Crave Me Page 4

  I opened his door without knocking, and wasn’t surprised at all to see him talking with Gabby.

  “Can you go keep an eye on Chloe?” I asked Gabby. I was being rude, demanding. I didn’t apologize. “I need a word with Dylan.”

  “You may go,” Dylan rumbled to Gabby, his voice heavy with ire at their interruption.

  She hurried out the door, not sparing me a glance while she did what I’d requested.

  “Where’s the prick?”

  “Jared’s been taken care of.” He flexed his hands, showing the rawness of his knuckles.

  “You punched him?”

  “Only enough times to get my point across. He won’t be back.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Want to explain why you were the one who rushed in to take care of her?”

  “You heard her safe word.” He might not have been in the room, but all of them were monitored with video. And damn, I doubted I’d ever forget the sound of my name in Chloe’s pained scream. It still echoed in my ears.

  “Doesn’t tell me anything and you know it, and since you’re the one who just barged into my office, I expect you understand why I’m asking. Already had one problem tonight, don’t need another.”

  “I know her,” I admitted. “She’s Cassie little sister.”

  Dylan’s eyes widened. We weren’t great friends, but we hung out occasionally, mostly just at the club. But I’d been honest from the beginning about why I was there and Cassie’s name had come up more than once.

  “She going to be a problem after tonight?”

  God, I hoped not. “She’s not her sister,” I replied tersely. But I’d questioned that, too. I’d been under the impression everything Cassie and I tried was consensual. Perhaps I’d pushed her too hard too fast, but we’d talked about what I wanted to do and she’d agreed to try it. All she had to do was say stop and I’d listen. I never would have expected her to begin throwing words like abuse and assault around afterward.

  Would Chloe do the same after tonight? I hoped not.

  At Dylan’s concerned glare, one I fully understood, I gave him more truth. “Chloe approached me months ago and asked if I’d train her.”

  “And you said no.”

  “Obviously.”

  “And now?”

  Fuck. She needed it. If she was here, she clearly wanted it. Perhaps tonight hadn’t been what she wanted, but I was still stunned she was even at Luminous. It at least meant she was open to the BDSM lifestyle. Someone needed to train her before she ended up hurt again. I’d spent six months trying to get the taste of her out of my mind. If I would have originally agreed, she never would have been hurt tonight.

  I wouldn’t risk her again. I grinned at Dylan. “I think you already know the answer.”

  “Not saying you should be the one to do it, Simon. Not with your history with her, but if you want, I can find someone who’d do right by her. When she joined earlier this year, she said she wanted to find her own Dom, but now I want to make sure she’s safe.”

  “She came to me. I’ll train her.” The words were out before I could pull them back. For six months, I couldn’t forget the taste of her. If I put limits on our time together, I could get my fill of Chloe, and I could ensure she was trained properly without the threat of another injury.

  Then, we’d go our separate ways.

  “You’ll be careful.” Dylan had issued as much of a warning as a statement.

  “Of course. I need to get back to her and take her home.”

  He nodded, dropped his arms from his chest and placed them on his hips. I took it as a dismissal and turned, but he stopped me in my tracks. “I meant that as much for you as for her, Simon. You’ve been burned by her sister, be careful with yourself while you’re being careful with her.”

  He didn’t need to explain his warning. I left without saying another word.

  * * *

  Approximately thirty seconds after I loaded her in my Tahoe and she’d given me her address, she’d pressed her head to the headrest and passed out. “Chloe,” I whispered. I reached over the console and gently shook her shoulder. “We’re here, Chloe. Wake up.”

  She mumbled and her head lolled toward me like she’d been drugged. Adrenaline crash most likely.

  “We’re at your place. Wanted you awake before I took you inside, you doing okay?”

  She blinked several times and turned her head, looking out the window toward her apartment building. It was late, just after midnight, and the brewery on the main floor of her high-rise building was packed with people both inside and out.

  “Yeah.” She reached to undo her seatbelt but I covered her hand. “Thanks for getting me home.”

  “Stay there. I’ll get you inside.”

  Her nose wrinkled a bit. “I can walk.”

  “I know. I also know you were just completely out and I don’t want you stumbling. I’m helping you inside.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I know I don’t, but I’m going to.” Before she could argue back, which I could tell she was gearing up to do, I opened my door and jumped out, hurried to her side and opened her door. She’d just barely managed to gather her dress and shoes from earlier, along with her purse, in her arms when I opened her door.

  “Hard to walk outside in the cold without shoes on,” I said, unable to hide my grin when her cheeks flamed. Not from embarrassment, either. If I remembered Chloe correctly, which I believed I did, she was cute and innocent and friendly to everyone. She also had a temper and enough sass to fill Lake Michigan when she was irritated.

  Cassie had always rolled her eyes when Chloe let sass fly. I’d always failed to stop from thinking it was cute, the way she would flail her hands in the air, debate anything and everything with her father.

  Chloe moved to slide on her high-heeled shoes. They’d look ridiculous in the oversized sweats she was wearing, and I wasn’t about to let her trip and get hurt again. I stopped her, covering her arm with my hand. “You said I could help you, Chloe, so I’m helping you. I’m taking you upstairs, putting you to bed and making sure you’re safe and have everything you need.”

