[B.S. #2] Bound to Cyn (2 page)

“Is Lance here? I was supposed to meet him at eight o’clock.”

Cinnamon had watched the large man as he approached the bar. God, he was big. She almost licked her lips as he neared. The swagger in his walk told her he was comfortable in his skin and proud of his heritage. As her eyes made their way slowly up his muscular body, she met his coal-black eyes and realized he was speaking to her. Gathering her thoughts away from his body, she finally took in his words.

Closing her mouth, which had dropped open at the first sight of him, she shuddered. “You’re looking for Lance? I think he’s in his office.”

Angel knew he was making her nervous as she shifted her eyes away from his and he leaned closer over the bar, getting a whiff of her perfume. It smelled of some spice that seemed familiar but he couldn’t name, though it didn’t seem to match her outward appearance. Looking like she did, he expected to smell something bold and exotic.

“Can you tell me where the office is, or better yet show me? We were to meet and discuss my position.”

Cinnamon couldn’t believe Lance had hired someone without her knowledge. They always discussed any new hires, but looking up into the eyes of the man standing before her, she knew that he wasn’t lying.

“If you go back through the doors to the entrance hall, Lance’s office is the door just behind Bob at the front desk. Lance usually takes a couple of minutes to himself before coming in for the night. I’m sure that’s where you’ll find him.” Cinnamon was starting to feel a tingling sensation going through her body the more he stared at her. When he had leaned closer over the bar, her panties dampened. She had never had that kind of reaction to any man without knowing him first. Next she knew, her nipples would start peaking, wanting to escape the tight corset she was wearing. She had to get him to back off and give her time to get her bearings.

“I’m not sure I could find it. Could you take time away from the bar to show me?” Angel’s eyes now had a twinkle in them. He didn’t want to move on without knowing more about this woman, and he also needed a minute for his cock to go down. Leaning against the bar like he was, no one would notice. But he knew if he had to walk back across the room, there was no way the soft leather of his pants would be able to hold it down.

She hesitated for a moment, giving him another long look, then laid her clipboard down on the bar and walked around it to stand in front of him. The first thing Angel noticed was that she was smaller than he first thought. The bar must have been raised, as she just barely reached his chest, even in her heels. She was small and compact with just enough curves for Angel to ache to get his hands on.

“OK, but I don’t think a guy like you would get lost.” Cinnamon pointed her finger toward the large door at the top of the steps, and waved her hand to get him to walk in front of her.

But Angel wasn’t having that. He stepped aside and gestured for her to lead the way. “You first.”

She eyed him warily before moving forward.

Following her allowed him to hide his cock, which seemed determined to stay up now that he’d seen the whole picture. It also allowed him to admire the sway of her generous hips as she walked in front of him. Maybe this job would have some benefits after all.

* * * *

Lance looked up from his desk as Cinnamon and Angel opened his door and walked into his office. The first thing Lance noticed was that the unflappable Cinnamon looked nervous, and Angel was looking at her like he could eat her for breakfast.

Cinnamon walked swiftly around the desk to his side as if she needed protection from the large man following her. Lance just glanced at her as she settled by his side, and he could tell it wasn’t all nerves that had her jumpy. He knew her too well. She also seemed excited about something. Well, well. He’d have to see what he could do to encourage these sparks flying between these two. Cinnamon was always so cool and collected. To see her react to a man she had just met was unbelievable. She was his best friend and partner who had seen Doms of every shape and size from their first opening until today. None had even swayed her to take a chance and go out or socialize with any of them.

