Claimed (21 page)

He placed his burger back on the plate and wiped the napkin over his mouth. “You’re right, I do meet a lot of women, but I’ve never met the
right
woman.” Reaching for her, he ran his finger down the front of her neck, and a spark ignited through her veins, her body easily awakened under his touch. “Either in the lifestyle or out of it.”

“You’re kidding.” She shivered at his slow gentle finger brushing over her neck, but she fought to remain focused, too curious about his life. “You’ve dated a woman who wasn’t—” She waved over herself. “Into all this?”

He smirked then nodded. “I’ve tried on two occasions, and neither worked out.” He gave her a pointed look. “I can’t do vanilla.”

She tried to imagine Dmitri not being bossy Dmitri. Impossible. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she continued, “So, what happened?” She picked up another fry and swirled it in the ketchup. “You tried to keep the dungeon a secret and had the other life on the side?”

“Much like that.” He hesitated as a round of claps erupted from a score in the game. “Both relationships developed from meeting through business at the casino. As you can imagine, I wasn’t forthcoming about my lifestyle.” He sipped his cola. “I did try for a while to see if it could work, but it can’t.” His expression hardened. “Or what I should say is, it made me miserable. It’s hard to sleep with a woman and not command her submission. I always ended up more frustrated at the end than satisfied.”

She ate her fry, considering him. “When was your last relationship, then?”

His eyebrows rose, playfulness filling his features. “You’re full of questions tonight, aren’t you?” Her discomfort at digging into his life must’ve shown on her face, because he added, “But they’re valid questions, and I don’t mind answering them. My last D/s relationship was six years ago.”

“What happened?” she blurted out.

He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “Nothing negative ended the relationship. Simply that my ex, Katherine, needed more than I could give her.”

“Which was?”

“A Master/slave relationship.”

Presley didn’t need him to explain further. She’d read about that type of relationship in her erotic novels, and she’d never found the idea sexy. To be dominated sometimes was hot as hell, but full servitude, where she’d have no voice all the time, didn’t appeal to her. Even now, she realized she enjoyed
this
. Tonight and all week, she’d been on equal ground with Dmitri, and she preferred that out of the bedroom or the dungeon. There was something freeing in giving up control to someone for a little while, even something rewarding in hearing Dmitri’s approval.

Sometimes life could be so complicated and confusing; she’d found the dungeon’s order and rules, and not needing to make a single decision, gave her a peace. But to give up that control in everyday life wasn’t for her. “That lifestyle didn’t appeal to you?”

He shook his head. “It made Katherine incredibly needy, and no, I didn’t enjoy it. It’s a great responsibility to handle someone’s submission twenty-four/seven.” He sipped his cola again. “Besides, as you’ve seen in the rules of Club Sin
,
I like sexual domination, I enjoy the power exchange, and I need the kink, but I don’t want a slave. Once I realized that I couldn’t give Katherine what she needed, I found someone who could.”

Presley’s nose scrunched up. “She didn’t mind being handed off like that?”

He picked up his burger again but didn’t take a bite and simply stared at her. “Of course there was some sadness, on both our parts. I cared for her, and she did me as well, but she wasn’t content with our relationship, and trying to force something became a strain.”

Presley understood. Sometimes, even if you cared for someone, it didn’t work out. She wished her relationship with Steven had ended on better terms, so it didn’t leave such a sour taste in her mouth. However, it also didn’t surprise her to hear that when Dmitri ended a relationship, it was done with the upmost respect. “Does Katherine belong to the dungeon?”

He took a bite of his burger, chewed a moment. “No. I ended our relationship a week after Charles died. Katherine has never been to the dungeon.”

Presley hesitated at his admission; was that a coincidence? Dmitri had made some huge changes in his life in a very short time. His friend and mentor died, he broke it off with his submissive, and he bought the land to open the dungeon.

Dmitri’s eyes searched hers before he gave her a sad smile. “Ah, I see what you’re thinking, doll, and you’d be right. Charles’s death changed a lot for me.”

Changed how, though? she wondered. For the better? For the worse? Something about hearing this made her uncomfortable, even if she didn’t understand why. Watching him intently, she asked, “So, you haven’t had a relationship since Katherine, and you’ve only played with submissives in the dungeon?” At his nod, she added, “Is there a reason for that?”

