For The Love Of Sir
For the Love of Sir
Doms of Decadence
By Laylah Roberts
Copyright © 2015 by Laylah Roberts
All rights reserved.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
This story contains explicit sex scenes and BDSM. R18
Editor: Khriste Close
Cover Design: Erin Dameron-Hill
Table of Contents
Chapter One
She looked like shit.
Tara studied herself in the mirror. Dark circles had taken up residence beneath her eyes and her skin looked pale and sickly. Too much time spent running around after her boss instead of sleeping and eating was really starting to take its toll.
Why had she been dieting all her life? All she’d needed to do was work for an asshole that ran her ragged to lose those ten extra pounds. For the first time in her life she actually looked slender.
Tara sighed and pulled on her short, black skirt.
Coming to Club Decadence usually relaxed her. Even though she had to work as a waitress in lieu of paying the club fees, she always had time to play either before or after her shifts.
So why did she have to drag herself here tonight?
She yawned. Maybe because she was exhausted. She’d come straight here from work. What she really needed was dinner and her bed.
“Wow, you look terrible.”
Tara glanced over as Reagan walked toward her.
“Thanks for the compliment,” she said dryly.
“Oh, it wasn’t a compliment,” Reagan told her truthfully. Tara would have taken offence except she knew the other sub wasn’t trying to be mean. She was just incredibly, sometimes painfully, honest.
Reagan joined her in front of the mirror, checking her appearance. As usual she looked gorgeous. Her skin was smooth and lightly-tanned. Her blonde hair lay in a perfect bob. There wasn’t one hair out of place. Tara felt a stab of jealousy. Her hair was plain, boring brown—she couldn’t afford to put a color through it. Generally, she kept it tied back and out of the way.
Reagan glanced over at her. “Are you, umm, okay?” she asked awkwardly.
Tara raised her eyebrows. The other woman wasn’t usually into small talk. “I’m fine.”
Reagan sighed with obvious relief. “Oh good.”
Tara bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. “What would you have done if I’d said something was wrong?” she asked curiously.
“Ahh…patted your back and said…‘there, there’?” Reagan replied with hesitation.
Tara laughed.
“I’d better get out there,” Reagan said. “I’m going to scene with Jonas tonight.”
“You are?” Tara said with surprise. “I’ve never seen Jonas play with anyone except Lucy.” Lucy, Jonas’s sub and wife had died two years ago. “How did you get him to agree to do a scene with you?”
“He hasn’t. Not yet. But he will,” Reagan said confidently as she turned and strode out of the women’s changing room.
Damn, she wished she had a smidgen of Reagan’s confidence.
Tara glanced at herself in the mirror once more, realizing that she wasn’t feeling quite as tired and sorry for herself.
Reagan had actually managed to make her feel better.
She quickly checked both of her phones before stashing her gear in her locker. Her boss knew she was busy tonight and wouldn’t be answering her work phone. He owed her at least one night off a week.
If he didn’t pay so well she’d tell him where to stick his job. But she needed the money and Tim knew it. She didn’t have any other choice. Her rent was overdue and her bank account was empty. She couldn’t afford to get kicked out of her apartment, it wasn’t the greatest but it was close to public transportation and most importantly, it was cheap.
Tilly popped her head into the room. “Oh good, you’re here. Are you okay? Alex is looking for you. You’re five minutes late for your shift.”
She grimaced. Great, Alex wouldn’t be happy. Not that he would yell at her. No, it would be much worse. He’d just give her
the
look. The one that said she’d disappointed him. That he expected better. She hated that look.
“I’m coming now,” she said, hurrying.
Stepping out of the changing room, she walked swiftly down the corridor to the main area of the club. The lower level was the public play space with a bar, aftercare areas and play equipment. Upstairs were the private, themed rooms. The club’s owner, Roarke, used to live in the upper levels. But he’d recently bought a house and moved there with his two subs, Sam and Ava.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the main part of the club and started searching for Alex.
Alex managed the staff three nights a week. Another Dom, Mace, supervised them on the three nights. The club was closed on Sundays. Tara hadn’t seen Alex in nearly a month. She’d been so busy with work that she’d dropped down to one night a week at the club. Plus, she’d been swapping her shifts around so she would work different nights to Alex’s schedule.
