Tempting Elizabeth Read online

  She really needed to shake herself out of this unwelcome headspace. After all, she was no longer a sub. Never. And she sure as hell wouldn’t consider submitting to Flynn if he were the last man on earth.

  She wished she could chase away the dozen questions running through her head too. Was this woman Flynn’s girlfriend? Wife? Or just a submissive who requested him? Elizabeth shouldn’t care. She also shouldn’t care if Flynn intended to reach between this woman’s legs and bring her to orgasm, or even if he planned to fuck her later that night.

  Nope. This was not Elizabeth’s concern, which was why she turned away from the scene, telling herself she needed to prepare mentally for her next scene anyway.

  Her leaving the room had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that she couldn’t stomach the idea of watching the blonde fall apart under Flynn’s touch. Not at all.

  Chapter 3

  When Flynn finished his scene with Belinda, he carried her to a sofa in the recovery room and settled her on his lap. She curled up against him, snuggling into his chest. Just like she always did.

  Flynn had dominated Belinda many times in the last few years. She was a gorgeous submissive to watch, which was why she drew a lot of attention. She often reserved time with three or four different Doms. Flynn was just one of them. This had never bothered him in the least. He enjoyed her and loved the way she submitted to him, but she was far too young for him to consider any sort of relationship outside of the club. Besides, she’d never insinuated she wanted more from him or anyone else. She was usually soft spoken and didn’t say much. In all the time he’d known her, she’d shared nothing about her personal life.

  Belinda was a bit of a mystery, but she came to Zodiac almost every Friday and left sated and pleased as far as Flynn could tell. Tonight would be no different. She did not, however, orgasm under Flynn’s care. Or any other Dom at the club for that matter. It wasn’t on her agenda. Not that there was anything wrong with that. It was her prerogative. It was beyond precious watching her submit, and she was thoroughly expressive when she did so, but she didn’t need to reach orgasm. Impact play alone was enough for her.

  As she recuperated in his arms, his mind wandered. By now Elizabeth would be well into her next scene. Flynn was missing it, and he had to repeatedly remind himself he didn’t care. He didn’t even like the woman. He was with Belinda. She was sweet and angelic. Any man would be pleased to spend time with her. The consummate submissive.

  Elizabeth, on the other hand, was abrasive and stiff. Nothing about her could be described as sweet. Flynn wasn’t sure the woman even knew how to smile unless it was sardonically or as a smirk. She was brusque, frustrating, intense, and driven. She made Flynn’s blood pressure reach dangerous levels every time she entered a room. Tonight was no exception. Why did she also have to have a fucking hot body, amazing tits, and silky hair that begged him to run his fingers through it?

  Flynn shook thoughts of Elizabeth wielding a pair of floggers from his head. He needed to concentrate on Belinda right now, he reminded himself as she sighed and pushed to sitting. Her smile was pure and genuine. She cupped his cheek with one hand and kissed the other with her full pink lips. “Thank you, Sir. That was amazing as usual.”

  “You’re welcome.” He set his hands on her hips. She hadn’t put her dress back on, and she had a soft blanket wrapped around her, but it parted enough in the front for Flynn to see her small breasts. Not for the first time, he wondered why he wasn’t more attracted to her. By anyone’s standards, she was cute. She’d simply never quite done it for him.

  Maybe it was because she was so meek. Maybe he liked his women a bit feistier. Like Elizabeth? Hell no. Not that abrasive. Just…bolder. Perhaps.

  “I need to get going. Thank you again, and for the way you always take such good care of me afterward.” Belinda’s cheeks were pink.

  “Any time, Belinda. You know that. You’re a pleasure to dominate.”

  She slid off his lap and reached for her dress. “I’ll see you next week?”

  “Yep. I’ll be here.”

  She leaned over and kissed his cheek again and then padded toward the locker room.

  Flynn took a deep breath as he slowly rose to his feet. Don’t do it…

  He shouldn’t. There was no reason to let his curiosity get the better of him. But he couldn’t resist the temptation. He had to see what Elizabeth was doing.

