Knight

by Kristen Ashley

  Then her hands went to her mouth and she shouted back, “Like I said. Hold the fuck on.”

  Then she swayed away and started to bust a move which was also Viv’s way. She could dance alone and get into it and she didn’t even have to be tipsy.

  Hulk escorted me to the VIP section.

  I went back to my San Pellegrino and looked up to Knight’s window. I also took several deep breaths.

  Right, okay.

  Talk to him. Ask what gives. Listen.

  Then decide.

  A couple of my friends wandered over to me and I went back to having a different kind of fun that didn’t involve booze or dancing.

  * * * * *

  The club was emptying out and I was standing at Knight’s window watching it.

  Hulk had escorted me up to Knight’s empty office before he had escorted a shitfaced Sandrine and not-shitfaced but definitely happy Vivica out the back way to the waiting car so he could take them home.

  My friends were all gone, it was after three in the morning and my night with Knight was finally starting.

  As I watched out his window, even though the lights were up, the music was off, stragglers were gathering their stuff and moseying out and the staff was beginning clean up, I was fascinated. And since I’d been standing there for the last half an hour before the lights went up and the music was off, I’d been fascinated a while. In fact, there was so much happening, so much to see, so many people and it was so easy to see it all from this vantage point, I figured I could watch it for hours and never get bored.

  The one thing that bothered me was that you could see everything. Absolutely everything. And if you were a handsome, wealthy club owner who could pick and choose, you could stand there and select from your smorgasbord of pussy.

  You could also see your new girlfriend dancing and send your lackey to make her stop on a whim.

  On this thought, the door opened. I twisted my neck and watched Knight walk in.

  It really kind of sucked that he looked just as good in a suit as he did in a faded Metallica t-shirt and jeans. And it sucked because I couldn’t decide which Knight I liked better.

  “Hey, baby,” he said while closing the door behind him.

  “I like to dance,” I blurted and his head tipped to the side.

  He held my eyes and he did this for some time while I waited.

  Then he said, “Right, it’s time to talk about this anyway.”

  Then he walked to his desk.

  I watched thinking, Talk about what?

  He sat behind his desk and ordered, “Come here, Anya.”

  I turned from the window, walked to his desk and stopped at the opposite side but remained standing.

  Leaned back in his chair looking up at me, he stated quietly, “Baby, I said, come here.”

  “I’m here,” I replied.

  “You’re there,” he returned with a tip of his head to me then he gestured to his lap with a hand. “I want you here.”

  Oh boy.

  I pressed my lips together. Then I moved around his desk.

  When I was within reaching distance, he reached. Hooking his arm around my waist, slowly and gently, he guided me in, turned me then pulled me into his lap so I had my legs over one arm of chair, my back resting against the other, my behind in his lap and both his arms around me.

  “Okay, Anya, babe, before I take you home to my bed, it’s important you get me,” he said quietly.

  I stared at him and when he didn’t go on, I nodded.

  “I think you get from the times you’ve been with me that I like control,” he went on.

  Well, I got that all right.

  I nodded again.

  “Right.” His arms gave me a squeeze then one hand slid lightly up my arm causing goose bumps the entire way until it went over my shoulder and finally stopped at my neck where he curled his fingers around. Then he dipped his face close to mine. “What you need to get is I… like… control. In all things.”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  “So, I tell my woman not to drink, she doesn’t drink. I tell her not to dance, she doesn’t dance. I do these for my own reasons and you comply. You don’t, you answer to me. You put one of my boys out, you again answer to me. And, baby, you don’t want to answer to me.”

  Right, okay.

  This I did not like.

  “Knight –”

  His hand at my neck clenched gently and his face dipped closer. “I won’t hurt you. I would never hurt you. Not the way you’re thinking. But I would make you pay and how you’d pay might involve pain.”

  Oh my God.

  “What?” I breathed.

  “An example, you got this, you knew it before now, you told Kurt you were gonna dance anyway, right now you’d be over my knees a different way. Do you get me?”