He finished the last bite of his burger and glanced down at his plate. She witnessed his exhale. “Meshing my two worlds has proved difficult.”

“Why?”

The side of his mouth curved. “Pushy tonight, aren’t you?”

Now that she had him talking, she didn’t want him to stop. All week he’d been careful to discuss anything too personal about himself, but she wanted to know more about him and about his past. Most important, she wanted to understand what made Dmitri tick and fill in the little gaps she didn’t know about his life. “Well, we’ve only talked about me on the phone, and if I drilled you like this in the dungeon, you’d get all growly.”

He chuckled. “Well said.” He sat back in his seat then folded his arms. “Before Katherine, I made the decision not to date vanilla women, because it simply didn’t work out. After Katherine, I gave up on the idea that I could mesh the two worlds. From then on, the submissives I met in the lifestyle, I kept casual. I found contentment in acting as their Dom and nothing more.”

While his rationale made sense in a very cold and distant way, it seemed too firm. After she pondered, she realized it made no sense at all. “So, you just told yourself you weren’t going to date anymore because of what had happened with Katherine?” At his nod, she snorted. “Seems like a silly thing to do.”

His look was stern, but his eyes twinkled. “You think my logic was absurd?”

“God, no,” she snapped, but reconsidered and followed up with: “Well, maybe a little. Why own a dungeon, bring everyone else happiness in their lives, if you don’t allow yourself to find it, too?”

He stared at her for a long few seconds, then he tore his gaze away to pick up a fry. “So, you’re a burger-and-football gal, hmm?”

Presley wondered why he’d shifted the conversation, but she decided to leave it alone. He clearly didn’t want to discuss it, and she didn’t want to ruin their night. “My father’s a football nut, so it stuck in my blood, and coming to these types of places in Vegas reminds me of home.”

He smiled, though tension rested in the corners of his eyes. “My type of woman, so I’m glad you do.” He studied her in his intense “I’m looking right though you” way. “Do you miss your family?”

“Sometimes.”

Another round of cheers erupted in the pub as Dmitri ate another fry and his focus stayed fixated on her. When the noise quieted, he said, “We’ll have to go for a visit sometime. I’d enjoy meeting your parents.”

She laughed softly, imagining her mother with Dmitri. “I’m sure they’d be quite impressed by you.” She picked up a fry, dipped it in ketchup, and nibbled the end. “How about your family? Do they live in Vegas?”

He shook his head. “Both my parents died when I was in my late teens. My mother in a car accident. My father a year later of a heart attack. My extended family all lives abroad, we’re not close, and I have no siblings.”

“Gosh, Dmitri, I’m sorry.” As she took his hand, the icy distance in his voice stunned her. “That’s horrible.”

He gave his tender smile and ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “Thank you, doll. It’s a shame, but it happened a long time ago. Besides, I was busy in college when they passed, and I had my career to keep me focused.”

Something tingled in the back of her mind at that. No doubt, the death of Dmitri’s parents had driven his motivation through college to succeed, and his promise to look after Charles’s family had increased his desire for wealth so he’d have the means to do it. “That’s why you’re so successful at a young age. I wondered about that.”

He gave a firm nod. “If you submerse yourself in your work, you can get to the top a lot faster.”

“True.” She glanced at their held hands, considering his life. The awareness told her that there was something more to his admission; after a moment of thought, her mind cleared of any confusion. Her throat tightened as sadness gripped her. For all he’d done for her, given to her and shown her, understanding more of the man behind Dmitri wrenched her guts.

He’d told her the other night that her need to please made her a submissive, but now she realized that his need to take care of others dominated him in the same way. What bothered her most was she doubted many knew that everything he did and all his success weren’t for his own needs but for others.

A firm finger came under her jaw and lifted her head to Dmitri’s troubled eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Trapped in his powerful stare, her heart clenched, and for once in her life, she told him exactly what was on her mind when maybe she wouldn’t have before. “I can’t help think you live a busy life, surrounded by so many people, but it’s lonely.”

