Blush

by Lauren Jameson

  Her secret wasn’t even a secret so much as it was something she simply didn’t want to revisit ever again. Alex, however—whatever he wasn’t telling her affected him in the here and now. Affected her.

  She could understand his frustration. But if nothing else, he had taught her to stop overanalyzing everything she did.

  She wanted to go to In Vino Veritas. That was exactly what she was going to do.

  • • •

  Julien whistled as Maddy stopped her car at the front of Alex’s club and stepped out.

  “Damn, girl.” His blatant approval lifted Maddy’s spirits an inch, though that meant they still were close to rock bottom. He gestured to her car, then held out his palm for her keys. “Alex meeting you here?”

  Nervously, Maddy tugged at the hem of her ridiculously short black skirt. She didn’t possess anything that would even closely resemble fetish wear, so she’d gone for a sexy secretary look instead, as best as she could manage with the meager contents of her closet. Short black skirt, plain white blouse. The daring came from the seamed black stockings, the high heels, and the fact that she’d left a few buttons on the blouse open.

  Any one of those items would have felt daring for Maddy in a normal circumstance. Altogether, they made her feel like she had when she’d worn the bustier and skirt that Alex had chosen for her.

  She felt like a different person entirely. That was good, because regular Maddy wanted nothing more than to lock herself in a closet and cry over her breakup.

  This Maddy had something else entirely in mind.

  “Alex and I aren’t together anymore.” Though the dominance that Julien exuded, so similar to Alex’s own mannerisms, made Maddy want to keep her eyes down, she looked defiantly up as she spoke.

  He whistled again, then took her keys from her hand, his fingers lingering to dance over her palm.

  “Is that the truth?” Tossing the keys high in the air, he caught them behind his back, making her smile. Then he tucked a finger in the neck of her blouse, tugged her close, and ran his finger over her collarbone. Maddy stiffened, and though his touch didn’t light her on fire the way Alex’s did, she still responded to his dominance and found that she liked the feel of his fingers on her skin.

  “If that’s still the case in a few hours, when it’s time for me to play, I’ll come find you.” Gesturing toward the steps that led to the building, Julien released Maddy with a devastating grin and a swat on the behind, which made her jump.

  “Inside, sub. I have work to do.”

  Maddy frowned and stomped down on the urge to rub her behind. That hadn’t been a gentle pat, but more of a hard spank.

  Suddenly she found herself second-guessing her decision to enter the club. Without Alex at her side, her old reservations came back, and she felt exposed, naked, vulnerable. And she really didn’t know the first thing about protocol at the club.

  Were all the Dom/mes this . . . handsy?

  If she walked in there, was it like dropping a lamb into a cage full of lions?

  Slowly, Maddy pushed on the heavy wooden door of the building. The interior was exactly as she’d remembered it—dark, Gothic, and sexy as hell. The music of Metallica seeped out of surreptitiously placed speakers in the entryway, and the angry notes appealed to her and the mood she was in.

  “Miss Stone.” Startled, Maddy looked up to find Elijah, the golden god of a man Alex had introduced her to, looking down at her with concern. Dressed in a pale pink dress shirt opened at the collar, with expensive-looking black dress pants hanging from his hips, he was sexy as hell, yet seeing him still didn’t give her the same jolt that seeing Alex did.

  She felt almost guilty, as if she’d been caught someplace she shouldn’t be.

  She was allowed to be here. At least, she was pretty sure she was. His quick appearance, however, told her that Julien had likely contacted him to let him know of her arrival. She tried to hold her head up high as she greeted him with a hello.

  She waited for the lecture, since the attention she was receiving was clearly because of Alex. But she wasn’t his property—after this disastrous night, she wasn’t even his submissive.

  “Are you sure you want to be here?” Those blue eyes studied her intently. It was all he asked.

  “Yes.” Maddy spoke before she could lose her nerve. “Yes, I . . . I want . . .” Her voice trailed off.

  It was so hard to say out loud what she wanted.

  “What do you want, little one?” Elijah’s bearing was so similar to Alex’s, Maddy trusted him on a gut level.

