Page 38 of Desire

Dante’s arms tightened around her, pulling her closer. “Then take off the mask,” he said, his voice commanding.

With shaking hands, Emma reached up and removed the mask. She felt vulnerable and exposed, but also liberated, as if she had been set free from a cage that had held her captive for far too long.

“There you are,” Dante said, his voice filled with relief and satisfaction. “You’re mine now, understand?”

“Yes, sir,” she breathed. “I’m yours.”

Chapter Eleven

EMMA

The next few weeks were a blur of bliss. She went down to Club Inferno every night and spent long hours with Dante learning the dynamics of a Dom/sub relationship. She loved every minute of it—well, almost every minute of it. The sex was thrilling, of course, and Dante always knew exactly what she needed and how to wring the utmost pleasure out of every scene and encounter. Even though she no longer wore Queen Mab’s mask, Emma still pretended that she was the brave woman who walked into Club Inferno and commanded Master Dante’s attention.

But when she wasn’t with him, her old insecurities and shyness crept back in. It would be so much easier if she could channel Mab during the day or when Dante wasn’t with her. Kiki Pretty was up to her old tricks, and for some reason had decided that Emma was the bane of her existence.

One of Kiki’s favorite tricks was to be disruptive, especially when Emma was doing something away from Colleen’s office. So far, Kiki hadn’t done anything to warrant her being escorted out of the resort by Istvahn again. Emma wished she could gather the courage to ask Kiki just what the hell she had against her anyway. What she really wanted was to ask Dante what he had been talking to Kiki about on the terrace a few weeks ago, but she was trying not to think about Dante being a Dom to other women.

Emma thought she could handle it if he punished other women, but the thought of him having sex with them too made her want to cry. They hadn’t been seeing each other long enough that she felt she could ask him to be monogamous. But she hoped he was. She knew not all Doms had sex with their submissives. What she needed to do was sit down and have an open and honest talk with him about their relationship. But she was too afraid to rock the boat. Things were going so well between them.

“Morning, Emma,” Kiki said, sidling up next to her as Emma waited in line for coffee. Even first thing in the morning, Kiki looked impeccable—not a strand of golden hair out of place, her makeup flawless. Emma felt a pang of self-consciousness as she twisted a lock of her own hair around her finger.

“Hi,” Emma said, doing her best not to fidget while she waited for her latte. She could already feel Kiki’s eyes boring into her, that subtle curl of disdain playing at the edges of the blonde’s perfectly sculpted mouth.

“New outfit?” Kiki arched a perfectly groomed brow, her tone dripping with laced venom. “It’s...interesting.”

Emma’s cheeks flushed as she glanced down at the simple black dress she’d chosen. “Just something comfortable for the office,” she mumbled, suddenly regretting her choice.

Kiki made a soft tutting sound, shaking her head slowly. “If you say so, dear. Though I would have thought you’d want to put in a bit more effort.” Her eyes glittered with wicked amusement. “Then again, why bother?”

Emma shouldn’t let this little bitch hurt her feelings, but something about Kiki made her feel like she was back in school again with the mean girls.

“I mean, you’re lovely in your own way.” Then Kiki shocked her by leaning in and whispering with venom, “But Dante will never be satisfied with someone so...”

Plain. Ordinary. Unsophisticated. The unspoken words hung heavy in the air, burrowing into Emma’s psyche like insidious barbs.

“Never mind,” Kiki said, pulling back. “Don’t fret over it, pumpkin. Just enjoy the time you have with him.” With that, Kiki picked up her skinny mocha and walked away.

---