Dark Citadel (9 page)

“Heads up,” he warned Raoul. “Incoming.”

Kari walked away from the other newbies, feeling like a failure. She’d made it here, attended the class, but she’d basically blown the final by not practicing what she’d learned. But she just couldn’t. Not with them. Face it, she’d been hoping Master Dan would be here, would have changed his mind.
Dumb, Kari
. He’d made himself quite clear.

She started toward the door and then stopped. She should be polite and tell Master Raoul she was leaving. For all she knew, he might do a head count at the end of the night.

Master Raoul was at the bar like he’d said, talking with Cullen. Next to Raoul, another DM, a big, darkly tanned man around forty, leaned on the bar, listening. With a white scar across one cheekbone and cold black eyes, the man just plain looked dangerous. She gave him a wide berth and stopped on Raoul’s other side.

Cullen broke off in midsentence and smiled at her. “Little Kari, how are you?” The look he gave her warmed her right to her toes.

Ignoring the quiver in her stomach, she nodded back. “I’m fine. And how are you?”
Oops
. “Ah…Sir.”

Cullen and Raoul chuckled. The other man didn’t even smile.

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47

“Very nice,” Cullen said. “Can I get you something to drink, or is someone waiting for you?”

“No, thank you.” She turned to Master Raoul. “I’m going to call it an early night, but I enjoyed your class very much. Thank you.” She nodded and moved toward the door.

“Stop.” Master Raoul’s command had a snap in it.

Kari’s feet froze before her brain had processed the word. She turned.

“Are you having a problem with one of the other beginners?” Master Raoul’s eyes narrowed as he inspected the class.

“No, not at all. I just am not—” She couldn’t think of a way to say this politely. “I feel uncomfortable with—”
With beginners
. She shrugged rather than finish. “I see no need to practice, so I’ll head out. I appreciate your concern.”

He’d been studying her face. “Going from Master Dan to a beginner… I see the problem. I’ll find you an experienced Dom.”

“No, really, I’m—”

“You know, I’ve had a little experience,” Master Cullen said mildly.

Raoul snorted. “Like fifteen years or so?”

“About that.” Cullen lifted his head and shouted toward the front of the room,

“Dan! Man the bar. I’m taking some playtime.” He ducked under the bar and towered over Kari. “I’ll top you tonight.”

She managed to close her mouth. “Well…” Experienced, for sure. More easygoing than Sir—or at least more talkative. The set of his jaw, the way he watched her expressions made her think he might be as intimidating as Sir.

There wasn’t the same sense of connection with him or the trust she’d felt with Master Dan. But so what. Her reasons for being here were still valid. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

Kari heard footsteps behind her, then Master Dan’s voice with a hint of laughter.

“You and your damned playtimes. I’ll babysit the bar for a couple hours, but that’s it, Cullen.”

Sir’s deep, rough voice singed through every pathway in Kari’s body, and her insides melted like a sun-warmed chocolate bar. She stiffened but didn’t turn around.

Cowardly, but she didn’t want to see his face turn cold again.

Cullen looked down at her, and a smile flickered over his hard-hewn face. He put a heavy arm across her shoulders and mashed her against his side. And then, hand gripping her shoulder so she couldn’t escape, he turned them both to face Master Dan.

“Well, Dan, I’m not sure I’m going to want to stop at two hours.” Cullen rubbed his knuckles gently across her cheek. “Little Kari looks like she’s got more stamina than that.”

Master Dan saw her, and his face turned to stone. Even as his gaze dissected her like a bug, his mouth thinned. His anger hit her like a fist to the chest.

48 Cherise Sinclair

Kari pulled in a shaky breath and tried to back away, despite the restraining arm around her shoulders. What had she done to make him so mad at her?

“Dan, buddy, you got a problem?” Cullen asked, his voice as easy as if Sir didn’t look murderous. Raoul’s eyes narrowed.

Sir’s gaze never left Kari as his jaw tightened. He inhaled slowly as his iron will imposed control. When his eyes released Kari, she almost staggered.

Sir’s gaze rested on the bartender and then a corner of his mouth curved upward.

“You asshole. Your fucking sense of humor is going to get you killed one of these days.

Maybe today.”

