• • •
After, they showered in Alex’s ridiculously large bathroom. His bathtub was as big as a Jacuzzi, and with her muscles sore from Alex’s attentions, she had ached to soak in it.
Alex, however, had had other ideas. He had pulled her into his glass-walled shower. The four rainfall showerheads had been a new experience in luxury and pleasure, as had the smaller, handheld one that he had aimed between her legs.
“May I borrow a T-shirt and maybe some sweats to get home in?” Silence greeted Maddy’s words, and when she turned to see if Alex had heard her, she winced at his expression, wondering if she had somehow broken one of the unspoken rules of their new relationship.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something bright peeking out from beneath the bed, something that seemed out of place. It was a bright orange rubber ball, its color conspicuous in the masculine room that was all done up in black, gray, and slate blue.
She opened her mouth to ask Alex about it, but the question promptly fled her head with his next words.
“I’d like you to stay the night, Maddy.”
Cautiously, she examined the idea and found she liked his invitation to stay with him. Her guilt was currently a small shadow lurking in the back of her mind—present, because it always would be, but for the first time since the accident, she was happy enough that it didn’t overwhelm her.
Maddy found that, at the moment at least, she didn’t want to retreat to the comfort of her own apartment. She wanted to be wherever Alex was.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go?” Perhaps he wanted her to stay the night because of the thing he’d called sub care. He’d described it to her as he’d hustled her off to the shower and held her in his arms beneath the steaming water.
A Dom was responsible for the care of his sub after an intense experience like the one they’d just had. Maybe that care extended all night.
She had now been to a BDSM club, but Maddy still had no idea about so many things in Alex’s world.
“I’d actually like you to stay the weekend. You have the next two days off, right?” Maddy nodded, her heart in her throat.
The entire weekend? She didn’t have any clothes. She didn’t have her toothbrush, or her comb, or the little bottle of her antianxiety medication that she used only as an extreme measure.
She could feel the tension growing in her body. Alex dropped his towel and moved closer, clasping the back of her neck and rubbing.
“Easy.” As always, his touch calmed her. “I’m not going to make you. But am I correct in thinking that you want to?”
Maddy considered, then nodded.
Yes. Yes, that was definitely what she wanted.
“So you’re worried because you’re not prepared?”
She frowned a bit. It wasn’t always the easiest thing, the way Alex seemed to have a direct line to her thoughts.
But . . . he was right. Again.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s anal. I just like having my things. It . . . lets me relax, a bit.” It sounded so stupid when she said it out loud. She wanted to hang her head. If Alex had been looking for some simple sex and fun when they’d met, he’d sure picked the wrong woman.
“Hmm.” He was considering. “Well, there are two options. You can give Declan your key, and he can go to your place and gather up what you need.”
“No way!” Maddy wasn’t sending the poor man off to Paradise, Nevada, to retrieve her toothbrush. He was probably in bed with his wife, his girlfriend, someone right at that very moment, and she wasn’t pulling him away from it.
“I thought that’s what you’d say.” Again, his ease at predicting her reactions caught her off guard. They hadn’t known each other for very long, but it felt, in a way, as if they’d known each other for their entire lives.
“So here’s the other option. I have toothbrushes. I have soap. I have everything you could need, or access to get it. They’re not the ones you’re used to, but they’re yours.” Maddy’s ever-softening heart wanted to read more into his words than Alex likely meant. “In the morning, I’ll send Declan to get you some clothes. Do you think you can make it until then?”
She looked up sharply. His face was sober—he wasn’t making fun of her. For that alone, she would say yes.
“I don’t have any pajamas.” As she whispered this, Maddy stood on her tiptoes, bracing her hands on his shoulders. He was completely naked, and she was wrapped in nothing but a towel.
Her heart began to race for a reason entirely apart from panic.
Alex grinned, then bent to press a light kiss over her lips.
“You won’t need any.”
• • •
“I need a date.” At his words, Maddy looked up from her seat at Alex’s feet almost lazily. They had been in the bedroom for most of the lazy Saturday, with the exception of some business calls on Alex’s part. She’d finally called a time-out and as a precaution had dressed herself in the jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt that Declan had purchased from heaven knew where.
That morning, Maddy had woken up to find bags of new clothes, toiletries, and makeup at the foot of the bed. She’d protested—she’d thought that Declan would go to her apartment to get her own things.
“It’s just money, babe.” Alex had shrugged his shoulders in a way that told her he wasn’t entirely comfortable with her questioning his generosity. “And it was easier for Declan to do this than to drive to Paradise.”
Maddy knew this, but still . . .
“It’s too much. Have him return some of it.” Most of it. She’d picked out a few pieces of makeup, some jeans, and pajamas. “This is nuts.”
Alex opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. It wasn’t like him to censor himself, but when he spoke again, she understood why.
“Maybe we can just put them in another room here.” His words were cautious, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. “You can use them when you stay over.”
Relax, Maddy. This doesn’t mean anything big. It’ll take months to train you properly as a submissive. That’s all he’s referring to.
