributes, but you’ve failed to mention anything physical about her. So she must be hideous.”
“Don’t be such an asshole.”
“But irritating you is so much fun. Fine, tell me more about this girl with a great personality.”
Jesse took a long drink, looked at Bryan, then took another pull from his beer before setting it down.
Bryan made an impatient motion with his bottle. “So, back to the lovely damsel in distress that needs Lord Pierced Dick to save her.”
“She is also compassionate, funny, and so sarcastic it makes my teeth hurt.” He squinted his eyes at Bryan, then picked his beer back up. “She reminds me of you.”
“Should I be flattered or appalled?”
Jesse took a sip of his beer and flipped Bryan off before continuing. “Keep that thought in mind. My friend used to live out in Hollywood. She left her home here in DC as soon as she graduated college and went in search of fame and fortune. She found both but at a great cost.”
“Drugs?”
“Nope. I don’t think she’s ever done anything heavier than smoked weed. It was her adrenaline-junkie side which took her out. She had a motorcycle—”
“What kind?”
Bryan had nine motorcycles in the ten-bay garage at his home. Riding had been a passion for him since the moment he set foot in the States. Coming from England, he’d been stunned by the size of the country and had bought a top-of-the-line touring bike that day. For the next six months he rode across the US and into Canada, going wherever he wanted. A good deal of that time was spent camping at the national parks and being amazed anew at the world. It had certainly refreshed his soul, and when he decided to make Washington, DC, his home, he felt like for the first time he was someplace where he could be happy.
Now if only he had someone to share that happiness with. A nice, quiet, soft little submissive who would let him take care of her. The kind of woman that would be waiting for him at the end of his work day, naked and begging for his cock.
Jesse shifted, bringing Bryan’s attention back to him. “Some kind of crotch rocket. I think it was pink.”
“Pink?”
“Yep. Baby-doll pink.”
“Sacrilege.”
“Anyways, they were doing another take of one of the scenes for the movie, a chase scene. My friend is a rather well-known actress who did all of her own stunts, and while she was taking a turn at forty miles an hour on a winding California road, the stuntman chasing her lost control of his bike. It clipped her bike, hard enough that she got thrown into the handlebars before flipping over the front. Luckily she landed in a safety barrier or she would have gone down the side of the hill and probably died.”
Bryan sucked in some air through his teeth. Anyone who rode a motorcycle knew the risks. What Jesse was describing must have resulted in some pretty bad injuries. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah. That happened four years ago. She suffered all kinds of problems, but the biggest one, the one that has pretty much ruined her life, was her pelvic injury.” Jesse looked back at his beer. “Ever since the crash she hasn’t been able to have sex, penetration, without pain so intense she couldn’t take more than a few minutes. That’s where you come in. If anyone can help her learn how to find pleasure in her pain, it’s you.”
“Ah.” Bryan rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “Jesse, I’m a sensual sadist, not a doctor. How am I supposed to help her?”
“Six months ago she had surgery to try and reduce pain while restoring sensation. It worked, sort of. She can take penetration now, but it is still painful. She says it’s a bearable pain, and she might be able to learn to enjoy sex again if she could find someone to teach her how to make her body convert it to pleasure.”
“Are you sure this woman isn’t in the lifestyle?”
“Yep. I told you. She’s brilliant. She had a problem, so she researched everything she could on it. Damn persistent woman too. When you meet her—”
“If I meet her.”
“Look, Bryan. She’s only twenty-seven years old, and if she can’t figure out how to get past the pain, she will never get married, never have children, and will have to live with being betrayed by her own mind and body.”
Bryan knew the other man was giving him a guilt trip, and damned if it didn’t work. He could no more ignore a submissive who needed his help than he could drive by the scene of an accident without stopping. “When can I meet her?”
“Now?”
He gave Jesse a slow blink. “She’s a club member?”
“Yes.”
“Have I met her before?”
Jesse cleared his throat. “Well, no. She got approved last week.” He fiddled with his bottle between his legs as his lips moved.
Bryan sighed. Jesse was the worst liar. “What are you holding back?”
“Well, she kinda went looking around here with Sunny and watched you do a scene. From what Sunny said, my friend saw you, and that was it. Once she had you in her sights, she wouldn’t consider anyone else. So if you meet her and don’t feel a spark, be easy with her and try to help her find someone who could help her.”
After tossing back the rest of his stout in two big gulps, Bryan stood and set the empty bottle down. Excitement started to fizzle through him, and he actually felt awake for the first time in months. Knowing she’d seen him doing a scene and had been attracted to him was not only a nice boost to his ego but a necessary step if he was going to dominate her in a sexual way. Without any chemistry between them, any attempt at BDSM play would be a complete and utter disaster. The spark had to be there to make it work sexually, and that was as true in BDSM as it was in any vanilla relationship.
He smoothed the front of his black suit and straightened his cuffs. “You said she saw me do a scene, but that really doesn’t mean anything other than enjoying watching me. Does she have any idea what she’s in for? What Dominance and submission is really about? Fuck the sadist and masochist stuff for now. I need to know if she has any idea what it means to submit.”
