Chapter 8
Eight
Mira
I texted Cleo when I got back to my dorm, but she didn’t answer. A quick glance at the wall clock told me she was still at work.
In the Dungeon.
I needed to talk to her. I was desperate to. But going to the Dungeon would be torture. What if Wes was there? With someone? Someone I knew?
My heart galloped in my chest. What if that someone else suddenly made him forget me? What if the only reason he missed me was because I was the last person he’d scened with. Was I? Had he ever said that?
I got into my pajamas to distract myself from going to the Dungeon. But when I climbed into bed and grabbed one of my textbooks to refresh my memory for Monday’s lesson, I saw the clock.
It was 9:16 pm. Who went to bed this early on a Saturday night?
What if I went to the Dungeon for a quick scene? There had to be someone I knew there who could wear me out without expectations for more. It was a Saturday after all. It was guaranteed to be bustling.
No. No. No. Not with him there. Not with someone I’m craving like my next breath in the Dungeon. Maybe he wouldn’t even notice me though. He might be too busy with his own scene. A hot flush of jealousy swept through me and my heart pounded in my ears.
I rolled over. Yanking my covers up and tucking them tightly under my chin, I squeezed my eyes shut. It was fine to go to sleep this early. All the traveling back and forth and the worry… I needed a good night’s sleep. Except I wasn’t tired. Not even a little bit.
Pursing my lips I considered the little nightstand next to my bed. I just had to reach over and open it, and my rosebud toy would be right there. Maybe a few good orgasms would make me sleepy.
But then Wes popped into my head. He’d tortured me with a toy once before.
Not this particular one, I’d thrown the one he’d used on me out when he ghosted me.
But the memory of him using a similar toy on me was relentless.
How I’d called out Daddy at the top of my lungs after the fourth orgasm when I was so sensitive it was pure torture.
Would Wes make whomever he played with tonight call him Daddy too? Ugh. I rolled again, this time facing away from the nightstand and kicked my covers off.
Would he touch them like he used to touch me? I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling.
Who would it be? I went through a list in my head of all the single subs who would likely be in the Dungeon. I lost count after twenty and growled, kicking my feet on the mattress like a child.
“You’re not going to fall asleep like this,” I said out loud to the empty room and got up from the bed. A walk. I needed a walk to clear my head.
Throwing on my clothes, I headed out of the dorms and right out of the university building. I was so deep in my head, I barely noticed where I was ten minutes later.
At the steps of the main lodge.
I ended up exactly where I shouldn’t be. I swallowed hard.
“Okay.” I whispered aloud. “This is okay. I’ll find Cleo. She’ll talk some sense into me.”
Drake’s brow rose as he saw me. I was so rarely here these days. I smiled at him, and he grinned, opening the door to let me through.
Walking right past the bar into the Dungeon, I shivered at the sounds of various scenes filling the air.
Breathing in the scent of leather and saddle soap, my nipples hardened.
I wandered through the room, dodging people watching a rope scene, and a woman in latex, walking her leashed partner.
And then I saw him, and it was like the entire room fell away.
He wasn’t scening. He actually looked a little lost. I swallowed instantly when his eyes found mine. I shrugged and he smiled.
“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked after he closed the distance between us.
I shook my head. “No, I need to though.”
“Why are you here then?”
“Curiosity?” I said but even I heard the question in my sentence. His brow arched. He’d always known when I was lying. “Er, jealousy?”
His face softened, and he took my hand pulling me in for a hug. “You’re allowed to feel that way and still hold tight to your boundaries, Mira.”
“I am?” I felt shaky and unsure of everything then. Like the person I’d been working so hard at becoming—the strong, capable, Mira, was long gone. And wasn’t it just as I’d thought it would be? In his presence, I was weak. But in that moment, I no longer cared.
“You are. Come on, I’ll walk you back to your room.”
When we got to my dorm door a few minutes later, I worked up enough courage to speak.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt any plans you made.”
His eyes held mine.
“I mean, no scenes?” I held my breath until he shook his head.
“Nah, I was just getting my bearings.”
I nodded, relief flooding me. “Thank you just the same.”
He put his arms around me, pulling me tight to his chest. “Any time, girlie.”
I froze. Girlie. It was what he’d always called me when he was in Dom mode.
Swallowing, I pulled back from his arms. It was as if the words broke the last bit of my reserve. Rising to my toes, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me, pressing my mouth against his.
