by Cara Carnes
Passion’s Training
Cara Carnes
Book three in the Pleasure Brigade series.
What happens in The Brigade stays in The Brigade…
Viviana Marks crashes the annual Brigade masquerade with one mission—submitting to Chief of Security, Stryker. She isn’t about to pass up this opportunity to dabble in her BDSM fantasies with one of the best Doms around.
Returning from a mission, Lance is surprised to discover an unknown woman posing as a former submissive of his. Curious, he assists Stryker in taking control of the sweet bundle of curves, sensuality and attitude.
Viviana soon finds herself in a two-week training session with the two men, who are determined to unleash her darkest desires and awaken a need she’s ignored too long. When the time draws near to decide whether to continue her journey of sensual discovery, the true test is whether the tentative trust she’s built with the two Doms is enough to overcome her bitter past.
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Passion’s Training
ISBN 9781419939464
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Passion’s Training Copyright © 2012 Cara Carnes
Edited by Grace Bradley
Cover design by Mina Carter
Photography: Dreamstime.com; 123rf.com
Electronic book Publication March 2012
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Passion’s Training
Cara Carnes
Dedication
For the readers who asked for more of The Brigade (I love you all!), the beta readers brave enough to read an unedited draft (especially Mary—you rock!), and the critique partners (Lu, Jodie, Heidi—FABULOUS!) selfless enough to lend an ear, a shoulder and anything else I need at the drop of a hat. You are the sisters I never had and I can’t imagine doing this without you. Lastly, to my fearless editor, Grace Bradley, for sweating over every word, comma and body part positioning. You never cease to amaze me.
Chapter One
Viviana Marks infiltrated the hallowed grounds as easily as she had their security before she’d been contracted to render their computer systems impenetrable. Wouldn’t Stryker just love to hear someone had been lax on perimeter security? She’d expected a veritable legion of guards flanking every inch of immaculately sculpted lawn for tonight’s grand foray into the forbidden.
The Brigade’s masquerade ball was an event any self-respecting dabbler into the BDSM lifestyle wanted a ticket to. The only problem for Viviana had been admitting that she was more interested in the chief of security than she was in the ball itself.
She shivered as a burst of cool wind whipped across her exposed thighs. Wearing a skintight leather skirt and matching bustier wasn’t exactly her typical style, but tonight was all about attracting Stryker’s attention. If the outfit didn’t do it, then she hoped the fuck-me-’til-I-scream, knee-high stiletto boots would.
He’d better be worth the blistered feet.
Moisture trickled down her thighs. Wearing a thong had been out of character, but necessary. Granny panties simply wouldn’t work with her ensemble’s message unless there was a secret fetish she didn’t know about. She’d fantasized about Stryker for too long. Hell, he had no idea who she was.
She was a voiceless sender of never-ending email streams under her brother’s name. He’d be beyond pissed if he ever learned about tonight. Clint didn’t believe in mixing business with pleasure, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. After all, he’d decided to throw her headfirst into one of the largest jobs they had landed in the past six months. It wasn’t her fault her raging libido wasn’t appreciating the fact she’d dedicated every waking moment to the project.
Secure Pathways had been their vision. This job was a catalyst into a sea of other potentials. Brigade Enterprises was a large firm with a huge client list and an equally long membership roster for their private club, The Pleasure Brigade.
Enough with the shop talk.
Viviana tucked away all the reasons she shouldn’t be here and allowed her raging desires to saunter her up the well-sculpted lawns of The Brigade. Her brother had been the mouthpiece and the face behind their agreement with Stryker and his group. She’d been the fingers, sweat, brainpower and exhaustive determination behind the perfection that was their new security system.
Fortunately all that hard work was about to pay off.
She smiled as a young man motioned for her to stop. She’d rendered all the employee photos into the system herself, so she immediately recognized him as their newest addition—Gabe Santiago. Of course, not all the employees had photographs, much to Viviana’s dismay. Knowing everyone she’d have to be steer clear of tonight would’ve been simpler.
Mischievous brown eyes scanned her barely there attire as a grin spread across his face. “And what are you this evening, miss?”
“I’m either a covert operative, or dessert.”
“If you’re a dessert, then I’m suddenly even sadder to be diabetic. Morsels like you would be worth a sugar spike.”
“I doubt your sugar would be the first thing that would rise.” Viviana inwardly winced at the obvious and lame comeback. She’d been away from dating and flirtation way too long and had never been that good to begin with.
That’s why God had blessed her with a decent body and a spunky attitude. Thanks to having four older brothers and a passion for all things high-tech, she was officially a geek used to handling her own with just about any type of man.
