The Club Sin Series 4-Book Bundle (11 page)

Besides, their agreement didn't include sleepovers or breakfast, only her presence in the dungeon every Friday and Saturday night until their training concluded. It also didn't include her being a crybaby, which, apparently, he seemed not to care about.

Clearing her mind got her nowhere but more confused, so she focused on Mr. Angry Eyes. It surprised her that steam didn't come out of his ears “Dmitri, I apologize for leaving your house like I did. It was wrong of me.”

“That sounds better.” His chin dipped, eyes coming in direct line with hers. “Explain why you took your warm body from my bed.”

The distance between them seemed to have evaporated, and her awareness of his closeness swept across her so fast that her breath caught. Funny things happened low in her belly. Strange things, considering she shouldn't be aroused now.

“I…” She hesitated, wondering how honest to be with him.

She'd already been way too truthful, exactly what had landed her in this totally uncomfortable position. But his stern look told her to hurry the heck up and be honest about it, so on a quick breath, she said, “I thought you'd be relieved.”

His head tilted in his examining way, normally sexy. Now it only made her feel cornered. “Do I look
relieved
?”

She nibbled her lip, trying her best not to flinch away from the power he clearly had kept restrained. “No.”

“Smart answer.”

Another long awkward pause followed, and she had trouble holding his eye contact. Powerful Dmitri intimidated and excited the hell out of her. It was becoming all too obvious why this man held a job of power. He made her feel like a mouse, not hunted by a cat but by a big growly lion. “I'm sorry I got all emotional last night. Thank you for taking care of me, but I honestly thought you'd rather I be gone by morning.”

His jaw clenched. “If your reasons for leaving me last night were because you didn't want to stay, this conversation would go differently.” His eyes flared, sending a deep flutter into her belly. “Since you have taken it upon yourself to decide what I want and think, then you should be well aware of the lesson you have coming, to never assume anything for me, considering your judgment is off.”

On edge, feeling slightly irritated, and before she could stop herself, she heard herself snap, “My judgment—”

“Come again?”

She sighed, exasperated at the growly man, yet somehow knowing he was right. “Fine. I shouldn't have thought for you.” His showing up was enough of an indicator that she judged him wrong. “It seems you wanted me to stay.”

“Better.” He leaned away slightly but still crowded her with an impressive authority that she hated and liked at the same time. “Seeing that today is Sunday and the dungeon is closed tonight, I can't deal with this situation now.”

From the tightness around his mouth, she got the distinct impression that it irritated him to wait. While part of her wanted to ask for clarification, the other part of her knew better than to interrupt.

“Next Friday, I expect you at the dungeon at eight o'clock, and you will wear a short skirt.” His gaze burned into her, almost in a dare to question him. “By short, I do mean expose-your-ass-cheeks short; a sexy shirt that will please me—with no bra; and leave your panties off.”

“What?” she gasped.

His eyes flared with his dominance, and her further protest died. He shifted in next to her, shielding her body from the street, and without a hitch in his movements, he placed his hand between her thighs.

As his fingers expertly stroked her on the outside of her scrubs, her eyes fluttered closed. She liked how he took what he wanted when he wanted. The way he touched her with no care that they stood in a public place made her burn with a fevered pitch.

His hand squeezed in a demand for her attention, and she snapped her eyes open on a gasp. Dmitri gave her that delicious half-smile, most of the anger gone from his gaze, replaced by a different kind of heat.

“I've made an appointment for you to go to the spa next Friday afternoon at two o'clock.” With his free hand, while the other still squeezed her mound, he reached into his back pocket then held up a business card. “Cora told me you have Friday off, so that will work with your schedule.” He slid the card under the V-neck of her shirt and into her cleavage.

She blinked, trying to get her thoughts off the swirling heat between her thighs and into the conversation. Once she managed that feat, she realized what he'd said. “You did what?”

His eyes narrowed. “I've arranged for you to have fancy lady things done to you to treat the body I shall play with.”

Not like she'd refuse a spa day, but he didn't need to do that. Besides, it didn't make any sense. Why would he give her a gift if he were irritated that she had left him last night? “But—”

Once again, that stern eyebrow arched. “Doll, you're in enough trouble as it is. It would be wise to stop talking.”

