Landon looked up at Connor. “No offence, Connor, but I have to hear from her that this is what she wants. She’s automatically given membership because she works here. But she’s never played before, and I want to make sure she knows what she’s doing. Ria?”
“I’m okay, Landon. No one’s forcing me into this. I want to do it.”
“You ever played before?”
“Yes.”
His face eased. “All right then. Still, since this is your first time here, you’re required to check in with Joe, who’s on duty tonight. He’ll keep an eye on you.”
Relief filled her. Even though she didn’t think Connor would do anything to hurt her, she wouldn’t be here if that were the case, learning Joe was on duty eased her mind. He’d watch her closely.
“Thank you, Landon,” Connor told him sincerely. “I’m glad to see you looking out for the subs. Especially new ones, like Ria.”
Landon looked surprised then relieved. Had he thought he was going to get in trouble with Connor? She’d guessed if he was a jerk, he could have reported Landon to Ajax. Instead, he’d thanked him for doing his job.
Connor drew her forward, down the hallway. Her heart pounded.
Shit. She was really doing this. She was going into the club. God, she hoped she was making the right decision.
7
He sensed Ria was starting to freak out. He stilled just as they entered the dungeon, giving her a moment to take it all in. It wasn’t about forcing her to play. Even though he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and completely take charge, that wasn’t the way to do it. It needed to be her choice. She needed to know she always had the ultimate control.
Normally, with a sub who had some experience, this wouldn’t be such a concern. He’d walk into The Twisted Thorn, the club owned by his bosses, negotiate a scene with whatever free sub caught his interest, play, give after care, and walk away.
Rinse and repeat.
Huh, since when had that become boring? He hadn’t consciously thought about it, but while he’d still been going to The Twisted Thorn regularly, more often than not he went to see his friends, not to play.
In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so eager to scene with a sub.
But she was nervous. Obviously, her previous experience hadn’t been an entirely positive one. Questions hovered, but he pushed them back, knowing she was unlikely to answer them. She was a pretty closed book. Except when her emotions were high, then things slipped out.
He could strip down those shields while they played together. But not now. Tonight, was all about building trust. About her knowing that he would take care of her. Would put her first. And was Dom enough to be in control. Because Ria wouldn’t submit to someone she couldn’t respect.
He moved behind her, pressing her back against his body. “Bring back memories?” he whispered in her ear, gratified when she shivered lightly.
“Yeah,” she answered back quietly.
He nipped her neck gently. “How do you address me?”
She stiffened for a moment, and he thought she was going to balk at his implied order. That wouldn’t be a good start. Then she relaxed.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl.” He licked at where he’d given her the small nip. She trembled. “Did this other Dom do something you didn’t like? Scare you? Hit a trigger?”
“No, Sir. The problem wasn’t with this.” She waved her arm around.
Ah.
“So, he hurt you emotionally.”
“He betrayed me,” she said in a harsh whisper. “Said he was one thing, and it turned out he was another. He used me.”
She tried to take a step away. “This might have been a mistake.”
“Sh,” he soothed her, pulling her back against him. “You know who I am. I haven’t promised you anything, have I?”
She didn’t answer for a minute, but he let her think it over.
“No, you haven’t.”
“I know I was here under a pretense, but you understand why. And you know who I am now. I’m not here to use you.”
“You want to play with me tonight. See where things go. If we want to, we can play while you’re here. No promises of anything past that.”
There was no reproach in her voice. No anger. And, yet, when it was laid out like that it didn’t sound great. Even if it was the truth.
“That’s right. Still want to do a scene with me? Remember, tonight is just an exploration. Nothing too deep.”
God, his cock was so hard he wondered how he was going to resist taking her tonight. But he’d promised no sex. Didn’t mean he wasn’t going to bring her to orgasm, though. He wanted to fuck her with his fingers. Get his tongue inside her tight passage. Taste her. Eat her.
Shit. He took a calming breath. Time to slow things down a little.
“Ria. Master Connor.” Joe approached, giving him the reprieve he needed to cool down.
“Master Joe. We were just coming to find you.”
The big Dom’s dark arms were covered in tattoos. Connor knew he had a military background, but a lot of the shit he’d been involved in was classified. Not that Connor couldn’t find out. But he didn’t like to hack into US military files without just cause.
Joe nodded then looked down at Ria. “How are you, kitten?”
His gentle voice had Connor raising his eyebrows.
“I’m fine. How you doing? Your nana doing okay?”
“She’s much better. She loved seeing you.”
“Anytime.” She reached out and squeezed Joe’s arm, and Connor’s possessive instincts went into overdrive. He had to force himself not to act like a dick and make a scene. But he really wanted to pull Ria away and make it clear to Joe who she belonged to.
Not you, asshole.
She is for tonight.
Doesn’t give you the right to act like a jealous prick.
God, he hated listening to his rational side sometimes. Seemed to him living in caveman times would have been a simpler life. Eat. Kill. Fuck. Yeah, he could be down with that.
