Page 3 of Midnight Dissonance
So she remained standing, her arms crossed over her chest while she waited for him to appear.
Josh reclined in his seat in the VIP section with his brothers and his cousins. It had been a hell of a week at the office. He was lead counsel for his cousins' multi-conglomerate corporation. They were in the process of acquiring a new company under the RMD Industries banner. Which meant he and his team were working eighty-hour weeks on the contract negotiations.
It was grueling work. But he fucking loved being able to add to the Ryan coffers. Both his and his cousins’ bank accounts would weep for joy once the sale went through.
But it was also why he was here tonight.
He needed to blow off steam in the worst way. And for him, there was no better way than losing himself in a scene and the sweet curves of a submissive.
When it was announced that his marker had been chosen, he checked out the board.
Lexi, huh?
He’d seen her around. She was smoking hot, if a bit on the younger side. But that wouldn’t deter him tonight. They’d have a lovely night together. And then they would go their separate ways come morning.
It was a win in his book.
His brothers were still waiting for their marker to be selected. But he finished off his whiskey and rose from his seat.
“A mite eager, are ya?” Aiden teased. He was the youngest of the bunch at thirty-two. And he had the telltale Ryan structure to his face with a mop of inky curls on his head and eyes as blue as the sky over Ireland.
“Aye. Like you aren’t, brother. You practically ran to the club on three legs.” Josh shot back with a grin. He might be the oldest, but he and his brothers were tight. They were his best mates.
Sean chuckled. “He did at that.”
“Oh, and you’re one to talk.” Sean was between him and Aiden in age. And except for a difference in hair and eye color, those two could be twins. But Sean’s hair was a deep chestnut, and his eyes were their dad’s sea-green color.
“We’re still having dinner Sunday night?” Aiden asked.
It was a tradition they started when they moved to the States two years prior. A way for them to connect in a place that didn’t quite feel like home. It still didn’t, but he loved it here and had no intention of moving back.
“Aye. Come to my place. We’ll order pizza or something. Enjoy your night, lads.” Josh nodded at his brothers and cousins and exited the private seating area. He sauntered to the elevator, reviewing the scene he had in mind.
As he rode the elevator down with a few other Doms, he layered his control around him. By the time the lift reached the lower level, he was all business and in total Dom headspace. He and Lexi would have a chat about her hard limits and get to know each other a bit.
And then he was going to tie her to the bed and fuck her until every ounce of stress from his week melted away. And she would thank him for it once he finished.
It might sound arrogant, but it was true. The subs at Eros waited for him to choose them. Every night he ventured into the club, he had his pick. And he had enjoyed them all for their different flavors and kinks.
But he had a sound rule—it never ventured beyond the club. And if any sub started to become too clingy, he stopped scening with them immediately.
At the door to the private room, he squared his shoulders, anticipation humming in his body, and headed inside. Yet he was drawn up short the moment he spied Lexi.
She stood near the foot of the bed in her leopard print leotard that was little more than a second skin and hid none of her charms. Her slender arms were crossed over her generous chest, but did nothing to disguise her hourglass figure. Her plump lips were downturned, her brow furrowed. She raised her head, meeting his stare. And the beauty of her face was a total sucker punch. Smooth porcelain skin, graceful high cheekbones, and a delicate nose. Not to mention her lush, tempting lips—he was eager to discover how they looked around his cock. Her dark black cherry hair was in a high ponytail, and he had every intention of twisting it up in his hand and yanking while he was balls deep inside her.
But the defiant glimmer in her amber tiger eyes set off a discordant tone inside him. What the bloody hell was she playing at? He hadn’t a feckin’ clue.
But that gleam challenged him enough to pique his interest. She had a queenly bearing, surprising for someone so young. Yet her unwillingness to kneel in presentation for his arrival, or even the moment he entered the room, smacked of disrespect.
Before the night was over, she would know the proper way to greet a Dom. “Why aren’t you naked and kneeling, lass?”
Her eyes flashed. “Because I could never kneel for you.”
The meaning and vehemence behind her words shocked him to his bloody core. “Excuse me? Are you aching for discipline? Is that why you’re being such a brat?”
He stalked to her side, ready to take the impertinent sub over his knee for the offense. Didn’t she realize he wasn’t a Dom one trifled with?
“No. But when I signed up for tonight, I didn’t bet on being set up with a player.”