Taming Rex Read online

  He finally lowered his gaze. “Look, there’s no way to say this delicately, so I’m just going to throw it out there. I saw you last night.”

  For a moment she thought her heart stopped, her mind racing around the events of the night. At Zodiac? He saw her at Club Zodiac? Shit. Wow. She tried to wrap her head around his admission.

  He kept going. “It was horribly unethical of me. The moment I saw you, I should have left the club and then confronted you first thing this morning.”

  She searched his face, trying to decide how she wanted to respond, while chewing on the corner of her bottom lip. His chagrin was beyond precious, and the truth was for some reason she didn’t care if he saw her. Maybe she should be completely freaking out right now. A coworker saw her submitting at a fetish club. Instead, she felt empowered by his obvious discomposure.

  He swiped his hand down his face and slouched a bit. “I’m so sorry.”

  She pulled her act together and decided to make light of his admission. “Sorry for what? It’s not your fault we happened to join the same club. Granted, I can’t say I would have expected to run into the only person I know in Miami at a private club, but who cares?”

  He flinched, his face taking on a look of total shock, eyes wide, mouth open, no sound.

  This was fucking perfect. She realized he’d been stewing about this for over twelve hours. He probably hadn’t slept, trying to decide if he would confront her or not.

  Emboldened by his mortification, she leaned forward a bit. “So, you saw my naked butt. I assume you’ve seen others. Mine’s not the first.” It was weird to think he’d watched her orgasm, but it served him right if it made him this flustered today. She’d done nothing wrong.

  He shook his head a bit violently. “No. I did not. I watched that older guy dominate you for a while, I admit, but I left the moment things went from impact play to sexual.”

  She lifted a brow. “How long did you watch?” This was good. This was amazing.

  He cringed. “Longer than I should have. That’s why I’m apologizing.”

  “Why? Were you turned on? Were you jealous? Did you wish Dayton had been paddling you instead?”

  Rex gasped, his back going ramrod straight now, as she’d expected. She’d only said that to torment him. Bingo. “No. No no no.” He shook his head again. “I’m not a sub. I’m a Dom.”

  She lifted a brow. “Hmmm.” She narrowed her gaze, letting it roam up and down his body. “You sure?” It was hard to keep from laughing.

  “Positive. Jesus. How did we get to this?” He shoved the chair back and stood to pace the room. “Listen, I just wanted to apologize.”

  “Fine. Apology accepted.” She took a breath and forced a nonchalant voice. “No big deal. I’m not a prude. I know I’m awkward in vanilla settings. I talk too much when I’m in new situations. I fidget. I have nervous energy. I don’t fit in with regular people. But the moment I step into a club, I’m another person. I’ve found it calms me. I need the release I get from submitting. So, I go once or twice a week. I don’t care if you join Zodiac too.” She shrugged, not quite sure she believed her own words, but saying them anyway. “Just keep it to yourself. Don’t out me, and I won’t out you.” She turned back around to face her computer, using every ounce of energy to make it seem like she was unaffected by this extremely odd conversation.

  Rex closed the distance, grabbed the back of her chair, and spun her around to face him. “That’s it? You don’t care?”

  “Nope. Why should I? It’s a big club. We don’t have to interact with each other. I won’t even look at you or speak to you if you prefer.”

  He held her gaze, his lips parted as if he couldn’t think how to respond. Finally, he licked his lips. “Maybe we should pick nights. You take Fridays; I’ll take Saturdays or something.”

  She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Are we too immature to share the room? Seriously, Rex. I have more to lose here than you do. You’ll inevitably see me naked. Maybe even tonight. It doesn’t bother me. Don’t let it bother you.”

  “You’re going tonight?” He seemed shocked.

  “Yep. I had a great time. Dayton was an amazing Dom. I’m hoping he’s there again.”

  Rex swallowed hard and finally gave a sharp nod. “Fine. Perfect. If you don’t care, I don’t care.”

  “Great.” She offered him a wide smile and then reached over to peel his fingers off the back of her chair so she could spin around to face her desk. She grabbed her mouse and pretended to focus on the screen.

  There was no way in hell she could concentrate. It was a challenge to keep from shaking violently, but she knew she had the upper hand here, and she’d never felt more powerful in her life. Rex may have been older and wiser and have more experience than her in the tech industry, but she had just completely flustered the hell out of him.

  She meant every word she’d said, but her stomach was in knots because now she desperately wanted to see him in action. If Rex was a Dom when he stepped into a club, that meant he too had a totally different personality when he was in his element. Because Lord knew he wasn’t very commanding at work.

  Tonight would be very interesting. If he had the balls to show up.

  Chapter 9

  Rex went back to the long-term housing that afternoon and flopped down on his bed, sighing heavily. The last hour of work had been a total blur. He had no idea what he’d done. Probably nothing.

  His confrontation with Erica hadn’t gone remotely like any of the scenarios he’d played in his mind over and over all night and morning. He’d imagined her being mortified and embarrassed and pissed and angry and maybe even crying.

