Page 298 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 1

Dom shook his head and turned his attention back to Kate, who was staring at him with wide eyes. The violence of the moment before coupled with being so close to her made his balls tight and he could feel the surge of hormones that made his fangs get long. He willed himself to relax. It was unlike him to handle customers that way, but something about Kate brought out the territorial animal in him. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “What was I saying?”

Kate just stared at him.

Right. “Listen, when I said that vampire/mortal relationships are a really bad idea, it wasn't a line to get rid of you. Okay? It's the sorry truth.”

She still said nothing. He thought the pain had eased from her, but not the tension. She put her hands on her hips. “Well, why not?” she demanded. “Because I've been friends with Fox for a long time and it's been just fine.”

“It's dangerous. For you. For me. For everyone.”

“How so?” she asked sharply.

“Kate,” he sighed. “Can't you just take my word for it?”

She shrugged. “I have to get back on stage,” she said coolly, and turned on her heel and left him.

Well, angry was better than hurt. He'd take that any day.

Why did he have to be so damn appealing? That macho chivalry with the guy who'd slapped her ass had been a huge turn-on. But basically he was your typical commitment-phobic male. He was a rock; he was an island. Fine.

At least he'd said she meant something to him. If she could even believe that. She played a few notes on her keyboard, which brought the other four band members back to the stage. “I want to sing 'Don't Speak' again.”

Fox snorted. “So your talk with Dom went well?”

“Shut up. I just like that song, and so does everyone else and you know it.”

He grinned at her. “That's because you sing it perfectly, love. Just promise me you're not going to ask to sing Adele's 'Someone Like You' next.”

She laughed. “I promise.”

They had a great second set and she scooted straight out to her car afterward, her keyboard and stand tucked under either arm. Club goers were pouring out into the parking lot and there was talking and drunken shouts.

“There she is,” she heard a voice shout, but thinking it didn't apply to her, she didn't even look up. She popped the trunk on her old Toyota Corolla and put the keyboard and stand inside. When she shut the trunk, the guy who'd slapped her ass in the club and three of his buddies were standing all around her.

Her breath froze in her chest. “What the fuck?” she demanded.

“You need to tell your boss, or boyfriend, or whatever he is to let me back in the club,” the guy said.

She rolled her eyes. “You weren't permanently 86'ed. It was just for the night.”

“That's not what the bouncer said,” he said sullenly. “All I did was slap your ass. Is that such a crime?” He took a step closer and she could smell that he reeked of beer. He was definitely still drunk. He slapped her ass again, hard. “Huh?” he said, slapping it again. “Is that a crime?”

“Get the fuck away from me,” she yelled loudly, hoping to attract the attention of some of the other customers in the parking lot. She was scared now. She looked around desperately. She didn't see anyone she knew and there was no one looking their way or close enough to call out to. Fuck. “I said, Get. The Fuck. Away from me,” she hissed, mustering all the bad-ass bluff she had in her.

“Well if I'm gonna get banished for it, I at least want to enjoy it,” the guy said and shoved her against the hood of her car, yanking her skirt up with one hand while the other pushed into her lower back. She rolled to the side and he grabbed her upper arms with both hands and threw her back against the hood. “One of you guys hold her for me.”

“No, man, that ain't cool,” one of his friends said doubtfully.

“Yeah, man. Chill out.”

“Let go of me!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, struggling hard to get free.

Suddenly his hands were wrenched off of her arms. She whirled around in time to see the guy flying through the air and smashing into another car, cracking the windshield. Dom was standing there, his fangs fully elongated, looking pissed. So vampires did have super strength, just like the books said.

He turned to the other three, who held up their hands and backed away. There was a blur and suddenly he was standing directly in front of one of them, clutching his throat. “Look at me,” he growled. The guy looked at him and froze for moment. Then Dom let him go and the guy turned around and walked away without another word. Dom repeated it with the other two, and they in turn each left silently. He was hypnotizing them. Or scrubbing them. Whatever.

He walked over to her assailant, who was starting to roll around and moan. What if the guy was too knocked out to hypnotize? It did seem to take a bit longer with him, but then Dom left him, apparently satisfied.

She suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. She didn't know whether the guy had planned on spanking her or raping her, but either way, she just felt like disappearing. Dom moved in a blur again and was standing right in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to hug her, but she pushed him away. He had no right. Well, he'd just saved her, so maybe he did, but she knew she'd fall apart in his arms if he held her again. Too dangerous.

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