Chapter Eleven #2
Her hair was down, curling around her shoulders, which were back as she walked with careful pride. Her eyes were on him, no one else, and he could feel the heat from where he stood. It threatened to burn him up.
But there was also a coldness to her. Like she was half expecting him to reject her, and she would handle it like the queen she was and move on to the next Dom.
He felt his jaw drop and then the most compelling need to cover her the fuck up. He kind of wanted to tackle her and wrap her up in long skirts and turtlenecks.
“Oh, shit,” TJ said, his face falling. “Ben, if she’s doing this it’s because something hurt her.”
“Damn it.” Cooper ran a hand through his hair as Kenzie brazenly walked toward them. “Something’s going on. I need to talk to Kala.”
He’d picked out her fet wear from what she’d brought. He’d been clear what he wanted from her.
Was she being clear about what she needed from him?
“Well, hello, gorgeous,” a deep voice said. “Kenz, you are looking supremely sexy this evening.”
Oliver. Ben watched Kenzie’s lips turn up as though the compliment did something for her.
She was feeling vulnerable, and her beauty was one thing she was confident in. Or maybe it was her skin she was comfortable in. Maybe without clothes she wasn’t playing any part. She was Kenzie not Kala, because Kala would never walk through a club naked.
She needed this, needed him to play his part as her Dom because this was a place where she could toss off those clothes and be perfectly safe.
Her chin was up like she was daring him to act on his impulses.
To prove he was one more man who was going to put her in a cage and not let her shine the way she wanted.
He hadn’t grown up in the lifestyle, but he’d learned some of its tenets.
There was a challenging look in her eyes, and he needed to soften her up.
He wouldn’t do it by punching Oliver. He would do it by proving he could be what she needed.
“Oliver, my sub is the single most beautiful woman in this club. I don’t mind you looking.
She’s a fucking work of art. But we should talk about what happens if you touch. ”
Kenzie stood before him, and he could sense some of her tension go when he said the words. She was still brittle, and it was obvious all the work he’d done on her when they’d cuddled and talked was gone.
So he would use his other skills to get his sub where he wanted her to be.
Purring and content and thinking about him.
“Absolutely not. I would never misbehave on a dungeon floor. I know this is my father’s club, but I’m in charge when he’s not around, and it might surprise you but I’m a stickler for rules. You have a contract in place?” Oliver asked.
He reached out a hand because she seemed so alone. She took it and squeezed as though letting him know she appreciated the contact. She was such a physically affectionate woman. She needed touch and attention and praise, and in exchange she would be his entirely.
At least that’s how it felt.
“I sent it to the club’s email, and I left a copy with your father.” Ben didn’t take his eyes off Kenzie. “I also booked a privacy room. I talked to one of the monitors and he explained everything would be laid out for us.”
“Then I wish you the best of nights.” Oliver stared toward the locker room as the door came open and Kala strode out, followed by Lou. “You should probably run because trouble is on the way.”
He realized TJ and Cooper had been whispering, and they moved in now.
“I think we should go to the lounge and talk this through,” Cooper announced. “There seems to have been some miscommunication, and I want to nip that in the bud.”
“Kenz, why don’t I get you a robe and a glass of wine and we can sit down and talk about what’s going on,” TJ offered.
“Kenzie, don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to say that shit to me and then walk away and play with this asshole,” Kala said, folding her arms over her chest and staring at him like she could intimidate him into backing down.
Lou hovered in the background, waiting like she wasn’t sure she should change because Kala had decided they would spend their night in a different way.
Like they were in charge of Kenzie. She was his. He’d signed the contract. It was time he let them know who was in charge of Kenzie Taggart now.
“Ben, come on. We’ll let you sit in,” Cooper suggested.
“Or he can go do whatever he does,” Kala returned. Her tone softened slightly. “Kenz, come on. We need to talk. I’ll buy you a drink, but please put on some clothes.”
And she was back to stiff.
“Mistress Kala, do you intend to enter my dungeon floor in street clothes?” Oliver asked in a surprisingly intimidating voice. “Because right now Kenzie is in full compliance with The Garden’s rules, but you are not.”
