LEATHER AND LACE (BAD BOYS & GOOD GIRLS, #1) Page 5

  Her mind demanded she shutdown her physical response to Brandon, and get back on track—not look for a reason to disappear and get naked with the club dom. Her heart pounded in her chest and she had to set him straight.

  “This is serious business to me, considering why I chose your club. I’m not high-strung,” she hissed in a low voice. “I just didn’t plan on having a wardrobe malfunction. Let me assure you, Mr. McLemore just because I’m wearing a tight leather dress doesn’t mean I’m easy. I’m just trying to fit in. Maybe you’re the one who’s high-strung. Ever think of that?”

  Okay that was wrong on about fifty-three levels! She could site several defenses she’d just blown through in trying to cover her arousal and attraction to Brandon. Christ, she basically accused him of projecting, when in fact she was the one who needed to come clean with him. Clean—not a code word for naked she reminded her traitor body.

  “Mia, I’m usually the person who has to make split-second decisions when meeting people, and hands down, I gotta give you credit. No argument, I’m a hard-ass. Ask anyone here. But it comes with the territory of running this club. There’s no shame in admitting we’re both high-strung given the right circumstances. I’ll concede, if you do too.”

  “If you’re saying that since it doesn’t look like we can escape how this is going to play out, then sure. We definitely need to come to an agreement on how to treat each other. I’ll own that I might be a bit high-strung. You’re right about being upfront. It’s part of why I’m here.” As surreptitiously as possible, she pulled up on the straps of the corset top of her dress before it crept down any further and lowered her voice. “If you’re interested, I have a resume.”

  “You carry one with you?” His eyes widened then lowered to her slim evening clutch. “Mia, I doubt that will be necessary.”

  “Oh yeah?” she asked. “And why’s that?”

  He laughed. “I don’t need to see what you’ve done before. I have experience in this arena. Maybe Pen didn’t explain that to you.”

  His partner had mentioned they’d had a poor experience with a reporter, but she failed to ask if someone else had done research here at his club. Crap. Is that why he was acting so over-the-top? Seeing if I’m really a professional. Maybe the other researcher wore professional clothing like a turtleneck or two, carried a briefcase, and completed a study, collecting information by other means. No wonder! Her first sex club test and she was failing miserably.

  “Errr, I wasn’t aware. When was the last time you worked with someone like me? I plan on structured observation to start...just so you know.” He watched her mouth as she spoke which made her feel truly sucked under the proverbial microscope. Off-balanced, she took a deep breath to steady her wayward thoughts. “And I’m not opposed to surveys. I have a questionnaire prepared.”

  His eyes flared to hers like she might’ve struck a nerve. “A survey? Mia, you’re truly unique.”

  Worried, she huffed, “That doesn’t sound positive, Mr. High-strung. Care to explain?”

  But as soon as one side of his mouth lifted into a smug grin, she felt the crackle of electricity hike up between them. “Since you’re asking what I think, Ms. High-strung. If it were me and I was here to find answers, watching from the sidelines what will that get me? At a new restaurant, is that how you’d sample something you’ve never tasted? Or let’s bring it to the forefront. Here. Is that how you’d like to experience the taste of champagne on your lover’s skin? Discover just by watching or using a survey? You picked this place. Not the dance club down the street. This is the one place where you’ve got to be willing to use all of your senses and jump right in. Don’t overthink, Mia.”

  People were coming and going. She noticed couples journeying along the hall. Glancing around, she tapped a perfectly manicured nail on the bar. Just how was she supposed to gather information? Telepathy? “I don’t think you understand.”

  “Just give me a moment. May I?”

  “May you what?” she asked, afraid of what he’d say.

  “Just give me your trust and your hand, Mia. And then close your eyes.”

  The big ‘T’ word. He just nailed my ass and has no clue.

  “Okay. Just to prove my point, here’s my hand.” She placed her hand on his open warm palm. A hot shiver of excitement shot through her fingertips as erotically charged as the first time she’d touched him. Her heart raced and she stared at him. Who is this man?

