Pink Buttercream Frosting (6 page)

“Look, I don’t have a reason that’s going to sound right or sound intelligent or even sound grown-up. I don’t have an answer that’s going to satisfy you. I just left.”

“You’re right, that doesn’t satisfy me. It’s nothing but crap, Aidn. You saying you were scared sounded better. Why can’t a man just say he’s done and he’s leaving?”

“Come on now, Bailey. You’re making a bit of a generalization, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t. You did it. It’s been done before, too, to me. Not by anyone like you. Not by anyone that I would give a second thought to really, but that’s beside the point. I just want to understand why you left, what I did wrong.”

“I don’t know how to make you understand that you did nothing wrong. It’s me.”

Bailey laughed. She couldn’t help it. “The old ‘it’s me not you’ argument. Right.” She sounded desperate and it was a low point she’d never hit before. She’d never intended to lash out or humiliate either of them. He made her feel so much, brought to life parts of her she hadn’t expected to come alive after just a few encounters with him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Aidn grabbed her arm, pulled her tight against him and backed up into the office enough so that he could close the door behind them. She tried to wrench her arm free, but he wouldn’t let go and before she could catch her breath, he had her pinned against the wood of the door. He held her in place until she ceased to struggle. She couldn’t fight his hold on her, physical or emotional. Damn.

She started to speak, but his lips swallowed anything that she might have been about to say. His tongue invaded her mouth and his hands pressed her shoulders into the door, his fingers digging into her. She was lost in the kiss, in the pressure of his body against hers, in the realization that his hard cock pressed against her, urging her to spread her legs a little more. Despite his words, he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

He lifted his head and looked down at her, confusion swirling in the dark blue depths. “I can’t give you what you want or what you deserve.” He took a step back and let go of her. “Now, you get to be the one that leaves. And believe me, Bailey, it’s better this way.”

*

The club was packed. The music thumped and bumped and it echoed in her blood. Bailey glanced around as the hostess stamped her hand. She loved the open sexuality, the exhibitionism of the women. Most walked around in g-strings with pasties covering their nipples. The two dancers on stage were dressed no differently, though one was barefoot with a sparkling anklet and the other had on bright red, patent leather fuck-me heels. They were so lost in their movements and Bailey suspected they were lost in being watched, admired, being wanted. And she had no doubt that they were wanted, lusted after. What would it be like, to be up there, dancing and moving, lost in the beat of the music, lost in the eyes that followed every move? Could she ever be brave enough?

Her cheeks warmed and she turned away, following Jen farther into the building. Couples, trios and groups in all variations of dress and undress swarmed the balcony, hovering around the play stations and the bar.

“Let’s get your name on the list first thing so you can get that flogging you’ve been dying for.”

“No, Jen.”

“Yes. You’ve seen him work every time we’ve been here and he’s offered for you more than once. Come on, B.”

“No, I don’t want to be watched in public like this.” Which was such utter bullshit. She might have told Aidn that she wasn’t an exhibitionist, but that wasn’t true. At least she didn’t want it to be. She wanted to be up on stage dancing, wearing next to nothing. She wanted to be hoisted up on the chains in the center of the building, tied carefully and artfully, then swung back and forth for all to admire. She wanted to be seen, to be wanted, to be hungered for. And yes, she wanted to be bound to the St. Andrew’s cross and flogged.

Jen rolled her eyes. “Right.”

“Fine, just not tonight, Jen. Please. I’m not up for it. I really just want to go home.”

“You aren’t still bummed, are you? B, come on. He’s just a guy. There will be others like him and others better than him that will want you for more.”

“Not like him, Jen. And he does want me. That’s what gets me. He wants me. It’s in his eyes, in his touch.”

“But evidently not enough. So let’s go. We’re getting you signed up. We’re getting this guy flogged out of your system.”

“No, I mean it. Not tonight. Maybe some other time.”

“Yes, tonight. Right now.”

