His eyebrow lifts, and he takes a pull of his beer. “Very well then. Do you want to tell me exactly what happened?”
No, I’d rather crawl over a mile of broken glass. Taking a deep breath, I recount everything as briefly as possible—how I wanted to get Zeke to back off, arranged to meet him at the Biscuits parking lot, how his friends helped him kidnap me, and what happened once we arrived at the clubhouse.
Maximus’s face is growing darker and darker. Even though he’s a few feet away, I can feel the fury emanating off him. “And what happened in the time after you messaged me but before I arrived?”
“Just more of the same. He was insulting me, telling me what he wanted to do to me, accusing me of being a whore, of associating with you and Club Toxic…” I trail off, not wanting to remember.
“He touch you?”
“He shook me a couple times, slapped my leg.” Squeezed my breast, but I won’t tell Maximus that. “But nothing too bad.”
Maximus lets out a little huff. “Nothing too bad,” he repeats under his breath.
“I’m so sorry!” I blurt out, desperate to somehow let him know how much I regret everything. “I should have listened to you. You were right, I was wrong. I thought I could handle it, thought I could handle him, and put myself in danger. You must have been worried, and I—”
“Worried?” he snarls, interrupting me. Leaping off the couch, he begins to pace. “Sabina, you are the most beautiful, fascinating, sensual, intelligent, infuriating woman I’ve ever met. From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you. To spend time with you, to get to know you, to protect you. You do things to me I can’t even…” He trails off and shoves a hand through his cropped black hair. “I tried to fight it because of what I am, because of how I am. And because I was afraid. It’s been a fucking century since I let myself love anyone because I knew I would not be able to handle going through that kind of grief and loss again. And then, when you sent me that text, when I got into the clubhouse and saw that fucker sprawled on top of you, I realized…”
He stops and I realize I’m leaning forward, clutching my still full glass, tears blurring my vision. “You realized what?” I whisper, my voice breaking.
“That it was too late,” he says, resignation in his tone. His shoulders are slumped in defeat. “I love you.”
I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. I get to my feet, realizing how watery my knees are as soon as they take my weight. Setting the glass down carefully on the coffee table, I approach him slowly. Once I’m within reaching distance, he turns and looks at me. His gorgeous eyes are sad, and guilt crushes me for causing him this kind of turmoil.
“I love you too,” I whisper. “I promise, if you give me another chance, I’ll never put you through that kind of worry again. I’ll always obey you when you warn me about situations. I know it’s crazy, because we’ve only known each other such a short time, but I can no longer imagine my life without you in it.”
Maximus reaches out, grips the nape of my neck, and yanks me to him, crushing his lips to mine in a breathtaking, torrid kiss. Instantly, every nerve ending in my body lights up but even as I try to relax into it, I realize I can’t.
After a few moments, he pulls away. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, blinking back the tears. “I feel so guilty,” I whisper. “I should have listened to you, Sir. I don’t feel like I deserve pleasure right now.”
A little frown appears in the center of his forehead as he considers my words. “Do you feel like you deserve to be punished?”
As he says it, I realize how much I do. How badly I want to atone for putting him through what I did. “Yes. But this isn’t about me. Do you want to punish me?”
“I’m not gonna lie, pet, even though I’ve calmed down, I’m furious with you. If I do punish you, it will not be the least bit pleasurable. But afterwards, I’d like to wipe the slate clean and start again. No more secrets. No more withholding things.” He caresses my cheek and I realize I’m trembling. “I want to know everything about you. Why you feel such a need to be strong and independent. Why you fight against the idea of letting a man—me—protect you. And yes, as long as you’re mine, I need you to obey me in all rules I set to keep you safe. No exceptions. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl.” He leans down to kiss me again and this time I kiss him back with abandon, relishing the feel of his tongue against mine, the way he runs his fingers through my hair and tilts my face back so he can take it deeper. He tastes faintly of beer, and his delicious aftershave, as always, makes me weak at the knees.
After a long, long time, by which point I’m so aroused I’m barely able to stand upright, he pulls away. His expression is serious, his eyes searching. “I’m going to take you home now,” he says.
“Wait, what?” I’m stunned.
“It’s late, and you have work in the morning. We’ll go pick up your car, and then I want you to go directly home, have something to eat if you can, and go straight to bed.”
“I thought—”
“Don’t interrupt me, pet.”
I drop my gaze. His tone of voice is sterner than I’ve ever heard it.
“I want you to think long and hard about whether you want to be with me. Whether you’re willing to accept what that entails. I’m a vampire. I cannot father children. We will never be able to relax on a sunny beach together, have daytime picnics, go to an amusement park. While I don’t enjoy killing, I won’t hesitate to do so if I feel it’s necessary and sometimes, unfortunately, it is. I’m protective to the point where it might feel overbearing.”
He’s not wrong there, I think wryly, but I remain silent, listening.
“Due to the nature of my job, I spend a lot of time with women. Sometimes they’re naked. If a girl is in danger in the club, I will intervene and help her, and she may not always be clothed. I can’t stop and worry about whether you’d feel jealous.”