“My nana treats Ria like she’s another grandchild,” Joe told him with a slight warning in his voice. Okay, the way Joe was looking at her was starting to make Connor rethink his whole stance on not being a possessive prick.
“What are you doing in here, Ria?”
“We’re here to do a scene,” Connor said firmly.
“Together?” Joe raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, together.” What was this guy’s problem? If he’d wanted Ria, he should have made a move on her earlier, because Connor didn’t share.
Again, not yours, asshole.
Shit.
“You’ve never been in here before, kitten.”
“What? At all?” He’d known she hadn’t played, but she hadn’t even been into the dungeon?
She shrugged. “I had a tour when I was first hired. But I haven’t been since. Not much point when I wasn’t going to play.”
“You done a negotiation?” Joe asked. “Got a safe word? You know her limits? Because you haven’t asked to see her contract.”
“We haven’t discussed what sort of scene we’re going to do,” Connor replied, reminding himself to hold onto his temper. Joe was just doing his job. Even if he seemed doing it a bit more thoroughly than usual. He turned to Ria. “You filled out a contract?”
She sighed. “I had to. I listed my limits on there, but I didn’t really fill it out properly as I had no intention of coming in here.”
He frowned down at her and glanced up at Joe to find he was doing the same.
“That wasn’t right, Ria,” Joe rumbled.
Even though he agreed with him, Connor sent the other man a look. The minute she’d agreed to this scene, she’d become his. Temporarily. But he’d be the one to deal with her.
“Ria, even if you had no intentions of playing, you still should have filled that contract honestly,” he told her. “It’s there to keep you safe. And to make sure your Dom doesn�
She sighed. “Fine, I’ll fill it in properly tomorrow, all right?”
Joe didn’t look pleased.
“We’re only doing some light play tonight,” Connor reassured him. “I’ll be keeping a close eye on her.”
He pointed at them both. “Fine. But I will be watching. No privacy rooms. And I want some punishment dished out for her lying.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You did when you handed over that contract and said it was all filled in correctly,” Joe pointed out.
“Darn it,” she muttered.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that too,” he told Joe before drawing her away. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to take a walk around first.”
She was stiff against him, and when they were out of earshot of the big Dom, she glanced up at Connor. “You’re not really going to punish me, right?”
He raised his eyebrows as he looked down at her. “Have you already forgotten all your training? I reminded you once already what to call me.”
She flushed red. “Sorry, Sir. You’re not really going to punish me, are you?”
“You think it’s okay for subs to deliberately not fill in a contract correctly? To mislead their Doms. To lie. What do you think would happen to another sub, who wasn’t employed by the club?”
“They’d be kicked out?” she guessed.
“Correct. Bet they’d rather be punished, wouldn’t they?”
She swallowed heavily. “What will you do?”
A perverse part of him wanted to play with her a little. He continued to lead her into the main area of the dungeon. There were a number of other rooms. Some were private, others were there for anyone who wanted to play or watch. A suspension room for tying your sub up and making them fly. A medical room, with a bed you might find at your doctor’s office, except for all the added attachments. There was also an old-fashioned gynecological chair where you could bind your subs legs to the stirrups and spread her wide. Hmm, that might be a thought.
There was a room for edgier play. You could often find a blood scene going on there. There was even a room decked out as a school room, where a naughty sub could be called into the principal’s office for some discipline. And then there was the cowboy room. If you wanted to tie your sub over a saddle and ride her that was the place to go.
In one corner of the main dungeon was a small dance area. The bar was located in that area as well. Around the outside walls were sofas and chairs set up for watching. Plenty of voyeurs in this part of Texas, it seemed.
There were a number of spanking benches, some old-fashioned wooden stocks and St. Andrew’s crosses spread around. In the middle of the room was a huge, round, black cage. Fastened to some of the rungs of the cage were chains with leather cuffs on the end. In the cage there was a round bed covered in a white sheet that would get stripped and changed after each scene.
At the moment a blonde, naked, curvy sub had her ass up in the air, her face and chest pressed against the mattress. Her arms were bound in front of her and secured to the cage. Her legs were wide, held in place with a spreader bar. She’d been positioned so her ass was only inches away from the metal bars of the cage.
The cage was locked. The sub was blindfolded and gagged.
“I could do something like that.” Connor nodded over at the scene.
Ria let out a small gasp. The Dom who was standing near the cage, was lubing up a thick anal plug. He reached in and pulled the subs ass cheeks apart, displaying her puckered back entrance to anyone who was watching. Then he firmly began to push the plug into her ass.
“Oh, God,” Ria said with a low whisper. Her breathing was coming quicker. Some of it might have been from trepidation, but he was willing to take a bet that most of it was arousal.
He wished she was wearing something more revealing than the dark pants and white shirt all the servers wore. But perhaps it was a good thing, might help stop him from shoving her over the nearest surface and taking her.
Down, boy.
The Dom stepped back, allowing them a good view of the sub’s ass, the end of the anal plug clearly visible between her firm butt cheeks.
