Page 4

I hurried through the throngs of people, trying to spot Reef.

Being so short, even in heels, made it hard to see over most people.

The number of people increased as the night went on.

My heart was pounding, but it wasn’t due to worry over the upset sub.

It was almost totally due to the man I’d just left.

While doing the scene with Reef, I felt an awareness go through me halfway through.

I didn’t know what the cause was, and I chose not to look around to see if something or someone was out there that was the cause of it.

It could’ve been my imagination.

Instead, I concentrated on what I was doing.

I owed that to the sub doing the scene with me.

This was the third time Reef and I had played together.

We were still getting to know each other.

And although we’d discussed and agreed on the terms of what wasn’t acceptable to each of us and put it in writing, we hadn’t gone far.

I never liked to jump into a relationship, even if it was purely platonic.

He’d expressed that he was interested in us being more than platonic.

However, I explained that I wasn’t offering something like that, at least not until I knew my mind.

I informed him this would determine if we had the potential for it to be more.

Reef had been disappointed, but he agreed to do it my way.

I started it off by asking him a load of questions.

He hadn’t understood why I wanted to know some of the stuff I asked.

I explained to him the type of Domme I was and how I got my needs met.

He agreed it would work for him, but I wasn’t sure.

Tonight’s childish behavior of storming off didn’t support that notion.

What I did to him was clearly agreed upon, and he was the one who suggested in the contract what I should do if he failed to do as he was told.

I only followed the plan.

I wasn’t a Dom who was into humiliation or pure sadism.

At heart, I was still a caregiver, and as such, I wanted my sub to make me happy by allowing me to take care of him.

It might be by ensuring that the things he wanted to achieve and his goals were met.

How could I help him make that happen? In Reef’s case, he needed to shave daily to avoid his whiskers becoming ingrown and causing his skin to be sore and inflamed.

He’d told me that during our exploration talks. Reef shared that he would get lazy and not do it, then regret it later. It was this that led to tonight’s scene.

We’d been asked if we’d do one.

I was slightly hesitant, but Reef was excited and begged me to do it, so I agreed.

It had been Mikhail who had asked.

It seemed that there weren’t many women who were into being a Female Dom and none who did it like I did.

Mikhail said it was different, and he wanted to spotlight it.

I enjoyed passing along my knowledge, so I eventually said yes.

Our first two scenes had been private ones.

And while he hadn’t wholly listened during them, resulting in mild punishment, they’d gone well enough that I was okay doing it in front of others.

I chose the scene, and Reef agreed to it.

His storming off at the end surprised me.

I was worried that I had done something wrong.

If I did, I needed to know what.

However, my concern for him was overshadowed by my desire to stay and talk with Servass.

When he approached me to tell me I did nothing wrong, I was caught off guard, and my entire being flared with awareness.

I felt the same awareness during the scene, and I wondered what the cause was.

It was him.

I was further astonished to learn he was Cady’s brother.

I’d met her through Tajah, and the three of us quickly became friends.

I knew Cady had a brother, but she didn’t say much about him.

I couldn’t recall either of them mentioning he was a patron of Lustz.

I would’ve remembered that.

Along with the awareness he caused, Servass’ physical appearance struck me as well.

He was tall, which wasn’t hard when one was my size.

In my bare feet, I stood only five feet three.

Cady and I had bonded over our disgust at our lack of height.

Servass was close to a foot taller than I.

Seeing him and Cady side by side, I saw their similarities.

His hair was the same warm chestnut brown as hers. It was equally as thick looking. In his case, it was wavy and lay in whirls and curls all over his head. He had a thick mane of it.

In my opinion, he had a masculine beauty, which was enhanced by the closely trimmed beard and mustache that matched his hair.

Thick brows arched over his light gray eyes, lighter than Cady’s medium gray ones.

While Cady’s skin had a warm ivory tint, his was darker and more of a light bronze.

It made me think he spent time outside.

Admittedly, I couldn’t see his body, but what I saw through his clothing hinted that he was muscular, although not the bulky muscles that Mikhail and definitely Hoss had.

However, that didn’t mean he was weak.

I impatiently pressed past a group of patrons.

I’d circled the entire second floor and hadn’t found Reef.

He could be in the men’s locker room or on the first floor.

I had a choice to make—did I continue to chase him around or go back to Servass? My sweet side said I should find him to be sure he was alright.

The dominant in me said I shouldn’t encourage his bad behavior.

It didn’t take long for me to go with the dominant side.

