One of her favorite parts of BDSM was the fact that inside a club everyone was equal. Joelle had always hated that people often told her what they thought she wanted to hear rather than the truth simply because her family had money. It was a social phenomenon that had always baffled her. It was also one of the reasons she was grateful her parents had followed moneyed tradition by using her mother’s maiden name as her middle name. It had been easy to drop her last name affording her a small taste of anonymity. Being able to have even a small measure of freedom from the Phillips name made her feel like a bird whose small gilded cage had been opened in a room-sized atrium. Her flight was still limited, but the illusion of freedom was there.
But at the end of the day, being honest with herself had always been the best way to stay grounded. Deep down, she’d known Brandt Morgan was an alpha male, and if she was going to be brutally honest…yes, she’d suspected he was a Dom. But suspecting and being blindsided with the information after being put in his care during an interrupted scene were two very different situations.
She let herself get lost in thought as she listened to the soulful melodies of Brian Crain. Joelle had gasped in surprise when Brandt slid the headphones over her ears and the unmistakable strains of Brian’s beautiful piano music filled her ears. She’d been a fan of his for several years and she’d even met him after a performance early in his career. Realizing she and Brandt both enjoyed the same music was a strange sort of validation for her…it gave her just enough of a feeling of connection to settle her nerves as she waited for him to set up whatever he was planning. He’d kept his promise, by keeping one hand on her at all times. The small connection his touch provided kept her mind centered enough she’d been able to begin reevaluating the choices she’d made since fleeing her father’s estate months ago.
The breakthrough she’d made should be making headlines, giving cancer patients all over the world the hope they deserved. But instead, it was hidden…waiting for her to be brave enough to fight back against the Board of Directors of Phillips Pharmaceutical.
Her father was still the CEO and he’d seemed enthused about her discovery. But he’d been quickly outvoted when she’d presented a synopsis of her findings to the board’s members. Of course, several of those members were major stockholders in the large biomedical companies making billions of dollars every year selling medications and equipment far less effective, and in some cases little more than placebos. Two members were also major stockholders in hospitals specializing in the treatment of various forms of cancer, so their opposition had been just as adamant.
But her biggest opponent had been the board member currently running for president. If word ever got out the woman had vehemently opposed publishing the studies’ results her political aspirations would be dead in the water. The voting public wouldn’t take kindly to her opposition to the lifesaving treatment, and the fall-out would be devastating to her campaign. Helen Rodrick and many of her financial supporters had substantial financial interests in companies that would take a hit when Joelle’s discovery came to light. Personally, Joelle considered Helen Rodrick the most dangerous of her opponents. Historically individuals having a conflict with the former senator seemed to have bizarre, often fatal accidents.
Not long after her presentation to the board, Joelle’s lab was burglarized—twice, despite an elaborate security system. She’d still vowed to fight the board, submitting a formal request for reconsideration. But before the scheduled meeting, two men broke into her condo and it had been Joelle’s breaking point. The intruders had been dressed from head to toe in black, including their facemasks. One held a knife to her throat as the other explained in graphic detail exactly what would happen to her and her father should she continue pushing to make the results of her research public. She’d spent the rest of the night packing, fired off a short message to her father assuring him she would be in touch, and fled.
Pine Creek hadn’t been a coincidence. She’d inherited the home she was living in from an uncle she’d never met. She’d planned to sell the property, but hadn’t gotten around to it—once again, fate had been one-step ahead of her. Joelle was quickly losing herself in her memories when she suddenly realized the headphones had been removed and Brandt had spoken to her, but damned if she had any clue what he’d said. She felt her face blazing with embarrassment. How had she managed to dig herself even deeper by not focusing during a scene with Brandt Morgan? Particularly a punishment scene, holy shit it was a whole new level of dim.
“Just for the record, I can practically hear your mind scrambling to remember what I asked you, minx. You’d do well to just admit you were lost in thought. But when you do, I suggest you tell me exactly where your mind was—honestly. Full disclosure is your friend, sweet sub.”