  “I want punishment.” Her voice was scarcely more than a whisper. She trembled as she spoke, but swallowed down her nerves. “I want to be here.”

  “I see.” Elijah looked her up and down in much the same manner as Julien had. His stare came to rest on her face, his expression contemplative. “And why do you feel you need to be punished?”

  “I’m not going to talk about that.” Maddy’s words left her mouth in a heated, angry rush. “I won’t. I just . . . I need a release.”

  Elijah pressed his lips tightly together, considering. “You’ll do this with me, then.”

  Maddy wasn’t sure about the idea of partnering with one of Alex’s business associates. Surely a stranger would be better.

  She opened her mouth to argue, and he seemed to grow larger, more dominant.

  “I don’t recall asking for your permission, little sub.” Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a pair of fleece-lined leather cuffs, similar to the ones she’d worn the other night, though these lacked the tint of virgin white. “Hold out your wrists.”

  He may not have made her heart race, but Maddy still found herself responding to his commands. She held out her wrists and soon was buckled into the leather bracelets. Like the first pair, these weren’t linked, but had fastenings that could be connected to all kinds of bonds.

  “Remain still.” As if she were no more than a piece of artwork, Elijah pulled his iPhone from his pocket and, his movements leisurely, sent a series of texts.

  Maddy found herself twitching with impatience.

  “Do you have someplace you need to be, sub?” Finished with his texts, Elijah slid his phone back into his pocket and, looking up, raised an eyebrow at Maddy. “I was under the impression you were here to be punished.”

  Maddy’s heart gave a great thud, and she felt tears prickle at the backs of her eyes. Yes, she wanted to be here, but she wanted to be here with Alex.

  Not an option anymore, Maddy. Steeling herself, Maddy raised her chin, though she made certain to keep her eyes on the floor. “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir. Please punish me, Sir.”

  Though her eyes were on the ground, she felt Elijah studying her. Then she felt a tug on one of her cuffs.

  “Follow me. Stay behind me. Do not look up.”

  Maddy swallowed against her suddenly dry throat as she followed Elijah down the hallway. She could tell when they passed through the entrance to the club, because the lights dimmed, the music became louder, and the sounds of pleasure and pain filled the air.

  “We’ll stop right here.” Elijah left her side for a moment, and Maddy felt a twinge of panic, though she assumed that a friend of Alex’s would keep her safe. Still, she didn’t trust this man on a gut-deep level the way she did Alex.

  God, she wanted Alex.

  Get over it. He’d made it clear—she couldn’t have him, not unless she told him her secret.

  Still, he’d awakened a need deep inside of her, and this was the best way she knew to fill it.

  “Come.” When Elijah returned, he carried a leather bag similar to the one Alex had had the night he’d used the oils on Maddy. Despite her upset, she found her curiosity was piqued.

  Did all Dominants have a bag like this, a bag full of toys?

  Maddy followed Elijah across the floor of the club. He stopped next to something that looked like a wooden sawhorse, though it was padded with leather the color of wine.

  Each leg had a thick met
al loop with a length of chain. Two of the chains ended in more cuffs, ones slightly larger than the ones on Maddy’s wrists.

  She felt her pulse kick into overdrive as she looked down at the cuffs on her wrists and realized what the chains were for.

  “Unfasten your blouse.”

  Startled, Maddy looked up at Elijah. Surely he didn’t think . . . Well, what the hell else did you expect, Maddy? From what she’d read, a BDSM scene didn’t always include sex, but it wouldn’t be a strange assumption for Elijah to make.

  “What’s your safe word, sub?”

  When Maddy failed to unfasten her blouse as quickly as he wanted it, Elijah stepped forward, unfastened the buttons with nimble fingers, and peeled the fabric over her shoulders. He tossed it to the side and then reached for the zipper of her skirt.

  Soon she wore nothing but her black bra, thong, pantyhose, and heels.

  “Very nice.” He nudged her to one end of the bench-type contraption. “Safe word. Now.”