  “Why?”

  I’d had thirty minutes since leaving Dylan’s office to prepare an answer for that question. I’d had a lot of time to think about the decision I made in his office, too. It wasn’t the right thing to do. It was probably on the scale of top ten worst decisions I’d ever made. I was doing it anyway.

  “Because six months ago, you came to me and wanted me to train you. Tonight, when you screamed my name, you might not have realized it but you were asking again. And this time, I’m listening. You want a Dom, it’s me.”

  Her eyes widened, her lips parted on a gasp. “That’s absurd,” she said, her breath more a whisper.

  “It’s going to happen.”

  She shook her head as though she was trying to clear it. Before she could come back with an argument, I reached into the Tahoe, sank my hands beneath her thighs and behind her back and carried her out. She had no option but to lean into me and wrap her hands around my neck.

  With a bump of my hip, I slammed her door shut and headed inside her apartment building. “You’ve had a long night and you were just sleeping. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow, so you can fully understand what I’m offering, and where we’re going to go from here. Tonight, I just want to make sure you’re inside your apartment, safe and able to get the rest you need. Tomorrow you can think of a way to argue with me.”

  “Thanks for assuming I’ll argue with you,” she muttered.

  I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. In addition to being breathtakingly beautiful—I’d definitely noticed tonight when she was naked—in her perfectly innocent way, Chloe had always been incredibly intelligent. Years ago, she was just as likely to have her head hid
den in the newest edition of Cosmo as she was the Wall Street Journal. As a double major in fashion merchandising and finance, she had always impressed me. Smart, with a great sense of humor and a wicked hot body, along with the taste of her still lingering on my tongue, Chloe was the entire, perfect package.

  And I was going to break her.

  “Don’t argue with me.” I stepped into the open doors of the elevator. “Not tonight. You’ve been through enough.”

  “Okay, but only because I’m too tired to argue, but you’re being really bossy and I’m not—” She yawned. “—sure I like it.”

  If she intended her words to have heat behind them, she failed.

  I pressed my lips to her forehead and inhaled everything about this woman. Her touch, her lingering scent of cinnamon I’d never forget. Damn it.

  She stiffened in my hold, and that wouldn’t do.

  I was going to be her Dom. I’d kiss her whenever I wanted. “If you didn’t want bossy, you shouldn’t have gone searching for a Dom.”

  Another yawn hit her and her eyes fluttered closed. “You make too much sense when I’m sleepy.”

  I laughed as she grew heavy in my arms. When the elevator doors opened, I carried her to her apartment. Holding her with one hand, adjusting my hold on her so I didn’t drop her, I grabbed her keys from her purse, opened the door, and carried her inside.

  Lights from the city filtered in through a large wall of windows, helping me easily find her bedroom. I laid her down gently, pulled back the covers and removed the sweat pants but left on the top. She barely moved while I adjusted the covers over her.

  I kissed her forehead. “Night, Chloe. Sleep well.”

  I left her apartment, and locked her door behind me before I could do something dumber than agreeing to be her Dom, like climbing in bed next to her, and holding her in my arms.

  Chapter Five

  Chloe

  I ached everywhere. My back burned every time I twisted and turned. Even sitting in my office chair in the back of my store was making my ass burn. I had dressed in the most loose-fitting clothes I could find, a silk black top and a pair of maroon, fleece-lined leggings. Tucked into a pair of black boots and with my hair pulled into a messy knot at the top of my head, I still appeared presentable and professional, yet casual.

  It didn’t help. I had opened the store and it had taken me an hour of standing behind the counter before I broke out in a sweat from the pain on my back.

  I wanted to go home. Take a hot bath. Lie on my stomach and forget everything about last night.

  I didn’t go to Luminous searching for Simon. After our kiss gone wrong in February, I’d tried to put him out of my mind. I’d even gone out on several dates since then. But no man I ever met or dated compared to the way my heart rioted inside my body when Simon Delgado was anywhere near me. Deciding I still wanted submission without him, I started researching and found Luminous a few weeks later. Considering it was the only kink club in Grand Rapids, I assumed Simon would be a member, but I had been there a handful of times since April and hadn’t seen him once.

  He’d seen me vulnerable and humiliated, and he’d only looked at me with anger and frustration tightening his features. I doubted I’d return to the club after such a disaster.

  Which was even more depressing.

  Every time I went to Luminous, it solidified my desire to submit.

  I tossed the pen in my hand onto my desk and groaned, slowly stretching my back with my hands on my hips. I had worked through lunch, getting caught up on bills and ordering more ankle boots and fall jewelry accessories. I’d been busy all day long, and it was the only good thing about having my back in such bad shape. It made me focus on my office instead of the pleasurable activities of working the front room.

  The sound of my door opening caught me by surprise and I turned as Tyra appeared in the doorway, Simon right behind her.

  “You have someone to see you,” she said, pointing at him over her shoulder as if I couldn’t see him scowling behind her. “I told him you didn’t want to be interrupted today but he insisted.”

