Hard to Serve: A Hard Ink Novella

  As she walked from one public scene to the other, she caught a lot of looks, and not a few compliments, because of her dress. Form-fitting and strapless, she really loved the brightness of the gold color against her skin, the way the ruching on the skirt emphasized her curves, and the beading on the bodice that sparkled and shined. She felt elegant and refined, and that had been perfect for earlier in the night. But now she kinda wanted someone to mess her up and take her apart.

  Up on what had once been the church’s altar, a bondage scene was taking place in front of a rapt audience. Mia’s mouth dropped open because she recognized the black-haired Dom—Master Griffin, who had...the most fascinating tattoo that she’d ever seen. It covered his entire back in blacks and reds. A woman’s face, partially obscured by her dark hair whipping in front of her features as if blown by the wind, streaks of red framing the image. It spoke to the artist in Mia, even though it made her wonder who the woman was and whether she had anything to do with the fact that when the Dom smiled, it didn’t really reach his eyes.

  Stepping closer, she watched Master Griffin work a flogger over the bound woman’s body, admiring the beauty of what he’d wrought in bright blue rope. The submissive hung on her side from a circular hook, ropes securing her top leg straight up, her bottom leg bent back—her thighs wide, and her upper body with her arms behind her back. The Dom was apparently skilled at a Japanese style of rope bondage called Shibari, known for the beautiful patterns the arrangement of the ropes and knots made on the submissive’s body. Because the scene before her was as beautiful as it was erotic. Mia had never had it done, but watching him work made her want to try it. At least once.

  “As intriguing as this scene is, it’s hard to look anywhere else but at you in that stunning dress,” a male voice said from behind her.

  Mia turned toward the Dom and smiled. “Thank you, Sir.” No wrist cuff, so he wasn’t one of the Masters. He was attractive, with silvering hair and brown eyes.

  “I’m Richard,” he said, holding out his hand.

  “Hello,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m Mia.”

  “Have you seen Master Griffin work before?” he asked, gesturing at the stage. “He is better at Shibari than anyone here.”

  Mia turned her gaze back to the scene. “No, I’m pretty new. But the rope work is gorgeous on her,” she said, looking back to him. And that was when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Kyler. She smiled at him, sure that he’d seen her, but he turned away. “Excuse me, Sir. I see a friend I was hoping to catch up with tonight.”

  “Lucky friend,” he said. “Of course.”

  Mia made her way through the back of the audience, but by the time she’d made it to where Master Kyler had been, he was gone. It was much busier in here for being Friday night, so it made looking for him harder to do. Finally, she went to the bar, which was where he’d found her that first night. She waited, and Master Leo confirmed that she hadn’t just imagined Kyler’s presence when he volunteered that he’d showed after all.

  Was he avoiding her? Maybe their time together hadn’t been as mind-blowing for him as it had been for her. Because her mind had definitely been blown. The way he’d handled her, the words that spilled from his mouth, his fearlessness in giving her what she needed. And if that hadn’t all been enough, the way he’d cared for her after had really made her regret that he didn’t want a relationship, because the way he’d treated her could definitely tempt her heart to enter into the equation.

  She peered around for him again. No luck.

  He was here. He’d seen her. And he wasn’t coming for her. And Master Kyler struck her as a man who knew what he wanted and took it. Damn.

  Part of her really wanted to go home. To go wallow in the disappointment welling up in her belly. But if she did that, she was just going to end up thinking about Master Kyler anyway.

  Not to mention, she only had this discounted membership for another eleven days. She didn’t want to miss out on that, because she wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to afford continuing it at the regular rate, and she didn’t have a Dom who would pay it for her.

  Mia debated, Blasphemy’s vibe appealing to something deep inside her. She wasn’t leaving. Richard had seemed nice. Maybe she could talk to him again. Or maybe she could find someone else. Either way, there was no sense in waiting for Kyler. That much seemed clear.

