Chapter Two
The almost imperceptible click of the door opening echoed in the still room. Cali whipped her head around, her focus anchored to the entrance. Her breath hung in her lungs, her spine stiffened with the tight clenching of her stomach muscles as the moment lapsed into a tense second of expectation.
This was it.
A tall, dark-haired man stepped into the room, closed the door and moved with a purposeful stride to stand before her. He had a lean build that showed solid muscle under the tight shirt and form-fitting leather pants. His head-to-toe black clothing only served to emphasize his commanding presence and aura of authority. Without question, he was a Dom.
His lips thinned. “Ms. Reynolds?” His deep voice tumbled over her, sending a quickly concealed chill down her spine.
“Yes,” she answered hesitantly, not knowing if she should stand and meet his gaze or kneel and stare at the ground. What was the protocol? Going with what she knew, Cali stood and extended her hand. “I’m Cali Reynolds.”
The man looked her over in an almost critical fashion before staring pointedly at her extended hand. With a slight curve to his lips that didn’t quite make it into a smile, he clasped her hand in his much larger one. “Ms. Reynolds, I’m Master Jake. Welcome to The Den.”
His grip tightened, his thumb caressing the back of her hand in a sensual stroke. Instantly, tingles of sensation whispered up her arm straight to her nipples, which stiffened in urgent desire.
Licking her lips, she once again stifled her response to the intriguing stranger and kept her poker face in place. This immediate attraction she felt had to be due to her prolonged sexual dry spell. But then, that was exactly why she was here.
Her stomach ached, the anxiety building with each step closer to achieving her goal. Could she really go through with it?
“Have a seat.” Master Jake released her hand and motioned to the love seat. “I’m one of the owners of The Den, and I’d like to talk to you before you proceed into the club.”
That didn’t sound good. “Is there a problem?”
“No.” He took a seat across from her, leaning forward in the chair, arms resting on his legs, hands clasped in an intense, aggressive pose. “Why are you here, Ms. Reynolds?”
She shifted back into the couch, an unconscious move to put more space between them. “Please, call me Cali, and I believe what I want is obvious.” She met his gaze and refused to cower. “I answered all of the questions Mr. Mathews asked in my screening interviews. Is there still more?” Please, please don’t let them reject her now. Not after she finally had the courage to do this.
“I have a few more,” he replied. “What specifically are you looking to get out of The Den?”
“Sex,” she boldly stated, proud of her ability to answer without blushing.
“What kind of sex, Cali?” He said her name in a low, taunting way that made her stomach clench and her throat dry. Not to mention the rush of desire that pooled between her thighs.
She crossed her legs, lifted her chin and refused to turn away from his hard, calculating gaze. “The kind that makes me come.”
Again, a small quirk of a smile curled over his lips before it flattened once more. Gone as fast as it came. He leaned back in the chair and crossed an ankle over the other knee. His dark hair was long, but not so much as to be classified as unkempt. It brushed across his forehead and curled slightly on the ends. Cali imagined it would be the perfect length for gripping when she came.
That thought had her squirming, just slightly, against the soft leather of the love seat. His eyes, a clear gray that was both pure and sinister when paired with his dark hair and bronzed skin, flickered as he registered her movement. Apparently, nothing got by the man.
“There are all kinds of sex that can make you come, Cali.” Again, with the purr of her name. “Can you be more specific? At The Den, we cater to a wide range of lifestyle choices. Where, exactly, do yours lie?”
This time, she had to look away. It had been so long since she’d talked openly about sex, it was incredibly hard for her to trust anyone with her desires.
“Cali, look at me.” His voice was low and commanding. He waited until she complied. “There’s no wrong answer here. No judgment either. You obviously came to The Den for a reason. It’s my job to see that you get what you want. I can’t do that if you’re not honest with me.”
He was right. Of course, he was right. But that didn’t make it any easier for her to talk about it.
Inhaling slowly, she stared at her hands and gathered her courage. “Honestly...” she began.
“Look at me,” he demanded again, his voice stronger, more insistent.
She immediately responded, her body tingling in a rush of shivers. Why?
“Now, continue. And don’t look away again.”
Was she doing something wrong already? But she didn’t even know what to do. “Yes—” she paused then continued, based on instinct. “Sir. If you want honesty, then I have to say I don’t know what I want. I only know what I long for.”
“And that is?”
Her heart raced. It was the moment of truth. Time for her to admit her desires out loud and hope he didn’t laugh. “For someone to take control. To know intuitively what I want, sexually. To drive me crazy without me needing to direct the person. I want a man who will take me to the edge, make me beg for more until I don’t think I can take any more, and then give me more.” The loud drum of her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
“Are you a submissive?”