  He’d even worried she might report him to their boss for improper conduct, although he struggled to fully picture how that scenario might’ve gone down since she would’ve had to admit to their boss that they both enjoyed kink in order to report him.

  Hell, after the reaction he’d gotten from her, he doubted she would mind telling their boss every detail down to the dress she’d been wearing and how pink her ass had been. When it came to her submission, she obviously had incredible confidence.

  On top of everything else that accompanied Rex’s emotional roller coaster, he’d gotten a fucking hard-on that wouldn’t abate after she’d finished her speech. The woman was goddamn sexy. He’d already thought so from the moment he’d met her. Now he knew three sides of her—the nervous nerdy side, the confident submissive side, and the…well, I-don’t-give-a-fuck-if-you-saw-me-naked side.

  Jesus.

  Rex flexed his hands at his sides, popping his knuckles several times. Normally, he was the sort of Dom who was most comfortable wielding an impact tool, but today he suddenly had a desire to lay his bare hand on one very snarky submissive’s ass, spanking her until the warmth of her bottom made her squirm with need.

  He wouldn’t, of course. It would be inappropriate. They worked together. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of both of them joining the same club. Or hell, even the fact that he now knew she was submissive. What a clusterfuck. That was more information than he wanted to know about anyone he worked with.

  And yet…

  His mind wouldn’t stop running, visions of dominating her flashing through his head over and over. The way she bit the corner of her lip or fidgeted or rambled on and on. He would love to get her on her knees and put an end to her nervous habits—the ones she only exuded when she wasn’t at a club apparently.

  The truth was she didn’t need him or anyone else to get her to break her habits. They didn’t exist when she was inside the club.

  Just like yours don’t exist either, he reminded himself.

  It would seem they were two awkward people who couldn’t avoid being nerdy in the real world but could put it away and be someone else entirely when they stepped into a club.

  Could he share the space with her? This was the million-dollar question of the day. The only way he could know for sure would be to show up tonight and see wha
t happened.

  And what about Erica? What would she be like if he spoke to her at Zodiac?

  He shook that thought from his head. He shouldn’t speak to her at all. He shouldn’t even acknowledge that he’d ever seen her before. That was the accepted norm. Anytime someone in the fetish world saw someone they knew from the vanilla world, the proper thing to do was to pretend they’d never met and ignore each other. If one party wanted to address the other, they could do so discreetly at some point, but they would be expected to respect the privacy of the other party and immediately shut down the approach if it wasn’t reciprocated.

  Erica had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t care if Rex saw her. Should he surmise from her eloquently stated speech that she wouldn’t shun him if he approached her at Zodiac? He couldn’t be sure. He also didn’t think he could avoid the confrontation.

  Rex entered Zodiac shortly after midnight. He spoke to both Lincoln and Carter near the entrance, relieved to ascertain that neither of them had noticed his abrupt departure the night before. Finally, he wandered deeper into the club, forcing himself not to let his gaze dart in every direction in case Erica was already there and might catch him looking for her.

  When he finally spotted her, she was perched on a stool at the bar holding a soda. At first, she didn’t see him, and he took a moment to glance up and down her body.

  Fuck me.

  Tonight she was wearing a black leather bustier that pushed her ample cleavage up high, barely concealing her nipples. She also wore a black leather skirt, and even seated he could tell it was short. Especially seated. Her pale legs were crossed, but if she parted them, he would be able to see whatever she wore or didn’t wear beneath.

  As she lifted her drink to her lips, she spotted him and gave him a slight smile before taking a sip. Her hair was down, one side tucked behind her ear.

  He’d been worried about her ability to practically unman him earlier in the day. Now that he headed her direction, his doubts fled the room. He was in his element, just as she was. All Dom. She would not intimidate him while they were in this world.

  When he reached her side, he pointed at the stool. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Nope.” She smiled at him again, but kept her face tipped slightly toward the floor.

  “Where’s your old guy?”

  She chuckled and leaned close to give Rex’s shoulder a slight shove with her own. “He’s not that old, and I’m not sure. Haven’t seen him yet tonight. Guess I’m going to have to figure out some other way to relieve the tension of working all day with a surly coworker.”

  He met her gaze. “I deserve that.”

  “Yeah. You do.” She glanced down at her drink and ran a finger along the top edge. Calmly. She wasn’t stressed. Not from being in the club nor from having Rex near her. Good.

  “I’m pretty darn good with a flogger if you’re looking for impact play.” He almost couldn’t believe he’d spoken those words. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn’t dominate her. It was the worst idea in the world. He shouldn’t have even approached her. They should both be able to share this club without acknowledging each other.

  Secretly, however, Rex was incredibly relieved to have arrived and found her alone instead of strapped to some sort of apparatus getting off at some other guy’s hand. A ridiculous possessiveness took over and insisted Rex dominate her himself. Show her what he could do.

  “Kinda cocky, aren’t you?” she teased.

  He took a risk and reached over to lift her chin with two fingers. “I’ve earned it. Trust me. Or hell, you don’t have to trust me. I’ll prove it if you’d like. You won’t be disappointed. If you’d like a demonstration of my skills, I’ll give you one, but I have stipulations.”

