As soon as he walked into the room, Nikla found the strength to talk.
“I don’t use that all the time.” She laughed nervously.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” Sweet hated lying. He wanted to know everything about the toy.
When did she buy it? Did she buy it or did her stupid ex-boyfriend? Did the ex use it on her? Did Nikla use it on herself while he watched? How often did she use it? The next time she used it, would she think of him?
Sweet handed her the cup of water, then opened the bottle.
“I didn’t want you thinking that I’m some sort of repressed freak or something, one cat shy of being a shut-in.”
He deposited two pills into her hand and placed the bottle on the nightstand. Nikla downed the medicine and followed it with the water.
Sweet accepted the empty cup. “I happen to like repressed freaks.” He slid his hand into his pocket.
From the way Nikla looked at him, she appeared as though she thought he would be pulling out a string of condoms. Even though he hated himself for even thinking it, he wanted them because he really wanted her. Every time that thought hit him, it scared the shit out of him.
He pulled out her keys and handed them to her. “Hope you feel better. I’ll let myself out.”
“You know I’m still going to come to Decadent Treats and hand out my fliers.”
Sweet turned at the doorway and stared at her. “I’ll be out there with you. Is that going to bother you?”
Nikla stared at him pointedly before she shook her head. She licked her lips, then brought her hand up to undo her hair bun. She fluffed out her long, wavy, chocolate brown hair, then brought her attention back to him.
The sizzling electricity that zipped between the two of them couldn’t be denied. With every part of his being, he wanted this woman. If she didn’t want every part of him, both his vanilla and his kinky side, he didn’t want to chance opening his heart again.
Before another word could be spoken, Sweet walked out of her apartment. He hated that his body craved her already without really touching her. Somehow she managed to worm her way to his soul. Now he needed to figure out a way to purge her from his system.
Chapter Five
Days after his encounter with Nikla, Sweet couldn’t get her out of his thoughts. Her lips, her eyes, her smell, the way her body felt next to his—he couldn’t get enough of her. He now ached for a woman’s touch more than before, more than when he and Melinda had been together.
Considering Nikla had come back after her panic attack to hand out her hate propaganda in front of the store every day that week, and—as he promised—he went out to confront her each day, he assumed she had wanted to see him. He also knew how brave she had been to admit—and confess—a lot of personal items to him.
Although her panic attack and her relationship with her father came as a surprise to him, he couldn’t stop thinking about her vibrator and how she used it...and how often. He also wondered if she had used it after their encounter in her bedroom.
Her closed-off yet determined nature intrigued him. Maybe he’d gotten too used to the women at The Dollhouse.
Women who had just met him did whatever he requested. Nikla saw through his looks. That turned him on more than anything else. She stood her ground. Not only did she have plans to dump her man, she had plans to start her own business.
Damn. He had too much energy to burn now. Sweet made sure the store had been secured before he went upstairs to his loft apartment over the store. The expansive space held his essentials. He had a couch, a coffee table, and a big-screen TV that he rarely used. In the raised corner of the apartment sat his king-sized bed, sadly another rarely used item. The interesting piece in his home had to be the vintage, open, egg-shaped chair that hung from the ceiling.
Sweet could care less about the bedroom and living room areas. His main focus when the place had been constructed, and even now, had been the kitchen. Sweet made sure to have only the best appliances, plenty of cabinet space, and lots of counter room. This part of his home became his sanctuary, so much so that when Melinda dared to cook him something as a surprise, Sweet snapped.
The memory of the moment made him feel like a jerk all over again. Melinda didn’t understand his pain. He hadn’t shared it with her or with anyone. It surprised him that he’d even invited her into his place. Sweet wouldn’t make that mistake again.
He showered and changed into play attire. For him, the outfit consisted of a well-worn pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and his boots. His boots and his brother kept him strong.
Sweet drove his truck down to the Oceanfront area to The Dollhouse dungeon. Like he’d done for the last ten years, he parked behind the building then used his swipe card and punch key code to get in through the back door.
Screams and cries greeted him as soon as he walked into the building, music to his ears. As he strolled down the hallway, he glanced into the play rooms.
In one, Master Misery had a young woman across his lap as he administered a series of spanks to her bare bottom. Her red ass faced the open doorway. Her white cotton panties dangled around her knees. Her plaid skirt hiked up around her waist gave away their scene. She must have been playing a naughty schoolgirl and Master Misery, who used to be a college professor in his vanilla life, must have been playing her stern headmaster.
Master Misery broke his concentration from the flailing woman for a moment to acknowledge Sweet. He gave Sweet a nod and continued spanking her until she cried out “Red,” the dungeon’s safe word to stop all play.
Master Misery turned the woman over on his lap. As soon as she could, she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed against his chest while expressing her gratitude in between each gasping breath.
Sweet continued down the hallway to view another scene. Watching aftercare didn’t appeal to him, especially since he couldn’t reap the payoff. The submissive would go away, go back to her master or mistress.
He couldn’t chance collaring another submissive. To him, collaring meant commitment, which he wanted. To the ones he had, collaring had meant commitment only to playing. They didn’t want him.
