Black Light: Roulette Rematch (Black Light Series Book 20)

by Livia Grant

  “What can I get you guys?” A woman sporting a pixie cut and a seductive smile leaned toward them.

  “A water for me.” As a participant of the games, James could have up to two drinks, but his personal rule was no drinking when playing—especially with someone he didn’t know.

  “You got any of that awesome Wicked Ways Brown Ale?” Ted asked, waggling his eyebrows. James nudged him with his elbow. The brewery was doing damn good, having snagged a contract to be carried in a dozen stores throughout the county with a big chain sniffing around as well. But Ted, his longtime friend and marketing guru, was always looking for ways to spread the word.

  “No. Sorry.” She frowned. “I’ve asked my boss to look into it, though. I get at least three requests a night for it.”

  “Is that so?” Ted’s mouth curled into a grin as he shoved his elbow into James’ side.

  “He’ll have any brown ale you have on tap.” James sighed, giving his friend a cutting stare. When it came to promoting the brewery, Ted was never ‘off,’ and James was determined not to talk shop tonight.

  “I can do that.” She winked and slid down the bar.

  “How can you not see an opportunity when it’s right in front of you?” Ted admonished.

  “I’m not here to work. Feel free to reach out to Chase and Jaxson some other time. Tonight, I’m here to have some fun and enjoy my last trip.”

  Ted shook his head. “You can’t mean that. Seriously, you’re crazy. Why would you give up your membership?”

  “You’re dropping your membership?” The bartender returned with their drinks. Her manicured eyebrows shot up beneath the sharp trim of her bangs.

  James sighed. This conversation was getting old.

  “It’s not the club.” James dropped a few dollars on the bar. “The club is great. But…” He pursed his lips, glancing between the bartender, who stared back with a look of concern, and Ted, who was practically rolling his eyes.

  “He’s just being stubborn,” Ted said, shooting her a knowing smile.

  “Well, if there’s anything you need, I’m sure the owners would be happy to talk with you about it.”

  James would not be having that conversation. Not even the powers of Jaxson and Chase, or their gorgeous wife and sub, Emma, could fix what was broken with him. His reputation had cemented itself. Without even trying, he’d become the Dom subs wanted to play with, but not stay with.

  “It’s not the club. I promise.” James lifted his cup from the bar.

  She gave him a weak smile, then hurried off to the next customer. Valentine Roulette had the club packed, and she’d be busy all night.

  As James stepped away from the bar, water in hand, Ted pulled him to a stop. “Seriously, man, you can’t let Judy fuck with your head like this.”

  James sighed.

  “Look around, Ted.” He gestured to the crowd building around them as the time for the main event ticked closer. “This place is packed with people who just want fun. And that’s cool, but I’m done with that scene. I’m done with one-night stands and fuck buddies. Judy may have been the one to finally get it through my head, but it wasn’t only her.”

  “So, because Judy wouldn’t let you take things outside of the bedroom, you’re going to blow off the lifestyle, Black Light, the community… everything?”

  James hung his head. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It’s done. I haven’t renewed my membership. After tonight, it expires.” He raised his gaze. “There are women outside of Black Light too, you know.”

  “The kind of women you want?” Ted never knew when to stop. It had cost him a tooth in college. Would have cost him more if James hadn’t been there to save his ass.

  “I don’t know. What I do know is I haven’t met anyone here who wants anything other than playtime. And I want more.” He raked his hand through his hair. “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting the result to be different is the definition of insanity. So, I’m going to do something different.”

  Ted raised his brows. “If you say so,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “I do.” James put his cup on a high table and let his gaze wander the room. With the topic of his membership finished, he could concentrate on the other players. They weren’t marked in any way, so he couldn’t really tell what women were going to be on the wheel.

  “If tonight is really your last night, I hope you at least land on something better than impact play,” Ted said.

  As much as James loved giving a well-earned spanking, his tastes were a bit broader.

  James hoped the same thing, but he wasn’t going to put a voice to it. Whatever the wheel gave him, he’d deal with. Even if it was impact play, he’d still have a good time, and he’d make sure whoever he played with had fun too.

  Scanning the room again, his eyes landed on a short brunette walking through the crowd, and his heart picked up a beat or two. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she wiggled between two groups to get through to the bar.

  It was her.

  “Something catch your eye?” Ted followed James’ gaze. “Oh… I see her.”

  “Shut up.”

  Ted laughed. “What? I see her. The short brunette, right? The one with the curls and curves?” He took a sip of his beer. “She’s cute. A bit innocent looking, though.”

  “I think she’s new. To the club, I mean,” James said thoughtfully as he stared at the backside of the young woman who had been standing at his bar three months ago. “I haven’t seen her here.”

  “I have,” Ted said. “Well… just once. She was with a real asshole a few weeks ago. I didn’t see the whole scene, but I did see the end. He was yelling at her. The DMs came around, but she never called a safe word, so they didn’t step in.”

  “Why was he yelling at her?” A bubble of anger formed in the pit of his stomach. Her words suddenly came back to him in a flash. I’ll remember this time. I won’t use his name. Just Sir. Got it. The image in his head of some asshole, wannabe Dom raising his voice to chastise her over such semantics called out to his own dominant nature. Doms like the one Ted described barely controlled themselves, much less a scene or a sub.