  “Eyes closed, spitfire. And no peeking,” he directed her.

  Closing her eyes, she immediately noticed all her other senses heighten. He lifted her hand and separated her fingers. Note to self, this act is so intimate.

  So evocative.

  She focused on his touch on her skin, but then she felt his warm breath on her fingertips. Was he blowing a stream of air on her?

  Warm moisture replaced air on her skin. His lips kissed her finger. His tongue licked over her skin. Her mind blanked for a second as her nipples beaded. Every instinct, every thought inside her coalesced as a moan for more swelled in her throat.

  And more is what he delivered. He sucked her finger into his hot, wet mouth. She melted inside from the intoxicating slide of his velvet tongue along her skin. The scrape of his teeth against her finger made the blood gush through her veins. Her pussy throbbed. She needed him more than her next breath.

  He sucked her finger again, harder this time, and it was like an electric wire ran from her fingertip to her clit.

  And he had the switch.

  Another hard suck, and he turned it on full blast.

  Uncontrollably she shivered from the hedonistic lightness, breaking like crystal in her chest. Tiny electric shards of erotic bliss flew over her skin. Her nipples peaked tighter in aching response to his tongue sucking and sucking the climax from her pussy. Squeezing her knees, she rocked on the stool toward him, inhaling his male dominating scent.

  He sucked and sucked. And like glitter tossed up in the wind, she burst apart from the mini-orgasm that radiated through her belly as she soaked her panties, white lights flashing akin to soap bubbles pop-pop-popping in her head.

  “Brandon,” she whisper-yelled, pressing her thighs together.

  She felt his thumb caressing the side of her cheek. “Mia. Tell me, what do you feel?”

  Slowly she peeled her eyes open, staring up into Brandon’s gorgeous face. Sex drunk from being schooled by the club dom.

  “This isn’t exactly what I’m after.” She sounded as if she were underwater, trying to regain her composure from the bottom of a hot-tub.

  “This is exactly what you need. And more. For hours in fact.” He held her gaze.

  “I can see we aren’t going to agree.” She tugged her hand. Her finger still wet and tingling in his grasp.

  He took a napkin from a stack on the bar and gently wiped her finger. “Now there’s where we agree. I hope you aren’t always going to escape by overanalyzing things.” He flicked his eyes around the room. “Plenty of people miss opportunities, right in front of their faces. They read what other people experience and come here tainted. The best thing you’ve got going on is an open mind. Don’t lose that, Mia.”

  His demonstration and his statement shook her. Sure, she over-over-analyzed things, but it wasn’t an obsessive escape. She liked to ponder concepts and relationships. If she wanted to deliver meaningful therapy, she had to understand all the corners from where she might find resources, and direct her future patients. Tonight, she’d gotten a radical education. Her mind wasn’t about to snap shut! Hence a bondage club, fetish dress, and her finger in a man’s mouth went well beyond a library journal article.

  “Brandon, no news. You’re good at what you do and I intend to keep an open mind, considering my interests and what I’m searching for.”

  “Now, we’re getting somewhere and I’ll drink to that. My partner has a tendency to grant memberships unilaterally. Only this time I can’t say I’d argue with him.” He leaned over and motioned to the bartend
er. “Set this lady up with a glass of champagne and pour the same for me.”

  “I’m not here to play games. I’m serious—”

  He cut her off in mid-sentence. “Mia, I assure you, I don’t either.”

  “Did you or did you not speak with Penrose about me?”

  “Honestly. No. But you’re a big girl and like I already suggested, you can fill me in yourself. Or better yet, after getting finger sucked, how about I tell you what you need and you listen with that open mind of yours?”

  “Uh, I don’t need you to tell me what I’m lacking. You’ve already had your fun at my expense.”

  “You’re only upset because I was right. So hot to fire. You’ve got a temper. And it comes right on out from your smart little mouth. Or is that only with me? Be honest, Mia.” He watched her like he was waiting for her to react.

