“Honestly, I never thought about it again until just now. Completely left my mind after the accident.”
“The accident. The one where someone ran you off the road and tried to kill you? That accident?” His heart was pounding.
Abby opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She set her fork down with a clank and stared at him.
“Baby, I’m thinking there could be a connection.” He reached across the table for her hand and gripped it with his again.
“Surely not,” she muttered. “I mean what did I do?”
“Well, if you tried to talk your friend Lauren into dumping Anton Yenin, there’s no telling what happened between then and when he threatened you. That guy is very bad news. Don’t you find it a bit too coincidental that a few hours later someone ran you off the road?”
She shook her head subtly. “I really thought it was an accident, and someone either didn’t realize what happened or they were too scared to stop after mistakenly crossing into my lane.”
“I might have agreed with you until you told me about the rest of that day. Now I’m not so sure.” His phone beeped on the table. Zane released Abby reluctantly to grab the cell.
Rider: Shit. That’s not good.
Zane: Exactly. I’ll get back to you later. Thanks.
“What’d he say?” Abby asked.
“He’s concerned.”
She shook her head. Worry etched her face. She wasn’t smiling any longer, and her skin was pale. “Why do you know this guy?”
“Everyone in MMA knows Yenin. He runs his own underground fighting ring. He has approached several of us to fight for him over the years. He even tried to blackmail Conner into fighting for him a few months ago.”
“Jesus.”
Zane smiled. “Forget all this. Let’s enjoy our evening. We can look into it more later.”
She nodded briefly and glanced at her plate. “Surely it’s all just a coincidence.”
“Probably,” he lied. He didn’t like one bit of the scenario, but until he could talk to Rider or someone else at the station, there wasn’t much he could do.
Tomorrow.
They ate their meals, chatting about more mundane things for the rest of dinner. He tried to lighten the mood, and it took a while, but finally he had her smiling again.
When the wine was gone and the plates cleared, he asked her what she wanted to do next. “You want to see a movie?”
She shrugged and bit her lip. Clearly she had another idea.
“What?”
“Emily said you usually go to your club on Fridays.”
“I do, but tonight I’m with you instead.”
“Could we go there?”
He hesitated, staring at her face. The way she tucked that damn lip between her teeth again made him shift in his seat. Holy shit. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “You want to go to Extreme?”
“Yes.”
He narrowed his gaze. “I told you I would do vanilla.”
“And I told you I would try your way. We did vanilla for dinner. Now, I think you should show me your other side.”
Zane almost swallowed his tongue at those words. She had no idea how hard his already hard cock got when she tipped her head and spoke those words. “You sure? That wasn’t my intention at all for this evening.”
“Yes.” She glanced down at herself. “Am I dressed okay?”
He smiled. “Anything goes at Extreme, baby. There will be regulars there in little or no clothes and newer members in something similar to what you’re wearing.”
“Take me.” She smiled again, straightening her spine and lifting her face. “I want to know that side of you.”
He stared at her for several moments. Was she for real? He wasn’t kidding. He hadn’t considered that option for a second. Was this wise?
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” She glared at him through narrowed eyes. “Emily painted a way different picture than Lauren. I’m gambling on Emily’s portrayal being more accurate.”
“Oh, fuck yes. But that doesn’t mean it’s your cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, baby. The thought of having you with me at Extreme, on my arm, in my care, makes me…well, fucking hard.” He leaned closer to whisper those last words.
She squirmed under his gaze, her hands gripping the edges of the table. “Let’s do it then.”
At that pronouncement, he groaned. “Woman…”
Two seconds later, he had the bill in his hand and was signing the statement.
Two seconds after that, he had her hand and was leading her to the truck.
Chapter Eight
Abby was nervous. There was no denying it. She’d never done anything remotely close to what she was about to do tonight. A fetish club? But she liked this man. A lot. Zane was not only the sexiest heartthrob she’d ever been out with; he was also courteous, kind, doting, gentle.
She was in so much trouble.
She’d seen many sides of Zane while she’d been with him for two days. And she liked all of them. Now she needed to open her mind and take a chance. Trust Zane to handle her with care. She felt that trust, so the decision to go to Extreme with him was easy.
When they pulled up behind the club, Zane parked the truck and rounded to her side to help her down. With his hands at her waist, he pulled her close. “I really like you, Abby. A lot.” He squeezed her, his fingers holding her tight.
“I like you too, Zane.” She nearly choked up as she spoke. He seemed so serious.
He leaned in the last inches and kissed her lips sweetly before whispering against them. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out with a woman I didn’t meet inside this club or at any other club. If anyone would have asked me a week and a half ago if I could give up D/s for a woman, I would have laughed in their face. But then I met you.”
Abby swallowed. He was so sweet. “Zane—”
“Let me finish, baby.” He stroked his hands up her sides until his thumbs brushed the edges of her breasts. “Dominance is just one part of me. And it’s not the most important thing in the world. If you aren’t comfortable, we’ll leave. If you hate it, we won’t come back. Whatever you do, don’t force yourself to do anything just for me.”
“’K.” She nodded. Her nipples were hard pebbles against her bra and her sex was wet between her legs at the thought of his intensity.