  “Something about not doing shit right. I don’t know for sure.” Ted shrugged. “At first, I thought maybe it was a humiliation scene or something, but by the looks of the DMs, I doubt it. They were ready to pounce on him. She held her own, though. Stared straight ahead and let him rant. When he was finished, she got off the platform and left him standing there like the ass he was.”

  “Who was it?” James kept her in his sights as she maneuvered through the room. No one walked with her. Was she there alone?

  “Never seen him before.”

  Probably for the best. The last thing James needed on his last night was to get into a fight with a random asshole and get kicked out.

  James shifted on his feet, and the girl turned her head, looking right at him. For a moment, their eyes locked. Then, as quickly as it had happened, she looked away. He started to step from the table to follow her, but she darted behind a small group of people and disappeared.

  “What was that?” Ted asked. “You scared her off with just a look?”

  “Don’t be an ass.” James searched the crowd but couldn’t find her.

  The music quieted as a chime announced the event was about to begin.

  “Ah, the lovely Madison is taking the stage. You better get ready to pick your number.” Ted smacked James’ back.

  James was only half paying attention, still scanning the area. He was out of time, though, and he clearly wasn’t going to find her. “Yeah.” He looked at Ted. “You’re not gonna hover over me all night like a weirdo, are you?”

  Ted laughed. “No. I’m going to mingle with the singles.” He paused for a second, then grinned, shaking his head. “Fuck, that was lame.”

  “Yeah. It was.” James downed the last of his water, then headed over to where the other Doms were gathering. “Have fun,” he call
ed over his shoulder.

  Whoever the cute little brunette was, James hoped she wasn’t here alone and had someone worthy of her to keep her company. Ted was right about how innocent she looked, and while he wouldn’t mind being the one to corrupt her, the idea of someone undeserving getting his hands on her made his stomach turn.

  Chapter 3

  Sandra

  Sandra clenched her hands at her sides, sidestepped a small group of laughing women, and shifted until she was well-hidden behind them. This might be the most reckless thing she’d ever done. She had more sense than this.

  Or maybe not.

  The welcome speeches wrapped up, and the Doms were taking their turns spinning the wheel for their play partners. Her stomach squeezed as the ball dropped onto the wheel where each slot contained the name of one of the eligible submissives. One of those slots had her name on it, so hiding in the back of the room was both stupid and only a short-term solution to her anxiety. Unless she turned and fled right now, eventually, her name would be called, and the further back she hid, the longer the walk she would have to endure to get up on stage with the Dominant who spun her. She tried to keep her mind on center stage, but she found her attention wandering to the side where the other Dominants waited their turn.

  Another submissive was called, and Sandra let out her breath. No matter who she got paired with, she would make the best of the night. This was a chance at a new beginning. At taking a risk and learning more about herself.

  Tonight was going to be amazing.

  “Next up, we have Master James,” Madison called out.

  Sandra rose on her tiptoes to see through the crowd, catching a glimpse of the Dom moving forward to take his place by the wheels. Shit. It was the brew master. He was participating in the event tonight? At first, she’d been startled when she’d recognized his motorcycle in the parking lot, but had written it off as coincidence. Maybe it hadn’t been his she’d seen that night three months ago. Surely, other people in L.A had a Wicked Ways Brewery license plate frame. But when she’d caught his gaze in the lounge, it had been filled with such heat, such laser intensity, she’d shifted her hips, squirming a little. He’d been wearing a long sleeve shirt when she’d met him at the brewery, but tonight, he was dressed in black jeans and a dark gray V-neck t-shirt. As he made the final steps to the roulette wheel, she could see the tattoos running up and down both arms. He had a slender build, but not stringy. He obviously worked out, but he wasn’t a muscle head either.

  “Hot as hell, isn’t he?” The girl next to her leaned in close, speaking into Sandra’s ear.

  Sandra tore her gaze from the stage. “You know him? He’s popular here?”

  The blonde nodded with wide eyes. “Mmhmm. I’ve played with him. He’s amazing.” The girl glanced around. “There’re a lot of subs here who want a night with him.”

  Her stomach sank lower. If he played with a lot of different girls, he probably wouldn’t want to play with someone as inexperienced as she was.

  “Are you playing tonight?” Sandra asked, trying to keep her mind off the fact that the ball was being handed to Master James.

  “No. I completely spaced on the deadline to sign up. But I’m still hoping to find a little fun.”

  “Subbie Sandra!” the MC called out before she could respond, and Sandra’s breath froze in her lungs.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” she managed to say, cringing inwardly at the awkward nickname she’d chosen. Creativity didn’t flow easily through her.

  “Lucky girl!” the blonde cheered and gave her a little shove. “Go on.”

  Sandra wiggled through the crowd, struggling to make her way from the back of the room where she’d been hiding. It was slow going at first, until people realized she was trying to get to the stage. With a path laid out in front of her, she walked up the steps, her eyes focused on the wheel and not the man watching her.