Jen took her hand and pulled her toward the man with the flogger. Bailey’s heart thudded with nervous excitement and her pussy began to ache. She really did want this, and she really did love watching him, always imagining what it might feel like. The flogger looked like an extension of his arm, as though it were part of him and it never did anything he didn’t want it to do. He was in control of it and she wanted him to be in control of it on her.

He looked up when they stopped outside the ropes of his station and smiled, winking at Bailey. “Gonna try me tonight?”

She answered his teasing grin with one of her own. It was infectious and she couldn’t help it. The man was gorgeous with a broad, solid body and his long hair in a loose braid down his back. They never spoke except for these little bits. She’d watched him over the months and he was the one she wanted to deliver the first strike. She frowned. No, that wasn’t true any longer because there was another she would rather bare her body for, another that she would… No, she wouldn’t think about him tonight. She wouldn’t let thoughts of him and his rejection of her ruin her night.

“M—”

“Yes, she is,” Jen interjected, cutting off anything that Bailey might have been about to say.

“Really?”

He looked so happy, so excited that Bailey… Wow. “Yes, really.”

“Come, then.”

He held out his hand and for the briefest moment she hesitated, but then put her hand in his. His strength seeped into her skin and steadied her nerves. He would take care of her.

Positioning her against the smooth wood of the X-shaped cross, he ran his hands down her arms and across her waist. His fingers squeezed her before sliding farther down over her hips. “My name is Thor and I’ve been wanting to do this since the first night you stopped outside my station.”

“You have? Why?”

“You’re beautiful and your body is great, so full, so glorious. The tails will love you. But mostly, it’s the hunger that I see in your eyes and the need I see on your face when you watch.” His voice dropped low and his lips just touched the edge of her ear. “And I love that you watch me.”

“Oh.” Bailey couldn’t believe what he was saying, couldn’t help the smile that filled her from the inside out.

“Do you want to take your shirt off or leave it on?”

Bailey looked helplessly over at Jen, who looked helplessly back at her, shrugging her shoulders. She had no answer for him. “Without. Take it off. You can’t begin to imagine the feeling.”

Bailey nodded and began to unhook the eyelet closures on her top. The black corset-style blouse hugged her breasts and nipped in at her waist and she’d bought it specifically for tonight, wanting to look sexy even if she didn’t feel like it.

What the hell was she doing?

Second thoughts clouded her mind and she was just about to change it when out of the corner of her eye she saw Thor pick up a flogger. She turned her head slightly and watched as the tails danced in the air when he moved his hand. She was again caught up in the way he handled the instrument, the tender way he caressed it against skin.

Sliding the shirt down her arms, she was suddenly cold in the humid heat of the club. Jen took the shirt and Bailey let Thor position her against the cross. He skimmed his hand up her back, causing her to shiver, and unhooked the catches on her bra. It fell open and hung against her sides when she lifted her arms up to the cuffs.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, Thor spoke softly. “Forget everything and everyone. Close your eyes and just feel it flow through you. I’m here. Your safe word is Red. If at any time it becomes too much, just say it and I’ll stop.”

Taking a deep breath then letting it out slowly, she whispered, “Okay.”

Chapter Six

“That little blonde has been eyeing you all night.”

“I know,” came the weary reply.

“You should go introduce yourself.”

Aidn looked over at Robert and rolled his eyes. “Yes, what a brilliant idea because the last time I did that, I ended up fucking the girl until she was murmuring my name in her sleep.”

“True, but we’re here to have fun, to enjoy the sights, and maybe even take a couple of them home.”

“I don’t think I’ll be taking any of them home with me, but feel free to take as many home as you’d like.”

“They wouldn’t all fit in the car. You know, I could always…”

“No. Thanks. I’m good.” Truth was, he was bored. The little blonde, the little brunette, the redheaded knockout…he wasn’t interested. He wanted to leave, to go home, open a beer, flip through channels and numb his mind. He wanted to stop thinking about how Bailey fit against him, about how her lips tasted when he kissed her. He wanted all the crazy ideas and desires to go away and leave him in peace. He wanted her bound and naked, writhing in his bed. He wanted to lose himself in her, be with her as she discovered more of herself and this lifestyle that drew them both. He wanted to keep her.

