“Yeah, I was
. She probably is shagging someone right now. That
someone just isn’t me
.
It’s Mark
. Long story short, the tramp dumped me while I was down on one knee and ran off to Fiji with Mark in front of damn near everyone I know.
And on my birthday no less. I really just
…I don’t
want to talk about it, Riss. Just go.
I’ll figure this out on my own
. I
shouldn’t have given
the cops your name. Go back to your man, have a nice
life.” He rolled over, giving her his back, but his pouting posture finally
snapped her composure, making her close the distance between them.
“No, Deacon
.
You don’t get to do that
. You do not get to tell me to
go away or that you don’t want to talk about it
.
You don’t get to avoid the
same pain you put me through, and
you sure as hell don’t get to take me
away from Evan at an ungodly hour to come down here to deal with your drama.
Not after everything you’ve done, so roll over because you know
what? We are going to talk about it, and
I’m going to fix this for you because I’m a bigger person
;
I’m
a better person than you will ever be. Even though I wanted desperately for you to know firsthand the heartache you
caused me, I’ve learned that living a good life—
a happy life
—
is the best revenge.
Karma’s a bitch, but I don’t have to be one
, so sit up, wipe that oh-poor-me look off your face and
get a grip on yourself because you don’t get
to play the victim.
Not this time.”
The words spit out of her mouth before she could stop them, her breath was labored, her heart was racing, but he needed to know that he
couldn’t treat people like shit
and then expect to be treated with kid gloves when Karma finally stomped on his balls. Standing over him with her finger in his face, her other hand gripped the bed railing in a white-knuckled grasp. Eve
rything she’d wanted to tell him came flying out of her mouth,
and she
couldn’t be bothered to care in the least
.
She’d been so busy spouting off, it
was
n’t until she’d finished her rant that she noticed the look on Deacon’s
face. Disbelief along with a bit of shock at the strength of her ire were written over his pale features.
She’d always been strong, but her upbringing
taught her to hold her tongue regardless of what she thought in the name of manners. T
hat’s how she’d been when she was with Deacon—
and look where that had gotten her. Being with Evan changed her. B
eing Evan’s sub
made her stronger; gave her the strength to speak her mind. It was just pure coincidence that Deacon was on the receiving end of her newly-harnessed power.
“Don’t look at me like that.” She still had more to say, and dammit, he was going to listen to every last word before she’d help him.
“You were an embarrassingly abhorrent person with an atrocious
personality. Look where your greed and selfishness got you. Karma
’
s got your balls in a blender,
but guess what, princess, the world doesn’t revolve
around you. There are people way worse off than you, so untuck your dick from between your legs, quit acting like a little girl, build a bridge, get over it, and try not to b
urn this one.” Without giving him a chance to respond, she
turned around and stomped off to find the doctor, sign the forms, and get this truly fucked-up show on the road.
Watching her sashay out the door, for the first time in his life, he actually felt
…
ashamed of himself. He
’d been a dick. Now, he was paying
for it. The universe sure had a way of exacting retribution in the most excruciating way possible. Pushing himself up in the bed, he stopped struggling, resigning himself to take whatever punishment she felt the need to dish out. He deserved it, and as much as he hated to admit it, he needed it.
He didn’t know what scared him more—
the fact that Rissa looked like she wanted to give him a brand new orifice or that he might enjoy the punishment.
Chapter Two
With all the papers signed at the hospital, and the bond for drunk and disorderly posted, Rissa sat with Deacon in the front seat of her car, thankful the doctors had made him shower and swapped his filthy clothes for a set of clean scrubs . Parked outside Leather and Lace, she hesitated about taking Deacon into the inner sanctum of what he viewed as deviant behavior, but the alternatives were non-existent.
He’d left her home when they split
to move in with the busty bimbo who had left him for Mark, leaving him homeless as well as broke. That left him nowhere to go but straight into what he probably viewed as the
Den of Iniquity
, but this place had become
an extension of Rissa’s home
, so he had damn well better behave.
“Ok, listen to me. I don’t owe you a damn thing, so you don’t get
any leeway. Take advantage of or piss all over my good graces, and
you’ll
be dumpster diving again before lunch.
Don’t say anything, don’t look at
anybody,
and
keep your hands to yourself.” His tentative nod gave her a moment’s pause, but she handed him one of Evan’s coats that he’d left in her
car then shoved him out the door. Once inside Leather and Lace, she told him to sit tight by the counter before going to find Eve, the woman who ran the store.
“Eve? It’s
Riss. I need some help for a minute.
” The busty, leggy-
blonde wore her hair in a short pixie; it was the only soft thing about her. Her blood-red nails were adorned with a black baroque pattern, and her thigh-high boots and black
corset didn’t lend themselves to a flirty
femininity very well at all.
“Hey Rissa, give me just a second
,
baby.” She ducked into a dressing
room with a customer as Rissa realized how much of her day had been
wasted dealing with Deacon’s drama
. She had to stifle a giggle when she
heard Eve’s voice from under the door
.
“If a midget can use it as a shade tree, it’s time to shave the kitty
.
Pussy grooming isn’t just for cats anymore
. Trust me, in that piece, you want everything to look smooth, and so will that
future husband of yours.” The girl ’s protest at Eve’s suggestion of waxing
made Rissa giggle.
“Beauty is pain, baby,
and so is pleasure. Trust me on this one.
