Unraveled (10 page)

Now, after being naked with Knox and having his hands and mouth all over her, she
knew sex with him would be explosive. His natural, submissive instincts with her would
push her to the pinnacle of pleasure, so she had to make sure she retained control
at all times.

The sound of footsteps reached her, and she turned to see who else had shown up today.

Fee.

“I knew you’d be here,” Fee said.

“Why?”

“Because this place feels like home.” She seemed surprised by her own admission. “Anyway,
if you’re not busy, can you come upstairs and we’ll go over what we’re teaching at
the self-defense class on Saturday?”

“Sure. Do I need to change?”

Fee’s gaze flicked over Shiori’s bronze blouse tucked into wide-legged brown and cream
plaid trousers and her nude heels. “No. You look fantastic, as usual. Too bad it’s
wasted on these guys.” She jerked her head toward the training room. “Katie just wants
to double-check to make sure we don’t go over the allotted time.”

“All right. Let’s go.”

An hour later, they’d fine-tuned every detail. Katie had planned everything almost
down to the minute, which was overkill, but better to be fully prepared.

They rode the elevator down to the second floor and had stopped beside the exit to
the front door to discuss lunch plans for after the self-defense class when Knox stuck
his head out the door.

“Shiori, I need to talk to you . . . if you’re done discussing Denver’s best tequila
bars.”

Fee muttered, “Jerkoff.”

Katie smiled brightly at Knox. “She’s all yours, Shihan. We’re outta here. Everything
on the third floor is shut down.”

Shiori waited until they’d left before she faced Knox. “You bellowed?”

“Get in here.”

She wondered what his problem was and hated that his cranky attitude would likely
rub off on her.

Inside the office she saw Knox standing by the window with his back to her. “Shut
the door.”

“If this is about us doing the self-defense class, I’ll remind you that both you and
Blue passed on it.” She walked to her desk and set the printout from Katie next to
the report on recent equipment breakage.

“That’s not why I called you in here.”

“Then why?”

Hands landed on her shoulders and she jumped. God. He was as stealthy as Ronin.

“Why? Because I can’t get you—or what happened last night—out of my damn mind.”

She smiled, although he couldn’t see it.

“Then, just when I’d blocked thoughts of your naked body and what I’d really love
to do to you the next time you ordered me to my knees, I saw you standing in the doorway
to the training room.”

“Oh?”

“And Ivan took advantage of my distraction and punched me in the face.”

She snickered. “Poor baby. Need me to get some ice for that?”

“No. I need you to kiss it and make it better.” Knox turned her around and loomed
over her.

“If someone walks in, Knox, they’ll think—”

“No one else is here.”

She set her hands on his pecs. “Isn’t that fortunate.”

“You tell me. Can I kiss you or not?”

It made her almost giddy that he’d asked. “Yes, you may kiss me.”

He clutched her hips and said, “Jump up.” As soon as she was sitting on her desk,
he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss started out sweet and slow, but it quickly
built up steam.

As much as she loved the way he kissed—with his whole body—if they didn’t stop, he’d
be banging her on the desk. She turned her head away, breaking the seal of their mouths.

Knox nuzzled her temple. “So I’ve thought about what you said last night.”

“And?”

“And I’d like to explore more with you.”

The way Knox kept touching her was wonderfully distracting. She grabbed his wayward
hand, holding it between hers. “If we’re going forward with this, we need to be on
the same page.”

“You are such a rule follower, She-Cat,” he murmured against her neck.

He lazily flicked his tongue over the pulse beating at the base of her throat. She
had no doubt this man could make her body sing, but he needed a reminder that she
got to pick the song. Shiori reached up and wrapped her hands around his throat.

Knox immediately backed off. But he didn’t drop his gaze. He didn’t speak either,
which earned him points.

“I’m serious, Knox.”

“I know you are.” He closed his eyes. “Last night was . . . not what I expected. What
if it was a onetime fluke?” Those gorgeous blue eyes opened and were clouded with
concern. “What if I can’t do this?”

“Be submissive?”

He nodded.

Oh sweet, sexy man, I’ll wipe away all of that doubt if you’ll let me.
She slid her hands over his strong, masculine jaw and framed his face. “I think you’re
more afraid that you
can
do this.”

He said nothing. Just stared at her.

She let her hands fall away. “Here’s what I propose. Let’s each make a detailed list
of what we want from this”—
relationship
seemed too intimate a word and
contract
sounded too businesslike, so she settled on—“arrangement. Also what we don’t want
and the concerns about how it’ll affect our working together.”

Knox groaned. “You’re giving me
homework
? There’s no doubt you’re a Domme, because that is pure punishment.”