  Would he even recognize her? He seemed to earlier, but he may have simply been looking in her direction. It could have been someone behind her he’d been looking at with such intensity.

  “Subbie Sandra.” The way Master James said her name drew her attention up to him. There was nothing disdainful or dismissive about his tone. In fact, he smiled warmly at her, like he was happy to see her there. How thrilled would he be when he found out she knew next to nothing about anything on the wheel?

  “Master James.” She couldn’t help but return his smile. He had such a relaxed aura around him, it put her immediately at ease.

  “You have to drop the ball,” James said, pointing to the little ball Madison held out to her.

  “Right.” She laughed and took the ball in her hand. Before her mind could override her actions, she released the sphere into the track of the spinning wheel. Even with the background music, she could hear the ball running along the metal passage.

  The blur of the wheel slowed, and soon, she could make out the names of the activities before her. With small jumps, it bounced and clinked until finally settling inside its temporary home.

  “Pet play!” Madison called out in a voice that reminded her of a carnival game barker. She snapped her focus to James. He had a sparkle in his dark brown eyes.

  “Is that one of your limits?” he asked, though he looked unconcerned.

  “Uh…no.” She shook her head. Having been allowed four hard limits, she had checked off anything involving bodily fluids or medical first. Pet play hadn’t entered her mind as a limit. It wasn’t something she knew anything about, but it didn’t trigger any ick factor.

  “Great.”

  Yeah. Great.

  She stared up at him while he spoke to the MC, double-checking for any limit issues.

  Pet play.

  With James.

  Couldn’t the universe have been kind and given her something she’d already done like impact play?

  “We have to move to let the next couple up.” James broke her from her reverie, pointing toward the stairs.

  Of course.

  They couldn’t stand up on the stage while the others were rolling. She hurried from the platform, careful in her steps. It had been smart to wear her ballet flats for the night. They might not be fashionable—no one had ever accused her of possessing that particular trait—but they were practical for moving around and kept her from embarrassing herself by teetering on heels or tripping downstairs. She managed to avoid being completely out of style by sticking to simple rules. Black bottoms and solid tops. And when in doubt, a black dress worked wonders. That’s what she’d gone with for Roulette. A short black cocktail dress she’d worn to a wedding a few months ago. Simple.

  James pressed his hand to the small of Sandra’s back, guiding her until they stood near the growing group of roulette pairs waiting for the event to start. James stopped behind her, the toes of his shoes touching the heels of her flats. A simple touch, insignificant, but she couldn’t deny the heat building in her belly.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, his chin brushing against her shoulder as he leaned into her. “You shivered,” he said when she didn’t answer.

  “Did I?” She turned her head, looking up at him from over her shoulder. His mouth spread into a smile, hinting at playfulness while promising a bit of danger. It sent a hot tingle straight to the inner part of her already craving more of him. A deep smile line framed his full lips. She swallowed to moisten her suddenly dry throat.

  “You did.” He moved closer to her back, wrapping his arms around her body and clasping his other wrist in front of her. “Is this okay?”

  Okay? The man blanketed her with his body, shooting off rockets inside her.

  “Yeah. It’s fine.” She turned back to the stage, her face heated.

  “There’s an air conditioning vent over us. You’ll be warmer once we get started, but for now…” He pulled her back a little tighter, and she swore a very distinctive something brushed against her. If he was trying to keep her from shivering, not only had he chosen the wrong words, but most definitely th
e wrong position. Hopefully, she was the only one observing the fluttering in her chest from his effortless dominating charm.

  The next spinner left the shrinking herd of Doms and moved to center stage. Sandra already had hers. This man standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her to protect her from a chill, was her partner for the night. Her much more experienced partner.

  She would have to give it her best shot. Do exactly as she was told and focus on what he wanted from her. If she did that, he would probably have an okay time. From what the blonde had said, he was quite popular at Black Light. It wasn’t like she would be ruining his one-time experience if she didn’t live up to his expectations.

  “Have you done pet play before?” James asked.

  “Uh… no, but I’ll be okay. I can do it.” She nodded, bumping his chin in the process.

  “It doesn’t appeal to you?” His arms loosened around her, and he nudged her until she turned her face up at him. Dark eyes met hers, and his brows rose.

  What was the right answer?

  “I—” Words failed. “It’s not on my limits list,” she offered guardedly.

  He tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. “You said that when you rolled. What I want to know is if you find it unappealing. We can’t roll again, but if you tell me it is, it’ll help me plan for what to do.”

  “Well, maybe if you tell me what you want me to do, I can tell you if it’s something I can do.”

  His arms dropped away from her, and he studied her with furrowed brows. “How many Doms have you played with?”

  Well, here it went.

  “A few. I mean… I haven’t had any serious relationships—not that I need one,” she hurried to assure him.

  His face remained stoic. “So, only play partners?” He made it sound sad, almost disappointing.

  “So far, yeah.” She nodded. “I’ll be honest. I’m pretty new at everything. I only just started. I mean… the first time I even let a guy spank me was a year ago, and that was during sex… extremely bad sex, I’ll admit.” Realizing words poured out of her mouth, she clamped her lips closed. She needed to get herself together. Rambling would only embarrass her.