“In my real life, no.” She tilted her head and assessed him for a moment, keeping her gaze on his as he’d directed. “Here, I think so.”
“Would you like to explore that?”
Would she? “Yes, since giving up control is part of what I just defined.” She thought for a moment before quickly adding, “But I don’t want porn BDSM.”
He raised one dark eyebrow. “Explain.”
This time, it was incredibly hard to hold his gaze. That penetrating, mesmerizing gaze. “I researched before I came here. The internet is a wealth of information and I know a lot of it is staged and exaggerated. However, there are things I watched that didn’t appeal to me at all.”
“Such as?”
She swallowed her embarrassment, her clasped hands clenching. “Degradation of any kind, especially public. Fisting and...being peed on is blatantly disgusting to me. And I’d probably be a horrible slave, as I’d feel more embarrassed than satisfied by being forced to lick someone’s boots.”
He nodded, his face remaining completely neutral. “Have you ever engaged in any kind of submissive or bondage play? In your marriage or otherwise?”
Her eyes closed. “No,” she whispered.
The silence held in the room as she waited for his next question. When none came, she opened her eyes to see him watching her with the same intense patience he’d held before.
Control.
He was slowly, subtly taking control and that realization made her insides melt.
“Why?” he asked.
A very simple question with an impossibly hard answer. At least, for her to admit. It was so much easier to evade. “Does it matter? I thought I answered all of these questions in the checklist.”
His eyes narrowed, his lips thinned as if he was annoyed or angered by her answer. “In all the research you did before coming here, tell me, what is
the
most important and essential thing between a Dom and sub?”
She knew this. Had read about it but didn’t really understand it. “Trust,” she finally answered, her voice just barely reaching an octave over a whisper.
“Then tell me,” he said just as softly, only
his
voice held the hard edge of steel. “Does it matter?”
“But you’re not my Dom,” she hedged again, irritation starting to bubble in her gut. Why was he grilling her?
“True,” he conceded. “But if you can’t speak honestly with me, someone who’s here to help you obtain what you want, then how will you be honest with your Dom? And, more importantly, why would a Dom want to pair with someone who won’t answer the simplest of questions?”
She glanced down, his sharp gaze just a bit too insightful for her to handle at the moment.
“Look at me, Cali.”
There it was. That calm command that had her inhaling against the flash of burning desire rushing through her system. Her heart hammered once again as she lifted her head and followed his directive.
“Answer the question,” Master Jake ordered. “Why haven’t you engaged in any kind of submissive play if it’s something that interests you? Your application states you were married for twenty-two years. Playful bondage between married couples is very common.”
And there was the question. That one she avoided at all cost, but he wanted an answer. Master Jake had cut to the chase and got to the heart of the issue in less than five minutes of conversation. Her face grew warm as she prepared to answer the question.
Honestly.
“Because my husband wasn’t interested in sex,” she finally admitted. The lingering anger, pain and resentment made her answer come out as a clipped challenge. A dare for him to believe her.
He watched her silently for a moment, her admission wavering between them in limbo between belief and doubt.
“And that hurt you,” he stated.
“Yes,” was all she could say. So much went into that one simple answer. Relief, shame, grief and much, much more. Her throat tightened, the ache causing her to swallow against the rise of tears. She’d never admitted any of that to anyone.
To have this man, this stranger, not only believe her, but understand how her husband’s indifference had affected her was almost too much to handle when coupled with everything else she was tackling tonight.
Abruptly he stood and extended his hand to her. “Come with me. I’ll show you around The Den.”
Relief rushed through her in a wave of mixed gratitude. She wasn’t being kicked out and he’d stopped before she was pushed over the edge. As if he was already in tune with her. She placed her hand in his and stood on shaky legs.
His hand closed around hers and infused her in warmth, his free hand lifting to tilt her chin until her eyes met his once again. “Trust me, Cali.”
Her name. That repeated use of her name in that deep, rolling voice of his was her undoing. Her skin tingled where he touched her, her body flushed with heat at the contact. Right then, she felt like she would do anything he asked. Anything to please him so he didn’t leave her. Who was this woman who now possessed her body? Where was her backbone, her strong, controlling nature that ruled every aspect of her life?
It was resting quietly beneath the desire to let someone else lead for a while. He was offering her the freedom to let go and trust that her needs would be taken care of.
On a shaky breath, she answered the only way she could. “Yes, sir.”
Chapter Three
The hard beat of alternative music pounded through the room, the vibration carrying up her legs through her spiked heels. The air, however, vibrated with something much more substantial, yet invisible.
Sex. Desire. Lust.