  And a half hour of being here—of watching the bondage scene and so much else—had aroused her. She didn’t want to leave on that account, either. Mia needed this.

  That resolved her. She slipped off the stool and resumed her explorations. The bondage scene was over, and Master Griffin was wrapping the submissive in a blanket in a way that tugged at something deep inside Mia. Turning away, she joined the crowd gathered around the St. Andrew’s cross, a woman strapped to it and a different Master working over her skin with a flogger until she was pink almost everywhere.

  A thrill shot through Mia.

  And then her arousal ratcheted higher. Because the Dom traded out his flogger for a vibrating massager and held it against her clit while he clamped his hand around the submissive’s throat. The woman came twice almost immediately, and Mia was close to coming just from watching, just imagining that it was happening to her.

  “Hey, new girl,” came a deep voice as someone stepped in beside her.

  “Master Quinton,” Mia said with a smile. “I’m not new anymore, don’t you know? I’m an old pro now.”

  He laughed, and the deepness of the chuckle was so sexy.

  “You here to play tonight, or are you just taking things in?” His expression was interested, and Mia’s stomach flipped. Because Master Quinton was hot and funny and big.

  “I was hoping to play,” she said, meeting his gaze.

  “You interested in learning my other superpowers?” He grinned, his expression full of a playful smugness.

  She laughed. “Maybe I am.”

  “Come with me. Let’s talk,” he said, taking her hand. He led her toward the same side of the nave that Kyler had, but instead of turning down the hallway to the little nook with the couch, he led her across it. And the fact that she couldn’t look at that couch—that she feared that she’d be reminded of her time with Master Kyler or, worse, see him there now with someone else—told her that maybe she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to please Master Quinton the way she should. Disappointment slinking through her, she inhaled to fess up.

  “Master Quinton?” came a man’s voice. And not just any man.

  The big Dom beside her turned. “Master Kyler. I didn’t know you were in tonight.” The men shook hands.

  “Yeah,” Master Kyler said, his gaze finally landing on Mia. His eyes were totally on fire, but she couldn’t tell if it was passion or anger that had him so wound up. Awkwardness settled between the three of them until Mia’s face was hot. She ducked her chin.

  “You know,” Master Quinton said, dragging a hand through his light brown hair. “I just remembered a thing. I’m very sorry, Mia. Please accept my apologies.” He kissed her on the cheek.

  “Of course, Sir,” she said.

  Master Quinton clapped Kyler on the shoulder. “See ya later, man.”

  And then it was just her and a kinda pissed-off looking Master Kyler. He wore angry well. As in, the harshness of the set of his jaw and the tight press of his lips and the narrow cut of his eyes—they were all hot, especially coming from a Dom. But she didn’t understand it.

  “Um. Hello, Sir,” she finally said when he didn’t say anything.

  “Mia,” he said, his gaze raking over her. “You look absolutely stunning tonight.” His voice was like gravel, rough and strained.

  “Thank you. Are you okay, Sir?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t…I don’t know.”

  “Do you want to sit and talk?” Mia asked, concern for him flooding her.

  Suddenly, Kyler pinned her to the cool wall. He braced his hands on either side of her head, and
he was erect against her belly. She wanted to drop into a crouch and take him into her mouth. “Do you want vulgar honesty or watered-down politeness?” he asked.

  The promise of those words made her core clench with need. “Vulgar honesty.”

  He nailed her with a blue-eyed stare. “I don’t want to sit and talk. I want to fuck. Hard. I want to be aggressive. Maybe I even want to be a little mean.”

  Mia’s heart was suddenly a runaway train in her chest. Because, sign her up! She let out a shaky breath. “That sounds…like someone’s going to have a good night,” she managed.

  Kyler dropped his head to her shoulder on a groan. He knocked his forehead against the bone there once, twice.

  “Did I say the wrong thing?” she asked. Because he was totally confusing her.

  “That’s just it, Mia. I don’t know.” He lifted his gaze to hers again.

  “How can I help?” she asked.

