Dusted Star

Chapter Four

Juan listened asLakyn talked quietly to herself. He tried to fit together the bits and pieces she murmured loud enough for him to hear, but he was coming up with more questions than answers.

He’d been downstairs, standing beside Tucker in Kent and Kyle’s office, listening to Kyle explain what little they knew about Lakyn Hicks when the other man’s phone vibrated with an incomingtext. Mia said Lakyn had been in the shower for so long, she was concerned she might have fallen, but she was uneasy about invading her friend’s privacy.

Tucker turned the phone for him to read the message, and Juan quietly slipped out of the meeting and made his way upstairs to check on her himself. Seeing her leaning against the marble wall with her eyes closed as the water cascaded over herbare back and perfectly curved ass, his first thought was she’d fallen asleep, standing up. Stripping down to his boxers, he’d stepped silently into the large enclosure.

He knew he’d startled her and assumed her muted reaction was more likely a testament to her exhaustion than a sign of trust. Feeling her melt beneath his touch as he’d smoothed the soapy cloth over her perfect skin tested hiscontrol in ways he hadn’t been challenged in years. He managed to keep his cock from claiming too much of his blood flow until he’d seen the desire in her eyes. Christ in heaven, those eyes were going to be the death of him. The banked heat lurking behind the various shades of blue sent a bolt of searing heat from his very core.

There was no question Lakyn Hicks was a beautiful woman. Hell, herface was one of the most recognized in the world, but he suspected few people saw the vulnerability hidden behind the physical perfection. Juan had spent years studying women. He loved the purity of their reactions, especially in those rare moments when they weren’t trying to be strong for someone else. He was committed to understanding the correlation between a certain touch and the correspondingresponse. He loved watching every nuance of their body language as he tried to unravel the mysterious interplay between a submissive’s mind and body. Being able to identify subtle changes and interpret even the most elusive signal was the very foundation of BDSM play, in his opinion.

The woman catching fire beneath his touch was inexperienced, and that was a strangely satisfying realization.Since joining the Prairie Winds team, he and Trac had worked personal security for several celebrities, and one of the things that had surprised him the most was how isolated most of their clients felt. The same layers of security insulating them from danger also cut them off from the everyday interactions and experiences the rest of us take for granted. Looking at Lakyn, he wondered now how muchshe craved normalcy.

Trac loved being in control, it fed his sexual attraction, but Juan was different. For him, the real allure of the D/s kink was as a tool… a means to an end. He didn’t care about being in control unless it met the woman’s needs.

Juan was the first to admit he was a romantic, a throwback to a time when a woman’s gender was something to celebrate rather than defend. Was heold-fashioned? Absolutely. He was also unapologetic about his views—what would be the point? There was no shame in loving women and recognizing them for the wondrous creatures they were.

He wasn’t sure what Mia had told Lakyn about Tobi, but he could assure her, it was accurate. In the short time he’d known Mia Mendez, he’d found her to be as open and honest as she first appeared. For a youngwoman who had been raised in such a privileged environment, she was remarkably down to earth, so he knew anything she’d told Lakyn would be true. Juan also knew Mia and Tobi had become friends, so the Colombian beauty had likely used that angle as well.

Wrapping her in a large towel, Juan realized for the first time how petite she was.Aren’t models usually statuesque?Blotting the moisture fromthe long waves of her chestnut hair, she moaned softly, leaning back into his touch, and he felt another surge of blood abandon his brain and rush to his cock. Thank God he’d replaced his wet boxers with jeans as soon as he’d helped her out of the shower.

“Come.” Grasping her hand, Juan led her into the sitting area in the bedroom and settled her on one of the low hassocks. Grabbing the remote,he switched on the fireplace and pulled a wide-toothed comb from his back pocket. “Rest your eyes for a couple of minutes, sweetheart.”

“I can comb my own hair, you know. I’m tired, not helpless.” He didn’t bother to respond for several seconds, letting the silence stretch out between them. Her petulant tone reminded him of his sweet nieces when they were overtired and cranky.

“I know youcan, but I’m enjoying touching you, and it would be rude to deny me the privilege after I stopped and pulled you out of the dust storm, don’t you think?”

“Oh, you’re good. I’ll bet you can charm ladies out of their panties without breaking a sweat.” For the first time, he heard a bit of amusement in her tone, and it warmed him to know she was relaxing enough to find her sense of humor.

