I could barely hold back my snort at his use of the word fun. He must have meant fun for the Dom.

  “Orgasm control can be difficult for submissives,” Nathaniel said. “A wise Dom recognizes this and will do whatever it takes to make sure the sub is successful.”

  I couldn’t decide how I felt about demoing orgasm control. On the one hand, I had years of experience and thought I had a pretty good grasp on controlling my orgasms. On the other, this was a demo, and that meant, more than likely, Nathaniel would do everything in his power to make me lose that control.

  I vowed to be strong, took a few deep breaths to calm myself, and picked a few German verbs to conjugate when I felt my control slipping.

  “Abigail’s worn my collar for almost ten years, and as you’d correctly guess, we know each other well. I’m almost certain that at the moment she’s thinking orgasm control is a piece of cake for her. But she knows that since we are doing a demo, the possibility exists I might be more evil than normal. If I don’t give her instructions to be quiet, you’ll know she’s close to slipping when she speaks German. Look at me and tell me if I’m right, Abigail.”

  Damn cocky bastard of a Dom knew he was right. I heard the smile in his voice. I’m sure everyone present did as well. I didn’t look at the crowd when I lifted my head. He’d told me to look at him. “Yes, Master,” I said through clenched teeth. “You’re correct.”

  “Thank you, my lovely,” he said, still smiling. “Go on and unclench your teeth. I won’t be patient with any attitude tonight.”

  He said that as if he was ever patient with any attitude.

  Still, I did my best to relax my jaw.

  He smiled, but his tone was still commanding. “Once you’ve decided not to be a brat, crawl over to the chair to my right.”

  I hated crawling, and he knew it. But he liked it because he said it showed off my ass. However, he’d had me wear a skirt tonight, so I didn’t think he could see very much of my ass as I crawled.

  I sucked in a breath when I saw the chair. It looked comfortable. The seat and back were pillowed and fluffy, covered in a plush cloth. Someone had slightly reclined the adjustable back for the comfort of whoever would sit in it. Me, I supposed, but at the moment, Nathaniel had only bid me to crawl over to the chair, nothing further.

  But I was almost one hundred percent sure I would soon sit in it because I’d seen similar chairs and knew there was a reason the armrests looked a bit askew. They weren’t really armrests.

  I also knew if the chair ended up being what I thought it was, it wouldn’t be Nathaniel’s hands driving me toward release. Damn, this was going to be interesting. I did my best to hide my smile. It had been a long time since he’d let me explore and enjoy my exhibitionist side. A side I thoroughly got off on.

  Sure enough, the night got two hundred times better with his next words.

  “I want you sitting in the chair, Abigail. Legs over the arms, with that skirt hiked up to your waist. I want everyone watching to see how much you enjoy being the center of attention. Or at least how much you enjoy it when you’re half naked.”

  I heard his smile when he spoke the last sentence. He’d often joked about how odd it was that I only liked for people to notice me when I was in a scene with him. Any other time, I was fine to disappear into the background.

  Arousal and adrenaline coursed through my body as I climbed into the chair and positioned myself the way he’d commanded. For a few seconds, I felt like a contortionist. Odd, I thought, because I’d been in a very similar chair before, but this one was different from what it appeared. Only when I had situated my body did I realize what the difference was. This particular chair leaned farther back than the one I’d sat in before.

  This meant that unless I sat up, I wouldn’t be able to see the club members watching me. I was disappointed, but only for a minute. Obviously, Nathaniel had his reasons for not wanting me to see my audience at the moment, reasons that could cover just about anything. It would be a waste of time to try to get inside his brain. Best to just go with it.

  I closed my eyes and waited for Nathaniel to tell me to start. Getting myself off in front of club members was nothing new. Having my husband and master to direct me on how to go about doing it was the icing on the kinky cake. It was easy to get caught up in the scene.

