“Happy birthday, Mistress China,” the women chorused, while toasting her with their assorted alcoholic beverages.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and lifted her glass of wine. “Thank you, ladies. Now let’s forget it’s my birthday and pretend it’s a girls’ night out.”

“Nope,” Shelby Christiansen responded. “Not until you open your presents and cut the cake.” She pointed to the erotic confection that Fancy Evans had spent the day making at her bakery. She’d really done an amazing job, and Charlotte wondered if she’d used Brody’s cock, abs, and hips as a model. She knew Fancy’s husband/Dom was well-endowed, having seen him exposed at The Covenant, the elite, BDSM club they both belonged to, on more than one occasion.

Despite not wanting a cake to begin with, Charlotte couldn’t help but smirk. “It’ll be a pleasure taking a knife to the guy’s manhood. After all, I am a sadist.” Well, not really, but she wouldn’t tell any of the submissives that.

Laughter and hoots filled the private party room at the back of Donovan’s Pub. Mike Donovan’s younger brother, Jake, was a Dominant and Whip Master along with Charlotte at the club, but the two men didn’t share the same need to be in the lifestyle.

“Open the presents first,” Kristen Sawyer demanded with a giggle. Since having her baby a few months ago, the submissive had only had a few occasions to drink alcohol, so only a couple of sips into her second margarita, she was already giddy. In fact, the only ones not drinking any alcoholic beverages and feeling the effects were Kristen’s sister-in-law, Angie Sawyer, and Fancy, who were both pregnant, but still having a grand time. Thankfully, everyone else had made arrangements for safe transportation when the party was over.

Kayla London handed Charlotte a flat box that looked like it was from a clothing store, but knowing the exuberant submissive and her wife/Domme Roxanne, it was doubtful it’d come from Macy’s or Nordstrom’s, whatever it was. “Open ours first!”

Glancing at Roxy, who was smirking, Charlotte shook her head. “This should be good.” Ripping the paper from the box, she opened it and barked out a laugh. “Look out, subbies, Mistress China has a new whip!” She pulled out the hot pink, braided, leather whip and held it up for everyone to see. The women roared and cackled at the sight. “Is this the color I’m supposed to match when I’m whipping someone’s ass?”

“I bet Matthew will want you to use that on him!” Abigail Turner hooted. “You know pink is his favorite color.” Matthew was a gay submissive who was among the masochists at the club who liked to be serviced by one of the Whip Masters every week or two.

Charlotte continued to open the rest of the gifts. Some were funny gags, while others had been thoughtful and sentimental. By the time she was done, everyone was laughing and having a great time. It was fun to see them all in a different setting from the club occasionally, all letting their hair down and not having to follow protocol. There were several Dommes at The Covenant, but Charlotte was only close to a few of them. She’d bonded with many of the submissives, however, finding herself being a bit of a mother hen toward them at times. It was part of her natural instincts which made her a dominant in the lifestyle. She’d discovered the wonderful world of BDSM during her senior year in college, ironically through a guy she’d been dating who’d recognized her Domme qualities. They’d only been on their third date when he’d confessed he liked to be dominated by women in the bedroom. At first, Charlotte had been shocked, but having an open mind, she listened to him describe the lifestyle and what he got out of it. Their next date had been to a local munch, where those interested in BDSM could meet with like-minded people and experienced Doms and subs. From the moment she’d walked into the place she’d felt she’d found where she belonged. While things had eventually ended between her and her first submissive, Charlotte had practiced the lifestyle ever since. She’d gone through every class offered in several clubs she’d belonged to, and still took the occasional one to brush up on her skills. The last thing she’d ever want to do was inadvertently hurt a submissive—it would kill her if she did.

As the evening wore on, Charlotte relaxed more and was finally able to enjoy the fact she’d turned another year older. The conversations in the room were also growing louder and raunchier as the alcohol flowed. The sound of the women roaring with laughter drew the attention of a few people in the main bar. And, of course, a couple of swaggering jackasses had to poke their heads into the party room. Three barely-out-of-college-aged men strolled in after eyeballing the room full of women dressed to the nines. Charlotte rolled her eyes. Here it comes.

