Burned (Purgatory Club BDSM Erotic) (4 page)

He took the backstairs so he wouldn’t have to walk her through the crowd. It was nobody’s fucking business what he was up to and he didn’t need to deal with any other protectors. Besides, his car was right outside the door. He dug into the pocket of his leathers, pulled the keys to his car, and tossed them to his friend.

“
You drive.”

“
Zane, I can’t leave, I’ve got to close up soon.” He stopped and blocked Zane at the door.

“
Jesus, Gabe, I don’t live five minutes away. You can’t spare that much time for her? I’d drive but I’m not letting her go at the moment. It’s that important.”

Gabe glared at him skeptically, but he must have seen the desperation Zane couldn’t hide. The woman in his arms drove him crazy. A combination of strength and tenderness grabbed him by the throat and didn’t let go. There had to be a compromise that would work for them both, but not until she recovered and he taught her a lesson or two about taking care of herself.

Gabe unlocked the vehicle with the remote and Zane opened the rear door to his SUV, slid onto the seat, and closed the door behind him.

He held her tight. The night air had chilled and neither of them had a lot of clothing on. She sighed contentedly and he relaxed into the cool leather seat. “You remember the way, don’t you?” Sarcasm clung to every word, but Gabe had tried to thwart him one time too many so his annoyance ran high.

“
Yeah, I remember…”

With Gabe glaring at him in the rear view mirror, he returned his attentions solely on the woman in his arms. He sank into the soft, warm skin of her arms and legs. Needing to maintain close contact and wanting so much more.

He’d yet to fuck her, but they’d come damn close the last time they were together. Had it not been for Gabe interrupting, she would have been naked with him buried so deep she’d never get away from him. Something his friend had eventually regretted. A rough sigh escaped his lips and she in turn squirmed in his lap. She’d settled enough she had to know what she rubbed against.
Sweet fucking agony.

“
Be still, Ruby. You’re not ready for that and I’m only human.”

He had to bite back a smile when she instantly froze. He moved his hand from her ass and lightly massaged her leg until once again she relaxed against him and her breathing returned to a soft and steady cadence. This fear of hers had to go.

He stared at Gabe, who sat stiff as he drove the car, and caught his gaze when he glanced quickly in the mirror. “Our girl here sure likes the fire, doesn’t she? It took her over in an instant.”

Gabe sighed and nodded his head.

“
How long’s it been since the last time?”

“
You know this isn’t about sex for her,” Gabe whispered.

“
Don’t insult me. I know exactly what she needs and I also know she’s been living on the fringe, just getting enough to maintain her secrets. She isn’t satisfied.” He raised his hand when Gabe started to speak. “I’m not trying to insult you. I’m sure you’ve done as much as she would let you. Which is the crux of the problem, isn’t it?”

“
She’s adamant about not being submissive to me. It makes a difference on how a session can go.”

Zane snorted. “Is that what she keeps telling you? And you believe her?”

“
Look, man, I know you’ve got a massive hard-on for her, but at Purgatory we have rules and we don’t cross them—ever.”

“
Which is why I’m taking her home.”

“
I don’t know if that’s such a great idea. I don’t think she’s ready for a Dom like you. Probably never will be.” Gabe raised his shoulders and titled his head to the side.

Tension filled the car and Zane wanted to ignore it. But if he didn’t deal with it then Gabe would never leave her alone with him.

“
You know it’s a little freaky to be sitting here listening to the two of you argue about me as if I’m not even here.”

Her voice startled him. She’d begun to recover a lot quicker than he expected. That she did so in his arms was a damn good sign.

“
Just looking out for your safety is all,” Gabe answered.

She pushed to a sitting position and opened her eyes. “If that were true then maybe you wouldn’t have asked me to work tonight. You set me up and now you’re feeling guilty about it.”

Gabe started to deny it and stopped. Ruby was no pushover, that was for sure. She pushed against Zane’s chest. “Let me up.”

“
No.”

Her brow arched. “Excuse me. Did you just say no?”

“
Yes.” Fiery anger lit her eyes and color infused her cheeks. He waited for the backlash that would soon follow. That she had gotten riled up over the conversation was a clear indication she was getting back to normal.

“
I cannot—”

“
Don’t you even understand what happened to you?” Zane interrupted. “You need to rehydrate and take it easy for a while.”

“
I’m not a child, and I hardly think a bout of low blood sugar is cause for all this.” She waved her hand around the car and he bit back another smile. Jesus, he loved her spirit, her determination. And especially her strength. The one trait above all others attracted him to her.

“
No, you’re definitely not a child, and I’d like to suggest again you stop squirming in my lap.” His cock twitched against her bottom and she looked at him with sheer horror plastered across her face.

“
What? I’ve got a beautiful woman sitting in my lap who, as I recall, masturbated in front of me and who knows who else just a short while ago.”

“
Ohhh—” She fought powerfully against his hold and pushed herself from his lap to the seat next to him with just her wrist manacled by his hand. “You son of a bitch. Let me go.”

“
I already said no. I’m going to make sure you’re okay and then we’re going to see about getting you satisfied. Then we can discuss the terms of our future.”

Wild fear filled her gaze as she twisted her head to Gabe and back again. “What? Have you lost your mind? I need to get back to work and then when everything is all cleaned up I’m going home. Alone.”

“
You’re not going back to work tonight. Everything’s already being taken care of,” Gabe broke in. “Zane’s right. You may think you’re fine, but twenty minutes ago you scared the hell out of several people.”

Ruby sighed, some of the anger clearly deflating. “I’m not sure what happened and I’m sorry if it freaked you out, but really, I think I’m fine now.”

