Vulnerable (2 page)

He pushed up from his chair and strode toward her, leaving Sean in midsentence. The
movement caught the attention of the group of women and men, and they all watched him like wary deer. His cock thickened behind his leathers as the Amazon
never took her eyes from him. Even in the soft lighting, Ross could see the deep brown of her irises darken to nearly black and a faint flush rise from her cleavage. A scoop-neck, stretchy top in a light-peach color was paired with a flowered skirt, and Ross noted the strappy, heeled sandals on her feet. A tall woman not inclined to downplay her height. He liked that. She was wearing more than most new subs chose to dress in, and he also liked the fact that she was modest. Not that she would hide anything from him, although that would be in private, unless of course she needed to have others witness her submission. It was, after all, about what subs needed and for their Doms to determine and provide it. Ross welcomed the challenge, somehow thinking that this woman was going to prove to be a huge one. He believed he just might be up to it. No pun intended.

“I’ll claim
you
tonight,” he said.

The Amazon stared back at him in a disconcertingly assessing manner while the little blonde beside her squeaked. Time seemed to stretch interminably, and Ross found he was holding his breath. It was insane, but he didn’t think that he would take it if she rejected him.

“Why?”

Ross was surprised. Surely all of these potential subs had rudimentary training about D/s etiquette. They were supposed to do some reading on the lifestyle and attend a couple of orientation sessions before the meet and greet. That served to weed out most of the timid and the looky-loos. This intriguing woman could refuse his claim, but to question his motives? Hardly sub material. He should move on before he had to provide Submission 101. He found himself answering.

“Because I trust my instincts, and it’s you I want tonight.”

She patted the nervous blonde on the shoulder and came up from the arm of the chair in one lithe motion. Ross’s cock sprang totally to attention, and he was lost in lust. He remained silent as she approached him, cataloguing every physical attribute while trying not to leer. She was a perfect physical match for him, and he wasn’t going to waste any more time to see if the connection went beyond the physical. He held out his hand to her, a deliberate, studied move that demanded her compliance. It insisted that she put her hand in his and accompany him. Instead, she took it and shook it briskly, the strength and firmness evident even as he processed the softness belied by the calluses on the ends of her fingers.

“I’m Elise Cooper,” she introduced herself.

Ross said, rather faintly even to his own ears, “Ross Lassiter.”

He immediately sought to regain the advantage and didn’t release her hand. He gently tugged her closer and watched her eyes widen before she set her feet and resisted. He persisted and stopped only when she stood toe-to-toe with him. It had been a small battle of wills, and he had bested her, but only just.

“I’m claiming you, Elise Cooper,” he advised. “Choose a safe word.”

Elise tried to step back, but he captured her other hand and held her in place. Her head was tipped back, but only slightly, to meet his gaze. Maybe six feet in bare feet, he thought. So she would be over six feet in those sandals. And she smelled incredible, like soap and woman. The rest of the Club faded away, and there was only the two of them standing there.

“There’s been a mistake,” she said, her voice no longer quiet, no longer pitched low. Ross watched as her eyes filled with something that looked like panic. He stroked the back of her hands with his thumbs, and she immediately settled. It felt rather like soothing a nervous horse, and Ross had a sense of relieved accomplishment. Certainly he had calmed and encouraged other women as they came to give over, but something felt different. This felt like
his
something.

“I came to give Emily moral support.” Elise nodded back to the club chair where the blonde sat as if transfixed by their conversation. “I guess I’m here without permission.”

“But you’re here, and I’m claiming you.” Ross began to shepherd her toward the member rooms.

“I’m not into this kind of thing,” she protested, even as she walked with him. “I don’t even pretend to understand it, but Emily was determined, and I was worried about her.”

“So you slipped in with the crowd. Come along, Elise, let’s take this somewhere private,” Ross cajoled.

Elise pulled away from his grasp, and he backed her against the hallway wall, basking in her scent and the heat of her body. He didn’t want her to run, and he knew that if he didn’t push this thing, whatever it was, and push it hard, he might never have the opportunity to explore it with her. A large shape loomed in his peripheral vision, and Ross realized it was the house Dom who had replaced Graham. Jonathon Stone had a reputation for being on top of things and extremely conscious of the rules. Ross knew that he wasn’t pleased with these meet and greets and had considered resigning until Patrick had a private discussion with him. Business was business, and Stone must have come to an understanding with Patrick.

Ross remembered how Stone had very nearly intervened with Cameron Fraser when he had connected with a woman here, his now-lifelong partner Olivia, in some kind of interesting claiming scene. That would have been the epic throw down of the BDSM circuit. He had no desire to challenge the man’s authority and possibly lose his membership. Some of the other clubs weren’t well run and allowed sexual acts in the public rooms, and sometimes people got carried away and caused problems for the owners. Ross wasn’t one of those people, and he hurried to convince her before Stone shut him down.

“I promise not to do anything you don’t want to do,” he assured her, using every manner of seduction at his disposal, his voice, his eyes, and above all, his demeanor. He did his absolute best to impress her with his sincerity.

Her eyes turned nearly black again, and her nipples hardened into points against his chest. Her luscious mouth curved into a smile and Ross wondered at his luck. He hadn’t been looking for anyone special. He had talked himself out of relationships, not because his heart had been broken or that he longed for someone he couldn’t have and thus denied himself. No, he simply liked his life the way it was, right up until he saw Elise Cooper. If he had met her in a bar, or at a party, somewhere other than the Club, he would have pursued her. There was no doubt about it in his mind, and it was a novel, interesting feeling.