She pulled out her identification and remained calm, knowing her final hack into the newly minted computer systems had been flawless. As far as everyone here knew, she was Viviana Jackson and a guest for this evening.
“I see you’re a guest of Lance’s.” Gabe moved his fingers across a touch screen and retracted a computerized band from a container at his waist. “It’s a shame he’s been on assignment the past couple of months. It put Stryker in a real jam handling this place and the other less interesting ones.”
Lance’s penchant for being away all the time had made him the perfect master for her to be invited by. He wouldn’t be here to call her on her farce, and she had no intention of returning after tonight. This was a one-time indulgence.
“Good thing he has men like you to help him then.”
“I won’t bother to go over th
e rules with you if you know Lance.” Gabe motioned for her to produce her left wrist. “The safety word for the resort is cobra. This stores your pertinent data, such as hard limits, and the like. There’s an emergency button here for you to press if you get into trouble.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Welcome to The Brigade Masquerade.”
Viviana smiled and trudged her way up the inclined lawn toward the exterior portion of the party. Tiki torches surrounded the perimeter of a carefully orchestrated arena for guests to wander about and mingle. Only the most observant would notice the small cameras strategically placed within the trees, torches, rocks. Every inch of the area was monitored.
And Viviana suspected she knew exactly who was doing the monitoring tonight, much to her annoyance. If she intended to sate her hunger for Stryker, she’d have to draw him out of his inner sanctum. Somehow.
She perched on a knee-high boulder and crossed her legs. A cool breeze swept up her exposed thighs, reminding her she was now exposing more of herself in that one movement than she had in months. Hell, it’d been almost a year since she’d exposed anything to anyone.
Not bothering to wander to the bar she knew served only nonalcoholic beverages for tonight’s festivities, she studied the thickening crowd. She’d arrived earlier than expected and would have a while to kill before Stryker would appear, since she assumed he was in charge of security tonight.
Rhythmic thrums vibrated off the ground from unseen speakers. The music incited a few brave souls to the wooden, circular floor. Soft lighting from an overhead system accentuated their sensuous gyrations. All women wore the same nondescript computerized bracelet as Viviana. Some of the men did as well, but most wore a platinum cuff emblazoned with a symbol of some sort in a triangle. A peace symbol. It resembled a peace symbol but was somehow different.
Had Gabe been wearing one as well? Did that note the members of The Pleasure Brigade?
Curiosity almost surged her into the crowd. Perhaps writhing up against some of his friends would bring Stryker out. Either way, she knew there were plenty of prospects in the dominant pool and she was more than willing to be the bait.
“It’s a shame to see someone so flawlessly dressed adorning the wallflower section.”
The voice startled Viviana. She spun around and lost whatever response she’d thought. A wall of sinewy flesh overwhelmed her gaze. The man’s chest was almost as large as Stryker’s. Not that she’d know since she’d only really seen him from across the room. All other conversations had been by email or instant message.
Obsidian eyes tracked her movement with curiosity as she stood. “It’s early still.”
“Quite true, Viviana.”
“You know my name.” She noted the apprehensive tone to her statement as she glanced around. She’d never met this man before. Black cotton stretched over wide shoulders and biceps big enough for her to hang on to for a rough, long ride.
The thought made her groan softly. Black hair cut short accentuated a strong, firm jaw. Whoever this man was, he exuded the same don’t-fuck-with-me vibe that had drawn her to Stryker.
Silence greeted her statement as he moved slightly and crossed his hands in front of him, drawing her gaze to the biggest thighs she’d ever seen. Straddling them would be a challenge—one she was more than prepared to take on if Stryker didn’t make an appearance. Hell, she’d take them both on if given half a chance.
“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage.”
“At a disadvantage, Sir.” His voice was husky velvet encased in steel. His perusal swept across her with an intensity that left her more exposed than she had been in a long time. “The security device you were given broadcasts your information to anyone with one of these on.”
Viviana noted the platinum cuff he wore as her mind processed his statement with the inept speed of a 512 kilobyte RAM processor. “You can read my profile.”
“And make notes for others to read.” He retracted a handheld device from one of the many pockets on his black cargo pants. “It helps us know who’s scened with whom and ensure no one is too adventurous. Safety first, and all that.”
Safe, sane, consensual. The Brigade’s embraced mantra had drawn her to it in the first place. Too many nightclubs sprang up and never adhered to the code despite their statement to the contrary. For people like Viviana, who abhorred club atmospheres, a resort was an ideal location.
Assuming you had the money to indulge. Which she didn’t.
