“Then she’ll be glad to know I was paying attention. If it’s trouble she wants, it’s trouble she’ll find. As it happens, I’m looking for a play partner, too.”
Chapter Nine
“How long have I worked here?” Reason was calling in a favor. After Hank Sarsarone’s men had fired up the windows and destroyed Clink’s main level, he’d put in well over eighty hours a week, refusing to accept overtime. He’d been helping out his friends.
Now, he wanted them to do the same.
“We need all hands on deck tonight,” Tristan said, pouring gin and grinning.
“I’m asking you to do without these for the next hour.” He flashed his fingers in front of Tristan’s face. “Can you help Kellan cover me?”
“Who is she?”
Reason laughed. “That transparent, huh?”
“Can see right through ya!” Tristan raised his voice over the noise level. “Take the rest of the night if you need it. From what I hear, there’s a problem out at Jade’s place.” He dug in his pocket and threw a set of keys at him. “Jade will need a place to stay.”
“What’s going on?”
“Not sure yet. Kane sent a text just now. Said to keep an eye on Jade and set her up with a place to stay. All I know. Rest will have to wait until closing time.”
Fuck! Reason ripped his headset away from his neck and left it by the cash register. “Jade was right over there.”
“Why you’re officially off for the night.” Tristan didn’t bother looking up again, which told Reason plenty. Even before the problems at Jade’s place, wagers had likely been placed when she walked in the club with her legalized attitude.
He stuffed the keys in his pocket. At one time or another, all the current club owners had lived in the upstairs suite. Now the place was empty. The guys had crashed there a few times during the cleanup effort and it was decked out to the nines.
Reason knew one hot babe destined to enjoy herself.
Ducking under the walk-through at the end of the bar, he was only one step into his march when Katherine jumped up and stalled him. “Not your best move, sugar.”
“Katherine, I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Let me guess where,” she said, tilting her head and studying him with slightly parted lips and a wicked grin. “You’re planning to park that big dick of yours in between that blonde slut’s legs. Am I right?”
He hit the mental rewind button and quickly recalled how Nory had mentioned something about Katherine having it “in for” Jade. His lips twitched as he remembered Nory mentioning Katherine’s age. At the time, he couldn’t imagine a forty-eight-year-old trying to intimidate a twenty-year-old, but Katherine had become more volatile in recent weeks.
Actually, he was being rather nice. The woman was batshit crazy.
“I’m not parking anything anywhere tonight, Katherine,” he said, cringing when he noticed the man with the black wristband making his move. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
“She’s not worth it, Reason.” Katherine swiveled around on her chair. “I can do you dirty. She can do you wrong.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said, pushing by her.
“If you don’t give me what I want tonight, I’ll—”
“Hey, beautiful!” Kellan saved him by setting another drink in front of Katherine. “That good-looking stud at the end of the bar bought you a drink.”
Reason laughed as soon as he saw an oblivious Quinlan Stevens standing where Kellan had pointed. Somebody would soon have his cock rocked thanks to Kellan placing blame. By the time Katherine finished with Quinlan, he’d swear the woman had a few worthy attributes, too. A drunken stupor often washed away any good judgment. After Reason had watched how Katherine treated other women, he wouldn’t dare take Katherine up on a future offer. She was downright dangerous.
Rushing away before Katherine sidetracked him once again, Reason stopped in his tracks when he caught a glimpse of the young couple leading Jade up to the observation deck. The VIP loft was on a six-month wait, which meant the Dom leading Jade around by the nose wasn’t a regular. He’d simply scored a free pass for the night. Frequent Clink patrons typically had annual passes and a few guest passes. VIPs used the elevators. It was a prestige thing.
Come to think of it, Reason hadn’t seen that particular couple before. Not one to panic without a cause, he quickly pursued them at a safe distance, careful not to make eye contact with any club goers for fear someone would stall him.
