Prologue
Mitch
“Bondage buddies?” Domi raised her eyebrows, leaning back with her arms crossed over her chest, the position pushing up her breasts even more than the corset she was wearing. She looked skeptical but intrigued.
Barely standing five feet tall, petite in every way, with a riot of dark brown curls that danced around her head, she was a whole bunch of sass and bravado, despite her small stature. Whenever she was at the club, she dressed like she meant business, with full-on goth aesthetic that warred against her fae-like appearance. She looked like a goth-metal fairy most of the time.
Anyone thinking she was a pushover just because she was short or because she was a submissive should be warned by her outfits, but there was always someone who underestimated her. Domi sometimes pushed back just to show she could. It meant a few of the Doms at Stronghold and Marquis, the BDSM clubs they both belonged to, weren’t interested in playing with her.
Right now, they were at Marquis, the club where they’d met. He’d been one of the instructors for new submissive members, and she’d been one of the students. Marquis was the fancier of the two clubs and the only one that provided dinner. A regular restaurant downstairs, but its second floor served as an exclusive kink retreat for dinner and a show and a back hall with fetish-themed hotel rooms. Stronghold was Marquis’ sister club, but they were as different as night and day. It was the original club and far more utilitarian, though it had more room to scene. The atmosphere was completely different, so Mitch had chosen to ask Domi to Marquis instead.
Tonight was as close to a date as Mitch had been on in years. First dinner—and his proposition to Domi—which would hopefully be followed by some seriously hot play and/or sex while they watched tonight’s show. Giving her his best wicked grin, Mitch leaned across the table where they were sitting at.
“It’s like fuck buddies, but with kink.”
She pressed her full lips together, and he was pretty sure she was trying not to smile. The expression on her face was blank, but he could see in her dark eyes, she was thinking about it. His grin widened.
He liked Domi.
Mitch enjoyed her fire and sass. He especially liked it when he managed to push past it and reach the woman underneath. Feel her melt. Then make her fly.
She was a sweet masochist whose need for pain-filled pleasure matched his sadist’s need to deliver it, which was even more of a bonus. Mitch didn’t have to do a hardcore scene every time to be satisfied, but after a while, the need would build until he couldn’t ignore it anymore. Hearing a woman beg and scream, then beg and scream for an entirely different reason, flat out did it for him. He needed her to enjoy it, though, which meant he needed someone like Domi, who loved every second of the wicked things he did to her.
“You had fun with me during your subbie classes,” he pointed out, winking at her. All the submissives had been fun in their own way, but Domi was the one whose tastes most aligned with his.
Their last class together, when he played doctor, had been his favorite, especially since initially, she had scoffed at the idea of medical play. The little subbie had thought he wouldn’t be able to hurt her the way she wanted. Mitch had thoroughly enjoyed proving her wrong. They’d had a discussion then about playing in the club, no commitment, but so far, she’d proven elusive and hadn’t given him a straight answer.
Which was why he’d finally told her to meet him for dinner and a show at Marquis. He hadn’t been sure if she actually would, but figured she’d be intrigued enough to come find out what he wanted.
“I did...” She tilted her head at him, chewing her lower lip, the uncertainty on her face making her look more vulnerable than usual. Her halo of curls bounced slightly when she shook her head, and his cock sank a little in expectation of rejection, then she surprised him. “No dating, just sex, right? Here in the club?”
“Here or at Stronghold,” he confirmed. Coming to Marquis was more of a special event since membership was incredibly expensive, but as a member of Stronghold, they could visit Marquis one night a month without having to pay extra. He didn’t want to rule out Stronghold since they’d be able to meet there far more often.
Domi rolled her eyes at him as if to say duh. “That’s what I meant.”
Sliding his feet over to her side of the table, he trapped her legs between his. It wasn’t painful, and she could have easily pulled her legs up if she wanted to, but it was a reminder—he was the Dom, she was the sub. Domi sucked in a quick breath, her gaze flitting up to his, then dropping down to the beer glass in front of her.
That was Domi. Sassy brat right up until she was challenged, then her submissiveness took over. Sometimes, it was a bit more of a fight than others, but deep down, she wanted to submit. It just had to be earned. The challenge never failed to turn him on.
“If we’re going to play together, you’ll need to be more respectful… at least in the clubs,” he said firmly. Outside of the club, she could roll her eyes all she wanted. He didn’t care what she did when she wasn’t in his space. He just wanted to play with her when she was.
“Sorry, Sir.” Her contriteness only lasted another few moments before she looked back up at him. Still considering, her fingers tapped nervously against her beer glass. “Would there be a club contract? Would we still be able to play with other people?”
“I’m fine with or without a contract. As for playing with other people, I just want first dibs.” Mitch grinned at Domi’s slightly confused reaction. “If we’re both at the club, and neither of us has scened yet, we get first dibs on each other. If I’m not around, you can play with whoever you want and vice versa. My work schedule can be a little unpredictable, so I’d rather keep it casual. If you prefer setting times to scene, I can do that, but it will need to be on a week-by-week basis.”
“No, dibs works,” she said, a slow smile curving her lips and bringing out the cute little dimple he liked to see. Mitch enjoyed making people smile and liked making them laugh even more. Domi could be a bit of a challenge, as she was in most things. Any time he got that dimple to peek out, he mentally high-fived himself. She snorted. “Dibs. I like that. That’s so you. Do you have this arrangement with anyone else?”
“Nope, just you.” Her expression didn’t change, but he could sense she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “It would be hard to have first dibs on more than one person. What if you were both there at the same time?”
“That’s true,” she said, then shrugged, picking up her beer to take a sip. “So, why me?”
“I like the way you scream.” He winked as heat flushed her face, turning her cheeks a dark red, and her eyes widened slightly. God, he loved kink. Only in a BDSM club could that sentence be considered foreplay.
Domi’s tongue flicked out over her lower lip, swiping up a tiny droplet of beer, and Mitch’s cock twitched with interest. She had beautiful lips and a talented tongue, and he would very much like to explore her mouth with his cock again. Soon.
“Is that it?” she asked, her voice huskier. The rise and fall of her breasts in her corset as she took a deep breath was easy to see. His cock was ready to go, but they still had a few details to hash out before he could get his hands on her. BDSM was big on communication—something that had been drilled into him when he’d taken the Dom class required for Marquis and Stronghold’s membership.