The sound of a flogger connecting with bare skin brought his head up and around. A crowd surrounded Thor’s play station as always. Aidn smiled. He’d taught the man everything he knew a few years back and was proud that the younger man had made a name for himself. He was giving and conducting workshops on his own now.

As he started to look away, the crowd shifted and Aidn was able to get a look at the flogger’s current lover. “Bailey.”

“What?”

He closed his eyes, certain he was seeing things, but when he opened them again, she was still there, bound to the X. “Bailey. What the hell is she doing?”

“Well, it looks like she’s…well, that she’s…”

“She loves it. The few times I’ve been with her, she had that same look whenever I touched her. She was so lost in everything I was doing to her. She can’t mask it, can’t hide it, and she can’t fake it. The need to serve, the hunger to give of herself and her body is something she craves.”

“Aidn…”

“This is so fucking wrong. She’s…” He stalked off in her direction without finishing his comment. He was floored, so taken aback by the fact that she was there in the first place. It really shouldn’t surprise him, she’d been there many times before and he wasn’t sure why it hadn’t dawned on him that she would be there tonight. It was more the fact that she was not only there but half-naked and being flogged. Thor looked as lost in it as Bailey did.

That’s when the jealousy hit him. Fuck.

Stepping through the crowd of people, he stopped directly in front of her line of vision so that when she opened her eyes, his face would be the first thing that registered.

Possessiveness hummed through his blood. He was so…not a possessive man. This girl brought out so much in him that he wasn’t used to feeling, thinking, and he was really getting tired of it. He just didn’t know how or what to do about it. At least that’s what his head said. His gut and his dick were saying something completely different. They were saying
mine.

He needed to calm down. If she were to look at him right now, she’d likely be scared that he’d drag her out of there like a caveman. Aidn smirked. Not a bad idea actually.

“What are you going to do?” Robert whispered from behind him.

“Whatever I need to do.”

Aidn watched Thor’s hands caress the light, insistent marks on her pale skin left by the flogger. It was beautiful on her, the contrast. He could almost imagine the heat coming off her. She was wet, too. He didn’t have to touch her to know that between her legs she was soaking, fucking wet.

Another round of flogger meeting flesh commenced. Her back arched into the tails and her fingers curled into fists. Her lips thinned, compressed together, but she didn’t cry out. Thor’s wrist twisted in a side-to-side motion that brought the flogger down in a swish across her shoulders and back, ass and thighs in a constant barrage. She wiggled against the cross, tugged at her bindings and when Thor rubbed her back, massaged the tension from her muscles, she calmed instantly.

She smiled when Thor whispered something against her hair and she slowly opened her eyes. Aidn stepped closer and it took less than a second for the haze to clear. Bingo.

Bailey’s eyes widened. Inside those bright green orbs he spied fear, embarrassment…lust. But it was the fear that pulled him. What did she fear? Him? No, he was fairly certain of that. What then? Fear of being vulnerable with him there? If that were the case, he didn’t blame her. While their last meeting a few days ago clearly gave the impression that nothing could continue between them, something about seeing her bound, helpless, teetering on the edge of bliss, brought it all home to him. She was his match. It was something he’d sensed in her long before their meeting on the sidewalk. She had that innate submissive need that answered his dominant urges. She wasn’t quick to join the fray, she wasn’t interested in one-time play with anyone and everyone. She was the challenge he wanted, the submissive for him. Plain and simple. He was just going to have to suck it up and face it head-on.

His dick was hard, his heart was thumping and there was an irrational knot twisting inside his soul, driving him to mark her as his own. How could she dare to take her shirt off in so public a place and put herself in so vulnerable a position as to be cuffed for a flogging? At the same time, he’d never seen a more beautiful sight as her giving over and letting go.

