by Rebel Carter
It was a well put together outfit that showed his wealth without implying he was trying too terribly much. Christian was always a fan of making sure everyone knew just how unimpressed he was to be in their presence. He would never go all out for the Cairn. I watched him consider me, eyes moving slowly over me from the top of my head down to my gold heeled feet and he let out a low whistle.
“You’re looking delicious.”
I shivered and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “What do you want?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You know what I want, but I’m not sure you’re game to give it to me.’
I felt my blood turn cold. “What the hell are you going on about, Christian?” I dared to look to the side hoping I would see some of the protection Connie had spoken of, but there was no one in sight. There was a commotion in the Great Room and I knew whoever was having their debut tonight was taking the stage. All eyes would be on them. No one would think to look down here in the shadows for me.
Perfect timing for whatever this was, but I wasn’t surprised. Christian had planned it this way. Of course he had. He’d thought of this and made his move at the perfect moment. The man with the plan. He always had one.
Why hadn’t I thought of it? How could I have been this careless?
Because you were fucking crying like an idiot over Law, and maybe you are a tiny bit drunk, my brain informed me and I scowled, hating the taste of the truth.
“You shouldn’t frown,” Christian told me, taking a step closer to me. “You’ll get wrinkles. You know that.”
I took a step back mirroring his movement, and collided with the potted plant beside me. I took a wobbly step away from it. Christian had been forever trying to get me to get Botox as a ‘preventative measure’ because he liked how ‘youthful’ I looked. I’d almost done it before I remembered the way my mother had chased after her youth. She would have taken up an offer of free Botox at the drop of a hat. I refused to do it. The very next day Christian had begun policing my expressions.
God we had been so fucked up together, hadn’t we?
“Christian, back off. I mean it.” I held out a hand to him, palm facing him and shook my head when he came closer. “Now. Stop.”
“Honey, you missed me. I’m sure of it.”
“I can tell you she didn’t miss your sorry ass for one minute,” another voice said, and I almost tripped over my own feet in surprise.
“Who the fuck are you?” Christian asked, glaring at the person behind me that had spoken. I didn’t need to turn my head to see who it was. I knew exactly who it was.
“I’m her man,” Law said, coming to stand beside me. He crossed his arms and considered Christian. “From what I heard, you’re not supposed to be this close to her.”
Christian’s eyebrows drew together and he opened his mouth to say something stupid. I knew it was stupid by the way he was drawing himself up as if he was going to have the backbone to actually threaten Law and do something about it. Thankfully, the arrival of a giggling dark haired woman broke the growing tension between the two men. She was oblivious and all smiles to the show down and threw her arms around Christian’s waist.
“I was looking for you! You said you were going to get me a drink!” She exclaimed, giving him a hug and what could only be described as puppy dog eyes.
Christian’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “I got caught up with old friends. Sorry about that, Love.”
I wrinkled my nose at the nickname. What the hell? God, I hoped it was her nickname and not her real name. Honey? Love? What was he doing, going around collecting us for his twisted menagerie?
“Oh, that’s all right. I just missed you so much and-” she turned and looked at Law and I with a puzzled expression. “Hi, are you some of Christian’s friends?” She asked.
I cleared my throat, searching for an answer to her question that wouldn’t sound totally suspicious. “Well…” I began, but that was as far as I got because Law was grabbing my hand and shaking his head.
“No,” Law told her.
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh.”
Law ignored her and looked at Christian. “Come near her again and I’ll break your neck. Not gonna repeat it.” He turned, pulling me behind him, and we left the couple standing in stunned silence. I struggled to keep up with him but after we had cleared the corridor and made our way back up into the Great Room, I yanked on his hand.
“Stop dragging me around like a fucking caveman.”
He looked over his shoulder at me, eyes still narrowed in a glare. “Then walk.”
“I am, but some of us are wearing heels. I can’t keep up with these shoes on.” I gestured down at my feet and returned his glare with one of my own.
“Wear better shoes next time.”
“I wasn't exactly planning on needing to run when I picked these out,” I muttered, yanking on my hand, but he held fast.
“Wasn’t planning on baby sitting either, but here we are.”
I gave my hand another yank and this time managed to free myself from his hold. “If you think for one hot second that I want to be here with you, you’re horribly mistaken.”
He rubbed a hand across his jaw and chuckled. “Oh, is that so, princess?”
“Fuck yeah, it is.”
“Wasn’t the story last night when I left your place.”
My breath left my body as surely as if Law had punched me in the gut. “Fuck you,” I whispered, because he was right. I hadn’t wanted him to leave. I hadn’t said it, but he knew. He’d known and he’d still gone. He’d known and he’d still talked to me the way he had tonight. “You’re an asshole.”
He nodded, hand still at his jaw. “I know.”
“Why are you even here?” I asked, taking a step back from him. But it was no use because Law came right with me.
“I came here because I’m a member of the club, princess.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped. “If you’re a member of the club, then why haven’t I ever seen you here before?”