I’ve been around the block a few times.”
“Ok, Rissa, doll, what can I help you with
and
who’s your friend in
the ugly pea-
green paper bag?” Eve’s eyes looked Deacon up
and down.
Rissa could swear she caught a hint of a wicked smile which meant Eve’s
wheels were turning, but she brushed it off as curiosity. The look on
Deacon’s face, ho
wever, was harder to brush off as the stunning woman came out of the dressing room, stomping toward them the way runway models stomp down a catwalk. His was one of pure lust.
“Thi
s is my ex, Deacon.
It’s a long
, tragically boring story, but
he’s
homeless and coming down from a nasty bourbon bender. I picked him up from the hospital this morning and just bailed his ass out of jail,
but I can’t
leave him without a place to stay. Can you watch him a minute? I need to talk to Evan.
I’m sure he’ll be pissed, but I don’t know what else to do.”
Rissa worried her bottom lip, tapping her foot nervously, but at the end of the day, she had to do what she knew was right. Damned conscience was an inconvenience.
“Are you sure you’re not the one who’s drunk, Riss? Evan could
never be pissed at you. The way that man loves you, you could do just about anything, and
he’d still give you the world
. The way you two are always
wrapped in your own little world, I doubt he’d even notice the extra
person around anyway. That man sees nothing but you.
It’s adorable, but
it must be
exhausting loving someone that much.”
Eve was only half teasing. She was the only steady Domme in the club, and Evan made an exception to the
committed couples only rule for her.
A string of bad decisions along with deeply rooted pain had left her almost dead, but Evan had given her a home. He owned Leather and Lace, had given it to Eve to run to help keep her out of trouble and give her a purpose. As part of her pay, she was permitted to use a private room in the club, provided she had club security do a full background check on the people she brought down there. Her last sub had been nice, always very friendly, but he never really seemed like he was a genuine part of the lifestyle; Eve deserved someone who could be committed to her. She deserved a sub who would submit to her as fully as Rissa did to Evan, even if she would never admit
that’s what she really wanted
. For Eve, submissives, and men in general, were play things to be used for mutual satisfaction then sent home in a cab. They rarely stayed more than one night, and they
never formed a real
emotional connection. To Rissa, that sounded terrible, but for Eve, it was how she preferred things, and it worked for her. Still, Rissa and Evan both hoped Eve would find someone that would stick around for more than a couple of scenes in the club.
“It’s not exhausting when you’ve found the right person.” Rissa was
lucky to have found Evan, or rather have him find her; she would never take him for granted. Every day she fell more in love with that man, and she knew he felt the same way. They were living this life together. She really hoped Eve found someone who could be that for her.
“O
k.
I’ll be right
back. Try not to let him hurt himself. Deacon
…behave, or it won’t be Karma’s ball blender you have to worry about because I’ll be flambéing
those nuts. Capisce
?” At his tired nod, she headed to the back room and
down the stairs to the club.
Evan’s office was behind the bar at the end of
the hallway. She took a steadying breath before knocking. With no idea what she was going to tell him or how she was going to ask him to help her ex, she pushed open the door and closed it behind her, locking the situation upstairs behind her.
Chapter Three
When the door in the back of the storeroom closed, Eve grinned wickedly before hopping up on the counter next to where Deacon was leaning. She sat close enough that he could smell her signature scent
—
Kenneth
Cole’s “Black”—
mixed with her body chemistry for a smell that was seductively sweet and dark. She crossed her legs, leaning down next to his head, to whisper in his ear.
“So, you’re the one who thinks we’re all freaks who need to be
leashed, huh?
Looks more like you need to be on a leash.” She winked at him, but she wasn’t teasing
. Despite his sickly appearance, he was attractive, his bone structure and muscle tone suggested that he was incredibly well-built.
He might be Rissa’s leftovers, but something about him resonated with
Eve, intriguing her. She ran her finger down his bicep then further down his forearm just to see what kind of reaction she could get. Not much. But when she ran the heel of her stilettoed, thigh-high boot down his side hard
enough that there’d be a red streak down his ribs, she noticed his breath hitch
and his cock start to harden through the thin scrubs. Smirking to herself, she hopped down off the counter to slowly sashay around him, dragging her nails across his body as she rounded him.
“Seems to me Rissa’s not the only one
who appreciates a little pain with her pleasure. Got a secret desire buried deep inside, do you, Deacon? We always fight hardest against that which
we’re
most
ashamed of in ourselves, you know.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, there’s nothing sexy about
pain. You people are out of your fucking minds, messing with whips and chains and
shit.” She’d almost believe him by his tone
, except his posture and his line of sight told a different story. He shifted one leg to hide his slight erection. H
e couldn’t or wouldn’t look her in the eye
. His vision stayed trained on the pattern he was tracing with his finger on the countertop.
“Whips, chains, cuffs, paddles, floggers…we’re very versatile
. S
omething tells me you’ll be experiencing our range sooner than you think.”
With a laugh, she stomped in slow, measured, determined steps across the store to tend to a customer that walked in when the door chimed. She put an extra sway in her hips as she walked, not once looking back at him. By his body
’s reaction to a hint of pain, there was no way he could deny that his
most secret desire was to be dominated, even if he would never verbalize it. Still, Eve was going to try to get him to own his darkest fantasies, and then she was going to be the one to fulfill them. That was not up for discussion.