by Cassie Ryan
Several, like this woman, had tried to catch the eye of a Dom who would sponsor his or her membership. But that type of Cinderella story rarely happened here. Especially since the men or women who could afford that, or had the influence and power to convince Master Ralston to let an ex-staffer join, were mostly self-centered egotists who were always on the lookout for something better.
Sponsoring someone would imply a certain level of responsibility they didn’t want to be saddled with.
Kate sighed. Most of hers were exactly those types of Doms. There had been some terrific Doms when she’d first joined, but one by one they had either relocated for work or family, transferred to other dungeons, or decided to become monogamous with one of their other subs. But she had gone into each of her decisions with her eyes wide open. More to silently get back at her father than anything else, she realized with a mental wince.
She loved the lifestyle—or at least what it was supposed to be. If Kate could find one Dom who interested her enough both inside and outside of The Dungeon, she might consider dating her Dom and thinking about a more fluid relationship. Finding a man like that seemed like discovering the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and yet she couldn’t help but hope that one day she would.
A large, warm hand settled over hers, jarring her out of her thoughts as she realized she’d fallen silent again. Her cheeks burned for a second as she cast Master Dex in that possible role in her mind.
It was too soon to know if he even qualified, but right now he was sexy as hell, and hers for the evening.
“What would you like, Kate?” His deep voice resonated inside her and scattered her thoughts even further.
She glanced at the waitress, and her mind spun with possibilities. She normally didn’t order anything alcoholic here because she thought it was a bad combination with play. Although she needed a drink after the episode with Balkins, she instead stayed with her regular preference and ordered a vanilla latte.
She thanked the waitress. She had seen the woman many times but didn’t know her name. She had heard her go by several different names, depending on who had asked. So Kate was never sure which, if any, was the true one. Kate shrugged it off. People in Los Angeles sometimes used different personas for various reasons. It was none of her business why the woman felt she needed the extra identities.
Master Dex’s hand still covered Kate’s. He lightly squeezed as he looked at the waitress. “I’ll have black coffee, please. What’s your name?” He smiled, and the waitress wobbled a little, like her knees had weakened.
Kate knew exactly how the woman felt. Dex’s smiles were potent. Hell, the same could be said for everything about him. He was unlike any Dom she had ever met, at least so far. She hoped he continued to surprise her.
“I’m Opal,” the woman said as if in a trance, before taking a deep breath as though she hoped it would steady her.
Opal.
That was one Kate hadn’t heard her use before. Interesting.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks. If you need anything, just yell for me. I’m Opal…” she trailed off as she walked away, looking back over her shoulder at Dex every few steps.
Kate laughed softly. “If every woman in the place reacts to you like that, the other Doms are going to be pissed when they have no subs left to play scenes with.”
Dex’s eyes darkened, and his smile turned sinful, making her realize she had more or less just admitted to being as unsteady around him as Opal was.
“Hopefully the other Doms here aren’t anything like Balkins.” He fell silent, but Kate noticed his clenched jaw and sensed he had much more he wanted to say on the subject.
She leaned back in her seat, careful to keep her hand under Dex’s since she enjoyed his warm, exciting touch. “Unfortunately, a lot of them here are like Balkins, or even worse. There are some good ones, but they don’t tend to stay here, or stay available for long. And there are several who are only here when they are in town, in between production or movie schedules, or even on political junkets.” She let out a long sigh before she remembered it was a breach of sub protocol to speak badly of any Dom—especially to another Dom.
Master Dex squeezed her hand again. “You look like I’m about to make you go stand in the corner, or send you to a time-out.”
The laugh in his voice warmed her, and she shrugged. “I apologize. It’s not my place to gossip about Doms.”
His heavy gaze made her look up to find him almost drinking her in, memorizing her. It was disconcerting, but somehow she was flattered rather than annoyed.
He traced his thumb over the back of her fingers, sending shivers through her body. She glanced down to where his large hand covered hers, the innocent brush somehow more erotic when she watched his hand glide over her pale flesh, exacerbated by too many hours spent indoors working.
Dex cleared his throat. “In a lot of situations I would agree. But from what I saw, Balkins wasn’t deserving of much respect.” He raised one brow. “Unless you had a previous agreement with him, and I misunderstood?”
The smile curving his lips showed he knew better, and was teasing her. But she wanted to clarify the situation anyway. “No. Definitely not.”
Kate tried to remember what she’d said that started this exchange. When she recalled it was her admission that she wasn’t supposed to speak badly of other Doms, she nodded, oddly disappointed. She wouldn’t have minded receiving a punishment from Master Dex. In fact, it might have led to the several orgasms she’d been praying for, to work through her stress after the last irritating conversation with her father. She’d been ignoring his calls for a week, needing time to detox from his lectures, but she couldn’t escape forever.
Opal returned with the drinks, bringing Kate back to the present, and making her realize Dex still softly stroked the back of her fingers.
Opal smiled at Dex and slid his coffee in front of him along with a small pot of cream and a bowl of sugar, even though he had asked for black. Almost as an afterthought, Opal set Kate’s latte in front of her.