Zane leaned down and furrowed his brow, making direct eye contact. “I mean it, Abby. I won’t fuck up this thing we have over a BDSM club.”
She smiled. “I don’t think you could ever fuck up anything, Zane.”
He chuckled. “Oh, trust me. I can. Wait until you see me lose a fight.”
“Bet that doesn’t happen often.”
“Nope. But it isn’t pretty when it does. I can get pretty intense in the ring.”
“Emily told me.” She smiled. “She said you were dubbed ‘The Animal.’”
“Yeah, that’s what they call me. I earned it. And I’m not too much fun when I lose, either.” He nodded behind him. “You ready?”
She clutched his waist. “I am.” God, she hoped she wasn’t lying. She was nervous. She was beyond nervous. But Zane had a way of making her relax. She knew he would do his best to make her feel comfortable.
He took her hand and led her to the door where he nodded at a man outside. “Frank.” Seconds later they were inside, and Zane greeted another man who seemed to be in charge. “Harper.”
“Zane. How are ya?”
“Good. This is Abby.”
“Nice to meet you, Abby. Harper Stevens.” He took her hand and shook it. Nothing so far seemed remotely out of the ordinary. He turned back to Zane. “You need paperwork?”
“Not tonight. This is her first time. She won’t be participating in anything.”
“’K. You change your mind, come grab me, and I’ll set you up.” He turned to Abby again. “Safe, sane, and consensual here, Abby. If you plan to come again or decide to participate in a scene, you need to sign release fo
rms. You need anything at any time, you come see me. Safe word in this club is always red. Got it?”
She nodded, grasping Zane’s arm tight. Deep breaths. It’s just a club.
“Have fun,” Harper said as Zane led her past the front desk and into the main section of the club.
Zane took several steps into the crowd and then turned and faced her. He backed her against the wall at her side and cupped the sides of her face with both hands, his gaze grabbing hers and holding it tight. “Lord, I hope I’m not making a mistake. Do not leave my side. Got it?”
“Yes,” she muttered.
“I might be bossy.”
She smiled.
“It’s one thing to disassociate when I’m not here, but inside this club, this is my stomping ground. I’ve never spent any time with a vanilla woman here. I’m used to being in command and having a submissive do my bidding.”
A tight knot formed in the pit of her stomach, and her pussy went from wet to soaking wet. She stepped her legs together and squeezed. She could feel her pulse beating hard under his thumbs.
Zane never dropped her gaze. Seconds went by.
Abby’s mouth went dry. He was so intense, and her arousal skyrocketed. She hadn’t seen the inside yet, but the mood was already beyond anything she’d ever experienced. His eyes alone were commanding, sexy, smolderingly hot. He wanted her. She could read his gaze. And not just sexually. She grabbed his waist to steady herself.
His grip on her face was firm as he lowered his lips to hers again and kissed her. Holy shit, the man could kiss. He angled his face to one side and consumed her. He didn’t just kiss, he made it into an art. His tongue swept into her mouth and danced with her own just like he’d done when he picked her up. His lips were soft but demanding.
She heard a moan and recognized it was her own. Her body turned to mush. She thought her knees would buckle, but Zane had her. He wedged one leg between her thighs and held her pressed against the wall.
That didn’t help keep her pussy from throbbing, or the moisture from building in her panties. And then she had the horrible thought that her wetness would get on his black jeans and mortify her. She squirmed, trying to stand straighter and keep her sex from touching his thigh.
Zane broke the kiss, but didn’t move his face. “Stay still, baby.” He resumed his perusal of her mouth while she froze on her tiptoes.
Every cell in her body came alive. She moved her hands from his waist to his biceps and held on tight.
By the time Zane pulled back again, she was putty. “God, Abby.” He held her gaze again. “Sweetest kisses. I’ll never have enough of them.”
She gulped. His chest hovered inches from hers, and she wanted him to lean in the rest of the way and press against her breasts to ease the strain. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Show me your world.”
He hesitated, not saying a word until she opened her eyes. The smile on his face made her squirm more. She almost moaned when her pussy hit his thigh. There was no hiding the evidence.
Zane glanced down between their bodies. “My leg is getting very hot and wet.”
Mortified, Abby ducked her head and looked away, lifting on her tiptoes again.
“Look at me, baby.” His words were soft, patient, but demanding at the same time. And she was drawn to do as he said. When she met his gaze, he spoke again, “Love it.”
She flushed, feeling the heat crawl up her face.
Zane shifted his hands toward the sides of her head, threading his fingers into her hair. “I’m gonna let you go, reluctantly, and show you around the club. I’m sure some of the other Fight Club members are here. Probably Emily and the other ladies too. I’ll introduce you and give you a taste, but then I’m gonna need to take you home before I get carried away and do things to you I had no intention of doing tonight.”
She licked her lips. “What if I want you to do them?” Her voice was deep, husky, not her own.
Zane groaned and stretched his neck back, pulling her face into his chest. “Baby. Stop that. Come on.” He pulled away just as quickly, wrapped her arm around his bicep, and headed deeper into the club.