  He made his way back into the main room, not surprised to find a semicircle of onlookers watching what he knew would be Elizabeth’s scene even before he got close enough to see over nearly everyone’s heads.

  Lincoln and Carter, two of the club owners, were standing to one side, whispering quietly to each other. Flynn decided to join them. Pretend he was simply curious. Find out what people were saying.

  Lincoln smiled over his shoulder as Flynn stepped up behind him. Carter turned around enough to shake Flynn’s hand. “How’s it going?” he whispered. “Belinda looked pleased. As usual.”

  “Yep.” That was about the extent of what any of them knew about her.

  “I saw you talking to Elizabeth earlier. I told Carter you two have some strange history. Did you bury the hatchet?” Lincoln asked in a low voice, his eyes dancing with mirth.

  “Hardly. That’ll never happen. Mostly I suggested she should go hover around at Breeze instead since I belong to Zodiac.”

  “And how did she respond?” Carter asked.

  Flynn rolled his eyes. “About how I expected. A lot of posturing. She offered to dominate me. I offered to dominate her.”

  Lincoln’s chest shook as he silently laughed. “I’d love to see either of those events. Make sure you give me the date and time.”

  “You’ll be waiting for hell to freeze over.” Flynn finally let his gaze wander to Elizabeth. Enough time had gone by for him to seem disinterested in front of Lincoln and Carter.

  Holy shit. This time, she had a thin male submissive draped naked over a spanking bench. It was clear she had either spanked or paddled him before Flynn arrived because his butt and thighs were dark pink. Flynn let his gaze wander to the man’s profile, realizing the submissive was Josh, a club regular. Josh was a submissive through and through. He submitted to both men and women. Apparently he was perfect for Elizabeth, who had him completely at her mercy.

  None of that was surprising. What made Flynn stop breathing was the fact that Elizabeth was reaching between Josh’s legs and had her hand wrapped around his cock. She was gently pumping it. Too gently. With not enough of a grip.

  Josh was moaning and squirming. His ankles and wrists were strapped down with leather buckles. “Mistress,” he pleaded.

  Elizabeth glanced at his face, but she didn’t react otherwise. She had her free hand on the small of Josh’s back and didn’t stop tormenting him.

  He groaned louder, lifting his face and mumbling something Flynn couldn’t hear.

  Flynn couldn’t decide how he felt about this scene. It unnerved him in a personal way. If any woman even suggested strapping him down and teasing his cock and balls until they were blue, he would laugh in her face and walk away, never looking back. It wouldn’t matter how damn sexy she was or how silky her hair was or how plump her breasts. Nope. No way in hell would he submit like this man.

  And yet, Josh was clearly enjoying himself in a painful sort of way. There were some people who got off on the thrill of being restrained and cockblocked. Flynn didn’t understand it, nor would he ever participate in it, but he would never pass judgement. After all, he enjoyed making female submissives wait for permission to come. Was it any different? Somehow, he thought edging a woman was not quite the same as a man. Again, he would never know.

  Flynn did occasionally dominate men when they asked him to, but he didn’t take things beyond impact play into anything sexual. With women, he would grant whatever scene they requested, but he wasn’t comfortable doing the same with men.

  Josh’s moaning increased as Elizabeth slid her fingers around his bal
ls, jiggling them. She took her time, eventually leaning in to whisper in Josh’s ear.

  Josh closed his eyes and bit into his bottom lip.

  Elizabeth wrapped her palm around his cock again. Harder this time, but not moving fast enough.

  Flynn decided he’d had enough of this scene. “I’m going to go get a drink. See you guys later.” He didn’t wait for Lincoln or Carter to respond before he turned and left the room. Whether or not Elizabeth would bring Josh to orgasm would have to remain a mystery.

  Chapter 4

  Elizabeth didn’t usually pay attention to anyone or anything else happening in the room when she dominated someone. Tonight, however, she found herself glancing around out of her peripheral vision several times, wondering if Flynn was watching.

