Double Down (2 page)

“Your date is in earnest discussion with a member of the city council,” he told her. “I wouldn’t have thought Clay Porter was your type.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “I didn’t know I had a type. What would that be?”

He shrugged. “Forceful. Commanding. In charge.”

Maybe on the outside, like many of her subs who held positions of power. Yes, she liked a man who had great inner strength and power, but one who gave it up willingly in the dungeon or the bedroom. She’d come to realize part of the attraction was the contrast. She would never be happy with a man who was a submissive in all areas of his life.

“Clay is a very interesting person to be with,” she told him. “We enjoy each other’s company.”

“You sound like you’re describing an evening with my mother.”

“Point to you,” she said.

“This is the first one of these you’ve attended.” He made it a statement, not a question.

She widened her eyes slightly. “You can remember who attended each one with this mob scene?”

He winked. “Memory for people is part of my stock in trade. So what brought you today?’

“The mayor had an engagement he couldn’t change, so we hoped you’d think I was an acceptable substitute.”

“In that case, shouldn’t you have found an opportunity to drag me aside some time during the day?” His dark eyes were unreadable. “Talk to me about the project he wants me to fund?
Don’t you want to tell me how important it is? What a great thing I’d be doing?”

She shrugged. “Not today. This is just a social occasion. If I wanted to make a pitch, I’d be more likely to make an appointment with you to discuss it. Besides, you obviously know how important it is. ”

“Would we be working together on this project going forward?” he asked, those eyes still locked on to her like twin lasers.

Her pulse ratcheted up a notch, beating hard between her thighs, and heat flashed through her body. She lifted the water bottle and took a long swallow from it, hoping to cool her blood. She definitely needed to be cool with this man. He wasn’t just about control. He’d
invented
it. She could just imagine the battle their dominant wills would engage in.

Everything about Branch Colby screamed danger, but just the light contact of his hand against her sent shivers skittering along her spine and her heart rate escalating If only she could find a way to loosen that control, to have him on his knees, not just wanting her domination but craving it.

Dream on.

She had plenty of other powerful men to play with—only that wasn’t quite what she wanted. Branch Colby would be a real challenge, although taking that challenge might be like walking into a fire.

She stared back at him, never breaking eye contact. She was good at that.

“Then you’re planning to fund it? The mayor and the city council will be very happy.”

Her boss would be doing the happy dance around his office.

“I’m on the verge of being persuaded.” He stroked the tip of one finger over the back of her hand, just a quick touch.

Lee took her cell phone from her pants pocket and pulled up her reminder list. “Great. Let me arrange a meeting with His Honor to—”

“No.” He touched her hand again, pressing it down to the table. “I want to discuss it with you.”

Her eyes widened. “Me?” Then she laughed. “That’s very flattering, but I’m not sure my boss would appreciate being left out of this.”

“He won’t be. You’ll report everything back to him. I’m sure you’re up to speed on the details?”

More than she wanted to be. She’d practically memorized the damn proposal so she could brief the press and answer questions every time the topic came up. She was also very aware that Avery Vincent, good as he was at his job, had a raging need to be front and center on everything. Only a critical policy meeting had kept him from this picnic today, a venue where he would have taken every advantage to make himself known. Preened, if she was truthful.

“So?”

His voice shook her out of her mental wanderings.

“What will it be, Miss Public Relations?”

She frowned. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Not at all. I’m deadly serious.” His hand still rested over hers, pressing down on the cell.

She eased her hand away. No touching, she told herself. A tactile connection seemed to run between his fingers and her brain, and she didn’t need that nude vision of him blasting back into her mind again.

“I’ll have to clear it with the mayor.”

Branch nodded. “Of course.” He took her cell phone from her and programmed in a number. “When you get it cleared, give me a call. We’ll set up a time.”

He rose, took a long, hard look at her as if he could see clear inside her, then ambled away. In a moment, he had eased himself into a group of people who were only too glad to be gabbing with
the
Branch Colby.

