Insolence (6 page)

Aric decided the time had come to just take what belonged to
him, what had always belonged to him. Threading his fingers through her hair,
he lowered his mouth to hers. When his lips brushed hers, he said, “I love you,
Ainsley. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.”

He kissed her, taking her mouth in a masterful manner, his
tongue demanding entrance, his lips commanding a response. Over the past two
days, when he’d kissed her like this, she’d whimpered and gone weak beneath his
onslaught. Now she threw her arms around him and kissed him back fiercely. She
took from him and gave back at the same time. There was nothing of the Dom and
sub in either of them as they each gave from their hearts. With years of
yearning to make up, they devoured each other with lips and tongues and hands.

Finally Aric broke the kiss, wanting to lift Ainsley into
his arms and take her to his bed—their bed—so they could seal their commitment.
He’d never unleashed the emotions that currently swirled within him. All those
years ago something inside him had recognized something in her, and he’d been
wise enough to know that it would overwhelm them both if he didn’t lock it away
deep inside himself.

Early on they’d been too young, and later on he’d been too
stupid. He’d gotten involved in the lifestyle and had lied to himself about why
he held Ainsley and every other woman at arm’s length. But now he’d freed his
emotions from their stasis and he wasn’t going to let her walk away from him.

Pulling her along behind him, he marched into his bedroom
and shoved aside a lithograph on the wall. He kept one of her hands clasped
tightly in his as he manipulated the combination lock. The door swung open and
he reached in, withdrawing a dark-green velvet box. He thumbed it open and
tears sprang to Ainsley’s eyes.

“Oh my God. It’s your mother’s ring,” she whispered
reverently as she gazed at the sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

“No, Ains. It’s yours.” Aric took her hand, startled to find
that it trembled in his grasp. He drew her close, brushing his lips against her
temple. “Two years ago, on your thirtieth birthday, my father gave me the ring
box accompanied by the cryptic advice to ‘get with the program’. At the time, I
didn’t realize he meant for me to give you the ring. I guess he knew more about
my feelings than I did.”

“He certainly knew about mine,” Ainsley whispered. “He’s
always known how much I love you. He kept telling me you’d realize the truth
one day.”

Aric slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
Somehow he’d known it would. When he tilted her chin up to kiss her, tears ran
from the corners of her eyes. He thumbed them away, unnerved to see her cry.
She’d been a hurricane force in his life, and he couldn’t remember ever seeing
her break down into this kind of emotional display. Twice since she’d come to
Insolence that weekend, she’d shown him her tears, her vulnerability. The tears
told him more than the bowing of her head and the lowering of her eyes that she
was his.

The kiss that sealed their commitment started slow and soft
and grew incrementally as their lips parted and their tongues tangled. Heat
seared Aric, sending spirals of lust through his body. Breaking the kiss, he
went back to the safe and pulled out a big black leather box. He set it on the
dresser and opened it, keeping his back toward Ainsley so she couldn’t see the
contents.

“Every now and then, I design special collars,” he told her
in a matter-of-fact voice. “We’re holding a charity auction in a few weeks here
at the club and this was to be my donation, but now I have a better use for
it.”

He turned to face her and she gasped, her eyes riveted by
the black suede collar studded with silver spikes and diamonds.

For all that their relationship wouldn’t be a traditional
Dom/sub one, Aric still felt the need to collar her. He thought perhaps it came
from the wholly primal urge to mark her as his own. When he stepped toward her,
she dropped her eyes, her head bending elegantly, and his heart soared. He
reached out and pushed away the dark fall of hair, exposing her vulnerable
nape.

With swift, sure movements, Aric collared the only woman he
had ever loved. This time when he lifted her chin, her eyes blazed with
passion.

“I belong to you, Aric. I always have,” she told him boldly.

Feeling a grin break out across his face, Aric faced the
fact that he had always belonged to her too. “There are cuffs as well,” he
teased.

It amused him to find her wrists held out eagerly for the
soft leather cuffs with silver rings and buckles. He kissed each inner wrist
and flicked his tongue over the point where her pulse beat.

“Later.” He laughed, taking her in his arms. “Shall we call
my dad?”

“No,” she said, laying her head on his chest and wrapping
her arms around his waist.

