Page 17 of Hawke

While she resembled an angel, I knew she had to be anything but if she dared to kneel before me. Well, technically, she was tied up, but any act of submission on her part blew that charade to pieces. There’d been rules given, and followed, when I was a Dominant at The Box. She’d been aware of them, yet chose to bare herself to me, anyway.

No, looks could be deceiving, which was another thing I had learned from a very young age. The more angelic someone appeared, usually the more demonic they were. Nothing was ever what it seemed, and nothing would ever bring me peace. Those two truths I’d accepted and always kept in my head.

There were so many other things inside my mind, too. So many secrets, dark urges, nightmares. Pleasure had always involved pain for me, which was another reason I worked with submissives the way I did. It was for their safety, and my sanity.

“There you are, Hawke.” The familiar voice had me turning around.

Ryder Nelson was one of my friends from Washington. He’d flown to Denver to not only celebrate what would be the grand opening of Syn, but for professional reasons as well. He was a security genius. In fact, he’d been the one to install a state-of-the-art system throughout the entire club. I’d listened to the officers after the last break-in, especially Ayden, and had immediately flown my friend out to put one in place.

“I didn’t know you were looking for me,” I replied honestly. “What’s up?”

Besides having to deal with Vivian, and the signing off on last-minute color choices, my attention had been split between memories from my past and the woman I couldn’t seem to stay away from. Everything else was an afterthought.

“I was about to tell you everything’s wired and ready to go…” Ryder started to say, his voice seeming to drift off for whatever reason. “I saw you with Vivian, but if you need to go talk to Char too, then I can wait.”

It was only when he’d returned to speaking that I realized I’d been caught. Something else that struck me was that Ryder had called Charlotte by her nickname. A few days ago, she had indicated that it would be okay for me to do the same, but I preferred to keep things more formal. Ryder was obviously not of the same mindset.

When had they gotten that close?

An unfamiliar sensation festered inside me. It was jealousy, and I didn’t even understand why I even cared who she’d been getting close to. It wasn’t as if I planned to rekindle what we’d started in Washington, D.C., and a few times since. Every time had been a fucking mistake, and reminding myself of that, I turned back to my friend.

“No, I don’t have anything to discuss with her.” My response had sounded as irritated as my current mood, drawing a strange look from Ryder. Not wanting to set off his suspicion further, I forced my voice to calm as I continued. “Let’s go take a look at this system.”

“If you’re sure,” he hedged, and I simply shrugged.

My friend didn’t say anything else as the two of us made our way toward the hallway. There was still so much going on, but I at least had an idea of what the finished product would be. With my mind now where it needed to be, I felt pride replace the jealousy. This had been a huge undertaking for me, and despite the delays and mishaps such as the break-in, everything stayed on schedule. It looked like I’d finally be opening the doors, and on Valentine’s Day, as planned.

Before we left the main room, I couldn’t help myself, so I looked over my shoulder. When I did, I saw Charlotte watching us. Our eyes met and even across the large, expansive space, I could almost see the vibrancy in them. I quickly tore my gaze away, then fully exited the area with Ryder.

We walked down the hallway to my office. I was thankful that Ryder either hadn’t seen me take one last look, or he was just not going to say anything about it. Charlotte Maxwell was a distraction I couldn’t afford in my life. I knew it, yet I couldn’t forget the way she tasted, or how soft her skin felt beneath my hands. I’d seen her naked from the neck down, and I had glanced into her eyes more than once since. I couldn’t put the two together.

I’m not going there. No way.

When back in my office, I used the few minutes it took for Ryder to get everything pulled up to think about the actual party. I already knew most of my time would be spent inside this room watching everyone. I’d mingle with the members for a short while, then I would disappear back into the shadows I felt comfortable in. After all, it was basically what I had done at the last club I co-owned. In fact, the other owner was rarely ever there because I always was.

A flash from one of the dozen screens grabbed my attention, bring me back to the present. My eyes were now focused, and I watched as one after another powered on. When Ryder had all twelve activated, he stepped out from behind the desk, motioning for me to sit.

“As you can see, the system defaults to showing all twelve at once,” he told me, pointing to what I had already seen. “You can also zoom in on a specific area by simply pressing the expand button in the left-hand corner. Go ahead and try it.”

I didn’t know which one to press, so I chose the bar. It was the perfect choice. Or was it? Charlotte was no longer standing near it, and neither was anyone else. Maybe I’d known that, which was why I chose that particular frame. Or maybe I’d been hoping she had still been there. Either way, she was gone, which was for the best.

“If you click on the corresponding button in the right-hand corner, you minimize that screen and it goes back to the twelve again. I’m going to grab something I left in the main area. Go ahead and play with the system. I’ll be right back.”

Ryder left me alone in the office, and I looked back over at the screen. I started to randomly select different frames. At first, I started with one of the two storage areas. One would house all the additional toys and supplies for the private rooms, while the other was where all the alcohol and other bar stuff would be stored. I moved from it back to the actual main area. It was then when I saw where the blonde had disappeared.

Charlotte was now with a group of women. Her arms were flailing around as she swept them back and forth in front of her. Whatever she was telling them was being done so in an animated manner, and her expression was one of annoyance. Still, she commanded them the same way she did me. That much I’d have to admit. Their attention was glued to her every word and motion, much like I was even this far away.

Never had I been this obsessed with anyone. Honestly, it was the very first time for me, and it was quite frankly, terrifying. Charlotte was even more dangerous to my sanity because of that, yet when she turned and bent partially over the table to point to something on the design map, I couldn’t think of anything else but tearing those thin leggings off her so I could bare her ass to me. That night, I had seen her front view, but the scene hadn’t lasted long enough for me to turn her delectable body around.

Fuck! The things I would do to you. The ways I would mark you.

So many visions filled my head that it was hard to focus on just one of them. With her luscious backside high up in the air like it was now, I could already imagine taking a cane to it. Or, even better. I would kiss those firm globes with the tip of a single-tail whip.

Visibly affected, I now shifted uncomfortably in my seat as visions of large, red welts crisscrossing her ass, entered my head. The vision was not the only thing. Because I would have actually gagged her this time, I would hear the muffled screams from around the rubber ball, and the incoherent sounds would have me striking her once more.

God! Despite the gag, I would still manage to hear her cries of pleasure. Although I had stifled some, it would never completely erase them. Somewhere deep inside of my sick mind, I wanted to hear them, and I would strike her over and over. Eventually though, her voice would change, and it would be like back when… I scowled as something beautiful turned so ugly in a matter of seconds.

I raked one hand through my short, spiked hair, then let out a deep breath. The doorknob turned and before I could minimize the particular frame I’d been staring at since my friend left, Ryder saw it and chuckled.

---