  The way he kept peeling away the layers on her with his commanding persona had her on edge. One simple goal.

  Meet the owner.

  Establish herself as a professional.

  Get a feel for the club.

  Nowhere was she supposed to get on board the crazy train with her finger in McLemore’s mouth.

  “You don’t understand,” she assured him, her face burning from a guilty conscience.

  “How do you know? I’m the dom here. And understanding is my middle name, darlin’.”

  She shook her head. “Mine is confused. Nice to meet you.”

  He chuckled softly. “I can tell you things about yourself no one else can. Are you scared? Is that why you’re so quick to refuse?” He straightened when the bartender set their glasses on the bar.

  He was so cocky. So self-assured. And it was like he had access into her psyche and all she had was the feeling of coming unglued in his presence. This was her opportunity and it was falling through her fingers.

  Her mind spun. And from chaos she found a solution. An opportunity. She glanced up at Brandon. What kind of lesson was she giving up? A huge one with broad shoulders and an ego the size of Texas and one she overlooked.

  He offered himself.

  She inhaled his fresh crisp outdoors scent. He didn’t act pretentious, wearing nothing more than a tight black shirt and dark jeans, a cowboy hat and boots. He looked like he’d be at home here or out on some ranch. Hell, he acted like he could care less if anyone liked him or not. He wanted to teach her. Well, she was here to learn wasn’t she?

  There were other people on both sides of them now. Several women were giving Brandon the once-over. They were here to ‘learn’ also. He resembled the prototype hottie women fixated on. A little dangerous, a little arrogant, and a whole lot sexy. If she didn’t act fast, someone else would.

  Now she had two choices. If she requested to speak with him in private, filling him in about her interest being relegated to only research, him-and-his-champagne-analogy would be less than enthralled to give her much of his time.

  He wanted something from her and it wasn’t statistics—more along the lines of hardcore physical facts he could address in his bed as he fucked her. Commanded her. And given her inability to tone it down, probably a taste of some discipline. As in fifty shades of experiential learning she wouldn’t get from a book or a movie.

  Without his sheepskin jacket, she let her gaze linger on his assets. A pair of sculpted arms stretched the sleeves of his shirt. He sported a silver chain around his corded neck and if she was right, the end of that chain grazed his muscular chest. When he’d turned to talk to a couple, she hadn’t missed the outline of the dips and grooves that ran over his broad shoulders and down his back from what she could tell. She bit her lip, casting a glance at his narrow hips that ended in a tight ass.

  All of his assets came in a package that included him as a sex club dom, accustomed to complete control in how he commanded his submissive to be precise.

  “So, you’ve got me all figured out?” she asked him.

  He laughed at her challenge and the sound of his voice made her skin tingle. “Spitfire, give me a chance.”

  “I did.” She waved the finger he sucked.

  “No a real chance. What have you got to lose? It’s just one night.” His deep voice and unspoken offer made concentrating difficult.

  “Are you always this confident?”

  “What do you think?”

  The smug grin spread on his face was her answer.

  He was her answer in the flesh! She wouldn’t find a better reference or resource. He was the master on sex, bondage, and erotic pleasure. How better to learn about pleasure-pain and an endorphin rush than from an expert? Even if he was in the dark about her real purpose, she couldn’t let tonight go up in smoke. He was in his element—a dom and this was his dominion.

  Why not observe him?

  Up close and he’d be open.

  Raw and uninhibited.

  For just one night.

  Kinda ballsy—but she’d never get another opportunity like this one. She inhaled a shaky breath, chewing on the side of her lip, weighing whether to come clean with him. Just thinking about him naked and commanding her body as she obeyed him was hardly helping her ability to stay focused. Except, I’m not going to be naked in his dungeon...I’m only going to conduct an in-depth subject interview.

  “One night? Is your offer for that tour still on the table?” She met his hungry eyes and meant to smile provocatively, but all she could do was stare. Something about the way he gazed back at her—made her want things—dark and unnamed.