  “Blackjack.” Maddy almost used the word for its intended purpose when Elijah ran his hands over her ass and down her calves.

  He made her repeat the club safe word as well. As she stood, nerves making her tremble, the man knelt behind her, his long fingers closing around one ankle.

  “I’m cuffing your ankles to the bench now, Miss Stone.” Maddy’s entire body tensed as she heard the cuffs snick. Elijah ran a finger between the metal and her skin, checking, she thought, to make sure the bonds weren’t too tight.

  “Breathe.” Huffing in and out, he demonstrated what he wanted her to do. Standing, walking around to the front of the bench, Elijah fastened his intense blue stare on her. Maddy found she had no choice but to do as he said, her breath slowing and deepening until her body relaxed.

  “Good girl.” Maddy gasped when Elijah slid his hands into her bra, cupping her breasts and strumming his thumbs over her nipples. Still caught in his stare, she felt confusion flood throughout her as her nipples bunched beneath his touch and wetness slicked between her legs.

  She responded to his dominance, and her body enjoyed his touch. But otherwise he left her cold.

  She missed the connection that she had with Alex.

  Elijah’s cell phone chimed the note of an incoming text, and Maddy felt infuriated when he slipped his hands from her bra to answer it.

  “Seriously?” She sputtered out the word, incensed that he would leave her half-naked, bound body to check his text messages right in front of her. “You’re a bastard.”

  The glare he gave her made her tremble, but she couldn’t hide her scowl.

  “I may not be the Dom you want, Miss Stone, but that kind of behavior is not acceptable in this club.” Tucking his cell phone into his pocket, he leaned forward, his lips brushing her ear with heat. “Especially not when I have what you need.”

  Dom or not, Maddy was about to tell him that he wasn’t what she needed at all. But then he stepped out of her line of view, and she saw what he had been referring to.

  Alex. Alex was here.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Maddy looked beautiful, the black lace of her bra and stockings setting off the cream color of her pale skin. She was aroused—aroused by Elijah’s hands, damn it—but she wasn’t even close to trembling with surrender as she did with him. And Alex couldn’t deny that his heartbeat quickened as soon as he laid eyes on her.

  “Elijah.” Crossing the floor of the club, Alex nodded to his longtime friend. Though he wasn’t sure how he felt about someone else’s hands on Maddy, there was no one he trusted more.

  He was so bloody angry with her—with himself—and when Elijah had texted him to say that she was at the club, he hadn’t thought, had simply come.

  He still wasn’t sure what he would say to her. Though he was more tempted to confide to her than he’d ever been with anyone, he didn’t tell people about his daughter, especially not his lovers. He didn’t want them using her affection as a tool to his bank account, his heart, as Lydia had done. As she still did.

  So he did the only thing that felt natural in the moment. Alex approached the spanking bench. Making sure to keep his expression masked, he placed a finger under Maddy’s chin, lifted her face so that he could study it intently.

  She was angry. She was shocked. She was aroused.

  As he stared down into her eyes, her gaze dropped. She was such a natural sexual submissive, yet was so spunky otherwise, that her submission was a beautiful thing.

  If she told him what she was hiding—if she trusted him and bared her soul—then he would do the same.

  For now, he would remind her of what was between them.

  And he would enjoy himself at the same time.

  “It’s time to play, little sub.”

  • • •

  Maddy shivered at Alex’s words. What was he doing here? It was clear that Elijah had let him know when she arrived at the club, but after his parting words to her earlier, she never would have thought he’d come.

  Was there still hope for any sort of future between them?

  “Elijah, prepare her for me, if you would.”

  Maddy’s attention was jerked straight back to the present. “What do you mean, prepare me?” Her body tensed as Elijah opened his toy bag. “Excuse me?”

  “Silence.” The word reverberated in air that suddenly felt still and hot. Maddy couldn’t do anything but look at Alex. “I do not normally care for public scenes, as I’ve told you. In this case, however, it pleases me, just as it pleases me for Elijah to prepare you for my attentions. Therefore, it will please you as well.”