Abandoning the search, I turned to go back to where I started. I hoped finding Cady, Tajah, and Servass wouldn’t be hard.

I was dejected when I returned to the stage I’d been on and found no sign of the three of them.

Another couple was using it.

I was back to scanning without hope of success when my phone, which was in my pants pocket, vibrated.

Slipping it out, I was relieved to see Cady’s name.

Cady: We’re over by the store, showing my brother what he’s been missing. Meet us there?

Me: I’m on my way. Be there in a minute or so.

Cady: Gr8

Putting my phone away, I began to move toward the store. I was halfway there when Reef popped up out of nowhere. He wore a displeased expression.

“Oh, there you are. I wondered what happened to you,”

I said as I kept walking.

“Where are you going?”

he asked gruffly.

“I’m going to meet friends. They’re waiting for me.”

“Friends? You didn’t say anything earlier about meeting friends. I thought we’d spend the night together.”

We were almost at the store. I stopped to finish this conversation. I faced him. “Reef, you and I agreed to do the scene tonight. That’s concluded. After you stormed off in a snit, my friends came over and found me. I would be with them already, but I tried to find you. I decided that it was your place to come to me. Nothing I did was outside your consent. However, you acted as if it was.”

“It hurts like hell. I wasn’t in the mood to stand there being stared at. I left to shower and finish shaving. As for joining friends, we can hang out with them for a bit, but I want some alone time with you. We have to talk about something important.”

“What could that be?”

“We’ve done three scenes together. I think that’s more than enough for you to know me. I want us to become a couple. I don’t want just playtime. I want sex as well,”

he stated boldly.

I was speechless. Could this man be any more clueless? What gave him the idea that I’d want that, especially after his behavior earlier?

“Reef, we’re not having this discussion. I’m joining my friends and enjoying the rest of the night.”

“Wait, you can’t leave me. We’re together. I want to know who these friends are. Are any of them men? Do you plan to play with someone else?”

he snapped. His tone was becoming louder and more upset—time to show him my less sweet side.

“That’s enough, sub. What I plan to do is none of your business. And if one of the people I’m meeting is a man, that’s none of your concern. We’re not exclusively playing with each other. As for your desire for us to become a permanent couple who are more than platonic, the answer is no. The three sessions were enough to show me that we will never work. Now, excuse me. I’ve kept my party waiting long enough.”

Turning my back on him, I marched off with my head held high and my back straight. Those standing close had heard us, but I couldn’t care less. The guy was unbelievable. How could he be so clueless? I had hoped he’d satisfy my needs, but it hadn’t happened. I knew it wouldn’t. He wasn’t the correct submissive for me. I found it discouraging, but not enough to continue to try with him.

I sighed in relief when I spotted the two women and Servass standing outside the store. When they saw me, Cady waved. I saw Servass was studying me. I wondered what he saw and what his kinks were. Remembering I hadn’t looked at his wrists, I quickly did so as I finished approaching them. I was looking for one bead color, and it had to be on his left wrist. I wore mine on the right.

I almost moaned when I saw the hot pink bead on his left, matching the one on my right. A white bead on the left wrist for both of us indicated that play was negotiable. Yes! It seemed, despite the odds, Servass was a submissive. Eagerness hit me. I knew my smile was massive when I got to them.

“You’re smiling. Are we to take it that your talk with Reef went well?”

Tajah asked.

“I guess it depends on what you define as well. If telling him I’m not interested in playing with him anymore and that I’m not open to moving to play that includes sex is your definition, then it went exceptionally well.”

“Oh shit, how did he take it?”

Cady asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t stay to find out, but my guess would be he’s not happy. Let’s forget about him. I want us to have a drink and talk. Do you want to do that? We can go downstairs. I’m done for the night up here. Are you?”

This was when I got enough nerve to meet Servass’ eyes. There was a look in them that I would define as heat. I hoped I wasn’t wrong. He held out his arm to me, with it crooked at the elbow.

“Right this way. I’m all for a drink and talk,” he said.

“Why don’t we go upstairs, where it’s private and quiet?”

Tajah suggested.

“To your apartment?” I asked.

I’d heard about the third floor. It had security, Mikhail’s office, and a vast apartment. It was where they’d lived until a couple of weeks ago. Their new house had been built, and they moved there. It was in an area I wasn’t familiar with called Culleoka. They told me it was an hour southwest of Nashville.

“Yes, the apartment. Even if we’re not living in it, we still plan to stay when needed. It’s fully furnished and good to go. Let me tell Misha and Hoss where we’re headed. They hopefully can join us,”

Taj explained.

