when they talked before the scene. During the scene, even as he hurt her, even when he’d described doing things that were far beyond her personal limits, she hadn’t been scared. She’d been sure they were just dirty talk, not real possibilities, and as aroused as she’d been they’d sounded sexy and amazing.
She hadn’t been scared before.
But now she was.
Alena unhooked her leg from around his neck and scooted away.
He cleared his throat and looked at the far wall while she repositioned herself, once more reclined on the pillow, keeping her weight off her ass.
He seemed so far away, so sad. She stretched out one leg, resting her calf across his thighs.
“Alexander, this is a safe place to think about those things. Sharing a sub, BDSM in an office setting… they are hardly taboo fantasies in a place like this.” She gestured around them, smiling softly, while inside she wondered if he really would put a permanent collar around a woman’s neck, force her to service and fuck his friends and acquaintances.
No. Surely not.
That flash of fear had been a result of dealing with too many different feelings and juggling too many opposing needs.
“I know I haven’t been a member long, but I bet at some point the Orchid Club had an auction.” Her teasing tone hid the undercurrent of unease. “Slave auction is one of my favorite fantasies.”
“I am a cruel man.”
Alena’s heart clenched at the self-loathing she heard in his words.
“Alexander, sugar, there’s nothing wrong with you.” She was aware her accent had thickened, dropping the “r” and turning “sugar” into “suga’”. “Or if there’s something wrong with you, then the same thing is wrong with me, with all of us.”
“You’re lovely and...and radiant.” He exhaled heavily. “A Dom should tend to the needs of a submissive. I should want to take care of you… not— And I do. Want to take care of you. Now, in aftercare.” He turned his head away from her, lips pressed together as if he were trying to stop himself from saying more.
Alena swung her legs to the floor and stood.
He closed his eyes, as if he didn’t want to watch her walk away.
Alena straddled his legs, knees beside his hips, her still-aching ass perched on his leather-clad knees.
Alexander’s head whipped around and his brows were halfway up his forehead in surprise that she was sitting on his lap.
Smiling at the shock on his face, Alena cupped his cheeks. “Seems like you might need some aftercare. A scene should make you feel good.”
And just as he had before, he leaned his cheek into her hand. They stayed that way for several moments, and Alena let the silence wrap around them. She wouldn’t rush him.
“You’re the type of sub I should never partner with.” His words were soft and grim, but during the extended quiet his expression had relaxed.
“And what type of sub am I?” She rubbed his temples then ran her fingers back through his hair.
“The captured queen.”
Alena blinked in surprise. “Come again?”
“You’re…regal. Know your worth. Even if a Dom puts you on your knees and makes you lick his boots, you wouldn’t be humbled.”
“I don’t lick boots.”
“No monarch would.” His hands cupped her hips, and the first hint of a smile tightened the skin at the corners of his eyes.
Alena swayed forward, her breasts nearly brushing his face.
“Even when I had you strapped down…helpless…”
His breathing turned heavy as he spoke, his voice deepening, and Alena had to bite back a moan of desire.
“…there was a part of you I couldn’t touch. A sense that even as I used you, you were in control.”
“Now hold on just a minute. I didn’t top from the bottom.”
“No,” he agreed. “But you possess a sense of…reserve. A core of power that will never submit.”
You think I’m reserved, but really I’m lying to you.
Planning to betray you.
Alena rubbed his cheekbone with her thumb. “And that makes you…?”
“It makes me want to do terrible things to you.” He whispered the confession, then rested his forehead against her breastbone.
Alena stroked his hair. “I meant, does that make you the king, or maybe the knight sworn to protect the queen?”
The black knight was in play, sliding across the board, unaware of the hand that guided it.
“I think maybe you haven’t made peace with your Dominant needs.”
His only reply was to wrap his arms around her waist. Though his head rested between her naked breasts, there was nothing sexual about how he held her.
Alena made soothing noises and stroked his