“Works a bitch, can’t get away as much as I’d like. Which means when I do make time I want to enjoy that time how I want, not how Connie or Zeus fucking thinks I need to,” he told me, with a bite to his voice that I was quickly growing accustomed to. His meaning was clear. He had wanted to come to relax and I was here messing up his plans.
“I didn’t know she was going to ask you, or ask anyone to watch me. I swear,” I told him, holding up my hands and shaking my head. “She just-I mean, I thought it was going to be her tonight that was with me, not someone else.” I sat down on a couch, this one covered in a pink satiny material and I frowned when my ass slid to the side, the slip of my dress not doing much to keep me in place. I glared at Law when he chuckled and placed my hands on either side of me, holding myself in place. I gazed out at the floor where the couple debuting tonight had taken the stage and were making their introductions to the crowd. “I thought it was going to be Connie,” I said again, “It never crossed my mind it would be you, of all people.”
Law hummed and moved close, standing in front of me and blocking my view of the Dominant that had just picked up a flogger. I glared at him. “You’re blocking my view.”
“You telling me you wanted Connie?”
I blanched and shook my head. “No, of course not. She’s scary.”
He crossed his arms and I noticed he looked annoyed. “And I’m not.”
I snorted, crossing my own arms in response and immediately regretted it when I slid to the side. Fucking stupid satin ass couches. Who the hell made these? Why was it here if you couldn’t even sit on it without fighting to defy gravity? I planted my feet firmly, widening my stance to do so and met his eyes.
“You’re not scary. Not one fucking bit, Law. But I’ll tell you what you are.”
“What is that?”
“A pain in my ass.”
Chapter Fifteen
LAW
She was mad. Honey wasn’t sweet anymore. She was a wildf
ire that was bent on consuming any and everything that had the misfortune of crossing her path.
I fucking liked it more than I should.
She looked like an angry goddess with her legs spread open just an inch too much, thighs soft and inviting, god, if I wasn’t so pissed at her I would sink down onto my knees and taste her. Worship at her pussy until she screamed my name and came all over my tongue. I’d done it before, I could do it again, even if this time it would be in public with her sitting on a gaudy bubblegum pink couch.
Who the fuck ordered this thing?
I liked pink, but this? This was nauseating in its Pepto Bismol shade. Plus, it didn’t look stable by the way Honey was fighting to stay upright. It made her arch her back slightly, pushing her tits out and I liked the way she looked like that, even if she got a glare on her pretty face.
She wasn’t having any shit tonight. I could tell when she told me I was a pain in her ass. I never dreamed my reason for coming to the club would be waiting for me wrapped up as pretty as a Christmas present. She looked good in the dress she chose, the dark green of it made her tan look all the more tantalizing. I knew her skin was soft, I’ve had my hands on her, but with the way the material is flowing over her thighs, trailing like water down her legs...god, she made me want to touch her.
She made me want.
My hands clenched. I shouldn’t be wanting a damn thing from Honey. If I did, I could take it all from her.
“That’s a nice story, princess,” I told her, not breaking her stare even though the heat behind her eyes would be enough to make half of the people in this room seek cover, “but I know different.”
She glared at me for a second more, eyes narrowing before her bottom lip trembled and I saw her eyes dart to the side. She was looking at someone else. And I knew exactly who the fuck it was without turning to look. Her shitty ex, the guy Connie told me about before I took off after her.
Christian O’Hanon. Fucking dipshit.
I knew him, or of him, but not enough to care to learn anything other than he was a shithead. Lower level hanger on with a lot of his daddy’s money he used to get himself into exclusive places, places like the Cairn. But he didn’t go too far here. Zeus had a thing for people earning their stripes, and Christian was still a novice.
But he was one with a mean streak.
Honey swallowed hard, her eyes following his journey across the room. I didn’t like the fear I saw in her face. She was afraid of him. Did he put his hands on her? The thought made me feel light headed. Anger hit me like a tidal wave and I clenched my hands into fists. I’d rip his throat out with my bare hands if he so much as touched her. The fire was dying in Honey the longer she watched that asshole and it cracked something open in me to see it. The strength that had flared bright in her rapidly dying and shrinking, until I saw her shoulders slump and her hands shake as she put them down on the couch to hold herself steady.
I had to do something so I played the only card I knew would work to pull her out of wherever the fuck it is that her mind was going.
“Eyes up here, princess,” I said, coming closer to her and flicking a hand from her to me. “Did I say you could look away?”
Her dark eyes snapped to my face, just like I asked, and I saw the embers of her strength coming back to life when she did. “You don’t tell me what to do,” she said, but her voice was quieter.
“I think tonight that’s kind of the point. Connie appointed me as your babysitter.”
“Chaperone,” she corrected.
“What’s the difference?”
She rolled her eyes at me and then shrugged. “I guess there really isn’t one,” she said after a minute. When she looked away from me, I snapped my fingers at her and I watched the fire in her eyes go into a full blaze. “What the fuck Law?” She was pissed. Perfect.
