Blue Desire (17 page)

“Yes,
Master.”

He
grinned. “Good girl.”

“That’s
only two,” she said.

“Yes,
well. The other is that you’ll be sleeping in less clothing than the girl
onstage is wearing.”

Given
that the current girl onstage was wearing only a G-string and pasties, that
wasn’t much. As far as she could tell, he hadn’t even looked at her to check.
He was telling her he wanted her naked.

She
exhaled. If he told her to be, wasn’t that obedience? But it didn’t matter.
She’d be available to him, for whatever he wanted to do, and being naked would
remind her of it. “Yes, Master,” she said. She had never wanted to be in charge
in the bedroom or of anything but her music. She could be, and she could take
care of herself, but it wasn’t what she wanted.

The
blonde waitress came up, and Kat could swear she shook her breasts at Brett
before she asked, “So what are you two having as a second drink?”

“We
were leaving. But that should cover it.” Brett put a twenty on the table. “Oh,
and Angus didn’t pay, did he?” He plunked down another twenty and then stood
and offered his hand to Kat. She took it gratefully and let her lead him out of
the bar, but not before she thought there was a song somewhere in there she
could write about flashing one’s body for money.

It
wasn’t considered legal judgment that had made Brett sit down next to Kat and
ask her for a dollar retainer. It was a primal urge to protect his woman.
My woman
.
He’d
only known her for a few weeks. They’d had two dates.

If
he’d been his best self, he’d have offered her his couch. Now he’d made it seem
as if the price of saving on her rent was her submission, and that wasn’t what
he intended at all. Oh, he wanted her submission, all right. He couldn’t stop
thinking about her, and when he did he imagined her on all fours, waiting to be
fucked, as often as he thought of her singing. He wanted her more than he’d
wanted any woman for a long time.
My woman
.
He was used to stating exactly what he wanted.

They
were quiet as they walked back to Brett’s apartment because Kat said she had a
song idea going through her head. Every once in a while she would hum or
whistle a few notes. It was a strange way to be together, but he enjoyed
watching her work too.

He
saw her eyes narrow on the edge of his vision. He suspected she wasn’t thinking
about her song anymore, but he remained quiet in case. At some point she was
going to ask the obvious question.

“So
what were you doing there, anyway?” She came to a stop, so he did too.

“In the strip club?”

“Yes.”

“Well,
it’s a long story, but the short story is that I saw Cindy going one way, and
you going the other, and I followed you. You and Cindy going opposite
directions didn’t jive with what you’d said about business after the show.”

“So
you were spying on me.”

It
was at least partly true. “I walked into the club and saw you and Angus. I knew
you and Angus had been lovers. I walked out.”

“But
you walked back in. You didn’t trust me, did you? I suppose I can’t blame you.”

He
shook his head. “I walked back in because I decided I
did
trust you. You said you were there on business, and that meant
that you and Angus were trying to come to some agreement. I didn’t trust Angus
at all. He fights dirty, for one thing, with rings on his hands. And he doesn’t
exactly have the best reputation from what I’ve been able to discover on the
Internet.”

“I
never look at that Internet stuff. People say all sorts of things.” Kat
shrugged. “He tweets and all that, and I figured he’d probably done a pretty
good job of painting me as the evil witch queen.”

Brett
shrugged. “
Kradle
fans are in two camps. My guess is
that yours is larger, but I don’t imagine either
know
what really happened.”

Kat
nodded. “So you watched us.”

“From the table next to you.
I wasn’t trying to
be stealthy, although I didn’t want Angus to see me. He was sitting facing the
stage, so I sat at the table behind him. I was in your view almost the whole
time if you’d looked. But it’s pretty dark back there.”

“I
don’t suppose most of the people watching the naked girls want to be seen.”

Brett
shrugged and grinned. “Curious because when I’m watching a naked girl, I want
her to see me doing it, and I don’t give a damn who else knows either.” He put
out his hand for hers. “If we keep walking, you can find out what I mean in
another four blocks.”

Kat
raised an amused eyebrow, and Brett breathed a sigh of relief. He’d told her
the simple truth, including the part about following her that was less than
flattering, but that didn’t mean she’d believe it. As far as she knew, he was
in there to watch the strippers, or he was a crazy fan who got jealous after
two hot nights with her. She had only his word on the real reason he’d called
Darren to let him know he wasn’t showing up and had turned back.

“You
don’t want to give me a few moments to settle in before taking my clothes off?”
Kat asked, putting her hand in his.

“No,”
he said honestly. “I don’t. But I will if you need it. You can sleep on my
couch for a while if you just need to save on rent. But if you want to be in my
bed, you’re going follow my rules.”

She
shivered. “Yes, Master.” Then she turned toward the street and walked with him.

He
supposed she might feel more dominated if he put his hand on the upper curve of
her ass while they walked or reached around her to
cup
the side of a breast. Right now, however, he was enjoying her cool, small hand
nestled inside his meaty fist.

They
climbed the dark stairs, which were deserted as usual at that hour. When he got
to the third-floor landing, he stopped. There was no one in the other apartment
on the fourth floor at the moment. Not that Kat knew that.

“Huh?”
she asked.

“Face
me.”

She
turned toward him, her expression curious.

“Hands over your head.”

She
blinked and looked around. Of course there was no one there. A door separated
the stairwell from the hall that led to the third-floor apartments, and it had
a small window one could see through. He could whisk her away if any of those
doors opened, and they weren’t likely to at nearly three in the morning. She
put her hands up and folded three fingers of her right hand over the fingers of
her left. “Yes, Master.”

