Bound and Determined (25 page)

with all his might—even if he couldn't participate, he could follow along.

“Will you be bringing him out onto the floor so that everyone can

appreciate him?” Elise asked, and Sterling, feeling a thrill at the idea, lifted his

head immediately, eyes pleading with Owen.

“No,” Owen said with surety. “It's too soon.”

“I can do it,” Sterling said, just as certainly, even though he shouldn't

speak without Owen's permission.

“You just proved that you're not ready,” Owen said indifferently, though

there was a spark of annoyance in his eyes. That glint told Sterling he'd just

lost a few of the privileges that it felt like Owen bestowed on him just to have

something to take away when he'd been disobedient.

“Or that he's earned a punishment,” Elise said, leaving Sterling unsure

whether he felt grateful or indignant about her evident pleasure in the idea of

him being chastised in public. “I would love to see you school the boy.”

“Not tonight, Elise,” Owen said with a finality Sterling had come to know

all too well.

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He sighed a little more heavily than he should have, and Owen gave him a

stern look—okay, so he probably could have expressed his irritation without

being so obvious about it.

“Go away,” Owen told him.

Sterling's heart clenched in his chest. “What? Um, I mean, excuse me?”

“Go away,” Owen repeated, waving a hand toward the dance floor where

Alex was now dancing, his Dom watching with pleasure. “Go talk to your

friend, say hello to people. Away from me.” He gripped Sterling's shoulder

before Sterling got up, though, painfully but very briefly, both a warning and a

promise of the punishment that would come later. “Come back when you're

ready to behave.”

Wanting to argue that he was ready
now
, Sterling knew that it was better

to obey and come back than to argue not to be sent away, so he nodded and

said, “Yes, Owen,” and got to his feet.

As he walked away, smarting, not at the injustice of being banished,

because he knew he'd fucked up, but the way Owen clearly didn't think he'd

made
any
progress, he heard Elise drawl, “'Owen'? You were always
so

traditional,
mon petit
; what happened to you?”

Sterling wasn't sure if he'd be allowed to dance with Alex or talk to him

without permission from Alex's Dom—God, what was his name? Kirk, that was

it—so he just hovered around the edge of the dance floor until Alex caught his

eye and mouthed a discreet hello. That was something else that was difficult to

get used to; the different levels of control in the partnerships of the club

members. Some Doms made his skin crawl with fascinated horror, treating

their subs like dirt; others just didn't have an edge at all, total pushovers. Like

Goldilocks and the baby bear, for him, Owen was just right.

When the song that was playing ended, Alex went back over to where Kirk

was sitting and knelt beside him. Sterling stayed where he was, waiting, and a

moment later Kirk nodded and Alex got up again, smiling, and came over to

Sterling.

“Hey, how's it going?” Alex asked.

Sterling shrugged a little. “Okay.”

“That sounds convincing. You want to get some water?”

He shook his head. “Owen didn't say I could. He said I should come talk to

you—I was pissing him off.” Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration, but not

by too much.

Alex looked concerned. “What were you doing?”

“I contradicted him.” Sterling didn't intend to go into more detail, but Alex

waited, so he sighed and said, “I said I was ready for him to play with me in

public. He didn't agree.”

“Well, he's watching you, and he doesn't look pissed off. He looks like he

thinks you're the most gorgeous thing he's ever seen.”

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105

Somehow, Sterling managed to keep from turning his head to look at

Owen, even though he would have loved to see that expression on Owen's face.

Right now, all that he could think of was the chill of disapproval in Owen's

voice. “How are things with you?”

“Good,” Alex said and nodded his head vigorously. “Kirk's really into me,

you know? He says I'm the best he's ever played with.”

Sterling kept any doubt out of his expression because Alex didn't need to

see it. He couldn't quite figure out why he
had
doubts, but he did. Kirk hadn't

done anything wrong, and Alex seemed happy, so…

“That's great. I'm glad we've both found someone.” Sterling glanced

around. “Remember the night you brought me here? This all seemed so freaky.

I mean, I wanted it, God, so much, but I didn't feel as if I belonged.”

“You do now, huh?”

“Yeah, I do. Owen's—” Sterling broke off. “Uh, Kirk's looking this way. I

think he wants you—” Kirk was beckoning, and Alex broke away from Sterling

with an apologetic grimace and began to walk back quickly. Kirk caught

Sterling's eye and gestured to him too, a slight smile on his face.

Owen hadn't told him not to speak to anyone but Alex, and he was usually

pretty specific. Anyway, he was a sub in a BDSM club—surely he couldn't get

in trouble for talking to a Dom who requested it? Besides, would Kirk call him

over if it went against the rules? Reminded that he still had a lot to learn,

Sterling went obediently over to Kirk's table. Alex was already kneeling beside

it, and it felt strange to be standing when Alex wasn't.

“Hi,” he said. “I'm Sterling. I don't—I'm sorry, I don't know if I'm supposed

to kneel.”

“No need,” Kirk said, like he was being magnanimous. “You can call me

Master Kirk. Having fun?”

“Sure,” Sterling said. “I mean, I'm new. I'm still learning.”

Kirk gave him an appreciative look, a slow up and down once-over. Jesus,

he was a big guy. He had to be almost a foot taller than Sterling and probably

sixty pounds heavier at least. Sterling couldn't help but wonder, especially in

the face of such avid interest, what it would be like to have sex with someone

so commanding. To have the man fuck him… God. “There are things I'd like to

teach you,” Kirk said, licking his lips. “Not that I'm trying to tear you away from

Owen—I have better etiquette than that, of course. But if you're ever interested,

give me a call.”

