Page 7 of What About Love

“I’m a sadist, Angie. That comes with the territory.”

“What?” She skidded to a halt, reaching out for the nearest stationary object as she wobbled and flailed her arms for balance. The object being Dan’s rock-solid forearm, notwithstanding. “Does that mean you’re into whips, needles, hot wax, and that kind of shit?”

“If I choose, yes. I’ve been known to use all ofthat shit, as you so charmingly put it.”

“Needles!” she squeaked in protest. “I pulled that one out of the air. You mean you’d actually—”

“I’ve used piercing needles only in places intended to be pierced. Jewelry on nipples and a pretty pink clit are lovely additions sometimes. With proper antiseptic measures followed, of course. Beyond that, blood play and knives and anything that could cause permanent damage”—he shook his head adamantly—“hell, no. I’ll admit to liking edgier, more intense play than some, which includes bringing erotic pain, but only when my submissive craves it as much as I crave giving it to her. Sadly, those special subs are scarce. That doesn’t mean I can’t find pleasure with others who aren’t into the extreme.”

“Like me! Cap’s instructions were for you to—”

“Train you beyond newbie status,” he finished for her. “I remember.”

“Yes, that, but I meant the part where he told you to go easy on me. I don’t think he meant whips and hot wax, surely. Or needles!”

“Are you sure? I believe there’s a little sadist in every dom. Cap’s on the intense end of the spectrum himself. And to each of us, easy is a subjective term, little trainee.” His deep chuckle made her hair stand on end. “Don’t you worry. I know how to dial it back. Biting is only fun for me if my sub likes to be bitten.”

Having regained her balance, she released his arm and looked up at him, way up, having to crane her neck sharply back. In the ridiculously high heels, her average frame had grown to six feet, yet Dan still towered over her. All the Rossi men were freakin’ huge, intimidating as hell, not to mention handsome. She was talking drool-worthy, her trainer included, although he was forty or close to it. But his sadistic talk was freaking her out.

“You’re so nice. I wouldn’t have imagined you being into whips and chains.”

“Nice,” he scoffed with a curled lip. “Don’t let that get around, or the masochists will desert me.” He wrapped his hand around her upper arm and opened the door. “Let’s go.”

As they wound their way down a long corridor with dark offices on either side, she muttered over each torturous step. “I should have known you were a sadist by these shoes.”

“Is that grumbling I hear?”

She snapped her mouth shut, but only for a moment, thesubmit in silenceconcept hard for her to grasp. “I thought subs went barefoot anyway.”

Out of her comfort zone, in more ways than one, she realized she sounded like a petulant brat rather than the confident professional she wanted to portray. Not for the first time, her gut told her this wasn’t such a good idea.

“That’s only required in the dungeon,” Dan informed. “With the crowds we’ve been drawing lately, barefoot in the bar and lounge would result in squashed toes. Besides, we’re stopping by administration to see Master Dex first.”

“We are?” If Cap was the boss at Rossi, Dex was his counterpart at the club. “May I ask why?”

“You may, although as your dom, I’m not obligated to answer.”

She glared at him. “How about being obliged as my partner on this mission?”

He wagged his finger and made a tsking noise with his tongue. “There’s that scowl again.”

Had she really called him nice? The big jerk. He was enjoying this too much.

Taking a deep breath, she tried hard to straighten her features, which wasn’t easy. It seemed none of this submissive stuff was. When she had arranged her face in what she hoped was a placid expression, he chuckled once again.

“Good girl, practice that serene expression. It will go far to appease an irritated dom, which I’m betting you’ll see a lot of in the near future.”

He was only half teasing, she expected. Still, she was relieved when he answered the question she’d almost forgotten she’d asked.

“Master Dex has final approval of all new members. Since your application process was unorthodox, he has a particular interest in speaking to you prior to entering his dungeon. He also wants you to fill out a training contract and there is the matter of medical clearance.”

“Why, if we’re not actually going to be doing, um...stuff?”

Dan paused abruptly, swinging her around to face him. He angled her chin up with a little huff of impatience. “I have eleven-year-old twins that don’t exasperate me as much as you do, and the two of them combined ask half as many questions. Cap explained—twice I might add—that in order for the members in LA to believe you are who you say you are, you’re going to have to actually do somestuff. We prefer the terms play or scene. Another tidbit you should remember.”

She swallowed, her voice still crackling, coming out at least a half octave higher when she clarified, “He said no sex.”

Her face must have shown her trepidation because Dan cupped her cheek in his big bear-like paw, similar to the way she’d seen Cap do with Megan and Rick with Regan many times. She understood why; it immediately calmed her.

---