Kari wrapped her arms around herself. She’d seen quite a bit of fighting in the schools, but these two guys were huge. They’d destroy the whole bar.

“I haven’t enjoyed anything so much in days.” Cullen’s laugh boomed in the quiet room. “But you know, you’re scaring
my
sub.” His hand squeezed her shoulder, pulled her a little closer.

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49

Chapter Eight

Dan’s hands fisted as possessiveness burned through him in a red-tinged wave.

One more word and he’d knock his fucking
friend
across the room. “Don’t push me.”

Cullen grinned.

Dan moved closer. When Kari’s big blue eyes lifted to meet his, his breath was sucked away. He couldn’t keep from touching her long, wavy hair, running his fingers down her soft cheek. She trembled. He’d scared her, dammit.

Cullen cleared his throat. “Dan, I think—”

Dan kept his eyes on Kari. “Go away, Cullen. Playtime’s over. She’s mine.” He sucked in a breath and corrected himself. “Mine for this evening.”

“I should make you work a little harder, but okay.” Cullen dropped his arm.

“Kari, I’ll be here if you need me.” He moved away.

Dan held out his hand. How badly had he damaged her trust? She couldn’t possibly understand his behavior, considering he didn’t understand it himself. “Let’s talk.”

Her eyes wary, she chewed on her lip, and he hardened at the memory of how soft those lips had been. She shook her head, and his mouth tightened. He’d never forgive himself for—

“I must be crazy,” she muttered and set her hand in his.

The relief almost swamped him. He led her to a nearby couch and pulled her down beside him. She wore another long dress, but this one was silky and a true blue color that matched her eyes. The top dipped low enough to display the beginning curve of her breasts, and with her full figure, it was provocative as hell.

His plans had definitely changed for the night, from wanting to avoid her to wanting to strip her naked. If he could talk her into it.

50 Cherise Sinclair

Having regained her composure, she tapped a finger on his arm. “I got the impression that you were a one-night stand sort of guy.”

“I am.” He laid his hand over her delicate fingers, realized her hands were chilled, and clasped them in his. “To be honest, Kari, I don’t get involved with anyone. I’ve found that if I keep encounters to one night, there’re no hurt feelings.”

“Then why did you take me from—” She glanced toward the bar and Cullen.

A flare of jealousy bit into his stomach like acid for the second time in five minutes.
Dammit
. “I’m here; you’re here,” he said, keeping his tone light.

He paused. Honesty was essential between a Dom and sub; if he wasn’t willing to bare his thoughts, how could he demand the same from her?

“No, it’s more than that,” he said. He pulled her closer, slid an arm behind her back. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and me, but it’s not finished yet.” He looked away from her, and Marion’s face rose in his mind, more shadowy than normal.

“When I lost my wife, I lost everything. I don’t have anything to give. Only sex for a night.” He didn’t have more. He didn’t
deserve
more. “So I can’t offer you a commitment other than I want you tonight.”

“That’s no commitment at all.” She stared across the room, her gaze on someone using the bondage table. After a minute, she shook her head like a dog shedding water.

“But it’s enough. That’s all I want too. Just sex.”

“Well, that I can give.”

“I know,” she said under her breath, then looked at him with a smile. “I was looking forward to exploring more of this BDSM stuff, but the other beginners…” She frowned, obviously searching for the right words. “It seemed too much like the blind leading the blind.”

“Now that
would
be frightening.” He took her chin, looked into her eyes. “Are you afraid of me?”

She tilted her head. “Not…exactly. I trust you, but I’m a little scared of what you might do.”

“Well, little sub, that
is
the point. Do you remember your safe word?”

“Red.”

“Good.” He unclipped something from a metal ring on his left side. “I almost forgot your jewelry. Give me your wrists.”

She hesitated, then laid her wrists into his hand.

He buckled on fleece-lined leather cuffs. “What the well-dressed sub wears in the Shadowlands. Master Z would have been displeased if he’d seen your wrists naked.”

As she frowned at them, he pulled her onto his lap, his arms holding her against his big chest. She felt just right. “Now, let’s run through what might happen here tonight.”