“Academically, yes.” Jesse stood as well, stretching out his back. “Before you meet her, I should mention one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Her name is Kira Harmony.”
Bryan tried to put the name of the popular actress and the woman Jesse had described together. Even he knew who Kira Harmony was, and he rarely paid attention to anything. Kira’s exploits were known the world over, from partying with princes to skydiving over the Grand Canyon. She’d starred in a number of action movies, a few of which he’d seen. A very pretty woman with auburn hair and big golden-brown eyes. Too thin for his taste, but he’d wait and see what the past four years had done to her.
Rubbing his face, he blew out a tense breath. Bloody fuck, did the paparazzi still follow her around? He’d left England to avoid the paparazzi and had worked hard in the States to fall out of the public eye. While he knew no photographers or media got anywhere near Wicked, thanks to its influential members, he didn’t always want to scene at the club. He worried if he invited her to his home, she’d come with some camera-flashing baggage.
If he helped this woman, he could be exposing himself and his family to further embarrassment. All it took was one photographer, one tabloid to recognize him, and he was sure that fucking video of him whipping that evil bitch, then fucking her would surface again. His humiliation at being blackmailed would be plastered all over the world. Sometimes he wished he’d just paid the bitch the money, but at the time, his stupid, naive principals had demanded he do the right thing and turn her in. Unfortunately, as soon as he did that, the video went up briefly on the Internet, and every n
ews agency had latched onto it with glee. The resulting scandal had destroyed his life back in London and cost him his family. He didn’t know if he could go through that again. Except this time it would drag down an innocent woman with him if he was photographed with Kira. The very thought made him ill.
He should stay as far away from her as possible.
Her image came to mind, some picture he’d seen in a magazine. He remembered her because of her flaming red hair. He’d always had a thing for redheads, to the point of obsession, and she was about as ginger as one could get. Pale skin, freckles, and long red hair. Too bad she was so skinny. He liked a woman with meat on her bones, softness to cushion him, padding to grab on to.
“How sexually experienced is she? I don’t want to scare her right out the gate by doing something too edgy.”
Jesse blew out a harsh breath. “She’s only slept with two men. The one who took her virginity and the one who broke up with her after they tried to have intercourse last year.”
Bryan gave a sympathetic wince. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Kira said she tried, she really did, but the pillow didn’t muffle her crying when they had sex, and he freaked out and left her. After that, she started dating women but didn’t find anyone that would work as a long-term relationship.”
“Is she bisexual? Would she better off with a Mistress?”
“No, women are just safe for Kira right now. She can have sex with women without hurting, but she’s way more into men than women, so it’s been a meeting of her physical needs. From what she said, she’s bisexual, but like eighty percent guys, twenty percent women.”
“This is a big bloody mess you’ve thrown in my lap.”
The muscles of Jesse’s jaw tightened. “Look. She’s a good woman. I’m not asking you to go shag some hag.”
Bryan couldn’t help but smile at the big Texan’s unintended rhyme, then sobered. “Let me meet the girl. I can’t promise you anything, but at the very least, I’ll speak with her. If there is no spark between us, I can’t force attraction, but I will try to help her find someone she may have a better connection with.”
Jesse stood and let out a relieved breath. “Thank you. I owe you one.”
Standing, Bryan gave him a nefarious grin. “Yes, you do. When your little Dove gets back, perhaps we could arrange for her and Kira to spend some time together. I wonder if they both have pretty pink cunts.”
Jesse groaned and cupped his crotch. “Putting images like that in my mind when my girl is across the ocean. That’s cruel.”
“I am a sadist. Comes with the territory.”
* * * *
Kira crossed her legs and ignored the dull ache in her pelvis. Her hips still complained about being in a sitting position too long, but at least her tailbone no longer hurt. Being able to wear high heels again was an amazing feat in itself. She could probably return to acting if she wanted to, but without the thrill of doing her own stunts, it was boring. She glanced down at her cute gold pumps and smiled. New shoes, new body, new life.
Now she needed to get her ability to have sex back, and she’d be good to go.
The room at Wicked where she waited was pretty awesome. She sat in a small foyer/seating area with furniture that looked right out of the time of Julius Cesar. The room itself was built to look like a walled Roman garden, complete with torches and the sound of crickets and other night creatures. Beautiful potted plants graced the courtyard, adding a hint of lushness to the stone walls. Overhead a pretty sunset faded into the night, visible through a lattice festooned with blooming honeysuckle.
The attached open space behind her made her blush. It had to be an orgy room. She couldn’t think of any other reason why the entire floor of one room had been made into a gigantic, black silk-covered bed. There were various pillows strewn about, and actual shackles were hanging from the walls. More chains hung from the ceiling, and in the very center of the room a strangely shaped dais of blue velvet rose from the floor. She wondered if it was some kind of sex chair. One that would allow different, funky positions.
Shifting slightly to ease the pressure off her right side, she stared at the door and tried to be patient. From what Hawk and Jesse said, Bryan was one of the best sensual sadists out there. If he couldn’t help her, they didn’t know who could. So even though she was as nervous as a virgin at a porn convention, she made herself stay still and wait.