At first, he hesitated but then his hand was cupping my face, and his tongue was running the show.
“Mira,” he whispered. “This… I want this, but…”
“Shh,” I said and kissed him again, kneading his mouth open with my lips. “I need this, please.”
He groaned as if not giving me what I asked for might kill him.
“I just need a reprieve from being strong and capable. One tiny vacation day to embrace my softer side and be vulnerable.”
“But…”
“Please be my Daddy-Dom one more time and fuck me senseless.”
I felt Wes harden between us almost instantly.
“I need you,” I begged breathily.
“You got me, honey. I’ll always give you anything you need.”
I felt a sob welling up from somewhere deep inside me at his breathy confession, but then his fingers threaded into my hair, and he tugged my head back firmly.
“Let’s get you out of your head,” he growled. “Hold on five more minutes and I’ll have you forgetting your own name.”
I released a breath and with it I let go. It was just what I needed to hear.
Bending forward, he threw me over his shoulder, clapping a hand on my ass. I squealed with the swift movement and the sting.
“Easy, honey, I’ve got you.” His hand was still on my ass, and when he squeezed, it felt both dirty and delicious. Arousal dampened my panties.
Wes turned the knob on the door and kicked it open with his foot, all while holding me over his shoulder.
“Wait,” I blurted stopping him from crossing the threshold. “This room is tiny. Don’t you have a whole suite?”
“Good idea, girlie. But I need to hear you tell me right now that you’re mine for the next twenty-four hours.”
I hesitated. Twenty-four hours was a long time. Long enough to fall back in love with him. I reached into my room, grabbing my purse off the hook right inside the door.
“I won’t settle for less.”
My heart lurched in my chest. Maybe he was bluffing. I knew he wanted this as much, if not more than I did, but even if he didn’t, did it even matter? I didn’t have to worry about falling back in love with him, because I had never stopped.
“Yes, yours. Twenty-four hours all yours.” It was an effort to add the second sentence because in that moment I wanted him forever.
“What was that now?” His voice held a note of danger, and it made me weak, but not in the way that I’d been fighting so hard against. I was weak with need.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl.”
On the way to the suite, we ran through our previous scene negotiations. He made me remind him of my limits and my safe word and he told me his. It was getting too real, and my stomach was starting to buzz with anxiety.
“Girlie? You can change your mind at any time, yeah?”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me, caught up in my own head.
“Mira?”
I blinked at his sharp tone. “Yes.”
“Did you hear me?”
“Oh, yes. Sorry.”
“I know this is a lot for you. But I need you to know, if you want to stop, I will not be angry, it will not change our friendship. There will be no consequences. Tell me you understand.”
The relief came in the form of tension draining from my body. My shoulders relaxed, as did my neck and jaw. “Yes, Daddy.”
“That’s better, girlie. I can feel you back with me now.”
The suite wasn’t the same one we’d played in before, but they were all similar, so when he walked in kicked off his shoes and plopped my ass on the small two-person pub-style dining table, I wasn’t the least bit disoriented. And that meant I was completely focused on him.
“You’re mine tonight. Say it again while you look me in the eye,” he prompted.
I swallowed. “I’m yours tonight.” I pleaded with him not to suggest more between us, not more than the twenty-four hours. Not when we both needed this to happen so badly. Not when I’d have to stop it if there was an expectation of more.
He held out a hand. “Phone.”
“But my mom?”
He shook his head. “I’ll keep an eye on it. I’ll make sure if there’s an emergency, you get the call. But for tonight, Mira. You’re free from everything else, but me.”
A shiver crawled up my spine, and I fished my phone out of my pocket, handing it over even though my gut twisted.
“Trust me?” he asked, as he put it away in a drawer. I nodded because I did. I trusted him more than myself right now. He smiled and then he kissed the hell out of me until I literally felt more puddle than human.
“I’ve missed this. Your taste. Your scent. Your warm pliable body.”
His choppy breathless words spoken between wet kisses, flustered me. I couldn’t think, not with his hot mouth on my neck.
“Yes,” I gasped. “Mm… me too. Ah, your mouth…” I threw my head back, shoving my breasts against his hard chest, my nipples aching for the same treatment as my neck, and closed my eyes. He nibbled his way down my cleavage. “So hot,” I added when my mind found the words.