For all his hard, dirty words, his kiss was gentle. As if he understood how close to completely overwhelmed she was. His mouth was hot against hers, his lips teasing, nibbling.
She couldn’t help it, couldn’t hold herself back; she melted into the embrace. Her lips opened at the insistence of his tongue, and he took her mouth deeper, but just as slowly and carefully.
A knot of need twisted in her as he pulled her closer—a burn in her belly she’d never ever felt for a man, especially not just while kissing him.
And he wanted to fuck her in ways she didn’t even understand.
She was not in the same league as Lukas. He’d told her Sunday that she would never fake an orgasm with him, but that was because he’d never been in a position where he had to. He didn’t know what it was like to have your body feel completely numb at what should be pleasurable. To fake it because it was easier to do that than to explain what was wrong, when nothing should be.
Yeah, she’d gotten all hot and bothered the other night at the club. But that was the exception, very definitely not the rule.
How long before the Ice Queen made an appearance?
She couldn’t bear to think of the disgust Lukas was bound to have once he realized how cold she really was. She couldn’t do this.
“Princess, what’s wrong? Where did you go?” He asked against her mouth.
She yanked away.
“I’m not what you think, Lukas. Not that woman. Just stay away from me.”
Before he could say anything else, if he was even going to be bothered to , she turned and fled.
Chapter Seven
The next afternoon Reina sat in her apartment staring down at her desk, her eyes glued to the Torres Software report she’d hacked so she could study it. As painful as that was, it was a whole lot better than looking over at the box that sat on the edge of the small space.
The box Lukas had sent this morning.
The box that once again contained the nipple clamps, and anal plug, and then some sort of flogger thing. A short handle with multiple soft leather straps.
A card too. But she hadn’t opened it.
She ignored the box and focused on the report, but the more she read, the sicker she became. These numbers weren’t right.
Peter was stealing from customers—loyal Torres Software customers who had trusted her father and his company with the ins and outs of their businesses. But what made it worse was that Peter was making it look like this had been happening for years, that her father was the one who’d been stealing, and that Peter had been spending the time he’d controlled the business figuring it out and trying to stop the damages.
There was no way in hell that was the truth, but that’s what the numbers would say if Peter went down right now. Getting into the Rinaldi’s server was more important now than ever. Two weeks. That was all it would take for her software patch to run, to collect the data. It was a feeder, not unlike a virus, so it would branch out into any other businesses the Rinaldi family was electronically connected to.
It was completely unethical, tantamount to theft, actually, since she would in fact be taking money out of certain accounts without their permission. The money wouldn’t be much, and it wouldn’t be spent, but it would still be theft.
She wasn’t so naive not to know that she would be in pretty risky territory. She’d be stealing money from the mafia and businesses associated with La Cosa Nostra. Very dangerous people, with the Rinaldi brothers at the top of that list.
But they would never know. She’d be in and out with no one the wiser.
And at the end of the two weeks, her software would allow her to prove with certainty how much Peter had been taking and for how long. It would clear her father’s name. It may be too late to save Torres Software, but if it was going down, people would know it was not because of choices her beloved papa had made.
Turning to her mother wasn’t an option. She was the one who had given up complete financial control to Peter in the first place. Reina was pretty sure she and Peter had been having an affair before her dad even died.
She would do whatever she had to do to prove her father’s innocence, to keep the good name of Torres Software alive—she glanced over at the box again—even if it meant taking on Lukas Rinaldi.
Unbidden, her fingers crept towards the box, once again moving the red tissue paper out of the way. She picked up the flogger and ran it lightly down her arm. The leather was so soft. So smooth. She slapped it against the top of her thigh to get an understanding of what it would feel like.
Not painful. Of course, if someone used more force, it would move to pain quickly enough.
How much would Lukas use?
How much did she want him to?
Was she really even considering this?
She set the flogger down and opened the card that had come in the box.
That’s twice you’ve run out on me without a proper goodbye. In my world, that can get someone punished.
I think you’d like the flogger. It’s not something to be scared of. Show up on Friday, ten pm, and I’ll show you. I promise, it will be even better than Sunday. Better than you ever dreamed sex could be.
Let me push your limits, princess.
Oh, God.
Who was she kidding? She couldn’t take on Lukas. And not just because she was about to illegally hack into his computer system.
She ran her fingers over her lips, remembering yesterday’s kiss. No, she needed to stay away from him for entirely different reasons. She couldn’t even do regular sex well, forget the kind of really intense sex he wanted, even if the thought of it had some sort of direct connection to the most feminine parts of herself. She would never be able to keep his attention, so no need to even walk down that path.
She touched the flogger once more, surprised at how sad she was at the thought that she’d never feel it against her skin at Lukas’s hand. Would she trust him enough to know what was too much and what wasn’t?
She would. There wasn’t much question in her mind about that. He would know what to do. He wouldn’t hurt her without some sort of pleasure payoff.
She was so tempted to show up tomorrow night, like he’d commanded in the notes, and just see what happened. But she couldn’t. She had to stay as far away from Lukas Rinaldi as possible.
