Controlling Interest (7 page)

He looked down at the list one last time before returning it
to Mouse. “I’ll consider some of these. But I’m not going to just do what you
tell me because you tell me to.”

“I realize that. Although you know I could force the issue
if I saw fit.”

Tor frowned. “I know that, damn it. Are you going to ram it
down my throat?”

“No. I don’t operate that way.”

“Even if I do, you mean.”

“I didn’t say it, but if the shoe fits…”

“Wear it.”

She nodded.

“Right.” He held out his hand to shake. “This is going to be
one hell of a roller coaster ride, partner.”

She took his hand to shake, grinning. “That’s Mistress to
you, fella.”

“We’ll see about that, Mouse.” He smiled. “We’ll see.”

Chapter Four

Tor paced in his office while he waited for Mouse to arrive
at the club for the evening crowd. Working closely with her all day already had
him on edge. She smelled good, and every time she’d accidently brushed against
him, he’d had visions of burying himself inside her. He rubbed his hands over
his face. Lock it down. Get under control. He needed to keep himself focused for
tonight. They had a large private party scheduled in addition to their usual
business, and Mondays tended to be busier than most of the other weekday
evenings for them anyway.

It was as if the movers and shakers had a day back at the
grind of power so they needed to unwind. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were
usually dead and then things picked up Thursday and through Saturday. Or things
had
picked up on the weekend until Unfettered moved into town. He was
sure the novelty would wear off for Erotically Bound’s regulars, but still he
worried. Maybe the club really needed some changes. God, what was he thinking?

He heard the door click and blinked. Mouse looked hot enough
to eat. Just a hint of cleavage tantalized him from beneath her black suit
jacket. As pulled together as Mouse was, he bet there was a matched set of
black lace panties and bra encasing all her lovely flesh. She looked
no-nonsense except for the blood-red lips he could imagine wrapped around his
cock.

“You’re late,” Tor growled, trying his best to bring his
libido under control.

“Are you always going to say that to me?”

“Only when it’s true,” His cock had tightened the minute
he’d seen her. Damn, that black suit did amazing things for her. She looked all
buttoned-up and he wanted to button her down. Right here, right now.

“Down, boy. You don’t have to look at me like you wanna kill
me, you know?”

“That’s not the look I’m giving you.
Believe
me.” He
laughed drily. Not unless he killed her by fucking her to death, and if he died
too… Well, what a way to go. God. He shifted his shoulders to loosen his tense
muscles. “Let’s go check out the crowd.”

“It was already starting to fill up when I came in.”

“Good. We could use the business.”

“Unfettered causing problems?”

Tor frowned. “It’s been quiet here lately, that’s all.”

“And you haven’t been worrying about what might happen when
membership renewal comes up?”

He glared at her. “No, I have not.”

“Liar.” She opened the door. “Let’s emerge to greet our
guests,
mon cher
.”

“If you’re not channeling mother, we might need to check for
possession.”

Mouse grinned. “No worries. I’m not Regine. I could never
pull it off.”

“You might be surprised, sweetheart.”

He took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm
before leading her out of the office and staff area at the back of the club to
where the evening activities were already taking place in the public play area.

He loved the way her eyes widened as they strolled through
the club. Tor introduced her to long-time members who relaxed in the main
seating area near the front entrance. She sat down with them and began asking
them about why they were members. What drew them. At first, several were put
off.

“Tell me, young lady, why should I explain anything to you?”
Master Marcus, who had held membership since the club opened, asked as he
petted the soft hair of the submissive kneeling at his feet.

“Because I’m new to this world and I want to learn. Isn’t
that the point?”

“No vulgar curiosity?”

“No Sir. When Regine left me her shares in this club, she
also tasked me with learning, not judging. That’s what I want to do. I want to
know what draws people to this life, yes. But even more, I want to know the
draw for you of
this
club. Why here instead of another place?”