Joelle took a deep breath, she really needed to confide in Brandt—not because he’d given her a command to. As the Sheriff of Pine County, he had a right to know if trouble might follow her to town and she’d already put off the conversation far longer than she should have. This wasn’t the place to explain things in detail, but she owed it to him to be as transparent as she could be. She spoke quietly since she didn’t know what he’d set up, so she had no idea who else might be close enough to hear. “Are you the only one who can hear me, sir?”
B
randt froze at
Joelle’s question. He wanted her honesty, but he didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize her safety either. Since he’d already been standing in front of her, he leaned closer, letting his lips graze her ear in a move that would look like seduction to the audience but would allow her to whisper directly into his ear. “Speak softly, baby. And thank you in advance for trusting me.” He wanted to encourage her and thanking her in advance was the best way he knew considering their current situation.
“I was thinking about the reason I had to run, the reason I’m still not sure I’m safe. I know I should have talked to you about it sooner, but…I didn’t want you to feel.”
Brandt cut her off by biting down gently on the lobe of her ear. “Shhh. We’ll talk about it later…I assure you. But I want to have that conversation in private because nothing is more important than your safety.” Even though her bindings gave her very little room for movement, he felt her relax against him. She pressed herself closer as some of the tension ebbed from her taut muscles and that small display of trust made his cock swell as blood abandoned his brain and headed south.
Fuck, getting through this scene without embarrassing myself is going to be a test I’m not sure I’m ready for.
Pulling back just far enough he was able to slide his fingers under the edges of the silk covering her eyes, he spoke loud enough for those gathered around to hear. Brandt was surprised at the size of the audience they’d drawn. But since he and his brothers rarely did public scenes, he credited the novelty of a Morgan performance with a large part of the interest. Brandt also knew Big rarely handed off punishments for this particular offense. He usually took the sub to the main stage and used one of the fucking machines to force orgasm after orgasm from the submissive. Brandt had yet to see a submissive walk away on their own from one of Big’s punishments. The man was positively ruthless when it came to a submissive deliberately faking any response, particularly an orgasm.
Yeah, minx, you definitely pushed one of Big’s hot buttons.
Using the name he’d heard Big call her, Brandt spoke loud enough to quiet those whispering around them. “JoJo, tell me why you are being punished.”
“I faked a release, sir.” Brandt was proud of her straightforward answer, she hadn’t given an excuse. She’d simply answered the question.
Good girl.
“I’m not going to ask what you were thinking because you clearly weren’t thinking.” He wasn’t going to force her to explain her distraction, he already suspected she hadn’t been getting what she needed from the scene and had been trying to end it as soon as possible. “Since you’ve already admitted you aren’t fond of being naked in front of strangers, it’s not difficult to imagine you aren’t particularly thrilled with the idea of having public orgasms.” He was sure Joelle knew exactly where this was headed because her entire body was responding perfectly. Brandt was anxious to move on, he’d be able to gauge her responses much better when he could see her eyes.
“Since I’m absolutely convinced the best punishment, in this case, is one that will force you to confront your fear of public vulnerability—that is exactly what I’m going to do.” He heard her gasp as she shook her head no. Placing his hands on both sides of her face stilling her, he pressed a kiss against her forehead. Speaking softly, he asked, “Who are you supposed to please during a scene, JoJo?”
“You, sir.” He wanted to fist pump at her answer. His question hadn’t addressed this scene specifically, but she’d answered
very
specifically. He was thrilled somewhere deep inside, she’d already assigned him the role of her Dom.
Fucking perfect.
“Yes, that’s exactly right. Now—when I remove the blindfold, I want you to focus all of your attention on me. Your eyes should stay on mine. Do you understand?” Even though she said she did, Brandt knew the reality was going to be far more difficult. Sliding the silk off and tossing it aside, her eyes widened when they darted to his left and right. He pinched her nipples between the calloused pads of his fingers with enough force to make her hiss at the unexpected burn, Brandt hadn’t wanted to cause her any unnecessary pain, but he wanted to bring her attention back to him. “Where are your eyes supposed to be, minx?”
Her soft gray eyes snapped to his, locking her gaze solidly with his. “On you, sir.” The words had been airy, but not with arousal. Her soft tone was laced with something too close to fear for Brandt’s taste. It was definitely time to show her this was a punishment she could enjoy if she would keep her focus on him.