Which was why she was going to sneak back into Deeper Threat —God, had there ever been a more perfect name for a secret sex club?—tonight. He said he didn’t work Tuesdays and Thursdays, so he wouldn’t be there. No chance of being caught by Lukas.
Of course, also no chance of being pleasured by Lukas, to see if her actually screaming while she came was a fluke like she very much expected it was.
Plus, great sex wasn’t the goal. The goal was saving Torres Software. Or if she couldn’t do that, at least save her father’s precious name and reputation.
When she didn’t show up on Friday, Lukas would leave her alone, and that would be it. Her life would go back to normal. No butt plugs, floggers, or nipple clamps. No exposing herself in a hallway while the man she’d always found insanely attractive brought her to sexual heights she hadn’t even known could exist for her.
Back to normal. Out of New Orleans and the sultry heat.
It was better that way.
Chapter Eight
Lukas didn’t spend a lot of his time off at either of the clubs. He had other things that needed his attention, plus he oftentimes just needed to get away from both.
But not tonight. Even though it was his day off, he was back at Deeper Threat. He wanted to make sure he had everything planned out right for when Reina arrived tomorrow night at ten pm.
If she arrived.
She was nervous, and he didn’t blame her. The BDSM scene could be pretty overwhelming when someone first got involved, trying to sort through what was scary because it was hot and what was just plain scary. Soft limits, hard limits. Trust.
And it would be his pleasure to help her highness navigate throug
h that.
He chuckled. Despite her name, Reina never acted entitled or like she was better than anyone else, despite her genius IQ. He’d been doing a little digging on her the past couple days. And damned if he wasn’t impressed with what he found. Proud, even, in the least condescending way possible, because she didn’t need him to be.
Companies from all over the country brought her in to solve their software problems and make their systems more efficient. And she was well-paid for the privilege. Her apartment here in New Orleans may be on the smaller side, but it wasn’t because she couldn’t afford something better. Probably just because she didn’t plan to be here long.
What Lukas didn’t know was why she was here at all. He believed her when she said she wasn’t an employee of Torres Software, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t here to help her uncle. And Roman was right—the fact that these rumors of trouble with the firm neatly coincided with her arrival could not be ignored.
So maybe he would ease her into the world of domination her subconscious and body so definitely wanted. And God, how she wanted it. Had he ever seen anything so sexy as her putting her hands on his desk yesterday when he’d commanded her to? She’d just obeyed because that’s how she was wired sexually.
And it fucking turned him on.
He hadn’t been lying yesterday when he said that submission had nothing to do with disrespect. Submission—giving over trust—was so fucking sexy and brave. It didn’t make a woman less of a force for doing so. It just meant she was in touch with herself enough to know what she wanted. A special kind of power.
He’d trust that person with his money over someone floundering around in a vanilla relationship any day.
God, he really hoped Reina showed up tomorrow night. He knew she was scared and didn’t blame her. It would probably make her even more scared to know if she chickened out, didn’t show up, he wasn’t giving up. There would be more packages. More cards. He would get her back in the club even if he had to show up at her house and escort her back himself.
And spank her until she came for the trouble.
“I’m afraid to even ask what that little grin means.”
Lukas looked over at the two people who had joined him at the bar without him even realizing it. He smiled at them both. “Margo. Victor. How’s it going for you two?”
They were both regulars at Deeper Threat and both important, powerful members of La Cosa Nostra.
Margo squeezed his shoulder. “That smile generally means you are thinking of some creative way to punish some poor little submissive. Watching that usually makes for the most interesting part of my weekend.”
Margo, complete with platinum blonde hair in her mid-40s, was a switch. Depending on what partner she was playing with, she could either be dominant or submissive. Victor, like Lukas, was a dominant only. Victor was a master in the Japanese form of Shibari.
While Lukas could appreciate the beauty of a woman tied with those intricate knots, he didn’t have the patience required to do it thimself.
“No, believe it or not, this is more about easing someone into the lifestyle. She’s not quite ready for creative punishments. Yet.”
Victor chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll get her there.”
Oh, he would. And if he wasn’t mistaken, Reina would take to it like a fish to water. And he just couldn’t wait.
“You two playing tonight?” he asked as they ordered a drink from Brax.
“Maybe,” Margo said. “I can’t decide what sort of mood I’m in. I might see if I can find a couple who can fit me in to their plans.”
Victor took a sip of his club soda, which Lukas knew meant he definitely had plans for tonight. He didn’t drink when he’d be restraining a submissive in his intricate knots. The session required too much focus. People tended not to realize how much permanent harm could be done by that type of restraint if care wasn’t used.
“I’ve got a session planned in an hour with a dancer.” Victor waggled his eyebrows. “Very flexible.”
Margo spotted a couple who piqued her interest and said her goodbyes to Lukas and Victor. The men talked for a while more until it was time for Victor to get ready for his binding scene. The dancer had evidently told him to do his worst, as long as it wouldn’t hurt her. When Victor explained what he had in mind, Lukas had winced.
He hoped the dancer was very flexible.
