Page 11 of Hooked

Of course, he’d noticed her beauty. Her thick, glossy hair, the full pink lips that she kept slick with gloss, and her stunning figure. With the snug skirts she wore hugging her curves, how could he not notice? Especially when she bent over to get a file or like earlier that afternoon when she retrieved her purse from the bottom drawer and the material had pulled tight across her hips and that full, round, spankable ass.

It suddenly hit him, as sure as his cock lengthened in his trousers. He had noticed all of that, but not consciously. He’d suppressed a lifetime of dominant urges all this time. The question remained, why?

But he could reflect on his cluelessness later. Right now, his mission was to get to her in the throng of bodies because something was definitely wrong here, many things in fact. Foremost, that Olivia had driven two hours in the pouring rain, in her piece-of-shit car, most likely. The one he’d had to jump-start for her twice in the last month. That she’d come alone to an unfamiliar club—a sex club of all places—which he found beyond reckless and in his mind wholly unacceptable, ranked second. A close third, the pink ribbon she wore, which was intriguing but also left him seething with jealousy that someone else had initiated her into the lifestyle.

Last, it infuriated him that while they were obviously in search of the same thing, neither had the guts or the intelligence to open their eyes and see what was right in front of them for years. That was definitely a terrible wrong and one he was determined to put to rights. Pronto. Or as soon as he maneuvered his way to her side through the mass of wall-to-wall people.

***

AS THE FIRST SET ENDED, Livia sat back, thoroughly enjoying herself and the remains of her giant-size strawberry margarita. With the band on break, the bone-jarring decibel level had decreased to one more conducive to conversation, giving the women at her table an opportunity for introductions.

“Olivia, let me acquaint you with the owners’ girls. Megan is with Cap,” Mara said, idly waving her hand at the beautiful curvy blonde across from her. “And the extremely pregnant redhead next to her is Regan, her twin.”

The petite, small-boned woman, who looked decidedly uncomfortable, shifted in her chair as she rubbed her protruding belly. Livia’s eyes shifted back and forth between the two women, deciding they looked nothing alike, until Regan yelped and pressed her hand to her belly as the baby made its presence known. When she looked up, her eyes were the same stunning blue, and she flashed a smile identical to her sister’s.

“She’s married to Master Rick,” Mara went on to explain. “Lexie, the sun-kissed brunette across from you is engaged to Master Jonas, who is a genius with ropes. Wait until you see one of their demonstrations—utter sensual perfection. And, last but not least, the ageless blonde wonder on the end is Joanna, who is married to Master Peter.” Each woman smiled warmly and nodded in turn. “Elena,” Mara continued, again waving a hand, this time toward the vacated stage, “is our resident rock star and belongs to Dex, the club’s master dom.”

“First timer?” Megan asked with a smile.

“Yeah, I drove two hours and almost didn’t get in. A bunch of girls behind me got turned away.”

“How disappointing for them,” Regan murmured as she shifted restlessly. “I hope they made it to their cars before the deluge hit.”

“The rain had let up when I arrived, but from the wind and the lightning, I think we’re in for another round.”

“Thank goodness you made it in. Where are you from, Olivia?” Joanna inquired.

“Call me Livia, please. All my friends do. I’m from Austin.”

Mara refilled her drink from the pitcher. “Since you’re here on an open sub night, bedecked with a ribbon, it’s not a stretch to conclude what you’re looking for. We have a single dom from Austin.”

“Isn’t Master J from Austin?” Regan asked, leaning forward this time and grimacing. The poor girl looked and acted miserable.

Megan shook her head. “I don’t know. She looks too sweet for Master J.”

The name was familiar, the girl out front having the same negative reaction.

“That’s the second time I’ve heard his name mentioned in a not so positive light,” Livia blurted out. “Is he a hulking brute or something?”

They all turned to Mara as if she had the answer.

“You’re asking me?” she replied with a laugh. “How would I know?”

“You know him better than anyone else,” Megan prompted.

“I know him professionally, not as a submissive.”

“He’s tall, dominant, and yummy, but also rather straitlaced and buttoned up.” The other girls laughed, the joke going over Livia’s head. “He’s quite the enigma. Tell us what you do know,” Regan urged.

“The sub grapevine reports that when he plays, he’s rather strict and partial to the cane.” She paused for a moment, her expression turning pensive while biting her lower lip. “Personally, I found him rather hard to get a handle on. Fortyish, handsome, and extremely tall, taller than Lil T and Tony, even. He’s extremely intelligent, full of confidence, but not in an obnoxious sort of way, and has a wonderfully vibrant infectious laugh. That he wraps it all up in a fuddy-duddy tweed suit, wire-framed glasses, and, occasionally, a bow tie throws off my calculations. When Joseph represented me last year, I nicknamed him the swaggering nerd.” Her hand flew up to cover her grin. “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that. He’s really not a nerd. More like...” She paused a moment before coming up with, “Conservative. Yes. That’s a good adjective for him, better yet, old-fashioned.”

Livia stiffened, her stomach doing a flip-flop.

No! It couldn’t possibly be her Joseph.

“What do you do for a living, Olivia?” Lexie asked. “Maybe you have something in common with Master Joseph. He’s an attorney.”

“Oh, my god!” Livia bolted out of her chair, knocking it over. “Are you by chance referring to Joseph Hooks?”

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