That woodsy Grayson scent washed over me, and I wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor. No. I would not be that girl. Gray was an important part of my past, but he wasn’t here, and I wouldn’t let my senses lie to me and make me think that he was.
I moved to face the voice I guessed was my anonymous Dom. He blocked me with a hand on the back of my shoulder. “Don’t turn around, just watch. I want to see your reactions.”
“What if I want to see your reactions?” I didn’t care a whit about how much he liked watching the unconventional mating ritual between Hawk and Lilly, I wanted to see who I was dealing with.
“My reactions aren’t important right now. I’ve watched you, both last night and tonight. You want to be in charge but aren’t entirely sure how to do that.” His lips touched my ear and he whispered, “Let me help you.”
Quivers worked their way down my neck. Naughty quivers. I didn’t want to be turned on by this guy. He hit a little too close to home for someone I’d never actually met. “How is you watching me be a voyeur going to help?”
His mouth dipped and the lightest of kisses brushed my skin. “If I’m going to train you, I need to get inside your head.”
Huh. Not what I expected. “Not my body?”
He moved away and for some reason I missed the heat of him behind me. Which was particularly weird because I didn’t know him, I wasn’t lusting after him, I swear. He gave me no comfort. In fact, I didn’t even like him.
In a nanosecond, he ninja’d his way back and put one gloved hand around my waist and the other barely, like a ghost, holding my throat. The leather of his gloves absorbed the pulse racing away at my throat. The power poured off him and my body responded, bowing and wanting him to exert his dominance.
His voice came out harsher, cracked and broken. “I wasn’t sure until now what my plans were to train the Dominatrix hiding inside, but you’ve made it crystal clear to me now.”
I yearned to howl for him to let me go, instead I may or may not have whimpered. “I have?”
“Oh, yes. To learn to dominate, you must learn to submit first.”
No pinches mamas.
I’d been down this yellow brick road before, with my scarecrow, tin man, and not so cowardly lion in tow. My wizard left me crying into my ruby glass slippers too. “I’ve already been a sub, so that plan won’t work.”
His fingers played at my throat. “I doubt you truly subbed. Maybe topped from the bottom, but you never submitted soul deep.”
I squirmed in his arms. “You don’t know me, and you don’t know any damn thing about my soul.”
His hand stilled on my waist and his fingers tensed, tightening his grip. He whispered into my ear again, the rasp so intense my own throat ached. “I know more than you think, Angel.”
Every muscle in my body clenched. “Don’t. Call. Me. Angel.”
He ignored my protest, but I’d never let him repeat that error again. One slip of the nickname Gray called me and I’d have his gonads on a platter for all the world to see.
“That’s the deal, sweet Dominatrix. Sub for me to learn your trade or get right back on that private jet of yours with your puppies and go crying home.”
Puppies? Seriously? Despite the hard grip Anon Dom had on me, I spun to face him. His face was completely covered by a black mask ala Spiderman or Deadpool. I could make out the shape of his face, but not the actual features.
“Take off your mask.” I had to know who was hiding behind it.
“No.”
“Take it off before I do.”
His gaze didn’t waver from mine. “All you will see if you remove this mask is a shattered and damaged man.”
I glared at the eyes behind the mask, but for the first time took the chance to see the man hidden there. The mask not only covered his face but most of his neck. Not even the thinnest line of skin showed between it and the collar of his shirt. His black gloves extended up into the cuff of his oversized shirt. Despite the way it hung on him, I could still tell his body was muscular, and not in the gym rat sort of way.
Was he truly injured and covered himself to hide scarred features? There was clearly damage to his vocal chords, the wounds must extend to his skin.
“What you see is what you get. I will hide my face behind this mask for my own reasons, but everything else I am is open to you, if you’ll allow me to train you, to dominate you, and teach you to dominate in return.”
He stood there patiently while I examined him. If he could have his armor on, so could I. I had my own brand of damage. Instead of leather, my protection was made of snark.
I pointed from his pants to his mask and back again. “What’s with the superhero bit? Who are you BDSMan?”