Blush (19 page)

Two of the couples were made up of one man and one woman, all regulars. In each the man wore black leather. One of the women was clad in a bustier almost identical to Maddy’s, but when she shifted position it was easy to see that she was naked below the waist except for a thong. The other woman was clad in a baby-doll nightgown made of sheer pink.

It was entirely see-through, and she was wearing nothing underneath.

Alex had been in BDSM clubs often enough that he didn’t see the choice of attire as shocking. To Maddy, however, it was probably mind-blowing.

The third couple was comprised of a woman dressed in a three-piece suit. Her companion was a slender young man wearing red vinyl pants and a black collar.

The threesome had two men, holding hands and dressed similarly and simply in black leather pants and tight black T-shirts. The woman with them wore a black hobble skirt that reached to midcalf and was so snug that she couldn’t possibly have walked in it. It was made of shiny black and had laces that were pulled tight.

In comparison, Maddy was almost overdressed.

“See? I went easy on you.” He watched her visibly squelch the urge to narrow her eyes at him when he waved to Elijah, the only other person in the bar, who stood to greet them.

As always, his friend was dressed impeccably, expensively, and uniquely. He wore a suit of charcoal gray, but his shirt was an eye-searing blue that accentuated the hue of his eyes. His tie was black with a print of white skulls, and the golden waves of his short hair shone in the matching light inside of the bar.

“Alex.”

Alex urged Maddy forward to where the man stood. The others in the bar eyed them curiously, probably wondering who the new sub with the owners was.

“Elijah. Great to see you, man.” They hugged briefly, a couple of back slaps thrown in.

When Elijah turned his stare to Maddy, she looked terrified. “What have you brought to Veritas, Alex?”

Alex could easily see the Dom in Elijah’s bearing and wondered if Maddy would see it, too. From the way she stiffened, she did.

“This is a BDSM club?” Maddy looked up at him with wide eyes.

He smiled at her encouragingly, then gestured back to Elijah with his head. “Maddy, this is Elijah Masterson. He’s one of the owners of In Vino Veritas.” Alex decided not to tell her that he was one of the owners as well, at least not yet. One bombshell at a time.

She let Elijah take her hand, let him kiss it as Julien had outside. “You’re one of the owners, too.”

Alex nodded slightly. He loved how quickly her mind worked. Pulling out a chair for her, he got her settled, and then he and Elijah sat. Maddy furrowed her brow slightly.

Elijah caught her puzzled expression, as did Alex. “The typical protocol between subs and Doms is only enforced in the club. In the wine bar, you need to concern yourself only with the limits set by your own Dom, in your personal relationship.”

“Protocol?” She narrowed her eyes, showing her irritation.

Alex reached for her hand and gave it a warning squeeze before reaching for the bottle of wine that was sitting in a bucket of ice on the table. “Let’s have a drink. Don’t worry yourself about anything beyond what I tell you tonight.”

She eyed him suspiciously as he filled a glass and handed it to her.

“Château Cheval Blanc. Nice choice, E.”

Elijah watched, waiting for Maddy to try it.

Her hands trembled as she sipped. “It’s lovely. Thank you.”

Elijah smiled at her obvious pleasure in the wine.

Alex smirked. “Maddy prefers the Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux.” Maddy’s face flushed instantly, and he rubbed his thumb over her wrist, easing her discomfort. He couldn’t resist teasing her when she had such a lovely reaction.

“This one is lovely.” She didn’t glare at Alex, but he noted that she ignored him to smile at Elijah. “Really. Thank you.”

“Eager to please, this one.” Maddy’s lips parted slightly as Elijah fixed her with his brilliant blue stare. “And so pretty. Look at that blush.”

“Mine.” The claim was knee-jerk, but he’d seen too many women fall prey to his friend’s charm.

He didn’t think his friend would make a move, not unless he was invited to, but Alex found that he’d needed to put it in words.

Both Elijah’s and Maddy’s faces reflected surprise, and Alex struggled to keep his expression neutral. He wasn’t sure yet of what was happening between Maddy and himself, but his attraction to her had grown deeper.

As if trying to break through the thick silence, Maddy spoke quickly. “You said you’re an owner?”

“Elijah, our friend Luca Santangelo, and I started the club five years ago. We were business acquaintances who became friends because of our common interest in the BDSM lifestyle.”

Maddy nodded and sipped at her wine, and he could see other questions swimming in her eyes.

They would get to them in due time. He didn’t think it would be beneficial for him to tell her right now that he and his partners had created In Vino Veritas with themselves in mind, a place where they could indulge their own desires and yet feel comfortable.