  She’d spotted him finally, talking to two of the club owners. Too bad he’d missed the spanking part of her scene. She was proud of how good she was at that kind of impact play. Considering she had smaller hands than a man and couldn’t cover as much skin, she worked out often and had the stamina to swat with enough force and keep it up for long enough to ensure any submissive was pleased.

  This sub, Josh, had told her before they started that he wasn’t opposed to reaching orgasm if that was how the cards fell. And apparently they had, because he began to squirm early in her scene, and when she checked in with him, he was panting and begging for her to touch his cock.

  She made him wait, and even when she finally relented, she still took her sweet time. She judged by his reaction that edging worked for him, and when she finally let him reach orgasm, he was strung so tight that he shattered beautifully for everyone watching.

  Elizabeth didn’t mind this sort of play. Controlling when and how and if she would let a man come was powerful. It wasn’t her main strength, however. She generally preferred to stick to impact play.

  When the scene ended, another man rushed forward to help Josh off the bench while Elizabeth grabbed a cleansing wipe for the bench. She glanced in the direction she’d last seen Flynn, but he was gone. That shouldn’t disappoint her, and it unnerved her that she would care.

  The man who lifted Josh off the bench and cradled him against his chest was significantly larger. He thanked Elizabeth. “I’ll take it from here. Josh needs a lot of aftercare.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yep.” The larger man leaned his face closer and kissed Josh’s forehead.

  Ah, maybe they were a couple. Elizabeth watched them walk away, feeling a little uncertain about turning the care of her submissive over to someone else, but at the same time relieved she didn’t have to care for Josh herself. She was exhausted, and she wondered if Flynn was still in the building.

  For some odd reason, after cleaning the spanking bench and gathering her toy bag, Elizabeth found herself disappointed that Flynn was nowhere in sight.

  Considering she didn’t even like the man, she was pissed with herself for giving a single shit if he was still at Zodiac. She should be glad he was gone. She rationalized that the only reason she cared if he was around was so that she could gloat to him about her amazing skills as a Domme. As if he would give a fuck.

  Deciding to head home and crawl into bed, she made her way to the locker room and changed back into her street clothes. Jeans. T-shirt. Tennis shoes. No one in the real world would ever believe she had such a drastic second personality. Except Flynn now. Dammit. She pulled the band from her hair and shook it out, enjoying the release from the constant pull of her ponytail.

  Elizabeth ambled toward the front entry room next. The woman working at the front desk smiled at her and held out a flyer. “Hey. I’m Kerry. Lincoln wanted me to give you this. He thought you might be interested in the class we’re having next Saturday morning.”

  Elizabeth glanced over the flyer. The class was going to be about crops. Indeed, though she’d used a crop from time to time, it wasn’t her specialty. She could always stand to learn more about the various types and how hard to strike a submissive. That last part was what caused her to hesitate.

  Learning to be skilled with a crop took time and practice and a willing submissive. Striking too hard could leave a raised welt. Elizabeth preferred that her submissives walked away with burning pink skin that would subside by morning. Leaving marks that lasted any longer than that weren’t up her alley. Thus the reason she’d avoided the crop.

  “If you’re interested, I’ll let Lincoln know. He’s trying to get a head count,” the woman said.

  Elizabeth met her gaze. “I think I will actually. Tell him I’ll be there.” As she headed out the door and made her way to her sporty Toyota 86, she took several deep, cleansing breaths. She’d only been in Miami a few days, and running into someone she knew was unexpected and jarring. Especially since it was a man she didn’t care for personally.

  She wasn’t worried he would out her to anyone, nor would she ever break that kind of ethical code herself, but just knowing he now knew about this side of her made her nervous. If he wanted to, he could really hurt her. Of course, she could do the same, so they were even.

  She settled in her car and leaned back to close her eyes for a moment. She had rented a long-term extended stay hotel for a month, her plan being to get a feel for Miami and figure out what she wanted to do next with her life before she committed to a lease.

