Page 26

25

“Y ou nervous, Gem?”

“No!” she replied. “Why would I be nervous? Been here lots.”

Hmm.

Which made him think . . . a membership wasn’t cheap. Although there was a healthy discount for residents of Haven.

“You paying month by month?” he asked as he took hold of her hand and led her toward Saxon’s. She was wearing a long coat over whatever outfit she’d put on. He hadn’t seen it yet.

“No. Tanner paid for a year’s membership for me.”

He stilled and she stopped, turning to him in surprise. “What?”

“What?” she asked, looking confused.

“Tanner is paying for your membership?”

“Um, yep. I couldn’t afford it when I first arrived in Haven.”

“I’ll pay him back.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I’m your guardian now, Gem.”

“I know you said that?—”

“I didn’t just say it. I meant it.”

“Okay, all right, you meant it.” She held up her hands. “But what has that got to do with my membership? It was a gift.”

“Don’t want other men buying you gifts.”

“This is my best friend’s man. He doesn’t like me like that.” She gave him an incredulous look.

“Maybe so.” He let go of her hand to fold his arms over his chest. “Still don’t like it.”

Yeah, he was probably overreacting.

But he didn’t care.

“Gonna pay him back and I’ll be paying your membership from now on.”

“Actually, I can pay for my own now that I have a job.”

Her job couldn’t pay that well and she had to shell out for rent, utilities, food, and everything else.

“You can afford a membership on your pay?”

“Laken pays pretty well. I’m good with money, I can survive on the smell of an oily rag.”

Yeah.

He didn’t like that. He didn’t want her to just survive.

He wanted her to thrive.

“Save your money, baby. You’re my girl. I pay.”

“Is this a caveman, I-live-in-Haven-Texas thing?”

“Yep. It’s also a Renard and Opal thing.” He took her hand, leading her back inside.

“Well, damn,” she said.

“What?”

“I wanted to be all angry, but you took the wind out of my sails by saying it’s a Renard and Opal thing.”

“Is that supposed to make sense?” Because he had no clue what she was saying.

“Makes sense to me. That’s all that matters.”

He grunted as they headed into the club. It was set back from the road, but he’d parked out back. There was a large fence and dense shrubbery surrounding the area to add to the privacy.

They walked up to the entrance and the door opened.

Remington Jones stepped out. Renard didn’t know him well; he’d met him when Saxon was showing him around the club and restaurant a few days ago. One of Saxon’s doormen had quit recently to move to Alaska, so he’d hired Remington.

He nodded at the big guy. “Jones.”

“Renard. Told you, calling me Jones is gonna be confusing when there are a few of us around. Call me Remington.”

“Seems like you Jones bones are invading Haven.” Seemed odd when they’d all been gone for so long. First Shaw moving back now Remington.

“Jones? Are you related to Duncan?” Opal asked.

Remington stiffened and narrowed his gaze down at Opal. “That how you usually address a Dom, girl?”

Now, Renard kind of got it. He’d been in the scene long enough that a subbie just shouldn’t talk to a strange Dom like that. But no way was he letting this guy talk to his girl like that.

“Well, considering we’re not in the club, and you don’t even know if I am a sub, yep. And, honestly, even if we were in the club and it was clear I was a sub, yep.”

Jesus help him.

Remington’s eyes widened. Then to Renard’s shock, he grinned. “Oh, you’re trouble.”

Opal’s smile widened. “That’s me. I’m Opal. I work for Laken in her shop.”

Remington’s whole face warmed. “Got it. Heard about you.”

“All good things I hope.”

“Good things about your work, your personality, your loyalty. Not sure I’m going to learn good things about your submissiveness.”

“Oh, I can be plenty submissive for the right person.”

“You hear anyone say anything bad about her you tell me because there will be trouble,” Renard ordered, wrapping an arm around her. “Also, you look or talk to my sub again like that, there’s gonna be trouble between us.”

Remington was built much like Duncan.

Which meant he was about as wide as a small car and thick with muscle.

But Renard wasn’t worried.

“There’s no trouble between us, man. I’m just here doing a favor for Saxon.”

