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I shook it off. “Quite frankly, I don't give a damn what you want. This is a personal boundary and you either abide by it or you get booted from not only our Rent-A-Daddy agreement but from The Penthouse as well. Like your friend. You know, the one that isn't here because she got herself 86’d for life.”
Beside her, Sophie scowled, but I didn't let that deter me.
“And to answer your question, no, Audrey is not a new client. I don't fraternize with my clients in public, as you ladies all know. Audrey is my girlfriend.”
I took great pleasure in their outraged gasps and the way their faces fell as hope drained from their eyes. I wished I could look at Audrey to see how she was taking this interaction but I would have to get her reaction later.
Sophie, dressed in the exact same skintight dress as Marissa but in purple, rolled her eyes. “That's a Penthouse play collar she's wearing. If she's really your girlfriend, wouldn't she have a real one?” She eyed Audrey up and down with disdain and for the first time ever in my life I wanted to smack a woman somewhere other than her bottom.
But I kept my violence in my words. I was a lawyer after all. I used my mouth for evil for a living.
“She doesn't have a real collar yet because I haven't collared her yet. Not because I won't, not because she isn't my girlfriend, but because I haven't yet. Collaring a submissive is a very serious and intimate act that both parties need to be fully ready for. It's not something to rush into for show or to appease other doms and submissives that you are off the market. Of course you’d know that if you were in the BDSM scene for anything besides sex and spankings.”
Their mouths dropped open and beside me, Audrey gasped.
I smiled and led her away with a wink and a wave over my shoulder.
The spanking benches were starting to fill up and I wanted to grab a good one, but I knew that a scene like the one I had just made would require at least an acknowledgement so I led her to the back table where Bas, Bain, Jasmine, and Lennon were seated. Theo was still nowhere to be found.
Before we could sit, Nyla bounced up behind us squealing. “Oh my gosh, Archer! That was freaking epic! The looks on their faces were priceless and even when it was clear they were done, you just kept pounding the nails into their proverbial coffins!” She clapped her hands together in a round of applause. “Bravo, well done.”
I smirked, smiling inwardly at her enthusiastic account of events, but unwilling to join in the replay fodder. The only opinion that mattered was Audrey’s.
She spoke in a hushed whisper beside me. “They've always called him a shark. Obviously, that doesn't apply just to the courtroom.” She turned to me. “Are they always that… vapid?”
“Pretty much.”
“And is that how you always react?” I could see the shame rising in her cheeks as she recounted her jealous behavior.
“Pretty much,” I answered again. Before I could say more, Nyla cut in.
“He's being purposefully generous and vague. But trust me, normally they are worse and Archer here doesn’t even give them the time of day.”
I clenched my teeth together and reminded myself that aside from being Bas’s fiancée and submissive, Nyla was one of my best friends and had been for over a decade. In her mind, defending me and having my back would always take precedence over behaving like a proper submissive, even at the club. I appreciated it, but I didn't need the help.
“Thank you, Nyla,” I tossed over my shoulder without looking at her. “I appreciate it, truly, but if I need your help, I'll ask for it.”
“Come here, babygirl.” Bas spoke and out of the corner of my eye I saw Nyla slink over to him, subdued, but my attention was on Audrey. Taking hold of her shoulders, I pulled her out of earshot of my friends.
“I keep business and pleasure very separate and I'm very intentional about doing so. I thought I made that clear early on, but I can see now that that might not have been the case.” I caught her gaze and held it. “I don't get into relationships often and I don't take them lightly.”
Audrey nodded, but glanced across the club. I followed her gaze to my not-so-secret admirers. “They're so beautiful,” she said wistfully. “So sexy. You’re really not tempted?”
I raised my brows and curled my lips in disgust. “Beautiful, sure, I guess. Sexy? More like sexual. They put it all on display. You… you have class. I'd take you in your sexy white blouse and pencil skirt over the most revealing club get-up any day.”
She didn't look convinced, holding her arms out at her sides. “Archer. I'm literally wearing next to nothing.”
I shrugged, indicating that her clothing or lack thereof was of little to no consequence because it wasn't. “That's so I can parade you around and show you off, not to mention all the naughty things I'm going to do to you to teach you a lesson about trusting Daddy and respecting his privacy.”
She squirmed where she stood. “Do we have to do that here? Can’t we do that back at your place? I mean I liked meeting your friends, but…”
“What, are you concerned about the lack of privacy?” I let my words hang between us and waited for the weight of them to hit her. “I like to make the punishment fit the crime, babygirl.”
“Oh.”
I saw when the excitement of the encounter wore off and reality set in. I noticed when resolve overcame regret.
She straightened her back and steeled her shoulders. “Thank you for bringing me here, and letting me be a part of your world. I’m well aware that I don’t deserve it due to my behavior lately and I’m sorry for doubting you. It’s… this is a really strange situation.” She swallowed. “I read their applications, and…”
