Page 23 of Prince of Control (Bratva Heirs #1)

Chapter Sixteen

Baron

Not surprisingly, my wife did not meet me on the dance floor after changing her shoes. She disappeared upstairs for so long that I assumed she’d gone to sleep for the night.

Except now, at one in the morning with the party vibe turning needy and people trying to find their hook-ups before the party ends, I spot her out on the dance floor.

With a guy.

Anya turned the volume down on the sound system to signal the wind-down of the party, and she’s playing songs with more of a groove than a bop.

Technically, there are four guys dancing around her, moving in closer like they’re planning some wild menage à cinq .

I’m already slicing my way through the crowd when one of the guys puts his hands on her hips from behind. I keep my head. Violence will be my last resort. I simply lay a hand on the guy’s shoulder when I get there.

“You’re dancing with my wife.”

Lara spins around.

Luckily for the guy, he recognizes me and instantly jumps back. “Sorry, Baron. I didn’t know.”

I ignore him and step in front of Lara, taking his place with my hands lightly touching her waist as we move to the music.

She looks up at me. It’s hard to read her expression because it’s a mix of mulish resistance and vulnerability. Like I dented her confidence in us tonight, but she’s holding out some hope.

“Are you punishing me?” I ask.

She nods, holding my gaze as her hips sway.

She’s still in the sexy dress, but she has on a pair of flats now, and her hair is down.

For one agonizing moment, my imagination pictures her hooking up with someone during this party to get back at me, but I quickly discard that notion.

My house members would’ve seen and told me if she was with anyone else.

I step closer, one of my hands sliding from her waist up her side to lightly hold her breast. I brush my thumb over the skin just above her strapless dress.

She doesn’t resist me. Her body knows mine. She responds to my touch by softening. It seems she wanted this. Wanted to get my attention and throw a mini-rebellion to prove she won’t fall under my command.

The problem for her is that her body already knows its master.

Me.

Bending my face down close to hers, I say, “I’m not sure you understand the way this works.” I let my hands roam, one traveling behind her to grab her ass and the other massaging behind her neck.

“How does it work?” She has those electric blue eyes trained on me, which makes my dick get hard.

I keep my voice seductive. My lips brush her temple as I speak close to her skin. “I do the punishing around here. And you’ve just earned a trip to the dungeon.”

Her rhythm falters.

I slide my arm behind her back to pull her body up flush against mine. My fingers tangle in her hair. “You’ve been a naughty girl.”

She looks over her shoulder toward the door to the closet that leads to the secret staircase downstairs.

At that exact moment, the door swings open and Melinda comes out, followed by Anders.

So much for my no dungeon decree tonight.

But at least they both got what they wanted.

Things didn’t fall apart with Anders stepping away.

No harm done. I didn’t want any randos downstairs, but I trust Melinda.

She’s taken many trips to the dungeon and has as much to lose as we do if she’s indiscreet.

The memory of Lara asking if I get to have any fun returns to me. I never indulge my own desires at these parties. But the world probably won’t fall apart if I slip away for a bit. If I choose something for myself for a change.

I take Lara’s hand and lead her toward the closet.

“Anders, you’re in charge of shutting the party down,” I say into the comms. We typically shut off the music and kick people out by 2 a.m. Sometimes VIPs get to stay longer for a swanky after-party, which of course amps up the allure of befriending our house members to secure the special invites.

My goal–which I achieved reasonably fast–was to change the entire social structure at Thornecroft from worship of the old monied legacy mudaks to making my house members the new royalty.

It’s the reason Titan House is after us.

Which is why I probably shouldn’t indulge in my dark desires with Lara right now.

But our marriage is important. Possibly more important to me than my previous goal of building an empire. And my wife is in a sensitive, malleable state. If I don’t use this moment to bond us together, I’ll be driving us apart.

I pull her into the dark closet and shut the door after us. It locks from the outside, so no one will be able to follow without the proper thumbprint.

Once inside, I activate the secret sliding door that opens to the staircase. Yes, we do have a panic room down there, too. Safety was the utmost consideration when renovating this house.

I flick on the mood lighting–subtle strips of amber and red lights that run along the stairs– and lead Lara down the stairs.