  For a moment, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, and when he opened them, it was like he’d centered himself and made some kind of resolution. “Are you game for what I just described?” He fingered the chunky silver-and-gold choker she wore around her neck.

  Heat swept over her, her body already answering, already preparing. “Yes, Sir. I am.”

  He gave a tight nod and backed up a step. “Let me show you the room I have in mind.” Taking her hand, he led her down the long hallway that shot off the side of the nave. She wasn’t sure if this was still part of the church building or something else, but she didn’t have long to wonder before Kyler stopped at a door and keyed in a code.

  Lights came on as the door opened, and Kyler guided her inside with his hand at the small of her back.

  Just the room’s theme turned her on. Concrete floor. Cinder-block walls with peeling paint. Light thrown from bare lightbulbs surrounded by little cages. An iron cot bed with only a white fitted sheet. Rusted metal cabinet at the side that undoubtedly held a variety of toys and supplies. It looked like a basement or a warehouse—a place where a woman in a beautiful cocktail dress had no business being. A role started taking shape in her mind.

  “Do you see where my head is tonight, Mia?” Master Kyler asked, his body almost rigid with tension.

  God, she was going to enjoy helping him work out whatever had him so wound up. “Yes, Sir.”

  He stood right in front of her, his gaze intent, assessing. The dark blue button down he wore brought out the blue of his eyes even more. “How do you feel about role-playing a non-consensual scene?”

  Heat roared over her body. She’d wanted someone to mess up her elegant persona. This. This was exactly what she wanted tonight. Something dark and dirty and hot for being both. She felt her pulse kick up against her skin. Everywhere. “I’m okay with that, Sir.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Just okay?” He stroked his knuckles down her cheek.

  “No. More. Um, I’m definitely interested. I want it, Master Kyler.”

  His calloused hand gently cupped her cheek and pulled her to him. His lips fell on hers, tender and sensual. He kissed her lazily, tugging her lips with his and slowly exploring her mouth with his tongue. He tasted like whiskey and sin, and she wasn’t sure which was more intoxicating.

  He pulled back but kept their faces close. His thumb stroked the apple of her cheek. “You really do look beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered, warmth spreading through her.

  “How did your big gallery opening go?” he asked.

  “How did you remember that?” Surprise and excitement unleashed a funny, happy feeling in her chest.

  “Because it was important to you,” he said, simply.

  Six words. Six words that could easily own her. “It went amazingly. A total success.” She couldn’t help the smile that accompanied the words.

  “Good for you,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you, Sir,” she said. Gah! Why didn’t this man want a relationship?

  “I was angry before, Mia, but I want you to know that I’m not now. I’m in control.”

  Mia didn’t need him to say that. Unlike in the hallway, he exuded a calm confidence now, his shoulders relaxed, his face at ease, his eyes communicating only passion. She grasped his hand where it still held her face and pulled it to her mouth. She kissed the back of his hand. His knuckles. His fingers. “I know, Sir.”

  Master Kyler swallowed hard, the sound thick. His eyes were trained on her mouth against his hand. “Jesus,” he whispered under his breath. Finally, he squeezed her hand and pulled away, the smile playing around his mouth making it clear he wasn’t displeased. “Are you ready to play, Mia?”

  Her belly flipped at the dark, heady promise of what was about to happen. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Then take off your dress so it doesn’t get torn. Leave everything else on and kneel on one end of the bed, your back to the headboard. When I say ‘Scene,’ we begin.”

  Chapter 7

  Kyler had tried to stay away from her. When he’d seen her across the club, he’d walked away. Despite the fact that her dress made him want to unwrap her, that the updo of her lovely brown hair bared that beautiful throat, and that his body was making demands of him that his brain didn’t want to answer.

  And then she’d made it worse. First, by walking away from the Dom who was clearly interested in her. Second, by waiting at the bar—for Kyler—he had no doubt that’s what she’d been doing. And third by finally giving up on Kyler, and then finding a possible replacement in Master Quinton.