Angel stopped in front of Lance’s desk but didn’t let his eyes leave Cinnamon’s face. Angel could tell she was responding to him and didn’t want to waste time talking to Lance. Sure, he knew he had a job to do for Clay, but sometimes one just had to strike while the iron was hot as his grandmother was always telling him. She also talked in length about him finding his soul mate and when and if found, one had to stake a claim. He had learned all these lessons on her knee and thought she was just spinning yarn to keep him amused when he was young. But he now had to rethink his mindset. He had never had an urge to grab a woman in his life and run away with her. This attraction was new to him. He had had many women in his life. He was no saint. In the army they always had the tagalong women, who would give anything to nail an officer. They were free for the picking in most army bases. Since being a civilian, Angel never had any trouble either. Even some of his security jobs had him gently refusing offers. He was a man with large needs but had always managed to control them until a welcome outlet came along. He didn’t even know her name yet, but he already knew his attraction to her was different from anything he had felt before. He hoped like hell that she wasn’t Lance’s because he just couldn’t bear the thought of not having her.

“Do we have a problem here?” Lance asked Cinnamon as she stood beside him.

Cinnamon raised her eyes from the floor, trying not to look at Angel. “No nothing wrong. What made you ask? I just brought one of your new Doms that got lost.

Lance rose from his desk, trying to defuse the tension he could feel pulsing between the two. “Angel, glad you decided to come back tonight. Last night we didn’t have time to get you up to speed. I know you must have a lot of questions after your brief glimpse at the spice side last night. I just rang through to Mark. He’s one of the best dungeon masters that we have and he’ll show you the ropes.”

Angel’s eyes finally left Cinnamon’s and looked at Lance. “I don’t think that will be necessary. This lovely lady looks like she could show me everything that is needed.”

Lance turned toward Cinnamon, who had now moved behind his office chair and held it with both hands gripping the leather.

“Cyn, I don’t think so. She runs the vanilla bar next door and is helping me out. She doesn’t have anything to do with the BDSM side where you will be working.”

“She sure looks like she fits in with the others on your side. Are you sure she couldn’t show me the ropes? I think a female’s perspective to the goings-on would help me to understand better and explain the rules.” Angel wanted her by his side. What better way to keep her there if she had to teach him this BDSM business?

“Cyn was doing me a favour and taking inventory, as I’m wrapped up with finding this guy that’s chasing the entire female population away from the Playground. And you are supposed to be helping with that matter. I’ll just get Mark and you can get started. I know Clay probably brought you up to date with our problem, and you saw some of it firsthand last night. But I have started to go through all the women that are members and maybe weed out any that would be in danger or any matching the description of the other women that had been accosted.”

Angel knew Lance was right. He was here to help ferret out the weasel that was grabbing the women. At least he knew her name. From that, and with Grant’s help, he could find out everything else. He would have to let it go until then. With her working just on the other side of the building, where Clay was stationed, he would ask Clay to keep an eye on her. If he could get Clay to take his eyes off Laura for a minute.

Clay had gotten himself in deep, and after only a few days of meeting the woman. Angel and the guys had made fun of Clay’s fast drop, but now he could sympathize with him. When something like this smacked one on side of the head, one had to take notice. Looking over Lance’s shoulder, he could see that he had come on too strong. He knew he was a large man, and she was probably intimidated. He would just have to start again, now that he was over the initial shock at seeing her. He would slow down and woo her, but he was not leaving her alone for long. She would have to accept him and he hoped it would be soon. He didn’t think he could stand waiting too long. Getting his mind back on the job, he turned toward the door at the knock. He watched a large similarly dressed man walk in the door and hold out his hand. Lance must have called him while he was musing about Cinnamon.

Lance introduced Angel to Mark and they exchanged handshakes. Angel could tell this man was on the up and up just from his solid handshake. It didn’t take long for Angel to sum up anyone. He just seemed to have a knack for it. The guys relied on him when taking on new cases. He could feel, almost smell anything underhanded in a person. It had come in mighty handy for their unit in the army. He still had a hard time coming to terms when they had been discharged for faulty info. He had never been so glad that Brad was a crack shot and only winged the woman. He wouldn’t want to think of the consequences if she had been taken down. Killing one of their own, he didn’t want to think about it. He had a nice if uneventful life now, ten years after they had pooled their resources and started Braden Security. And if he wanted the firm to retain their stellar rating, he had to find this guy before he really hurt someone.