Under his fierce stare, she ate back the rest of her objections, and at her silence, he inclined his head. “Good decision.”

He released the tight hold between her thighs and now worked her clit with incredible circles of his palm. The side of his mouth curved at the hitch of her breath, then he brushed his nose along her jaw, inhaling deeply as he slid his nose all the way down her neck.

His tongue snaked out and licked the sweet spot on her neck, and her knees weakened. She gasped and he stole the sound by sealing his mouth over hers. Long, slow strokes of his tongue clashed with hers, and when she moaned, he deepened the kiss. Not a one-night-stand type of kiss but emotion-packed, which didn't resemble his kisses from last night. Each press of his lips against hers and tangle of his tongue became more heated, and her body erupted into flames under the intensity.

By the time he broke the kiss, the wall was the only thing holding her up as heady arousal burned through her blood, and Dmitri grinned in his wicked way. “There's that look I like on you, doll.”

Five days of absolute hell had passed in a slow blur. Presley woke each morning and spent all day—including late into the night—somehow dreading and looking forward to Friday. Finally, she could stop thinking about what Dmitri meant by “deal with this,” because tonight she'd find out.

Now, striding through the long hallway toward the back of the mansion, as instructed by Master Aidan when she and Cora arrived in the dungeon, Presley tugged the black leather skirt down over her bottom. It didn't help much; her ass cheeks still hung out, exactly what Master Dmitri had ordered: The thing was too damn short. Even her mauve silk halter top rested just under her breasts to show off her midsection. She wasn't wearing a bra—another demand—and it made her feel more naked than ever.

At least her skin looked smooth and shiny from her spa day. Dmitri's “fancy lady things” consisted of manicure/pedicure and skin treatments, including an amazing exfoliating scrub. All of which had cost a mint; Presley had looked at the prices in the brochure.

As she closed in on the doorway at the end of the hall, her anxieties doubled and her heart raced. She had wondered if she'd be as uncomfortable in the dungeon, or if the edge had worn off, now that she had experienced her first scene. The sweat along her spine declared that she was still susceptible to the jitters.

With each step she took toward the closed door, the tighter her muscles became. Sure, excitement fluttered through her at the thought of seeing Dmitri, but she was also worried. At the dental clinic, his approach had been so forceful, and she didn't doubt that everything he said and did had a purpose.

The other cause for concern was what awaited her tonight. Would Dmitri be the growly man she'd seen on Sunday, or would he be the man who'd seduced her right down to her toes before he left her plastered to the wall?

Topping off all her reasons to be tense: Why was she walking to a room she'd never gone into, rather than meeting Dmitri in the dungeon? Her mind had come up with at least twenty reasons. Perhaps he'd made the request to create the nervous flickers in Presley's stomach and to cause the anxious thoughts rushing through her mind.

Stopping at the doorway, she inhaled a stabilizing breath then—as Master Aidan had ordered her to do—opened the door. First she noticed that she'd entered a game room with dark taupe paint on the walls and a fancy dartboard, then she noticed a huge bar to the left. After
which she discovered that four of the Club Sin Masters stood around the pool table in front of her: Miles, Sawyer, Kyler, and…
him
.

All heads turned to her, and her breath caught in her throat, but not from the stares of the other Doms. The only man she saw in the big room was Master Dmitri. He was dressed in all black, with his cuffs rolled up on his forearms. His dress pants were fitted against his long, muscular legs, and the first few buttons of his dress shirt were open, revealing a smooth chest. When his piercing eyes caught hers, all her worries left her on a long sigh.

A wave of coolness washed across her heated flesh, and the reaction was so strong, it made her pause. Why did she go so quiet in Master Dmitri's presence? She had thought the scene last weekend had settled her, but no, it couldn't have, because why did she feel so peaceful now?

In his presence, something inside her shifted and became content, and there was no denying it. A peace filled her, as if she didn't need to worry or fret, and all she could do was stare at him and try to understand why.

Master Dmitri turned to face her fully, and his gaze roamed over her body. Under the heat of his slow examination from her head to her toes, her nipples puckered, even in the warm room, which he noticed, since his mouth curved. By the time his study rose to her face, Presley squirmed on her heels, feeling the swell of arousal between her thighs and a shift in the air between them. Her body ached for him to come closer, and she yearned to feel his touch, which must have shown in her expression, since Master Dmitri approached.

