STORY EXCERPT

“Can you tell me something about yourself?”

Susan took another sip and narrowed her gaze. “Why?”

“Because I think I can help you find what you’re looking for.”

“Are you a Dominant?”

“Yes.”

She looked up at him through her lashes, and even in the low light, he could see her blush. “Have you had many submissives?”

Victor took a sip of his coffee, respecting the question and trying to remember the last time he’d had a woman who blushed at so little. “Yes. I’ve learned what I like and what I don’t, and I’ve experimented enough to know how to do it safely. I plan, I’m careful, and I know what I’m doing. I’m also safe. No diseases.”

He purposely hadn’t touched her at all, wanting to earn her trust and to increase the sexual tension already building between them.

He’d felt it as soon as she’d slid onto the barstool, and it had been growing ever since. He could see the same interest in her eyes and in the way she squirmed in her seat.

Looking forward to exploring a woman who’d never submitted before, he eyed her steadily. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night? I can pick you up at your place, or you can meet me at the hotel. I’d prefer to pick you. I’m sure Bill, Royce, or any man in here will vouch for me.”

Susan took another small sip of her drink and averted her gaze. “Bill’s a pain in the ass.” She sent a glare in Bill’s direction. “He watered down my drink on purpose. The drinks he gave me the last time I was in here weren’t watered down.”

Victor had been in Desire just long enough to understand how things worked in such an unusual town, so he shouldn’t have been surprised that Bill had given her a weak drink, but he was. “He knows you’re driving. What about that dinner?”

She took another sip and sucked in a breath. “Nothing will happen?”

“Just conversation. We’ll get to know each other better, and then we’ll discuss your fantasies and what I’ll expect of you if we decide to take this further.” He pushed his empty cup aside and leaned toward her again, keeping his voice low and intimate. “I also want you to think about your fantasies. What you want to feel.”

“I’m not sure how to talk about that.”

Victor raised a brow at that, allowing a small smile. “If you need it enough, you’ll find a way. I asked you a question. When a Dominant asks a submissive a question, he expects, demands, an answer.”

Instead of looking intimidated, Susan tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Amused, Victor allowed a small smile. “Because the only way a Dominant and his submissive can both understand the needs of the other is through honesty. If you want something that I don’t want to do, I’ll tell you that I’m not the right man for you. If you’re not honest with me, there’s a good possibility that I won’t be able to give you what you need.”

He sat back again, intrigued by the lust in her eyes and her deepening blush, both giving him insights into her personality. Seeing a woman confused about her needs, he had to admire her for making an attempt to get clarity. Appreciating her, he continued to watch her, taking in her expressions and body language. “These are some things we can talk about during dinner, that is, if you’re interested in pursuing this. May I have your phone?”

She blinked, seeming surprised by the question, but handed her phone to him, watching him as he added his number.

He handed the phone back to her. “You have my number. If you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night, give me a call. If not, it was nice meeting you.”

As he rose, Susan gasped. “You’re leaving?”

Victor inclined his head. “It sounds like you need to do some thinking. Dominating is important to me. It’s my lifestyle. I don’t have the time for a woman who wants to play games. If you’re interested, get your questions and boundaries in order and call me. We’ll go out to dinner and talk some more. I’ll answer any questions you might have, and we’ll discuss your boundaries. We’ll also discuss your availability, and I’ll make what I expect from you clear.”

Bracing his hands on the table, he leaned close enough to see her eyes clearly. “If you want to learn what you need, and the pleasure your body’s capable of, I would be honored to show you. It would be pleasurable for both of us. But if you plan to play games, or aren’t serious about this, it would waste both our time. Think about it. If you call me, we’ll have a chance to talk. If not, I sincerely hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Feeling her gaze, he lifted a hand to Bill and several others as he left, forcing himself not to turn back.

He walked out into the cool night air, surprised when the door opened behind him. He turned, expecting one of the other men, surprised to see Susan leaving the club and coming toward him. “Leaving already?”

She paused next to him and nodded. “I hadn’t planned on staying long, and you’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“Would you like me to take you home?”

“No. Thank you. I have my car here.”

“Would you call me when you get home so I know you got home safe?”

Susan blinked, apparently surprised by the question. “Well, um, sure. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Victor continued to watch her, still not touching her in any way. He walked her to her car, noting that she seemed deep in thought so he didn’t speak until she got in the car. “Drive safely. I’ll talk to you soon.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“How are you to address me in this room?”

“Sir! I’m sorry!”

“You’re going to be very sorry if I have to keep using the crop on you.” He slid the crop over her other ass cheek and struck it once. “Be still.”

