Page 13 of Dance for Me
When Bodie’s face crumpled slightly, bottom lip trembling, he braced for an explosion. With a little cry of distress, she bounced the pen in her hand off his cluttered workspace and screwed the half-completed paper into a ball that she launched at the wall.
If she’d been in a headspace where she respected his authority, Braun would’ve happily spanked the temper tantrum out of her system. But she hadn’t recognized herself as submissive yet, so wouldn’t welcome the release he could give her.
Instead he gave her the doleful stare of a man unimpressed by said tantrum and said in a low, firm voice, “Pick that up and put it in the trash please.”
Her lips twitched in a curl as she glared back at him, but unfortunately for Bodie, a subbie—especially a novice subbie—didn’t have the willpower to remain stubborn under the steely gaze of an experienced and unflappable Dominant. However, she gave it the old college try and lasted almost ninety seconds before she capitulated and slunk from her chair to retrieve the ball and drop it in the wastebasket next to his desk.
Smiling to himself, he pushed a fresh limits list in front of her just as her pretty ass dropped back into her seat. Her shoulders sagged in defeat as he rolled another pen within reach.
His phone signaled with a text.
“Why do I have to do this stupid form?” she demanded with a scowl. She flicked her fingers irritably at the pen and spun it back toward him. “I’m coming here to work, not...cavort with your clients.”
“We tend not to cavort here,” he said absently as he read Connie’s reply to his request. Fingers flying over the keyboard, he sent a quick thank you, then set his phone aside and studied the anxious woman across from him. “All my employees have completed the very same stupid form, little one. It’s just a precaution.”
“A precaution in case I lose my mind and want someone to hurt me?” The mulish set of her mouth was driving him crazy with the urge to yank her over the desk and kiss her into submission. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
Someone really needed to level the girl’s head out before that bratty attitude cost her a sore bottom. Braun decided to keep her under close scrutiny during her first few weeks—not just for the pleasure of watching her, but to prevent her from doing something stupid like sassing the wrong fucking Dom.
His phone pinged with another message. Atticus this time, but another positive reply. Excellent. Things were sliding into all the right places.
With his patience firmly in hand, Braun simply lifted his eyebrow and tapped his finger on his desk. “I’m afraid I’ll have to be strict about this and insist, Boadicea. We will sit here all night if needs be but be mindful that your preparation time for your performance is slowly ticking down.”
Bodie worried her lip. Bit her thumbnail. Shot daggers at the innocuous piece of paper. With the short, jerky movements of a pissed off child, she snatched up the pen and ticked boxes with reckless regard. It took her less than two minutes to shove the finished form back at him with a sulky little hiss. “All done.”
Unhurried, Braun picked it up and perused it with a careful eye. He damn near snorted when he saw what she’d “agreed” to try and not try. If she was aware of half of what some of the activities entailed, she’d be scrambling to amend her answers. Never mind. He would repeat this exercise again in the very near future and take the time to explain each kink so she could make an informed decision rather than choices dictated by her nerves and temper.
For now, he’d won this round and he was happy to claim the victory.
“Thank you, Bodie. Now that the paperwork is dealt with, why don’t you tell me what equipment you need me to supply for your performances. Music, costumes, props? I can source probably anything and everything you require.”
She blinked slowly and he could see her thoughts rolling over her pale face. Why isn’t he yelling at me? Maybe if I’m bitchy enough, he’ll kick me out of his stupid sex club. But...I need the job. I really need the fucking money.
Shit.
The switch from sex to work seemed to settle her down some. It was evident sex pushed her distress button and caused her to deploy her inner army of warrior bitches.
She rattled off a brief list of things she needed for her trial run and Braun nodded, using his phone to note them down before sending another volley of texts out into the world.
“Wonderful, I’ll do my best to see it all gets here in the next,”—he checked his watch for the time—“hour or so. That’ll give you thirty minutes to set things up to your preference before the club opens. Wednesday nights tend to be quieter at the moment so it’s an ideal time for you to acquaint yourself with the stage and my people.”
“Thank you.”
“I will be on the floor in the social area tonight, as will Liam. If you run into any problems, you can come to either one of us. However, the club monitors will also be doing their rounds. They wear black shirts like mine,” he explained, plucking at his own soft shirt, “and they have Avalon’s logo stitched on the breast pocket in silver. You can approach any one of them and they will assist you.”
“They won’t think I’m an idiot?”
“Darlin’, we don’t judge people. This is out of your comfort zone, I know. No one will think any differently of you if things overwhelm you on your first few nights, and the monitors are always pleased to help anyone who needs it.”
How fascinating was it to see his calm answer strip another layer of unease from her slight frame? The poor girl had so much pent-up anxiety inside her with more triggers than she might realize. Her mind must be an intricate spider’s web of traps and pitfalls twisted along the narrow path of her thoughts.
They fell into an almost companionable silence, both observing the other with quiet intensity. The longer the silence went on, the more Bodie relaxed. White-knuckled fingers returned to their normal color and her breathing slowed, deepened.
“Have you any questions?” Braun murmured, unwilling to break the easy atmosphere with a loud voice. “Anything I can reassure you about?”
She shook her head slowly, gnawing lightly on her bottom lip.
“Okay then, I think we’re done here for the moment. If you speak to Liam, he’ll show you where the music system is kept. We have a vast selection of music so feel free to rummage through and use what suits you. I’ll have the rest of your requests brought directly to you when they arrive.”