It was everywhere. In the sway and grinding of bodies on the dance floor, the hooded looks and heated touches between couples and the blatant wanting that was etched in so many faces. She’d never been anywhere where sex was so openly displayed and exchanged without actually revealing anything. It made her pulse accelerate and her skin flush.
Master Jake led her effortlessly through the dimly lit main floor, the crowd seeming to part in unspoken respect of his authority. She caught a number of raised eyebrows, a few speculative gazes and even one or two scowls before they were concealed. She focused on keeping her face neutral and her chin up.
There was power in rising above. She’d learned that the hard way.
The dance area was the first room everyone entered and was packed with a variety of people dressed in anything from G-strings and leather to silk and diamonds, including more than a few collars and leashes. The diversity only testified to the wide range of clientele The Den catered to.
Cali did her best not to gawk, but her gaze couldn’t stop roaming. There was so much to observe and she knew from the tour during the application process that this was only the first room.
The rooms beyond this one became increasingly more explicit. The big red doors in the back served as the barrier to the voyeur and exhibition rooms just beyond. A fully equipped Dungeon took up half of the second floor, and the third floor was filled with private rooms for members to reserve.
The slight pressure of Master Jake’s hand at the small of her back kept her grounded. Next to him, she felt safe. Everything seemed just a little less overwhelming with his tall form protecting her.
Yes, protected. That’s exactly how she felt. A sensation so lost she couldn’t remember the last time her ex-husband had made her feel that way.
“Would you like a drink?” Master Jake spoke into her ear. The warmth of his breath tickled the small hairs on her neck.
Her mind scrambled for coherent thought. Was that all it took to turn her on? Warm breath on her neck? Was she so sexually starved that even that innocent action made her knees weak and her pussy wet?
She stared into his silver eyes and forgot his question.
“Alcohol is only served in this room if you need it,” he reminded her. “Otherwise, we can continue on to the other areas of the club.”
“No, thank you,” she finally replied. Although a shot of liquid courage was enticing, Cali wanted all of her faculties coherent for whatever the evening brought. This was definitely a night she didn’t want to forget or blame on inebriation. It was a choice, a monumental one that she wasn’t going to hide behind an excuse.
“Shall we continue?”
Continue. Was she ready for this? “Yes.”
“This room is exactly what it seems. No open sex or nudity is allowed. Hence, the permission of alcohol.” He guided her toward the red doorway at the back of the room. He nodded at the large man standing at the door before the bouncer opened it and let them through. “Anyone who’s inebriated is not allowed to enter the other sections of the club. It’s for their safety and ours.”
They stood in a long hallway with numerous closed doors and a stairway at the end leading to the second level. There was a couple making out at the bottom of the stairs oblivious to anything around them, their bodies wrapped around each other, moans trickling down the hall to spike her imagination and her desire.
“Is there any place you’d like to start?” Jake looked at her, his gaze seeming to catch her every thought.
She swallowed, her dry throat giving her a moment to find her courage. Finally, she reminded herself that this was why she was here. She wanted sex. Plain and simple.
Or maybe not so plain and simple.
She smiled at that thought and found her voice. “I think I’d like to watch for a while.”
The back of his hand brushed down her cheek, an approving smile curling over his lips. “Very good.”
She flushed, the heat spreading up her neck and over her face as the praise of his approval warmed her.
“Do you still trust me?”
Did she? “Yes, sir.”
“Then allow me to decide.”
And with that, he guided her down the hall to the last door on the right before opening it and escorting her inside.
* * *
Jake led the seductive Cali Reynolds to an empty space along the wall near the front. The room was crowded, the few remaining seats were at the back, but he wanted Cali closer to the action. Intuitively, he realized he was testing her. Finding her limits—her unspoken, possibly unrecognized, desires.
He didn’t probe into why he was doing so or when his decision to take on the role of Cali’s escort had been made—a job he hadn’t personally done since the club first opened. But she was too intriguing to turn over to Marcus, or any other Dom for that matter.
No. For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to define and shape her needs himself. It had been entirely too long since such a captivating sub had been offered to him. His protective instincts had flared as a surprising partner to his desire to top her. And with it, a possessiveness he refused to acknowledge. He was a professional Dom. Contracts only. He didn’t do possessiveness or ownership.
Yet his gut tightened at the mere thought of keeping Cali to himself. Of her submitting to only
his
commands. There was something within her clawing to be free. And damn if he would let anyone else discover it.
He stood by the wall and tucked Cali in front of him until her spine pressed against his chest. He snaked his arm across her abdomen, keeping her hips tight to his pelvis, his cock snug against her lower back.
She stiffened at the contact.
“Relax,” he murmured into her ear. “Just watch the show and don’t think. This is about feeling.” The light scent of soap, mixed with a hint of musky perfume, invaded his nose and he took another deep inhale of the heady blend.