Abby didn’t know how she managed to walk. She was so horny, every synapse in her body was firing messages. Her pussy was soaked. Her nipples were straining. Her lips were swollen.
Somehow she managed, holding on to Zane’s arm and knowing if she didn’t, she would fall to the floor.
The room was crowded and surprisingly noisy. People wearing all manner of dress, and undress, were laughing and talking to each other. Also surprising. She’d expected a bunch of somber quiet submissives bowing at the feet of their Doms.
“This is the main room, baby.” He nodded across the space. “The bar is over there. They don’t serve alcohol here, though.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that.
“People have to be sober to make good decisions in this club.” He pointed with his free hand to a group of tables and a lounge area to the left. “Most people hang out over there or wherever they can find space to talk and mingle.”
“Other than a serious lack of clothing, I don’t see anything unusual.” She wasn’t kidding about the clothes. Holy shit. Some women were naked. Some had on a collar and a leash. Some wore corsets, tight skirts, and high heels. Abby was indeed overdressed.
Zane glanced down at her and smiled. “Trust me. You haven’t seen everything.”
She didn’t know what he meant, but she followed his lead across the room, relieved when she spotted Emily.
Emily grinned and jumped up from the booth she was sitting at with Rider and several other people. “Hey. You came.” She hugged Abby gently. “I wasn’t expecting you here tonight.”
Rider stood and shook Abby’s hand. “Don’t bug them, baby,” he said to Emily, tugging her back down. He rolled his eyes. “Let Zane handle this.”
For some reason his words made the ball in Abby’s belly tighten further. Let Zane handle this. She wanted Zane to handle this all right. And she didn’t care how he did it.
Zane pulled Abby into the line of everyone else at the table. “Abby, meet several of the gang.” He pointed, starting on the left and making his way around. “That’s Rafe and his wife, Katy. Next we have Mason and his fiancée, Jenna. And you’ve met Gage and Kayla. Where’s Conner?” He glanced around at the group.
Rider spoke. “Holding Sabrina’s head over the toilet last I heard.”
“Of course he is.” Zane set his hand on Abby’s around his arm. He turned his face to her. “You’ll meet them later.”
She nodded. There were so many of them, and there was no way she’d gotten a handle on their names. Not even half. The men were mostly wearing black. The women were all dressed in skimpy sexy clothes, the likes of which she had never seen, let alone owned.
She glanced around the room again and decided there were a few others like her, even a few in jeans. Probably most of them were new.
Zane turned to square his body in front of her, putting his back to his friends. He lifted her chin. “Eyes on me, baby.”
She met his gaze and blinked. Every time he spoke, her pussy pulsed. Jesus. He had a way about him. And she was unbelievably surprised by her reaction.
“I’m going to show you around the club. You’re going to keep your gaze down unless I say otherwise.”
She nodded. Her mouth was too dry to lick her lips.
He leaned in closer. “I’m not trying to be an ass, although that’s a general mannerism of submissives. My reasoning tonight is you don’t need to see everything your first time here. It would be overwhelming. I’ll tell you when to look up. Otherwise, your gaze stays on the floor or on mine. Got it?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her lips briefly and sighed. “Lord, woman.” He turned to tell the others what his plan was and then led Abby from the group.
She wanted to look back over her shoulder and see what their reactions were, but she forced herself to keep her gaze down inste
ad. Perhaps he was right. He was certainly protective. If he didn’t think she should absorb every aspect of the club this first time, he probably had good reason.
She had no idea what he’d meant when he said Lord, woman, but she hoped it wasn’t something he’d been disappointed about.
Zane led her away from the crowd and the noise and into a wide hall behind the fray. The mood was considerably different there, and even without lifting her gaze she could feel it in the air. When he stopped and leaned his back against a wall, he pulled her back to his front and lifted her chin. His arms wrapped around her middle, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “This hall is a row of scenes. Each room has three sides. This side is open for spectators.”
“Spectators?” she mumbled.
“Yep. That’s the general idea. When people do a scene, others watch.”
She had her face twisted to watch him speak, but he lifted a hand and turned her chin toward the room in front of them. “Watch, baby.”
Abby stood very still while she absorbed her surroundings. The room had a large X in the middle. She’d seen pictures of them before on the internet. She knew it was a St. Andrew’s cross. But seeing it live in a club was a completely different story. And seeing a naked woman attached to the cross made her entire frame stiffen. She faced the wood, so Abby couldn’t read her expression.
Zane tucked both arms under Abby’s breasts and held her close.
A man, presumably the woman’s Dom, circled her several times. He wore jeans, but no shirt. He tugged on the ropes at her wrists and whispered in her ear. She nodded. He kissed her shoulder.
It was so sensual. Like a work of art. Like Zane’s kisses. Art. It felt like she was watching the most amazing live painting while the man slowly stroked his hands across the woman’s naked body. He gripped her ass and squeezed her cheeks. He even kneeled between her legs and caressed his palms down her thighs.
The lady moaned, setting her forehead on the cross section of wood.
Abby moaned also, quickly sucking in a breath to stop herself.
Zane didn’t say anything, but his fingers teased the sides of her breasts.
She reached up with both hands to grip his forearms.
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