“Oliver, I’m trying to talk to my sister not top a sub,” Kala replied through clenched teeth. “This is a family thing.”
If he let them, they would take her away and shove him out and she would always be the fifth wheel in their happy family.
“And this is a Dom thing.” Ben leaned over and scooped Kenzie up. “When she wants to talk to you, she’ll talk to you. Until then, she’s mine. Don’t interrupt us.”
“I told you this was a bad idea.” A pretty young woman stood behind Lou. He thought she’d been introduced briefly. Vivian.
“Hey, I wasn’t done,” Kala began as Ben turned away.
“You are unless you want me to cancel your rights here,” Oliver announced.
“He has a contract with her. She has not indicated she wants to void that contract, so I assure you, Mistress Kala, that if you don’t back off, we’re going to have a problem, and we will not need to call in the parents to settle it.
I’ll have you hauled right out of here and you can spend the rest of your time in London in your flat. ”
“Oliver.” He hadn’t met the other young woman. She looked like she could be related to Kenzie. She had darker hair, but it was there in the set of her chin and those gorgeous eyes.
Oliver held out a hand. “No, Sophy. It’s the first time I’ve seen Kenz select what I feel is a proper top for her, and I won’t fuck that up.”
Someone said something else, but it didn’t matter. Ben walked toward the privacy rooms.
It was time to be the Dom she needed.
* * * *
Kenzie sank to her knees when Ben set her on the floor.
Head down, hands on her thighs, eyes on the floor as her hair flowed around her giving her a little space from the world. This was a position she knew well and felt comfortable in.
What had she been thinking? She took the moment to breathe.
Had she really done that? Walked out naked?
She knew everyone in the world thought she was some kind of confident boss babe, but she’d been running on pure adrenaline.
She knew Ben could be a jealous ass. It was kind of hot.
It wasn’t modern of her, but she accepted the fact that watching Ben sort of manhandle Oliver because he dared to flirt with her did something for her.
But it also pointed out that Ben had some work to do being comfortable in his role, and walking out naked might have sparked something other than desire.
So why was she poking his soft spots so early on?
Because her ground suddenly felt shaky beneath her feet.
She didn’t fight with her sister. Never.
Not about anything important. Oh, they squabbled over TV shows and toys when they were kids, but not since her sister came back from being kidnapped at the age of fifteen.
She’d been delicate in a way only Kala could be, and they never normalized.
Tonight was the first time she’d told her sister off in years.
It felt good and bad. She loved her sister but their relationship was in flux, and there seemed to be no way to talk about it without seeming like some pathetic hanger on.
But Ben made her feel something else.
“Kenzie, are you all right?” His boots came into view as she stared down at the floor.
The privacy rooms at The Garden were way nicer than the ones at The Hideout, though they were working on it.
This particular one was large with a spanking bench and a St. Andrew’s Cross on the wall.
There was a bed in the back and a wall full of floggers and whips and rope.
He could use those on her and she would float for a while and not think about the storm waiting for her outside this room.
She took a breath. This man had given her something lovely, and he wouldn’t want a sulky sub. She would likely hold on to that moment when he picked her up and whisked her away forever. She lifted her head and gave him her serenest smile. “Yes, Sir. I’m good.”
He stared down at her, his eyes studying her carefully. “I doubt that, but I think we should work this out in another way. Although I should ask. Do you want to talk to your sister?”
Now that it was over, she wished she’d sucked it up and took it like always. It wasn’t anything abnormal. Kala wasn’t a silver-linings girl and never had been. She didn’t want some big rift between them. Life was already opening those chasms. “Not now. I’ll apologize tomorrow. Or later tonight.”
Kala wouldn’t want to fight with her either. A simple apology would reset them.
“What do you need to apologize for?”
Shouldn’t he want to get to the sex? The last thing she expected was that he would want to talk about what happened between her and her sister.
He kind of hated her sister, and she didn’t want to deal with it tonight.
She didn’t want to think right now. But he’d asked her a direct question, and she was supposed to obey him in this setting unless she chose to end the session.
She didn’t want to end the session.
“I was a little dramatic with my sister earlier,” she explained. “It’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”