King of Clubs (2 page)

Awai ran the leather strap of her whip over her palm as her thoughts turned back to that horrid time in her life and her triumph in making a new life for herself.

Once she escaped the bastard, she’d promised herself that no man would ever dominate her again.

Awai raised her chin, no longer seeing the city lights, but instead the light of her past. With her intelligence and drive, Awai had quickly worked her way to the top of her profession in the advertising business. Eventually she had started her own firm, and it wasn’t long before she was drawing in larger and larger accounts until her agency was one of the premier advertising firms in the state of California. She became known as a ball buster, the woman with brass ovaries. She didn’t take shit from any man, and her staff was populated almost exclusively with women.

She had also started an extensive training program in the domestic violence shelter. With Awai’s financial backing, the center taught women skills necessary to enter the workforce. Frequently, Awai hired women from the shelter in positions such as receptionist or filing clerk. Gradually, as they learned the ropes, many of the women were trained in more demanding tasks and worked their way up through the advertising agency.

Awai shifted and lightly flicked her whip, allowing it to curl like a sensuous caress around her bare legs and the leather straps from her heels that wrapped around her ankles and calves.

There was another side to her life that no one knew about outside of her niece Annie. Almost every evening, Awai left her daily concerns and entered the world of BDSM as a Dominatrix, as Mistress Awai.

Awai treated her submissives well, making sure they enjoyed the erotic play, and always keeping the relationships safe, sane, and consensual. She had chosen to become a Domme simply because she had made that promise to herself…that no man would be her Master.

Yet something was missing. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but she didn’t feel complete being a Domme. Awai knew what she wanted in life and went after it with a vengeance. So why was her role as a Domme not entirely satisfying?

As if I wished to be the one tied up and at a male Dom’s mercy.

She shrugged away the errant thought.
What the hell’s the matter with me?

Awai moved away from the window, a sense of melancholy rolling over her. She was known as a take-charge dynamo, and these feelings of confusion were pissing her off. Yet, as she thought more and more about being a Domme, and of her missing nieces, she felt both angry and brooding…and regretful.

Awai snapped her whip in the empty room, the crack of leather jarring her back into her role. She would take charge and let the bastards who stole her nieces know who was boss.

When will they get here?
she wondered as she stared at the front door. It was well after ten—only two hours left until midnight and then the anniversary of all her nieces’ disappearances would have passed.

Awai frowned at the stately mahogany door.
Could I have been wrong?

No. She wouldn’t allow doubt to make her insecure. Everything in her gut told her that they would be coming for her, too.

Since there wasn’t any furniture left in the condo, Awai moved to the wall beside the door. She slid down the wall until she was sitting in the plush burgundy carpeting and set her whip beside her. Awai’s short skirt hiked up to her waist and her thong pulled tight against her clit. It had been days since she’d had a fuck, and for some reason the last one hadn’t been as fulfilling as she’d hoped.

A wild fantasy had gone through her mind as she’d had sex with her sub. A fantasy of riding a powerful man, his cock filling her pussy while another man slid his erection into her ass. And yet a third grabbing her by her hair and forcing her to suck his cock. She was totally at their mercy while all three men fucked her.

At the memory of the fantasy, Awai couldn’t help but slide one hand down to her pussy. As she visualized the scene again, she moved aside the thong and fingered her clit. With her free hand she pushed her blouse above her pert breasts, exposing her nipples to the cool air in the condo.

She started out with small circles around her clit then thrust one finger into her pussy, then spread her juices over her folds. Against her will, she found herself back in the fantasy of the three men. This time one of the men was eating her pussy while another one kissed her, and the third sucked her nipples.

The thought of three gorgeous men focused on her pleasure, and in turn her pleasuring them, sent Awai into orbit. Her orgasm came hard and fast, and caused her to moan as ripple after ripple of her climax continued to flow through her until she came a second time.

After she slipped her hand from her thong and arranged her clothing a bit, Awai relaxed against the wall and closed her eyes. She brought her fingers to her nose and scented herself, wondering what it would be like to smell the come of three men all at once.