In the next room, Sweet saw Lady Fist in her usual attire of a full black latex catsuit, tall black patent leather boots, a black eye mask, and a sizeable strap-on. The black phallus that swung in front of her brought Sweet back almost a year ago. He still couldn’t believe she’d convinced him to have his dick put in a plaster cast to create it.
A naked man, save the pink bow in his thinning brown hair, crawled on the floor toward her. He licked her boots. Judging from his moans, he must have been into boot worship.
Tired of viewing everyone else having fun, Sweet headed toward the bar area. No one could get liquid courage at The Dollhouse. Masaun made sure no alcohol got stocked there, even though the establishment carried a liquor license. Masaun didn’t trust that good Dominants wouldn’t slip up and take a drink that would alter their playing style, or that new slaves or submissives would drink and become too numb to feel the pain until beyond the point of repair.
“Juicy, give me an iced tea, please.” Sweet stood at the bar, not paying attention to the patrons around the place.
“Yes, sir, Master Sweet.” The tattooed woman gave him a sloppy salute and poured him a drink. “Think you can talk your brother into relaxing his stance on alcohol? Tips are lousy when people aren’t buzzed.”
“Not going to happen.” Sweet took a sip of the cool, refreshing drink.
“Dude, he doesn’t even own the place. Why does Zach even listen to him?” Juicy scrubbed the stainless-steel counter down with a black terrycloth dish towel.
“Because Hawk makes sense.” To show support of his brother’s level-headed decision and to keep the rumbling down to a minimum, he slipped a one-hundred dollar bill into her tip jar.
He took another drink, a nice relief even during the warmer fall temperatures.
Sweet felt a hand on his back, a foreign feeling i
n The Dollhouse. After placing his drink on the bar, he turned around. The shorter African-American woman he found behind him looked familiar. Her nervous, twitchy smile melted and she chewed on her lower lip. When she did that, Sweet recognized the woman as one of the customers in his store earlier in the week who had whispered about him and Masaun.
“Where’s your friend?” Sweet kept his stare directly on her.
“Um, I came alone. This is my first time here.” She released a giggle that displayed her nervousness. She fidgeted in her spot.
“Brave.” Sweet leaned back against the bar to observe her for a moment.
She wrung her delicate hands. Then she tugged on her shirt sleeve. Her nervousness fueled his interest. Sweet would have to play with someone sometime. Why not this woman to break him out of his rut?
He propelled himself off the bar and leaned down to her ear. In a whisper, he said, “You know you’re not supposed to touch a Dominant unless given permission.”
Sweet heard her gasp before he pulled back from her.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I don’t know the rules of this place.” She covered her mouth.
Sweet took that moment to observe her outfit. She wore flat black shoes, a blue and black color block dress, and a black sweater. She looked like a fucking librarian. Perfect.
His heart pounded with the idea of breaking this newbie in to the lifestyle. Sweet felt his palms itching. He couldn’t wait to get a toy in his hand and work over her voluptuous body.
“Why are you here?” Sweet kept his stare directly on her eyes to make sure she told him the absolute truth.
“You invited me and my friend. I was curious about, well, you know.” She dropped her gaze.
“Curious about what?” He moved in closer to her. Taking a deep whiff of her black hair, she smelled like old books.
“Curious about what it is that you do here.”
Sweet regarded her for a moment before he moved. “Follow me.” He turned toward the play area.
As Sweet strolled down the long hallway, he saw his brother coming toward him. Masaun held Kindle’s hand as they walked together. Sweet watched his brother’s gaze peer around him to spot the woman walking behind him.
“Dom Hawk.” Sweet nodded to his brother.
To his surprise, Masaun grabbed Sweet’s arm.
“We need to talk.” Masaun glared at him. He turned to Kindle. “Go to our room. I’ll meet you there.”
Kindle, now wearing a black mini leather dress and black stilettos, nodded and strolled down the hall.
“I’m with someone right now.” Sweet nodded to the woman who kept her frightened stare on the two of them.
Masaun looked directly at her. “Wait for Master Sweet at the end of the hall.”
“Oh, okay.” She padded down the darkened hall, occasionally looking back at Sweet.
When she got far enough away from the two of them, Sweet yanked his arm out of Masaun’s grip. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing. I know you’re trying to get back into the swing of things, but she’s pretty new to the lifestyle.” Masaun nodded toward her.
“Yeah, so?” Sweet shrugged but he knew where his brother headed with his inquiry.
“Why aren’t you taking her to the common area to get to know her first?”
“How do you know I haven’t already?”
“Cameras.”
Sweet smirked. “Big Brother truly is watching, huh?” He moved in closer to Masaun and lowered his voice. “She’s one of the ones whispering about us in our own fucking store. I’m just going to show her a little about the BDSM lifestyle.”
“By doing it the wrong way. See, this is what I was talking about earlier. Do you even know her name?”
Sweet hadn’t asked for her name. He didn’t want to get that attached. He just wanted to give her the experience she came to find at The Dollhouse. Above all, he needed some release. He needed something to help push Nikla Dearwood out of his mind. He hadn’t even touched the woman intimately and she consumed his thoughts.