“Hey, sexy ladies, mind if we join you?”

The laughter died down as Charlotte stood. In stocking feet she was five feet three, but in her four-inch heels, she at least came up to the shoulder of the brown-haired ogler who had spoken. “Actually, we do. This is a private party, so if you don’t mind . . .”

The kid smirked. “Aw, don’t be that way, sweetheart.”

His dimples had a small smile starting to spread across her face, but then the jerk had to put his hand on her, running it up her bare arm. And that just pissed her off. One of the reasons she preferred the BDSM lifestyle was no one touched her without her permission.

She shoved his arm away and gave him her best Domme glare. “I’ll be any way I want, jackass. Now, take your two friends and leave.”

The kid had balls or a lack of brains. Either way, he reached out to touch her again. Charlotte was fully aware of how quiet the room had gotten, but she wasn’t worried. Even though it was full of women, mostly submissives, none of them were shrinking violets, at least they weren’t in her eyes. She sensed someone else stand behind her and knew instinctively it was the other Domme in the room, Roxanne London—pediatrician and a fellow Whip Master at The Covenant. While gentle with her patients, the tall, auburn-haired doctor was a force to be reckoned with when it came to protecting submissives.

Before the asshole could touch her again, Charlotte grabbed his wrist and twisted, shoving him against the wall, face first, with a thud. She lifted his hand behind his back until he went up on his toes and cried out in pain. His two buddies must have stepped forward to help him because a sudden crack split the air. Without looking, she knew Mistress Roxy had the new, pink bullwhip in her hand and had snapped a warning over their heads, freezing them in place.

“Uh-uh-uh, gentlemen. Stay right where you are. I missed on purpose—the next time I won’t.”

Charlotte almost chuckled because she knew Roxy’s wife, Kayla, loved when her Mistress went into full-protection mode and would be announcing she was horny as hell after this. But Charlotte had to deal with this asshole first. She hiked his arm a little higher, eliciting another yelp. “I tried to be nice, and you ignored my request, which was fine—you were trying to be cute. But then you had to put your paws on me without my permission, and that doesn’t fly with me, little boy.”

“What the hell?” The roared question had come from Mike Donovan as he strode in with two bouncers on his heels. “Charlotte, are you okay?”

With a final shove, she released the asshole, who spun around and growled at her. Due to her training, Charlotte immediately took a defensive stance, ready to kick the guy’s ass. But before he could unleash his anger, Mike grabbed him by his arm and the back of his neck. “You’re out of here.” He thrust the drunk toward the bouncers, then pointed at the two other intoxicated men. “You idiots are gone, too. Don’t let me see your faces until you learn to respect women. I don’t tolerate this shit in my bar.”

While the threesome was escorted out the door and through the main-room crowd, Mike turned to face the group of women. “Everyone, okay?”

Of course, it was Kayla who spoke first. “Yup! We didn’t even need Ninja-girl to step in to help. Roxy and China took care of everything. Swoon! Damn, I’m horny now!”

The room filled with riotous laughter as the waitress brought in another pitcher of margaritas. Ninja-girl was the nickname Kristen had earned during her first visit to The Covenant when she’d started dating one of the owners, Devon, who was now her husband. She’d interrupted two submissives bullying a third, Colleen Helm, in the locker room and had kicked their butts. Colleen had been grateful and, now that she was working for Trident Security as the office manager, she knew how to handle herself and was paying it forward whenever she saw someone being bullied.

Mike grinned at the group of women he’d gotten to know quite well over the past two years, then eyed Charlotte. “Gotta love a woman who kicks ass.”

Crossing her arms, she stared at him with the commanding look she usually reserved for the submissives at the club, and the men and women on probation with the law who had to check in with her every month. To her surprise, Mike’s smile fell, and so did his gaze—not to her chest, hips, or legs like most men, but to her feet. Well, hell. Who would have guessed? Master Jake’s handsome, older brother is a sexual submissive.

