Page 14 of Worth the Risk

“I’m usually here in the bar, so I’m no authority on how Dan or the other members like to play, but a sadist is more hardcore than a regular dom, and they usually get off on inflicting pain. So, like I said, he might be too much for a vanilla girl who wandered through the looking glass into BDSM land.”

The image of her naked and bound to Dan’s bed while he, also naked, flailed her ass with a leather whip frightened her. But not as much as it excited her, making her pulse race and her palms sweaty. Could she actually want something like that?

A boyfriend in college liked rough sex, and she had enjoyed it until he went too far, wrapping his hand around her throat, choking her.

It had surprised her, mostly because they were alone and if he hadn’t stopped when she’d struggled and pushed him off her, the outcome could have been really bad. When he apologized half-heartedly, acting like she was making a big deal out of nothing, she’d gotten angry and broken it off with him.

Here, it seemed different. Everyone was on board with the taboo and the kinky. They came here seeking it out. It also seemed much less risky than being alone with a guy in his apartment. There were rules, safewords, and dungeon monitors to call on if things got out of hand.

“Dan likes whips and chains and other stuff, huh?”

“Possibly the whips. A lot of sadists are into that, but definitely the chains andother stuff.”

Another imaged flashed before her of Dan dropping the whip, climbing onto the bed, pulling her ass up in the air, and driving into her from behind. With her body tingling and humming in the aftermath, he’d fuck her hard and long until she exploded in a mind-blowing orgasm while screaming his name.

All of that, including the screaming would be a first for her. None of the guys she’d been with, who numbered three, including choking-Connor in college, had exactly rocked her world. Here, where everything was about sex all the time, she could see it happening, especially with someone as hot, confident, and commanding as Master Dan.

Bella shook her head before she launched into another sex fantasy in the middle of a crowded bar with her boss looking on. Was she crazy? She couldn’t afford to lose this job. She started to rise but took it too fast and swayed a little.

Ben’s outstretched hand and warning of, “Careful, now,” came too late.

She fell forward, hissing in pain when something sharp sliced into her knee.

“Shit, Bella. Looks like you found a shard of glass we missed. You’re bleeding.”

When he helped her stand, she swayed again.

“Are you sick? Or dieting? When was the last time you ate?” Ben demanded to know.

He was her boss but also a dom. Hannah had warned her he was protective of his staff, especially the new ones and those who didn’t have a dom of their own.

“I had something before I came in.”

She didn’t mention it was ramen noodles that had worn off hours ago. She’d picked up a case at Walmart: twenty-four packs for only $6. Without tips to tide her over until her first paycheck, she was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

He helped her to the bar and onto a stool. “Stay here,” he ordered.

After assigning someone to put away the cleaning supplies, he went behind the bar and produced a pack of peanut butter crackers and fun-size Hershey bars.

“Eat,” he told her then walked off.

When Hannah had a minute free, she walked down to where she sat.

“What happened?”

“I got blindsided by an Elena fan and spilled an entire pitcher of margaritas.”

“I’ve been there.”

“You have?”

“Sure, except it was strawberry daiquiris.”

“Did you shatter all the glasses and give a sadist passing by an ice bath?’

With wide eyes, Hannah shook her head. “Oh wow. When you mess up, you do it right, don’t you?”

“You have no idea,” Bella replied, thinking of the shitstorm she’d left brewing back in New York.

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