A few minutes later, he topped the stairs and quietly approached the trio, watching Jade like spectators might view one of the dungeons below. Curiosity led to interest and with that came the longing, a dull desire that grew into outright lust.
That damn dress—regardless of who bought it—was liable to be the death of him.
Blushing, Jade definitely appeared uncomfortable as she watched the couples performing below. Whatever the prick was saying didn’t sit well. The Dom’s submissive seemingly encouraged her, pointing at the cages and commenting on the unfolding scenes.
Reason debated about interrupting them. Perhaps he needed to throw around his weight and just pull Jade out of the situation. Then again, she needed to learn her lesson and he wanted her to learn it well.
Maybe then she would go back and tell Nory all the horrific tales so she wouldn’t even think of stepping foot in a fetish club when she was old enough to patronize them. Plus, Jade needed to realize what she’d opened up when she slipped on that mint green bracelet and invited anyone and everyone to approach her.
In the future, she wouldn’t ask for a color-coded bracelet.
Next time around, she’d skip the wristband.
When Jade had asked for the bracelet, Madden Nichols had all but growled at her. She’d originally met Madden when he’d been guarding Nory and they’d become fast friends. Perhaps that’s why he hadn’t minced words when he affixed the band around her wrist. He’d held his head a little higher in the air and asked, “Do Reason and Kellan know you’re here looking for trouble?”
Thank goodness Ansley had saved her. She’d rushed over to wish Jade a happy birthday and then dragged her away to introduce her to a few staff members. At the very least, Jade had felt welcomed and protected. Kellan had assured her that she was indeed safe there and she understood why. There were cameras everywhere.
She wondered then if Kellan knew she was accompanying this unusual duo to the loft? Would he feel it was a poor decision? She knew the answer there. If anyone made a person feel this uncomfortable, it was a sign.
“Marge and I have always had a healthy appetite,” the young Dom was saying, nodding at one of the chambers below them. “We enjoy a mix of partners. We’ve been tested so no worries there, but—”
Marge’s husband—and Jade couldn’t remember his name—kept rambling. Jade moved closer to the rail, gripping it tightly as she watched a Dom and his sub in the middle of a play session.
She was very much aware of what was happening. Prior to this night, she’d made it her mission to read and research. She’d wanted to understand the leather community. One goal had been at the forefront of her mind since she’d first set eyes on Reason Richards. Now, she longed for more details about the lifestyle Reason and Kellan seemingly enjoyed.
As she watched the Dominant below secure the submissive’s arms above and behind her back, she wondered if she’d made a mistake by coming to the loft. Below them, the Dom swatted his submissive’s ass when she apparently “muttered” something. He seemed overly agitated when she parted her legs for the spreader bar, too. The submissive apparently couldn’t do anything to please him.
“I didn’t ask you to spread your legs, sub.” He chose a whip from the wall and dragged the tail around the floor before he cracked it against her bottom.
Her hair flung in front of her face as her body jounced. “I’m sorry, Sir.”
“You should be.” He grabbed her face and held her tightly. “Do you want me to torture you?”
“If that makes you happy, Sir,” she replied, dropping her head.
He was apparently pleased, given his very visible erection now pressed against his leather slacks. In a matter of minutes, the strappado bondage ensured the bound submissive was at her Dom’s mercy. The contraption forced her head down, her arms back. With the spreader bar widening her legs and the bent position forced by the rope, her bare ass was exposed. She was certainly in a vulnerable position.
“Do you like this sort of thing?” She jumped at the sound of Reason’s voice but slowly turned. She was too aware of everything then—the lurking couple, the Dom grumbling about the terms of their play session and how he’d hoped to start right away, but now Reason was in the mix. And he watched her with pure devilment dancing in his forest-green eyes.
“I don’t think I’m cut out for torture.”
“Would you like to find out?” His voice held a deeper and darker quality. She loved the way he eyed her then, the way he seemingly stood back in an effort to give her space while allowing himself enough room to gaze-grope.
