Page 127 of Dmitri

I take a sip of my water and try to not let jealousy rear its ugly head. “How many subs have you—” I stop myself from finishing that question. “Will you always be a Dom, then?”

“I’m only a Dom when I’m interested in taking a sub,” he says. “Or if I’m chosen by a Butterfly.”

“What’s a Butterfly?”

“Every year the Monarch holds a Butterfly Ceremony. A selection of our members is bid on, and the one with the highest offer becomes the Butterfly for a month. She stays in the club, has full access to everything, and can choose any Dom she wants.”

“I bet they all choose you.”

His smile makes me think I’m right. “I’m intimidating. Most like the idea of me, but when it comes down to selection time, they chicken out or see someone they like better.”

I can’t imagine anyone better than Dmitri.

“I like being head of security more than I like being a Butterfly’s Dom, anyway. Training really isn’t my thing.”

“What do you train them in?”

“Sex.” He shrugs like that’s such an obvious answer. “A lot of them want to explore new kinks they’re afraid to try on their own. We offer a safe space for them to do that. And they sign an extra NDA tailored for Butterflies, so no one knows what we do with them for the month.”

“They live at the club the whole time?”

“Yeah. We’ve got a kitted-out suite dedicated to them. And whatever they want, they get.”

“Sounds like heaven.”

“It is… until it isn’t.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Most times, the highest bidder is their partner, but sometimes it isn’t. Either way, they will have shelled out a lot of money and they expect reimbursement.”

The way he saysreimbursementmakes me believe he’s not talking about paying them back with money. “Oh.”

“Yeah.Oh.” Dmitri leans back. “So far, we haven’t had too many issues with that in our club, but I have no clue what it’s like outside of the Monarch for our Butterflies. Hard to say what goes on behind closed doors, you know what I’m saying? But I would hope that if a former Butterfly had an issue, they’d come to us. Our time with them is spent building an unbreakable bond. They trust us to keep them safe. And we let them know that bond remains intact long after their month in our beds is over.”

A slow breath stutters out of me. Before I can ask anything else, Dmitri crumples up his trash and asks, “You ready to hit the road?”

I swipe my mouth with a napkin. “Yeah.”

Dmitri grabs our trays and I run to the bathroom before we climb back onto his Ducati. He takes us down another long stretch of road, and we end up parking by a bunch of trees. There’s a huge field behind us. We’re probably on private property and I missed the sign.

When I take my helmet off, the rich scent of flowers tickles my nose and the warm summer breeze kisses my cheeks. Closing my eyes, I let the sun soak into me and for a moment I trick myself into believing I’ve transported to another realm where no one can touch me.

Then Dmitri’s hand skates down my back. His mouth presses against my shoulder. Okay,hecan touch me.

I lean into him and sigh. “I wish we could stay here forever.”

His breath on my heated skin makes goosebumps erupt all over and my nipples harden when he asks, “Does that mean you want me to keep you, Firefly?”

“Do you want to keep me?”

He tugs off my shirt and palms my breasts through my bra. Without saying another word, he kisses me slowly while his hands roam my body as if he’s putting every curve to memory.

“What doyouwant?” he asks against my lips.

I’m not certain what answer won’t get me into trouble.

“Daelyn.” He cups my jaw. “Don’t overthink this. Whatever you want, just name it.”

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