Hold Me Close

HOLD ME CLOSE

By

Eliza Gayle

Copyright © 2014

All Rights Reserved

Invitation To Eden

We are very pleased to issue your Invitation to Eden, an exciting series coming to you in 2014 from 27 of the biggest names in romance. Join us as we take you on an exciting adventure to Eden, where anything… and everything goes!

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Hold Me Close: Purgatory Club, Book 6

Sometimes you need to cut and run and sometimes the ties run too deep to abandon.

Bonnie’s job at Purgatory keeps her on edge in more ways than one. Every day the pain of her grief over losing her Dom threatens to consume her. Her only escape comes at the hands of the resident tattooed  bad boy who likes to keep things light and loose with a variety of women. He may not be the Dom of her dreams, but he chases away the darkness if only for one night…

Dex is used to unattached submissives coming to him for a chance to feel the kiss of his flogger or the sting of his whip until they find their own Doms. With his busy life of ink and kink he likes keeping his women at arm’s length. Except one night a month when Bonnie shreds him every time she asks him to hold her close.

When a secret invitation to an island resort arrives, is it the answer to their problems? Or their worst nightmare?

*Author's Note: While HOLD ME CLOSE can easily be read as a stand alone story, you'll likely enjoy reading the earlier Purgatory Club books, too.

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Chapter One

I will not look. I will not look. I will not look.
Bonnie squirmed on her chair, her hands gripping the seat edge so tight her fingers were beginning to ache. The crack of a whip behind her made her heart leap into her throat. Most nights she tuned out many of the more common sounds in the club. But tonight wasn't like most nights.
 

Every sound she took in felt like a touch on her needy soul. The music vibrated through her core and made her nerve-endings light up. Every moan from the play space behind her stroked across her flesh like a lover's caress. And every strike from Dex's whip against a bare back pushed her one step closer to the ledge she normally avoided.
 

Except tonight, the one night a month she allowed herself to seek out a few moments of bliss and relief at the hands of Dex, one of the club's favorite Doms.

It had been barely a year since Jim, her Dom, had died from pancreatic cancer and the thought of finding a new Dom made her ill. Guilt had a way of tearing up her insides until her mind refused to fight it. Instead she learned to live with it. All she would allow herself was this one night a month where she could let down her guard and feel. And what a night it would be.
 

Bonnie unclamped her teeth and rotated her jaw. She'd woken up on edge and the situation had only worsened as the day progressed. She stared down at the dance crowd and watched the mass of bodies moving to the loud techno beat coming from more speakers than she could count.
 

The Purgatory Club was even busier than normal tonight. Throngs of partiers filled every inch of available space. They came here for many reasons. Some to explore and expand their sexual horizons in a safe environment. Some to stand back and watch as the insanity of another night in Purgatory pulled them one step closer to a connection they needed without even knowing it. Even more were the regulars who'd already embraced their love for kink and looked forward to visiting the club whenever possible.
 

She tried to steel her mind against the energy that fed her edgy need, keeping her strung tight more often than not these days. Several months ago, her best friend Cass had suggested she go to Dex for help. Dex was amazing. His skill with a flogger or a whip was unparalleled. A shiver worked through her at the memory of their last encounter. The music and lighting was better on the third level where they'd meet once the public play space closed. She'd finally escape the constant blood-pumping beat of the club and slow down to the moody music Dex seemed to favor when they were together.
 

The candlelit space they shared always threw interesting shadows and watching Dex's unmistakable silhouette on the wall quickly mesmerized her. He was a big man, not just tall but also thick with muscles. She couldn't even wrap her hand around his biceps. And there was nothing like the feeling she got when he pressed his body and all that glorious flesh into her backside and trapped her against the St. Andrews cross with his full weight.
 

Sweat popped out on Bonnie's brow and she waved her hand in front of her face. The crowd had definitely heated the club tonight. No wonder she couldn't sit still. Another crack sounded behind her and this time she didn't heed her own warning not to look. Dex had a submissive she didn't recognize at his station. A pretty blonde, the perfect size six, was strapped half-naked to the cross. Even from this distance, she could see the red marks he'd made on her back with his whip. The woman's face was turned away from Bonnie, but she didn't need to see it to know how much she enjoyed what Dex did. Her body writhed on the dark wood and her hands pulled at the restraints binding her. The body language spoke louder than any words.

Right then, with Bonnie fixated on the scene, Dex stepped forward and placed both hands on the girl's perfect ass and stroked her tender skin. Bonnie averted her eyes and looked down. Never in a million years could she compete with a body like that. If she had her way, she'd keep her curves hidden as much as possible. Except employees were expected to dress in their respective roles while in the club, working or not.
 

So she wore a corset with her long flowing skirts. The steel bones cinched her waist nicely and made her boobs look really good, as if they were ready to burst from the cups at any moment. And the matter of the skirt she insisted on wearing had finally been solved when she found an online store who sold almost floor length skirts made from a sensual sheer material. They made everyone happy, especially since all she wore underneath was a tiny thong. Still, she got the illusion of camouflage on her wide hips and thick thighs while adhering to club policy that insisted submissives keep their arms and legs bared.