She gave a slight nod, but her muscles remained tight and tense.
“Trust me,” he commanded. “This is about you. I won’t violate the trust you’ve given me. Remember that.”
Cali’s body relaxed a tad, and she turned her head until her cheek brushed against his. “Yes, sir,” she whispered.
His free hand tightened into a hard fist as he straightened and fought to control the urge to yank her from the room and demand she submit to him. But it was too soon for that. She wasn’t ready.
He would wait.
Or she would run.
The lights rose on stage to highlight a man and a woman in an intimate embrace. Jake immediate recognized both parties. Paul and his wife, Trisha, had been members for over three years. They were both in their late twenties and enjoyed the aspects of public displays. Their shows were often sensual and erotic without getting extreme. Their reputation accounted for the packed house.
They would be a great introduction for Cali.
Her breath hitched, her attention focused on the couple as Trisha’s silk robe slipped from her shoulders to pool at her feet. Her nipples stood out hard and rosy beneath the thin lace of her pink bra. Trisha had a toned, but sensual body with large breasts and curved hips. Tan all over, her auburn hair curled down her back in waves of taunting copper. She was a beautiful woman who fully understood the power her body held over others.
Paul dipped his head and nipped one of Trisha’s nipples with his teeth. She moaned and tossed her head back as her husband slowly worshiped the nub before disposing of her bra and taking the naked nipple back into his hungry mouth.
Cali slowly relaxed into Jake. Whether it was intentional or not, he didn’t care. He absorbed her weight and stroked his hand across her firm stomach over the silk of her black top.
“How do you feel?” he asked her.
She inhaled, her chest raising a tempting vision of her breasts over the edge of her top before they receded on the exhale. “Fine,” she breathed.
Paul had worked his way down his wife’s stomach and was removing her matching lace panties, adding slow nips and licks as the material slipped down her legs. A second man entered the stage, walking up behind Trisha, allowing her to lean on his bare chest while Paul finished removing her panties.
Cali gave a low gasp, but her ass swayed imperceptibly against Jake’s hardening cock, as if she couldn’t prevent the movement from happening. Jake smiled and let his tongue trail a light line of desire over the shell of her ear.
“Would you like that, Cali? To have two men worship you?”
She shivered but didn’t pull away.
On stage, Paul hungrily licked and sucked at his wife’s shaved pussy. One of her legs was thrown over his shoulder, her upper body supported by the second man, who massaged her breasts and pinched her nipples with large hands. Trisha’s moans echoed through the room, blending with the erotic sounds of Paul’s actions. Her hands were buried deep in her husband’s hair as she held his head tightly against her sex.
Cali’s hand came up to grip Jake’s forearm, but she didn’t stop his slow, sensual movements over her stomach. It was as if she were searching for something to hang on to, to keep her grounded. And she’d reached for him. Good.
“Do you find that hot?” Jake breathed into her ear. He let his other hand smooth up the side of her leg, watching her reaction, measuring her submission.
“Yes.” The barely spoken word escaped between open lips.
She looked so passionate. Her profile revealed hooded eyes and pink lips wet and open. Her breathing was labored, like she was working to keep her growing arousal in check. Her hair curled temptingly in a loose, alluring halo of blond silk that made her features appear as soft and inviting as her hair. So very different from the straight, no-nonsense bob in her profile picture.
The short, tight skirt she wore showed off long legs accentuated by the three-inch heels. Her nipples pointed sharp and tight through the thin material of her top, and his fingers ached to pinch them. To tweak and play with them until she begged for more.
Just like she said she wanted.
Straightening, he pushed her away then guided her to the exit. She snapped her head around to catch the action on the stage. Obviously, she was still enthralled.
“Why’d we leave?” she asked once they were in the hallway. Her eyes sought his.
The outright lust and curiosity pooling in the green depths had him backing her against the wall, his lips hovering just inches from hers. Her eyes widened, her mouth parting in shock, but she didn’t fight him.
Fuck
. Where the hell was his control?
“This was only one room, Cali,” he told her, stepping away, his gaze dropping to the rapid rise and fall of her chest. “There’s much, much more to see before the night is over.”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat and licked her lips. “What do you recommend next?”
She was going to kill him. And she didn’t even recognize the power she had already. She was a heady mix of innocence and desire, timid and strong.
Holding her hand, he led her up the hall to another closed door and yanked it open. They were greeted by the sinful rumble of a long, unmistakable moan.
Cali stalled as they stepped through the door, her hand rising to cover her lips as she viewed the sight of a couple fully engaged in sex on stage.
Jake grinned.
Training Ms. Reynolds was going to be so fucking fun.