While Mike Donovan didn’t have his brother’s movie-star-worthy looks, he was still handsome in his own right. His hair was a lighter brown than Jake’s, and instead of startling green eyes, his were hazel with a touch of amber. He stood six-foot even, five inches shorter than his younger brother, and although he wasn’t as lean, his physique was toned enough to be admired.

Charlotte knew Jake and Mike hadn’t been close for years, but that had changed recently. They’d grown even closer over the past few months since Jake had moved back to Tampa. Apparently, Mike had taken his sibling up on an offer to work out at Trident’s gym and training facilities with him. Charlotte hadn’t realized until now that the slight beer belly the older Donovan brother used to sport was almost completely gone and his arms, shoulders, and chest were leaner and more defined. All in all, a very tempting package, especially since he was exuding a submissiveness she hadn’t noticed before now. Was he aware of it? Well, that was the question burning through Charlotte’s mind at the moment, and she was looking forward to discovering the answer.

* * *

Sitting at the bar, Mike sifted through the receipts, tallying up the credit charges for the evening. The cash was already in a deposit bag, which he’d drop into the slot of the TD Bank that was in the same shopping center as the pub. All of his employees had finished cleaning their work areas and restocked before leaving, and the only person left was one of the bartenders, Neil Patterson. And he was just about done putting everything away after the last stragglers had paid their tabs and left. The kitchen had been closed for over an hour, and most of the TVs and lights had been turned off.

Once he was certain he hadn’t forgotten anything, Neil pulled his car keys out of his pocket and rounded the bar. “Need anything before I go?”

Mike shook his head. “Nope. How’d you do tonight?”

“Damn good. I think it was the best Monday night I’ve had this month.”

The Irish pub was popular for both locals and tourists alike, and the tips for his employees were proof of that during the latter part of the work week and on the weekends, but Mondays tended to be the slowest of all the days. Tonight, however, had been much busier than usual. Even without Charlotte’s birthday party in the back room, the waitresses and bar staff had been scurrying around, servicing the customers who’d run up quite a few hefty tabs.

“Glad to hear it. See you Thursday.” The bartender had the next few nights off. “I’ll shut off the lights and the rest of the TVs, just lock the door on your way out. I’ll be here for another twenty minutes or so.”

“You got it.”

Moments later, the front door closed, and Mike heard the lock engage. The ESPN recap of the night’s baseball games was the only thing filling the air as he concentrated on logging everything into the books for his accountant. He wasn’t sure what had suddenly made him aware he wasn’t as alone as he’d thought—maybe it was the hair on the back of his neck standing up, or the scent of a light, sensual perfume over the usual bar odors—but whatever it was, it had him looking into the huge mirror behind the bar. His heart thumped faster in his chest as his gaze met Charlotte’s reflection. He’d been fantasizing about the woman for months now. Ever since he and Jake had gotten close, Mike had been getting to know his brother’s friends better. He’d even been invited to parties at the Trident Security compound, and it was there he’d found himself drawn to the petite, Asian-American woman. Unfortunately, she was in the BDSM lifestyle, as was Jake and many of his friends, and Mike had no clue what it was really about and why they claimed to need it as badly as their next breath.

Her piercing, brown-eyed gaze pinned him in place. He swallowed hard as his dick twitched in his jeans. Her straight, black hair hung down past her shoulders, the tips of several strands curling against her collarbones, while subtle makeup highlighted her eyes, lips, and cheeks. The black, knit shirt she wore had a deep V-neck that gave more than a hint of the inner swells of her breasts. Faded jeans that fit like a glove, a black belt, and black boots with four-inch-heels completed her outfit. She was mouth-watering, and, not for the first time since he’d met her, Mike wondered what it would be like to kiss her.

Charlotte took several sultry steps forward. “Your staff should be more diligent about checking the party room before turning out the lights.”

“I’m sorry.” Mike cleared his suddenly dry throat as it made his voice raspy and harsh. “I didn’t realize you were still here, Charlotte.”