  Of course, he did. Tyra was one of the few friends I had, but she was protective. A housewife, married to a Senator and with more money than creation, she’d practically begged me for a job to give her something to do. I paid her crap because she didn’t want the money. But she was loyal and always on time, a bit flirtatious, even with the women sometimes, and always with the men. I didn’t mind. She was the best sales associate I’d had since opening CC’s.

  “It’s okay, Tyra. He can come in.”

  She moved out of the way.

  Simon walked in and closed the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked shut, he crossed his arms. “You’re still hurt.”

  My fingers curled around the edge of the chair, holding me in place. In jeans and worn, black work boots, a simple gray sweater worn over a plain white-T-shirt, there was absolutely nothing memorable or sexy about his clothes. But good grief, they fit his every dip and curved muscle absolutely perfectly.

  “Why are you here?”

  He smirked, walked to the other side of my desk, and took a chair I didn’t invite him to have. He needed to leave. His presence was too strong, too alluring.

  A desk separated me from him, but I still wanted to throw myself over my desktop and drop to my knees in front of him. Take out his cock. Swirl my tongue around the head and wrap my fingers around what I was sure was a very thick shaft.

  “Came to talk about what we discussed last night.” He sat back, crossing his arms and I realized where I was looking.

  At his crotch. My gaze had zeroed in on the bulge beneath his denim zipper like a homing beacon.

  I jerked my gaze to his. Heat pooled low in my belly. I was too turned on to be embarrassed. He knew I wanted him. And when the man you had a crush on, lusted after, realized you used his name as a safe word, there weren’t many more things I could be embarrassed about around him.

  “Why are you here, Simon?” I asked again.

  I remembered very little of what we’d talked about last night. Mostly, I tried to block it out of my mind after we got into his car. There were vague recollections of him carrying me, mentioning him being my Dom, but it was all hazy.

  His gaze seemed to penetrate to the very depths of me. He stayed silent, searching me, eyes roaming my face and dropping to my silk shirt. My nipples hardened in response, my breasts swelled from the intensity pouring off him.

  He hadn’t moved a muscle. Hadn’t said a word, and still, I understood his intention.

  I swallowed thickly, pushed down the apprehension and set my hands in my lap so he wouldn’t see how badly they were trembling.

  “Simon—”

  “Sir,” he clipped, his tone lacking all the warmth it usually held.

  I jerked back and tried to look him in the eye, but it was nearly impossible. I glanced away and down to my hands.

  Holy crap. What was he doing to me?

  “I don’t understand,” I whispered, still looking at my hands in my lap.

  “Last night you were in too much pain and too tired to talk, so I gave you the night to rest. If you recall, I reminded you that you’ve asked for me to be your Dom twice now, and I’m taking you up on it.”

  I began raising my head.

  “Look at your lap and answer me honestly. You wanted a Dom, Chloe, and now you have one. You want to submit?”

  It was all I’d ever wanted. With the sudden shift in his tone and demeanor, the way he spoke to me...I stared at my chipped pink nail polish and hesitated. “Yes,” I managed to croak. I glanced at my water. My throat had gone dry and my pulse was pounding out of control. Yet even through my nerves, my body went wired. Like one touch from him could send me careening over the edge.

  He stayed silent.
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  “Yes, sir,” I managed. “I want to submit.”

  “Have you done negotiations before? Met with any Doms outside Luminous?”

  “No, sir.”

  “You may look at me now.”

  I lifted my eyes slowly, and when our gazes met, my breath caught.

  With his hair too shaggy to be styled nicely, but a build too big to be geeky, he reminded me of a sexy, slightly rumpled professor. His serious expression morphed him into something breath-stoppingly masculine. “One month,” he said. “I will spend the next month training and teaching you, and then I will help find a more suitable Dom for you.”

  Searing pain lashed straight to my chest, as if he was yielding the cane that had struck me against my will.

  “You—” I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth to stop the tears before they could start.

  “We are not well matched, Chloe. You know this. Your family would never accept me and you’re too young. Too vulnerable. Too innocent for me. But in order to keep you safe, I will handle your training and then I will help you find a Dom who can continue when we’re done.”

  So much for stopping the tears. My face burned with anger as they fell down my cheeks.

  He was giving me everything I wanted and everything I’d craved, while at the same time, absolutely none of it.

  “You’re an asshole.”

  He nodded once, his expression unchanging. “I am. You also know I’m right. After what happened to you, you need someone you can trust, who can walk you through submission and guide you so it doesn’t happen again. Dom-sub relationships aren’t always dating ones, Chloe, and I’m sure you’ve learned it in your research. Our hearts don’t need to be, and won’t be, involved. I understand you’re attracted to me, Chloe.” I flinched at his tone. So damn condescending. It fueled my anger and in my lap, my hands curled into fists. How many punches could I get in before he stopped me? “And I admit, I find you highly attractive. But that’s where this ends for us. I will train you. I will whip you. I will fuck you until you’re boneless. But you know as well as I do, even if I wanted a relationship with you, given your family, it could never happen. What I can do is keep you safe while you explore this lifestyle.”