“In the scene, I’ll rename her.” Sweet nodded toward his plaything.
“Don’t do this.” Masaun shook his head. “You want to talk? Let’s talk. I can pair you with a more experienced sub if you’re really ready to play. Have you really gotten over Melinda and the breakup?”
At the mention of his ex’s name, Sweet shut down. “Song Sparrow is waiting for you.” He walked away. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” He turned but continued to walk backward. “I know what I’m doing.”
Sweet reached the young woman. She appeared confused and almost scared. When he caught the fear in her eyes, he had to avert his gaze.
“Let’s go in here.” He opened the door to a corner playroom filled with toys.
Sweet slammed the door behind her, causing her to gasp and jump. Just the sound alone pumped blood through cock.
“In here, you will address me as Master Sweet.” He strolled around her.
“My name is–”
Sweet cut her off. “No! In here, I name you. You’re here to play, right?”
He heard her breathing increase. As he stood behind her, he watched her shoulders rise and fall with each harried breath.
“Answer me.” He touched her shoulder.
The simple touch transformed her body as though her bones had turned into jelly. Her knees buckled and she had to reach her hand out to the black leather padded platform to stay upright.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to expect.”
“Breathe.” Sweet massaged her shoulder. He felt her trembling under his touch. He stroked his thumb over the back of her neck, not to ease her fears, but to ramp them up so that she responded even more. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m scared.” Her voice shook with each word.
Sweet should have said or done something to assuage her fears. He felt no obligation to give her the cookie-cutter experience she may have seen on TV or movies. “I’m going to call you Leaf just because you’re shaking like one.” He removed his hand from her. “Get undressed.”
“What?” Leaf clutched her sweater around her neck.
Sweet strolled over to a wall of toys and turned on an overhead light. Rows of paddles, floggers and whips hung from the wall. He pulled down a deer-hide flogger along with a rabbit fur-lined paddle.
“If I’m going to offer you sensations, I need for you to really feel it.” He placed the two items on the counter. Sweet loved seeing her stare at the toys as though they would come to life like some Disney cartoon. “Leaf?”
The woman put her hand over her mouth as she kept her stare on the two toys. After a beat, she brought her attention to him.
“Do you want to still play?”
She stared at him as though weighing a pros and con list in her head. Leaf swallowed then placed her purse on a nearby chair. Her black sweater came off first.
With each garment shed, Sweet felt his temperature rising. He didn’t find this woman that sexually appealing. She seemed pleasant. She probably would be classified as reliable or maybe loyal by her co-workers and friends. He bet that she probably owned a cat or two...or three, and that seeing a mainstream movie that contained a lot of well-respected actors playing strippers had been the raciest thing she’d ever done.
Leaf pulled her dress over her head. Sweet admired her womanly body. He had a lot of playground to use on her.
He approached her. Sweet watched her take a few steps back from him the closer he got to her. When he held out his hand, she took a breath before accepting it. Her cold fingers gave him the quick reminder that she didn’t match Nikla. At least Leaf went blindly with him in a dungeon, whereas Nikla didn’t even want him in her apartment.
Sweet led her to the platform and helped her onto it. He should have explained safe words to her. He should have done a lot of things. Too caught up in his own head, in his own agenda, Sweet proceeded with his play on Leaf.
&nbs
p; Sweet leaned down to her ear. “Understand that I control this room. I control everything that happens.”
That added pressure on himself caused his head to pound. He hadn’t played with anyone since Melinda. He’d watched some play. In his heart, Sweet wanted to resume his old life again. This would have to be the first step.
“Yes, Sir.” Leaf balled her hands into fists.
Sweet stomped over to a wall of toys and scanned the inventory again. When he reached for a whip, he noticed that he didn’t get that familiar tingle like he used to when he’d played before. Where had his love for this lifestyle gone? Had it disappeared along with Melinda?
He took a deep breath when the thought got to be a bit heavy. Before Sweet got to the point of being out of control like Nikla, he pressed a spot on his inner wrist, closed his eyes, and focused on the end result: a successful play session.
“Is everything okay?” Leaf asked.
Sweet released his wrist. He turned to her and saw that she’d raised her head from the platform. “What did I say earlier? Don’t speak unless I address you.”
Leaf nodded and lowered her head.
Sweet knew what he had to do first. In a drawer underneath the counter by the wall, he pulled out a black leather blindfold. He returned to Leaf and covered her eyes.
He expected her now standard shocked response. “This is part of the mind games. You won’t know what’s coming.”
She also wouldn’t see Sweet looking like he didn’t care, like this play meant nothing. Although he had pulled down a flogger and paddle, he returned to the wall and grabbed the first thing he could get in his hand. That implement happened to be a purple dragon’s tail suede whip.
The toy gave him the feel of a long single-tail whip but the response of a flogger, the best of two worlds. Before he used the whip for its intended purpose, he first dragged the tip over her foot, up her shin, to her ample thigh and her hip.
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