Sterling found a business card being pressed discreetly into his hand.

“And you and Alex together…wouldn't that be a pretty sight? I do like the

thought of that.” Kirk smiled and clenched his hand so tightly on the back of

Alex's neck that the knuckles went white and Alex winced. “Keep it in mind,

pretty boy. We'd have a lot of fun. Wouldn't we, Alex?”

“Yes, Master Kirk,” Alex said immediately and then whimpered as Kirk's

grip tightened even more. Sterling lost some of his interest in the man, not that

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Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow

he'd ever had much beyond that passing attraction rooted in the man's

undoubted vitality and raw sex appeal. Nice for a night, though he was sure

he'd wake in a world of pain, but for the long-term? Boring. Just too…obvious.

“I don't think so, but thanks.” Sterling tried to keep his voice flat and

polite, but judging by the tightening of Kirk's full mouth, he hadn't done a very

good job of it.

“Maybe I'd have more fun teaching you manners than fucking that tight

little ass of yours wide open.” Kirk took a sip from his drink, bourbon on the

rocks, with the bottle right there on the table. Owen never had more than a

single shot of whiskey or a small glass of wine on a night when they were

playing and usually didn't drink at all at those times. “I always thought

Sawyer's reputation wasn't earned; he's done a piss-poor job with you, boy.”

Teeth showed as Kirk smiled. “I'd do better.”

Sterling was pretty sure that wasn't something he could believe, but on

the other hand Alex seemed happy, and if anything this evening was reminding

him how little experience he had in all of this.

“I appreciate the offer,” Sterling told Kirk, the same thing as before but in

slightly different words—maybe that would help it sink in. By the look on Kirk's

face, it didn't. “Thank you. I'd better go back before Owen misses me. Bye,

Alex.”

Alex didn't answer, but he met Sterling's eyes briefly and smiled, a little

twitch of his lips. It was fine; Sterling would talk to him tomorrow or the next

day.

As he started to cross the room, a woman, obviously a Dom by the look of

her, even if she hadn't had a tiny redheaded woman hanging off her arm—

actually, come to think of it, Sterling had seen them before—stopped him. “Hey

there, beautiful. Come play with us.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” Sterling stammered—saying no to complete strangers was

awkward. “I—I'm here with someone.”

“And he doesn't share?” The woman followed Sterling's gaze across the

room and lit on Owen. “Oh, I see. Oh well, no harm in asking. I'm sure you'd be

fun. We're here every week, so if you ever change your mind, you'll be able to

find us without much trouble.” She reached out and caressed Sterling's cheek,

her long, dark red fingernails scraping over his skin.

God, had he chosen a deodorant that did what the ads claimed and really

did attract everyone in sight? Sterling was starting to panic even before Owen

stood slowly and walked toward him with all the inevitability and threat of a

natural disaster—a tornado, a tidal wave, an earthquake, unstoppable and

scary as hell, even if a small part of him was glorying in the sheer thrill of

having
that
look directed at him. A look that screamed “Mine!” in a voice you

could hear over any of those planetary tantrums.

With a muttered “yes, ma'am” that got him an approving pout, he stepped

aside, standing alone in a pool of silence, because Owen was coming over to

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107

him, people getting out of his way if they had any sense, even if outwardly

Owen was just walking, no rush, a small, tight smile on his face.

It was all in the eyes, and they were ice and fire.

If Sterling could have justified throwing himself into Owen's arms right

then, he would have without a second thought. Instead, as Owen reached

them, he did the next best thing and dropped to his knees on the hard floor,

head bowed, the back of his neck exposed like a submissive dog showing its

belly. All he could think was that Owen was right, he
so
wasn't ready for this,

and that he hoped Owen would get him away from this woman and to

somewhere safe because this was too, too much.

“I was just talking with your boy,” the woman said to Owen. “He's so

pretty. But I didn't realize he was
yours
—I didn't see who he came in with, and

he was just wandering around on his own. I think of you as someone who

takes better care of his pets.”

Sterling cringed. Owen didn't deserve that, he really didn't, and it was all

Sterling's fault—not the people hitting on him, but earlier. God, he wished he

could take back those hasty words. He didn't dare to look up, but he couldn't

block his ears, and he didn't want to hear Owen make excuses, or blame him,

or yell, or do any of the things his father did when he thought that Sterling had

let him down.

“Thank you,” Owen said, his voice steady, even pleasant. “And, yes, he's

very pretty, but he's most certainly not alone and unclaimed.” His voice didn't

rise in volume, but a hush was spreading, people around them picking up on

the tension, and Owen's next words, spoken clearly, carried. “He belongs to me,

and as I'm sure you know, Talia, I don't share.”

“Oh, I know. I told him as much.” Talia sounded so casual and

unconcerned—Sterling wondered if it was a well-practiced act or if she just

wasn't very bright. “Still, best to keep an eye on him, don't you think? Anyone

else would be happy to have him, either now, if you can't be bothered, or later,

when you get bored.”

Ugh, one of Sterling's least favorite things, a reminder that sooner or later

Owen was bound to get bored with him. He wanted to snap something at Talia,

to tell her that Owen was amazing, that she couldn't in a thousand years have

him as her sub because even without Owen he'd never stoop so low, but he

wanted to prove to Owen that he could keep control of himself, so he didn't lift

his head or say a word.

“So far he's holding my interest without too much difficulty,” Owen said.

“If that changes, you'll be the first to know. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going

to take your excellent advice and keep both my eyes on him and at least one