It was getting later now. A Thursday, so not too busy, but certainly enough to be interesting. Lukas watched as a blindfolded, naked, and restrained submissive had hot wax dripped up and down her torso by her dom. She gasped as the wax came closer to her nipples and then her bare pussy with each pass, the purple wax making a lovely design on her skin as it dried.
He looked away to answer a question Brax asked him but knew the exact moment the wax hit the woman’s clit by her high-pitched wail followed by sobbing breaths as she came.
A beautiful sound if he’d ever heard one. Almost as sexy a Reina’s soft scream in his ear last weekend.
What would it take to get her to scream so loudly the entire room would stop and look? Lukas planned to find out, hopefully tomorrow. But if not, he could be a patient man. If the prize was worth it.
And Reina was.
Lukas watched as Victor’s dancer arrived and saw her eyes widen when he explained what he planned to do. Her nod was full of trepidation.
Lukas chuckled. Never tell a dom to do his worst.
He’d stick around and see the naked woman hanging by the ceiling, legs spread wide, arms wrapped around her own knees. A set of pulleys would allow Victor to lower her and impale her on his cock. She wouldn’t be able to do anything but take what he gave her.
He thought of Reina restrained that way, long brown hair flowing down her back, brown eyes watching Lukas with half fear, half desire, unable to move as he brought her to orgasm after orgasm. Mouth, fingers, cock… there were so many options.
An hour later, he was so busy thinking about her, cock half hard in his pants, that he thought his mind had projected her when he saw her in the same dark hallway as last week. As a matter of fact, if she hadn’t turned back to watch Victor as he indeed lowered his dancer, now sprawled and tied, down on his cock and began to fuck her from different positions, twisting the pulley system to place the dancer wherever he desired, Lukas would’ve missed Reina all together.
What the hell was she doing here? Again, having snuck in.
It wasn’t Friday night, but he didn’t care. He’d been thinking about her all night. The half hard-on he’d sported turned fully hard as he saw her mouth open in a gasp as she watched Victor spin the dancer, her tied legs out in a perfect V, and begin fucking her from behind.
Lukas set his glass down on the bar and moved around the other side of the room, keeping Reina in his sights. She didn’t seem able to drag her gaze away from the scene. Not that Lukas could blame her for watching. The dancer was begging Victor now to touch her clit. The way she was tied allowed him to fuck her with no stimulation there whatsoever if he desired.
Victor sat down in an armless chair he’d prepared and lowered the pulley system further. Since it held all of her weight, he could turn her spread legs at a diagonal, one up on his shoulder, the foot of her other barely touching the ground between his legs. He fucked her hard from that angle, taking mercy on her this time and playing with her clit as he did. She came immediately, sobbing, the rest of her body completely still, held by her bindings.
“Don’t worry darling, I’m not done,” Victor said, standing, much to the crowd’s pleasure. As the dancer struggled to recover some sort of mental composure, he checked her bindings to make sure nothing was cutting off circulation. Satisfied that everything was working as he’d intended, he moved the pulley system again, repositioning her so her body was flat out in front of him, almost as if she was levitating.
And began fucking her again. Her moans—then sobs—seemed to pour out of her body.
Reina finally turned away. Lukas had planned to fol
low her to wherever she went in the club, so he was surprised when she turned towards the door—towards him—as if she was about to exit. But what the hell, that worked too.
“Hey there, princess. You’re a night early, but don’t worry, this works just fine for me too. Strip. Every piece of clothing off right now.”
Chapter Nine
Oh God.
“Lukas…”
She could barely see his eyes in the darkened hallway but saw them narrow as he leaned back against the door she would need to get through to exit. “Why are you here, princess?”
The words were soft, but the lack of volume didn’t make her feel any more safe. She couldn’t tell him the truth.
“I-I…” Oh God.
“I think I explained when you came to see me in my office yesterday that the membership to this club is very exclusive. Non-members are not allowed to wander around un-escorted. Why are you here, Reina?”
She hated that tone, hated that it wasn’t the playful, sexy Lukas who’d held her Sunday night, but Lukas Rinaldi, underboss of La Cosa Nostra dealing with an intruder. What would he do if he found out the truth?
“I was curious, sir,” she whispered. “Wasn’t sure if I could handle it tomorrow so thought I would… observe again tonight to see if I could come to a decision.”
He relaxed just the slightest bit. “How did you get down here this time? I know for a fact we had an electronic lock placed on the door upstairs.”
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
“I-I…”
He stepped away from the door. “You used that giant brain of yours and figured out some way to pick it.”
Well, actually, she’d used information she’d hacked from his personal computer to find the combination in an email that had been sent out to employees.
“Yes.”
“Did you think I would be here tonight?”
“No—no, sir.”
He took a step closer. “Sir. I like the sound of that on your lips.”
She would’ve never risked coming if she’d thought he was here. Reina had finally found the server room in the back corner, down a hall past the bathrooms and a small kitchen. She’d used a program that had gotten her past the electronic lock and into the room itself. She’d almost gotten the software patch—the one that would give her unlimited access to the Rinaldi family’s businesses, and others they were connected to, operational when she’d heard the electronic lock click open again.
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