She laughed. “Luckily, I grade on a curve. But this is important, so don’t skimp on
specifics.”

“Fine. When did you want to exchange notes?”

“We could meet for dinner Friday night. There’s a great restaurant—”

“No. We’re not discussing this where we could be overheard. And knowing us, I’m betting
our negotiations will get a little heated.”

“True.”

He clasped her hand and kissed her knuckles. His affection delighted her because it
came so naturally to him. “Since we’re closed to classes due to the holiday, how about
if you come to my house tonight and I’ll cook for you.”

Shiori didn’t hide her surprise. “You cook?”

“Not healthy gourmet stuff like your brother, but I know my way around the kitchen.”
Knox kissed the inside of her wrist. “When was the last time someone cooked for you?”

“Every night, because I’m a lousy chef.”

He bit the base of her thumb. “Smart-ass. I meant when have you had a home-cooked
meal, prepared by someone who wants to feed you but isn’t getting paid to do so?”

Never. Not a lover anyway. Ronin and Amery had invited her over a few times, and she’d
loved that. In Japan she and her friends went out to eat—dinner parties at private
residences were rare. “All right. You’ve convinced me. But no—”

“Funny business. I get it. No Barry White playing in the background, no candlelight,
no sexy finger foods to feed each other. I won’t even change my sheets in hopes that
I’ll get you between them.”

“Very accommodating. But who’s Barry White?”

Knox laughed. “Never mind. What time should I pick you up?”

“Give me your address and my car service will drop me off.”

“I don’t mind coming to get you, Shiori.”

“I know. But it’s just better this way.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue.

“What should I bring?”

“Just yourself. I’ll text you the address. Show up around six.” Knox kissed the back
of her hand and retreated. “Now I’m leaving you to lock up since I have to hit the
grocery store.”

KNOX
had everything ready ten minutes before six.

He wasn’t nervous, just impatient. He wanted to know what Shiori’s expectations were
if they agreed to continue this . . . whatever
this
was.

This is you agreeing to get on your knees, show your throat, and give her your balls.

Fuck. He smacked his hand into the counter, wishing that voice of doubt would just
shut the fuck up, because he had no goddamn idea where the voice was coming from.
He’d always been secure in his masculinity and his sexuality—how other people lived
their lives and how they made their choices was no reflection on him. That was part
of what’d appealed to him about Twisted. Embracing the
different strokes for different folks
philosophy.

And Shiori’s assessment that he hadn’t chosen a side bothered him only because she’d
pointed out something he hadn’t acknowledged. He never played with other men sexually
because that wasn’t his thing. But he had no problem using his skills with instruments
of pain on other men. His one hard-and-fast rule at Twisted was he didn’t beat on
women. Period. So he’d been the third player in different scenarios. Doms punishing
and rewarding their male subs.
Dommes punishing and rewarding their male subs. Doms who needed to connect with pain
but didn’t trust another Dom to be discreet. Male submissives who sought to test their
pain thresholds before playing with a Dom or a Domme. Male submissives who needed
a break from playing with a Dom or a Domme—craving the pain and skipping the mind
fuck that went along with it.

So the ironic part of him being the whip master? He wasn’t a big fan of pain. He’d
had the instruments he used on members used on him, just so he experienced what he
administered. Pain didn’t arouse him. Neither did inflicting pain. He looked on it
as a service he provided to the club and the members.

The benefit of wielding the whip and the flogger were the women who saw him as powerful.
He’d never had to work hard for pussy. That suited him, because the expectations between
club members didn’t go beyond sex. It’d never bothered him to be with a woman one
weekend and then see her with someone else the following weekend. Unlike Ronin, Knox
had utilized the sex part of the sex club more than the kink aspect.

He had to wonder if kink ran in the Black family. Shiori hadn’t indicated if she’d
studied shibari and kinbaku, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she had, since she’d
followed in Ronin’s footsteps and had become involved in martial arts.

All this speculation was driving him nuts. He cracked open a beer and checked the
time just as the doorbell rang.

Finally.

Knox didn’t rush to answer the door like he wanted to. When he opened the door, his
gaze rested on her face briefly before movement in the street caught his attention.
He glanced up to see the car service driver leaning against the right rear passenger
door with his arms crossed. Like he was deciding whether he should leave Shiori here
or remain parked at the curb. Without taking his eyes off the man, he kissed Shiori’s
forehead. Then he said, “Send your driver away or I will.”

“What?”

“Your driver is eyeballing me like I’m shit on your shoe and he’d love to scrape me
off.”

“Not everything is a pissing contest, Knox.”

“Tell that to him.”