She cried out, forcing herself to remain still while the heat from the sting spread. “Yes, sir.”

He continued to run the crop over her ass, the combination of his calmness, control, and dominance satisfying something inside her that wanted, needed, a masculine and intelligent man who knew how to handle her. “I don’t know what makes you think that you can make demands, especially while in this room, but let me disabuse you of that fact right now.”

The crop snapped again on each ass cheek, the sting that followed hotter than before.

His warm breath caressed her ear, the need to throw herself at him and beg him to take her overwhelming.

“You have no say in anything that happens in this room. Understood?”

Susan shook helplessly, her nipples and clit throbbing, her inner thighs damp with her juices. “Yes, sir.”

Again, the calm authority in his tone intensified her arousal, but it also made her hunger for an intimacy that had nothing to do with submitting in the playroom.

She craved the intimacy of a lover, and Victor hadn’t even kissed her yet.

Reminding herself that the two lovers she’d had hadn’t satisfied her, and that she wanted a Dominant to figure out what she needed, she fisted her hands on the chains above her cuffs and waited expectantly.

The sudden caress of his palms on her nipples startled a cry from her, the friction that she desperately needed there setting off ripples of heat through her.

Warm waves of pleasure rolled through her, startling a cry from her as her pussy clenched and released more of her juices.

Disappointed that she’d come so soon, she assumed that Victor would release her, but instead, he moved behind her again. “Look how passionate you are, my little submissive. I’ve barely touched you, and you’ve already come enough to take the edge off. Now I can continue to explore. Let’s see how many more sensitive spots I can find.”

Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to come again, Susan braced herself for Victor’s disappointment.

Instead of using his fingertips, he used what felt like the crop to lightly run up and down her back and then down to the cheeks of her ass.

“You have an incredible ass, one made for attention.” He switched from the crop to his warm hand. “Exploring it thoroughly is going to give me a great deal of pleasure.”

Susan leaned back, and the need to feel his chest against her back, to feel his arms come around her, became as intense as her need to submit to him.

“Stay still.”

His hand slid over her waist as he moved to stand in front of her again, cupping her breasts and lightly running his thumbs over her sensitized nipples. “Good girl. Your breasts are beautiful, and your nipples are more sensitive than I’d expected. I plan to give them the attention they deserve.”

His hands slid down her sides to her waist and then lower to her hips. “Spread your legs and keep them spread. Shoulder distance apart. A little more. That’s a good girl. I need to make sure they waxed you properly.”

“Oh God!”

“You’ve already given yourself to me.” When he spoke, it told her that he now crouched in front of her, his breath warm on her mound. He ran his hands down her outer thighs to her knees, using his fingertips to caress the backs of her knees and finding a sensitive spot she hadn’t known existed, startling a cry from her.

His devious fingers sent streams of warmth up her legs, a warmth that heightened the awareness in her nipples as well as her clit and pussy.

Stunned and slightly embarrassed that such a light touch, especially confined to her legs, could arouse her so intensely, she fought unsuccessfully to hold back her moans of pleasure.

Her pussy clenched over and over, releasing more of her juices, and with Victor’s face so closer to her upper thighs, she knew he had to see it.

She couldn’t believe how his featherlight touch and voice affected her, keeping the sexual awareness strong, despite the fact that she’d already had an orgasm.

“Be very still.”

Susan’s breath came out in pants, the feel of Victor’s finger sliding over her folds heightening her arousal in a way that both thrilled and unsettled her. Realizing how hard she shook, she locked her knees, a cry escaping at the gentle insistence of Victor’s fingers stroking her mound and folds.

“Very nice.” He ran a finger through her folds and caressed her pussy opening. “You’re soaked, sub.”

Wishing she could see him, Susan curled her toes against the hardwood floor and fought the desire, knowing that there wouldn’t be any release from it. The intensity of the throbbing of her clit, which felt swollen and heavy, focused her attention there in a way she tried to fight.

Bowing her head and shaking so hard that the chains she gripped rattled, Susan almost called her Dominant’s name before remembering. “Sir?”

“Yes, sub?”

“It’s becoming painful.” Her breath came out in raspy pants. “I can’t come again.”

“Hmm. I don’t believe that, but it doesn’t matter. I want to see the clit that I now own.”

“No. Please!”

With two fingers of one hand, he parted her folds. “Your pleas mean nothing to me. This is mine, and I’ll do what I want with it. Right now, I just want to explore.”

He ran the tip of his finger over her clit, eliciting a harsh cry from her, her accompanying jolt rattling the chains again. “Beautiful.”

Victor felt her trembling, heard the chains rattle, and watched her flushed face. “Absolutely beautiful.”