  When Quinton had taken her hand—had touched what Kyler’s body screamed was his—Kyler hadn’t been able to stay away anymore.

  And now, here they were. Kyler in a dark mood. And Mia seemingly all the more turned on for it. It was almost like she knew what he needed her to be, or do, to ease him. And that felt like a really fucking dangerous thing.

  That danger didn’t have him walking out of the room though, did it?

  No, instead, he was tying her to the bed. She was kneeling with her legs spread wide, which allowed Kyler to secure her hands and ankles behind her using rope tied to the iron. She could only lean so far forward before the rope would catch her. He tied another rope around her waist, with loops around each of her upper thighs, and attached that one to the almost equally high footboard—this rope would not only keep her from leaning back, but it would keep her from being able to sag down onto her calves. The two sets of ropes largely immobilized her so that she had to take whatever he did. After he arranged everything else he needed, he turned to her.

  “What are your safe words?” he asked. She gave him the right answers. “And if you’re gagged?”

  Mia shook her head three times while humming, “Mmm, mmm, mmm.”

  “Very good, Mia. Are there any words or names you don’t like to be called while role-playing?”

  “No, Sir,” she said, her voice so aroused that he could’ve thrown her down and skipped all the buildup.

  But she deserved better than that. He nailed her with a long look, giving her—and himself—one last chance. But they were doing this. “Scene.” Grabbing the medical scissors and a strap, he approached her, his persona shifting to fit the role he had in mind. “Well, what do we have here?”

  “Please, let me go,” she said, her big brown eyes pleading as she struggled against the ropes.

  Kyler pulled off his T-shirt and tossed it aside, ignoring the burn under the gauze from his new tattoo. “I don’t think that’s in the cards for you.” He moved behind her, enjoying her begging for one more moment.

  “Please. I have money. I could pay you a reward,” she said, her voice desperate.

  That she was embracing this scene drove arousal and satisfaction through him in equal measure. “Your money’s not what I want,” he growled. He gagged her with the leather strap and secured it behind her head. “Make all the noise you want. No one can hear you.”

  He came around and leaned on the bed in front of her, his gaze dri
nking her in. The strapless bra and panties she wore were a shimmery gold set, beautiful against her skin. He’d replace them.

  “Don’t think you’ll be needing these,” he said. As she moaned and tried to get away, he placed the scissors at the piece of satin between her breasts and cut off her bra.

  Mia cried out around the gag and tried to pull away from him, but the ropes held her steady. He smacked one breast, then the other, repeating it until the generous mounds were pink and Mia was moaning.

  He dragged his fingers over her nipples, squeezing and pinching, and then down to the crotch of her panties. They were already wet. Fuck. “What a slut you are. I knew you wanted this.”

  She moaned and thrashed. Kyler removed her panties with slow cuts at each hipbone. He dipped his hand between her legs. Just fucking drenched. He had to bite back a groan. Because she was totally going there on this with him, and it was turning her on as much as him. He sank a finger deep. “Ever had a felon inside you before?” he asked, looking up at her.

  Garbled words that sounded like, “Please, no.”

  Kyler chuckled. “Bet you wanted one, though. Huh? Someone to give you a real down-and-dirty fuck. Not the polite, boring fucks I bet you get. That’s why you’re here, right?” He added a second and finger-fucked her, the heel of his palm hitting and grinding on her clit.

  Mia moaned and tried to tilt her hips into his touch. “Please,” she said.

  “I like when you beg me.” He pumped into her harder. “Do it again.”

  The whine she released went straight to his cock. Because it sounded like she was as tightly wound as he was. After a few more pumps, he moved behind her and unlatched the heavy chain necklace she wore. He’d been jealous of this fucking piece of jewelry since he first saw her because it looked too damn much like a public collar. And if she was going to have something around her neck, it was going to be something he put there. Damnit. He pulled the black animal collar from his pocket and held it up in front of her. “This is more your style now.”