She sighed and turned around, waving him off. Then she faced Knox. “Happy now?”

“Very happy that you’re here, She-Cat.” He pressed his lips to hers, proving it with
a very thorough kiss. When he pulled back her eyes held a warning, but her lips curved
into a smile.

“Taking liberties off the bat, Ob-Knox-ious?”

“Yep. Come in.” He stepped aside. “Let me help you with your coat.”

Shiori turned, and he tugged the black trench down her arms. Beneath it she wore a
light brown sweater, jeans, and riding boots.

“You look great, but I’ll admit I’d hoped to see a corset and a short leather skirt
under this trench coat.” He placed a kiss on the back of her neck. “Or better yet,
nothing at all.”

“Behave.” She faced him. That’s when he noticed she held a small wrapped package.

“What’s that?”

“A thank-you for inviting me into your home.” She handed it to him. “Just a little
token. No big deal.”

Knox unwrapped the plain paper and crumpled it in his fist. Inside the small frame
was a watercolor painting, very Asian in style, of boats moored at a dock. The serenity
of the scene was astounding. “Whoa. This is terrific. Where did you get it?”

“It’s just something I had around.”

“Thank you.” He propped it up on the mantel. “I’ll give you a quick house tour, and
then we can eat. Leave your boots on because we’ll be going outside.”

“I was surprised you live in a house and not in a condo or an apartment.”

“After living in government-assisted housing projects growing up and then spending
twelve years in the service, I was more than ready for my own place.” He gestured
to the living room. “I knocked out a wall to open up the space.”

“You did the remodel yourself?”

“A lot of it. I’m a hands-on guy.”

She ran her fingers up his arm. “I know that. I like that about you.”

Sweet Jesus. These little glimpses into her were killing him. So when her hand dropped
away, he didn’t let her off that easily. He slipped his fingers through hers. She
didn’t protest when he towed her behind him as they headed to the kitchen. “I cook,
but I didn’t need all the fancy appliances that go into most houses these days.”

“I like this breakfast bar and eat-in kitchen,” she said.

“I got rid of the formal dining room, and it opened up the space between here and
the living room.” They cut down the wide hallway. “This is a three-bedroom house,
but because I’m a single guy who doesn’t give a rip about decorating, I won’t show
you the two rooms filled with crap.”

She laughed.

Knox opened the last door. “Here’s my bedroom.”

Shiori let go of his hand and stepped into the room. Then she looked over her shoulder.
“You and my brother must shop for beds in the same place, because this bed is as huge
as his.”

He shrugged. “I’m a big guy. A king-sized bed is fine, but having a custom-made bed
built for a king is even better.”

“Was this room this size originally?”

“Nope. There was a rear porch that was pretty useless, so I expanded into that space.
That allowed me to put in a master bathroom.” He gestured to the door to the right
of the bed. “Take a look.”

Her laughter echoed off the tile walls. “Totally a guy’s bathroom, Knox. I love it.”

He moved in behind her. The walk-in shower was big enough so he could stretch his
arms out and not touch the walls. He’d had a teak bench put in so he could sit and
enjoy the sauna option he’d added. His mother had joked he had more water jets in
his shower than a carwash. But he hated freezing his ass off, and with so many adjustable
showerheads, water hit every part of his body.

“So plain white tiles, huh?” she asked.

“It was cheaper. I put the money into the plumbing fixtures.”

“It’s nice.” She faced him and smiled. “But no place to take bubble baths?”

He snorted. “Do I look like a bubble-bath guy? I’ll show you the backyard.”

They backtracked to the kitchen and exited out a side door. He led her up the set
of wooden steps to the deck he’d built the first year he’d lived in the house.

“You have a lot of yard space.”

“That’s the main reason I bought this place. You can’t find lots like this in metro
Denver anymore.”

“There’s room for expansion after you get married and have a couple of kids. It’d
be easy to add on bedrooms, a family room, and a mudroom for the dog. Back by the
trees would be a perfect place for a swing set and those jungle-gym forts.”

He stilled. She’d voiced his thoughts perfectly.

Then she remembered herself. “Enough with the show-and-tell, Godan. Feed me.”

“With pleasure, Mistress B.”

She whacked him on the ass.

Inside the house, he said, “Have a seat at the breakfast bar and I’ll serve you.”

“That could be taken a couple of different ways.”

Knox leaned across the counter and let her see the heat in his eyes. “You say the
word and I’ll offer whatever services you desire.”

“Let’s satisfy our appetite for food first,” she murmured.

He pulled the roast out of the slow cooker and set it on a plate, happy that the meat
separated easily with just his fork. He scooped the potatoes, carrots, and onions
into a bowl, then filled the gravy boat with the meat juices. “Help yourself. What
would you like to drink?”