Lee sat where she was, immobilized. What had just happened? They had introduced themselves and had a business conversation. Right? Yet, suddenly, the grass beneath her feet felt as if it had turned into quicksand.

*****

Branch handed a drink to the man standing near him. Maximiliano “Max” Ferlita, his longtime best friend and attorney lowered himself into one of the deep armchairs in Branch’s big office and stretched out his feet to rest on the ottoman. All the guests had left, and now the cleanup crew was doing its thing. Branch knew he could have left, but he wasn’t yet ready to head back to his house, which had suddenly, for some strange reason, become too large for him.

“Good turnout today,” Max mused, sipping at the aged bourbon in his glass.

Branch nodded. “This is one of the few events I host that I actually enjoy.” He dropped into an armchair at an angle to Max’s and took a sip of his own drink. “Although sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go to a party where no one knew who I was.”

“Good luck with that. I’m not sure there’s a place like that anymore.” Max laughed. ”You ever think about what it was like in the beginning for us?”

“You mean back when we barely had a nickel between us and had to scrape for everything?” he asked.

Max nodded. “Yeah. Back then. You were working construction, sweating your ass off in the summer and freezing it in the winter.”

“And you”—Branch pointed at him—“were hacking it at a call center during the day and going to law school at night. How much fun was that?”

“About as much fun as what you were doing.” Max studied Branch. “Did you ever, even for a minute, ever think we’d be where we are today?”

Branch took a long swallow of his drink and thought about what Max said. “No. Well, yeah. Maybe. When I was so dog tired I couldn’t lift my arms and wondered why I wanted to get up and go to work the next day.”

“Yeah, same for me.” He grinned. “Then that construction company you were working for went bust and we had a chance to pick it up for pennies.”

“Literally.” Max laughed. “That was all we had. I still don’t know how we pulled it off.”

“And yet here we are today, with Colby, Inc. and Ferlita Associates. A mega corporation and an international law firm. Two punks off the streets.”

Max sobered. “I don’t think I can thank you quite enough for giving me a piece of Colby, Inc.”

“In the beginning, it was a piece of nothing,” Branch recalled. “We’ve been lucky. Besides, you earn it every day keeping my ass legal and putting up barricades against the bloodsuckers.”

They both raised their glasses in a silent toast and then drank.

“So.” Max grinned. “I saw the mayor’s publicity flack here today. His honor too tied up to make it?”

“I guarantee you, whatever conflict Vincent had he couldn’t get out of. He never misses a chance to suck my dick.”

“Personally, I’d rather have her doing it. Although that really isn’t her style.”

Branch lifted an eyebrow. He had gotten no vibes from Lee Sullivan that she preferred women to men, and he was usually very good at picking that up.

“Are you telling me she bats for the other team?”

Max burst out laughing. “Far from it. You just hang out in the wrong places.”

Now Branch was getting irritated. “Do you want to tell me what the hell you’re talking about?”

“I guess you spend too much of your playtime at Ultra. Or your own bedroom.” Max laughed again, as if enjoying some kind of secret joke. “Unlike me. I like variety.”

“So you’ve visited Infinity. So what?”

Yeah, so what? One of the many things that bound their friendship so tightly was the fact that, after a friend had taken them to a public dungeon in their twenties, they had both realized they had strong Dom tendencies they needed to pursue. They soon found, if they wanted to play, they had to take instruction, and what an experience that had been.

“Enough of this shit.” Branch leaned forward. “Whatever’s on your mind, spit it out.”

“You know how Ultra has its own celebrities, Doms and Dommes who everyone wants time with? Oh, wait.” He snapped his fingers. “Aren’t you one of them? Right! Master B. The subs line up for an hour of your time.”

“You are really pissing me off here, Max. What does this have to do with Lee Sullivan?”

“Infinity’s got its own celebrities, too, which you’d know if you ever got a guest pass like I did.”

“And?” Branch made a “come on” motion with his fingers.

“And I discovered when I visited there that the most in-demand Domme is Mistress Star.” Max leaned forward, watching his friend intently. “Who in real life is known as Lee Sullivan.”

