She bit the inside of her cheek. No. She was not that girl anymore. She wanted to get past the fear, but this was not a lifestyle she wanted for herself. This was only the tool to get her where she needed to be—to get her to the place where she could have a normal life again.
“Who is your master, pet?” the gangly man demanded.
Brynn forced her eyes open, determined to tamp down the dangerous memories.
The girl’s back glistened with sweat and blotches of red. Her voice, as tiny as her frame, quivered when she spoke. “You are, Master K.”
The man twirled the crop between his fingers. “Are you sure? You don’t sound too confident about that answer, pet. Do I need to remind you a little more?”
Her words came out in breathy pants, clearly fighting the orgasm the vibrator was coaxing out of her. “No, sir. Please. I’m yours.”
The man smoothed a hand over her ass, his erection straining against his leather pants, and then slid his fingers to her clit. A visible shudder ratcheted through the woman’s body and her groan turned guttural. But just as quickly as he’d touched her, the man withdrew his hand and grabbed his remote. The humming stopped. “Not yet, pet. You haven’t quite earned that. But I will accept your offer of submission.”
“Thank you, Master K. Thank you,” the woman said, her whole body sagging against her restraints.
Reid’s hand touched Brynn’s shoulder and she jumped. “You’re all flushed, sugar. Saw something you liked?”
She shook her head vehemently. “No, sir.”
His tone dipped. “So if I slipped my hand between those gorgeous legs of yours, you wouldn’t be all creamy for me?”
She pressed her lips into a line. He wouldn’t call her bluff like that, would he?
“Ah, silence is very telling, Brynn. Guess the girl I used to know is still in there somewhere, huh?” The smile had returned to his voice.
If she were a cartoon character, smoke would have shot out of her ears, but she held her tongue. She refused to give him any additional fodder to make her punishment in front of the crowd worse. Reid had always enjoyed the power position a little too much and apparently he hadn’t lost that proclivity.
The gangly dom released his woman from her bindings and slipped a silky robe around her shoulders. She leaned into him, and a trembling smile crossed her makeup-streaked face as he led her past the crowd and out a door at the back of the room. The second they disappeared from view, the crush of anxiety squeezed Brynn’s chest. She was next.
A man in a crisp white shirt, dark jeans, and cowboy boots rose from one of the tables and headed to the front of the room. All eyes followed him, and Reid shifted restlessly behind her. The man’s casual dress and mussed dark hair did nothing to diminish the air of importance and power that rolled off him. Brynn had the urge to sit up straighter. He graced the audience with a smile that probably melted the panties off most of the women in room.r: Roni Loren
His stern expression didn’t answer any one of her silent demands.
“You need to choose your master, Brynn,” said a well-dressed man standing to the left of Reid. She glanced at the man’s tapered fingers; he held a chain, no, a leash. Oh. He was one of her choices, as was another shorter man on Reid’s right. Shit. Both guys were attractive enough, but could she turn herself over to them—put her trust in one of these strangers?
Her gaze darted to the second man’s waistband where a whip was attached, coiled like a sleeping snake. His fingers toyed with the handle as if his hand itched to wield it. Oh, hell no. Scratch him off the list. Anyone that eager to whip her wasn’t going to go easy.
She tilted her face and ventured another glance at Reid. His expression remained smooth, but something in his eyes yanked her back in time—back when she wanted nothing more than to give herself over to him, body and soul. Yes, he’d burned her like no man had ever before or since, but he’d also had moments of tenderness that had stilled her heart. He wouldn’t physically hurt her. She knew that. Which was more than she knew about either of the other guys.
But could she temporarily seal off the wound that sent slicing pain through her anytime she was around Reid and see him as simply a means to an end for the few days they were here? At least behind closed doors she wouldn’t have to pretend with him like she would the others. She inhaled deeply, causing the bindings on her arms to bite deeper into her skin, and held Reid’s gaze.
“Looks like she’s made her pick,” said the man with the leash.
Reid shook his head. “No, I want to hear you say the words, Brynn.”
Her fists clenched behind her. Why did he always have to push? Always make things more difficult than necessary? She put as much contempt as possible into her tone. “I choose you, sir.”
The set line of Reid’s jaw relaxed, and he gave a slight nod. The other men looked mildly disappointed, but stepped away and melded back into the shadowed groups sitting around small tables near the bar on the other side of the room. Reid hooked a finger in the loop on her collar and his other hand on her elbow. “On your feet.”
“Help me.” She eased to her bare feet, relying heavily on Reid for support. She’d never realized how much she counted on her arms for balance. A few feet away, a gangly man who was hauling his own sub to her feet turned his head in their direction.
“You’re not to talk without permission unless it’s to say ‘yes, sir’ or your safe word,” Reid said, his words loud enough for the other initiation pair to hear.
Oops. She dropped her gaze to the floor. “Yes, sir.”
“Better,” Reid said, and gave her ass a swat. “Now move.”
She gritted her teeth. Was that a smile she heard in his voice? She bet the bastard was marinating in smugness. He’d gotten his way, and now she couldn’t even protest—at least not when anyone could hear. She was only one slipup away from losing her chance to stay in the club. And now she was obligated to submit to whatever act Reid selected to demonstrate her submission in front of the group. Damn it all. She must’ve really pissed off karma in some former life.