Not that she'd get that luxury with Dex. Tonight he'd strip her naked to set her mind for the scene. From the beginning of their negotiations, he'd been completely clear that was one rule he wouldn't budge on. She'd gone through with it that first night with the plan to never do it again. Only what he didn't know was the vulnerability of being naked and his in front of their friends and coworkers did something to her insides. It pulled her to his side in a way she'd never expected and it made her want to break the rules between them all together. Specifically, the ones where they'd both vowed to keep their relationship strictly at one scene a month and nothing more.
 

Bonnie sighed when the familiar pain of guilt moved into her chest. She had made a commitment to Jim and it was disgusting how easy that was to put aside so soon after his death.
 

"What's that look for?"
 

She jerked at the sound of Dex's voice and looked up to find him standing a few feet in front of her with a deep frown across his face. She hadn't realized his scene with the skinny blonde had ended.

"Uh—Noth—I mean—" She sucked in a breath and slowly exhaled. "Nervous is all." Better to be as truthful as possible with the man who had a way of seeing straight through her.

He lifted his hand and threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her head back. Before she could process what he was doing, his mouth was on her neck, his teeth nipping at her skin. He nudged her thighs apart on the stool and stepped between her legs.
 

Oh God.
A different kind of shiver worked over her as her nipples went hard at the unexpected attention from this incredible, aggressive man.

"Your mind should be on tonight and nothing else." His gruff tenor went straight to her core. "In two more hours, you'll be mine to do with as I please."

Yes.
There was as much anticipation in her as guilt. Although she knew the need for his attention would win out, as it always did.

"This is where you say Yes, Sir, my little subbie."
 

"Yes, Sir," she said, croaking as his teeth latched onto her neck again.
 

Her body went red-hot under the onslaught of Dex's touch. Even the pricks at her scalp when he tightened his grip on her hair caused her to burn hotter than lava. There was intense and then there was
intense
. Despite her years of experience with another Dom she hadn't realized turning to Dex would make her feel this—crazy. Like every time he touched her she lost another small grip on her old reality. And her resolve to keep things unemotional.
 

Her body melted against him, his chest pressing against her corset. She had half a mind to undress now just for the sheer pleasure of feeling his hard body against her soft one. Maybe he would just hold her.
 

"You smell too good. I don't want to wait until later for my taste." He bit down on her neck and tugged at the skin with his front teeth. The pain immediately mixed with the pleasure of his touch and she moaned. "That's what I'm talking about, darlin'. Now wrap your legs around my waist and let me in.”

She wasn't sure exactly what he meant, but she didn't care. The warning at the back of her mind telling her to not get too close to this man went ignored. Whatever he wanted she needed to give. With his hips firmly planted inside her knees, she did as he asked and lifted her legs and wrapped them around his trim waistline. At the first touch of her bare calf against the leather of his belt she moaned again. Good God she couldn't think straight. He knew he had her right where he wanted her and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Bastard.

He took his free hand and slid it up the outside of her right leg. Bonnie looked out over the crowd unseeing. She could do nothing at the moment but feel. That's what Dex did to her. Brain cells melted the moment he touched her and anything he wanted she wanted to give. So far they'd not found anything he could do that she didn't want. The rough scrape of his hand continued around her thigh and under her leg, straight to the edge of her thong.

"I thought we agreed this stupid thing wouldn't be here tonight." He hated when she wore panties and had ordered her not to when they were together.

"You may have said it. I didn't agree." She said, her breath coming fast and hard with him so close to her sex. Those stupid little panties were useless to begin with and were probably now soaking wet. He growled in response while his finger probed underneath the edge of the now forgotten thong. She was going to go insane the second his finger touched her—

Hot sharp pain shot through her pussy as she realized he'd not taken her comment lightly. He now had two fingers clamped around her clit in a grip so tight she couldn't breathe.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking I will put up with your cute fucking mouth tonight. I'm not in the mood to play with a brat." He pulled back from her ear and the unreadable look in his eyes had turned hard and heated. There was anger, and plenty of it, but more importantly, there was lust and it didn't look friendly. Something different was lurking inside him.

"I'm sorry, Sir." She quickly backpedaled. "I'll take them off now." He still had a grip on her tender flesh and she could barely breathe through the pain, or the added layer of pleasure crawling up her spine.
 

"That won't be necessary." He released her as quickly as he'd caught her off-guard and ripped the offending garment on his way out. "These are going with me." Dex unwrapped her legs and eased her back onto the stool she'd been dangling off of. Then he leaned forward and trapped her inside his arms against the wall behind her. "Midnight sharp, is that understood?"

She nodded unable to speak. Bonnie watched his body move as he headed back to his station, her panties wadded in his hand. He proceeded to hang them on an empty hook on the wall next to his collection of floggers where everyone in the club would see—and probably know exactly where they came from.