Reason turned his back to the couple who’d escorted her there, paying close attention to the show below and the Dom now flogging his sub. “They play here often. She has a high pain threshold.”
“Do you like hurting your subs?”
“Absolutely not.”
They stood next to one another, only a few feet apart, and viewed the various play sessions in progress. She tried to figure out what he seemed to enjoy most.
Reason focused on the spanking chambers. She couldn’t help but notice how his gaze shifted back to the strappado bondage cage when the Dom hand-spanked his submissive.
“Do you like watching strangers fuck?”
She gulped. Had he really just asked her that particular question? “Well, I’ve never …”
He turned to her. His strong, handsome features softened and he said, “The couple there in the strappado suite will begin fucking in about three minutes, maybe four. They’re predictable, boring, but for someone who isn’t used to observing, you may find it exciting.”
“Do you want me to watch them?”
He jerked then, seemingly surprised she would ask. Instead of responding, he took a step back and really gave her a good visual groping, starting at her face, sliding his gaze down her neck, holding at her chest, zooming in on her stomach—which tightened at the sight of his cock straining against his jeans—and then finally dipping to her lower half and back up again. She felt exposed and anxious.
When he didn’t answer, she nervously tucked a fallen lock of hair behind her ear. “I shouldn’t have asked you that. It wasn’t appropriate.”
“I opened the floor for conversation when I asked if you liked watching strangers fuck.”
As if he’d brushed her breasts with his tongue or fingers, her nipples spiked and her pussy dampened. There was something about the bite in his voice, the rasp in his tone, that made her head swim with illicit ideas.
“Yes, you did do that,” she said, wishing she could kick herself for sounding so whipped. He’d never even kissed her, yet she responded to him in a way that would perhaps suggest they’d been lovers or at least discussed the option.
“What’s appropriate here or anywhere for that matter?” Reason reached behind her head and loosened the pins holding her curls away from her face. As her hair tumbled to her nape, she shivered. How often had she dreamt about Reason touching her? She didn’t even care that she’d gone to an expensive hair designer for an up-do. The moment he loosened her strands and ran his fingers through her hair, she realized her money had been well spent.
“There we go.” He smiled. “You’re beautiful.”
She quickly looked away for fear she would smile so wide her gums would show. He ran his knuckles from her chin to cheek, stroking her skin with a gentleman’s hand.
Below them, the Dom was anything but a gentleman.
Standing in front of his sub, he whipped out his cock and fed her his dick. Smacking her face when she didn’t suck him aggressively enough, he cursed aloud. “Don’t embarrass me with your performance!”
Pulled out of the moment, Jade said, “I can’t watch this.”
“You will watch if you stay with us.” Marge’s Dom-husband stepped forward. He nodded at Reason and said, “You’re one of the bartenders. Right?”
“Reason Richards.” He stuck his hand out. The man ignored it. Reason seemed glad of the fact and quickly added, “This young lady is someone I know and if she says she doesn’t want to observe, she won’t.”
The man seemed unmoved. “She’ll survive.”
Reason took her hand and laced their fingers together. “Yes, she will. She’s celebrating her twenty-first birthday and the reason she came to Clink tonight is because she hopes to spend her birthday with me.”
Chapter Ten
Reason Richards was a lot of things. He was a sensible man who had been taught to respect his elders, cherish the women in his life, and remain true to who he was regardless of the circumstances. He respected those who embraced those same ideas and principles, but working at Clink had educated him in another area as well. Very often young women entered the club unprepared for what came next.
They walked into Clink with great expectations, yet they had no real grasp of what they’d soon discover. As Reason led the way upstairs to the suite above the club, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if he hadn’t been there to run interference between Jade and the couple. They clearly had their own ideas of how Jade should spend her evening.
He paused and held out his hand. “Watch your step here.”