“I thought you were the new doorman,” Renard said.

Remington shook his head. “Just here for a short time. Then I’ll be on my way again.”

Right.

He had questions. But he also knew this wasn’t the place. Opal opened her mouth, but he squeezed her tight.

“We don’t have all night to talk,” Renard said.

“Sure. Have a good night.” Remington opened the door and they stepped into the entrance. There were two doors. One led into the main bar. Anyone could enter the bar, well, if they got through the main door. But the club upstairs was members only.

The second door off to his right led to the club entrance. That’s where he headed. He swiped his membership card and they stepped through.

“I had questions I wanted to ask,” Opal said.

“None of our business, baby.”

“This is a small town.”

“Yep.”

“You know one of the best things about a small town?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“Gossip.”

“Baby,” he scolded.

“Come on, are you still going to pretend that you don’t listen to gossip?”

“I am not pretending. I’m not interested in gossip.”

“Liar,” she whispered.

He leaned into her. “Baby, you’re asking to go over my knee as soon as we get in there.”

As he felt the shiver go through her, he smiled.

Tonight was going to be a good night.

* * *

Smack!

She jumped as the ruler landed on the palm of his hand.

“Well, missy, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Um, what would you like me to say, Sir?” she squeaked.

Her heart was racing, her stomach tight with anticipation and nerves. Was this what she’d wanted?

It more than she’d ever thought possible. From the start of their scene, he’d taken complete control. Renard had thrown himself into the role of a strict principal who was disciplining a naughty schoolgirl.

“What would I like you to say?” he thundered. “I would like you to tell me what you thought you were doing kissing that boy behind the bike shed.”

Ooh.

That did sound naughty.

“It wasn’t really kissing, Sir,” she told him.

She was aware of people watching them, but she didn’t care. Because the only person who really existed right now was Renard.

“He had his hand up your skirt, missy!”

Opal pouted. “I know and you caught us before he could get to the good stuff.”

Slap!

Wow. That sound made her jump again. What would it feel like against her skin?

They’d spoken a lot around her limits and what she wanted from this scene. So she knew that he could choose to use the ruler, his hand, or a paddle. She just didn’t know what.

Which definitely added to the excitement.

“The good stuff? Do you think that naughty girls like you deserve the good stuff?”

“Yeah. I think we do.”

“And did you get wet for him, missy?” Renard asked, moving around the desk to stand behind her.

She turned, but he shook his head. “No. You face the other way. You need to face the consequences of your actions.”

Another shiver.

It was so much easier for her to let go when she was roleplaying. When she became someone else, his voice didn’t infiltrate her head constantly.

She could let go.

And, apparently, the more she trusted the person taking control, the more she could lose herself in the moment.

“Bend over the desk. Hands in front of you. Do not move them.”

Another shudder, but she moved quickly into place. He flicked up her pleated, tartan skirt. Underneath she wore a pair of lacy black panties. Her shirt was tied at the front and most of the buttons were open.

“What are these?” he demanded. “These are not standard issue panties.”

“They’re ugly, Sir. Like granny panties. I like these ones.”

“It’s not up to you to decide what sort of panties you wear,” he told her. “And he had his hands on your panties?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Tut-tut-tut. Well, let’s just see the truth for ourselves, shall we? Spread your legs wider.”

She spread her legs and he reached under her panties to run his fingers along her slit. Then he thrust two fingers deep inside her.

Opal let out a small cry. Not in pain but in pleasure.

Then he drew them out.

“Such a naughty girl. Look how wet you are from letting that boy touch your pussy. You are going to have to be punished for that.”

When she heard a sucking noise, she turned her head to glance behind her. Swallowing heavily, she studied him as he sucked on his fingers.

Holy. Shit.

That was so hot.

“Did I say you could move, missy?” He slammed the ruler against the desk and she jumped.

“N-no, Sir!”

“That’s right. I’m afraid my hand isn’t going to cut it. You’re going to get some with my hand and the rest with the ruler. Any lip from you and I’ll have to get out the paddle.”

Well. She couldn’t guarantee there would be no lip.

Her panties were pulled down to her knees and then his hand landed on her ass. It wasn’t as heavy as she’d thought it might be and she tensed slightly.