“Get her down,” Aidn bit out through barely moving lips, not bothering to glance at Thor.

“Aidn. I—”

Thor interrupted her, concern lacing his voice. “Are you okay, girl?”

“Yes, just do as he says, please.”

“Sure.”

There was hesitation in his voice, and reluctance in his movements, but Thor slid his hands up her arms to her wrists and unsnapped the leather cuffs. Regret nudged at Aidn for the way he’d spoken to the other man, but he couldn’t let it influence him or his actions. Thor wouldn’t challenge him. People were starting to stare and whisper, and while he should care, he didn’t. All he cared about was Bailey. She was beautiful up on that cross, beautiful all flushed and dreamy, beautiful and all his.

Aidn’s tone of voice brooked no argument and he made sure that his eyes communicated that to Thor.

Thor was a smart man, hooked Bailey’s bra around her back and started to help her down, but Aidn stepped in, taking her arm in a firm hold.

“Aidn, I didn’t know…” Thor started to say.

“She didn’t either. She will before the night’s over, though. And, Thor? You’re still one of the best with tails. It’s beautiful on her. Thank you. Let’s go, Bailey.”

“Aidn, please, she said.“Bailey?”

“Is she your friend?” Aidn asked, nodding in the other woman’s direction.

“Yes, she is. Her name is Jen.”

Aidn held out his hand to the small fireball that looked ready to kill him. “I’m Aidn. She needs her shirt back.”

“Excuse me?” Venom dripped from her lips and he had to smile at that. “I’m not letting her go anywhere with you.”

“You don’t have a say in this.”

“Who the hell do you think you are? Bailey, are you really going to go with him?”

“It’s okay, Jen. He’ll take me home.”

“Yes, I will. She’ll call you tomorrow. The shirt, please.” The girl reluctantly handed the shirt over, still glaring daggers at him. He wanted to laugh. “Jen, my friend Robert here needs a ride home. Could you please take him?” Aidn didn’t wait for an answer, knowing full well that Robert would have no trouble getting a ride with someone else if the girl wouldn’t take him. He steered Bailey through the crowd, hating the spectacle he’d just made, but reasoned with himself that it couldn’t be helped.

Lust and anger warred within. Now, if he could only figure out why he was angry. The lust he understood, but the anger? The jealousy? Those words and emotions were not in his vocabulary when it came to women. Until Bailey.

“I…I need my shirt,” Bailey said as they descended the stairs to the first floor. At the landing, Aidn backed her against the wall off to the side.

His voice was low in her ear. “Not until we get outside. You were happy enough to take it off upstairs, you can be happy enough to walk through the club without it. And, keep your arms lowered because it’s a little late for modesty. I’d strip the bra off you, too, and make you walk completely topless if it weren’t club policy that you have something covering your sweet, delicious nipples. Not that anyone would stop or question me.”

“This is ridiculous, Aidn,” she hissed.

“Ridiculous? Really?” His grip on her tightened. “Maybe I should make you crawl behind me. There’s a vendor selling leads here tonight.”

Bailey tried to free herself, but he only squeezed his fingers into her arm harder. Damn woman.

“Don’t. Don’t say things like that anymore. You don’t want me, so why not just let me go?” She yanked at her arm one more time and he finally released her. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”

He wanted to spank her for the petulant tone in her voice. Shit. He wanted to spank her because he wanted to feel the heat coming off her ass as she was bent over his knee. “Don’t want you? Don’t want you? My God, you couldn’t be more wrong. The scene we just left upstairs told everyone in here in no uncertain terms that I want you, that I claim you as mine.”

“You were very quick to point it out in your office that we were better off this way…that way.” She sighed. They were both so flustered, so needy, and he’d give anything to be able to take her right here, right now just to knock the edge off until they could get someplace more private. “In your office, you said so. Please. Let me go.”