He
grabbed the bottom of the tank top and peeled it up and off her. She had to
separate her hands to let him. “A hundred of your fans have
been
wanting
to do this all night. But I get to.” The side of his hand
brushed against where her nipple dented the pink bra. He was pleased to find
her nipple so stiff. He moved his hand across it again, more intentionally.

She
took a sharp intake of breath. “Here?”

“If I want.
I don’t have to be patient when I
don’t want to.”

“Yes,
Master.” She held her pose, sneaking a glance through the stairwell window.
“Wherever you want.
I won’t be sleeping on your couch.”

Her
breathing was heavy in his ear, but she quit glancing at the window. He had a
good view through it. He wouldn’t let them get caught. He gently pinched her
nipples through the lace of the bra until both peaks were hard. Her arousal was
obvious, especially on such a warm night. He remembered her reluctance to have
her breasts played with when he first met her, yet still she stood in that
vulnerable pose, watching him.

“Very
lovely,” he said. He took her hand again and led her up the last flight of
stairs. He could have stripped her bare, and no one would notice, but he’d
either have to tell her there was no one in the other apartment upstairs or
risk scaring her more than he wanted to. He’d pushed her far enough, for now.

He’d
be pushing a lot the next week. The thought made him smile. Together they’d
find out what worked for them and what didn’t. And what worked, they could do
again and again.

KATRINA
CLIMBED THE stairs. At three in the morning, wandering around with nothing on
top but a bra was probably safe enough for a short distance, but it made her
nervous.
But somehow safe too because she was with Brett.
The thing that scared her most wasn’t being shirtless; it was the realization
she’d had right afterward: that if he’d wanted to take all her clothes off
right there, she would have let him. And probably she would have let him do
more. It felt wild, out of control, crazy. The only saving grace was that if it
was out of her control, it was under his.

She
didn’t think she’d ever felt so wet. When he stroked her nipples, they ached.
She’d always considered the sensation basically unpleasant, too much. But she’d
stood there for it, not knowing when he’d stop, nor even sure
she wanted
him to. She didn’t mind aching for him.
Especially if what he was doing gave him pleasure. Even more so, she realized
,
if he was enjoying the fact that she was aching.

He
opened the door for her. She stepped in. She stayed just inside while he
entered behind her and closed the door. He tossed her top on the couch. She
held her hands away from her body so that he could unhook her bra and slide it
off her shoulders with no resistance. She lifted her foot as he knelt to take
off her boots and then lifted the other foot. The boots weren’t too bad,
comfortable enough for a night of moving around onstage with only a few
regrets. The late-night walk had made her
more sore
,
but the relief of having them off changed all that.

He
unzipped her jeans and peeled them down her legs. He could have taken off her
thong at the same time, but he didn’t. She wondered if he was going to leave it
on. He didn’t leave her wondering for long. One quick
pull,
and she was standing naked before him. He hadn’t taken off any clothes at all.

“Master,”
she said with feeling. Every fiber of her being desired him. She wanted to see
him naked again, but she loved that it wasn’t up to her.

“Slave,”
he whispered.

She’d
always thought of slave as a hot word, but she’d never taken it seriously.
Submissive, now that was a serious word. But “slave” captured how she felt at
that moment and had felt ever since he took her top off on the landing. Her
being naked before him emphasized that. It was scary, but it was what she
wanted. She decided she was brave enough. “Yes.”

“You
have beautiful breasts,” he said, cupping them. He brushed his thumbs across
the tender peaks, bringing the ache back instantly.

“They’re
yours to play with, Master.” The words surprised her. She’d told half a dozen
tops to get the fuck away from her nipples and touch her thighs or her ass or
her pussy instead. “They’re very sensitive,” she told him.

“I
know,” he said.

“When
you do that, they ache.”

He
smiled. “Do you need me to stop?” He didn’t stop, though. Instead his fingers
closed around each peak and squeezed. She supposed it was gentle. It stung and
sent sparks straight from her breasts to her pussy.

“No.
I need you to know. Do you want them to ache?”

“Yes.”

She
smiled. That made it okay.
Which was crazy.
“That’s a
bit fucked up, you know.”

“So?”

“Good
point.” She arched her back without even meaning to, offering her breasts to
him.

He
smiled. “And what if I want more than an ache, my little kitty?”

She
took a deep breath. “Then you should do whatever you want. I don’t really like
pain. Especially pain there. But if it’s because you want it, then I can handle
it. Please do what you want to. I just need you to know.
To
be able to tell you.”

He
smiled and nudged her to the wall. His denim-covered leg pushed her knees
apart, and then her thighs, until it rubbed her pussy. The wall was cool on her
upper back. She rocked against his leg, telling herself that she was doing it
for him because he wanted her to. She only believed that for a moment before
she knew she was doing it just as much for herself, trying to get some friction
against her clit.

He
squeezed harder, and her peaks felt like they were on fire. “Please,” she said.

“Please
what?”

“Please
keep doing what you want to do to me.” She knew it couldn’t always be that
simple. Life was too complicated. But it was that simple right now.

He
pinched and pulled, rocking his leg against her as he did.
Watching
her.
His gaze was almost as intense as his fingers, and she felt bare
under it in ways that had nothing to do with having no clothes on. She was
incredibly turned on, and he could see that, she was sure. She was the one who
was a bit fucked up, and he could see that. He could probably see her soul. But
she could see some of his too and could tell that he liked whatever it was he
saw in her.