What’s the matter with me? Why am I fantasizing about dominant men? I should think instead of the men I dominate.

But the men continued to haunt her. Awai sighed and sank deeper into her thoughts until she slipped into a deep but unsettling sleep.

A blond god of a man tied Awai’s wrists together with a glittering golden rope. It was snug, yet the rope didn’t hurt or cut into her flesh. In a sensuous caress, he slid his hands down her thighs and calves then bound her ankles together too, with another piece of the golden rope. When he finished, he lowered his head to the juncture of her thighs and inhaled deeply, his long blond hair caressing her skin. He gave a satisfied purr, like a tiger, and she felt a tingle in her pussy and her panties grew wet.

Awai jerked awake and found herself still positioned with her back to the wall of her condo. She blinked, feeling oddly disoriented and almost as if she’d been drugged.

Golden light shone across the living room carpet, yet through the windows in front of her she could still see San Francisco’s sparkling nighttime view. Slowly she turned her head and saw that the door was open—

Sunlight was spilling into her home. Not a hall light or a streetlight. It was pure butter yellow sunshine like on a cool spring morning in places where there wasn’t any fog to dim it.

Her heart pounded like mad. She tried to get to her feet, only to slide down the wall and fall onto her side, her cheek resting on the leather handle of her whip.

Her hands and ankles were bound, just like in her dream.

Awai’s breathing was hard and fast as she glanced at the golden rope around her wrists and then looked to her ankles.

A shadow fell across the carpet.

Awai’s gaze shot to the doorway and she saw the golden god from her dreams. The man’s white-blond hair tumbled over his shoulders and a gold earring glittered in one ear. His muscled chest was bare, and the tattoo of a club was on his magnificent six-pack abs. Good lord, but those leather pants cradled his impressive family jewels, and despite the fact she was tied up and at his mercy, Awai’s pussy tingled.

Instead of the diatribe she had planned when “they” finally showed up to kidnap her, Awai found herself absolutely speechless.

The golden god flexed his muscles as he moved closer then knelt before her on one knee. His intense blue eyes focused on her and he smelled of sun-warmed flesh and mountain air. Gently he brushed the back of his hand over her cheek, and in a voice that sent shivers down her spine, the god said, “I have come for you.”

Chapter Two

King Ty knelt on one knee and brushed the back of his hand over the woman’s cheek as she lay on her side, bound with his golden ropes. How beautiful the woman was, more beautiful than her picture on the card he had taken from the
a’bin
. Even more beautiful than the image he held in his mind as he fucked the sorceress.

Awai
, he reminded himself. This beauty’s name was Awai.

Strands of Awai’s chestnut hair framed her face while the rest of her tresses were piled on her head in a style he found sexy and alluring. Her eyes were indeed blue, bluer than his own. And her body…perfection with pert breasts showing through her blouse—and prominent nipples made to suck. He continued to stroke her cheek as his gaze traveled lower and he smiled. The woman had lovely thighs to slide between.

Awai’s eyes narrowed and glittered with sudden fire. In a movement so fast and unexpected, she jerked her mouth toward his hand and buried her teeth in his index finger. Sharp pain shot through his hand as her teeth sank through his flesh down to his bone.

Ty held his ground and didn’t flinch. “Not a kitten, but a tigress.” He sighed then gave a quick grin despite the ache in his hand. “After meeting and suffering the temper of Alexi, I should have been better prepared.”

Confusion then anger crossed Awai’s features and she released her hold on his finger.

Ty brushed the blood on his hand onto his breeches as Awai glared at him. “If you’ve hurt Alexi or any of my nieces,” she said with more than vengeance in her voice, “I’ll kill you.”

Chuckling at the memory of that first encounter with Alexi, Ty shook his head. At least he could laugh about it now. “You should have no fear for your kin, tigress. Alexi is well able to care for herself. The day I met her—well, let us just say I could not walk straight for several days.”

“Good.” Awai was tempted to laugh, but she maintained her angry expression. Here she was, lying on her side, tied up, and yet despite herself she was completely intrigued by this blond god. He reminded her of a rogue or even a rake from a historical romance novel.

