impressed.”
Knox tried to level his breathing. And while he did that, he tried to get his cock to stand down.
She patted his leg and resumed crunching popcorn as if she weren’t turning him inside out.
“It makes me wet,” she said nonchalantly, “seeing you with such iron control, knowing you’re doing it for me because I asked.”
He growled at her admission and grabbed a handful of hair at the back of her head to get at her mouth. Taking the kiss, the contact he needed. Besides, what worse punishment could she give him?
Shiori allowed the kiss, but when she lightly bit down on his tongue, he backed off.
The next time her hand crept between his legs, he didn’t bother to try to keep his body from reacting to her touch.
“How are you liking your reward?”
“This doesn’t exactly feel like a reward, Mistress.”
“It will.” She blew in his ear, and he felt it all the way in his balls. “Relax and let all your tension go.”
“I’m trying.”
She smacked his leg. “Loosen up.”
Knox inhaled a deep breath and focused on the tension leaving his body the same time as the air in his lungs.
That’s when a strange sense of peace flowed through him. He felt her hand working him and the tightness in his balls. He wanted that rush of release, ached for it, but he trusted her to get him there.
“That’s what I wanted, Knox.”
He might’ve offered her a dreamy smile.
“Come for me, lover. Come now.”
The orgasm was like an out-of-body experience. He’d never come so hard, for so long. Wave after wave rolled through him, tossing him about a sea of pleasure so intense for a split second he wondered if he were dreaming. His seed was scorching hot on his skin. His balls just kept shooting out stream after stream. He shuddered. He yelled, but no sound came out.
When she finally stopped pumping his shaft, he curled his hand over hers and said, “Just a little more. Please.”
As he helped her bring him down, she whispered, “You were magnificent.”
He grunted, and she caught the sound in her mouth. Shiori kissed him with tenderness and care. Running her free hand over his face and neck and chest, letting him know this wasn’t a fantasy; it was real.
Knox didn’t know how much time passed before he opened his eyes. But the first thing he saw was her beautiful face.
He had the overwhelming urge to drop to his knees. But it warred with his overwhelming urge to run. To get far away from this woman and the absolute surrender she demanded. It scared the fuck out of him, anyone having that kind of power over him.
“Don’t.” She kissed him again.
“Don’t what?”
“Ruin this for yourself by thinking too hard.”
So you want me to be your mindless sex slave? That I’ll do anything to feel like that again and again?
“You were magnificent,” she repeated. “Strong, sexy. So hot, giving your will to me, that when you started to come, I did too.”
He lifted his arm, wanting to touch her face, but he realized his hand was sticky. So was his belly. So was his cock. Time to clean up, take a step back, let his big head take back control. Hopefully his legs wouldn’t fail him when he stood.
She put her hand on his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To wash up. I’ll be right back.”
Her fierce eyes locked to his. “I didn’t say you could move.”
“Shiori—”
“Mistress,” she snapped. “Are you even aware your body is shaking?”
Knox glanced down and saw his knee bouncing. “Shit.”
“Stay fucking put. And yes, that’s a goddamn order.”
She left the couch and walked to the kitchen. Water ran. Then she returned with a handful of paper towels.
When she began to clean him up, his cheeks burned with embarrassment, and he snatched the wet paper towels from her. “Stop. I’ll do it.”
“You are the most stubborn man.”
He cleaned his right hand with his left. Then he took another paper towel and wiped his belly. “Isn’t cleaning jizz off your sub beneath you, Mistress?”
Lightning fast she wrapped her hand beneath his jaw and jerked his face up. “Taking care of you is my responsibility, Knox. That includes commanding you to get turned on, getting you off, cleaning you up, and making sure you don’t do something stupid in the aftermath.”
“Like pissing off my Mistress because I don’t know how the fuck I’m supposed to act after . . . whatever that was?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
She dropped her hand but remained right there in his face. “I know. How is it that whipping your butt with a switch didn’t freak you out but an orgasm that sent you straight into subspace . . . did?”
Fuck. “I don’t know.”
She stood. Then she reached for her bra and shirt and put them on.