But tonight she hadn’t had a choice.
She spotted him over by the bar. At over six feet tall, he was hard to miss. As usual he was impeccably dressed in a pressed, blue shirt and black pants. He kept his dark hair short. His deep blue eyes could be warm or arctic, depending on his mood.
Alex didn’t have to yell or intimidate to get his way. A few chosen words, along with a look and subs fell at his feet.
Humiliatingly, she’d been one of those subs. She still grew embarrassed when she remembered how she’d thrown herself at him. He’d tried to be kind when he’d rejected her, but it had still been mortifying. Things hadn’t been the same between them since. She felt awkward and tongue-tied whenever he was around, the memory of his rejection playing through her mind.
At least he was too much of a gentleman to gossip about her. It was bad enough that the two of them knew he’d rejected her.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Tara hated feeling like she’d disappointed Alex. He had this look that could make her feel like a child again, being pulled into her father’s study because of a disappointing report card.
She made her way over to where he stood talking to Nate, one of the other Doms.
“Hello, little one,” Nate said with a wink.
“Hello, Sir,” she replied before turning to Alex. “Master Alex, I’m reporting for my shift.”
“You’re seven minutes late, Tara,” Alex informed her. “What have you got to say for yourself?”
Pedantic bastard.
“Umm, sorry, Sir?”
Nate chuckled. “You’re going to have to attempt to sound more sincere if you want to save your butt.”
She sent him a glare. He just laughed harder.
“Tara,” Alex reprimanded her. “Look at me.”
She gazed up at Alex and he frowned as he studied her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Sir.”
“I don’t like being lied to,” he said warningly. “You’re never late. You look pale and tired.”
She lowered her gaze to his chest, away from those inquisitive eyes.
“I’m sorry I’m late and that my appearance offends you,” she said stiffly. “Next time I’ll do a better job with my make-up.”
He growled. Nate whistled and she looked up to find him shaking his head in disappointment.
“Wrong answer,” Nate said.
“Get to work,” Alex ordered while Nate studied her. “Tilly’s been covering your area. After your shift you’re to come find me.”
He turned away abruptly and she looked after him in surprise.
“What bit his butt?” she muttered to herself, completely forgetting that Nate was standing there.
“I’d say it was a disobedient little sub.”
She bit her lip. “I apologized for being late and I wasn’t being disobedient.”
Nate snorted. “You know, there are times when I wonder if you truly are submissive or whether you just play at it.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“When someone is topping you, you have all the right moves, you say all the right things, but I’ve been watching you and your head is never really in it. You keep a part of yourself back.”
Nate put a finger under her chin, tipping her face up. “You need to learn to trust others. You’re never going to get everything you need if you don’t open up and let people in.”
She frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“When people reach out, you shut them down. There are only so many times people will accept rejection before they stop trying, Tara.”
“I did reach out and he rejected me. Why the hell would I want to try again when he clearly doesn’t want me?” she blurted out without thinking. Immediately, she willed the words back. But it was too late. They were out there.
Nate looked at her with interest. “That so? Who did you reach out to, Tara? Alex?”
“Nobody,” she said quickly. “Forget I said that. I’ve got to get to work. Excuse me.”
She turned away and bumped into a solid chest.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, looking up into Sloan’s handsome face.
“Evening, Tara,” he said, his voice low and husky. It sent a shiver over her skin. Sloan was built. Really built. With muscles that bulged against his tight shirt. He grinned down at her and there was a glint of mischief in his gaze. Tara swallowed heavily. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Can I help you, Sir?”
“I’d like to do a scene with you later.”
Tara couldn’t hide her surprise. She’d never done a scene with Sloan before and she really wasn’t sure she wanted to. He could be pretty intense.
He let out a bark of laughter. “What a frown. You can say no.”
Tara lifted her chin, squaring her shoulders. She was no coward. Besides, maybe this was exactly what she needed to get her mind off Alex.
“I’d like that, Sir.”
“Good, come see me later and we’ll negotiate. I look forward to it,” he drawled, running a finger down her cheek.
***
“Everything okay? Alex?”