The feel of her body pressed to his sent his temperature
soaring.

She sighed contentedly. “I’m not sure I believe it yet, so
I’m not ready to share the news.”

This time, Aric did scoop her up into his arms, finding that
despite her height, she didn’t seem to weigh much. “I must be slipping. I can’t
remember the last time a sub didn’t believe me,” he murmured teasingly as he
carried her to the bed.

She wound her arms around his neck and nuzzled the side of
his face. “Well, I’m just the disobedient type, you know.” She nipped the lobe
of his ear and whispered, “You’ll have to punish me for my insolence.”

Aric laid her on the bed and covered her body with his,
admiring how she looked with his collar around her throat and his ring on her
finger. Symbols of possession. Symbols of love.

“Oh I intend to punish you very thoroughly. Every day of
your life,” he promised, and then took her mouth in a commanding kiss.

For a Friday night, the club seemed more quiet than usual.
Aric stood behind the bar filling a tray of glasses for designated drivers
while his head bartender Jamie leaned on the end of the bar talking to one of
the regulars. Ethan came in once a month and always selected one of the club’s
newest submissives, never the same one twice. He always consulted Jamie first
and had a known penchant for tall women. Currently, his gaze tracked the tallest
woman in the club. Aric’s woman.

Despite the possessiveness that twisted inside him whenever
someone in the club stared at Ainsley, Aric had learned right away never to
publicly show the primitive emotions roused in him with regard to his wife. For
one thing, it was a waste of time. Ainsley had eyes for no one but him. For
another, she could take care of herself far better than he could care for her.
The woman wasn’t a security expert for nothing, something Jamie was busy
informing the Dominant at the end of the bar.

“She’s Insolent’s new head of security. She also does
security consulting for a half dozen other clubs in the area. And she trains
movie stars in martial arts,” Jamie was saying.

Ethan nodded, his gaze still glued on Ainsley as she chatted
with a Dungeon Monitor. “She sure doesn’t act like a sub,” he told the
bartender with a shake of his head. “If it weren’t for the collar, I’d never
have pegged her as one.”

Jamie snorted. “She’s no submissive.”

The Dominant’s head turned as he watched Ainsley move
through the crowd toward the bouncers at the entrance. “Then what’s with the
collar?”

Ethan’s interest in Ainsley made Aric seethe, but he knew
better than to unleash his jealousy. His wife never thanked him for a public
show of possession. He bit his tongue and let his employee do what he did best,
steer men away from Ainsley and match them with an appropriate submissive to
fulfill their needs.

“The collar was an engagement gift from her husband.” Jamie
refilled Ethan’s glass with club soda and gave him a smug smile. “She’s married
to the owner of the club.”

The Dominant’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Newlyweds? Last I
heard Aric wasn’t married. His change in status seems rather sudden.”

Jamie shrugged. “It’s not. They’ve known each other since
the first grade.”

“And she’s not submissive.” Ethan rubbed his chin
thoughtfully as he continued to stare at Ainsley. “For a woman like her, I’d be
more than willing to forgo a lack of submissiveness.”

“Don’t even think about it. Not only would Aric kick your
ass into next week, Ainsley would put a hurt on you like none you’ve ever felt
before. That woman is lethal,” Jamie warned the Dom.

“Oh, I wouldn’t hit on
her
,” Ethan said with a
grimace. “I don’t touch married women. But someone like her could be just what
I’m looking for.”

Jamie eyed their regular customer with keen intelligence.
Aric barely hid a smirk as his employee moved in for the kill.

“A woman like Ainsley isn’t made for scenes in a leather
club. She submits to Aric because she loves him, but her submission is
something private between the two of them and is based deep within their
commitment to each other. You don’t want that. You want a different woman every
time you come here. You aren’t looking for what a woman like Ainsley would have
to offer.”

The Dom raised his head, his expression startled. “I’ve
collared subs before. I’m not afraid of commitment,” he protested.

Jamie gave him a pitying look. “That’s not what I’m talking
about. When you’re ready to take on a woman like Ainsley you come back and see
me. Until then, I’ll just point you in the direction of the newest pain slut
the club has to offer.” He gestured toward a leggy blonde wearing only leather
cuffs on her ankles and wrists. “She’s not looking for a collar nor more than a
scene or two with a hot Dom. I think the two of you suit admirably.”

