“Thank you,” I murmur to myself as I head to the main dance floor.
God, I hope he’s here tonight. I wonder how long I’ll have to wait until I see him?
The thick, sultry scent of sex and seduction hangs in the air like the incense above us. It’s luring me in, and I’m not sure how long I can hold myself against the power of it.
I look around the room curiously. It’s a bit disconcerting that I can’t take in the details I typically like to. I see figures and shadows, but the light’s too dim to notice anything in particular. That’s likely intentional.
One couple’s sitting on a nearby bench, another by the bar, a third in the corner playing with a deck of cards I don’t recognize. They don’t look like regular playing cards. I hear laughter and flirtation, moans in the corner of the room from a couple joined at the lips, and in another corner, two women all over a man dressed in black leather. I look away when I realize they’re going at it, right here, right now, without any regard for who’s watching them. I mean, I guess that’s the point for them.
I feel my cheeks flush. But what did I expect?
I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that Mario likes it here.
This is where he picks up his women?
I get myself a drink, virgin so I don’t lose focus, and walk around the club nursing the sweet concoction as I look for any sign of him.
Three hours later, I’ve almost given up. Maybe hanging around at what’s supposedly his favorite sex haunt isn’t the best way to find him. I’d hoped dropping his name would make someone alert him that I’m here. I can’t exactly text or call him. I’m the one with his cell phone.
I wait, and I wait.
I’ve scoped out every couple and single here. I’m going to have to come back another night.
I stand to leave and pause, my hand on the smooth leather of a spanking bench thrown haphazardly in the corner of the room. Guests here have put their drinks on it, which I find mildly amusing.
“Good place for you,” comes a familiar voice behind me. “I ought to bend you over this bench when I punish you for stealing from me.”
He’s here.
I’m unprepared for how his voice, sex personified, makes my body react. My nipples tingle, and a warm rush of heat flares between my legs. I draw in a shaky breath, plaster on a coy smile, and turn to look at him.
“I really ought to be punished for stealing from you,” I say with mock repentance. “But I needed a way home, and I knew you’d forgive me.”
He leans his hip against the bar. So soon, I forgot how sensual and seductive he was, with his carefully tousled dark brown hair that falls onto his forehead like he’s reminding me he’s Boston’s most notorious. Piercing blue eyes stare straight at me, full pink lips that I remember on my body, and that body of his—mamma mia, so strong and powerful, leaned casually against the bar as if he’s blissfully unaware of the disruption in the universe his mere presence causes. His very clothes fall against his body as if they worship him.
“Forgive you?” He shakes his head. “Doll, we’ve got a long way to go until I get there.” He takes a sip from the drink in his hand, and ice hits his lips. How long has he watched me? Long enough to drain that drink… I really am losing my touch.
I watch as he slides his empty glass onto the counter, then pushes off so he can make his way toward me. I look around me quickly in a panic. Would anyone even come to my aid if I screamed?
“I can’t forgive you until I’ve punished you. And that happens before anything else, understood?”
My mouth’s so dry I can’t swallow. I watch in wide-eyed shock as he fingers the metal buckle of his belt.
He jerks his head to the bench. “Clear it. Then spread your legs and bend over. Give me that ass.” His voice drops. “Now.”
Wait… now? Here?
He’s lost the charm and is nothing but straight commander. I stare and blink at him.
“No kiss first?” I ask in a whisper, definitely trying to stall.
“After. Your. Punishment.” He shakes his head. “It’s like you’re new to this or something,” he says thoughtfully, as if mulling this over. “Surely you’d know that leaving without saying goodbye, taking my wallet and my phone, then heading in here without an escort would earn you serious discipline, didn’t you?”
Interesting he lists “leaving without saying goodbye” as a punishable infraction.
I give a nervous laugh. “Thought we covered that last night.”
He gives a sad shake of his head, as if he regrets that now he has to punish me. “Oh, we did, doll. But then you went ahead and broke the rules again, didn’t you?”