Page 99 of The Dom with a Safeword

“Uh. How the hell…how did you know?”

“I’m your mother. And don’t swear. It looks bad. Why then, are you continuing to torture yourself?”

What a question. But, freed of all expectations from her, he saw it. “Dad. He always wanted this.”

When she shook her head, shock hit him. “No. He did not. Do you think your father an ogre?”

An ogre? “No. Of course not.”

“Good. Then why would you think he would want you to study medicine when your heart lies elsewhere?”

That floored him. The world stood still while he unscrambled his thoughts. His only words seemed inadequate. “I don’t know.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” she said brightly. “I will not have you this unhappy. Go say goodbye to your father, then I am taking you home, and we are going to talk and figure this out, even if it takes all night.”

If only it were that simple. No matter what she thought, the chances were that Sabrina and Q would toss him out on the street if he tried to ease his way back into a relationship.

“Stop frowning at me!” She slapped his thigh then rose to her feet. “Be positive. We will sort this out. Come.”

He stared after her. And maybe it wasn’t just hair color that he’d inherited. He stood. If freed from this medical career that had been dragging at his soul, he wasn’t giving up. If she or Q gave him the slightest chink of an opening, he’d use it. If there was one thing he was good at, it was persuading women.

Chapter 18

Q

The throbbing of the dungeon’s music seemed to control the swish of the flogger against her back. Stretched tight against the St. Andrew’s cross, Q wondered if this asshole was ever going to get on with things. Enough fucking warm up, already. It wasn’t the rye she’d downed before she left the house either. This idiot was just clueless. She tossed her head in annoyance, forgetting there was no longer a sweep of hair to work with. At least it didn’t get in the way. Neither did her tiny boy-shorts or the X’s of black tape over her nipples.

He came to check on her again. With a disdainful flick of her eyes, she met his dark gaze. The uncertainty she saw there completed the mood-kill.

“Are you okay? Was it too hard?”

Never send a boy to do a man’s job. She glared at him. “Sorry, I hadn’t realized you started yet.”

There was a chuckle from someone just out of her field of vision. “You’re new at this.” An unfamiliar man’s voice.

The young man smiled wanly and nodded. “My submissive likes sensual play, but not pain. I’m not even quite sure how to get a flick out of this thing. Q volunteered to be my guinea pig.”

She’d been playing at the club a lot lately. Tonight it was hard to decide if it was helping her forget or forcing her to remember.

“May I?” The flogger changed hands, and a man walked into her line of sight. Not much taller than her, he was stocky and well-muscled. He looked a little rough around the edges, but it might have just been in comparison to the kid. He raised his brows at her.

“You’re a pretty little thing. What’s your name?”

The look she gave him would have turned a lesser man to stone. “Like he said, it’s Q. Just the letter. And no, it doesn’t stand for anything.”

He didn’t even blink. “I’m Lee, in case you care. Do you want me to take over?”

“If you know one end of that thing from the other, it will be an improvement,” she growled, low enough that her words didn’t carry to the young man. He might be useless but even in her nastiest mood, she didn’t feel the need to knife innocents with insults.

Lee backed up a few paces and shook out the falls of the flogger. “How much can you take?”

“Whatever you can manage to deliver... Lee.” The sarcasm with which she delivered his name made it an insult.

He smiled pleasantly and proceeded to beat her.

***

The screams he drew from her won him Q’s grudging respect. They talked a bit and Lee told her he had a single-tail back at his place, and a selection of canes. Q wanted to check them out and figured tonight was as good a night as any. When he took her down she tucked her cold, numb hands under her arms. The changing rooms first then she could have more pain.