Stopping behind him, she grabbed hold of the back of the bar stool he was sitting in and spun it around until he was facing her. Even with her heels, he still had to look down at her. Never breaking eye contact, she used a single finger to make slow circles on his denim-covered thigh, just above his knee, and, damn, if that didn’t have his cock twitching some more. Her eyes bored into his again, and this time his gaze dropped. Since there was very little room between them, he was now focused on the skin exposed by her shirt’s deep V. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, Michael. I stayed behind on purpose, wanting a few moments alone with you, to see if I was right.”

His brow narrowed as he tried to ignore her still swirling finger, even though he wanted to move it higher on his leg until she was touching his groin. His gaze met hers again. “Right about what?”

“About your submissive nature when it comes to a dominant woman.”

Annoyed at her presumption, Mike snorted. “I’m not some wimp who wants to be whipped by you, Charlotte.” He stood, forcing her to take a step backward, then moved to the side to put some more distance between them. It was the only way to get his throbbing cock under control. Having her stand so close that he could smell her enticing perfume was a recipe for disaster.

Crossing her arms, her eyes seemed to see straight into his soul, and he fought the urge to swallow hard under her scrutiny. “I never thought you were a wimp, Michael. Is that what you think Nick is to Jake?”

Considering his soon-to-be brother-in-law had just retired from the Navy SEALs and joined his brothers’ security company, the last thing he’d call Nick was a wimp. So why had Mike automatically thought that’s what Charlotte saw in him? “No, I don’t.”

She stepped toward him, and Mike managed to stand his ground when what he really wanted to do was retreat. What was it about this woman that made his knees shake and his cock stand up and take notice? Well, he knew the answer to the second part of that question—she was fucking gorgeous. It hadn’t escaped his notice that every time she walked into the pub, practically every heterosexual male in the place eyed her up and down with lust-filled eyes. But anytime one of them approached her, they were shot down—nicely, for the most part. The only times he’d ever seen her annoyed was when any of them touched her without her consent—which is, apparently, what had happened earlier with the drunken idiots.

She stood less than a foot away from him, but didn’t touch him. “Here’s the deal, Michael. You know who I am . . . what I am. I’m a Domme who takes charge of her relationships, whether or not they involve sex. Most of them don’t.” She shrugged unapologetically. “I’m selective when it comes to sex. That doesn’t mean I can’t offer submissives the domination they crave. However, if there’s a man I’m interested in—one who’s sexually submissive—I have no qualms about approaching him. I’ve always thought you were attractive, but until earlier tonight, I thought you were off limits to me—I wasn’t aware of your submissiveness.” When he opened his mouth to contradict her, she held up a hand to silence him. “Don’t deny it. When I assert myself, you immediately drop your gaze to the floor. I can see right now you’re doing your best not to put more distance between us, and it’s not because you’re not attracted to me. That bulge in your jeans tells me otherwise.

“Now, I know this has caught you off guard. You’ll need time to think about it, and that’s fine. But just to make myself clear and so there’s no confusion on your part, I’m offering you a chance to explore your submissiveness, preferably with sex involved, and to learn all about the power exchange the BDSM lifestyle is based on.” She reached over and grabbed a bar napkin and the pen he’d been using. “Safety is very important to me, and this is not something to jump into without properly researching it—in fact, it’s imperative. This will be unlike any relationship you’ve ever had before, and, I can almost guarantee, it will be the best one you’ve ever had. These are two websites I want you to go to and research the lifestyle. Go to the chat rooms and ask questions. Then when you’re ready to give me your answer, here’s my cell phone number. Call me next Monday, no sooner, no later, and let me know your decision.”

Handing him the napkin with the information on it, she smiled provocatively. “I hope the answer is yes. Have a good night, Michael.”

Mike’s jaw almost hit the floor when the seductress turned and strode to the front door, unlocked it, and left without a backward glance. He swallowed the lump that had been in his throat as she’d told him what she wanted from him. His cock pulsated, and it took every ounce of self-control to not run after her and ask what it would take to end up in her bed tonight.

Silence filled the air as seconds ticked by. Running a hand down his face, Mike shifted his hips. “Holy shit.”