Chapter One
William Johnson glared at the financial reports in his hand and once again cursed the prudes of Cape Falls. His club was not some perverted hell-hole where people would lose their soul to the fucking devil. Control, which he’d called his club, was an exclusive BDSM club on the outskirts of Cape Falls surrounded by the forest that over looked the large lake. He’d spent a lot of money redesigning the run-down house where he now lived. Cape Falls was an old-fashioned town, and most of the residents still had their old-fashioned values. At first, he’d found their values cute and charming. Now, he found them a fucking inconvenience and wearing on his mind.
In order to maintain a decent club and house, he needed the essentials of the proper equipment and top quality alcohol and food to be served. Everywhere he went someone in Cape Falls was fucking him over. The prices were high, and sometimes the trucks destined to deliver were either late or never turned up at all.
A knock on his office door interrupted his pressing thoughts.
“Come in,” he said.
Peter Miller popped his head around the door. This guy was in love with Dean Riley’s wife and taking lessons on how to become a qualified Dom at William's club. Over the years William had trained many young men. None of those men had shown the dedication that Peter displayed during his training. The troubled look on the younger man’s face made William aware of some kind of problem about to happen.
“Are there people outside condemning this place again?”
Peter shook his head.
When he had first opened his club, Gabriel Anderson, the local sheriff and long-time friend, had been called onto the scene in order to clear the people away. Once again, William wondered why he thought Cape Falls was a place for him.
“Daisy is back. She’s hitting the bottle pretty hard, and it looks like she may have been doing other substances as well.”
Another one of his problems, Daisy McAllister.
“When will my day go right?” he asked.
“She’s been through a rough patch. The Steer brothers won’t talk to her. The Steer brothers' marriage is on the rocks, and Daisy moved out of her mother’s house. I thought you liked Cape Falls?” Peter said.
“I like the idea of Cape Falls. This is a beautiful town, but it has too many backward notions that I don’t like. I’m starting to think city life has cleaner air even with all the pollution.”
William sat back looking at the reports. He had a lot of money, and the bills didn’t even put a dent in the profit his club had made in the last six months alone. It would seem a lot of people in Cape Falls needed to let loose.
“Did you go to school with Daisy?” William asked.
“Not really. I think she was a year behind me. I was in the same year as Laura. Daisy went with Anna.”
“Ah, the Steer brothers’ wife. They have not spoken to her at all?”
Peter shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Daisy is here most days when she’s not at the school where she works as a receptionist.”
“Daisy is a receptionist?”
“Yep, I don’t know much about her, William. What I do know is she looks like she’s going to crack.”
William slammed the reports on his desk and stood up. He stretched out his tired muscles and circled around the desk. Peter stood, too, following him out of his office. Several people stood along the corridor chatting and doing what they usually did at his club. Control was not only for the residents of Cape Falls. No, his club provided for all the surrounding areas outside of the town. He prided himself on being able to know what people needed from him. William could spot a submissive in a crowded room. He also had a knack for finding dominant men who liked to control but knew when to stop. BDSM was not about a lack of control; it was more about staying in control. He thought naming his club Control was perfect.
He rounded the corner to the main room of the bar. There she was, at the bar with a half empty bottle of his most expensive whisky. A small shot of that whisky would have the hardiest of man under the table.
“You didn’t even bother to take the bottle away from her?” he asked, glaring at Peter.
“I didn’t think.”
“That is sloppy work on your part, Peter. This woman is clearly in distress. I thought I taught you better than to leave a woman like this unattended.”
“I wasn’t in a dominant mode, William. She’s a young woman. I didn’t think.”
William saw red. He hated hearing excuses at the best of times. Before he reacted, he made sure they were out of sight of witnesses. He opened the door leading to the supply room and yanked Peter in with him. William pushed the younger guy up against the wall. His arm went across his throat. Peter didn’t move. He waited for what was to come.
“I don’t care if you’re not in dominant mode, Peter. When you’re in my club, and in fact every aspect of your life, you’re in dominant mode. This is not a job description. This is your fucking life and my reputation you’re putting on the line. Either take the role seriously, or find a new fucking job. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly.”
“Good.” William pulled away and straightened his jacket. “I like you, Peter. You’ve got the potential of being a permanent Dom in my club. You’ll have your own submissive to train and discipline. I suggest if you don’t want this lifestyle then you think about your place in my club. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m going to go and deal with an emotional woman. See that everything else is taken care of.”
William left the other man to get himself together, and he made his way to the bar. Daisy had gotten rid of the glass and was drinking straight from the bottle. She was a young woman, twenty-five if his memory was right, the same age as Anna Steer. He stared at her for several moments instead of approaching. Her red hair was tied at the back in a messy bun. She wore a revealing dress. The strap on the left side had rolled down her arm, exposing a great deal of flesh. His cock pulsed at the sight of such pale perfection.
Keep in control, William. She’s not yours to take.
For the last six months since she’d been frequenting his bar, his reaction to her had grown. She no longer looked like a girl, but she’d blossomed into a full-figured, curvaceous woman. He knew he could easily spend hours simply gazing at her naked beauty. This is where he felt like a fucking freak. At forty-five years old he should be lusting after women his own age, not wasting his time on younger women.
Get it together.
He approached the bar as Peter moved behind the counter. William took the s
eat next to her and signalled for Peter to bring him a drink.
“Are you here to ruin my buzz?” Daisy asked. Her voice sounded fine to him. He wondered if she’d been drinking or just pretending to drink.
“You call this a buzz? I think having a breakdown would be a more apt description.” He took a sip of the brandy he’d been given. The burn helped to ease the ache in his cock. Dealing with Daisy with a hard-on was not the best thing to do. She clearly needed some direction in her life. What her mother had done to her had been cruel and unnecessary. To him, it seemed a great deal of people liked to cause useless pain.
“Yeah, well, you’re old. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She took several large gulps out of the bottle. He turned to watch her, giving her his undivided attention.
“Stop staring,” she said.