Finding Master Right (Masters Unleashed 1)

But how to answer his question? The idea of someone inflicting pain—small amounts—was one of her biggest fantasies. And admittedly, some of the photos she’d seen—women on leashes, kneeling at men’s feet, heads bowed—were pretty damn hot. She’d like to try spanking, at least once. Maybe bondage, but she needed full control. Forget a safeword; she wanted to direct every moment. That didn’t bode well for being a submissive. She knew that much.

Janine often teased her, calling her a rogue sub—a brat with no one to control her. She’d scoff and pretend to be offended by the idea. Truthfully, it was fascinating. She’d seen Janine challenge Chris, seen what it had amounted to for her friend. What would someone like Chris do with someone like Kate?

And could anyone make her crave submission? She’d seen the blissful look on Janine’s face when she knelt at Chris’s feet. She’d daydreamed about someone making her feel that way too. To have that deep connection to and synchronicity with another person seemed almost impossible, but somewhere, deep inside herself, she thought she was capable of that. In admitting it to herself, she felt as though she’d put the universe on notice. Unfortunately, the universe expected her to do some of the footwork.

“I don’t think I’m sub material,” she answered, after an awkward pause. Why had she said that? Maybe because seeming too eager wasn’t attractive? Then again, his response would also show her a bit more about him.

“No?” Vince’s body language shifted. Instead of lounging, relaxed, his features sharpened, shoulders straightened, and he edged toward her as if he’d just found a delicious challenge. “I’m pretty good at taming bratty girls.”

Oh boy.

Some of the Doms she’d encountered online had big ego problems. She didn’t want an egomaniac swinging a flogger at her, safeword or not. Something about this guy was making her want to hit the brakes. Was it too much to ask for a nice, humble man who liked to spank naughty girls once in a while? At least to start with. Maybe her expectations were too high. Reading erotic novels did that to a person.

“I’m not a brat, and I’m not a meek, innocent thing,” she warned him.

“All the better.” His smile was sinful. “Let’s go to my place. I have some things we can experiment with.”

His place? They’d just met. “Um. I don’t think so.”

“Why not? I’m friends with Chris. You can trust me.”

As a rule, she never trusted people who said “you can trust me” whether they had a referral or not. “It’s too soon. I’m not comfortable with it.”

“I thought you wanted a Dom. There’s one sitting right here.” He gestured to himself. Who even did that, like they were the hottest guy ever? She did her best not to look around the room to see if there was a prank show taping this. “This might be your only chance. Don’t you want to know what your deepest desires are? Haven’t you been fantasizing about this for a long time?”

Well, yes. But with him? His pick-up lines stunk as bad as his cologne. Was she crazy to think this was too fast? Maybe it was normal speed in kink time. Chris and Janine wouldn’t steer her wrong, right?

He stood up, his costume rustling, then held out a hand. “Come on. I only live around the corner. Let’s see if we can make some of your fantasies come true.”

Really? Did he just say that? Make my fantasies come true? It sounded like a cheesy line from bad porn.

He sighed in frustration, then snapped, “My patience only goes so far, girl.”

Warning bells went off in her head. Doms were bossy, but this guy didn’t know her well enough to have that right. So, fuck him, even if he was the hottest pirate she’d ever met. “No. I’m not interested.”

He growled, but she’d dealt with men nastier than him in her job. It would take a lot to intimidate her. “I thought this is what you wanted. What’s your problem?”

“Obviously, it’s you,” someone said from behind her.

She swung her head in the direction of the voice. A tower of well-muscled man had appeared. With dark hair and tattooed arms, he gave an impression of quiet menace. He stared the pirate down.

Kate sat there, stunned. Where had he come from? There was no way she could have missed him earlier, so he must have just arrived. He hadn’t looked her way, but maybe she could fix that? Even if he wasn’t into anything kinky, she was willing to throw herself under that bus . . . er . . . man.

“Why don’t you mind your own business?” If Vince thought he was going to order this guy around, he seemed sadly mistaken.

The mystery man took a step toward Vince, his body relaxed but ready for trouble.

Uh-oh. Was this turning into a Dom-off? She was starting to feel as though she’d been transported into a medieval movie, and she was the damsel the two knights were dueling over. Maybe she’d slip away when they weren’t looking.

Finally, Vince shrugged. “Have her, then. She’s too mouthy for me anyway.”

As he slunk off, she let out a breath of relief.

Her champion snorted, then turned to look at her. His brown-eyed gaze locked with hers. It felt like someone had snapped a rubber band in her abdomen. This man was going to

eat her alive and make her beg for it.

Then, the intense air of command seemed to drain away, and with it went her urge to rub up against him like a cat in heat.