With a quick look back at Cyn, Angel followed Mark out through the entrance hall and back into the club. Things were starting to hop now as more people mingled around the bar area.

Chapter Two

“So, Mark, how long have you worked at this club?”

The young blond man shrugged. “A year maybe? It feels like home to me now.”

Angel looked at the scenes starting around the club and he couldn’t imagine ever feeling comfortable here let alone feeling like it was his home. More people had arrived and the party was starting in earnest now. At first glance a person could mistake this for a regular dance club with the rich décor and nice bar, but looking a little further, the membership’s activities and their clothing tipped a person off.

“I expected more of this club. The way Clay and James talked about a BDSM club, I thought I’d be looking at a whole lot of naked people with whips and chains. This seems very mellow and just like any other bar, if you don’t look at the clothes everyone is wearing,” Angel told Mark, who was standing beside him on the top step leading down to the bar as he surveyed the people below.

Mark just laughed and slapped him on the back, urging him down the steps.

“This is the first level. You have to go deeper if you want to see any of that. This barroom is just for mingling. Many scenes are discussed here before proceeding further. You see that line of women seated at the table to your right? They’re the stray subs that come in to have a scene with a Dom, or are looking to catch one for themselves. If you look carefully at all the women standing with their Doms, most of them have a collar around their neck. That’s how you know that they are taken. You don’t approach those women without the OK from their Doms unless they say their safe word. But most of them are in long-standing loving relationship, so you shouldn’t have to worry about them.”

Mark had been talking all the time, leading Angel past the bar and to a door halfway down one wall. He stopped Angel with a hand held up. “Before we go in there, do you have any questions? You don’t really have to do anything but observe, as we always have a least two monitors for each playroom. You just have to look like one. And know a few things in case you are needed.”

“OK, first, how do you know if a sub uses her safe word? Clay tried to tell me a few things and James has talked about it some, but I always tune them out. I just can’t see the attraction to this type of lifestyle. I don’t have anything against consenting adults doing what they want, but I just can’t wrap my mind around this.”

Angel wanted Mark to know he had nothing personal against the lifestyle. If he made a wrong step it wasn’t because he disagreed with their choices.

“I’m glad you’re honest and upfront with your beliefs. This whole lifestyle is based on trust between partners. And the first thing we are all taught is to be honest. I think you’ll fit right in after a while. Now back to your question.

“Subs, male or female, when they are involved in a scene, most of the time let their feelings out and might say ‘No’ or ‘Stop.’ Or something like that. When they are in their subspace, they might say anything. So, all of the subs have a safe word that they have chosen. It could be anything. But you will know when you hear ‘watermelon’ or ‘flower’ or some other crazy word that doesn’t go with the scene being played out. That’s when you step in to stop what’s taking place. The Playground and most BDSM clubs also use the word ‘red’ to stop a scene, and sometimes ‘yellow’ if the sub wants to take a breather or slow the scene down. If yellow is used, it is our job to make sure the Dom respects the word and slows down, giving the sub the time to make sure she or he wants to proceed. The other word, ‘red,’ if used we stop the scene right away no matter what the Dom wants. That’s our signal to step in and take over. All the Doms in this place know the protocol and you shouldn’t have any problems with them. We just have to keep a sharper eye on any guests or newbies that come in. With this place they are screened before being allowed in, but you never know when one asshole might slip through our process. Does that answer your question? Are you ready for the real thing?” Mark opened the door at Angel’s nod.

Angel took a deep breath and braced his muscles, preparing himself for the sights ahead. When Mark opened the door, Angel just saw a dark hallway with lights looking like torches placed on the wall, allowing them to see the three large doors leading off. Letting out his breath, he looked at Mark, who laughed at him. “Didn’t want to shock you right away. Where do you want to go first? To the dungeon or would you like to see some role-play being done and warm up to the dungeon?”