  Behind my eyelids, I could imagine who was watching, and even pretend I was somewhere else. Somewhere public, in front of a vanilla crowd, somewhere I would never think about sitting half naked in a chair, playing with myself. Not in real life, anyway. But with the way Nathaniel had set up the scene, he had given me the fantasy of doing just that.

  Based on his comments to the watching members, I expected him to bring me to the edge of my release several times and for him to be uncharacteristically stingy in allowing me to fall over.

  Soon, I had no way of knowing how long I’d been in the chair. Time no longer held any meaning for me as I existed only in breaths and heartbeats, trying to hold off my approaching climax. It would feel so good to let go and let it sweep over me. But I held back. I wasn’t sure how many times he brought me close, only to bring me down, but with each repeating cycle, I came closer and closer, and it became harder and harder to withstand the tempting pleasure just half a sigh away. Finally, I’d reconciled myself to the fact I wouldn’t be able to stop from diving headfirst into an orgasm and damn the consequences, when he changed direction on me.

  “I’m impressed, my lovely,” he said. “So impressed, I’m going to allow you to come. But first, sit up and look at the crowd you’ve wowed with your control.”

  Taking a deep breath, and with the heady knowledge that he would soon reward me for holding back the way I held back, I lifted my head just enough to see the crowd before me. I didn’t know most of the people in attendance.

  A movement to my right caught my eye, and I turned my head to take a closer look. It took several long seconds for me to realize what I was seeing. Probably because it was the last thing I ever thought I’d see in a BDSM club.

  Tucked away in a corner, hidden from everyone’s view except mine, was Vincent. It didn’t bother me he was watching. No, what bothered me was the phone he had in his hands, camera facing toward me. I didn’t hesitate.

  “Red!”

  Chapter 6

  NATHANIEL

  Abby’s use of her safe word sent my world spinning. Not that I had my attention on someone or something else. It was that I had no reason to suspect she’d safeword in that particular scene. Fortunately, years of training and experience kicked in by reflex, while my brain hurried to catch up.

  I was by her side and in her line of vision almost instantaneously. My eyes traveled her body, looking for an injury. I couldn’t see anything wrong or out of sorts.

  “Abby?” I asked. Her eyes were wide and wild. She looked petrified, focused on something behind me. “What’s wrong?”

  She turned her face toward me, and the look of shock I saw hurt something inside of me. “Vincent,” she said. “In the far corner. With a camera.”

  Luke had rushed to the platform when Abby safe-worded, and he was at my side as she spoke. He responded at once. “I’ll go to Vincent,” he said. “You take care of Abby. I have reserved Aftercare Room A for you.”

  Had Abby not been in my arms, I might have landed myself in jail. Hell, forget might have, I would have wound up in jail.

  In the short time it took for me to carry Abby to the aftercare room, she’d left terrified Abby behind and was one hundred percent mad-as-hell Abby.

  She pushed herself away when I sat down with her in my arms. Straightening her clothes, she asked in a low voice, “Did you see him? Vincent?”

  “Just now?” I asked for clarification. “During the demo?”

  My hesitation and question obviously registered in her brain. “Yes, I meant the demo. But why did you ask when? Did you see him some other time?”

  “Earlier,” I answered. “When we first arrived. I saw him and Ellery with a group of newbie members.”

  “That’s why you and Luke went into his office to talk. You recognized him.”

  The way she said it almost made it sound conspiratorial. “Yes. I wanted to see what he knew about them. Luke said they were in a group of potential members and it was their second meeting. He indicated tonight was the group’s first time visiting the club.”

  “And it just so happened to be the same night in who knows how long that we showed up,” she said in an echo of what I’d told Luke less than two hours ago.

  “That’s what I said.” I ran a hand through my hair, trying not to focus on the fact that I’d somehow overlooked a club member recording the demo session. I needed to put that to the side to deal with later.