  Oh. My. God!

  My body went still.

  Knight pulled it closer. “The punishment will fit the crime, Anya. Not lasting, no marks and it won’t go on for hours. And after, always, I’ll take care of you. Tonight, you look good, that dress looks good on you and men’s eyes were on you. I didn’t like that. In your section, they can look, they can see, they cannot get close. On the dance floor, they see more, you movin’ the way you do when you dance, you give them more to see and they can get close. You’re mine. No one touches what’s mine, gets close to what’s mine, they don’t even think about it. You on that dance floor, I saw them watching you and I knew they were thinking about it. That bothered me. I stopped it. If you don’t get it now, you will that I won’t ask you to do something you don’t like or that makes you uncomfortable. I’ll only ask you to do shit or not do shit that’s important to me. If I’m important to you, you’ll do it. And all this is the same when we’re in bed.”

  I didn’t say anything, couldn’t think of what to say. I just stared at him.

  Knight kept talking.

  “You please me, I’ll please you. You do what I tell you to do, I’ll take care of you. You disobey me or act out, I’ll punish you then I’ll take care of you.” His thumb swept my jaw and he whispered, “And if you like your punishments, act out all you want, baby, then I’ll give them to you but I’ll always take care of you.”

  Was he crazy?

  Or just kinky?

  “Are you into S&M?” I whispered.

  He moved back an inch. “What I’m not into is labels. What I am into is control. You do not drive my ride. You do not get drunk when I want to fuck you sober. You do not dance if I tell you not to. I am not into kink, animals, candle wax, toys, knives, blood, needles, clamps, strangulation and definitely not any shit that goes beyond all that. It’s not a chosen lifestyle, playrooms and gear. It’s not an inclination. It’s life. I told you I’d ask very little of you, baby and this is what I’m asking. That you get this about me, you give it to me and if you fuck up, you take your punishment and we move on. You like it, wanna make it a game, you’ll get my limits, you’ll understand how I hand out punishment, you’ll know what you’re buying. You buy it, I give it to you. I don’t need it but I like it and if you want that game, I’ll say, straight up, I’ll be happy to play it.”

  “And what if I don’t want that game?” I asked hesitantly.

  “That would be disappointing,” he answered unhesitantly.

  I studied him, my heart beating wildly and I whispered, “Is this what dresses, shoes and cell phones buys you?”

  I froze solid at the change in his face and the fury in his eyes as he whispered back, “That, Anya, you confirmed you got me, would right now have your ass bared to me.”

  Oh God.

  I pushed away.

  His arm and hand got tighter.

  I stopped pushing and breathed deep.

  “You stick by me,” he ground out, “you, and only you, will learn why I am how I am. No one knows. No one. But you, Anya, you stick with me, I’ll share. And right now, bonus. I’ll tell you what you already know but you don’t understand. I like control and I have
a temper. I see the world a certain way. I want my world a certain way. And I set about getting it. If I don’t, if I can’t control that, harness it, things can get ugly. So I do. When I do, say when I’m punishing you, I never lose control because what I’m doing is a release. And the only time I’ll lose control is when I’m finally inside you and you’ll like that, I promise you.”

  God, now he was turning me on, putting me off and making me curious all at the same time!

  He drew in breath and the anger slid out of his eyes.

  Then his thumb glided over my jaw, his hand shifted up to cup it and then his thumb slid across my cheek and then my lips as his eyes held mine and he whispered, “I can do gentle. I can do normal. I can and will do you a lot of ways, baby. And you got a preference, all you gotta do is ask and if I’m in the mood, I’ll give it to you. But you’re in my bed, my home, my ride, my club, you gotta get that I’m the man, yield to that and trust that I’ll always take care of you.”

  Do me a lot of ways?

  I sought clarification.

  “Are you into, like, um… tying me up?” I asked.

  “Bondage? Restraints? Gags?” he asked back.

  I nodded.

  He answered, “Absolutely.”

