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Part One: For Her

Cool air hit his face as he left the building he’d been stuck in the last eight hours. His tie couldn’t get off fast enough as his large hands pulled it away from his neck, letting it hang loose.

He’d felt his throat closing in on him as he was accused of things that were beyond him to execute, beyond him to perform and beyond him to even think of doing.

Arsen Sloan was a thirty-five-year-old criminal lawyer. Tall, at six feet and nine inches, he dwarfed most of his colleagues. To make sure they all had even further insecurities in his presence, he kept himself in peak physical condition. Pecs and abs that most men would die to have and biceps the mere sight of made women wet with desire for him.

Arsen prided himself on his appearance which he used to his advantage whenever possible. He was a machine of a man, using everything he could to get the results that he was seeking, whatever they were.

In law, he used his well-educated brain to find every last law or case to make sure he won his client’s cases. Arsen Sloan had never lost a case since he began his career as a criminal lawyer, ten years prior. Well, there was that one, but it had only been his second ever case.

Arsen tended to forget about the first few cases, the first two anyway. He never mentioned the first two, as a matter of fact.

When it came to sex, Arsen used everything in his personal arsenal to make sure that he stayed on top of that game. Love had played no role in his sex life.

Love was a word he hadn’t used since he was a naïve kid in his late teens before the girl he thought loved him watched him become broken and near dead.

Arsen kept his shoulder length waves in perfect order, accenting his dark brown, brooding eyes. Thick, dark lashes surrounded them, giving the slightest hint of a soft side to the hard as nails man.

After the day of horrible accusations, Arsen just needed a drink. A stiff drink and to be able to unwind, and get rid of at least a little of the tension which filled his muscled body.

As he got into the backseat of his Escalade the privacy window went down. His driver and long-time friend, Paul, looked at him through the rear view mirror.

The tension Arsen felt radiated off him and Paul knew better than to ask any questions.

“To the club, boss?”

Arsen nodded and closed the door, then ran his hand over his face and rubbed his temples. He pulled a bottle of beer from the little fridge and took it down in one gulp. The evening sky was growing dark and a thin fog was already moving in as they made their way up the coastline of the San Francisco Bay.

Arsen’s eyes followed the lights that were coming on along the edge of the road. He was wondering when it had gotten so bad. When had his world started to rule him rather than he rule it?

After the first five years as one of the top criminal lawyers in the entire state of California, Arsen Sloan had not only managed to gain a reputation as a winning lawyer who would do anything to win his cases, but also had become a billionaire. His ability to make great investments proved to be yet another thing Arsen did with near perfection.

Perfection was a thing he made great strides to achieve in every part of his life. Up until that day, he’d done pretty well at keeping his life near perfect at all times.

The alley was already dark as they pulled up to one of the main clubs that he frequented. Though, if not a member of the exclusive club, no one could tell what type of social gathering was going on there.

People tended to get dropped off at the clubs he went to. Clubs that catered to his tastes some considered to be immoral and worse. The rusted metal door was closed and only a small sign at the very top of the old door let on that it was a bit more than an old storage facility.

‘Fierce,’ was the word etched into a small metal sign and suddenly Arsen’s stomach was in knots. He knew he shouldn’t go in there. He knew that was why he was in the precarious situation he was in.

“You know, Paul, I better find another place to go from now on,” Arsen’s deep voice called out to his driver and friend.

Paul was a friend who knew all about Arsen’s past, and present, but he was being left out of why Arsen had been so moody when Arsen told him he had a meeting at the main police station in San Francisco.

“Sure thing, boss,” Paul said and pulled out of the alley and headed back to the part of the city where the regular people went to get drinks and socialize with one another.

“I’ll take you to the club my younger sister likes to go to, but if you see her in there, she’s off limits, bro,” Paul told his old friend. “Lots of young law majors in that place. You should find someone to your liking, boss.”

Arsen’s throat was growing tight again, so he unbuttoned the two top buttons of his stiffly starched white shirt he wore under a black suit jacket. The tie came all the way off and he stretched his long, lean-muscled legs out. Another beer he grabbed and popped the top, this one he took a long drink of, but stopped short of downing the whole thing.

“Paul, let the boss shit go for tonight. I need a friend, not another employee. Shit’s coming down on me and without any family to support me, I’m going to need you to keep me from jumping off a bridge.” Arsen looked out the tinted window and felt his eye twitch.

The first of many physical signs his body was sure to start exhibiting, just like it used to do when he was young and things were out of his control. Things he worked hard to get under control, and here he was with things beyond his control again.

His stomach hurt, another sign and another thing he’d left behind him, or thought he had anyway. Paul pulled along the curb and jumped out to open Arsen’s door. He gave him a clap on the back and said, “Arsen, things will work out, man. You’re beyond smart and whatever has you this worried I know you can figure out how to take care of it. You’re good at this shit.”

Arsen wished he had the faith in himself his old friend had, but the truth was his marks were all over the accusations made against him. He’d represented tons of people that he knew were guilty and managed to get them off the charges.

He just needed to figure out how to get himself off charges where the evidence pointed right at him and he had to tell the men who questioned him things he never thought he’d have to explain to anyone.

“I need a drink and a piece of hot ass would do wonders for me,” Arsen said with a deep chuckle. “I’d ask you to come, Paul, and help me drown my sorrows, but one of us has to drive and I think I pay you to do that, so I’ll go in alone and hopefully come out with a wicked little thing on my arm to take home.”

