My Addiction (Club Desire #2)(5)
She didn’t think of herself as vain, always wondering about what others thought of her, but she didn’t want any man to think she was too needy or available. Not even this one. She prided herself on being an independent woman, and the “being gifted to Balkins” scenario still burned her stomach. She sipped her latte and met Dex’s amused gaze.
“How long have you been in the lifestyle, Kate?”
She broke herself out of the sensual haze his touch had left her in and swallowed before answering. “Nearly five years.” She had been so na?ve and vanilla. “A boyfriend convinced me to come here, thinking it would be a great joke when I was shocked.” She frowned, her stomach tightening at the strong memory. “But when I was intrigued and wanted to know more, he never called again.” She shrugged, even though she had been hurt at the time.
Dex’s expression showed a similar hint of anger to when Balkins had told him to find another plaything for the evening. “He was obviously not in the lifestyle, or was just a wannabe who doesn’t really get what it’s all about.” Dex’s voice was calm and smooth, but Kate sensed the displeasure at her long-ago boyfriend that simmered just beneath the surface. “Only someone not in the lifestyle would want to see you react that way.”
Kate nodded. “He wouldn’t last a second in the fetish community. I found out from a friend that he had done the same thing with other girlfriends. He would date someone who was vanilla for a while, and when it started to become serious, he would try to convince her to go to a local dungeon or swingers club to scare her. If she was offended, she usually broke up with him. If she wasn’t, he decided she was a slut and never called again.” She huffed out a breath as she shoved the memories aside.
“That man needs a good lesson in how to treat a woman. I almost hope I’m the one who catches up to him one of these days.”
The smug grin on Dex’s sexy face made her heartbeat race. She would love to see Dex teach her * ex a lesson.
Chapter 3
Dex smiled at the beautiful woman across from him. Kate wasn’t anything like he’d expected when he had been given this assignment. He knew she was a submissive to the rich and powerful, so he had pictured a vain, easily led woman looking for a sugar daddy. This vibrant, independent woman was anything but.
The combination of her long black hair, vibrant green eyes, and beautiful, pale skin made her even more striking. It was no wonder she was a much-sought-after sub.
He had read her dossier put together by the FBI, but after meeting her, he would bet she didn’t have anything to do with the plot to funnel money to terrorists. But he would have to prove it.
“How about you?” Kate asked, pulling the direction of his thoughts back to the present. “How long have you been in the fetish community?”
Dex fell into her effervescent green gaze. “Nearly eight years.” He cocked his head to the side as he studied her. She was a puzzle he needed to make sense of.
He could never leave anything unsolved. It made his FBI career perfect for him, but also drew him to the ever-changing equation of the D/s power exchange.
He smiled when he thought about his first sight of Kate. “If Master Ralston and I hadn’t interrupted, would Senator Balkins be in the ER right now having his broken nose taped?”
A pretty blush stained Kate’s neck and cheeks. He had expected her to pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about, but she surprised him again when she met his gaze squarely.
“That was the plan.” She sipped her latte as if ordering her thoughts and deciding how much to tell him. “I’ve been turning Balkins down for months. Today, when I came through the front doors, he grabbed me and told me I had been ‘gifted’ to him for the night. I lost my temper.” She raised her chin. “If Master Ralston had spoken even two seconds later, Balkins would have already been squealing like a stuck pig, with blood gushing from his nose.”
“I figured as much.” Dex couldn’t help a small smile at the thought of Balkins receiving such instant karma. Although a man like Balkins would have found a way to make Kate’s life a living hell, no matter that he had accosted her and broken the club’s rules in the process. Something Dex still wanted to discuss with Master Ralston when he had the chance.
A flash of anger made Dex clench his teeth as he pictured Balkins with his arm around Kate’s middle, holding her back against him. He would save an equal measure of that displeasure for the idiot who had tried to “gift” her to the senator. When Kate’s manner became guarded, he realized his expression probably betrayed his true feelings. “Do all the Doms here treat women like Balkins does?”
Kate shrugged before taking a dainty sip of her latte. “Many of them do, but not all. Over the years it has eroded my love of the D/s lifestyle, and The Dungeon, and made me start to think about a change of venue.”
Dex bit back the urge to tell her to come to his home club in Phoenix, Club Desire. He was here to do a job, not reform an entire dungeon. Although the thought was tempting. As was the idea of having Kate come to Club Desire. He could already tell he would enjoy getting to know her. He hated for the lifestyle to be misrepresented in this way and didn’t like to see people become disillusioned with such a beautiful thing as the power exchange—especially for false reasons.
He mentally switched gears back to the topic at hand.