17. Salt
SEVENTEEN
SALT
I said goodnight to Dale and pulled my hood up before going out the door. I was quick, moving along the edge of the crowd, sticking to the wall, avoiding eye contact. I made it to the door on the other side, pushed it open, and darted up the staircase. The scent of smoke and stale beer followed.
The door to my right had to be the one to the lighting booth. I stepped through it quickly. A squeal followed.
My eyes widened as I shut the door slowly behind me.
It was dark in here, but that didn’t keep me from seeing how flushed Pepper’s skin was. She had her skirt tugged down, her eyes wide as she stared at me like I was a ghost.
Slowly, very slowly, I narrowed my eyes on her. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” she rasped.
I dropped my bag to the floor and reached behind me, twisting the lock on the door. “Spread your legs.”
“No.”
I laughed and stalked towards her like a beast going after prey. I stopped when I was toe to toe, her heels shiny and perfect against my scuffed boots.
“Look at me,” I whispered.
She wouldn’t. She was embarrassed. What did she do? I grabbed hold of her chin and gently tipped it up, forcing her to look me in the eye. Using my knee, I wedged her knees apart. Her body was hot and wound up, her mascara smudged beneath her pretty hazel eyes.
Oh. The way she was looking at me right now made me pause. Her pupils were blown, her lips parted, waiting for a kiss.
“How was the show?” I purred.
“Good,” she whispered. “You were phenomenal.”
“Mm. What was your favorite song?”
Her lashes fluttered. “Um…”
I leaned down, using my free hand to feel her thigh, running my palm over her until it came to her core. Heat rolled off her in waves as I felt a hole in her pantyhose.
“You naughty little slut,” I whispered. Excitement curled through me. “What happened here, Pepper? Tell me. Now.”
She shivered from my touch. “I… got a little carried away…”
“Up here while running lights?”
“While listening to you.”
“I see.” I knelt down so that my face was level with her, her thighs still spread, pussy wet against my fingertips. “So let me get this right, Pepper. I just want to make sure I’m understanding. You ripped your pantyhose so you could masturbate out in the open while listening to me sing?”
“Yes,” she said, staring at me. “That’s exactly what I did.”
She rolled her chair back from me, turning towards the lighting console as the band hit the chorus. I glowered as she moved a few of the switches, her focus on them.
I snorted and grabbed the back of the chair, yanking hard enough that she squeaked. I pulled her out of it and kicked it back, pulling her ass against the bulge in my jeans.
She gasped, her hands planting on the edge of the console. “I’m working.”
“I was working too, but that didn’t stop you from getting off to me.”
I hiked her dress up and reached around, sliding two fingers inside the hole she’d made, ripping the sheer fabric further.
Pepper gasped, her muscles trembling as I bared her sweet ass. “Was that good for you, baby girl? Touching yourself when you shouldn’t have? Did you come?”
“Yes,” she cried. “I came so fucking hard I saw stars.”
“Well, make a fucking wish, because you’re about to see them again.”
This was going to be hard and fast. The ache inside me demanded penance for her pleasuring herself when she knew what I planned to do to her tonight. I needed to be inside her, gliding in and out of her wet pussy while she moaned my name.
Music thrummed loud enough that the walls trembled.
“Keep doing your job,” I growled. “Running the lights like you wanted.”
“But—”
I slapped her ass hard, enjoying her whimper.
“Do your fucking job, Pepper, and I’ll do mine.”
“ Yes, Sir. ”
A streak of satisfaction rushed through me. Every time she submitted to me, it pleased me.
Her gaze lifted to the window, her hand trembling as she reached for one of the light switches as I unclasped my belt. The metal clinked and I unbuttoned and unzipped quickly, pulling my cock free. I ripped her pantyhose further until the head of my cock brushed against her flesh.
In one swift motion, I thrusted into her, filling her with every inch. Her scream was lost in the music, her back arching as she took me with ease, still so fucking wet from touching herself.
I grabbed a fistful of her hair, tugging her head back as I pumped into her, my other hand slapping the top of her ass cheek. She braced herself against the console, her voice ringing as I fucked her the way I’d been needing to.
“Fuck,” I growled.
It was almost painful how hard I was for her. A euphoric rush followed as I fucked her hard and deep, gripping her hair as I took her.
The band hit the chorus and she reached up, struggling to focus on the lights. I liked watching her struggle. I liked knowing how competent she was at everything she did, but couldn’t think clearly enough to do her job while taking my cock like a good girl.
Pepper moaned as she changed the lights, her pussy clenching around me, milking me. I released her hair and gripped her hips, my fingertips digging into her soft skin as I drove in and out.
Obsession. Possession. The darkness I did my best to hide from everyone. All of it was dragged to the surface by her, salt on an open wound. I grunted, my hips jerking as she clenched around me hard, her body tensing as she suddenly came.
“Fuck,” I gasped, going still. I wasn’t ready to come yet, but feeling her orgasm on my cock made it almost impossible to withhold. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited until she finished, feeling her go limp against the console, followed by her soft moan.