Except he had her trussed up like a sacrificial calf at a pagan altar.

“Untie me,” she demanded with all the fury she could muster and struggled to pull apart the bonds at her wrists. “Let me go, damn it.”

Still on one knee, the man grabbed Awai by the shoulders and raised her so that she was sitting up, her bound wrists in her lap. Heat from his palms burned through her thin blouse and her breath caught in her chest.

“I am Ty, Ruler of the Kingdom of Clubs,” he said in a solemn voice. “I have come to take you to my world.”

Despite her curiosity, and her natural inclination toward disbelief, Awai growled at him, “I don’t care if you’re the King of Crap. Let me go and take me to my nieces.”

The man who called himself Ty chuckled at her words. “I will release your bonds. All I ask is that you trust me—and avoid crippling me in the same manner your niece selected.”

Awai’s body trembled with anger while he waved his hand and the golden ropes at her ankles and wrists simply disappeared. With slow, firm strokes, he massaged her ankles. For a moment Awai allowed herself to feel amazement at his little feat of illusion, when he made the ropes vanish.

But when Ty started to reach for her now unbound wrists, Awai laced her fingers together and swung her hands up, straight toward his face. In a lightning fast movement, he caught her wrists in one of his large hands, just short of his jaw.

Ty grinned as he released his hold on her. “My little tigress.”

I’ll show him tigress.

Awai let loose with all her frustration and anger at her nieces’ disappearances. She fought against his hold with everything she had. As she lashed out at him, she bit her tongue. Her mouth filled with the taste of blood, which only made her madder.

Ty couldn’t believe his stupidity at releasing Awai. He should have simply flung her over his shoulder and brought her through the path and into his world.

“Damnation, woman!” He managed to grab both Awai’s wrists and pin them to the carpet above her head. She continued to struggle, but he straddled her thighs and put just enough weight on her legs to keep her from moving.

Awai’s face was red, her blue eyes feral like the tigress she was. He kept her wrists pinned with one hand and the urge to kiss her came over him, to brush his lips over her forehead, to breathe in her musky perfume. He wanted to relieve her fears, to soothe her fury.

Ty’s face neared Awai’s and her eyes suddenly blurred. Images flooded her mind…of being trapped by her ex-husband, his breath hot and smelling of alcohol. Of being helpless beneath him.

“No!” Awai let loose with a scream and fought even harder to free herself, but she was held entirely immobile. Fear replaced the anger and tears fogged her vision as she struggled. She wouldn’t let him hurt her again. Never again!

From a distance she heard a male voice speaking to her with a gentleness she’d never heard from a man before. “I am sorry, Awai.” His tone was full of regret. “I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you. Please forgive me.”

Slowly her vision cleared and instead of the foul beast who had brutalized her, she saw the golden god. He still held her wrists above her head with one hand and with his other he carefully brushed tears from her eyes. Gradually her body relaxed, her breathing hard, her muscles aching as though she’d raced a marathon.

Damn, she hadn’t cried for years…since she’d escaped John Steele and made a new life for herself. Her breath continued to come in harsh gulps and her heart pounded in her throat, and her body was covered in sweat. How could she have lost her sanity so completely in that one moment?

“The path will soon close, my tigress.” Ty trailed his thumb across her lips and gave her a soft smile. “If we do not leave now we will be trapped in this world and it will be another year of your time before you see your loved ones, or I see my people.”

Awai cleared her throat. “Oh.”

Ty’s gaze held hers. “Will you come with me if I release you?”

This was what she had prepared for all year long, and she was fighting it like a crazy woman.

She bit the inside of her lip then nodded. “I’ll go with you as long as you promise that I’ll see my family.”

Ty released his hold on her and scooped up her leather whip as he stood. “You have my word.” He held out his free hand. “Come. The path is closing.”

Awai was still shaking as she took his hand. The sunshine that had spilled through her doorway before was now murky, as if shrouded by thunderclouds. Ty pulled her toward the dull light at a jog, and she had no choice but to follow him. Her heart pounded with both fear and hope.