“Any flavor of soda is fine.”

After pouring her a Coke, he took the rolls out of the warmer and dumped them in a
basket. When he glanced up, she hadn’t touched anything.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like pot roast?”

A sheepish smile appeared. “I don’t know since I’ve never had it.”

Knox forked meat onto her plate. Then potatoes and carrots. He smashed the vegetables
down and poured the clear, flavorful juices over everything on the plate. “There.
And you use the dinner rolls to sop up any extra bits.”

Shiori took a tentative bite and then closed her eyes. “God. That is so good.”

“Thanks. My mom’s recipe.” He loaded up his plate. That they didn’t talk during the
meal didn’t feel awkward. Especially since she ate two plates of food.

She set her napkin down. “I’m done.”

“So no room for dessert?”

“Maybe later. Right now I’ll waddle to the couch and hope I don’t fall asleep during
our talk.”

“While I’m hoping we don’t yell at each other, I don’t want you nodding off on me
either.”

She touched his cheek. “I won’t.”

“Good. Go on. I’ll put the food away.”

“You need help?”

“Nah. I’ll just dump it all back in the crock and shove it in the fridge.”

When Knox walked into the living room, he noticed Shiori
had taken her boots off. She had her hands in her back pockets as she stared out the
bay window.

In that moment she didn’t look like a Domme; she looked small and fragile and maybe
a little lost. Sometimes it was hard for him to see past her various personas—the
high-powered business executive, the billionaire heiress, the martial-arts master—to
the woman beneath.

He moved in behind her. “Do I need to ask before I put my arms around you?”

She looked over her shoulder and said, “Never.”

Knox enfolded her in his arms. He had to bend down to rest his chin on the top of
her head. She held such power in a small package.

After a bit she kissed his biceps and wriggled free. “You ready to go over your homework?”

He chuckled. “I’ll warn you, I’ve always been a C-minus student.”

She sat in the corner of the couch and pulled her knees to her chest.

Her protective posture annoyed him. This conversation would be easier if she sat on
his lap and he could touch her. He mirrored her pose on the other end, but he stretched
out his long legs so they encroached on her space.

Already testing her boundaries?

“Let’s go over the problem areas. First, we work together. You’re in charge at the
dojo. I’ll respect that. When we’re alone together outside the dojo, you’ll defer
to me.”

“In all things? You dictate where we eat, what we do, what movies we watch?”

Shiori frowned. “Okay. Back up. I’m talking about sexual submission. So we won’t be
doing any of the normal-couple things like if we were starting to date.”

Knox said, “Then I’m not interested.”

That startled her. “I’m confused.”

“Yes, ma’am, you are. I’ve never been in this type of relationship, and I don’t know
your rules, but I do know mine. I like you. I want to spend time with you. Outside
of the dojo and outside of Twisted. That means we do couple things together. We watch
TV, we share meals, we get to know each other. I’m willing to let you direct our intimate
relationship, but the key word there is
relationship
. I’m not interested in you calling me to show up at your penthouse when you’re feeling
horny and need a man to service you. There are places that cater to that type of need.
Or you can just hold off and get what you need from one of the male submissives at
Twisted.”

Her eyes flashed. “How are we supposed to have a relationship? We can’t let anyone
at the dojo know we’re involved.”

“Why not?”

“I have no idea how Ronin will react, and he should hear about it from us, not thirdhand
gossip from Katie.”

“It’s none of his or anyone else’s business.”

“Wrong. Black Arts
is
his business. He made us assure him that we wouldn’t kill each other while he’s away.
His worries wouldn’t be any less if he knew we were involved. So we’d have to keep
it strictly between us.”

“Basically, we’ll be sneaking around,” he stated.

She cocked her head. “You’re trying to rile me on purpose?”

Fuck. This was not how tonight was supposed to go. He leaned his head back and stared
at the ceiling for ten counts before he looked at her again. “Fine. If we’re keeping
this on the down low, then that means no signs we’re together at Twisted either.”

“You can’t make that determination.”

“Yes, I can. If I can’t claim you in public, then you can’t claim me either.”

Shiori set her chin on her knees and considered him. “Is this your manipulative way
of being my submissive without having to learn what it means to be a submissive?”

Knox shook his head. “I am learning; keep that in mind. Is
public approval of club members important to you as a Domme? Do you need it to prove
your dominance over me?”

No response, but he knew he’d touched a nerve.

“You can teach me to be what you want and need in ways public humiliation never will.
Any type of humiliation in any setting is my hard limit.”

“I’d never do that to you,” she said softly.