“It feels like you’re trying to warn me off you,” I mutter, no longer able to keep quiet. “If you don’t want me, just say so.”
“For fuck’s sake!” With a growl, he yanks me to him, crushing my entire body against the length of his. “You feel that?” He grinds his pelvis against me and there’s no mistaking how rigid his big cock is. “I want you. I fucking love you, Sabina. But I won’t do half-measures with you anymore. If we go ahead with this, I want you to know exactly what to expect.”
“All right,” I whisper. “Please go on.”
“You may feel jealous at times, but I promise you, there’s no need. You’re the most beautiful, fascinating, infuriatingly wonderful girl I’ve met in a long, long time, and I want to love you, protect you, cherish you and make you happy in every way I can.” He thrusts slowly, his hard length grinding against my sex through our clothing, and I gasp as a flood of desire rushes between my legs. “But in order for it to work, you have to do three things: trust me, obey me, and accept me for who I am.”
“Yes, Sir,” I whisper.
“Good girl.” He takes a step back and I already feel the loss. I want him back in my arms. “So here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to go home and think very carefully about whether you want this. Whether you want me. If you do, I will pick you up tomorrow night at eight pm and take you to Toxic, where you will be publicly punished, and then collared.”
“What?” My mind is spinning, my heart threatening to pound its way right out of my ribcage.
“That way, everyone will know you belong to me,” he says. “The punishment won’t be pleasant, like I said, but it won’t be anything you can’t take. You want to atone, and I want to make you. And then I can make you mine in front of everyone. If, on the other hand, you decide you’d rather not continue our relationship, you have until seven tomorrow evening to let me know. It will break my heart but I’ll understand. The ball is in your court, pet.”
I already know I want to be with him; I can’t imagine telling him no. But to be punished in
front of everyone? “Does the punishment have to be public, Sir? I’m afraid.”
He strokes my cheek with a gentle finger. “Do you trust me, Sabina?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Agreeing to this will be the first way you can prove that to me.”
All I want is for him to take me in his arms and then take me to bed, but instead he presses one last brief kiss against my lips, and heads into the kitchen for his car keys.
When Maximus makes his mind up about something, there’s no changing it.
All I know is that I’m in for a sleepless night, and that tomorrow will feel like the longest day of my life as I wait for the sun to set.
25
Maximus
The moment I opened my eyes after waking up, I reached for my phone. After giving Sabina the ultimatum and dropping her off at her car, I spent the rest of the night worrying and pacing. Was it too much pressure? Would the threat of public punishment be what unraveled any chance of a future together? Maybe I should have thought everything through more carefully but then again, I wasn’t lying when I said I loved her, and I dislike half measures. Either she’ll be mine, or she won’t. No more obeying my rules during a scene and then going off and doing whatever she likes—putting herself in danger—whenever I’m not beside her.
To my immense relief, there was no message on my phone, so she hadn’t texted to cancel. I had given her specific instructions to only send me a text if she decided she didn’t want to go ahead with the relationship. If I didn’t hear from her by seven, I would assume she was expecting me to pick her up at eight.
Which is why I’m now walking up the neat little pathway leading to her condo, wearing my best charcoal-grey suit, holding a huge bunch of long-stemmed red roses. My heart is in my mouth, and I feel absurdly like an inexperienced youth going on his first date, which is ridiculous for a man of my age for a whole number of reasons. Still, I can’t stop the grin from tugging at the corners of my mouth, and have to force my expression to be stern when she opens the door.
If I were still human, the sight of her would take my breath away. Her long, gorgeous blonde hair is trailing over bare shoulders. A tight black halter neck top stops just beneath her pert, high breasts, displaying her smooth midriff. A purple and black lacy miniskirt shows off her long legs, which seem even longer due to the mauve high heels she’s wearing.
“You look stunning, pet,” I say, and lean in to drop a brief kiss on her glossy pink mouth.
“Thank you, Sir.” The fear in her voice makes me ache to pull her into my arms but instead I hand her the roses. “Oh wow, they’re gorgeous! Ow! Thorn!” She sucks at her finger and my cock twitches at the sight. “I’ll just go and put them in a vase.”
“Actually, I want you to bring them to Toxic with you,” I tell her. Then, when she looks confused, “We’ll need them for the ceremony.”
“All right. Bye, Felix.” She crouches down and gives her cat a quick rub between the ears before picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I assume you’re driving?”
“You assume correctly.”
She closes the door behind her and we make our way to my Rolls. “Wow. Roses and a Rolls Royce. Pulling out all the stops tonight, I see!”
“Only the best for you, my love.”
I open the passenger door for her and, after putting the roses in the back, she slides into the seat, her smooth, bare thighs creamy against the dark leather. I can still hardly believe my luck—by the end of this evening, this stunning creature will belong to me.
“How was your day?” I ask as we pull out into the traffic.
“Long. Nerve-wracking,” she admits. “I couldn’t stop worrying about the punishment.”
I knew that would be the case. In fact, the anticipation was part of the punishment, but she doesn’t need to know that. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I’m not saying it will be pleasant, but you asked to atone. Or has your guilt disappeared?”