Branch felt as if someone had taken a cattle prod to his balls. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Not a bit.” Max was obviously enjoying the reaction. He got up and went to the bar to refresh his drink. “I was given to understand that male submissives sign up well in advance to spend time with her.”

Branch frowned. “Was she there the night you were? Did she see you?”

“No.” Max shook his head. “I was in the lounge, in a corner with some friends, when she came in before a session.” He grinned. “She had a damn good-looking sub waiting for her. Anyway, I wanted to be sure I wasn’t mistaken, so I asked the friend I was with.”

“If it was her, you mean?”

“Uh huh. Because my friend knew I’d keep my mouth shut. Infinity is no different than Ultra. No one ever discusses anything outside those walls. Not who they saw or who did what with whom. You know very well there are people who live the lifestyle who make it known to anyone who asks them. Many of the couples even socialize outside the club, but you know the unwritten rule—what happens at the club stays at the club.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t do me any good to ask you to get me some details on her.”

Max shook his head. “You know better than that.”

“Damn.” Branch took another swallow of his drink. “I wonder if I should ask for a reciprocity pass for a couple of weeks.”

“Does that mean you’re going after her? Hell, Branch, you can have your pick of any woman you want.”

He lifted a shoulder. “It’s the ones who aren’t so ripe for the plucking that appeal to me.”

He sat back in his chair and idly shook his glass so the ice cubes tinkled. Lee Sullivan was a Domme? His cock hardened, and a slow ache generated in his balls. All kinds of images swirled in his mind. Lee in a corset, thigh-high boots with tall, skinny heels, hair a blonde cloud around her head, her lips painted a ruby red, and in her hand a coiled whip. Or handcuffs. Or a cock ring. Or—

He gave himself a mental shake. She definitely didn’t fit on his preferred menu. He liked his women spicy and inventive, but there was never any question about who was in control. It was always him. One hundred percent. As he thought about it, though, he felt a smile tease at his mouth. What a challenge it would be to bend her to his will. To make her submit. To—

“Whatever you’re thinking about,” Max said, sitting down again, “you can just forget it. Not happening, I can promise you that.”

“Everyone has a trigger,” Branch pointed out. “You just have to find it.” He stared at his friend. “Just out of curiosity, have you ever, you know….”

“Played with Mistress Star?” Max grinned at him. “I’m tempted to say yes just to yank your chain, but no. Submission isn’t my style. Any more than it’s yours, if I may say so.”

“But I’ll bet I can make it hers, though.” Anticipation made his cock stir.

“It will never happen. No way.” Max shook his head. “No. Fucking. Way.”

“Yes, way. Are you saying I’m not up to the challenge?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am. No one is. She’s a legend at Infinity.”

“You want to make that bet official?” Branch asked.

Max frowned. “What did you have in mind?”

“One night. That’s it. I get her to willingly submit to me for one night, and I win. Is it a bet?”

Max looked at him for a long time. “You know, one of these days one of your bets is going to get you into trouble.”

Branch leaned back in his chair and eyed his friend. “You think so? I don’t. Adds a little spice to my life.”

Max frowned. “Do you hear yourself? Spice in your life? Betting on something like this? When did you get so jaded? Don’t you think it’s time to settle down? We aren’t kids anymore, you know.”

“You first,” Branch told him.

Max gave him a quizzical look. “Don’t you ever get tired of all the phonies hanging on your arm? Don’t you ever want something a lot more?”

“I gave up expecting that a long time ago.” He couldn’t conceal the bitterness that crept into his voice. He knew exactly why the women he dated spent time with him. They used each other—he used them for sex and they used him for the high public profile that went along with being his companion. Not an honest emotion between them.

“Maybe that’s what makes me different than you. I still think it’s out there. I look for the connection, and you look for the challenge.”

“Maybe that’s what turns me on.”

And that’s the way Branch liked it. Neat and tidy, no messy emotions.

He hated to think Max was right. Jaded? Was he really? It was difficult to admit to himself that Max might be right. And he hated to think he was turning into an object of criticism for his friend.