  Opening her own business had been a dream of hers for years. She’d never told a soul, but the reason she’d worked so hard for as long as she could remember was to save up enough money to purchase her own business. She had always known that in the long run she wanted to work for herself.

  In the early days, twenty-four years ago, when she’d first entered the workforce at eighteen years old, she’d pictured something along the lines of a clothing store or household decorations. These days she was considering opening a sex toy store, assuming the Miami market wasn’t saturated. She had the marketing and business background for just about anything, but she had vowed to take her time. Visit every corner of the city. Find out what was lacking.

  Elizabeth had first discovered BDSM twelve years ago when she was thirty, and the fetish world immediately grabbed her attention. At first, she’d gone with a friend who lured her out with promises of finding out what she’d been missing. The woman had only spoken of the release she experienced from submitting, so Elizabeth had gone into her first club expecting to try that side of BDSM. It took several visits before she realized she would much rather switch sides and be the one wielding the paddle, so to speak. She shuddered at the memory of the day when everything had changed.

  Elizabeth sighed, frustrated with herself that Flynn had managed to crawl into her brain and take up space. The world was a big place. How was it possible that the one man she’d bumped heads with for five years would show up in the same city as her and belong to the club she was visiting?

  There was another club in town. Breeze. She’d fully intended to spend just as much time there as Club Zodiac. But now she was wondering about the wisdom of returning to Zodiac at all. On the one hand, her blood pressure would go back down if she didn’t have to worry about running into Flynn. On the other hand, the last thing she wanted was for him to think he’d defeated her in some way. She also didn’t want him to think she cared for one minute that they were both attending the same club.

  Why should she care? She was a grown woman for heaven’s sake. So what if an annoying man from her past stood in the same room as her on occasion? She could ignore him.

  Yep. Sure. Uh huh. What a joke.

  Chapter 5

  Flynn had a short temper all week. He knew it, and so did everyone around him. Usually, he was an easy guy to get along with. Even though he’d unexpectedly found himself returning to Miami and taking over his family’s restaurant three years ago, the employees had respected him and been a great help in the transition.

  It could have gone much worse. After all, they were used to his father’s way of managing the restaurant, which made Flynn worry that he wouldn’t be e
asily accepted. Luckily, he’d encountered quite the opposite.

  Owning a restaurant had never been Flynn’s dream. It has been his father’s baby, but the man was taken from the family far too young, and Flynn’s mother couldn’t bear to see the restaurant sold to an outsider or worse, torn down.

  At the time, Flynn was finally in a good place with SaFleur. Elizabeth had left the company just a few months prior, which greatly eased tension at work. The company had replaced her with someone far more agreeable.

  Nevertheless, Flynn was from a large family and being in Atlanta had never sat well with his mother. She liked her children close, even though all of them were grown adults. Hell, Flynn was thirty-eight. His four siblings were all younger than him. Unfortunately, none of them were interested in running the restaurant, nor were they at a place in their lives where it was feasible.

  Flynn’s father had groaned a million times over the fact that he had five children and none of them followed in his footsteps. There was no way Flynn could let his mother down in the absence of his father, so he came home. The prodigal son. And he picked up the pieces, including running the restaurant.

  It hadn’t been his dream job, but over the past three years, he’d developed a certain pride from watching the business grow and expand. His father had always maintained the status quo. The status quo wasn’t in Flynn’s vocabulary, so he worked hard to bring in more customers and ensure they enjoyed every moment.

  What frustrated Flynn more than usual was the fact that he hadn’t been able to get away from the restaurant on Friday night to spend some time at Zodiac. Usually it wasn’t a problem. He had capable employees. They didn’t need him there day and night. He had a fully competent manager who could close up for him. But last night they had been slammed, keeping the place packed until after they stopped serving. Two employees had called in sick. A large birthday party for a child had arrived without a reservation. And a man had gotten belligerent with his waiter because his ice water wasn’t cold enough. By the time Flynn had turned out the lights, it had been late and he’d been grumpy, so Zodiac was out of the question.