  She swallowed, her voice lowered. “What are they?”

  “If we’re going to scene together, you have to submit to me like you would anyone else. While we play, we aren’t coworkers; we’re two people fulfilling a need in a mutually satisfying way. You’ll address me as Sir. I’ll give you what you need.”

  She licked her lips. “Yes, Sir.”

  Jesus. Mary. And Joseph.

  He nodded. “Good. Now, we need some boundaries. How much of your skin do you want me to expose? How much are you comfortable with me touching? Do you want to reach orgasm? And what sort of aftercare do you usually prefer?”

  She bit that lower lip in the corner again before taking a breath and answering him. “I don’t have all the answers. I can’t know for sure how I might feel with any new Dom, not just you. But you can expose whatever you want and touch whatever you want. Can’t say for sure if I’ll reach orgasm or even crave it. I don’t know you well enough to judge that. I sometimes enter a very blissful subspace. I’ll probably need a blanket and water, but you don’t have to hold me or anything if you don’t want to, Sir.”

  He watched every nuance of her demeanor, just like he would any submissive. Reading her body language and trying to pick up on all the things she hadn’t said. “Did you orgasm last night for the older guy?”

  She sighed. “Yes, and stop calling him old. His name is Dayton. He wasn’t that old.”

  He lifted a brow. “You gonna be this snarky with me the entire time?”

  “Depends, Sir. Are you going to puff out your chest and try to one-up a Dom you haven’t even met who scened with me last night?”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Fine. I’ll give you that one. I deserve it yet again. But lose the attitude or I won’t be inclined to even attempt to bring you to orgasm.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Her voice dipped, as did her gaze. She set her glass on the bar behind her next and folded her hands in her lap.

  “Safeword?”

  “Algorithm.”

  He chuckled. “Perfect.”

  “It always has been, Sir. But then again, I’ve never submitted to anyone who used the word in their daily life like you do. Maybe we need another one.”

  “Nope. I like it. I don’t think it will factor into my flogging scene, so we’re safe.” He watched her face, loving how it softened as she slowly let go of the reins and let him dominate her.

  This was either going to go splendidly—and then he couldn’t imagine how they would incorporate this side of themselves into their daily lives—or it could go very badly—and then he still didn’t know how the hell they would handle things. Either way, he felt the urge to give it a try.

  Chapter 10

  Erica slid off the stool when Rex offered her his hand. She compartmentalized her feelings, just like she had every other time she scened with someone new. She lowered her gaze, pulled her shoulders back, and walked along behind Rex. He had his fingers threaded with hers at his lower back. Something about the contact was more intimate than usual. He could have just gripped her hand or even commanded her to follow him.

  Rex carried his toy bag in his other hand, and she knew they’d reached their intended destination when he dropped it. She glanced up to find a type of bench she hadn’t used before—a rare moment.

  Granted, there were dozens of types of benches, but this one was unique. It had four padded areas where she knew her knees and elbows would rest, but instead of a raised section that would support her entire torso, it had only one padded bar about a foot above the knee pads and a few inches closer to the center.

  Erica shivered as she visualized herself mounting this bench and then holding any sort of position since that raised bar would support nothing but her belly. She would have to hold her head and the rest of her torso up on her own.

  “Have you mounted one of these before, Erica?” Rex asked, his voice deep.

  “No, Sir. I’ve seen them though.”

  “So you understand how this is going to work?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  He set two fingers under her chin again and lifted her face so that she met his gaze. “Good. This is one of my favorite apparatus for impact play. It prevents a submissive from escaping while at the same time giving them nothing to ru
b against sexually.”

  She nodded. “I see that, Sir.”

  He held her gaze for several seconds. “Are you wearing anything under your skirt?”

  “Yes, Sir. A thong.”

  “Do you mind if I remove the skirt then? When I’m flogging a sub, I prefer to be able to watch the progress, mostly to ensure I’m not striking too hard.”

  She swallowed. If this were any other Dom… But he wasn’t. He was Rex. And to be honest, she was both intrigued, anxious, and turned on. She wouldn’t hesitate to remove her skirt for him.

  Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. It was rare that she even met another human as intellectually compatible with her as Rex was. She’d never submitted to one. Or…it was possible she had and didn’t know it. Usually she didn’t get any personal details from whoever dominated her in a club. She liked it that way, especially because she preferred not to share details either.

  She could see the doubt in his eyes. He was uncertain how much she wanted to reveal or experience considering they had to work together. But his concerns weren’t warranted. She’d learned to compartmentalize her needs over two years ago—separating her club personality from her work personality. What happened in Zodiac, stayed in Zodiac, so to speak.

  Even though she might exude extreme nervousness when she was out in the real world, her stress stemmed from the fact that she knew she was odd and didn’t quite fit in. When she played, however, she shed those worries. She was the same as any other submissive in the club.

  She also had no issues with body image, nor was she prudently concerned with exposure. It simply didn’t bother her for Rex to see her naked today and then sit next to her at work Monday morning.