Connor decided it might be time for a closer look.
He wouldn’t, would he? Connor moved them towards the metal cage, and she found herself hesitating. Nervous and curious all at the same time. She wasn’t entirely certain she could do that. Be on display for everyone to see. Most of her experience had been in a very dark club and all sex had taken place in private rooms, not out in public for anyone to see.
Connor stopped when they were just a few feet away. The Dom stepped closer again and pushed a finger deep inside the sub’s pussy.
Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She was glad she was wearing a loose shirt, because her nipples were tight little pebbles, pushing against her bra. She pressed her thighs together, hoping to ease some of the throbbing in her pussy.
She was in such trouble.
“You wouldn’t really do that, would you, Sir?” she asked in a quiet whisper, not wanting to disturb the scene. When she got closer, she saw the sub held something in her hand. Probably a ball to squeeze that would squeak so the Dom would know she was in trouble or wanted to slow down. She’d never been gagged before. She wasn’t at all sure she’d like it.
“Hmm.” He rubbed at his chin. She wanted to believe he was teasing her. But she honestly didn’t know him well enough to tell. “You don’t like to be on display like this?”
“I-I—” It was on the tip of her tongue to lie. But just because she’d been lied to, been treated badly, didn’t mean she should turn around and do the same to someone else. That would be a pretty shitty thing to do. And the truth was, there were so many other things she had to lie about or keep to herself, that it would be nice to be completely truthful here.
“I don’t know, Sir,” she finally told him.
He turned her to face him, they were now side-on to the cage scene, but she could hear the muffled noises of pleasure coming from the sub. Would she like that? Yeah, she kind of thought she might.
“You didn’t do any public play?”
“N-not like that. I was never fully naked. And we didn’t have sex outside of the private rooms.”
Connor nodded. “That a hard limit for you?”
“Well, no. Is that something you want?”
“We’re not having sex tonight, remember?”
Right. She remembered. That was a bummer because right now she was really wondering what it would be like to feel his cock push inside her.
“Doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t want it in the future. And, baby, I’d enjoy showing you off.”
She sucked in a breath. Right.
“I’m not . . . I mean . . . I have curves,” she blurted out.
He looked her up and down. “Very nice ones, too.”
Her attention was diverted as the Dom opened the cage door and climbed in. He shifted the sub around so her ass was facing towards him then in one powerful push, he entered her.
Oh, hell. Oh, fuck. Her breath came in sharp pants. And she could feel herself growing hot. She reached up and pressed a hand against her cheek.
“You’re looking very flushed. I don’t want you overheating.” He was reaching for the buttons of her shirt, already had three undone when she grabbed his hands. He immediately stilled. “Ria?”
“I-I . . .” Shit. There were a million thoughts filling her head and she couldn’t seem to focus on just one.
“Calm down. Just breathe. Where are you at?” One hand lifted and grabbed the nape of her neck firmly. She immediately calmed.
“Ria, where are you at?” His voice was firmer. The core of steel was unmistakable.
Where was she at? What did he mean?
He means why are you freaking out, idiot? And do you want to stop?
“Maybe yellow.”
“Maybe yellow.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’d say definitely yellow. Want to tell me why you object to me taking off your shirt?”
“You didn’t understand me,” she blurted out.
He frowned slightly, looking confused. “When didn’t I understand you?”
“When I said I had curves. I meant I’m kind of fat.”
He looked stunned. Then his frown was back. His eyes grew cold. So cool she found herself shivering. “You’re right. I did misunderstand you. Because I didn’t think there would be any way you would ever disparage this glorious body. But I haven’t set down the rules, so I guess I can’t punish you for that. Yet.”
“Then you can’t punish me for not filling in the contract properly?” she asked hopefully.
“Oh, no, that was a club rule. Meaning you get a punishment from one of the club Doms. You’re just lucky I happen to be one of them.”
Lucky, right. That’s what she was.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
She raised her gaze to his.
“Rule number one. No putting yourself down. You need to have respect for yourself. That starts now. Expect that any infraction will be harshly dealt with.”
“You’re talking like this goes past tonight.”
His eyes narrowed. “That rule is in place until this ends between us. However long that is. If it goes beyond tonight, other rules will be laid out clearly in a contract.”
She stared at him. Then nodded.
“Words.”
“Yes, Sir.”
His face softened. “Good girl.” He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “So damn beautiful. I can’t stand the idea you don’t see that.”
Her heart raced. She could tell he meant every word.
Then his hands dropped to her shirt again. Shit.
“The only hang-up you have over being naked is because you don’t have a clue how gorgeous this body is?”
She thought that over. Then sighed. “Yes, Sir.”
“All right then. Let’s get that worry over with.”
The couple in the cage caught her attention. The Dom was pushing in and out of her pussy. His hands were wrapped around her hips, holding her still as he pounded her. But there was no discomfit on the subs face, no indication that she wasn’t enjoying herself. Then he reached around, pushing his hand under her body, and then the sub cried out. The Dom smiled.
-->