When Shiori started cleaning up the popcorn bowls, the candy boxes, and the paper towels, he didn’t protest because he’d probably catch hell for it.
After she disappeared into the kitchen again, he closed his eyes.
When he woke up, his house was completely dark. A blanket covered him, but he was naked beneath it. As soon as he pushed upright from his prone position on the couch, he knew Shiori had gone. The only thing he didn’t know was what had chased her away without a goodbye.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SATURDAY night Shiori showed up at Twisted an hour before the scene with Master Mike and his submissive was scheduled and sat at the bar. She hadn’t been in since the night Knox had played bartender, so she didn’t know anyone besides Merrick, Greg, Knox, and Dex.
Speak of the devil . . . She glanced down and saw Dex on his knees beside her chair. “Dex. What lovely form.”
“I aim to please, Mistress.”
“What can I do for you?”
“If you haven’t picked a sub to receive your attentions this evening, I’ll humbly offer myself.”
She reached for her Coke and sipped. “In what capacity are you offering yourself?”
“In any capacity that you choose.”
“That’s very vague, and dangerous, Dex. What if I demanded needle play?”
He swallowed hard. “I’d . . . consider it with you.”
Bullshit. “And what about fire play?”
A shiver worked through him. “I’ve never tried it.”
“But you’d be willing to feel the burn . . . for me?”
“Yes, Mistress B.”
Shiori put the toe of her shoe on his sternum. “You need to learn limits, Dex. You’re not getting what you need by offering everything just so a Dominant will play with you.”
He didn’t look up.
“So let’s try this again. And be honest. Respect your boundaries or no one else will. I’m interested in needle play.”
His mouth opened. Then closed. “Sorry, Mistress B, but I’m scared of needles.”
“Good boy, Dex. Now, how about fire play?”
Another shudder. “No. No fire. Ever.” He started to hyperventilate.
She dropped her foot from his chest and leaned over to place her hand on his head. “Breathe, Dex. You’re all right.”
He nodded.
She kept petting his hair.
After a bit he rested his face against her shin and sighed.
“Is there something I can assist you with, Mistress B?” Knox said coldly behind her.
Dex’s head snapped up. He glared at Knox. “We don’t need security, so back off.”
Knox grabbed him by the arm and hauled him up. “Remember who you’re talking to. Learn your place. And I guarantee you it is not at her feet. Are we clear?”
He jerked out of Knox’s hold. “I go when Mistress B tells me to go.”
Both men looked at her.
 
; How could she be mad at Knox for defending his territory? He’d told her he wouldn’t stand for any other submissive putting his hands on her and Dex had been touching her. She’d touched him first, but Dex knew the rules. But Dex didn’t know she and Knox were together, so who was in the wrong here?
“Dex, I hope I helped you tonight. You’re excused.”
“Thank you, Mistress B. If there’s ever anything I can do for you—”
“There isn’t,” Knox snarled. “Get gone before I toss you out.”
Dex stormed away.
Shiori gave Knox her back, trying to control her amusement and the rapid beating of her heart from Knox’s display of possession. It sent a thrill through her that Knox watched out for her even when she wasn’t expecting it.
This is Knox you’re talking about. He’s the chest-beating, don’t-touch-my-woman kind of man. You should’ve expected even more than that.
Knox didn’t touch her, but he scooted in close enough behind her that his breath fanned her hair and she could practically feel the tension vibrating from him.
He said, “Are you mad, Mistress?”
She slowly turned around.
He didn’t move a muscle, so her knees bumped into his hard thighs. He stayed in rest position. His chest was heaving, his neck and jaw muscles were tight, color dotted his cheekbones, and his eyes were icy.
“I don’t know if mad is accurate. If we were out as a Domme and sub, then your reaction to Dex at my feet would be acceptable. Since you’re not wearing my collar, yet I know who you are to me and who I am to you, I don’t know what to do—if anything at all. Dex did take a liberty, but it was more as an impulsive thank-you than him trying to get me to play with him.”
“I misread the situation, then?”