Master Marcus smiled slightly, surveying her from head to
foot as she leaned forward earnestly. The older man glanced at Tor and raised
his brows. Mouse looked between them and saw the way Marcus seemed to ask
permission. She pressed her lips together and glared. Despite what Mouse
thought, Marcus wasn’t asking permission to speak freely about the club. No,
Marcus was asking if Mouse was taken.

Though he knew he should shake his head, he couldn’t help
but nod to indicate she was claimed. Marcus sighed and returned his gaze to
Mouse.

“Very well, my dear. What would you like to know?”

Tor left them knowing Master Marcus would quietly pass the
word to the other Dominants not to approach Mouse with the intent of playing
with her. If she played with another Dom or Domme, he wasn’t sure he’d be able
to handle it. Six years was a long time to wait for someone, but he’d waited.
Not patiently, but he’d waited. Oh, he hadn’t been celibate by any means, but
his few relationships had been light. No commitment right from the start. He
glanced over at Mouse and watched as she laughed at something Marcus told her.
Shit. Obsession was a bitch.

Tor went to talk to Wade so he could get his mind off Mouse,
even if it was only for a little while. He kept his eye on her as Marcus
introduced her to other members and she questioned several submissives. A
couple of submissives were here solo and she spent a lot of time chatting with
them. He watched with pride as she politely asked the permission of the
Dominant before questioning a collared submissive. She was learning fast.

“So, Tor, how is Regine’s little protégée doing?”

Tor grinned as he turned to face Mistress Zarah. “Very well.
I think we might survive the next six months without killing each other.”

“In other words, she’s remaining mute and letting you do
what you want?”

“Hell no.” Tor laughed. “She’s a fucking pain in the ass.”

Zarah raised her brows. “Since when do you enjoy sassy
subs?”

“What makes you think she’s a sub?”

“The way your mother described her, darling. The perfect
assistant. Almost psychic about knowing what Regine needed before she needed
it.” Zarah turned to look around the room. “If your mother had been the least
bi or lesbian, she would have probably taken the girl as a lover.”

Tor’s gut tightened. “What makes you say that?”

Zarah returned her gaze to his. “Because she adored Mouse.”

“Are you sure you’re talking about
my
mother?”

“Such a skeptic. Your mother was the most soft-hearted woman
on the planet and you know it, Torin Stuart.”

Tor grinned at Zarah. Yup, this woman really had known his
mother well. Regine had looked like the hardest, toughest bitch ever, but
inside she was a marshmallow. Soft and sweet. But someone had to crack the
shell to get to the sticky-sweet middle. He wondered if Mouse had ever managed
it. Probably…

Tor glanced over, noticing Mouse as she stared, open-mouthed
at Master Drago at play. Drago was a law unto himself, but one of the best
Dominants Tor had ever seen. He played rough, especially if that’s what a sub
wanted. And his current playmate liked pain…a lot.

Mouse continued to watch the scene as the sub screamed with
the pain being delivered from solid, repeated strikes from a cane. Tor studied
Mouse. This wasn’t good. Something about the situation upset her. She looked
repeatedly at the dungeon monitors as if expecting them to intervene, but there
was no reason to. The sub wasn’t calling out a safe word, and Drago was laser
focused on what the submissive could take. Even so, Mouse’s body language
screamed at him. Then when she clenched her hands, he knew he needed to act.

“Tor, are you ignoring me?”

“I’m sorry, Zarah. I need to avert disaster.”

He was hurting her and no one did anything.
No one
.

“No! Oh God,
no
!” the bound submissive screamed.
Mouse flinched as the cane struck against the submissive’s quivering buttocks.
Where were the monitors? Why weren’t they stopping this? Damn it, this is why
they were here!

Mouse looked at the nearest big guy dressed in a black
t-shirt and black jeans. He had a red scarf tied around his huge biceps to
indicate his role as guardian. Some guardian. Utterly useless.

The black-haired master continued to strike the little
submissive’s ass. Stripes covered the trembling globes, but at least there was
no blood. Not yet anyway.