“Very, very bad girl.”

Each word was emphasized with a smack to her ass.

Okay.

That was more like it.

She could feel her ass growing heated, knew it was likely turning pink.

“You will not go behind the bike shed with a boy.”

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Her breathing grew heavier.

“Such a bad girl. I’m going to have to call your father.”

More smacks to her ass with his hand.

Damn. Were those slaps getting harder?

“Don’t call my Daddy!” she cried.

He leaned over her. “Not your Daddy, girl. That’s me. Your father.”

Um. Okay.

Confusion filled her. She knew that she’d called him Daddy a few times, but she hadn’t realized that he liked it.

“You’re the Principal! Can’t you just punish me without getting my father involved?”

“I’m not sure. Why would I do that?” he asked, pulling back and staring down at her red ass.

Everyone was staring at her red ass.

So she gave it a bit of a wiggle.

Hey. She was a people pleaser.

Smack!

“Stay still.”

Party pooper.

“What will your father do once he’s heard that you let some strange boy put his hand up your skirt and play with your wet pussy?” he demanded.

Dear Lord.

Why was that such a turn on? It shouldn’t be, right? But she could feel her clit throbbing, wetness gathering between her legs.

And she wanted more.

“Please don’t do that, Sir. Please just punish me yourself!”

“Oh, I’m going to punish you,” he promised. “But you’re gonna have to do something for me to get me to be quiet.”

She tensed.

“Easy, Gem,” he murmured, moving himself so his body covered her, his hands resting on the desk. “If there’s anything you don’t want to do, you use your safeword.”

Cool.

Because she hadn’t actually talked to him about blow jobs.

As in . . . she hated giving them.

As in . . . she didn’t think she could give one without thinking of Stefan. Without every bastard she’d ever been with getting into her head.

“Well, girl?” he demanded, stepping back. “Just what are you going to do for me?”

“What do you want, Sir?” she asked.

“I want what that boy had. I want my fingers deep in that pretty, wet pussy.”

“Please, Sir! You can’t!” she cried.

“I can if you don’t want me to call your father.”

“All right, Sir. I’ll take my punishment.”

You need to be punished, Opal.

Dirty.

Slut.

“You will.”

To her shock, he smacked her ass with the ruler.

“And you will stay with me. No wandering.”

How did he always know?

Slap! Slap!

God. She bit down on her lip as the pain of the ruler landed on her already tender ass.

Killing. Her.

A cry left her as another smack landed and then he was kneeling behind her, spreading the lips of her pussy wide as his tongue speared her.

He thrust it in and out of her pussy.

Christ!

It was too much. Her ass was throbbing and so was her clit. And she didn’t know which was worse.

Then he moved his hand away and she let out a protesting cry.

“Shh, girl,” he growled. “You’re going to take this. You deserve it. So fucking naughty.” He moved in behind her, covering her with his body. It was deliberate, he was giving them some privacy while still in the middle of a scene.

And then his fingers got to work.

She hadn’t thought she’d be able to come like this, with people watching. And she knew that if she wanted to stop it that she could. But it felt so good. His fingers played with her clit, then thrust themselves inside her, and every so often, his hand landed on her thigh.

He worked her until she screamed her release, collapsing on the desk.

“Fucking beautiful,” he whispered to her. “Such a good, fucking beautiful girl. Well done, baby. You did so well.”

Damn.

She lapped up the words of praise like a hungry kitten given a bowl of cream.

He moved away from her before lifting her into his arms. She let out a small cry.

“Shh, baby. I’ll get you sorted soon.”

She didn’t know why she was so tired; she hadn’t done that much.

“What about you?” she asked.

“What about me?” he asked as he carried her over to a dark corner where there was a couch. He settled her on the couch on her side and wrapped the blanket around her.

Bliss.

Then he crouched and brushed her hair off her face.

“Don’t you want to get off?”

“I’m fine, Gem.”

“But—”

“Who is in charge right now?” he said in a low, growly voice that warned her he was getting to the edge of his patience.

A smart person would back off.

But she’d never claimed to be that smart.

