Chapter 7
Two weeks of blue balls was really more than any man should have to endure. Normally, I would go to Valhalla and work out the issue with a willing sub, but unfortunately, it was my turn to do a check-in at Midgard. Colin, Lincoln, and I rotated when we were all in town and since the arrival of Ms. Dodds, I’d been avoiding my responsibility. The guys were both busy, doing a scene at Valhalla they’d had booked for some time so I gave in.
The idea of maybe playing once I was done was a possibility, but I wouldn’t risk playing with an inexperienced sub with my dark mood riding my temper, and in my experience, there were a lot of wannabes at Midgard. It made sense as it was a level-one entry, meaning, they were vetted, but many beginners sought membership after a few visits so there was a real mish-mash of levels of experience at the club.
My mood could be traced back to a single woman. Rose. Since hiring the woman, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my thoughts. You’d think out of sight out of mind but that old saying wasn’t working for me. Two weeks away and everything would remind me of the temptation she represented. Even taking things into my own hand when I got back to the hotel each night when I was away, hadn’t stopped thoughts of her from waking me while I slept.
Dreams of Rose slowly stripping out of her sexy yet somehow still professional outfits until all that’s left covering her luscious body was a lace bra and a matching thong had filled my nights. I would picture her running her hands down her sides and sliding one hand into the top of her tiny thong.
It wouldn’t take much more of the fantasy to have me waking hard and wanting nothing more than to find out how tight and wet she was. I’d picture her cat-green eyes and the tempting knowing look she had every time we talked. I couldn’t help but imagine what she was doing at that same moment alone in her apartment. Did she have toys she played with or did she use her fingers to thrust inside her body?
Fuck. I had to stop. Thoughts like that wouldn’t get me anywhere except for dealing with another painful hard-on constrained in my cargos. When I’d seen her earlier talking and giggling with Yula like they were a couple of schoolgirls, I’d had to practically run back to my office to resist the urge of ordering her to bend over so I could admire her luscious ass. I’d snuck out of the back exit like a coward to reach my car rather than face one more minute of temptation.
How was a man supposed to focus when that visual feast was working right down the hall? She’d been wearing a tight leather pencil skirt, fuck-me heels and a sheer blouse that made the lace of her bra obvious through the material. Keeping my eyes off her pert tits and pebbled nipples had been next to impossible.
Remembering why she was off limits was getting harder every day. The reports on her said she was amazing at her job. I couldn’t fuck that up. Really, I shouldn’t fuck that up. But I wasn’t sure I would be able to stop myself from making a move if she kept baiting me.
When I arrived at Midgard, the place was already busy. As usual, I headed to the bar for a drink and to get an update from the staff. A moment after I leaned against the wood counter, Astrid placed my Lagavulin with ice in front of me. A ghost of a smile tipped up Astrid’s lips, which was about as big as her smiles got.
“Good evening, Master Heimdall. I haven’t seen you for quite a while.” The pale woman was originally from Norway like Erik and was worshiped by many of the subs here at Midgard. Not that she played at the club, but she didn’t need a formal scene to make someone feel like they were under her heel. Both men and women who craved humiliation would give much for even a moment of her time.
“I’ve been out of town. If you need a minute to finish up, I can wait to catch up. I see you have your usual sea of admirers.” I indicated the line of people at her end of the bar.
Her expression never grew cold as she turned to face the customers. “They can wait for me like patient little subbies or go to the other bartender.”
I resisted the urge to laugh as her harsh words made some of the people waiting almost swoon. “Be careful, it almost sounds like you’re willing to lose the club money.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Just kidding.” I winked, and her ghost of a smile reappeared. We chatted as I scanned the club, spotting Dottie on the dance floor, laughing with one of the regulars. Her big welcoming personality was a perfect yang energy to Astrid’s yin. She’d been a server at Midgard for a while and had brought Raia here for that fateful interview she had with Thor. It seemed like forever ago now.