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“Okay.” Dropping her cuffed wrists to her lap, Kari leaned her head against his shoulder. Cullen probably would have been nice, but he wasn’t Master Dan. She really did trust Sir to keep her safe. His solid arms felt good—just right—around her.

At least until his fingers pulled down the zipper on the front of her dress. His hand slid under her bra and closed over her left breast.

“Wait.” She tried to pull away, but his other hand gripped her hip, holding her in place. God, she’d forgotten how strong he was, how big. Her insides quivered as her breathing increased.

“The restrictions for a beginner’s first night are gone, Kari,” he murmured, his thumb stroking her nipple to a hard peak, the controlled power of his grip making her shake. “Tonight, I can—and I will—take you, with my hands. My mouth. My cock. Any way I want. As many times as I want.”

With his hand on her breast, he could undoubtedly feel her breathing increase, her pulse speed up. “Your body likes that idea,” he whispered. “Your body is mine to play with, to restrain, to show off. Your only response to anything I want will be, ‘yes, Sir.’”

Need clawed into her as her insides turned liquid. She dampened.

As if he could tell—and he probably could, the jerk—he whispered, “Are you wet for me now, little sub?”

Her body didn’t feel like her own anymore. Yes, she’d wanted to explore sex here, but this was too fast. Too much.

When she didn’t answer, he removed his hand from her hip and tilted her head to meet his gaze. His eyes crinkled as he studied her face. “You’re flushed. Your pulse is hammering. Your breathing is fast. Kari, either answer my question, or I will check for myself. Right here.”

She gasped and closed her legs tightly at the thought of his hand under her skirt, right in the center of the room. This wasn’t at all like that isolated spot he’d found for them last time. Didn’t he understand anything about privacy? Discretion? Politeness?

She pushed at his hand and gritted out, “Fine. I’m wet. Okay?”

The minute the words left her mouth, she remembered his response the last time she’d snapped at him, and her world tipped sideways.

His eyes went cold. “No, that answer is as far from okay as it can get. Open your legs for me now.”

“I will not.” She tried to move from his lap, and his grip tightened.

“Since you like multiple choice, here you go.
A:
You can be an example for the other subs when I drag you to the bondage table, strap you down, and let everyone see how wet you are.”

Her breath choked in her throat as horror filled her.

“Or
B:
You may apologize for your tone, and I’ll let you open your legs for me here.” He gave her a hard look, and she knew he’d do just what he said. “Which is it, little sub?”

52 Cherise Sinclair

“Here,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, Sir. Please stay here.”

He pulled her dress up to her knees, set a hand on her bare leg, and waited.

She tried to look around, to see if anyone could see her.

“Do it now, sub, and keep your eyes on me,” he ordered in a glacial voice. His command sent disconcerting heat washing through her.

Biting her lips, she eased her legs apart. His right hand stroked up between her thighs, forcing her to open farther until his palm pressed against her mound. She glanced down and turned red. Her dress was pushed up, barely covering her, and anyone could see the location of his hand.

People walked past the couch. A woman in a black bustier, fishnet stockings, and high heels glanced over and grinned. Over by the spanking bench, Buck stared at Sir, his mouth twisting into an ugly line. Then there were Master Raoul and Master Cullen at the bar…

With a low moan, Kari shoved at her skirt.

Master Dan sighed, lifted his left hand from her hip. “Give me that hand.”

Darn it, she knew what he planned—one arm pinned against his chest, the other in his grip. She’d have no choice but to let him do what he wanted.

He chuckled. “And that just made you wetter.” Oh, God, he had his fingers pressed into her crotch.

“Hand, Kari.”

Giving up, she set her hand in his. He closed his fingers around her wrist and set both their hands against her hip, holding her wedged in one place. She had a moment to feel her helplessness, and then he slid under the edge of her panties and pushed a finger inside her. Her hips jerked at the suddenness of the entry, at the flaring arousal that soared through her.

“Yes, you’re very wet.” His finger moved inside her, sent jolts of sensation through her. “Makes me want to bend you over the couch and bury myself in you.”

He could undoubtedly feel the way her vagina clamped down as well as she could. Oh, God.

“But I think we’ll go upstairs so I can take my time exploring your body.” His eyes crinkled. “You like that idea too, don’t you? Answer me, sub.”