Apparently, she had stunned him. He froze and didn’t blink, so she hurried along. “You carry all this responsibility and always look out for everyone else. Doing everything and anything to ensure that those around you have what they need in their life. But when does someone get to take care of you, Dmitri?”

Raw pain and some other heady emotions seeped into his expression, stealing her breath. He trailed his knuckles over her cheek, and his lips parted, then another voice said, “So,
this
is your new boyfriend?”

Presley’s heart leaped up into her throat at
that
voice, and all her compassion for Dmitri was replaced by sheer worry. Even if it pained her to do so, she slowly glanced up and discovered Steven, who glared daggers at Dmitri.

She couldn’t understand what Steven was doing here. He never came to Mickey’s
.
He was always at Scores
.
She’d picked this place for that exact reason. Now she realized what Steven had meant with his text message on Monday. He didn’t plan to stop calling her. He intended to make it more personal if she continued to ignore him. Why was he being so damn persistent? As much as that annoyed her, since she’d already gone over all this with him, an icy horror drifted over her as she realized what Steven had said. Confirming her worst fears, Dmitri’s eyebrow arched as he muttered, “Boyfriend?”

Presley cringed as her lie was exposed, and her cheeks flamed so hot. Even if they were dating now, they hadn’t been when she’d told Steven that. “Er . . . well . . . I . . .” She groaned, reining in her rambling. “Dmitri, I’d like to introduce you to Steven.”

Dmitri’s eyes narrowed on her, a fire burned within their depths, and he oh-so-leisurely looked at Steven. “Introduce me, huh?”

“Hey, man,” Steven replied in a light voice.

Dmitri, as always, remained calm. However, behind his coolness was well-restrained rage. Presley sank down into her chair, and in the same voice that rolled with tension, he asked, “Do you have something to say to him, love?”

Presley gaped at him, unable to do anything else. She had no idea that Dmitri held this type of hatred for Steven, and she wondered why he did. After fast seconds of thought, she came up empty. She’d barely talked about her past relationship, and she needed this moment to end, so she turned to Steven. “It’s nice to see you again, but we’re having dinner, so—”

“No.”

Presley clamped her lips shut, and she jerked her head to Dmitri, who continued his stern look. “That is
not
what you say to him. I’ll show you.” To Steven, his voice became oh-so-deadly, his expression equally tight. “You don’t have the right to talk to her. That privilege was lost when you fucked another woman and broke her heart. Get lost.”

Her mouth dropped open at his knowledge of the affair, and in a single second, she considered all the ways she’d kill Cora for telling him. She dared a look at Steven and saw his face had turned a deep shade of red.

Dmitri tugged on her earlobe to get her attention, as if Steven didn’t exist. She surmised that was exactly how he viewed the moment. “Now you have a go, doll.”

“I . . .” She gulped.

“This is much worse than I thought.” He shook his head in frustration, frowning at her. “I don’t like seeing this, Presley.”

“Who is this guy, the boss of you?” Steven snapped.

Presley tensed as a darker edge consumed Dmitri’s expression, one she’d never seen from him, when Steven added, “Listen, buddy—”

“Now.” Dmitri brushed his thumb over her neck, so light and tender. “If you ask someone to leave you alone and they refuse you, you are to force them. If you don’t have a way to force them, you get help. As it is, I am that help.”

“Stop talking to her like she’s a damn child. Who the hell do you think you are?” Steven roared, grabbing her arm and shaking her. “Presley, what’s wrong with you?”

First she gasped at Steven’s harsh hold as his fingers dug into her skin, then she gasped again when Dmitri’s eyes blazed as he watched Steven’s hand on her arm. Then her breath became lost to her as Dmitri slowly stood from his seat. Keeping his eyes fixed on hers and his jaw clenched, he said to Steven, “I’m the one who appreciates her, will do my best to protect her, and I have no hesitation to ensure you don’t forget that fact.”

In a move almost too fast to see, Dmitri punched Steven in the nose, and with a loud
crack
followed by a rush of blood, Steven dropped like deadweight to the floor. “Oh. My. God.” Presley raised her hands to her mouth, glancing between Dmitri and Steven a few times over. “You hit him.”

“No, doll.” Dmitri sat down, picked up his pickle off the plate, and took a bite as if
that
hadn’t happened. “I knocked him out.”