Alex turned to look at Dylan. “Yes, of course, why wouldn’t it be?”
“Oh, no reason, maybe because I’ve been talking to you for the last half hour and you haven’t replied.”
Alex rolled his eyes at his friend’s sarcasm. “I’ve been standing here for five minutes tops.”
“You keep staring at Tara like that and people are going to gossip.”
“And by people you mean you,” Alex replied.
Dylan scowled. “Women gossip. I deal in information.”
“That sexist crap is going to get you in trouble,” Alex replied.
“Wow, Alex said crap, he must be pissed off.”
Alex turned to glare at Sloan. “What were you talking to Tara about?”
“About the scene we’re going to do later,” Sloan drawled with a sly grin.
Alex narrowed his gaze, feeling his blood heat up. “You’re just doing this to piss me off.”
Sloan gave him a fake-innocent look. “Now why would I want to do that?”
“Because you’re an annoying, immature bastard who likes to play stupid games.” Alex took a deep breath, shocked at himself. Where was his control? Sloan enjoyed needling him with cracks about his age and money, but normally he could ignore him.
“And you’re a wound-up old man. What’s wrong? Balls in a knot? I know a doctor who can help you with that.”
“Sloan, you might want to ease up, man,” Dylan muttered.
“Why? Because he’s mad that I’m going to play with Tara? What? He doesn’t want her, but no one else gets to have her either?”
“You don’t want her,” Alex growled. “You’re just toying with her to piss me off. I won’t let you use her like that.”
Sloan’s face grew dark. “I’m not using Tara. We’re going to do a scene together, we’re not running away to get hitched by an Elvis impersonator in Vegas. Although, I never say never. She is fucking hot.”
Alex clenched a fist, taking a step toward him. Dylan grabbed his arm, holding him back. Before he could push him away, Tilly stepped between him and Sloan.
“Can I get you something to drink, Master Alex?” she asked quietly, keeping her gaze on the ground.
“Tilly, what the fuck do you think you are doing?” Dylan asked in a harsh voice.
She flinched but stood her ground, despite the way she shook.
Alex immediately took a step back. He might be after Sloan’s blood but he would never put a sub in harm’s way. Why had she stepped in? Surely she had enough sense to keep away from a situation like this?
Dylan placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her slightly. “You never, ever step between two fighting men.”
“I’m sorry, I thought Master Alex looked thirsty.”
Tilly kept her head down, but her shoulders were stiff and she was gripping her hands together tightly. She was scared.
Alex glanced around and noticed everyone staring at them. Christ, he couldn’t believe he’d been about to hit Sloan. Not exactly professional. Or rational. Two things he prided himself on being.
Dylan turned from chewing Tilly out to glare at them both. “Both of you take a time-out. On opposite sides of the club.”
With a grin and a mocking wave of his hand, Sloan wandered off.
“I apologize,” Alex said to Dylan stiffly. He was employed by Roarke to manage the staff, not get into fights with one of the members. He couldn’t believe that he’d let Sloan get to him.
“Just get it together, man. I don’t know what your problem with Sloan is, but this isn’t the way to deal with it.”
Dylan pulled Tilly away. Dylan might not be his boss, but he did manage the club and he had every right to be pissed off at Alex.
As much as it hurt his pride to be told off, he knew he deserved it. He was acting like a jealous school boy. Although he could be annoying, Alex had never let Sloan get to him until he’d started noticing Tara.
Alex had no claim on Tara. She could play with whomever she chose to.
“Alex? Are you okay?”
He glanced down to find Tara standing beside him.
“Is that how you address me?” he asked coldly.
She immediately dropped her gaze. “Sorry, Sir.”
“I suggest you get to work before I add to the punishment you’re owed.”
He felt like the world’s biggest asshole as she shut down, her face going blank. Tara didn’t open up much. The only time she’d ever asked for what she needed, he’d rejected her. She’d wanted him and he hadn’t been ready. Since then she’d been avoiding him.
He’d missed her.
“Tara—” he said as she turned away.
She turned back, keeping her gaze down. “I’m sorry, did you need something?” Her voice was devoid of all emotion. Yep, she’d completely shut herself off. Damn it.
He sighed. “No.”
Tara walked off, her body stiff.