Page 15 of Dance for Me
Liam, in all his handsome scruffiness, looked like a Viking warrior.
This guy was an ice king.
The light glinted off a stud in his ear, twinkling bright as a star as his head fell back on a low, rumbling laugh. Whatever they were talking about, it was hitting his humor button repeatedly.
Liam glanced at his watch, then at the door. Warmth spread over his face when he caught sight of her lurking. “There she is. I thought the boss might have stolen you away for good, Bo. Why don’t you come say hello to a good friend of mine?”
Glacier blue eyes winged across the open space to lock on hers, and she found herself taking a hasty step back from the power of them. She recognized the gleam in his gaze, and it was one that terrified her beyond measure.
This was a man who took pleasure in hurting people.
“Bodie, you’re safe, I promise.”
No one was safe when men like this were walking around. Hell, she was tempted to run back to Braun’s office and hammer on the door until he let her in. She’d rather be confined in his company than be introduced to a man whose inner core mirrored her father’s.
“Suspicious little thing, aren’t you, poppet?” Blondie straightened and assessed her from head to toe. “At a guess, you’re remarkably skilled at reading people. What do you see, I wonder?” His voice was so different to what she expected, she blinked in shock. Smooth, cultured, pleasant. Not a hint of the rough and threatening tone she thought he’d possess. “Someone’s hurt you, haven’t they, poppet? I find people—women in particular—see the sadist in me so much more clearly when they’ve suffered.”
Was it that easy for him to admit what he was? No skirting around it, just, there’s a sadist in me whether you like it or not. Her breathing picked up pace and she was inching away slowly as though the eyes of the hunter weren’t already pinned on her.
“Jasper, you asshole. We’ve only just persuaded her to stay, we don’t need your big mouth scaring her off.” Liam rolled his eyes in exasperation. “And she’s not here to play, she’s here to work.”
“No, I don’t imagine she’d enjoy my style of play,” Jasper conceded.
“Oh good, we’re all in agreement then. Bodie, baby, come here.”
A few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have hesitated to hurry to Liam when she was feeling scared and insecure. Twenty years of friendship would have drawn her to him no matter the peril that separated them. Now, when her defenses were already on the rocks, broken trust didn’t offer the same support.
Braun let sadists loose on his customers.
Was he insane?
“I may be a sadist, poppet, but I don’t enjoy terrorizing an unwilling submissive. Ghostly white really isn’t a color that suits you with that hair.” Jasper’s gaze softened slightly, and to her dismay, he became infinitely more approachable. Not that she would go near him if the fucking club burned down around their ears and he was the only one capable of saving her from a fiery death.
“I’m n-not a submissive.” Way to sound assertive there, Bodie.
“No? Well, that’s fifteen years as a Dom wasted,” he said cheerfully, then snapped his fingers and pointed to a spot in front of him. “Come here. Now.”
Bodie’s heart sank as she took a step forward. Sheer willpower stopped her from taking another, but the fucker had made his point and he knew it.
The smug grin on his face was proof of that.
“Don’t let the fear of the unknown scare you away from taking an adventure, poppet. Submission is a gift only a moron would abuse, and Braun has no patience for morons in his club.” Jasper inclined his head toward Liam. “I have a scene to prepare for, so I’m going to get out of your way and let the nervous subbie take a chance to catch her breath. Catch you later.”
“Yeah, thanks for that, J.”
Bodie’s breath strangled in her throat as the Dominant headed straight for her. Her small moan of relief when he walked past her without making a move to touch her was completely audible and humiliating. She swore she felt the power of him brush over her as tangibly as his hand. “Fuck.”
“The key to Jasper,” Liam called to her, “is not to let him intimidate you. Once he knows he’s gotten under your skin, he’ll play on it. Sadist through and through, but he’s a bit of a prankster as well.”
“Yeah, well, he can shove his pranks up his ass.” There, now she felt better. She hated feeling lesser than other people and Jasper made her feel so off-balance. “Is everyone here like him?”
“Everyone’s different, Bo. They’re people, after all. We have some Doms who are stricter than others, some who have a wicked sense of humor. Master Atticus is a hardass, for example, but a lot of subs say he gives the best aftercare. Mistress Connie comes across as a sweetheart, which she is unless someone pisses her off. Then she’s...think T-Rex crossed with an angry mama bear.” Liam chuckled to himself, obviously amused by his description. “Master Loki is the group troubleshooter. Nervous and novice subbies flock to him for advice. Luckily, he likes the attention.”
Bodie moved closer, intrigued by the picture he was building in her head. The terms he used—Master, Mistress, Doms, submissives, aftercare—meant little to her, but the way he spoke about people she’d never met poked her curiosity awake. “And you? Are you a...a Master?”
“For two years now. I started coming here about five years ago when I realized I needed more out of my sexual encounters. I was in a relationship with Asshole Aaron, if you remember, and he was...a lot kinkier than I was at that time. But he opened my eyes to the lifestyle, brought me to Avalon, and let me explore things I never would’ve had the balls to try without his influence.” Liam sighed wistfully and propped his elbow on the bar. “That man was the biggest fuckwit in the history of mankind, but he sure did know how to educate.”
She remembered Aaron and asshole described him perfectly. The man had been a diva of the worst kind, always wanting to be center of attention and creating any form of drama to make sure the spotlight was on him. She had never worked out why her best friend stayed with him for so long—now she knew.