“None of us cared for the clubs that already existed in Vegas. They’re all open to the public, without enough safeguards in place. There’s no privacy, little security. And they’re filled with people who dabble in the lifestyle on the weekend without any actual intention to dominate or submit.” Elijah’s expression was serious, and Alex sighed as his friend spoke what he’d decided to hold back.

“So . . . you all come here often, then?” Maddy’s voice was clipped.

“Elijah and Luca come here more than I do, since they’re more involved in the day-to-day running of it.” Alex reached a hand up to Maddy’s shoulder and casually trailed it down to her wrist. He needed her to understand that, yes, he’d had relationships with submissives in the past, but she was special.

“I’ve had two exclusive Dominant/submissive relationships, Maddy. I consider them strictly to be ex-girlfriends.” When she looked into his eyes, Alex nearly forgot that Elijah was there. All that mattered were the two of them.

“I do come to the club on occasion, sometimes because I want to, and more often because the owners need to show their faces from time to time. I brought you here tonight to show you a wide spectrum of things that my lifestyle includes. It doesn’t mean I’m interested in them all.”

Maddy squirmed in her chair, then masked her discomfiture with a sip of her wine.

“Did you bring the cuffs?” Alex glanced over as Elijah reached into his pants pocket. He withdrew a pair of ice-white leather cuffs and a small key, which he handed to Alex.

“Had to order these specially. We don’t use them very often.” Grinning at Alex, he stood to go, then turned a more sober face to Maddy. “We rarely allow someone to visit the club and simply observe, Maddy. Participation is what creates the environment here.”

“Thank you?” Clearly Maddy didn’t know how to respond.

“Enjoy.” With a last nod, Elijah turned and left the table, stopping to talk to Theo, Matt, and Allison, the party of three who were still seated across the room.

Maddy turned to Alex warily, eyeing the cuffs.

He caught up a wrist and wrapped the strip of leather around it. The sight of the cuffs against her skin aroused him beyond measure. “The white means that you’re new and that no one is to touch you without express permission from one of the owners.”

“You mean, if I weren’t wearing the cuffs, someone could? Even if I said no?”

Alex locked one cuff into place. They didn’t attach together, but there were metal loops where any number of things could be hooked.

As the second lock clicked into place, Alex noted a tremor of excitement that worked through her frame. He curved his lips in a small smile of promise.

“In a BDSM club, saying no is often part of the play. That’s why there’s a safe word. A commonly used one is
red
, and the club safe word is
vino
. Your Dom also must discuss any personal safe words with you before you start. Yours is
blackjack
. Use any of these three, and we’ll stop and talk.”

“What if—and I’m not saying you will—but what if the person doesn’t stop?” Nerves made her voice tight.

Alex’s mouth pinched in a tight, grim line. “Shouting
red
or
vino
will bring everyone in hearing range running. Even if you’re shouting a strange word, like
blackjack
, repeatedly, someone will come to check it out. We’ve tried hard to make this a safe place for those in the lifestyle, Maddy. A lot of people feel that it’s a family. Trust, remember?”

She nodded jerkily and looked down at her bracelets. “Will—are we—will we do something tonight while other people watch?”

The Dom in him saw that the idea both scared and aroused her. He filed it away as something to explore later. “No. Not tonight.” With firm fingers, Alex stroked through the strands of her hair that had fallen loose from her bun. “Not even if you get excited and decide you want to. You need time to digest what you’ve seen, and we’ll need to talk about it. No, we’re just here to watch.”

Picking up her wineglass, he held it up to her lips and tilted it for her to drink. She sipped greedily, inhaling a deep breath when she was done.

“One other thing, just to keep in your mind tonight.” He set the wineglass back on the table, then traced a finger over Maddy’s damp lips. She licked at his fingers, making blood surge into his already swelling cock.

“I don’t do public scenes when I’m in an exclusive relationship.”

T
he inside of the In Vino Veritas club was far busier than the wine bar. The room smelled faintly of candle wax and lemon disinfectant.

Maddy’s eyes went wide as she took her first quick glance around the room. Then Alex stepped into her line of vision.

“Pay attention to me, Maddy.” As if she could do anything else when he looked at her like that. “You’re wearing the white cuffs, so no one is allowed to touch you tonight. That said, you need to demonstrate some of the appropriate behaviors, or you will upset people. Do you understand?”

She licked a tongue over suddenly dry lips. “What—what do I have to do?”

He smiled, pleased at her question, she thought. He reached out to toy with her cuffs with one hand, and the other traced a pattern over her collarbone, making her heart thump in her chest.

“Keep your eyes down around a Dom/Domme unless he or she speaks directly to you. Even then, try not to look them right in the eye. Some don’t mind, but some will take it as a serious sign of disrespect. Address all Doms/Dommes as
Sir
or
Ma’am
. If you speak with one.”