“No… No…
No…
”

As each blow fell, her scream became louder. A
no
for
each stroke. Yet everyone watched as if this were no big deal. Just like the
way people used to ignore how her grandfather beat her mother. It didn’t matter
what she screamed or who she went to for help…they ignored her. Deacon Vincent
was a good God-fearing man, and if he thought punishment was merited, then it
was. Well, fuck that. No one was going to beat someone up while she screamed
for help without Mouse doing something about it. Her fists clenched and she
took a deep breath. Just as she lifted her foot, she was grabbed from behind.

She struggled as she was tugged away from the scene she’d
been watching. Mouse twisted, relaxing only slightly when she realized she was
in Tor’s grip.

“Let me go,” she hissed.

“No. Not until you calm down.”

“Why the hell aren’t the monitors doing something?”

“Because there’s no need.”

“She’s no match for that huge guy.”

“Neither are you.” He kept tugging her backward as she
fought to move forward.

She pulled out of his arms and whipped around, slapping him
hard across the face. “How can you just stand there and leave her to be
abused?” Tears streamed down her face and she noticed only as she lifted her
throbbing hand to stare at it. She’d hit Tor. Good God, what was the matter
with her?

Tor growled and shook his head. “That’s it.”

He bent and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman’s
carry. She fought to get away as she realized he was carrying her to his
office. No one stopped them.

Once in the office, he let her down but remained between her
and the door. She put her hands on her hips to glare at him.

“What the hell’s the matter with you, Tor?”

“The matter with me? Nothing’s the matter with me. What’s
wrong with you?” He rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath.
“What the hell happened back there?”

She paced back and forth. When he moved in her direction,
she whipped around to glare at him. “She was screaming
no
at the top of
her lungs. How much clearer did she have to be that she wanted him to stop?”

“In normal circumstances, I completely agree with you. But a
BDSM club comes nowhere near normal circumstances.” He walked over and gently
took her hands to stop her from chafing them against each other.

“Why?”

“First of all, because no submissive would ever use
no
or
stop
as safe words.”

Mouse could feel her face heat. Shit. He was right. She
didn’t want him to be…but he was.

“A submissive wouldn’t use them and a Dominant would never
allow it.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh. Second of all, never—and I mean
never
—interrupt
someone else’s scene.”

“I thought that’s why there are dungeon monitors. If they
won’t interrupt a scene, of what possible use are they?”

“
You
are not a dungeon monitor.”

“So?”

“A DM has had training to handle him or herself. It’s
something I demand of anyone I hire to handle that job. They need to understand
when there’s a problem and when there isn’t one. A novice should never go
blundering into something they don’t understand.”

“But she was crying.” Mouse shivered in memory. “And
screaming too.”

“I know that. But that particular submissive craves pain. It
gets her into subspace and she was really close.”

Mouse bit her lip. “It didn’t look like that.”

“I know. But you don’t know her and the DMs who work here
do. Take your cue from them. If you don’t trust them, come find me.”

“But that man was such a brute. He ignored her pleas to
stop.”

“Because he knows she craves pain. I’m not sure Master Drago
even noticed you… Then again, he may have been watching your every move while
simultaneously focused on the sub.”

“How could he?”

“A top can become hypervigilant…hyperaware. Drago is
probably that kind of top. But a Dominant also focuses their attention deeply
and profoundly on the submissive. He was judging just how hard to hit her.
Whether she was at a point where she wouldn’t even think about a safe word
anymore… There’s so much that was happening that you didn’t understand. That’s
why you should never disrupt a scene.”

Mouse dropped into a chair and put her head in her hands.
“This is too much for me. I don’t know what Regine was thinking.” She shook her
head as she fought tears again. Her gut was still twisting in the aftermath of
what she’d witnessed.

Tor crouched in front of her and took her hands. “Hey. What
really
happened back there?”

“You saw…”

“I saw. But it was more than wanting to pound Drago.”

“Shouldn’t I want to help someone who needs me?”