Ethan frowned, his gaze flicking over the beautiful blonde.
“I suppose she’ll do for tonight.”

A firm nod tipped Jamie’s dark-auburn head. “And when you’re
ready for more, you know where to find me.”

Slipping off his barstool, the Dominant eyed Jamie
thoughtfully. “They say you’re a master at matching Dom to sub. You’ve never
steered me wrong yet. Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to tell me
something?”

The brilliant smile Jamie flashed turned heads, male and
female alike. “You’ve been coming here once a month for more than two years,
Ethan. You’re no dummy. You’ll figure it out and then you’ll be back.”

Ethan’s gaze followed Ainsley as she strode toward the bar.
“Whatever you say, Jamie,” he murmured absently.

“Boss’s wife, off-limits. Blonde at six o’clock,” Jamie
urged, tipping his head toward the blonde submissive.

The Dom tore his gaze from Ainsley. “Yeah sure, Jamie.
Thanks.” He stalked across the bar toward the tall blonde. Moments later he had
her on her knees.

Jamie turned toward Aric as Ainsley sat down on the stool
Ethan had just vacated. He shook his head slowly and Aric could see the humor
dancing in his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. I know it’s a chore for you to keep telling
everyone to stop lusting after my wife,” Aric said wryly.

Ainsley held a hand to her face to hide her giggles. “It’s
fun watching Jamie play matchmaker.”

Aric walked around the end of the bar and took the stool
beside her, reaching out to touch the tattoo on the back of her neck beneath
the heavy silken fall of her hair. He could almost feel the lines of his
initials curling over her skin, marking her as his. “He’s just doing his job.
He has a reputation to uphold after all.”

“So do you.” Ainsley leaned into him and kissed him on the
mouth. “Mr. Big Bad Dominant Club Owner.”

Heat flared in Aric’s body. “Have I told you today that I
love you?”

“You spanked me earlier so, um, yes.” Laughter glittered in
her green eyes.

“Still insolent, I see.” Aric took her hand, twisting the
engagement and wedding rings around her slender finger. Since they’d been
married less than a month, he still got a thrill seeing his rings marking her
as his. It was a much a turn-on as the collar she wore proudly in the club.
“Brat.”

Ainsley’s laughter rang out. “You love me anyway.”

“I love you more every single fucking day.” Aric stared into
her beautiful face, knowing that every word he spoke was the truth. “I’ve never
been more happy.”

“Me either.” Ainsley slipped off her stool, reaching up to
grab his hand and tug him off his perch. “The club’s slow tonight. Everything’s
running smoothly. How about we try out the new sling you bought?”

The fire she’d lit in his body moments before became a
raging inferno. He let her pull him toward his office and the private elevator
to their home above the club. Glancing back, he caught Jamie’s eye. The
bartender winked at him, a smile curving his lips.

“You couldn’t have done better had I picked her myself,”
Jamie called out.

Ainsley pulled him into the office away from the noise of
the bar and the gaze of their matchmaking employee. He’d thought that being in
a relationship would change how people treated him at the club but that hadn’t
happened. He’d thought that a relationship would change how he viewed the
lifestyle. That hadn’t happened either. What had happened was that he’d grown
to appreciate the efforts of people like Jamie who just wanted others to be
happy, whether it was for a night or forever. And he’d learned to listen to his
heart.

“You didn’t used to be so indulgent with Jamie about his
matchmaking,” Ainsley remarked as they stepped into the elevator.

“No,” he admitted. The car moved upward and he wrapped his
arm around his wife. “But I know now that love doesn’t diminish a Dominant in
any way.”

“Nor does submitting to the person you love.”

The elevator door opened and for a moment they stood staring
at each other. Then Aric smiled.

“Your safe word?” he murmured.

Ainsley cocked her head slightly to one side, her eyes
darkening with desire. “Insolence.”

With a chuckle that held all the love and contentment in his
soul, Aric backed his bride out of the elevator, all thoughts of his resident
matchmaker leaving his head. He steered Ainsley toward their bedroom, his gaze
never leaving that of the woman who stared back at him with complete trust,
everlasting love and just a touch of insolence.