Zane tugged on her wrist and pulled her a little closer. “I’m not leaving you alone tonight, so you decide. We can either go back and spend the night in a public playroom, or you can come home with me. My preference would be a warm bed at my place where you’ll be comfortable and private, but it’s your choice.”

Silence stretched out between them as he imagined her thinking through the pros and cons of his offer. He’d known she wouldn’t like her options.

“
I don’t like being manhandled.” She leaned forward to the front seat. “And as for you, I don’t even know what to say. How about we take door number three and you can take me to my place.”

He pulled her back against the leather. “No. Not an option. You didn’t have a blood sugar issue back at the club, so clearly you either have no idea what you’re doing when you get involved with fire play or you’re in some major denial.”

Suddenly her elbow connected with his gut and his breath whooshed from his lungs. She’d caught him off guard just enough to again slide away from him as close to the window as she could get. He’d tensed, readying himself for a fight when she turned her head to gaze out into the night, not saying a word. They rode like that for a few minutes until Gabe pulled up to his building and killed the engine. For a few long minutes no one spoke as the tension in the car rose. He was prepared for her to yell and fight him.

Yet once glance in his direction and Ruby didn’t look mad anymore, she looked…sad.

“
I know a lot about this kind of thing…first hand. I grew up with it.”

“
You discovered your fire fetish when you were young?”

“
Yeah, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I didn’t understand the attraction to heat, and it took years before the craving for it started to twist me up inside.” She ran her hand along the edge of the window, her movements slow and distant as if she were lost in thoughts or memories.

“
Let’s go inside and you can get comfortable. Then we can talk about what happened.”

She looked at him then—a blank look in her eyes. “I can’t be what you want,” she whispered. “I don’t know how many ways I can say it before you finally understand.”

He banked down the surge of anger at her words. This was no time to push. There would be time for that later. “Don’t judge me when you haven’t even talked to me. Our only encounters have been in clubs where we both are in a different zone.” He opened the door and held his hand out to her. “How about we not jump to conclusions about each other tonight and just see where this goes?”

He counted the seconds in his head as she watched him carefully. It was clear how unsure she was but it had to be her choice and he wouldn’t force her to comply. His stomach jumped when her hand reached for his and he closed his fingers around her and helped her from the car.

“
Hey, Gabe, thanks for bringing us. I’ll send someone for the car tomorrow.”

“
No problem—but, Zane, if you hurt—”

“
Don’t do it, man. Don’t be a cliché here. You know me and you know she’s safe.” After a few seconds, Gabe nodded his head and Zane slammed the door shut.

“
How are you going to get your car back?”

“
No worries, beautiful. It’s taken care of.” He steered her toward the building entrance and she looked skyward.

“
You know, I’ve wondered what the inside of this building looked like. I did the investigation on the original building after it burned down. It was damned good to hear they were going to rebuild it and keep many of the original specifications. It’s always sad when the city loses a landmark to tragedy.”

He let her chatter nervously on about his building, only half-listening. His focus remained on her, and how the change in topic affected her. Her color brightened and her eyes were alive again. The passion that she had for her job, tantalized him at the same time it eased a good bit of tension from her demeanor. Good, maybe now she would be able to relax with him, because this wouldn’t be an easy night for either of them. He had a few lessons to teach and one way or another he’d find a way through her defenses until she agreed to give him a chance.

Chapter Three

Ruby wolfed down the last of the cookies Zane had given her. The man had no idea of the sweet tooth she possessed, nor the fact that his having her favorite peanut butter cookies in his cabinets had raised him a few levels in her eyes. As if the man needed to go any higher. She hated admitting that there was probably more to him than she’d allowed herself to believe.

He paced the apartment, restlessly waiting for her to finish. Now that her sanity had returned she no longer wanted to talk about what happened. But they were alone, and she was quite certain a man like Zane wasn’t going to let things go. Yes, he struck her as being prepared for anything at any time. So far, he kind of reminded her of a leather clad Boy Scout with a surly attitude.

Unfortunately her train of thought led her away from her hunger for food, and had given way to an entirely different hunger. Ruby swallowed the last of the cookie and shook her head. She needed to get laid. It was not hard to admit that she’d wanted him from the first time she’d laid eyes on him, but this need now clawing at her insides was ridiculous.

Sure, the fire had been her first attraction, but the man behind it was every bit as magnetic. Tall and muscular, with broad shoulders covered by a black T-shirt that clung to a heavily muscled chest and rock hard abs. If that weren’t enough to make her rub her legs together she remembered well the light trail that disappeared into his pants that rode low on narrow hips. The man wore leather like she didn’t know what, but it made her want to touch him, no…rub all over him. Just watching him perform, observing the way he moved, had taken her obsession to a higher level than ever before.

The pants were snug and cupped his cock just right as if saying come and get it. And, judging from the bulge she’d found herself sitting on in the car and the other times she’d pressed against him, she would not be disappointed. What was it about him that made her want to throw caution to the wind and give in to all her wicked thoughts? Where exactly has her resistance fled to?

“
What?” he said, his voice rough.

He’d turned and caught her staring. She liked the gruff expression on his face—a cross between complete frustration and desire. Their chitchat had done little to dissuade his erection and she couldn’t be more excited. She slid from the stool in his kitchen and moved slowly toward him. He must have sensed she was up to something because he took a couple of steps backward. She stalked closer.

“
I’m feeling much better now.”
Although she was hungrier than ever.

“
You look better.” He touched her hair, then the side of her neck.

“
I’ve tried to deny whatever this is between us for a long time now. I’m tired of fighting.” She lifted her hands and unbuttoned her top. One after the other she slid the tiny buttons from their holes and untied the knot from beneath her breasts.