Maddy focused on the beat of Alex’s pulse, right below his ear. “I don’t have to call them
Master
?”

“Again, some clubs require that all Doms/Dommes are called by that title. You wouldn’t follow it with a name though, because that implies that you belong to the person you are addressing.” His hand dipped slightly, tickling the space between her breasts. She could feel her nipples pucker against the silk of her bustier. “For instance, you would call Elijah
Master
, but not
Master Elijah
. And it would be proper to call me
Master Alex
, but I prefer
Sir
.”

“All right.” Maddy nodded faintly. “I can do this.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“I can do this . . . Sir.” He smiled, pleased.

“I thought that the best way for you to get a taste of this life would be for you to act as a new submissive would here. I’ve arranged for you to serve drinks. You will do this in a timely and pleasant fashion. You will do what is asked of you by any Dom, bearing in mind that these cuffs mark you as mine.”

Maddy could feel her breath starting to hitch as her mind caught up with the rest of her, the sure beginnings of a panic attack. It was one thing to be there while Alex could protect her. She didn’t like the idea of being sent off into the wilds of this unfamiliar club by herself.

“Hey!” Alex caught her by her chin and forced her to look right into his eyes. “Breathe. Easy. One, two. In, out. Look at me, Maddy.”

He breathed in time with her, and it felt as if he were breathing for both of them, forcing Maddy’s lungs to go through the motion. After a long moment, she could feel the suffocating dregs of panic recede.

“Now, what about that scared you so badly?”

Maddy knew she could confide in him. “The whole point of my list is to push me, because I hate new situations.” She tried to make it sound as rational as it did when Dr. Gill said it. “But I can do only so much at a time, so that I can still draw a bit of control into the new situation with me. I was okay with coming here because I’m with you, and you make me feel in control.”

The corners of his lips turned up in the barest semblance of a smile. “Go on.”

“Going out there alone . . .” Maddy gestured widely with her arm. “It terrifies me.”

Clasping her by the upper arms, rubbing his hands up and down to ward off her chill, Alex pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s the responsibility of a Dom to know exactly how far he can push his sub.” His face was deadly serious. “So you’ll have to give me a little more credit. You’ll be serving drinks here, in the lounge around the bar only, for one hour. I’ll never have you out of my sight. Is this going to push you too far? Did I misread?”

The relief was instantaneous. She wanted to please him, she did. The thought of walking freely even in the lounge, dressed as she was, made tingles of both nerves and anticipation rumble through her. She was scared, but she thought she could do it.

She was at least going to try.

“All right. Sir.” Maddy tacked on the title at the end. “You said an hour. Will we leave then?”

“That depends on you.” Tracing his fingers over her cuffs one last time, he turned Maddy to face the bar, which sat like an island in the middle of the club. “If you see anything that interests you, we can go observe. Ultimately, though, I don’t care to play in public.”

She swallowed, wishing desperately for a glass of ice water. She was glad he didn’t enjoy playing in public. It was an interesting fantasy, but she wasn’t sure that she was okay with strangers watching her at her most intimate.

“That’s Luca.” The man behind the bar was massive, clad in faded black leather pants and a biker vest. Gorgeous, with a Latin tinge to his looks, he was at least six feet four of solid muscle.

Ringing his left bicep was a tattoo that matched the one on Alex’s arm. While Maddy always had the urge to run her lips over Alex’s, she could only objectively appreciate the beauty of Luca’s.

“Luca is the other owner?” Alex nodded. Maddy ran her hands over Alex’s biceps, where she knew the black ink to be. “Does Elijah have one, too?”

It was ridiculously cute to catch Alex off guard. She thought that his face flushed, though it was hard to tell in the lighting.

“We got them when we opened the club, as an oath to make this a safe haven for people like us.” He was embarrassed, she could tell. She tried to smother her grin. “Just don’t go spreading that around.”

Maddy mimed zipping her lips shut, though she couldn’t quite hold back her grin.

He patted her lightly on the butt, urging her forward. “Now go. Luca will tell you what to do.”

•   •   •

M
addy’s feet hurt.

It had been fifty minutes, and thankfully the sore feet, clad in the strappy stilettos that Alex had picked out, were the worst part. Many Doms, and even a few Dommes, had eyed her up and down, and several had even commented on various parts of her as if she weren’t there.

“Pretty sub.”

“Gorgeous tits.”

“Wonder what’s under that skirt.”

“Who does she belong to?”

Though several times she had to bite her tongue, she managed to follow Alex’s instructions. Head down. Don’t speak unless spoken to.