Not yet.
“I personally think safety’s overrated sometimes. How about you? You ever done anything really wicked or dangerous?” He prowled closer, an almost indiscernible step forward.
Her pulse raced and her mind reeled. “Some would say being here is pretty dangerous.”
“Quite true.”
Viviana swallowed and moved backward, only to realize she’d pinned herself in. Unless she wanted to climb over boulders with three-inch boots on, she was stuck between a rock and a hard man with questionable intentions.
Not that she’d mind if his intentions were toward the sensual side. Those big hands of his would feel good coming down hard on her ass. Or sliding between her legs until she squirmed and mewled her release.
Okay, time to pause all that thought and find a back door out of this mess. As a glorified hacker she knew better than to work herself into corners. Always have a way out.
Always.
She swallowed her concern and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“You may call me Sir.”
“And if I don’t want to?”
“Well then, Viviana, I’m afraid you definitely came to the wrong party.”
Her right hand ran over the bracelet secured to her left wrist. Her fingers ran across an oval protrusion along the center. Well, she’d wanted to get Stryker’s attention. Screaming a safe word or pressing the magical red out button would sure as hell accomplish that.
But had the man—whoever the hell he was—really done anything other than intimidate the living shit out of her by his mere presence? It wasn’t his fault he exuded such a… She swallowed the thought and tried to formulate something reasonable to say. Her mind went from wanting to scream her way out of his presence and using his incredibly sexy body as a Slip ‘n Slide.
“Maybe I’m an old-fashioned kind of girl. I still like to talk and negotiate things for myself.”
“Always a wise decision and one we require here.” He stepped to the side and sat on a boulder to her right. “So you know Lance?”
“Yeah, we met briefly at an airport.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, we didn’t get to…” Viviana hedged the lie, unsure what the hell to say. As far as cover stories went this one was really lame. “I expressed an interest in the lifestyle and he thought this was a good way for me to dip my toe into the proverbial pool.”
“That must’ve been a hell of a conversation.”
“I ramble when I’m nervous or excited and teased him that the best way to shut me up was to gag me. Things sort of went from there.”
“Fair enough.” He crossed his arms and smirked. “You know he and I go way back.”
Of course they did.
“It’s a shame he couldn’t be here.” She sat down with what false bravado she could project and motioned toward the resort. “This is a beautiful location.”
“It’s okay. I wanted something a bit more secluded, but everyone seemed to think we needed to keep a somewhat close proximity to Austin.” He shrugged. “Something about people feeling less intimidated.”
The man turned toward footsteps she hadn’t heard until she’d seen him whirl around in response. He nodded at a blond man making his way toward them. A dark-blue shirt tucked into hip-hugging denim accentuated his lean, athletic build.
“Here for barely five minutes and you’ve snagged the sexiest girl. Nothing ever changes. How ya been, man?” The blond stranger clapped the man on the back and
then directed his riveting blue gaze on Viviana. “Hey, Viv. I’m Chase.”
“Pleased to meet you, Sir.”
Chase turned to the man and chuckled. “How the hell…”
“She’s a friend of Lance’s,” he interrupted. “I’m keeping her company.”
“Ah.” Amusement flickered in Chase’s gaze. “Well, I’ll happily help you keep her in line.”
“I think I’ve got it handled for now.”
Viviana’s skin heated as the two men discussed her. Even though a portion of her wanted to slink away, her curiosity kept her perched on her makeshift seat.
Chase’s phone vibrated. He glanced over his shoulder and waved at a man across the lawn. “Afraid I came for a reason. We need someone to take over the spanking demonstration. Kade and Autumn are…” he cleared his throat, “running late.”
Spanking demonstration. Viviana’s entire body melted at the thought. She shifted and clutched her thighs, hoping neither of the men noticed her reaction.
“Perhaps I could handle that,” the man commented as he stood. He extended his hand toward her. “Are you ready to dip your toe into that pool yet, Viviana?”
Viviana stared at his hand as if it had sprouted ten extra fingers. Her. In a spanking demonstration. Him. Spanking her.
“Scared?” Chase asked.
She nodded. Of course she was. She didn’t know him. At all. Then again, it wasn’t as if she knew Stryker that well either. Getting spanked was one of her top-five things she wanted to experiment with and The Brigade was certainly a safe place to do it. “What will you spank me with?”
He smiled and ran a finger across her cheek. “I assure you that you will enjoy every moment.”
Indecision weighed her limbs as he stood there silently challenging her to accept his invitation. She’d come here to play. Explore. Get Stryker’s attention.