Claimed (Club Sin 1)

Turning off the ignition, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, catching a whiff of the aroma from the leather seats in his car. The man in him wanted to call Presley out and demand answers, but the Dom knew better. Lashing out wasn’t his way. Issuing a stern portrayal of his dominance and stating his position on what she’d done, followed by punishment later, was his resolve.

Once the tension in his chest had faded, he exited the car and approached the two-story home with the cherry-red door. At the front door, he knocked, and the sound of heavy footsteps barreled toward him before the door whisked open.

Cora stood on the other side, dressed in a purple cotton T-shirt and light blue jeans. She wore no makeup, and her hair was pulled into a loose bun on top of her head. He’d never seen her so dressed down. She appeared much more innocent than the submissive he’d grown used to seeing in the dungeon.

A smile had turned up the corners of her mouth, but as she took in who stood at her door, she frowned. “Master Dmitri?”

“Hello, Cora,” he replied, pleased that his voice was controlled. “Outside of Club Sin, I’m Dmitri. May I come in?”

Apparently, he had stunned her. She didn’t move for a long awkward moment, then she blinked a few times before she opened the door wider. “Of course, please do.”

Dmitri entered the home, noting that it was much like the woman he knew, neat and orderly, though the design was modern and edgy. He stood in the entranceway, and the open concept showed off the living room with the bright kitchen. The hallway to his left, he suspected, led to the bedrooms. “You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you, si—” She smiled, giving him a sheepish glance through her lashes. “Thanks. Do you need a drink, coffee or tea?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She headed into the living room, and Dmitri followed. Once she sat on the white couch, he dropped down next to her and listened for a moment. He didn’t hear any noise coming from the rest of the house. As far as he could tell, Presley was nowhere in sight.

He looked to Cora just as she shifted in her seat and fiddled with her hands. Her head remained bowed to her lap when she asked, “Have I done something wrong? Is that why you’ve come?”

Normally, he’d never come to a sub’s house without asking permission, and he hated the disgrace crossing her features. “I apologize that I’ve showed up unannounced. Even more so, that you think you’ve done something wrong.” He waited for her to lift her head and noticed the worry clearing from her eyes. “I’ve come to speak to Presley. Is she here?”

Cora stretched out her fingers, then she shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, she’s not. The dental office she works at does urgent care on Sundays, and someone called in sick, so she took the half-day shift.” She hesitated, nibbled her bottom lip. “Has she done something wrong?”

“Yes, I would say so,” he retorted. “Sometime during the nighttime, Presley sneaked out of my house.”

Cora’s eyes widened. “She did not!”

“She did.”

Cora’s brows drew together. “I’m not sure what happened last night. Presley never said anything to me about it this morning, or that she left your house without you knowing.” A small smile curved her mouth. “She did tell me her first scene had been incredible and that you were amazing.”

Then why did she run?

Dmitri placed his arms on his legs, glanced down at the hardwood beneath his shoes, and tried to wrap his mind around her words to Cora. Her actions made no sense if she’d enjoyed herself. He considered what he’d seen from Presley and suspected she’d overthought things. Why had she gotten defensive and obviously worried over something he’d done?

Bottom line, he wondered what had gone through her mind when she ran out. Did she think he didn’t want her in his bed, or had she left because she didn’t want to be there with him? He discovered that that thought didn’t please him in the least.

What did please him was that Presley had been with Cora this morning and hadn’t been alone, although it was his duty, as her Dom, to be there when she woke. It irritated him that, even without knowing it, she had refused him a right that belonged to him.

No matter how many ways he spun it, he couldn’t make sense of her leaving him last night. For him to proceed with Presley, he needed to understand her better. Lifting his head to Cora, he set to doing exactly that. “How did you meet Presley?”

Cora leaned back into the couch and pulled one leg underneath her. “I have friends—not in the lifestyle—who run in the same circle as her ex-boyfriend, Steven. We met at a party the first week she moved to Vegas, and the friendship stuck.” She hesitated. “Good thing we found each other, too, since not long after that, she found out Steven had cheated on her with this skank.” Cora’s eyes went huge, and she slapped a hand over her mouth.

Dmitri smirked at the horror on Cora’s face. “It’s all right.” He doubted she’d ever talk to him in that manner in the dungeon, and he suspected she hadn’t meant to say what she had. “Please continue.”

Cora lowered her hand. “It was actually really sad—Presley was so heartbroken.” Her pain for her friend was apparent in the hard lines of her frown. “I think if anything, it made her feel like she wasn’t enough for him, you know?”

His heart sank, and now he fully understood. He assumed Presley had fought through her nerves not for herself or because of her desire to join the dungeon but to be the woman she thought she wasn’t, the woman she thought Steven wouldn’t have cheated on, and that was a damn shame.

All he’d seen from Presley was a soft, gentle woman. He wanted to gut this ex-boyfriend, since apparently, the bastard had done serious damage to her confidence. Dmitri could only assume her sweet nature restrained her ability to deal with what had happened in an appropriate way, as in lashing out at the fucker for treating her so poorly; instead, she’d turned his mistake into something wrong with her.

He’d seen women react like this before, but it bothered him so much more to know that his Presley felt like this and was dealing with it all alone. Drawing in a controlled breath, he managed the flare of hot rage in his veins and nodded Cora on.

She glanced down to her hands resting in her lap. “After their breakup, Presley retreated inside herself.” She lifted her head. “I hated seeing her like that, so after I noticed her reading BDSM erotic novels—in obscene amounts, by the way—I told her I lived the lifestyle. Which led to my talking to you and asking if I could tell her about the dungeon, which you said yes to, and offered your invitation for her to meet you . . .”

> Dmitri arched his brows at her rambling, and Cora chuckled, shaking her head. “Anyway, if anyone seemed like a submissive, it was Presley. She has a natural desire to want to please—as in, always thinking of other people first—which, by the way, seems both a good thing and a flaw—so between that and the books, I just blurted it out one day . . . and the rest you know.”