“If I’m going to lose my whole night to watching your ass, I’d appreciate your undivided attention, princess.” I said the words that I knew would get a rise, they came easily to me. Princess a little too easily, and I tried not to think about that. I hadn’t asked her what she liked and what she didn't, but I could see she was a brat. A submissive from what Connie told me, but one that liked mouthing off and pushing her Dom’s boundaries. That was all I had been told so far, all that I had time to know while her ex lurked around the club like a bad dream.
“I can’t believe I thought you were nice,” she whispered, but her eyes locked on mine. “Why the fuck did I ever want to go home with you?”
She might not understand it now. She might hate me right now, but this was all for her own good. I was doing this for her.
“Up,” I said, gesturing for her to follow me and when she didn’t budge, I said, “Unless you want to wait around for that asshole you call an ex to come calling?”
That got her up and moving, but not with a huff and a curse from her. I smiled in spite of myself. I liked that she was mouthy. It suited her far better than the wide eyed woman I’d rescued from the coffee shop, even better than the drunk girl that had fallen into my private room, but still it wasn’t the Honey I’d laid out on her kitchen table and ate until she was sobbing.
I liked that Honey the best, but this one? She was all right in my book.
Honey stomped behind me, the heels she wore striking down on the hardwood with thuds so loud, I whirled on her and held a finger up. “Are you trying to cause a scene?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Maybe.”
“Throw a tantrum when there isn’t a couple that demands respect. Do you understand me?” I jerked my chin towards the stage where a couple was in the middle of a flogging scene. The submissive was standing, hands clasped and secured behind her back, stance wide. The position forced her to arch her back, offering her tits up to her Dom who was circling her with a flogger in hand. He was bringing the leather down on her with sure and swift flicks of his hand, the snap of the leather meeting her skin mingled with the submissive moans of pleasure and pain. When Honey didn’t answer me, I looked at her to see that she was watching the couple with rapt attention. Her eyes were wide and I knew she liked what she was seeing from the way her mouth parted, a soft inhalation in time with the swing of the Dom’s arm. The leather cracked against his submissive’s thigh and Honey licked her lips, her hands smoothing across her own thighs, fingers tightening in the lush material of her dress.
She was interested all right.
“Like what you see?” I asked, stepping in close to her when I noticed a man with tattoos and dressed in leathers notice her. I glared at him sending the clear signal that she was mine and I watched him retreat with a dip of his head. I looked around, eyes sweeping the crowd and saw that there were others watching Honey, like sharks in the fucking water. If this really was a job like I used to do, the kind where people got dead and their blood was on the line, I’d be on red alert. There was hunger in the eyes of the crowd we stood in, and I didn’t like it.
They saw what I saw in Honey. She was magnificent, and they all wanted a piece. I should have known there was a reason Connie wanted me here besides Christian. She could have had that piss ant handled in no time. What she was focused on was who would be spending time with Honey. Not just Connie, but Zeus. Honey had attracted the eye of the all powerful Zeus, but what I couldn’t figure out was why?
She was a beautiful woman. Striking with her dark brown eyes and the mass of dark curly hair that spilled over her shoulders and down her back. She had a great set of legs and her tits were, well, they were amazing. Not too big, just the right size for me to take in my hands while I ate her pussy. My palms tingled, and I remembered the weight of her flesh in my hands, how soft and willing she’d been then, moaning my name while my tie was wrapped around her wrists. I felt my cock start to harden and blew out a heavy sigh.
Right now was a shit time to get a hard-on for the woman I needed to be watching. The woman that I was purposely goading into getting pissed at me so she didn’t notice her ex boyfriend, or the fact that she
had more attention on her than the submissive on stage getting their ass turned black and blue.
“You know I do,” she said, not looking away from the couple. She licked her bottom lip, tongue sliding along the plump flesh of her mouth.
“I don’t actually,” I said, even though she was right. I could tell from the arousal that was plain as day on her face, her body was practically vibrating with it. I knew if I dropped to my knees in front of her and pressed my face to the V of her thighs that I would smell it on her. My dick was hard now, balls starting to feel heavy, and I gritted my teeth at the familiar ache. I wanted this woman.
It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to touch her. Not until she asked me to. Not until we had a very big talk, and not until she was stone cold sober. I frowned, glancing towards the bar where Connie was still lounging. She had an elbow up on the bar, lines of her body lax and casual even though I knew she was anything but. The woman knew precisely who was who, and what was happening on the club floor. Nothing escaped her notice, which had me wondering what the hell she was playing at letting Honey’s ex near her. Our eyes met and she smirked at me, raising the glass she was holding to her lips in what I knew was a toast.
Things were going exactly to Connie’s plans. Plans that I still didn’t understand. All I knew was that she’d offered me up as protection, made sure that I took the bait and now, here we were after I put on a little show for that fucker Christian. I glanced to the side, catching a glimpse of his profile. He was with the dark haired woman, the brunette that looked like a distorted knock off of Honey. They were the same height, similar build, their hair was close but not identical with dark curls and waves that made you want to comb your fingers through it. But the similarities ended there.
He had come here tonight with a Honey knock off, which made me think he knew my girl would be here. I flinched, not liking the my girl, but there was no time to figure that shit out now. I was done being out in the open with the club members circling Honey like she was up for grabs.