“What if I just want to talk?” she asked, laughter clearly evident in her voice.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he answered and almost convinced himself that he meant it. He felt Stone relax back into the dimness as Elise spoke, and much of the tension drained from him as well.

The room he escorted her to didn’t lend itself to talking, and Elise eyed the large bed and its restraints with clear anxiety, her earlier, teasing humor gone. The shackles on the wall upped the ante, and he quickly put space between their bodies, not that he was going to apologize for his lifestyle. She was on
his
turf, after all.

“Seeing as there’s no place other than the bed to sit, which side do you want?” he offered.

Elise visibly calmed at his hint of humor and took the side of the bed he always chose. Already there would be something to sort out. He smiled and obligingly sat on the opposite side, making sure she had her space. The silence lengthened, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. She hadn’t seemed to notice that he had locked the door and that it was a code lock. It was a precaution only. He didn’t want interruptions, and if Elise decided to flee for any reason, he would have a little time to reason with her while he keyed the code in. Ross was nothing if not a planner.

“So,” she finally asked, “why a D/s club?”

“I’m dominant, although primarily in the bedroom, Elise, and this lifestyle lets me practice that without censure. Some women don’t like it when a man takes charge, and some don’t care to satisfy my, um, tastes, or want theirs satisfied, my way. The Club gives me what I need, and it cuts right to the chase.”

Elise was clearly taken aback by his honesty, her eyes and lips opening in shock.

“I guess I have heard some of that,” she finally said, “although I’m sure all of you are different?”

Ross was thrilled how this woman immediately grasped that Doms were individuals and as such had varying tastes and needs, even if ultimately it was to serve their submissives. There was a code, and it sometimes varied from club to club, and as with all things, the code was open to interpretation. It boiled down to Doms providing what they learned their subs needed, but the dynamics around that definition were diverse.

“Doms are certainly all different, Elise, but most of us aspire to a code of ethics.”

“Ethics?” she asked.

“The majority of us aren’t interested in beating, abusing, or otherwise harming subs, contrary to the sadistic manner in which we are sometimes portrayed, although there are some subs who crave and demand that kind of treatment. Most of us are trained in giving erotic pain to enhance pleasure and provide an intense emotional outlet, and that takes many forms. And there are some who control every aspect of their submissives’ lives, but only because they require it.”

“People actually demand pain?” Elise asked.

“Some do,” Ross replied. “But I have no interest in hard-core BDSM.”

He waited while Elise processed the small amount of information he had given her before continuing.

“You didn’t like seeing the restraints, did you?” he asked.

Elise shook her head. “I don’t trust anyone enough to tie me up. Being helpless, unable to defend myself…that’s never happening again.”

Ross pounced. “Again?”

She ducked her head, and he jolted at the submissive move. He was certain she wasn’t aware of it, but she was already deferring to him.

“Elise?”

“How is it that I want to talk to you and tell you all about me? This is nuts. I don’t talk to people about that stuff. I live for the present.”

Ross shrugged. “Maybe it’s the environment. Or the spark between us. And don’t piss me off by denying it, Elise. Don’t you dare shake your head.”

She looked at him, clearly startled at his perception, and then dropped her eyes again. Ross took further heart at her repeated submissive gesture and the way she then answered him.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“I want to know what happened to you, and I hope we will get to that, but first of all, let me tell you why I restrain my subs. Most subs, at least the ones I want to be with, are strong, independent women. The men they often have in their lives relate to them based on that independence. They treat them accordingly or want to break that self-determination. It can fall short in so many aspects. My subs want to let go of that everyday burden of control when it comes to sexual pleasure, but it isn’t easy for them. So I take the choice away.”

Again, Ross paused and waited for her to assimilate the information before continuing, but his last statement had resonated with her. He could see it in her increased pulse and heart rate and flags of color now adorned her cheeks.

“I’m very good at what I do, Elise. I can read a woman’s response to all kinds of touching and know when to increase it or back off. And, a sub has a safe word that is absolutely and totally respected. If she says it, everything stops and we take time, discuss things. There isn’t a threat of me walking away and never seeing her again, because that would be a form of blackmail. I must truly believe that everything I do is in her best interest.”

“What if she wants it to start again?” she asked, her voice quivering.

“Communication is incredibly important in any relationship, Elise, regardless of the type of relationship. Doms and subs communicate all the time, or things don’t go well. Subs get punished if they don’t ask for what they want, be honest and communicate at all times. Doms are perceptive but not infallible, no matter how well they think they know their subs, so they always push communication. Trust, however, is paramount.”

“I couldn’t be that vulnerable.”

“You could if you trusted your Dom.”

Elise jumped up from the bed and began to pace, her movements graceful and evocative. Ross wanted to pull her back down and kiss her until she agreed to let him begin to train her.

“When I came here tonight I wasn’t looking for anything, Ross. I came for Emily, who I’ve abandoned. I need to go. Key in the code, please.”

So she had noticed the code lock. Ross appreciated her vigilance, even if it probably came out of hard-earned survival mode.

“But we haven’t finished talking,” he reminded her.

“Can we talk another time?”

“I’ll be here tomorrow night,” he answered.

“So, no, ‘I’ll pick you up at eight’?” she quizzed.

“Way too early in the scheme of things, Elise. This lifestyle is part of me and is something you would have to accept, although not all the time, if we are to move forward. If you want to continue our conversation, come back tomorrow night. And, to be clear, expect more than just a chat.”

Elise visibly swallowed and then touched her fingertips to her throat before nodding and again dropping her eyes.