Page 10 of Claim

Reckless, Sophia. You’re being reckless.

My inner voice yelled at me not to do something so foolish. Still, an irresistible part of me was drawn to this man and wanted to explore whatever he had in store for me. After all, in Lucian’s club, what harm could befall me? Everyone knew who I was. I might as well try something daring here than elsewhere.

So, with my heart thundering in my ears, I said, “Yes, Mr. Pierce. I will join you for the evening.”

His fingers tightened over mine for a second as something passed over his face and disappeared just as fast. Was it relief or something else? Had he expected a refusal?

“Come with me, and let’s see where this night leads us.” He lifted my hand to his lips and paused, focusing on my wrist. “You aren’t wearing a bracelet.”

Shit.

I knew I’d forgotten something. The fact Clark hadn’t mentioned it meant he’d expected that I’d sit out as I’d done every other time I’d visited the club.

“I left it in the dressing room.”

“Mm-hmm,” he replied, his scrutinizing gaze causing my spine to tingle. “Would you mind describing the colors of the bracelet?”

I swallowed, my breath growing more and more uneven. “White with a red stripe.”

The various stripes on the bracelets signified the status of the person inside the club. All the black ones belonged to the Dominants, with the stripes in the center indicating their experience level and/or kinks. The same went for submissives, switches, tops, and so forth.

As a complete novice, I bore the red stripe in the center. My usual band was silver with a red stripe, indicating a novice observer but open.

Why I’d chosen white, I wasn’t sure. It indicated being submissive, and the last thing I ever wanted to be was submissive to any-damn-body. I refused to fall into the life Mom had trapped herself in, married and under my father’s thumb.

“How new are you to this?” Damon asked, his hold firm and his presence engulfing all my senses.

I licked my now parched lips. “Very. I’m exploring. Though, I’m not sure why I picked white. I’m not submissive.”

He lifted a brow as if he thought my statement was bullshit. “Are you sure you want to play with me knowing what I am and my experience level?”

He wore a black-on-black wristband. The Master level, indicating kink wasn’t a hobby or something to enjoy in passing but an integral part of his life.

He waited for my answer without the weight of pressure, only patience. And I had no doubt he’d let me go if I changed my mind.

And more than likely, that’s the reason why I nodded and said, “I’m sure.”

He nodded, and I realized he’d asked the question to give me one last out but had known I wouldn’t walk away.

He seemed to read me in a way no one else had before.

Without another word, he guided me in front of him, setting his fingers on the hollow of my lower back. His touch sent a wave of anticipative heat up my spine. As if with this man, I’d find something I’d missed all my life tonight.

What was it about Damon Pierce that pulled at me when everything Tate told me should warn me away from him?

“You have a decision to make,” he stated, pausing between the playrooms open for public viewing and the semi-private playrooms, where only the club personnel monitored the space.

“Public or private?”

“I get to make a choice?”

“Of course, there is always a choice. A negotiation of limits, a discussion of desires, wants, and needs, and above all else, your level of comfort. These are all things to consider in a power exchange.”

“As someone who’s never done this, what do you believe is the right answer?”

He lifted my chin with the tip of his finger. “There is no wrong or right answer, Only Sophia. It’s a matter of comfort. But if you’re asking my opinion. A private setting is a better place for your first scene. You won’t get in the right headspace if multiple sets of eyes are on you.”

I nodded, and a sense of ease flowed over me.

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