“Did Mikhail get pulled into working?” I asked.

“Not really, but Reuben, Hoss, and he got to talking, and we left them to do whatever. Then we ran into you, and we’ve been sticking to Servass,”

Tajah added.

We made it to the elevator. I hadn’t seen the apartment, so I was excited. We’d met for coffee or shopping in town, or when I was here, I was preoccupied. We had to wait for it to empty before entering. I watched Tajah press her finger to a screen, and the door closed, and we rose.

“Isn’t it cool? To get to the third floor, you must have a keycard or print in the system. Same for the offices and apartment,”

Cady informed me.

“Feels very James Bond to me,” I joked.

The two women were chattering away. I tried to be attentive, but still held onto Servass’s arm. The heat from his body and the scent of his cologne were distracting me. I wanted to lean closer and sniff him.

When the elevator door opened, he escorted me out after his sister and Taj exited. He squeezed my hand slightly as we followed them down a long hallway. I saw a door at the end of it. When we got to it, I read that it was marked private. Another print scanner was there.

When I was in Venus’s headspace, such as performing or engaging on the floor as her, I was very confident and had no trouble talking to men or showing myself as a strong woman. However, when I was outside that and plain Alexandra, I reverted to my quieter self. It was like I was two different people. It was true that over the last two years, more Venus had seeped into my Alexandra side of things, but I still had a long way to go before I could be her all the time. If I were her, I’d inhale deeply and tell him how good he smelled. Maybe even say to him that it was affecting my body.

Entering the apartment, I quickly saw it deserved a grander name than to be labeled an apartment. I lived in one of those. This was a luxury condo or penthouse. I was given a quick tour. It was immaculate and tastefully decorated, making me wonder what their house was like. I figured Servass and Cady would stay in the living area to await us, but they didn’t. They tagged along for the grand tour.

By the time we made the circuit and got back to the main area, Mikhail, Hoss, and Reuben joined us. It was almost midnight. Mikhail and Hoss served as hosts and asked everyone what they wanted to drink. Several different drinks were called out. As they worked on preparing them, I was seated on the couch. I felt disappointed when Hoss called Servass away. Cady took his spot.

“Listen, I know it’ll seem weird, but you’ll hear me call my brother by his real name, and I might accidentally do the same with you. I’ll try not to, but I still have issues with it. I forget to call Tajah Delilah all the time. However, in her case, she rarely uses it anymore. I never took a name, and almost everyone calls him Hoss. I hope that won’t upset you if I out your real name.”

“You’ve done very well in remembering not to do it at the club. Honestly, I took the name because it was given to me by my mentor. And with my work, I don’t necessarily want to advertise to everyone my true name. However, I don’t mind with this group. You all know it, and I doubt your brother will turn weird on me.”

“He wouldn’t. He understands the need to keep things private with his job as well. He would never tell anyone or use it to hurt you in any way,”

she assured me.

“Who hurt you?”

Servass’s voice from behind me made me jump. I glanced over my shoulder at him. He stood there with two glasses in his hands, frowning.

Cady stood up so he could sit next to me. He put our drinks on the low table in front of us.

“No one hurt me. Your sister told me she often forgets to use club names and wants me to know if she uses my real name, not to worry about you causing trouble. I doubt my work would like this aspect of my life. She said the same is true for yours. Oh, and she’ll probably mess up and use your real name. I promise I won’t mention it to anyone,”

I assured him.

His frown eased. “It’s true. She does have a horrible time with it. She’s accidentally said mine more than once. Maybe we should just out ourselves before she does it and solemnly vow not to reveal our secret daytime identities to anyone. After all, we have to keep those hidden. It wouldn’t do for the villains to know them or where we can be found,”

he said with a grin.

I laughed. “Well, if it works for the superheroes in the comics, then it can work for us. Let’s reintroduce ourselves. I’ll go first. Hello, I’m Venus, aka Alexandra. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He smiled. “Hello, Alexandra-Venus, I’m Servass, also known as Carver. I’m Cady’s more charming older brother.”

He held out his hand, and I shook it. A fissure seemed to open deep in my gut, causing my body to instantly warm. Carver was staring into my eyes.

“Hey, I heard that! Don’t believe a word he says, Lexi. I’m the nicest sibling and the sweetest. No one can out-charm me,”

Cady objected.

This earned her boos and objections from everyone, including Hoss. The scowl she wore as she argued with them made me giggle. Cady was defending herself and asking Tajah to side with her, which she wasn’t doing, when Carver, whose name I loved, leaned over so he could whisper in my ear.