At the bottom, I flick on more mood lights.

We set the dungeon up like a swanky lounge, with couches and chairs for voyeurs, and equipment for BDSM play.

The back wall features floor-to-ceiling smoky mirrors so subs and doms can watch themselves or their partners.

There are also private rooms with spanking benches and other equipment.

“This is where I bring you when you’ve been a bad girl,” I tell Lara, guiding her to a spanking bench. “Take your panties off and kneel up here.” I pat the padded area for her knees.

Lara blinks and works to swallow but doesn’t move.

That makes sense. She’s not particularly eager to please me tonight.

She’d rather have me “make” her obey. I invade her space, sliding my hands down her thighs and hiking up the hem of her fitted dress.

“I’ll help you, malyshka .” Circling her ass a couple of times with my palms, I murmur, “You can trust me.”

It’s crazy how much I want her to trust me. I’m fucking desperate for that deeper connection with her. I need this to be more than a hot scene in the dungeon. I want us to bond.

I hook my thumbs in the waistband of her panties and slowly slide them down, squatting at her feet, then trailing my fingertips up along her legs as I stand.

“Let’s see how excited you are about your spanking.

” I slide my middle finger between her legs and pull my breath in as a hiss over my teeth when I find her sopping wet.

“ So excited.” I put a heap of praise in my voice.

“That’s good, printsessa . Now–” I jerk the hem of her dress up to her waist and spin her around to face the spanking bench.

“ Kneel up .” There’s a sudden firmness to my voice that makes her gaze dart over her shoulder to mine, like she’s checking to see if I’m mad.

I wink to show her I’m not.

She climbs onto the platform, and I push her torso over the padded bench and swiftly fasten her ankles to the straps to secure her.

I do the same thing with her wrists, sliding my finger inside to make sure the restraints aren’t too tight.

Then I leave her there to simmer while I put some sexy music on the dungeon’s sound system and go to pick out my toys.

I choose a small starter butt plug, some lube, and a leather paddle. It’s a favorite implement of mine because it makes a nice slappy sound and can easily be experienced as pleasure or pain depending on how hard I wield it.

I take my time, knowing that anticipation heightens the experience for both of us. When I return to Lara‘s side, I stroke her bare ass lightly, running my palm in circles around each cheek, then sliding a finger between her legs again spreading her slick up and around her clit.

Then I deliver a flurry of sharp quick spanks, alternating right and left cheeks, concentrating the spanks on the lower half of her ass where she sits.

“ Ou ,” she exclaims.

“I know,” I soothe, returning to caressing her ass. I love seeing the bloom of my red handprints on her pale skin.

“This is what happens when you’ve been naughty, Lara,” I tell her, making my voice stern again. I pry her cheeks apart and dribble a dollop of lubricant over her asshole. She lets out a warbling mew that sounds like one part fear, one part arousal.

“I’m going to fuck your ass with this plug, printsessa .” I bring the bulbous end of a stainless steel plug to her back hole.

She makes a little whine of protest, which I ignore. I nudge her anus with the head of the plug, applying a little pressure and then withdrawing. I set it down and spank her again with my hand a little harder this time.

“Are you going to take your ass-fucking like a good girl?”

“ Nyet .”

I chuckle and rub between her legs, giving her the experience of pleasure before I return to her punishment.

“Let me make it easier for you.” I return to my cabinet of toys and pull out a vibrator.

I rub it with lube and then tease her folds with it, gliding it up to her clit.

At the same time, I lean forward and kiss, then bite one of her ass cheeks.

“Ahh-ah,” she warbles.

I keep the vibrator at her clit, and with my other hand, bring the head of the plug back to her anus and apply gentle pressure. She squeezes against the intrusion. “Take a deep breath, malyshka .” I wait until she complies. “Now, as you blow it out, push back on this plug, so I can get it in.”

She freezes, breath held for a moment, then slowly exhales. I apply more pressure to the plug. She moans as her back hole yawns open to take the plug.

“Good girl,” I praise. “You’re doing so well. Keep pushing for me.”

I get the fattest part of the plug past her entrance, and it seats inside her. “That’s it, printsessa .” I gently pump and twist the plug, providing sensation to all the nerve endings that ring the anus.