“Sub.” Though the male voice could have been addressing half a dozen people in the vicinity, for some reason Maddy was sure he was speaking to her. She looked up to see a slim Dom dressed in black leather pants and a white button-down shirt, lounging in a leather chair.

A beer was in his hand. Alex had told her that the alcohol consumption of everyone at the club was strictly monitored, but this guy looked like he might have started before he arrived.

“Come here.” His request was no different than a dozen others Maddy had received over the course of the evening. She couldn’t have said why, but a feeling of trepidation rolled through her.

Still, she did what she was told, crossing to where the man slouched. She studied him from beneath lowered lashes.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.” Before she could do more than squeak, he positioned his thighs between her legs and pushed her down until she straddled his lap.

Greedy fingers reached for her breasts.

“Don’t.” Maddy slapped his hands away and tried to remove herself from his lap. His hands clasped her waist, holding her down.

“Be nice, little subbie.” His breath smelled of beer. “I want to get acquainted with the newbie’s hot little body.”

She didn’t even consider her next movements. She didn’t care if she was going to get punished for disobeying an order; she hollered at the top of her lungs.

“Blackjack! Vino! Red!”

“I’m right here, Maddy. No need to yell.” Alex’s familiar hands found her waist. He wrapped her tightly in a hug, then pushed her behind him, so that he was shielding her.

From the corner of her eye, Maddy could see Luca, still behind the bar, but watching closely.

“Are you new here?” The rage emanating off of Alex was palpable. Maddy could feel the heated waves charging the air.

“A little.” The man stayed seated, though he shifted uncomfortably.

“Do you not have an understanding of what white cuffs on a sub mean?” Alex spoke so quietly, it was almost a whisper, but his words didn’t need any more volume.

He was scary.

“I’m a Dom. I’m allowed to touch.” The man looked belligerent, like a child who’d had playtime revoked. “She’s a sub. What’s your problem?”

Maddy watched, fascinated, as Alex pinched the bridge of his nose with frustration.

“What is your name?” He looked like he was about to peel the man’s skin from his body—and enjoy it.

Maddy wasn’t going to play Xena: Warrior Princess. The big man had been about to grope her in places that she sure hadn’t wanted to be touched, and Alex had fixed it. She was just fine with that.

“Kevin.” The man slammed his beer bottle down on a small side table. “I don’t need this shit. This club sucks.”

“How did this asshole get in here?” Maddy heard Alex murmur under his breath.

Still emanating fury, he pointed to the exit. “Out. You’re not welcome here ever again. You can leave peacefully, or Luca can escort you. Your choice.”

Kevin stood at that, his fists bunched. “You can’t do this! I’m a guest! Who do think you are?”

Before her eyes, Alex turned from scary to scarier and at the same time exuded his
Fuck you, peon; I’m a billionaire
attitude.

“You may call me Master Fraser, and I am one of the owners of this ‘sucky’ club. Now, unless you’d like to lose your teeth and gain a black eye in the bargain, I suggest that you leave.”

Kevin looked like he was having a hard time controlling his caveman impulse to lash out at everyone in sight. In the end, though, he stormed away, shrugging off Luca, who had come out from behind the bar.

Once the beastly man was through the exit, Maddy turned to Alex. His color was up, and he was breathing hard. He devoured her with a heated look.

“Thank you.” The words barely left her lips before he cupped her ass, lifting her off of her feet and crushing her against the hard length of his body.

When he possessed her lips in a feverish kiss, she felt the rigid length of his sudden erection pressing in to her with urgency.

His tongue swept over her lips, demanding entry. She opened for him, clutching him around the shoulders with eager arms. He explored her mouth as she arched into him, letting him do as he wanted, because clearly he needed this touch to defuse the anger of only moments ago.

He kissed Maddy until her head spun. When he finally pulled away, they stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Maddy could feel something funny happening to her heart, and it made her tremble as, gradually, she again became aware of where she was.

“Was there anything else you wanted to see tonight?”

She shook her head vehemently. While serving drinks, she’d gotten an eyeful of all kinds of things that she’d never even imagined before. Some had distressed her, some she was merely curious about, and some . . . well, some definitely aroused her.

But they aroused her because she wanted to go home and do them with Alex.

She told him so, and he rewarded her with another fierce kiss, sliding her slowly down his body. When he clasped her hand in his and they began to walk toward the exit, she heard catcalls and whistles from those who had witnessed the entire scene.

Maddy flushed, and Alex wrapped an arm around her. He bent close to whisper in her ear. “Don’t worry about them. Let’s go home.”

It didn’t occur to Maddy until later that when he said
home
, she thought not of her apartment, but of the penthouse. And it was also then that she realized that, for most of the night, Alex had shoved her from one new situation to another, and so long as he was nearby, her panic stayed away.