Brandt slid his right hand down her torso until the tips of his fingers were poised at the very top of her slit. “Keep your eyes on me. I’m the only person in this room who matters to you right now. You’ve put yourself in my care and I intend to see to it both you and Master Nate are satisfied with this scene when we’re finished.” There was a flash of apprehension at the mention of Nate, but it didn’t last long when the pad of his middle finger grazed over her clit. “Keep those pretty gray eyes focused on mine, minx. I don’t want you to hide anything from me. I own each sigh, every small moan of arousal, and all those muffled gasps of pleasure.”
Watching her slowly let go was one of the most erotic things Brandt had ever seen. Joelle kept her eyes focused on his until he knew they were no longer focusing on anything. As soon as he’d slid his fingers deep into her heat, fucking her with slow, steady thrusts that pressed against her G-spot with each pass, the rose blush of arousal washed over her chest. Her breathing was shallow and fast, and the steady increase in the pulse pounding at the base of her throat let him know how quickly she was approaching orgasm.
Oh, baby, you’re not getting off that easy. Pun intended.
He pulled his fingers from her and smiled when she whined in frustration. “You didn’t think you were going to get to come so soon did you, minx? We’ve only just started to play.” The truth was he’d fought damned hard to pull free of her trembling channel. Knowing she was a breath or two away from release had been the only reason he’d managed to slip his fingers from her. He’d wanted nothing more than to feel her pussy flood his hand with honey as it pulsed around his digits. Using the small remote in his pocket, Brandt engaged the hydraulics tilting the top half of wooden cross forward causing Joelle to bend forward at the waist. He knew the instant she realized how exposed she was to the audience by the way her muscles tensed. Stoking his fingers up and down the length of her spine several times, he watched as she tried to maintain her apprehension even though her body wanted to relax beneath his touch.
Drizzling lube into his palm to warm it, he met her eyes in one of the mirrors facing her. “Your eyes should stay on me, minx. No matter if I’m watching you or not, you need to remain focused on your Master. Pleasing your Dominant is your number one priority—and in this case, it means tuning out everything but me.” Tucking her short skirt up in the waistband, he rimmed her exposed ass with lubed fingers. Brandt fought the urge to press his fingers deep imitating the much more intimate act he hoped to do soon in private. Her reaction to the first press of his fingers against her rear hole told him she had little to no experience with anal pleasure. Brandt wished he’d looked over her limit list before starting, but it was too late to worry about that now.
Movement to the side of the small stage caught Brandt’s eye, and when he glanced over where he knew Big was standing, it was the shit-eating grin on the man standing next to him that drew his attention. His cousin Ryan stood with his feet shoulder width apart, his arms crossed over his chest. His posture was imposing, something Brandt knew from personal experience came naturally to all former Special Service members—no matter how long they’d been away from the teams. Even though they hadn’t served on the same SEAL team, he and Big had worked with Ryan’s team on several joint missions. The world of Special Forces was a surprisingly small and close-knit group, most of the members knew each other by reputation if not personally.
Brandt had been expecting Ryan early next week, but he wasn’t surprised the younger man had shown up ahead of schedule so he could spend time at the club. He and Ryan had shared subs several times and they’d always worked well together. Brandt wondered how Joelle would react if he suggested a ménage. Damn, he really needed to get his hands on her limit list.
He felt her jerk beneath his touch and noted she’d followed his gaze. Fuck, he would have to punish her, but it really was his own fault. He didn’t waste any time sliding the small plug into place. Grabbing one of the hand towels from the table behind him, Brandt wiped the lube from his fingers before tilting her further forward so there would be no doubt he’d moved her into a punishment position. Her ass was high in the air, her legs spread wide—hell there wasn’t an inch of her sex that wasn’t completely exposed to everyone in the audience. Kneeling in front of her, he kept the strap in his hand so there would be no doubt where things were headed. Pulling her face up to his, Brandt didn’t get a chance to ask if she knew what she’d done wrong. “I’m sorry. I know I was supposed to watch you. But I was scared when you were looking to the side for so long. Is she your sub?”
What? She?