Besides, she’d masturbated at least a dozen times to her memories of watching Bryan last week at Wicked.
The discomfort of her body was nothing compared to the hot mess in her mind. She waffled between wanting to run, wanting to throw herself on Bryan the moment he walked through the door, and pretending to be sick so she could leave with her dignity intact if he didn’t like her.
Well, maybe not intact, but at least she could hold her tears in until she was alone.
Hell, she didn’t even know Bryan, and yet was considering having sex with him. Just about the most intimate thing one human being could do to another. She didn’t cheek kiss people she didn’t know, let alone suck their dicks.
Her empty sheath clenched, and she winced, anticipating pain. Instead it was only a mild soreness. Nothing like the cramps she’d had before her last surgery. Even wearing a tampon had been too painful, and the thought of trying to have someone shove their dick in there made her wince. God, what if the sadist wanted to have sex with her right away? What if he liked her pain so much he wouldn’t listen to her if she said no? Unease crept down her spine. Yeah, Jesse had told her Bryan was geared more toward sadistic sexual torture than physical torture, but fuck, she didn’t know if she wanted anyone to torture anything on her. Then again, she didn’t need him to hurt her. Her body already did that on its own. Most people didn’t understand how good it felt to be somewhat normal.
She desperately wanted to be normal again.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to let the negativity out. In this world a person attracted what they gave out, good or bad, and she’d like to stay on the right side of karma.
A soft chime sounded, and Kira stood and smoothed her dress over her hips. Her big hips. One of the results of her injury had been inactivity, but she continued to eat like she burned twenty-five-hundred calories a day. As a result she’d put on weight, a lot, like, a dangerous amount that hurt her healing bones. She’d managed through exercise and eating kinda right to get back down to a size 16, but it was a far cry from the size 4 she used to wear. Swallowing hard, she hoped Bryan wasn’t disappointed by her.
Jesse walked in with Bryan, who had to be the most fuckable man she’d ever seen. All sinfully good, dark looks and more charisma than JFK. Seriously, he was the kind of guy who could enter a room and every woman turned to take a second look. Trying to roll her tongue back into her mouth, she mentally scolded herself. It didn’t matter if Bryan was a Jedi between the sheets. She wasn’t screwing up her body for anyone.
Their eyes met, and everything inside her tightened. The first rush of desire, electric and fierce, actually knocked her back a step. Her heel wobbled at her awkward move, and she almost fell but got her balance in time. Embarrassment burned through her, making her face heat with a rush of blood while her body was still deep in lust.
Great first impression. He looked like a sex god, and she looked like a spaz.
He didn’t walk across the room toward her. That would have been too mundane. This man with his piercing, dark eyes and sin-black hair prowled across the room. It wasn’t an exaggerated movement; it was a change in his demeanor. As his gaze held hers, his full lips curved in a smile. She knew women who would kill to have lips like his, herself included. She’d been cursed with her mother’s pretty but thin lips.
He stopped about six inches from her. Inside her comfort zone but not pushing her into the red, panicky area yet. His impeccable suit clung to his lean, powerful figure. The scent of his masculine, delicious cologne wafted toward her, and she took a deep breath, enjoying how it reminded her of the ocean in Norw
ay.
Cold, crisp, and potentially deadly.
Giving her a very visible once-up, once-down look he tapped his lips and stepped back. Looking up at her face, he smiled. “Well, eating pussy certainly has been good for you. Seems to have mellowed and filled you out.” He had a wonderful English accent that made even his insult sound sensual.
She gaped at him, unsure if he was trash-talking her or being a dick. Either way, if he thought she was the kind of girl who wouldn’t talk shit right back, he didn’t know anything about women. “I see you’ve been fasting.”
His eyes widened the tiniest bit, and she swore he wanted to laugh, but his expression remained closed. Her pussy continued to tighten as her gaze locked with his.
There was something so…so…intense about him. The complete attention on her, to the point of utterly ignoring Jesse, was at once hot and rude. Her hormones made her want to fall to her knees right now and beg him to take her, but her pride managed to overrule her body.
At least for the moment.
Giving the sadist a pointed look, she stepped around him and walked over to Jesse, glad she had her old swaying stride back. Well, she had a little—a lot—more junk to sway now than she used to, but she knew how to work a set of heels. Besides, if the sight of her clothed didn’t interest him, she highly doubted the sight of her naked would.
She really, really wanted him to be interested in her.
If his barely audible growl was any indication, he liked what he saw. Or he was going to bite her. One of the two.
She gave Jesse a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for bringing him here, Jesse.”
Jesse glanced over her shoulder and nodded before looking at her. “Time for me to go.”
Confused, she took a small step away from Jesse. She wouldn’t look at that devilish man behind her, but she could almost feel his body, his energy reaching out to her. Heat crept up and down her back, like a whisper of fingers brushing her skin. Afraid of what she’d do when she was alone with the handsome Master, which probably included a hell of a blowjob, she gave Jesse a pleading glance. “But you just got here.”