It didn’t feel like that was all, but she’d shoved that voice away. She’d argued, and he’d gotten bossy. He’d finally shut her up by pushing her back onto his bed.
Now it was late afternoon, and they hadn’t done a thing all day except enjoy each other.
“I thought you didn’t date.” Maddy watched him closely as soon as she spoke, realizing that she may not have said the right thing.
“Hmm.” Alex was wearing nothing but a pair of black lounge pants, which sat low on his hips. The sight of the ripples of his abdomen and biceps was a constant distraction.
He ignored her words, instead pulling her closer to him, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Still, she gave herself a little internal lecture.
That’s right. He doesn’t date, Maddy. Whatever he has in mind, it’s all part of his submissive agreement. It means nothing.
“I need a date for tonight. I have an event.” Taking her by the hand, Alex led Maddy back over to the bed. There was still one box from Declan’s shopping spree that morning, one that Alex hadn’t wanted her to open right away.
She’d been curious, but since she’d been protesting the quantity of the purchases on her behalf, she hadn’t had much of a leg to stand on in pressing to know the contents.
“It’s a formal date.” Alex nudged the box over to Maddy. “I’d like you to wear this.”
She looked at the box with trepidation. “It’s not another bustier, is it?”
Alex stared at her, then threw back his head and laughed. Once it seemed to be out of his system, he pinned her with his Dom look, and she gulped.
“The event happens to be a work function. But if it pleased me for you to attend wearing nothing but your underwear, you would do so. Am I correct?”
Maddy tried to smooth out her features, her sensitive areas still sore. She couldn’t handle any more punishment at that moment. Or any more p
leasure, for that matter.
“I’m waiting, Maddy.”
She bit her lip, hard, in an effort to keep her expression neutral. “Yes, Sir.” Part of her longed to tell him, I’d like to see you try, but even to herself she couldn’t argue with the pleasure she found in submitting to his will.
“Open it.” The cardboard was stiff and unwieldy as she tried to pry the lid off. Finally, the stiff golden cardboard gave way, and the lid opened to reveal a mountain of sparkly tissue paper.
Beneath the tissue was one of the most beautiful garments she had ever seen.
“Alex, it’s exquisite.” Slowly, Maddy pulled the swath of silk and lace out of the box. It was a dress—a gorgeous, amazing, incredibly expensive dress.
At first look, it wasn’t much more than a short little strapless dress, cut from gorgeous midnight-colored silk. Sexy, but not overly unique.
But as the eye traveled down and found the lace that began at midthigh and fell in sumptuous waves to the ankle, it became something much more.
Maddy was speechless.
“Alex.” She opened her mouth to argue, but as she did, she saw a flicker in his eyes that told her, somehow, that he really wanted her to accept this.
Accepting it made her incredibly uncomfortable.
She wanted to please him.
“Thank you.” His face softened into one of those sexy grins. “Are you going to tell me where I’m going to be wearing this amazing dress?”
He grinned again. “You’ll find out.”
A knock sounded through the closed bedroom door.
“Come in!” Maddy was alarmed by the sudden change as Alex welcomed whoever was on the other side of the door. She’d been enjoying the little cocoon that she and Alex had been living in all day.
A tall, skinny man dressed in yoga pants and with a bright blue asymmetrical hairstyle bustled into the room, carrying an enormous bag. Behind him was a gorgeous, curvy Latina woman, with sleek curls that fell down past her shapely rear.
“Maddy, this is Rocco and Angelina. They’re here to do your hair and makeup.” The pair began to circle her like sharks, commenting on her appearance as if she weren’t there, and she lost sight of Alex for a moment.
Highlights were mentioned and so was bikini waxing.
“Alex, where the hell are we going tonight?”
Rocco grabbed Maddy’s hand and hauled her to the bathroom to wash her hair. There were yet more mutters, these ones about hairspray and eyebrow waxing.
Maddy didn’t like how Alex had maneuvered her into a corner, where she didn’t have much choice but to attend this party with him. At the same time, she found it sweet that he had thought of things like hair and makeup. She was appalled at how much money he must have been spending on her.
“Alex!”
Like any sane male, he was trying to slip out the door while she was distracted. When he heard the sharpness in her tone, he turned.
Maddy planted her feet in the entrance to the bathroom before Rocco the tugboat could pull her right on in. She raised an eyebrow, fully aware that, for one brief moment, she had a sliver of an upper hand.
“The event. What is it?”
Alex eyed the bowl of purple gel that Rocco passed under Maddy’s nose, wanting to know if the scent appealed. He couldn’t quite swallow the smirk of amusement over her discomfiture.
“We’re going to a party at Massimo Santorini’s house.”
It took her a moment, and then she remembered. “The man from the casino in Paradise? The one who thought I was a prostitute?” Her mouth fell open, and she shooed Angelina away as she stared at Alex. “No. No way. He’s going to think something even worse, especially if I show up in a dress so expensive that you clearly had to buy it for me!”
Not to mention that something about the man made her nervous. She didn’t like him and would have preferred to stay far, far away.