“You are.”

“That’s right.”

“But don’t you want?—”

“You need another spanking, Gem?” he asked.

Uh-oh.

No, she did not.

Her poor bottom was already hot and sore.

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No, Renard.”

“That’s better. Now, you stay the fuck here while I clean up, hear me?”

“Yes, Sir.” She thought about saluting but her poor bottom couldn’t handle cashing in the check her mouth might make.

Huh. Maybe she was getting smarter.

* * *

Opal was curled up in his lap, getting treated like a fucking princess when the sub approached.

He was nervous.

She could tell that by the way he shuffled his feet and cleared his throat several times before he could speak.

“Um, Sir?” he asked as no one said anything.

She lifted her head up to look at him.

Well, she tried to. Renard shoved her head back into his chest.

Then he grunted. “Yeah?”

“Um, Sir, are you going to . . . will you . . . be using your whip on any other subs tonight?” the sub asked with hope clear in his voice.

“Nope.”

“Oh.” The poor guy’s shoulders slumped and the sadness in his face was killing her. “Are you sure?”

“Yep. Here with my girl. I’m only performing with her.”

“Oh, yes, of course. I just thought you might still, uh, want to, well . . . anyway . . . sorry.”

Shit. This was painful. As the guy turned, she called out. “Hey, wait.”

He spun back. He was young, with dark hair and pale skin. She’d never seen him before but that didn’t mean he was new to the club or scene.

“Baby,” Renard warned, tightening his arms around her. “Hush. We’re having aftercare and you weren’t given permission to talk freely.”

Um. Really?

“I like to talk.”

“Know you do. But you need to check with me first before you can talk to people. Remember, we discussed this?”

Well. Hell.

“I thought that was just Doms.”

He seemed to think about this. “All right. I didn’t make it clear. It’s everyone.”

“That sucks. Okay, can I speak to this guy?

“Nope.”

“Renard!” she complained. “I want to talk to him.”

“No.”

She was aware of the guy watching them, his eyes growing wide. Probably thinking that she was the worst sub in the history of subs.

“Please. I want to ask him some questions.”

“Ask me.”

“Sub to sub.”

Renard grunted.

“You want to give me what I need, remember?”

His scowl grew ferocious. “Don’t like my words being turned on me.”

She gave him her best pouty face.

“Fine. But you’re paying for this at home. I’m going to fuck you until you scream yourself raw and only then will you get to come.”

Oh, goody.

She turned to the guy. “Hey, I’m Opal.”

“Lex.”

“You have three minutes. No niceties,” Renard said.

Lex jumped at the bark in Renard’s voice, but she just sighed. “Sorry about him. He’s a touch . . . grouchy.”

“Gem,” he warned.

“I wanted to ask you why.”

Lex blinked. “Why what?”

“Why you want him to whip you? Doesn’t it hurt? Doesn’t it scare you that he’ll cause you to bleed or scar? Or do you want that?”

“Oh. Well. He’s one of the best, you know. So if you don’t want to bleed, then you won’t. And, I, um, I like it because it feels good. Like, it stings but then there’s a warmth afterward that just makes your mind drift. Everything goes away. The pain. The fears. The worries. It just all disappears into a haze.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It is,” Lex said wistfully. “Not everyone is as good as him.”

She nodded. Good to know.

“You’re really brave to talk to him like that. The rest of us are scared of him,” he whispered.

She leaned in. “He’s really a big teddy bear under all that gruff.”

“Enough, Opal,” Renard snarled. “You’ve both had enough time to chat. Bye.”

Lex ran off.

“A big teddy bear?” he repeated. “You’ll be lucky if you get to come now.”

Drat.

That sucked. But it was the truth.

“Will you do it?” she asked, turning to look at him.

“Do what?” he asked.

“Use the whip on Lex?”

He studied her closely. “You want me to do that?”

“I . . . yeah. I want to watch and see what you do.” She frowned. “Will you have to touch him?”

“A bit. But you know it would be nothing sexual and I’d have to give aftercare.”

“Cuddling?”

“Nah. Doubt that.”

“Then yeah, I want you to do it. And I want to watch.”