“Do you prefer to be called Venus, Alexandra, or Lexi?”

“Either Alexandra or Lexi is good. What about you?”

“If it’s you, then Carver. I only chose Servass because it was recommended that I have one due to work.”

“I get it. I’m not sure how my work would react if they knew.”

“Do you mind if I ask what kind of work you do?” he asked.

“Not at all. I’m a nurse. I work in neurology.”

I held back from saying where.

“Doesn’t neurology deal with diseases and conditions affecting the spine, nervous system, and the brain? Things like strokes, MS, Parkinson’s?”

“It is. Additional things we typically deal with are cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s, seizures, movement and motor neuron disease, and headaches. What about you? What kind of work do you do, Carver?”

I asked. Just saying his name made me feel good.

“I’m a lawyer. I work in intellectual properties such as copyrights and stuff like that.”

“Oh, that must keep you busy in a place like Nashville with all the music artists. Unfortunately, I bet people steal and lay claim to stuff that’s not theirs all the time, especially if there is money to be made.”

“They sure do. There’s enough to keep me more than busy.”

“Do you work for yourself or a law firm?”

“I’m out on my own now, but I worked for one until three years ago. Luckily, I made my name with them, so when I branched off, I had a following and people to recommend me.”

We were busy chatting about our work when Mikhail asked for our attention. We were asked to come to the windows. Going to them, he opened the window coverings so we could see outside. Nashville was lit up. I wondered if that was what he wanted us to see. I got my answer moments later when the sky lit up with fireworks. At first, I was confused. The Nashville ones were scheduled for Monday, I’d been told. Then I heard what was being said. These were the ones Mikhail had arranged for the patrons and the city. It was the House of Lustz’s way of bringing the celebration to everyone inside and outside the club.

They lasted for a solid hour before the big finale came. I thought they were the best fireworks I’d ever seen. All of us congratulated and thanked him for a magnificent show. As the time slipped into the wee hours of a new day, I worked not to monopolize Carver’s time. I made sure to speak to everyone, but it was hard not to talk exclusively to him.

The stories Mikhail, Reuben, and Hoss told about things that had happened at Lustz had us disbelieving or hysterically laughing, depending on what they told us. It didn’t seem possible that they were true, but they swore they were. This led me to share some stories of my own, followed by Cady, Tajah, and finally, Carver.

I hated to see our time end, but when it was two o’clock in the morning, I had to call it. I was tired, and if I wanted to make it home safely, I needed to leave. When I explained this, I was offered a room there, but I declined. I needed to sleep in my bed. This broke up the party, which I hated. Hoss and Cady were staying the night. Reuben was going to check to see how the night was wrapping up downstairs. The club was open for another hour.

I promised the girls we’d go for coffee again soon. After exchanging hugs with them, I was accompanied downstairs and out to my car by Carver. He insisted he’d do it when Reuben offered to walk me out. I wasn’t upset that it was Carver. I was reluctant to end our time together.

When we got to my car, he stopped me from opening my door. “Alexandra, it was great not only meeting you tonight but also getting a chance to talk and get to know you. I hope this isn’t too forward, but I’d like us to do it again. Would you be willing to do that? Maybe go have coffee?”

My heart skipped. I had to prevent myself from squealing for joy at the prospect. Instead, I held it in and gave him what I hoped was a pleased, though calm answer.

“I’d like that, Carver. I had a good time tonight.”

“Good. If you don’t mind, may I have your number so we can arrange one? Between our schedules, I know we’re busy, but I have no doubt we can find time.”

I took out my cell phone, and a minute later, we had each other’s numbers.

He insisted on opening my door, and after we bid each other goodnight, he stood there as I drove away.

I wanted to pinch myself on the drive home.

I was wide awake. I ended up lecturing myself before I got to my apartment.

Lexi, don’t read anything into it.

He’s Cady’s brother and is probably being nice to you since you’re her friend and new to the area.

Just because he’s submissive and open to play doesn’t mean you’re the type of Dom that attracts him.

He could be being polite only.

However, that didn’t stop me from hoping with the other half of me that I was wrong, that I was what he was looking for, and that he was the same for me.

I wasn’t asking for a forever relationship with marriage and kids from this.

I’d settle for a comfortable one that lasted beyond a few months and was more than just play.

At home, after removing my makeup, washing my face, undressing, and changing into my night clothes, I crawled into bed and continued to think about him until I fell asleep due to exhaustion.

***