“I’m scandalizedby your presumption. I’ll have you know my sisters consider me almost housebroken. They’ve spent years trying to civilize me, and despite their somewhat unorthodox and often painful teaching methods, they are proud of their success—although I will admit, they still consider me a work in progress.”

He started combing at the bottom of her hair and slowly worked his way higher. The process was relativelypainless since he’d been careful to finger comb the long strands several times while shampooing and conditioning.

“You have beautiful hair,Cariña. I’m looking forward to watching the firelight dance over the tapestry of color as it dries.” I’m also anxious to see what it looks like fanned out over my thighs as you suck me dry or the way the breeze lifts it when Trac and I fuck you outside underthe stars.

“Who’s dancing in the firelight? Please tell me it’s Lakyn, and she’ll be naked. Beautiful. Naked. Woman. Firelight. A lot to love there,” Trac’s voice sounded from beside them. His friend’s sudden appearance shouldn’t have surprised Juan, but he’d become lost in the moment and hadn’t checked the time.

“It’s a good thing I’m used to my team’s constant barrage of nonsense. I can snoozemy way right through it.” Juan had noted Lakyn’s calm acceptance of another person walking into the room when she was so scantily covered. Hell, this sort of thing was probably an everyday occurrence for her, no wonder she hadn’t been surprised.

Juan loved displaying a submissive in public. There was something innately erotic about knowing others were admiring what he and Trac alone were allowedto touch. Most subs had at least a sliver of trepidation when came to being nude or partially exposed in public. That edge of vulnerability was something he loved to exploit, knowing it added a new dimension for most women.

Now that he thought about it, Juan realized that might be harder to achieve with Lakyn. From what he’d heard about models, modesty quickly became a thing of the past oncetheir careers took off. With people surrounding them all the time—pulling one outfit off while others were fitting the next one in place, make-up artists and hair stylists applying touch-ups—it was a given any semblance of privacy was probably a pipedream.

“Probably a survival skill.” Trac’s response pulled Juan out of his wandering thoughts and back to the moment. Holding up a garment he’d beenhiding behind his back, Trac held up a silk dress and grinned. “Mia said she’d brought you sweats, but since there’s been a change in plans, I bought something better.” Juan raised a brow in question, and Trac’s grin told him thechangewas going to be something he’d like. “Kent and Kyle are setting up a private scene on one of the smaller stages.”

Helping Lakyn to her feet, he watched as sheturned to Trac, eyes widening at the dress hooked over his thick fingers. The garment looked more like a scrap of fabric than a dress, and Juan could hardly wait to see her wearing it. She shivered, the reaction making her entire body quake, and Juan wanted to pump his fist in the air.

“Where’s the rest of it?” He suspected she’d tried to sound indignant, but the breathless quiver in her voicegave away her interest. Trac’s predatory smile was all the answer she needed.

*

Lakyn wasn’t surehow, but she knew this was a defining moment for her. She’d come to Texas for several reasons, and if she didn’t take this opportunity, it might not come again. Her mind and body needed rest she wouldn’t get unless she felt safe, and she wanted to learn more about the lifestyleshe’d found herself inexplicably drawn to. If she’d learned one thing during her career, it was how quickly it could all be gone. A wrong word to someone at a party, a moment’s inattention driving, it only took a heartbeat to change the rest of your life… or to end it. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life wondering what might have been.

When Trac didn’t answer her question about therest of the dress, she felt a surge of energy she wouldn’t have thought possible. If you had asked her an hour ago, Lakyn would have sworn she’d depleted all her reserves, but now, she found herself coursing with a restless need to find out what was happening downstairs in the club. She reached for the dress, but Trac shook his head. Tilting her head to the side in confusion, she felt Juan’s warmbreath against her ear, “Arms up.” Without taking time to wonder why her arms were raising, she’d put them over her head, slightly apart, waiting for Trac to slip the dress into place and gasped as the towel that had been wrapped securely around her pooled at her feet.

Cool air rushed over her bare skin, making her nipples tighten into stiff points. It was a natural instinct to drop her handsand cover her bare breasts, but she was surprised at the realization her wrists were shackled above her head by Trac’s large hand. His free hand smoothed the silk he dropped over her naked torso. She was left with her arms stretched above her head, knowing the dress wasn’t long enough to cover her pink bits.

“Fuck me,Cariña, you are so beautiful. I love the way the silk brushes over the globesof your ass.” The appreciation in Juan’s voice warmed her, but it didn’t change the fact a stiff breeze was going to have her flashing everyone with a clear line of vision.