  “Absolutely.” Half-smiling, he held out her glass, and seemed to sense her unease. His eyes bored into hers as their fingers touched.

  And again there went the skitter of a spark that flickered over her skin.

  “Tonight?” she asked.

  “Drink up and I’ll show you around the place, tonight. You said you haven’t ever been to a club before so if nothing else, it’ll be an eye-opener.”

  The heat in his eyes was ready to incinerate her from the inside out. She’d had her finger inside his mouth and that was scintillating, if not panty-drenching.

  Was she really ready for this? “Promise. Just a tour. Nothing crazy.”

  “Cross my heart, Mia. I don’t do crazy,” he drawled, shifting his powerful body, and lifting his glass.

  “On your word.” Tapping her glass against his, she replied, “Bottoms up.”

  “Mia,” he murmured, “I’m definitely onboard with that plan.”

  Voyeur

  TOUCHING MIA’S golden skin, he swore it was like waking and walking into brilliant sunlight from a long black sleep. Just her fingertips at first, but then he couldn’t resist and ran his fingers along her arm as a jolt of excitement skated over his skin. After sucking her finger into his mouth, he had to have her. All of her, open and willing. This fiery fascination was more than just his attraction for a curvy figure, and shapely long legs in higher-than-hell heels. This little firecracker had a way of bucking him, then simmering down and drawing him in close. Not that he couldn’t resist. But when she smelled so incredible and looked tasty enough to lick from head to foot, what was the point of playing hard to get?

  He’d done that for months without having to try. Staring down at Mia’s chest, with her tempting tits threatening to spill over any second into his waiting palms, his dick throbbed. His cock got harder, thicker with each breath the little minx took. He imagined doing several scorching things with her from the waist up.

  And God help him, when he got her naked, he’d make certain they both couldn’t walk straight for a week. She sipped her drink gazing at him. Staring into her dark liquid eyes, those bottomless pools made the muscles all over his body contract.

  “Mia.” He sampled her name on his tongue, rolling the sound around in his mouth.

  “Brandon, why do you keep saying my name?” she whispered in an ultra-feminine voice that reached into his body, swam in his blood, and unleashed his hunger ready to find fulfillment for them both.

  “It’s beautiful. Sexy. Mi
a. Mine. Ephemeral and hard to forget.”

  “Cowboy poet?” She laughed softly, sultry.

  “Not usually. But you do inspire.”

  “Enough for you to be a man of your word?”

  “Without question.” He took a long sip of champagne from his glass. An able and ready woman was right in front of him. If only she’d agree to be more than gorgeous and prickly. To get her naked, she’d have to be willing. He bet under that fetish get-up she was warm and wet, and with her spunk she’d have no problem taking him on in bed. “Nothing will happen unless you agree. I derive no enjoyment in taking by force. My turn-on is your submission. But all given to me. Do you understand?”

  He held out his palm.

  “In theory, I do.” Her lips parted. Her pupils dilated. Her nipples darted the tight material of her dress. She was as on edge as he was.

  She touched his fingers and they both exhaled slightly from the spark. His cock was spurting pre cum and he bet she was equally aroused. Needed the same kind of physical release he craved. Hard fucking. This type of primal connection he hadn’t experienced. Heard about but hadn’t tasted—yet.

  “Answer me, Mia,” he ordered her in a low voice and his muscles banded together. Yeah that felt good, giving her an order.

  “I understand and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you’d force me—”

  “Don’t apologize for speaking your mind. It’s how we can clear up confusion. If you trust yourself, then come with me. I won’t bite.” He grazed his hand up her arm.

  “Where are you taking me?” Mia ran her tongue over her red kissable mouth, moistening her full lips.

  Her silky black hair caressed his arm. He watched her hair swish, long and straight each time she moved. He had the urge to fist it with both hands as he controlled her, envisioning the first time he’d drive himself into her.