And then I started to fuck her again. This time slower, every thrust deeper.
“Salt,” she panted. “You feel so good. Oh god?—”
“Tell me you want me to breed your pretty little cunt,” I growled.
“Please,” she said. “Please breed me. Please, I’m begging you. I was so bad earlier…”
My eyes widened. What was she doing to me? Turning me into a goddamn monster. “Tell me,” I choked out.
“I touched myself while listening to your voice. I couldn’t help it. But now you’re here and I’m yours. Fuck .”
My pace picked up as she spoke, her words tumbling out.
“ Please, please, please. Please fuck me. Please breed me.”
“You’re going to walk out of this bar tonight in front of god and everyone with my cum inside you. Every single person kisses the ground you walk on. If only they knew what we were doing right now…”
She tensed around me. “Fuck,” she whimpered. “It’s our secret.”
“Is that all it is?”
She didn’t answer me. I growled and pulled out of her without warning. Pepper immediately protested, but I cut her off, spinning her around to face me. I lifted her, her legs wrapping around my waist as I backed her to the door, slamming into her again.
Her lips caught mine in a hungry kiss, our tongues fighting. She melted against me as my cock filled her again, her nails digging into my shoulders. The pain only made me harder, and I bit her bottom lip in response. She jerked against me, a whimper following.
I was so close. So fucking close.
“Fill me,” she rasped between kisses. “ Please , Salt.”
The door shook as I thrusted into her once more, unable to control myself anymore. I buried my face against her neck as I came, pleasure bursting through me as I pumped her full of my cum. I moaned in her ear, completely wrapped up in her, everything about her.
My breaths were rapid as we melted against each other, our bodies fused together. She kissed my throat, her limbs relaxing completely.
For a moment, it was just us in the world. No bar, no band, no anything.
Just Pepper.
Just me.
Just the feeling of our bodies intertwined together.
“Come home with me tonight,” I whispered.
She breathed out slowly. “I can’t. I have work in the morning.”
Work. Fuck. I just wanted to wake up next to her. I wanted to be with her.
“We can’t do this again. You have to tell me the club?—”
“I’ll take you a club. As your Dom,” I said. “But I’m not letting go. I don’t care about anything else.”
She grabbed my face, giving me a stern expression. “You are going to go places. You can’t be tied down to someone like me. You deserve better.”
“You’re wrong,” I whispered.
I needed her to see that about herself. We could find ways to work around our careers, but whatever this spark was between us deserved a chance to ignite.
She shook her head. “I’m not. Your music belongs at Rosethorn, but this ? This toxic attraction? This doesn’t belong anywhere in our lives.”
“It doesn’t have to be toxic,” I said. “You could tell your board. Just tell them that we’re together?—”
“We’ve known each other for days .” She scowled and then wiggled against me. “Put me down.”
“No.”
“Put me down .”
I held her a moment longer and then pulled out, slowly setting her down. Before she could spin away, I went to my knees in front of her, running my hands up her thighs. I looked up at her, bunching the skirt of her dress up to look at her pussy, my cum dripping from her.
“I’m not going to give up the meeting tomorrow,” I said as I pushed it back inside her with two fingers.
Her breath hitched. “I would never ask you to do that.”
“I know. It crossed my mind though. That we wouldn’t need to resist each other if that was the case.”
“You’re not giving this up. I’m certain that by the end of Friday I’ll have contracts on my desk to review. A proposal…” Her words trailed off as I pushed more of my cum back into her.
“You could tell them no. Tell them you don’t want me.”
“We both know that I want you.”
I drew my fingers back and reached up, offering them to her. She parted her lips, sucking my cum off them.
“You aren’t even giving us a chance,” I murmured.
“You know why I can’t. It’s unprofessional. It’s…”
I swallowed hard and stood, releasing her dress. “Okay,” I said. I hated this, but I wouldn’t keep fighting her. “You don’t need to stay for the rest of the show. I’ll run their lights.”
Pepper froze. “But…”
“But what?” I bit out. “The sex club is called The Garden. I’ll text you their info tomorrow. It’ll be perfect for you. I doubt you’ll have any trouble finding a good Dom that will treat you right.”
“Salt...”
“Go,” I said, stepping away. I grabbed the chair I’d kicked away earlier and righted it, settling into it in front of the board. “I’m not playing chase with a rabbit choking on their own snare.”
Pepper was silent. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”
“Pepper. Go home.” My voice was far more stern this time.
I heard the click of the lock and turned my head slightly, watching as she opened the door slowly. She stood still for a moment, but then fled, running away from this.
From me.
She was right, wasn’t she? It was for the best. It was easier to stop now before we became entangled and trapped, caged in by our careers and insecurities.
I stood up, looking out the window. I watched her weave through the crowd. Once she was out of sight, I sat back down, forcing myself to focus on the stage. On the lights.
The scent of sex clung to me.
She was a crimson rose with thorns that would cut me and bleed me.
But I yearned for that pain.
For the type of love that would strangle me.
That would set me free.
She’d come back.
I hoped.