Jade placed her hand in his. “Thank you.” Once she was on even flooring again, she pulled back.
Instead of freeing her, Reason kept them palm to palm. He could tell she wasn’t entirely comfortable holding hands, but he didn’t make a big deal out of it. Instead, he tightened his grip and looked straight ahead, counting out the twenty paces to the double doors at the end of the hall. Moments later, they entered Clink’s residential quarters, which reminded him of a Vegas high-roller suite.
Reason locked the door behind them and took a seat on the circular sofa.
Jade had only taken one step forward when he said, “Stop.”
She came to an abrupt halt, clearly perplexed. “Here?”
“Yes.” He spread his arms over the back of the sofa, studying the gorgeous young woman in front of him.
A place like Clink could ruin a woman like Jade. Men like Reason could destroy her but he was aware of that fact and very cautious because of it. Reason didn’t want to wreck Jade’s innocence. Oh no, he wanted to capture it. He wanted to cherish every last drop of inexperience and school her in a practical way, a more civilized manner.
He gave her a thorough gaze fuck, perusing her body with keen interest. The hard press of her nipples, once he aroused her, would be obvious in that sleek style. The clingy material gathered under her breasts and he could only imagine how beautiful she would look once he made her more aware of her desires, more in tune with her needs.
“This is a beautiful place,” she said nervously.
“You’ll be staying here tonight.”
“But—”
“It’s not open for discussion.”
“I need to at least talk to Kellan.”
“So you’re already loyal to Kellan?”
“We’re involved on some level.”
“Yes,” Reason drawled. “I know. So why do you have the bracelet?”
Jade lifted her arm and stared at her wrist. “I don’t know.”
“Sure you do. Madden only gives them to people who ask for them.” He cocked his head. “Does Kellan let you get by with this kind of thing?”
About that time, Kellan emerged from the bathroom. Reason smirked. “Couldn’t stand the thought of us spending time alone, huh?”
“Not a chance.” Kellan walked over to Jade and tilted her chin to his. “Tell us the truth ab
out the wristband, baby.”
Reason didn’t comment on the pet names. Instead, he studied Kellan and Jade carefully, wondering if Kellan even suspected the obvious. The man was already down for the count.
“If you’re sex-seeking, Jade, you really didn’t have to look that far.” Reason spread his legs and watched her reaction as her gaze lingered at his belt and then slipped lower.
“I wasn’t looking for sex, exactly,” she said.
“What were you doing?” Kellan asked, unbuttoning his shirt and letting it hang open.
Reason remembered something his uncle had once told him. He’d said, “When a woman is bound to her Dom, you’ll sense it. You’ll know it by watching them together. You can pick out which submissive women truly trust their Doms just by the way they respond to their voice, react to various actions.”
From the moment Kellan had entered the room, Jade had assumed a submissive’s role. She’d presented herself in a respectful manner whether she realized it or not. She’d lowered her head and gaze and just seemed different. She was relaxed, yet more attentive at the same time.
Kellan, on the other hand, was anxious, angst-ridden, and it didn’t have anything to do with spending quality time with Jade. Something had happened.
“Did you ask Tristan for the rest of the night off?” Reason asked.
“I think Tristan and everyone else knew where our minds were tonight.” Kellan circled her, touching her shoulders, skimming her chest, running his fingers up and down the sides of her breasts.
Reason was just plain hard from watching them together, but he wasn’t about to move forward without handling an issue from the recent past. Jade needed to be punished for the wristband stunt. She knew nothing about the club or its patrons. Slipping that bracelet on before knowing what to expect was a dangerous move.
“Do you like to be hand-spanked?” Reason asked.
Jade shuddered. Kellan immediately came to a halt behind her. He pulled her against him, holding her by the waist while cupping her right breast. He flicked her nipple and grinned when she trembled. “Tell him, sweetheart.”
Screw Me Sideways [Clink 1: A Cowboy Sex Story] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge) Page 7