  Wow.

  That just turned me on and made me curious.

  Crap.

  “This is…” I paused, “a little,” I searched for a word, “unusual.”

  One side of his mouth curled up. “Yeah. It’s also me.”

  “Can I be me?” I asked and his brows drew together.

  “What?”

  “If I’m, um… yielding to you, I don’t know if… I mean, can I be me?”

  “Uh… yeah.”

  “How?”

  “You’ll get the boundaries.”

  “Without any explanation?”

  “Babe, I bought you that phone because you needed one. I bought you those dresses because the way you dress, I know you like clothes but can’t afford the good shit, so I got you the good shit you’d like that would make you happy. I did not do any of that shit to buy anything from you. And me doin’ something nice and you implying I’m buyin’ you was not cool. So that, that would get punishment in a way you’d have trouble sittin’ down for a couple of days. I told you I drive my ride when you’re in it. You kept pushin’ that, knowin’ I laid that out, that would get you punishment. I already explained the dance floor. Are you not seein’ the pattern of boundaries here?”

  “But I like to dance,” I whispered.

  “Then put on music at my place and dance all the fuck you want. Have a party and ask all your friends over and dance. Go out with your girls not at my club and dance. But you’re in your section in my club, you don’t dance.”

  This didn’t seem that bad.

  “So you don’t mind guys looking and getting close at other clubs?”

  “Babe, they might look but they won’t get close. I told you go out and dance with your girls at another club but that doesn’t mean I won’t put a man on you. I will and I’ll do that for three reasons. One, not only you but both your girls are beautiful and I already explained the recipe for disaster you are on your own. The three of you is a triple threat and makes me all kinds of uneasy. It’s a miracle your girl’s scene with Nick was the first you three had. You need a man on you and you do the town not in your section at my club, you got one. Two, I don’t want some asshole touching you or getting near you, you. And I got a man on you, that won’t happen. And three, he’s your ride, no taxi fares, you can all get hammered and still get home safe.”

  Seriously, how could one man be so awesome and so crazy all at the same time?

  “I think I need to think about this, Knight,” I said quietly.

  “Then do it but don’t think you’re fuckin’ doin’ it alone in your bed. I’ve waited a week for your body to be under mine between my sheets and I’m not waiting any longer.”

  “I’m not sure –” I started.

  “You don’t want me to fuck you tonight, I’ll wait until the morning when you’ve slept on it and you agree. But as you’re sleepin’ on it, you’ll be doin’ it beside me.”

  I blinked.

  Then I stiffened.

  Then I snapped, “Seriously?”

  He leaned in, grinning.

  Grinning!

  “Anya, babe, clue the fuck in. The first time I met you and onward, I have been the man I explained tonight. And you have held on, followed me, come to me, kissed me and didn’t want to let me go. Tonight, I said no booze. You said okay. Tonight, I sent Kurt to get you off the dance floor. I watched, babe, and you left the fuckin’ dance floor. Not ten fuckin’ minutes ago, I told you to come here, you didn’t get close enough, I made it clear I wanted your ass in my lap. And babe, right now, without a word of protest, you are sittin’ with your sweet ass in my lap. I get this shit is intense because I’m intense, that’s the whole fuckin’ deal. I get it’ll take you a while to get used to it. But you want it. Fuck, you even like it. You just don’t understand it yet. But you will.”

  Knight Sebring had scared me often. He’d confused me maybe more. He’d totally freaked me out. He’d also been very sweet. And now he was being all of them. Except maybe the sweet part but kind of that too, since he was being open with me, laying it out honestly and taking the time to explain. Though he did think the end was a foregone conclusion, his arrogance didn’t come as a surprise since he’d been that way before. Further, I couldn’t blame him for that because what he said was absolutely right.

  I wanted to know his secrets. I wanted just to know more about him. I liked spending time with him.

  But he still freaked me out.

  “What’s workin’ in that head of yours?” he asked softly and I realized I’d gone unfocused so I focused on him.

