I sucked in a sharp breath and blinked as I tried to process his words. I didn’t get very far before he flashed me a hungry smile. It was a far cry from the polite smile he’d given me the first night. It was the smile a hunter flashed just before setting up their kill shot.
“Come on. Dom hates waiting.” He pressed his hand to my lower back and guided me downstairs.
Sure enough, Dominic was standing at the base of the stairs, glancing at his watch. Leon was leaning against the banister, a bored look on his face until he saw me. He straightened and rubbed his beard.
“Angel.”
Dominic frowned, though. He waited until I got to the bottom of the stairs to run his finger along the length of my cardigan.His knuckles brushed over the material covering my chest and his eyes darkened when I shivered.
“I don’t remember putting this sweater in the bag.”
Feeling like a little kid who’d messed up, I tugged at the long sleeves hanging below my fingertips.
“I thought it would—”
“Lesson one, Angel. The goal is to not think when we enter the club. You have to trust us to anticipate your needs. It’ll be different for us in that we aren’t going to meet some of those needs until you ask us to. You have to trust us, Sutton. Trust is the most important thing you can give us.” He gripped my shoulders suddenly and spun me around. Pushing me forward, I had to catch myself with my hands on the stairs. There was a sharpcrackas he spanked me and then I felt a tug. The sound of my cardigan ripping made me gasp and try to stand up but that just earned me another spanking.
When my cardigan was just two pieces of material hung up on my arms, he let me stand and spun me back around to remove the remnants. I was so shockingly angry that I wanted to slap him. My scalp tingled with rage but I forced all of it back down deep and slowly unclenched my hands.
“You were close to letting go of that control, weren’t you?” Leon let out a low laugh. “I think our angel has a dark side that’s just waiting to come out.”
Dominic tossed the pieces of my cardigan away and gripped my chin.
“Lesson two. You follow our directions. Unless I ask you to wear a sweater to the club, you don’t wear one. There’s not going to be any hiding when we’re there.”
I ducked my head and nodded. The deep and stern way he was speaking to me made me want to crawl through the floor and disappear, but it also created a sense of peace in me that I didn’t understand. It quieted some of the loudest voices in my head.
“I’ll replace your cardigan, Angel. I’ll have several made just like it for you.” Dominic blew out a sharp breath. “You make me fucking crazy.”
I didn’t point out that I hadn’t done a single thing. He was right about the crazy thing, though, and as soon as my brain came back online I was going to tell him just what I thought about him ripping my sweater.
“I think we found a pretty little subbie, didn’t we?” Leon pushed away from the banister and frowned at my hair. “It’s beautiful, Angel, but it’s hiding you. If lesson two is doing as you're told, lesson three will be not hiding from us. Put your hair up, sweetheart.”
“Only when we’re at the club, right? Doing as I’m told, I mean.” I had a ponytail holder on my wrist so I made quick work of putting my hair in a high pony. I wanted to ask what he meant when he called me that word but he had other plans.
Leon immediately wrapped it around his hand a few times and nodded.
“Much better.”
Dominic took my hand and tugged me forward.
“Unless you change your mind, you’ll only have to do as you're told atalltimes when we’re at the club or going to the club, like now. I don’t think you mind, though, do you?”
I wanted to argue.
I should’ve argued.
I didn’t.
CHAPTER 17
Dominic
It’d been a very long time since we’d taken a woman to the club. It was different to picking someone once we arrived. Bringing Sutton meant we only played with Sutton. We belonged to her for the night as much as she belonged to us. Not that she understood any of that. She was so wide-eyed and innocent that she didn’t seem to have a clue what she was getting herself into. Her body was reacting in ways she probably didn’t expect but she was handling everything with a sense of composure that I couldn’t help being impressed by.
Instead of going to the office like I typically did, I led Sutton into the main room of the club and to the booth I’d made sure was kept open for us. It was back and center, tucked in enough to be private while still allowing views of most of the room.
I bit back a growl when Sutton leaned forward to slide into the booth. The clothes I’d chosen for her let me see exactly what I’d felt that first night. Her full curves were on display and I didn’t think her being naked would’ve stimulated me more right then. Seeing her in the clothes I chose, knowing she’d never wear them for anyone else, was making my blood boil.