Dex thanked the woman and then took his hand away from Kate’s to push the cream and sugar aside and pick up his cup to take a sip.
Kate missed the sizzling sensation his touch had caused, but dropped her hand in her lap rather than leave it lying on the table like she was waitingd for him to cover it again.
She didn’t think of herself as vain, always wondering about what others thought of her, but she didn’t want any man to think she was too needy or available. Not even this one. She prided herself on being an independent woman, and the “being gifted to Balkins” scenario still burned her stomach. She sipped her latte and met Dex’s amused gaze.
“How long have you been in the lifestyle, Kate?”
She broke herself out of the sensual haze his touch had left her in and swallowed before answering. “Nearly five years.” She had been so naïve and vanilla. “A boyfriend convinced me to come here, thinking it would be a great joke when I was shocked.” She frowned, her stomach tightening at the strong memory. “But when I was intrigued and wanted to know more, he never called again.” She shrugged, even though she had been hurt at the time.
Dex’s expression showed a similar hint of anger to when Balkins had told him to find another plaything for the evening. “He was obviously not in the lifestyle, or was just a wannabe who doesn’t really get what it’s all about.” Dex’s voice was calm and smooth, but Kate sensed the displeasure at her long-ago boyfriend that simmered just beneath the surface. “Only someone not in the lifestyle would want to see you react that way.”
Kate nodded. “He wouldn’t last a second in the fetish community. I found out from a friend that he had done the same thing with other girlfriends. He would date someone who was vanilla for a while, and when it started to become serious, he would try to convince her to go to a local dungeon or swingers club to scare her. If she was offended, she usually broke up with him. If she wasn’t, he decided she was a slut and never called again.
” She huffed out a breath as she shoved the memories aside.
“That man needs a good lesson in how to treat a woman. I almost hope I’m the one who catches up to him one of these days.”
The smug grin on Dex’s sexy face made her heartbeat race. She would love to see Dex teach her asshole ex a lesson.
Chapter 3
Dex smiled at the beautiful woman across from him. Kate wasn’t anything like he’d expected when he had been given this assignment. He knew she was a submissive to the rich and powerful, so he had pictured a vain, easily led woman looking for a sugar daddy. This vibrant, independent woman was anything but.
The combination of her long black hair, vibrant green eyes, and beautiful, pale skin made her even more striking. It was no wonder she was a much-sought-after sub.
He had read her dossier put together by the FBI, but after meeting her, he would bet she didn’t have anything to do with the plot to funnel money to terrorists. But he would have to prove it.
“How about you?” Kate asked, pulling the direction of his thoughts back to the present. “How long have you been in the fetish community?”
Dex fell into her effervescent green gaze. “Nearly eight years.” He cocked his head to the side as he studied her. She was a puzzle he needed to make sense of.
He could never leave anything unsolved. It made his FBI career perfect for him, but also drew him to the ever-changing equation of the D/s power exchange.
He smiled when he thought about his first sight of Kate. “If Master Ralston and I hadn’t interrupted, would Senator Balkins be in the ER right now having his broken nose taped?”
A pretty blush stained Kate’s neck and cheeks. He had expected her to pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about, but she surprised him again when she met his gaze squarely.
“That was the plan.” She sipped her latte as if ordering her thoughts and deciding how much to tell him. “I’ve been turning Balkins down for months. Today, when I came through the front doors, he grabbed me and told me I had been ‘gifted’ to him for the night. I lost my temper.” She raised her chin. “If Master Ralston had spoken even two seconds later, Balkins would have already been squealing like a stuck pig, with blood gushing from his nose.”
“I figured as much.” Dex couldn’t help a small smile at the thought of Balkins receiving such instant karma. Although a man like Balkins would have found a way to make Kate’s life a living hell, no matter that he had accosted her and broken the club’s rules in the process. Something Dex still wanted to discuss with Master Ralston when he had the chance.
A flash of anger made Dex clench his teeth as he pictured Balkins with his arm around Kate’s middle, holding her back against him. He would save an equal measure of that displeasure for the idiot who had tried to “gift” her to the senator. When Kate’s manner became guarded, he realized his expression probably betrayed his true feelings. “Do all the Doms here treat women like Balkins does?”
Kate shrugged before taking a dainty sip of her latte. “Many of them do, but not all. Over the years it has eroded my love of the D/s lifestyle, and The Dungeon, and made me start to think about a change of venue.”
Dex bit back the urge to tell her to come to his home club in Phoenix, Club Desire. He was here to do a job, not reform an entire dungeon. Although the thought was tempting. As was the idea of having Kate come to Club Desire. He could already tell he would enjoy getting to know her. He hated for the lifestyle to be misrepresented in this way and didn’t like to see people become disillusioned with such a beautiful thing as the power exchange—especially for false reasons.
He mentally switched gears back to the topic at hand.
Dex watched the movement of Kate’s slender throat as she swallowed. He wondered what her skin would taste like, and what her moans would sound like if he nipped at that sensitive flesh. He reined in his thoughts. “You said you’ve been turning Balkins down for months, but I assume you have another Dom?” From her dossier, he knew she had more than one, but which one she chose to speak about would tell him a lot.