  “You scare me, confuse me, freak me out and you’re also sweet so I don’t know what to do with you.”

  He was honest, I could be too.

  “Okay, babe,” he whispered, his thumb gliding back across my lips, my cheek then his fingers clenched gently into my jaw as he went on, “another bonus. You take me how I am, I take the burden of you having to wonder all the time what to do.”

  There it was. Confusion again.

  “Pardon?” I whispered back.

  “You’ve carried a heavy load for a long fuckin’ time, Anya. You trust me, I take that burden. Don’t look into this shit, ask around and make assumptions. You are not wearin’ that dress because I’m what’s considered a classic Dominant. You dress yourself. You eat what you want. You live your life. But you trust me, you keep lettin’ me in, I share your load. And you give me you, we work out, in it for the long haul, I swear, baby, I’ll be happy to take it all and let you live free.”

  And there it was. Sweet.

  My tension ebbed away as my belly melted and I whispered, “Knight –”

  “Anya, baby, I wanna take you home but I still got shit to do. And I want you to sit right where you are while I do it. Then I’ll take you home. Then I’ll take you to bed. Then you’ll sleep with me. We’re done talking. I laid it out. You get me. I’m givin’ you time. Tomorrow, you decide.”

  I licked my lips.

  Knight’s thumb stroked my cheek.

  Then, it wasn’t lost on me all it said about me, about him, about how I was with him already, when I whispered, “Okay.”

  One side of his lips curved up and I knew it wasn’t lost on him either.

  Then he sat back, pulled his phone out of his inside jacket pocket and hit some buttons.

  And like I agreed, I sat in his lap while he did the shit he had to do.

  Chapter Nine

  Whatever You Want

  I walked into the huge garage, cars all around, some nothing but shells, some elevated on those greasy pole thingies with lights hanging from their undercarriages, some with hoods up.

  But I was moving toward the middle where there was a large, elegant rug, graceful furniture and soft lighting.
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  All around there were homeys wearing jeans that hung so low, you could see their underwear and baseball caps that peaked high and the bills were off to the side.

  Reclined on the couch was Vivica in an evening gown that looked like it was made of crystal.

  Her tawny eyes came to me.

  “Hold the fuck on,” she whispered.

  I blinked.

  Then I woke up and felt the unexplainably soft, sleek, cool silkiness of satin sheets surrounding me.

  I opened my eyes and saw black satin and beyond, ivory walls, the sun shining through French windows I couldn’t see.

  Last night, Knight made calls, took calls, did shit at his desk, all with me in his lap, all without explaining any of it to me.

  Then he took me out back where his Aston Martin was waiting and took me to his place, leading me directly to his room.

  “Couple more calls, babe,” he muttered. “Bed for you.”

  Then he kissed my forehead and sauntered out.

  I examined the room, my head full, fear clashing with curiosity then I moved across it to the chests of drawers and opened some until I found Knight’s tees. I took the one off the top, went to his bathroom and found it was as opulent as the bedroom and decorated entirely in ivory. No color, not even black. Nothing. But every tile, gleaming fixture, light and accessory was fit for a king.

  I had nothing to clean my face or moisturize and I didn’t know if I should. Then I thought it would be uncool to get makeup on Knight’s sheets. So I undressed, pulled on his tee and used his handwash to do it.

  Then I left the bedroom, smoothed my dress out on the back of his couch, lined my shoes up perfectly at the side, walked up the steps and slid into his bed.

  The sheets. Divine.

  Seriously.

  Surprisingly with all that was happening, all Knight said, not surprisingly considering it was way late, my mind unjumbled and I fell almost immediately to sleep.

  Now it was morning and I had a decision to make.

  Before I could put my thoughts in order to do just that, an arm curled around my belly and I was pulled to my back.

  Then Knight was on top of me.

  On top of me!

  I blinked up at him and before I could get out even a, “Good morning,” his mouth was on mine where he growled, “Open for me.”