With each powerful, fluid stride, his stare on her never wavered. She loved when he looked at her like this, as if nothing else mattered except that she had walked into the room. Once he reached her, he gave her that sexy half-smile, making her belly flutter. He took her hand and tugged her forward, bringing her farther into the room and closer to the pool table.

Staying silent, Master Dmitri circled her, running his fingers lightly over her shoulders, and she shivered under his gentle touch. “I'm pleased that you followed my order in your choice of clothing.” His warm breath caressed her neck as he whispered by her ear, “Or lack thereof, Presley.”

“I'm glad, sir,” she managed.

His finger slid across her lower back, and when he returned to her front, his expression didn't match his touch or his sensual voice. Darkness deepened the color in his eyes and made the blue look stormy. Before her wasn't the man who seduced her but the one who overpowered her.

“Now, Presley, we have a matter to deal with,” he stated.

At her pinched expression, half curiosity and half hesitation, he chuckled. “Ah, a little concern I see in those beautiful eyes of yours, and that's a good thing. But I won't leave you to squirm, Presley. You are to be punished for your behavior last weekend. Submissives do not run
from their Doms, love.”

Her heart dropped into her stomach.
Punished?
Like what, something mortifying or humiliating or even painful? Of course, she'd known this was coming, had known it all week, but she'd done her best to think he wouldn't go there.

Dmitri's mouth twitched as he watched her, then he folded his arms. “Strip.”

Presley blinked, pulling herself out of the horrifying images playing in her mind, and she glanced at the three Club Sin Masters behind Master Dmitri, who all grinned at her. To Dmitri, she asked, “Here, sir?”

He gave her a full-blown smile that might have caused a stirring down south if she weren't faced with the idea of being naked in front of four incredibly confident and good-looking men. “No place better than right here, in front of men who will appreciate the view.”

Awareness filled her at the slight twinkle in his eyes, and she understood why she'd been brought to this room and why the other Masters were present. The power exuding from these men would make any woman feel uncomfortable, and Master Dmitri had brought them for one reason—to discourage her.

Perhaps her punishment was simply this: being naked in front of men, forced to do something he knew would embarrass her. Compared to what she imagined could be her punishment, this didn't seem that bad.

Besides, Presley remembered what Master Dmitri had told her in their first meeting:
“You are the bottom in the relationship and will need to accept that. You don't make decisions. You don't ask questions. You do what your Dom tells you to do.”

She couldn't select which rules she'd follow and which she wouldn't. Every Club Sin submissive followed through with punishment. Now she understood why her leaving had upset Master Dmitri—he hadn't told her to go. She had made a decision, and he'd made it perfectly clear that that right had been stripped from her.

“If you refuse your punishment, you will be escorted from the dungeon and not allowed to return.”
This statement she saw even now in his stern look. She couldn't be a submissive under her rules. She had clearly disrespected Dmitri, and that, as per
his
rules, came with a punishment. To give up control, to be a submissive at Club Sin, wasn't only about the kink but about the power exchange, and she realized that now.

“No punishment would ever exceed your limits. One thing you can count on is your punishment will be fair.”

Master Dmitri would be fair, that she believed. Even Cora had said that he'd likely take it easy on her because she was so new to the lifestyle. Presley didn't want to leave Club Sin, but most important, she didn't want to leave the Dom currently waiting.

Keeping her eyes on Master Dmitri for strength, she grabbed the hem of her top, sliding it
over her head, and handed it him. She followed with her heels and her skirt, which left her stark naked, the warm air caressing her nipples and making them pucker tighter.

Presley never looked away from Master Dmitri, and in his stare, she saw a glint of pride that she'd followed through with his order. Seeing his pleasure in her made her feel equally good, almost fulfilled somehow. But as he did a very slow once-over of her body, all the warmth dancing in delight turned into wicked burn.

Glancing over Master Dmitri's shoulder, she noticed that the other Masters, who had looked casual before, now stood straighter. Heat flamed between her thighs, and her breath whooshed from her lungs. Their examinations of her naked body, how their features shifted to raw, primal male need, and how she was put on display, set her body aflame.