Dottie had grown both in her job, taking over as head server, and in flavors of interest in the club. I could see her becoming a permanent part of our group maybe someday. I knew for a fact that she’d played with several Dungeon Monitors that all had the hots for her, as well as with our resident sadist, Loki.
The lights on the floor pulsed with the music, and I noticed a crowd had formed at the far end of the dance floor. I followed the gazes of the men and women up to the birdcage and blood rushed to my cock. Spotlighted between the metal bars were all my fantasies brought to life.
Rose danced as if she was a siren calling all the sailors to throw themselves onto the rocks. Her skirt flared as she spun, giving glimpses of her ass framed by a red thong. Her hands traced along her breasts like a lover and it was impossible not to picture what they would look like without the black fabric restraining them. Technically, she was dancing, but it felt intimate, like a bedroom dance for a lover.
“Fuck.” I shifted to ease the pressure that was quickly becoming uncomfortable in my pants.
“You like?” Astrid indicated Rose. “She’s a friend of Freya’s and already breaking the hearts of the baby Doms with her disinterest.”
“She hasn’t scened with anyone?” I asked, not taking my eyes off Rose.
“No, not yet. You know her.” Astrid wasn’t asking.
“I do. She works for me. I didn’t expect her to be here tonight. I suppose I should have guessed she was kinky since she’s Mari’s friend.” I tried to get my lust under control and forced my gaze away. “She’s off limits to me. I don’t mess around with employees.”
“Your rule or the company’s?”
I glared at Astrid. Last thing I needed was the woman encouraging me to break my rules. “Both, but she’s the best coordinator I’ve ever had, and if I jeopardize that for some playtime at the club, how happy will anyone be?”
“She doesn’t seem like a newbie to me. If you lay things out honestly and let her choose, what’s the harm? Seems to me she’s as interested in you as you are in her.”
I looked back and saw Rose was looking right at me. Our gazes caught and it suddenly felt like the sexy moves she was making were all for me. Should I offer her a scene?
Could I limit things to a single session? I wasn’t sure. Not even my closest friends understood how focused I was when in a relationship. The intensity of my few serious relationships had quickly led to their demise. I needed to be included in every part of my partner’s life. And with Rose I didn’t think I would be happy with occasional scenes.
Watching and protecting a woman wasn’t just a sexual thing, it was a core part of my personality. Privacy wasn’t something I was okay with. Even though I offered the same transparency, most women bristled about my wanting to track their every movement.
If I opened that can of worms with Rose, I might never be able to close it again. Even if we broke off the sexual side of our relationship, if she remained in my life, I knew myself well enough to know I would still need to keep track of her. The need came from the horrible circumstances surrounding my parents’ deaths but knowing the source of the compulsion did little to change it.
Rose’s smile as she pressed the button on the cage to call over a DM to let her out was both taunt and temptation. I looked away and tried to think through things logically. Keeping things casual wasn’t working. Maybe I should try to get her out of my system with an intense scene. If she balked, it would make it easier to step back and keep her relegated to fantasy. Or at least I hoped it would.
“What is the point of being the boss if you can’t break rules, especially if they are your own?” Astrid added with a smirk, as if challenging me to tell her she was wrong. “I see she’s headed this way. That’s my cue.”
Astrid left me with a half empty glass and my thoughts tumbling as to how to get what I needed without risk of losing her at the office. Each person Rose passed as she stalked toward me took a second look. The woman naturally attracted the attention of everyone in the room. Mari had the same ability but where she demanded that attention, Rose enticed it. Others might confuse the beautiful sub with a Domme, but I could see the need to please etched in her soul as she approached.
I clung to a fragile hope that our kinks would not align and all this heat and teasing would come to nothing. The way she’d put on a show made that unlikely, but she might want something on my hard limits list. I wasn’t into hard physical punishments, preferring sensual play over pain.
