“What if I can’t take it?” I blurted out. “The pain.”
His icy blue eyes met mine. “I’ll never give you more than you can take,” he told me. “If you want to stop at any time, you use your safe word. Tell me your safe word.”
“Red.”
“Good.” A rare smile from him. I’d passed the test. “Hands behind you. Grip the bench.”
I obeyed, clutching the seat behind me. The position forced my back to arch, giving him access to my body. His large hand pushed my short skirt up, baring my thigh.
“Keep your eyes on mine,” he said.
I forced myself to stare into his gaze. Those intense, blue eyes never left mine. Slowly, he inched the paddle up my leg, drawing a line from my knee to my hip.
“Kink is less about pain,” he informed me. “It’s about connection.”
Suddenly, he flicked his wrist. The leather paddle whacked against my thigh, stinging the skin. I drew in a sharp gasp and instinctively turned my gaze to the paddle.
Quick as a snake, Poe grabbed my throat. His hand didn’tchoke me, but it held me in a vice, forcing my chin up and my eyes back on his.
“What did I say?” His voice was a dark demand.
I could feel my pulse jumping against his fingers. Just like that, the rest of the club faded away. Everything in me was focused on those eyes, and that strong grip. I felt held. Safe. And aroused beyond belief. Outside—he was my brother-in-law. Here…we were something else entirely.
“Eyes on yours,” I said.
“Good girl. Do you want me to keep going?”
I widened the spread of my legs, inviting him to the expanse of my thigh. “Please, sir.”
He couldn’t hide it—the effect that word had on him. His eyes widened, just slightly. His nostrils flared, pupils dilating, as he sucked in a deeper breath, trying to hide it. Slowly, he pet his thumb against the curve of my throat. I felt my nipples tighten into pebbles.
He snapped the paddle against my thigh again. It stung, but this time, I knew what to expect. The pain bloomed and then faded just as quickly, leaving a lovely, warm sensation in its wake. This time, my eyes never left his.
“You’re a quick learner,” he said. The heat in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. “Now let’s see what else you can take.”
Quinn finished her excerpt, and the audience clapped. My heart pounded in time with the applause. Poe and his obsessive, dirty domination had an uncanny hold on me.
There was time for questions from the audience. Q: Does she ever go all the way with Poe? (A: You’ll have to read the next book to find out). Q: How does your husband feel about the book? (A: He has the patience of a saint). Q: Where is Poe now? (A: We don’t talk much anymore).
My hand shot up. When I asked my question, my voice shook. “Is the club…um. Based on a real place?”
A knowing smile crossed Quinn’s face. “Yes, but I’m sworn to secrecy.”
Laughter from the group. I could feel my blush rising hot up my neck and through my cheeks. I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t even bring myself to get my book signed. I just made a mad dash out the bookstore once the signing was over.
A voice stopped me with a: “Hey.” I turned and found myself face-to-face with a city witch. Well, at least, that’s what she looked like to me at the time. Her arms were covered in tattoos, she wore a bomber jacket and Doc Martens, and her hair was an explosion of tight curls around her face. Her copy ofDamaged Heartswas as bent up and busted as mine. She looked as though she were torn straight from the pages of a Dashiell Hammett novel when she pushed off the wall and said, “Don’t listen to that gatekeeping bitch. Are you looking for a kink club?”
A blush creeped up my neck. “I mean…I don’t know…I guess I was just curious if it exists…for science…”
“Oh, it exists.” She reached into her large side bag and rummaged around until she pulled out a pen. She grabbed my wrist and scribbled her number up my forearm. “I’m Ruby. But my real friends call me Ophelia.”
“Sadie.”
“Text me and I’ll get you the address.”
I texted her. Right in the subway. I couldn’t even wait to get home. She sent back:
Friday at 7 pm. Meet me at the bodega on 132ndStreet.
