Take a Chance (20 page)

The door shut behind him and she sank onto
the bed, trying hard to keep her heart in her chest. This was
really happening. She fished the white choker he’d given her out of
her purse and set it on the counter next to the candle, stuck her
purse in a chair across the room and went into the small bathroom
to get naked. Halfway there, the phone next to the door rang and
she jumped, her nerves jangled by the old-fashioned ring.

“
He’s on his way. Probably
twenty minutes or so.”

“
Thank you, Master
Mark.”

The line disconnected and she stood there
shaking and hoping she wasn’t making a terrible mistake. A few deep
breaths had her back to removing her clothes. Once they were neatly
folded and stacked on a shelf, she went to the candle and lit it
with the lighter Mark had provided. He was something else, and some
day she’d need to truly thank him. She’d find a way.

Rearranging the collar in front of the candle
took a few minutes, then a few more, until she finally let go of
the anxiety and went to her knees on the rug.

She’d never been good at waiting, but with a
sigh, she decided it was time to learn a little patience.

Still, waiting sucked.

Chapter 22

Steve was pissed.

He’d spent the morning wondering where the
hell Dena was. She wasn’t at work, and no one at Lindsay &
Associates would talk about her. She wouldn’t answer her phone at
home or her cell. He went by the house twice and beat on the door,
with no response.

He’d left messages all over the fucking
county and he was worried. When his phone rang, he snatched it off
the counter as soon as he dried his hand. “Dena?”

Mark laughed in his ear. “No. You coming to
Private Delights tonight?”

“
No. Not until I find
Dena.”

“
Where are you?”

“
Home. Just got out of the
shower.”

“
I need you to come out to
the club. It’s important.”

“
Fuck that. I need to take
care of something. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“
No. You had a delivery
today and it’s perishable. It can’t wait any longer.”

Steve cussed a blue streak. “Just dump it in
the freezer and I’ll be there in the morning.”

“
Can’t. Trust me and get
your ass out here now.”

The line disconnected and when he tried to
call back, Mark’s phone went to voicemail. Damn the fucker. He
called the office but Mildred wasn’t any help, either.

Derek’s phone was likewise useless.

He left another message on Dena’s phone and
got dressed in a hurry. The sooner he took care of Mark’s issue,
the sooner he could focus on finding his woman.

Yeah, she was his whether she knew it or not.
He’d convince her even if he had to tie her to a bed and keep his
dick inside her for a month or two straight.

There were several cars in the lot when he
got to the club, but it was early for the wild crowd to be out and
about. Some of their members came for the restaurant’s growing
reputation, thanks to Mark’s influence and the advertisements he’d
strategically placed, and in a couple hours, the place would be
crowded.

If he could find Dena, he’d bring her back
here and spank her ass until it glowed red. The woman drove him
crazy.

And he liked it.

Mark and Derek were at the reception desk
with Joanne, their Staff Submissive, when he walked in.

“
Why the fuck am I here when
I have things to do tonight?”

He knew something had gone to shit when his
two best buds flanked him and started for the elevator in the back
of the first floor. “What the fuck?”

“
Don’t ask questions, just
move, buddy. This is important.”

He planted his feet and turned to Mark. “Talk
to me.”

“
Can’t explain it. You have
to see it first.”

Derek nudged him in the back when the
elevator doors opened. It was a short ride, since there building
only had two levels, and when they stopped at his suite, he looked
at both men before reaching for his keycard. The silence played on
his senses more than their strangely self-satisfied
expressions.

The locking mechanism pinged and the door
swung open to reveal a darkened room, twinkle lights and candles
illuminating a form on the floor.

Dena.

On her knees and naked.

His body stopped moving while his brain
shifted into overdrive.

Two hands pushed him over the threshold and
followed him inside, the only sound the click of the lock
resetting.

Soaking up her position, the sweet submissive
set of her body glowing in the candlelight, he smiled for the first
time in a long while.

Dena had come back to him.

The soft rug under her was a duplicate of the
one Mark had in his playroom, designed especially for a cherished
submissive. A quick look at his friend pulled his attention away
from the woman he loved, worry making him second guess the moment.
“Did you set this up?”

Mark shook his head, his words a balm to
Steve’s heart. “She called me. Her idea all the way.”

He turned back to Dena and noticed the
collar. Two steps took him to her and he let his hand settle on the
crown of her bent head, burrowing slowly into the soft dark hair.
“This is what you want?”

Her head moved under his hand, but he needed
the words. “Look at me, doll.” Hands sliding over her ear and under
her chin, he lifted her to face him. “Is this what you want? Will
you belong to me?”

“
Yes, Master. I want to
belong to you.”

Sweet words from a beautiful woman. He took
the collar from the counter and slipped it around her throat. The
click of the clasp resounding in the silent space while his best
friends watched.

Steve pulled her to her feet and kissed her
perfect mouth, making his possession known, then turned to the men
just inside the room. “This is my woman, my submissive. No one may
touch her without my permission.”

“
Congratulations,” Mark said
with a grin. “You’ve found a wonderful woman.”

Derek nodded and smiled, offering his
congrats with what passed for happiness for him, the warmth not
quite making it to his eyes, but Steve understood. This was a
bittersweet moment for the man.

Both men shook Steve’s hand, but they only
nodded in Dena’s direction. Yeah, they could look all they wanted,
but she was all his. No touching without permission.

His friends took their leave, and he turned
to her.

“
On the bed, hands over your
head.”

Feet apart and arms crossed, he watched her
scramble onto the bed and position her body as he’d demanded. The
sight of her beautiful body following his directions, the easy
submission she gave him, had his heart clenching in his chest.

