Chapter Twelve
Five days of absolute hell had passed in a slow blur. Presley woke each morning and spent all day—including late into the night—somehow dreading and looking forward to Friday. Finally, she could stop thinking about what Dmitri meant by “deal with this,” because tonight she’d find out.
Now, striding through the long hallway toward the back of the mansion, as instructed by Master Aidan when she and Cora arrived in the dungeon, Presley tugged the black leather skirt down over her bottom. It didn’t help much; her ass cheeks still hung out, exactly what Master Dmitri had ordered: The thing was too damn short. Even her mauve silk halter top rested just under her breasts to show off her midsection. She wasn’t wearing a bra—another demand—and it made her feel more naked than ever.
At least her skin looked smooth and shiny from her spa day. Dmitri’s “fancy lady things” consisted of manicure/pedicure and skin treatments, including an amazing exfoliating scrub. All of which had cost a mint; Presley had looked at the prices in the brochure.
As she closed in on the doorway at the end of the hall, her anxieties doubled and her heart raced. She had wondered if she’d be as uncomfortable in the dungeon, or if the edge had worn off, now that she had experienced her first scene. The sweat along her spine declared that she was still susceptible to the jitters.
With each step she took toward the closed door, the tighter her muscles became. Sure, excitement fluttered through her at the thought of seeing Dmitri, but she was also worried. At the dental clinic, his approach had been so forceful, and she didn’t doubt that everything he said and did had a purpose.
The other cause for concern was what awaited her tonight. Would Dmitri be the growly man she’d seen on Sunday, or would he be the man who’d seduced her right down to her toes before he left her plastered to the wall?
Topping off all her reasons to be tense: Why was she walking to a room she’d never gone into, rather than meeting Dmitri in the dungeon? Her mind had come up with at least twenty reasons. Perhaps he’d made the request to create the nervous flickers in Presley’s stomach and to cause the anxious thoughts rushing through her mind.
Stopping at the doorway, she inhaled a stabilizing breath then—as Master Aidan had ordered her to do—opened the door. First she noticed that she’d entered a game room with dark taupe paint on the walls and a fancy dartboard, then she noticed a huge bar to the left. After which she discovered that four of the Club Sin Masters stood around the pool table in front of her: Miles, Sawyer, Kyler, and . . . him.
All heads turned to her, and her breath caught in her throat, but not from the stares of the other Doms. The only man she saw in the big room was Master Dmitri. He was dressed in all black, with his cuffs rolled up on his forearms. His dress pants were fitted against his long, muscular legs, and the first few buttons of his dress shirt were open, revealing a smooth chest. When his piercing eyes caught hers, all her worries left her on a long sigh.
A wave of coolness washed across her heated flesh, and the reaction was so strong, it made her pause. Why did she go so quiet in Master Dmitri’s presence? She had thought the scene last weekend had settled her, but no, it couldn’t have, because why did she feel so peaceful now?
In his presence, something inside her shifted and became content, and there was no denying it. A peace filled her, as if she didn’t need to worry or fret, and all she could do was stare at him and try to understand why.
Master Dmitri turned to face her fully, and his gaze roamed over her body. Under the heat of his slow examination from her head to her toes, her nipples puckered, even in the warm room, which he noticed, since his mouth curved. By the time his study rose to her face, Presley squirmed on her heels, feeling the swell of arousal between her thighs and a shift in the air between them. Her body ached for him to come closer, and she yearned to feel his touch, which must have shown in her expression, since Master Dmitri approached.
With each powerful, fluid stride, his stare on her never wavered. She loved when he looked at her like this, as if nothing else mattered except that she had walked into the room. Once he reached her, he gave her that sexy half-smile, making her belly flutter. He took her hand and tugged her forward, bringing her farther into the room and closer to the pool table.
Staying silent, Master Dmitri circled her, running his fingers lightly over her shoulders, and she shivered under his gentle touch. “I’m pleased that you followed my order in your choice of clothing.” His warm breath caressed her neck as he whispered by her ear, “Or lack thereof, Presley.”
“I’m glad, sir,” she managed.
His finger slid across her lower back, and when he returned to her front, his expression didn’t match his touch or his sensual voice. Darkness deepened the color in his eyes and made the blue look stormy. Before her wasn’t the man who seduced her but the one who overpowered her.
“Now, Presley, we have a matter to deal with,” he stated.
At her pinched expression, half curiosity and half hesitation, he chuckled. “Ah, a little concern I see in those beautiful eyes of yours, and that’s a good thing. But I won’t leave you to squirm, Presley. You are to be punished for your behavior last weekend. Submissives do not run from their Doms, love.”
Her heart dropped into her stomach. Punished? Like what, something mortifying or humiliating or even painful? Of course, she’d known this was coming, had known it all week, but she’d done her best to think he wouldn’t go there.
Dmitri’s mouth twitched as he watched her, then he folded his arms. “Strip.”
Presley blinked, pulling herself out of the horrifying images playing in her mind, and she glanced at the three Club Sin Masters behind Master Dmitri, who all grinned at her. To Dmitri, she asked, “Here, sir?”
He gave her a full-blown smile that might have caused a stirring down south if she weren’t faced with the idea of being naked in front of four incredibly confident and good-looking men. “No place better than right here, in front of men who will appreciate the view.”
Awareness filled her at the slight twinkle in his eyes, and she understood why she’d been brought to this room and why the other Masters were present. The power exuding from these men would make any woman feel uncomfortable, and Master Dmitri had brought them for one reason—to discourage her.
Perhaps her punis
hment was simply this: being naked in front of men, forced to do something he knew would embarrass her. Compared to what she imagined could be her punishment, this didn’t seem that bad.
Besides, Presley remembered what Master Dmitri had told her in their first meeting: “You are the bottom in the relationship and will need to accept that. You don’t make decisions. You don’t ask questions. You do what your Dom tells you to do.”
She couldn’t select which rules she’d follow and which she wouldn’t. Every Club Sin submissive followed through with punishment. Now she understood why her leaving had upset Master Dmitri—he hadn’t told her to go. She had made a decision, and he’d made it perfectly clear that that right had been stripped from her.
“If you refuse your punishment, you will be escorted from the dungeon and not allowed to return.” This statement she saw even now in his stern look. She couldn’t be a submissive under her rules. She had clearly disrespected Dmitri, and that, as per his rules, came with a punishment. To give up control, to be a submissive at Club Sin, wasn’t only about the kink but about the power exchange, and she realized that now.
“No punishment would ever exceed your limits. One thing you can count on is your punishment will be fair.”