  Maddy opened her mouth, expecting to tell them both to go to hell, but at that moment, from behind her, Elijah unhooked her bra and, in one swift movement, slid it right off.

  She tried to speak but was quelled with another commanding look from Alex.

  Her nipples pebbled as, with a hand splayed flat on her back, Elijah pressed her down onto the bench. Her stomach pressed lengthwise along the leather, which warmed beneath her skin. Quickly, he secured her wrist cuffs to the remaining lengths of chain.

  She was bound and open, and she could do nothing about it.

  “Her hair.”

  Maddy looked at Alex as he spoke quietly. Elijah quickly ran skilled fingers through the long ribbons of her hair, braiding it neatly so that it was out of her face and she could see.

  Then she felt his hands at her waist, warm and sure. Slowly, slowly he peeled her stockings down until the elastic snugged the skin beneath her ass. Her thong followed. The flesh of her bottom plumped out over the top, exposed completely, and the tightness of the elastic created an interesting pressure between her legs.

  “Beautiful.” Elijah smoothed his hand over her ass, and Maddy shivered, though this time it was with more pleasure than tension. It was as if, since Alex had given his permission for Elijah to touch her, she was free to enjoy the sensation.

  She didn’t have to think, didn’t have to worry. She simply had to feel.

  From his leather bag, Elijah drew a small jar. Maddy eyed it warily, remembering the mint and cinnamon oils.

  “This might sting for a minute.” Unscrewing the lid, Elijah dipped his fingers in and came back up with a thick white cream.

  Maddy opened her mouth to ask what it was, but a small shake of the head from Alex told her that she didn’t have permission to speak. She pressed her lips tightly together as Elijah splayed one hand flat on her stomach, then slid his other hand between her legs.

  Next his fingers separated her lower lips, then spread the cream unerringly over the hard nub of her clit. It stung, as he had warned her, and then . . . then she felt blood rush to that small spot, drawn by the sensation-enhancing cream.

  She couldn’t stop the wetness that followed immediately after.

  “Very nice, sub.” Elijah slid a finger inside her heat, testing her wetness. Maddy clenched her inner walls and looked helplessly up at Alex.

  “Soon, babe.” His face was dark, his expr
ession wicked.

  Maddy drew a great, shuddering breath, closing her eyes against the sensation.

  Something wet drizzled over the crack that divided the cheeks of her bottom, and the eyes she’d just closed flew back open.

  “No!” She jerked against the restraints, looking up at Alex, wide-eyed. “Not there.”

  Moving until he was directly in front of her, he squatted down onto his heels. “Trust, Maddy, remember?” Then he held her gaze as he ran his fingers over her locket.

  She tried to pull away and found that she was restrained tightly enough that she couldn’t.

  “You’ve made it clear that’s a hard limit, Maddy. I won’t open your locket.” Alex’s voice cooled off, and Maddy felt a trickle of unease. “But when we’re done tonight, I want you to look back at what we did, think about the trust you felt, and then think about keeping secrets from each other.”

  Maddy’s anger faltered at the flicker she saw in Alex’s eyes. Was he going to tell her what he was hiding from her?

  She had only a moment to wonder about it before she felt Elijah’s fingers explore her sensitive skin.

  “You can use your safe word,” Alex reminded her as he stood up and stepped out of her line of vision.

  One set of hands took hold of the cheeks of her ass, holding her open, exposing an area that had never been exposed before. Another hand worked cold liquid through the crack, concentrating on the tight pucker that lay hidden between.

  Oh, no. No. Not there. She tried to pull away and couldn’t.

  “Be still.” The one set of hands continued to hold her open; the other pressed something hard against her pucker.

  When she resisted, a firm hand smacked across her ass, stinging sharply.

  “One more sound, and I’ll gag you.” Alex’s voice was matter-of-fact. “Now relax and it will hurt less.”

  Maddy wasn’t sure she wanted anything that hurt at all. She couldn’t quite stifle her cry as the hard object pushed against her entrance, fighting to work its way past the tight ring of muscle.

  “Push back against it, Maddy.”