Aidn shook his head and took her hand, pulling her behind him across the crowded dance floor. He could feel the stares more than see them. Most people knew his face, knew that he didn’t leave the club with women, especially half-naked ones. Perhaps it was time to change some things, change some perceptions.

Her steps never faltered and she kept up. At the door, he stopped and turned around. His eyes were drawn to her chest as she took deep, rapid breaths. He wanted her tits out. Soon, he promised himself. Very, very soon.

Holding her shirt out to her, he told her to put it on and fasten it only in the middle. Her mouth opened and closed, and even though nothing came out, there were questions in her eyes. He resisted the urge to smirk.

“You are taking me home, right?” she asked, following him out of the building. They stopped at the sidewalk and waited to cross the street.

“Yes, I’m taking you home.” He took her arm again and hurried her to the parking lot. Glancing around and seeing no one, fairly certain that no one could see them, he pressed her up against the side of his Jeep.

“Wh—”

“Hush.” He unhooked her shirt and stripped it from her, then reached around and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the ground. “Here. You can put it on, but don’t fasten it.” He held out the shirt and she took it, putting it on again. “You’ll sit like this the whole way. I want your tits bared to anyone that we pass on the road.”

“You can’t be serious!” Bailey tried to pull the garment closed, but his hands held her wrists and stilled her movements.

“Push me a little more, sweetheart. You’re lucky I’m letting you keep the shirt on at all.”

“Aidn, please.”

He smiled, wicked and predatory. “I love when you beg. Do it some more, baby girl, and you’ll ride home completely naked with my come leaking out of your sweet cunt.” When she shut her mouth tight, another retort right on her lips, he feigned a disappointed pout. “Awww damn. And I wanted to fuck you right here, right now.”

In the moonlight he could see the shifts and changes in her eyes. She wanted him. That hadn’t changed and a relief unlike anything he’d ever felt before flooded him. She might be pissed at him, but she still wanted him. Lust was present in both of them, and so was something else, but he’d ignore that for now and concentrate on getting them home and into bed.

Reaching between them, he unsnapped and unzipped her curve-hugging faded jeans. In her heels, the top of her head reached his upper lip.

“What are you doing?”

“Inside.” He punctuated his words by opening the passenger door and helping her in. He’d never been this rough with a submissive before, but quite honestly no one had affected him like this, add to that the knowledge that she wanted him, desired him… She brought out the man, the dom, the animal all at the same time. He wasn’t sure which way was up anymore.

He fastened the seatbelt across her body, making sure that it wouldn’t rub her raw, then closed the door and walked to the driver’s side. Once fastened in with the engine on, he glanced at her. She was sitting quietly, stoically, and she was beautiful.

“Are you wet, Bailey?”

She inhaled sharply and he waited. She closed her eyes and he waited. She licked her lips and let out a shuddering breath and still he waited for her answer.

“Yes.”

He reached out and tugged gently on one of the soft curls around her face. “Did the flogging make you want to come?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Spread your legs, slide your hand inside your pants and play with that pretty pussy for me.”

He leaned close just as she turned her head to face him. He licked at her lips and she sighed.

“Yes.”

“Where are you taking me? This isn’t the way to my house.”

“No.”

“You said you would take me home.” Where was the panic in her voice? She was half-naked in his Jeep, riding through downtown streets, her fingers toying between her legs, and they weren’t headed toward her side of town.

“I am.”

“But…” Why was she still so wet?

“I didn’t say whose home though.”

“I—” She shut her mouth. He had her there, damn man.

Silence ensued and she laid her head back against the headrest, turned slightly toward him, watching his face, the square set of his jaw and his hands, the way they gripped the steering wheel, flexing and relaxing against the leather. She could look at him every day and never tire of it. Something about his good-looking, boy-next-door-hiding-a-deep-dark-kinky-secret flustered her and set her body on fire. A man who should have never been interested in her under normal circumstances wanted her for all the primal and primitive reasons she longed for. His dominance and her submission.