  Abby was my first concern, and aside from being mad as hell, she was fine. Now it was time for me to handle why she was mad as hell to begin with. Vincent. Because not only had he made Abby red, he’d recorded her. In doing so, he’d violated the entire club’s trust. Hell, he’d violated the entire community’s trust. If I had anything to do with it, and I’d make damn sure I did, Vincent wouldn’t be welcome in any club anywhere.

  “Come on,” Abby said, standing in front of me. “Let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “To find Vincent and kick his ass.”

  I stood up and took her hand. “I’ll hold him down for you.”

  Though there were plenty of eyes watching, no one said anything to us as we walked from the private room to Luke’s office. I didn’t know for sure if we’d find either Luke or Vincent there, but it seemed to be the most likely spot.

  His door was closed, but I heard the hum of conversation from the other side, even though I couldn’t make out what was being said. I knocked once. “It’s Nathaniel.”

  There was never a doubt in my mind that Luke would let me in. The only thing that came as a shock was the absolute, all-encompassing rage that took over my body as soon as I laid eyes on Vincent. As Abby would tell me later, I lost it.

  He was sitting in one of Luke’s chairs when I stepped into the office, and I reacted on instinct alone. I walked over to him, took hold of his collar on both sides, and lifted him up. “What the fuck were you doing filming my wife?”

  I’m not sure how I expected him to answer, not with how tight his shirt collar was around his throat. It didn’t occur to me I was the one responsible for the way his face turned red and how he gasped for air until Luke nearly shouted for me to let go and calm down.

  I did the first but found the second an impossibility. Instead, I led Abby to a chair across the room from him and stood by her side, glaring at the bastard.

  “We’re going to sort this out,” Luke said, looking from Vincent to me. “But we’re going to go about it in a reasonable and respectful way. And we’re going to follow due process.”

  “Fuck due process,” I said. “That bastard took videos of my submissive without my permission. That’s an automatic expulsion from any club worth its salt.”

  “I understand that’s what Abby thought she saw,” Luke said. “But Mr. Manne denies having his phone with him.”

  “You asshole.” Abby glared at Vincent. “You think I don’t know what I saw? Do you think I’m stupid? You lying piece of —”

  “Are you going to sit there and let your submissive talk like that to another Dom?” Vincent asked me.

  I crossed my arms. “There are only two Doms in this room, and she’s been nothing but respectful to the both of us. I have no problem with the way she’s talking to you.”

  Vincent’s face turned red again, but this time I didn’t have a finger on him.

  “In contrast to what you may think or the way you believe it should go, one does not become a Dom simply because one calls themselves a Dom.” I kept my voice low and even, trying to cover up the fact that I’d like nothing more than to rip the man apart with my bare hands. “It takes training and knowledge, and a whole host of other things you don’t have and never will.”

  That, at least, shut him up for a few seconds. I turned to Luke. “You’re not even going to search him for a phone?”

  Luke sighed. “He didn’t have a phone on him when I first caught up with him after the demo, and he swore he left it in his bag in the dressing room. I went with him, and he showed it to me.”

  “Did you check it to make sure there weren’t any pictures or videos of Abby?” I asked.

  “It’s America, Master West. There are laws about illegal search and seizure.”

  Luke’s answer did nothing to calm my rage. Abby still sat in front of me. My hand rested on her shoulder, and it was almost as if I could feel the anger radiating in waves from her body. I wasn’t the only one hanging on by a thread.

  “He either passed the phone off to someone so they could put it in his bag, or else he has two, and he’s still hiding one.” Abby waited for Luke to say something, and when he didn’t, she added, “I know what I saw.”

  “I’m not saying I don’t believe you think you saw him filming,” Luke said. “The indisputable facts are you were in the middle of a scene, more than likely in subspace, and I saw no evidence of any type of recording device when I approached him.”

  Abby looked up at me. “Permission to speak freely and with complete honesty to Master DeVaan?”

  I was still reeling from Luke’s response myself. “Please, my lovely. Don’t hold back.”