His.

“
Remind me of you safe word,
sub.”

“
My safe word is purple,
Master.”

“
I’m glad you remembered my
title, sub. You’ve been absent from your position for too
long.”

“
I’m sorry,
Master.”

He wrapped the leather cuffs around each of
her wrists with care. He had no desire to roughen her smooth skin
but he needed her to understand she belonged to him. “Roll over
onto your belly.”

She complied without comment and he stroked a
palm down her body from shoulder to hip, then popped her ass with
his bare hand. “Why did it take you so long to come back to me,
Dena?”

“
I was confused,
Master.”

He secured her left foot to the far corner of
the bed with a long ankle cuff. “You didn’t trust me.”

“
I’m sorry,
Master.”

The other ankle was restrained in short
order, leaving her on the bed as a human X marks the spot. “You
should know better. Trust is the most important part of our
relationship, save one other.”

“
Yes, Master.”

He picked up the flogger from where it lay on
the shelf and approached the bed. “Do you still deny that
trust?”

Listening to her breath saw in and out of her
mouth, he waited for her answer. One long minute passed before she
gave him a heartfelt response. “Master, I trust you completely.
Please believe me.”

The first lash of the flogger floated across
her back with a soft caress, the second stung along the lines of
her hips. With each stroke, he pushed her limits until she cried
out and writhed within her bounds.

He moved around the bed, scattering the licks
of the beads in a manner meant to inflame her senses without
marring her satin skin. The pink glow across her body changed and
merged with other areas as he worked the flogger over her.

Whimpers and murmurs helped him keep track of
her progress, and when the first full moan left her sweet mouth, he
dropped the flogger and rid himself of his pants.

It took only moments to release the ankle
restraints. Crawling up the bed, he slid his hand under her hips
and discovered her ripe, wet pussy. Slowing his need for a minute
or two, he stroked his hands down the backs of her legs and
repositioned them with her knees under her. He sunk into her with a
groan.

His. Only his, and he’d never let her go
again. They belonged to each other. The faint whisper of his name
had him moving within her, setting a hard fast pace. Her cries
increased and when he felt her tighten around his cock, he was
right there with her. “Come for me, Dena. Come now.”

About the Author

Lavender lives in Texas with her own private
Prince Charming, two kids, two cats and a large brown dog. She
spends her days writing sexy contemporary romance, sometimes adding
a hint of suspense or tossing in a little dominance and
submission.

A member of RWA, she took first place in the
Great Expectations Contest in 2011 for
Bound by Trust.

When she’s not writing or reading great
romance novels, she can be found in the kitchen baking, usually
with chocolate. Find her on facebook or the other sites she
inhabits in her spare time by following these links:

www.facebook.com/LavenderDaye

www.LavenderDaye.com

www.LavenderDaye.Blogspot.com

And if you need to read
more about Private Delights, turn the page for a sneak peek at the
next book in the series – The Art of Submission.

Mark Harrison leaned against the back edge of
the reception desk and appreciated the long line of leg the night’s
hostess offered. The plunging neckline and barely there skirt left
just enough to the imagination to entice even the hardcore members
of Private Delights. Nothing quite like a beautiful woman to make a
man enjoy life and all its pleasures. Her hands came up to
rearrange her hair, pulling it back to reveal almost bare
shoulders. She was a vision in smooth skin and he appreciated the
sight. Not a bad way to pass the time while he waited for his best
friend to arrive. He checked his watch. Steve was late so he spent
a few minutes contemplating what he could do with the submissive in
front of him while he waited. A few salacious thoughts came to
mind, but she wasn’t for him tonight.

No, tonight he’d be discussing his club with
a researcher.

Mark wondered for the tenth time why he’d
agreed to this. His club, his baby, was filled with paying members.
His desk was clean for the first time in a month, and a glance
through the evening’s roster showed several submissives in the
house, semi-naked and willing to give him anything he wanted.
Instead, he waited for an unknown woman to push her way into his
private domain and ask questions.

Damn Steve and his over-eager submissive for
convincing him to take on this girl. Research was the last thing he
needed in this business. There were already too many stories about
BDSM floating through the media and he didn’t want to add to the
cacophony.

Dena was adamant that her friend from school
was a legitimate researcher, working on a master’s degree in
behavioral science with an emphasis on sexuality. And while he
liked Dena and trusted Steve with his life, he wasn’t too sure
about the college friend and her agenda.

The frosted glass door opened. Two
twenty-something girls dressed in leather didn’t bother looking in
his direction, just turned left and disappeared down the hall
leading to the public club. Loud music and wannabes. Paying
customers in a make believe world of dominance and submission,
they’d dance and drink and get off in one of the private rooms in
the back of the club, but they had no idea what they were truly
missing.

And he had no desire to enlighten them.

The door opened again and his receptionist
smiled at Dena, then dropped her gaze to chest height when Steve
came to the podium. “Master,” she said, her tone clear and cool as
she addressed him. As lovely as she was, Steve gave her a cursory
glance and swiped his card through the reader.

Mark left his spot behind the desk and shook
the man’s hand, nodding at Dena until she lowered her eyes. In a
social setting, traditional customs were observed, but within the
confines of the club, respectful obedience was required.

Behind her, a petite blonde waited to be
introduced. Striking bone structure set her apart from the crowd.
Her heart shaped face captivated almost as much as the gray-blue
eyes and thick lashes. Best of all, she wasn’t a waif of a woman.
Her proportions were perfect, nicely rounded in the right places
while her slim legs enticed even in the moderate heels she’d chosen
to wear. If this was Dena’s researcher friend, he’d gladly take on
the job and train her well.