Page 19 of Reckless Desire

Her friends bombarded her with questions all at once, making it impossible for her to understand what either of them was saying. Dominique held up her hand. “Wait, wait, both of y’all coming at me, I can’t tell what you’re saying.”

“Me first!” Shavonne had her hand up, yelling.

Dominique laughed but pointed at her. “Okay, go ahead, Vonn.”

“Was he any good?”

“In my Drake voice, it’s the best I ever had!”

“See, didn’t I say that man had big dick energy?” Chasity tapped the screen. “I could see it when he walked in the lounge that night.”

“Yes, but there’s so much more to him … us than that.” Dominique grabbed her phone and exited the bathroom, still talking to them as she gathered her things and made her way out the door. “We talked. And now we have a clearer understanding of what we both want in this. So uhh … yeah, instead of him being a slave, we’re going to incorporate power exchange into our relationship.”

Chasity leaned closer to the phone. “Say what now?”

“What does that even mean?” Vonn’s face twisted into a frown.

Dominique didn’t get a chance to respond. Chasity jumped in with a tone full of shock and disbelief. “They’re basically going to Dom each other.”

“Oh wow, that actually sounds hot. Damn, Ari, are you sure that’s what you want? What happened to you not catching feelings?”

She’d just settled in her car. Dominique placed her phone in the holder. Once again, her friends were watching and waiting for a response. Shavonne had asked a valid question. For the past year and a half, Dominique had worked hard to rebuild her life after her ex-husband, Xander, shattered her dreams of having the kind of life she thought she wanted. She didn’t know anything about the BDSM lifestyle. Xander introduced it to her while they were visiting his cousin in Atlanta, who was hosting a dungeon event. They were interested in the lifestyle, and Xander’s cousin shared with him about Club Desire, where they became members. For almost three years, it appeared everything was great until it wasn’t.

Xander began to complain and criticize versus guide, teach, or advise her about his needs. Dominique could admit that after she landed a huge contract with a new client, it required more of her attention, which meant longer days at work. However, she still remembered her role as his wife and submissive and catered to Xander’s needs. It was never enough. To make him happy, Dominique agreed to a voyeur scene and him being with another woman. She didn’t think it would affect her negatively as much as it did. Seeing her husband with another woman became a hard limit, and she told Xander she didn’t want to do it again. Xander, in turn, began attending the club without her and cheated with several women.

Instead of respecting their marriage and her, Xander used their lifestyle as a way to control Dominique. On more than one occasion, he had non-consensual sex with her. When she told him their marriage was over, he, in turn, told Dominique that she would always belong to him. The dissolution of their marriage was an ugly, nasty, and spiteful war, with Xander relentlessly tormenting her every step of the way. She felt relieved when the judge finally granted her the divorce, wasting no time in reverting back to her maiden name.

“Ari?” Chasity’s voice pulled her out of that dark space.

Dominique took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking. “A real Dom doesn’t act like a tyrant or a bully. They’re respectful and compassionate and guide you toward developing your full potential in both the lifestyle and life itself. A genuine Dom will be the most supportive person in your corner. They will challenge you but, most of all, teach you things about yourself that you didn’t even know before. Above anything else, they will bring out the highest quality of who you are. All of those things, Xander wasn’t to me, never did for me. I realize that now more than ever, Chas. He’s the reason I didn’t want to be a sub anymore. Why go through trusting someone who could take that power for granted? He made me hate it. But you asked what happened. Vincent Alessandro Moretti, the third is what happened. He’s made me feel safer in the last twenty-four hours than in all the years I’ve known Xander’s selfish, arrogant ass.”

When she finished, both Chasity and Shavonne were smiling and clapping.

“I just know I’m looking forward to meeting him officially sooner than later,” Chasity said.

Shavonne nodded. “I’m so freaking happy for you, Ari!”

“You know it means a lot to have y’all supporting me more than anything else.” Dominique shifted her car into gear.

Chasity smiled reassuringly and blew a kiss. “Always, beau thang. You know we’ve got your back.”

“Okay, let me go call my man.”

Shavonne cheered. “Yasss, you better! Talk to you later, girl!”

Dominque ended their group call and swiped to call Vincent. After a couple of trills, his handsome face appeared on the phone’s display. She couldn’t keep the warmth from creeping into her cheeks when he flashed that dimpled smile. Her mind immediately wandered to where his face had been just hours ago. The pulsing sensation between her thighs grew intense.

“Good morning, My Queen.”

Dominique was unable to contain the smile splitting her face. “Good morning, My King.”

“Hmm. Not only does it sound good rolling off your tongue, but it also looks good. Where are you headed?”

“I was going to run a couple of errands before I meet up with a new client this afternoon.”

“Can you stop by my office for a few minutes? I wanted to go over a few things from your contract.” Vincent flashed him a mischievous grin.

There was no mistaking what he wanted. Her cheeks flushed. “Why yes, My King. I can be there in half an hour.”

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