  “I understand the concept of illegal search and seizure. But I also understand the meaning of trust. You’ve broken mine tonight, and I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe coming here again.” She stood. “I’m ready to go home, Master.”

  I was, too. But first I had something to say to Vincent. “If Abby said she saw you with a recording device turned in her direction, then I’m one hundred ten percent certain that’s what you were doing. I may not have the proof of it tonight, but I’ll find out soon enough. The smartest thing for you to do is to delete anything pertaining to Abby you may have in your possession. Unfortunately, you aren’t bright enough to do the smartest thing, so I’ll put it a different way: If I ever hear one word, see one pixel of anything giving me the slightest inclination you haven’t deleted everything, I’m coming for you, and when I finish, no one will ever know what happened to you.”

  “That’s enough, Master West,” Luke said at the same time Vincent asked, “Are you threatening me?”

  I didn’t believe either man warranted a reply. I turned to Abby. “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter 7

  ABBY

  I didn’t have to ask Nathaniel how he felt on the way home. The white-knuckle grip he kept on the steering wheel said everything. He wasn’t the type of person to get angry often, but you never wanted to be the person who made him that way. At the moment, I wouldn’t want to be Luke or Vincent. Though we were headed away from them, so they were safe from Nathaniel’s worst. At least for now.

  He was also probably beating himself up because he wasn’t the one to spot Vincent first. We’d talked many times about how his role as a Dominant didn’t mean he was perfect. A Dom was just as fallible anyone else. I knew I should reach out to him and say something about how it wasn’t his fault, and he shouldn’t blame himself because there was no way he could have seen Vincent.

  But I kept quiet.

  I said nothing because way down deep in the darkest place inside of me, a part of me thought he should have noticed the camera first. He should have been the one to spot Vincent and call a stop to the scene.

  In fact, I was willing to bet that if it had happened that way, Luke would have believed him without question. There would have been no mention of, “Gee, I don’t know, Master West. You were in your headspace. But I’m sure you believe you saw a nonexistent camera.”

  Of course, thinking those thoughts only made me more angry. And to be honest, I was fine to remain angry for the entire way back to the house. But the more we drove, the more I thought, and the more I thought, the more my anger morphed into something else.

  It started once I realized I’d meant what I told Luke. I couldn’t trust him anymore if he couldn’t believe me. If I didn’t trust him, I wouldn’t feel comfortable at his club. Which meant I’d never go back. And that made me sad.

  Then I wondered if the evening would have any lasting effect on the Delaware club. Would Luke and Nathaniel be able to work together, or would one of them have to buy out the other? All because Luke didn’t think I saw what I know I did.

  Whenever Luke looked at me, would he remember this? What impact would everything have on me and Meagan? Sure, it wasn’t as if we saw each other every day, but that didn’t mean I wanted to lose her as a friend.

  I glanced out the window and saw that we were almost home. On most nights, after time spent playing at a club, we’d pick up where we left off. But I knew Nathaniel wouldn’t attempt any sort of play in the mood he was in.

  It shouldn’t have made me sad to realize I wouldn’t get the ending of the demo we started at the club, but that didn’t stop the tear sliding down my cheek. I wiped it away as we pulled up to the house.

  “Abby?” Nathaniel asked, because of course he would see that, but not the unauthorized camera his employee’s husband had pointed at me when I was half naked and playing with myself.

  That thought only made more tears fall.

  Before I could move, Nathaniel had gotten out of the car and was at my side, unbuckling my seatbelt and pulling me out and into his embrace.

  I wanted to rest in his arms forever, and at the same time, I hated that his arms provided comfort I couldn’t give myself. “I’m so sad and mad and confused,” I confessed.

  “It’s my fault,” he said.

  “Not all of it.” I sniffled. Funny how speaking a few words made me feel a little better. “Only some of it.”

  “Not what happened at the club,” he said, somehow unlocking the door and resetting the security system, all while holding me. “I mean this. Right here with you now.”