She gave a small sigh and swallowed again before she spoke. “Since I joined The Dungeon, I’ve ended up playing with several.”
Her manner turned wary, as if Dex would somehow judge her for having more than one Dom. But that was in no way unique inside the lifestyle.
He wondered if she’d received that kind of judgment in the past. Although he had to admit, there was a slight twinge of Dom territorial instinct going on inside him. Not only was he attracted to her, but he felt protective even though he’d known her for only just under an hour.
You’re here on a case, and she’s a possible suspect, he forcefully reminded himself.
He watched her trace the rim of the white porcelain cup with her fingertip. “Is there anyone in particular right now?” he asked, trying to find out more about her current Doms.
Her expressive green eyes narrowed as she raised her chin and met his gaze directly, making him think of a warrior queen. “Mark Stanton and I have played off and on for the last month or so.”
Dex immediately recognized the name. Stanton was the very wealthy owner of a media conglomerate, and there already was an extremely thick FBI file on him from other cases Dex had worked as an analyst. Clearly, the man was a scumbag. One with lots of high-priced lawyers.
Those lawyers couldn’t protect Stanton forever, though. Things would catch up with him eventually.
Dex nodded to Kate, as if he didn’t already know what kind of a man Stanton was. “I’m sure he won’t be pleased with Balkins when he finds out what happened.” Dex gestured toward the lobby, where he’d first seen her standing with Balkins’s arm around her waist, her body tensed for a blow the man didn’t even know would come.
She huffed out a breath. “Stanton was the asshole who told Balkins I was his gift for the evening.”
Anger surged through Dex, searing his chest and stomach. He tried to mask it by picking up his cup and taking a long drink. But when he met Kate’s calm gaze, he could see he hadn’t hidden anything. She was perceptive. He’d have to be extremely careful to get the information he needed without letting her see too much of what he should keep hidden.
“What about you?” She leaned forward. “I know Master Ralston introduced you as a new Dom to The Dungeon. But I would be extremely surprised if you’re a brand-new Dom.”
Her words were calm but confident, as if she knew she was right and was merely stating a fact. Dex was attracted to intelligent, intuitive, independent women. As an added bonus, this one was gorgeous and enjoyed kink.
Warning bells were going off in his head like a firehouse siren for a five-alarm blaze.
Danger ahead!
He would definitely have to be careful where Kate was concerned. To get her to open up and reveal all she knew, he would have to play scenes with her. To do otherwise would raise suspicions and doubts, not just from Kate, but from the entire dungeon. Even knowing she was the type of woman who could be his Achilles heel couldn’t make him stop looking forward to their first scene.
She smiled at him, her entire face lighting with the action. “What brings you to L.A., Master Dex? Work?”
Her question only confirmed his thoughts, and he pulled from the cover story that his support team had built for him. “I’m here on business for an undetermined amount of time.”
She studied him as she sipped her latte. “ ‘Undetermined.’ What type of work do you do? Or is that too personal to ask?”
He raised a brow in question. Subs had asked him that quite a bit in the past, and he had a standing generic answer of “business analyst.” Not too far from the truth since before his recent promotion to field agent, he had spent several years as an analyst for the FBI. So he could speak intelligently on the subject when needed. Beyond that, he kept things vague.
He studied Kate. “Why would you think that’s too personal to ask?”
She shrugged. “Around here, most of the Doms are already well k
nown for whatever line of work they are in and would be offended if you didn’t automatically know what they did, as well as most of their accomplishments and general net worth. So, honestly, I’ve never had to ask, and wasn’t sure if that would be considered rude or not.”
Dex laughed. “That makes sense. I hadn’t thought about the demographic here, but I know Master Ralston has always tried to cater to the moneyed crowd and the higher-visibility professions and personas.”
She chuckled. “That’s putting it mildly.”
He hadn’t answered her, so rather than make her ask again, he offered, “By day, I’m a business systems analyst for an efficiency expert.”
Her gaze intensified, showing he had both surprised and intrigued her. “For an efficiency expert?” She bit her bottom lip, not so much a nervous gesture as one she probably used when gathering her thoughts. “Is it for help with their clients, to analyze their processes?”
Dex smiled, glad he had talked this through with his friend Brent Weston before he left Phoenix. He knew very well what Brent did when he wasn’t running Club Desire but wasn’t sure how a business analyst would fit into that, so they had brainstormed a good cover story and cleared it with Dex’s boss, Jason Tanner.
“I do the analysis on the companies who hire my boss. He likes to know who he’s working for to be able to anticipate their business needs.”
She smiled. “Impressive. A great way to make himself invaluable. I think I would like your boss.”
A small twinge of jealousy pierced Dex, making him wince. He knew she would like Brent. “Exactly the rationale for having an analyst on staff.” He drank the rest of his coffee and set the cup on the table. “What do you do, Kate?”
A definite spark of mischief played across her features. “Apparently I like to play with people’s websites.” She immediately snapped her mouth closed. “Sorry. I’m still dodging a parental guilt trip. My father called recently, and his message rarely changes.”