“Oh no, not at all!” There’s genuine sincerity in her voice. “I don’t think I’ll feel better about… what happened… until I really feel like I’ve made it up to you, but I’m still nervous. I think it’s more the case of it being public.”
Again, I knew that, which was why I decided her punishment should take place in one of the open play areas rather than in a booth. “You like watching public scenes,” I say, remembering the ecstatic expression on her face when she observed the needle session the other night. “Just think of it this way: you’ll be giving others that same kind of pleasure tonight.”
“I guess so.” She leans back in her seat and sighs. Reaching out, I place a hand on her thigh. Her flesh is warm and I have to fight the urge to slide my fingers up between her legs.
“You’ll be wonderful, pet. I’ll be the proudest man there. Now, were you a good girl last night? Did you obey me?”
“Yes, Sir. It was hard, but I did.”
“I’m pleased to hear it. And you remember why you were given that instruction?”
Yesterday evening, after taking her to her car in the deserted diner parking lot, I edged Sabina for ten full minutes. Any innocent passersby would have simply seen a couple kissing passionately, but in fact my fingers were inside her pants on her taut, throbbing little clit, rubbing, pinching and caressing it until she was on the brink of climax, then easing off—again and again, until her panties were drenched and she was begging me incoherently, her pleas muffled by my lips and tongue. Then I sent her home with firm instructions not to masturbate or come until I gave her her next orgasm. Another part of the punishment. I do so enjoy torturing girls in that way.
“Because I’m being punished, and bad girls don’t deserve to orgasm,” she whispers, and my cock jerks in my suit pants. I have a lot planned for this evening, and I don’t want to be distracted by my own arousal, so I wait for the next suitable spot and pull into it, parking the car in a deserted layby.
“What are we doing, Sir?”
“You’re going to please me,” I tell her, unzipping my pants. I need to be able to focus on the scene tonight, and this will help take the edge off so I can concentrate. “Pull your skirt up around your waist and kneel on the seat, facing me.”
Sabina complies, and a few moments later her lips are wrapped around my length. She’s on her hands and knees, her bare ass up in the air, pointed at the window. I had instructed her not to wear any panties so now I can see her cunt in the reflection. I grip her hair in my fist, guiding her movements for a while before I grow impatient and hold her head in place while I fuck her throat.
The sight of her so exposed to anyone who might happen to wander by, as well as the delicious sounds she’s making as she gags on my cock, combine to make me come in record time, and I keep her face steady as I pump my seed into her mouth, telling her to be a good little slut and swallow it all.
Once I’ve finally finished throbbing, I release her and tell her she may pull her skirt back down. Her face is flushed, and her eyes have that glazed look they get when she’s aroused. Gods, but I love this woman and her sexual obedience.
“You did well,” I tell her, tucking my cock back into my pants as she settles back into her seat. “Did you enjoy that?”
“I did, Sir.”
“Good girl. Now buckle up.”
Once she’s put her seatbelt back on, I start up the engine. We’re only a few minutes away from the club. Now that the pounding ache in my groin has subsided, I can concentrate on the task ahead of me.
This beautiful girl beside me needs to be punished for what she put me through, and I intend to make sure she will think twice about putting herself at risk in future.
But she’ll be brave, and strong, and she’ll take it, and then I will proudly put my collar on her, showing everyone at Toxic that she’s mine.
I can’t wait.
Sabina
Just as I had predicted, today felt like the longest day of my life. Not becau
se my decision was hard, though. Even as Maximus gave me the ultimatum yesterday, I knew what my answer would be. There was no longer any doubt in my mind that I wanted to be with him. To give it a go, see whether we had any chance together. And I agree with him about no longer wanting half measures. I prefer our relationship to be clearly defined.
You can’t get much more clearly defined than a collar.
But first I need to get through the punishment, and the thought of that is what made it nearly impossible for me to focus on work today. I don’t even really think it matters what Maximus does to me—the fact that it will be public, and the reason why I’m being punished are what are weighing so heavily on my soul.
I was beyond relieved when he suggested giving me a chance to alleviate at least some of the guilt I feel for going to see Zeke behind his back. The look of fear on Maximus’s face when he burst into the clubhouse shook me to my core. After what he went through with Caroline, it must have been like reliving your worst nightmare, and I’m willing to do anything to make up for it.
Which is why I’m gripping his hand now as I follow him into Club Toxic on watery knees and the heels I swore never to wear again. It’s a Monday night, so I didn’t expect it to be very busy, but there are still way too many guests for my liking when we arrive down in the dungeon level.
He has a confident stride, briefly greeting those he knows as we pass them but not stopping to make small talk. His toybag is slung over his shoulder and I try not to look at it. God only knows what he has in store for me.
Once we’ve reached the bar, he orders a double gin and tonic and tells me to lay the roses on the stool beside me. I obey, grateful beyond measure that he’s allowing me this one drink to take the edge off. He already knows me so well.
“I’m just going to sort out the scene area,” he murmurs in my ear, his lips brushing my skin and making me shiver. “Wait here for me and enjoy the drink, it will be your last for a while.”
Her Vampire Addiction (Midnight Doms Book 9) Page 18