I almost growled when Rose was intercepted by some fool in shiny vinyl. The punch of possessiveness I felt was unwelcomed but I felt better when she smiled and dismissed him quickly, but I didn’t like that she had even paused. Why was I so attracted to this woman who when she spoke with another man, woke my sleeping dragon?
Rose didn”t fit my usual type at all. I preferred larger women both in height and stature because at 6’6” it was hard not to overwhelm someone. Wanting someone this badly who was so tiny was confusing. Hell, I could carry her all day and not even notice the extra weight.
“Hey, boss, funny meeting you here.”
Was she going to pretend she hadn’t been taunting me from afar? I raised a brow and took a sip of my drink before answering. “Is it?”
“Okay, so I guess not too much of a shock since you are friends with Mari. But I didn’t picture you out at a club.”
“Where did you picture me?”
“Brooding in a dark security room every night. Or out serving vigilante justice.” The laughter in her eyes made me smile.
“You thought I was a secret vigilante?”
“You’d make a kick-ass Batman without all his hang ups about killing bad guys.”
“I promise I’m not a kinky murderous Batman.”
“It sounded better in my head.” She blushed and fidgeted with her skirt. “If you’re not kinky, why are you here?”
I managed to keep a straight face but it wasn’t easy. I liked seeing her slightly off her game. “GH is responsible for the security for the clubs, and it was my turn tonight.”
I took a long pull on my whiskey. A look of disappointment flitted across her face that confirmed I wasn’t the only one interested in something more. This hesitant side of her personality was surprising. In the office she was a driving force of positivity and possibility, that somehow increased both productivity and happiness. When I’d gotten back from my trip, I’d noticed how different things had seemed and she was the only new factor. I’d never noticed how strained the environment had become until it changed.
“Oh, of course it’s work. I never considered you being here work related, but that makes sense. Silly me for thinking you were kinky.”
She was trying to hide her embarrassment but even in the low lighting of the club I could see her blush. I hid my smile behind taking a sip of my drink before I let her off the hook. “I never said I wasn’t kinky.”
Rose had very expressive eyes and I enjoyed watching embarrassment turn to interest.
“What’s your kink?”
She was so bold. “You”re the expert on meeting people’s needs, why don’t you try to guess.”
Rose sat down on the stool opposite me and gave me an up and down assessment. In my peripheral vision I could see Astrid’s smirk. Her “see I was right attitude,” only served to piss me off. My only response was to hold up my now empty tumbler and shake it at her.
“You’re a protector, not a caretaker, so I don’t think you’re a Daddy. Let’s see, there is shibari, roleplay, anal, bare-backing, biting, choking, nipple torture, needle play, branding.” Rose studied me as she listed through some of the most common kinks so I did my best to keep my face blank. “Not even an eye twitch. Hmm you aren’t into RACK or non-consent are you?”
“I assure you, there is always consent.”
“I got it”—she snapped her fingers—“electric play. You strike me as a violet wand kinda guy.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “I enjoy many of the things you’ve listed but none of them are my favorite.”
“Then what’s your favorite kink?” Her breathing was shallow and she licked her lips.
I studied her, running my gaze from her head down to the heels on her gorgeous shoes before I answered. “I like to watch.”
The way her thighs pressed together and her nipples tightened beneath her top was all the confirmation I needed to know that she was excited by the thought of me watching her. There was a distinction between someone who didn’t mind an audience and an exhibitionist who craved one. The show Rose had been putting on in the birdcage had been as much for her as it had been for the men and women who’d enjoyed it. Did she like to be told what to do while on display? If she did, I knew just what to do to make her fly.
“I’m an exhibitionist.” Her words were almost a needy whimper.
“I know.”
I ran a hand down her face, lightly brushing my fingers across her skin. She was still flushed from both dancing and embarrassment. What I wouldn’t do to see her fall apart in front of a large crowd, knowing it was me who gave her pleasure without ever touching her body. A plan began to form and I only hoped she would enjoy what I had in mind as much as I would. I leaned forward and brushed my lips over the shell of her ear.
“Follow me.”