“Yes. But like I said, it’s difficult to be angry with you when you were only doing what you thought was best for me.”
His eyes softened. “I’m all about ensuring your needs are met and any threat is dealt with quickly.”
“Thank you. But I’m fine.”
“Mighty fine.” His burning-hot gaze started at the tips of her lavender Louboutins and moved up her bare legs, past the dark purple sequined miniskirt, and the black silk sleeveless wrap shirt, to the delicate gold-colored sequin mask. “You’re beyond compare tonight.”
“I look forward to the session.”
Knox picked up her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. “Me also. See you down there.”
Shiori didn’t spin back around until after that fantastic ass was gone from view. When she faced the bar, Merrick stood right in front of her. “Master Merrick.”
“Mistress B. You’re assisting Knox this evening?”
“I hear he’s excellent with a whip. I wanted to see for myself.”
“Just don’t ask him to demonstrate on you, because he won’t.”
“I know.”
“I assumed you did.” His smile turned guarded. “Interesting display earlier.”
“A misunderstanding easily remedied.”
“Have you brought Knox to heel yet?”
Her gaze narrowed. “Excuse me?”
Merrick waved her off. “Knox spoke to me. Being called out as submissive caused more questions than denial about being a submissive.”
“He still questions it. We’re working on it. In private. He’s not ready for public acknowledgment.” She stirred the ice cubes in her glass. “I don’t know if he ever will be.”
“I can’t say as I blame him.”
“Can you explain that?”
“Most men are subservient to women—they just won’t admit it. Most men do whatever it takes to make their wives or partners happy in the hopes it’ll get them laid more often. Women have the sacred pussy. They are in control.”
“Nice philosophy.”
He shrugged. “It’s true. Knox is a former soldier. He’s a martial-arts instructor. He is the kind of man the term alpha male was invented for. He may kiss your feet in private, but chances are slim he will in public. Why? Because it’s personal, it makes him vulnerable, and he’d have to deal with judgmental assholes thinking he’s weak for doing . . . exactly what other men are doing. But they don’t call it submissive behavior—those men call it caring for and protecting their women.”
“You’ve thought a lot about this.”
“I have to. Knowing what makes people tick means I can tailor my club to certain tastes.”
Shiori leaned in. “Bullshit. You were speaking from the point of view of a man who was worried about being judged, which means you understand the male submissive mind-set because you were one.”
Merrick smirked. “We all have our secrets, Mistress B, and as long as Knox serves you well in private, does it really matter what the rest of us think?”
“No. But if private relationships were meant to stay behind closed doors, then you’d be out of business.”
“You’re absolutely right. Put a leash and a collar on that man and remind him who’s the boss.”
She laughed.
“Knox is incredibly possessive of you. And that has nothing to do with him being submissive but because he’s a man in an intimate relationship with you. I imagine he’s exactly the same way in public; he’d verbally and bodily threaten anyone who touches you because he holds you as precious. But here at Twisted? His possessiveness will be attributed to him being submissive since you’re a Domme. So be careful in your attentions to males he’ll deem a threat, okay? Because you will effectively out a man who’s not ready for it—and may never be.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. Thank you.”
“It’s what I’m here for.” He headed down to the other end of the bar to help a customer.
Shiori left the bar area, letting her gaze wander to the various goings-on. But she didn’t see anything; her thoughts were on her conversation with Merrick.
As soon as she saw Knox leaning against the back wall monitoring a threesome, her focus shifted.
A woman was tied to a wide sawhorse on her belly, hands bound behind her with rope. If Shiori remembered right, that sawhorse had a vibrator attached to the back end. So while one guy had his cock shoved in her mouth, his partner was ramming his cock into the woman’s ass. The woman with all her orifices filled clutched a bandana. If she dropped it, the scene ended. But she appeared to be enjoying herself too much to stop.
Shiori didn’t bother Knox since he was working. Instead she took stock of the crowd. One guy was openly masturbating. Several other couples were grinding against each other. But one young brunette with tits the size of beach balls, and probably just as plastic, was watching Knox. The scene would catch her attention,