A whisper of a touch trailed down the front of her neck, and she turned to Dmitri and discovered the other Masters' heated looks had nothing on his. His baby blues burned with a fire she craved would consume her. “Yes, doll, I'm there, too.”

At her smile, since she enjoyed making him as hot as he did her, he turned and gestured the Club Sin Masters forward. All three of the men stepped up next to him, circling her. Their powerful presence simmered in the air and slowly erased her smile. A cold sweat washed over her
very
naked skin, and her breath caught in her throat.

Master Dmitri chuckled. “Not to worry, doll, we're not going to gangbang you.” His gentle touches continued on her neck. “That's a hard limit for you.”

Presley nearly exhaled a relieved breath but thought it might insult the other Masters to know she didn't want to have sex with them. She did not intend to get herself into more of a tight spot with her bare ass showing. As she looked upon their amused expressions, especially Master Kyler's, she realized their presence was only to increase her level of discomfort.

Just so happened, it worked.

“Now, Presley,” Master Dmitri said, commanding her gaze, and the softness was replaced by his stern look. “When I place you in my bed, you are to stay there. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Leaning toward her, he brought his eyes down to her level. “I do not like you thinking for me. That is
my
job. In my care, you don't think, you do not question, you only do.” His eyebrows arched, increasing the tense set of his features. “Understand?”

He waited for her nod. “While I'm not a Dom who demands submission twenty-four/seven, you appear to have too much going on in your head, so I expect your submission whenever you step foot in this house, including when you're in my bedroom. Meaning—and this is what I told you before—you, as a Club Sin submissive, don't make decisions such as sneaking out of my bed.”

Again he paused for her nod before he went on. “After you are better trained and more confident in what is expected of a Club Sin submissive, I will loosen those rules. Clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

He dropped his chin lower and stared at her dead-on. “Like I've already explained and do not wish to continue to repeat, if you're upset or have concerns, you are to
tell
me. I don't want actions such as glaring or running out of my house. I want you to sit down and talk with me about it.” At her wince, since he had told her that before, he added, “You should've woken me up that night, told me what you were thinking, and I could've dealt with it.”

She sighed, realizing what bothered him more than her running out. Yes, he didn't like that she'd run, but more than that, Dmitri clearly liked to talk things out, and well, she wasn't used to that. Steven had never been much of a talker. “I'm sorry, sir.”

“I know you are, doll.” He smiled gently, tugging on a strand of her hair. “However, to ensure that last night's mistake won't happen again…” He spun on his heels, heading toward the pool table, where he set her clothes on top. “Your clothing is gone.”

She blinked. “Gone…as in, for the whole night, sir?”

He turned to her, eyes narrowed. “Doll, this punishment is
extremely
light. I suggest you take it without further fight.” He arched a brow. “Or would you rather I spank your ass until a chair resembles your sworn enemy?”

Well, shit!
“No clothes sounds just fine, sir.”

He smirked. “Thought so.” He approached and offered his hand. “Come with me. The dungeon awaits us.”

Once she slid her hand into his strong hold, he gathered her in next to him, and the warmth of his body engulfed her. With the other Masters out in front, Master Dmitri led her through the hallway and down the basement stairs to the dungeon.

As she stepped off the last step into the basement, she glanced around at the stone walls leading to the wrought-iron door at the end of the wide hallway. When they reached the dungeon's door, the other Masters all entered, and when the last of them, Master Kyler, crossed the threshold, Presley entered behind Master Dmitri. After the door slammed closed behind her with a loud bang, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Good Lord
.

Every muscle in her body went from slightly tense to rigid so quickly that she groaned. The music drifted over her in the usual soft seductive rumble, and even the rich energy in the room seemed to raise the hair on her arms, but the fifty or so people sitting on the floor in front of a stage—that hadn't been there before—stole any arousal that might have been.

The crowd faced the stage, which was totally lit up by spotlights, and a rope dangled down from a large metal hook fastened to the ceiling. Two more ropes were tied to loops on the
ground, and a tray covered with a black sheet was alongside them.

Master Dmitri strode forward, and the murmurs grew louder as all eyes zeroed in on her. She understood his punishment. Her being naked around the usual crowd would unsettle her, but clearly, every member of Club Sin was in attendance tonight. This sucked, and wasn't that a fine punishment?