When she looked up at Alex again, her protesting came to a halt. He’d gone all Dom on her again, and she knew even before he crossed to where she stood and caught her chin in his hand that this was a battle she would lose.
“He will behave himself, or I will pull from the deal, which to him would be worse than being castrated. Understand that we are only attending this function to sweeten the deal. So you will allow Rocco and Angelina to do your makeup and hair. You will get dressed, and you will meet me in the front entryway at precisely six thirty.”
Maddy pinched her lips together. This time she couldn’t help herself, and the glare transformed her face.
It was difficult accepting his orders, when they were so entirely contrary to what she really wanted, which was to kick Rocco and Angelina out of the room and to return to the cozy comfort of the afternoon that she and Alex had spent together, reading, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and exploring each other’s bodies.
It was strange to feel the discordance, because in the short time in which Maddy had known him, she found that quite often what he wanted was what she wanted, too.
“Keep pushing, Maddy.” Alex’s voice was dangerous, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Or what?” She gasped when his fingers worked their way between the denim of her jeans and the skin of her hip. Right there, in front of two strangers, he caught the elastic string at the side of her panties and tugged.
The movement pulled the lace over her clit, and pleasure washed over her in a hot wave.
“For the attitude, you lose these.” He tugged the elastic one more time, and Maddy had to grab at his shoulder to stay standing. A sadistic smile was on his lips—he knew exactly what he was doing to her.
“What do you mean, I lose them?” She didn’t like where this was going.
“No panties under your dress.” Maddy recoiled in shock.
She couldn’t go to a party at Massimo Santorini’s house without underpants. It was just so wrong.
“Do you remember the butterfly vibrator that I used on you, that one night in your apartment?” Maddy’s face heated, and she couldn’t help but squirm.
“Of course I do.” She wasn’t likely to forget anything about that night. She remembered Alex tying the straps around her hips, parting her labia with his fingers, and then settling the hard nub of the toy directly over her clit.
Need washed over her, causing her nipples to pucker and dampness to pool between her legs.
“I see that you do.” The smile of a predator who had scented his prey made her wish he would throw her on the bed, Rocco and Angelina be damned.
“If you push me any further, you will wear the butterfly beneath your dress tonight. I will have the controller with me. You’ll have no idea when I will turn it on, or for how long. You’ll wear it all night.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the strings that comprised the toy, as well as the remote.
“I’m going to leave it here on the bed as a reminder. Don’t even think about hiding it, or your punishment will only get worse.”
Maddy had no retort, feeling aroused, nervous, and angry all at the same time. It was a heady mix of emotions.
She watched as Alex moved back to the door, gesturing toward the bathroom with his head to remind her that she had company, before she said anything too outrageous. Just before he left, he tossed one final thing back over his shoulder.
“I should mention, Maddy, that the punishment will only get worse for you. I’ll enjoy every minute of it.”
Dumbfounded, when Rocco pulled Maddy back into the bathroom, she didn’t resist.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Despite her ongoing hesitations about spending more time in Massimo Santorini’s company, Maddy had survived the makeover treatment and found herself ready to enjoy an evening at Alex’s side.
As they exited the vehicle, with Alex commenting, “What a monstrosity,” Maddy nodded in complete agreement, transfixed by the sight of the house that Massimo Santorini called home.
It was a Gothic horror show, standing out from all of its blander neighbors like the
stereotypical sore thumb.
“It looks like Frankenstein lives here,” Maddy whispered to Alex as a valet gleefully drove the Turbo away and they made their way to the entrance of the house. “I’m kind of afraid.”
“At least there’ll be lots of dark coffins for doing dark deeds.” Alex waggled his eyebrows at her in an exaggerated gesture, and she laughed in return.
She wasn’t mad at him anymore. No, she had sat through the hair and makeup, grimaced through the eyebrow waxing and firmly declined the matching bikini grooming.
She’d put her dress on and taken her panties off.
But she had one little surprise for him, one that made her feel a whole lot better about the situation. She grinned to herself, savoring the anticipation.
“Speaking of dark deeds . . .” Maddy smiled at the butler who stood at the front door with flutes of some kind of sparkling wine. When she saw that she’d gotten Alex’s attention, she reached into the small clutch she carried and removed the tiny object that she’d secreted away. “I have this for you.”
Alex studied the small remote control for the butterfly for a moment before it hit him what it was.
The look on his face was well worth the wait.
“You’re wearing it? Right now?” Alex took the glass of wine from her hand and downed it in one big gulp. “Jesus, Maddy.”
Riding the high of her triumph, she barely had a chance to look around the massive ballroom that their host seemed to have in place of a living room when Alex pulled her to the end of the long entry hallway and, leaning back against the wall, pulled her snug against his body.
“Alex!” The way he’d arranged them, they looked like a couple sharing a sweet embrace on an evening out.
Only the two of them knew that his cock had hardened to what had to be the point of pain. It was pressed into Maddy’s belly, hidden from the view of others, but a constant reminder to her.
“You want to play games, little sub?” Grinning, Alex showed her the tiny remote that he had tucked in his palm. She didn’t have even a moment to catch her breath before he turned it on, the setting low but continual.
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