“There’s no doubt you will, Arsen,” Paul said and gave Arsen a smile. “Get in there and get rid of that frown.”

Arsen turned and walked into the door of the nightclub. The dance music was cranked up and a herd of young women were on the dance floor already, though the night was only beginning.

He took a table near the dance floor so he could watch the people dance. Arsen was not into dancing, but he appreciated the way women could bend and move their bodies to the beat.

He preferred a hard rock sound to the bubblegum pop that the DJ was playing in the social norm of a club. A pretty, young waitress came and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“What can I get you, sir?”

His dark eyes looked at the small, pale hand with perfectly manicured pink fingernails that was touching his left shoulder. In the clubs he went to, no female would ever approach him that way, and he had to fight the urge to grab her and toss her over his lap and teach her how to act accordingly.

After swallowing hard, he answered, “How about a whisky sour?”

The young woman with red-stained lips and blue eyeliner, her black hair pulled back into a tight and high ponytail smiled at him and said, “You should try our Eastern Sour. It has bourbon, OJ, lime juice, and Orgeat in it. It’s really popular. I think you’d like it.”

He blinked at the dimwitted thing and thought about what would happen to a female who dared to suggest the thing a man wanted was anything but that. Through gritted teeth he said, “Bring me what I asked for.”

She removed her hand from his shoulder as her smile quickly turned to a frown. “Touchy! Okay then. A whisky sour it is. Top shelf bourbon or does it matter?”

His dark and now very moody eyes rolled with her endless questions. “Top.”

She hurried off, and he hoped his attitude didn’t earn him a good bit of her spit in his drink as well. Arsen had a hard time dealing with normal women. He liked women who knew their place. Not that he was chauvinistic.

Arsen knew strong women. Women who were smart and capable of doing anything a man could do. Those women he could respect and appreciate. But the little dimwitted things like the waitress would be so much better off if they let a man take control of them, even if just in the confines of the bedroom, or dungeon.

The song ended just as the waitress brought him his drink. She placed it on the table.

“You wanna pay now, or run a tab?”

“I think I’ll run a tab,” he said and took a credit card out of his wallet and handed it to her. “Keep ‘em coming and your tip will reflect my approval.”

She laughed and made a low bow in front of him. “Thank you, Master.” She sauntered away, shaking her head as she went.

“Okay, that’s ten bucks knocked off right there,” he mumbled to himself.

He’d sat back one table away from the dance floor and was glad to see a group of about six young women had taken the table in front of him. Now he had a front-row seat behind a bevy of young beauties to pick from.

He sipped his drink and let his eyes roam over each young woman at the table. One was tall and pretty in a Barbie doll kind of way. Her voice was high and a little squeaky.

He thought about the kinds of sounds she’d make as he took her the way he wanted to. Maybe tied to his bed or the railing of the balcony outside his bedroom.

He shook his head as she laughed and a snort came out of her mouth.

On to the next girl.

She was dark haired, plump, and wore little make-up. He noted how she could’ve used more and then when she spoke, her voice was deep.

No, he couldn’t take a voice nearly as deep as his. That would make anything hard go soft in an instant. The next girl was intriguing as she had long, red curls that floated down her back.

She showed promise, but he knew from experience that red heads could be feisty and it took a lot to get them to understand what he would and would not tolerate. He watched as a man approached her and asked her to dance.

Her eyes ran over him like he was a piece of crap rather than a decent-looking man who was just being nice to her. “What do you want?” she asked with her nose squished up like he smelled bad or something.

The guy kept his cool and even smiled at her.

“Would you like to dance?”

“With you?” she said and rolled her eyes to look at the other girls who watched her, most likely sure she was about to annihilate the poor guy.

His laugh was getting a little nervous as was his demeanor as he switched his weight from one foot to the other.

“Yes.”

The red head’s hand ran over her too small for Arsen’s taste, breast, then down her small waist and landed on her too skinny ass, according to Arsen.

“Does this look like something you’d like to get into your bed?” she asked the guy.

The guy took a step back with her loaded question and should’ve turned and ran away from the obvious bitch. Arsen had to fight not to get up and take the young man out of harm’s way.

“Sorry,” the poor guy mumbled and turned to leave.

“Wait!” the red head called out.

He turned back with hope in his eyes and Arsen found himself rooting for the poor kid. “Yes?”

“What the hell made you think you could come over here and ask a woman who is clearly out of your league to dance?” The girl who now Arsen thought looked really ugly asked the poor guy.

The guy spun around and took off as the table full of young women hooted and hollered at him vulgarities and put downs. It was more than Arsen could take anymore. The whole lot of them needed their asses spanked until they couldn’t walk, in his opinion.

The waitress arrived with another drink and placed it on the table then picked up his empty one. Just as she began to make another bow, Arsen took her shoulder in his strong hand and stopped her. “Your antics are not lost on me, girl..”

Her face went white, and she hauled ass away from Arsen who smiled as she fled. It was the first smile he’d made since he got the news the night before that he was a man of interest in some terrible crimes. The smile faded with his thought and he took a sip of his drink.

The noise of the club faded as he thought about why it was he ever became involved in the seedy underworld that he’d become a part of. There was his first and only love at the beginning of it all.

Beth was a sweet young thing. At sixteen, she was fresh and everything he wanted. Arsen had been a young seventeen and not as ready as he thought he was to delve into the romantic world.

After a year of dating, Beth finally gave into him and the two lost their virginity to one another one fateful night in her bedroom. Her parents caught them and her father beat the hell out of him.

As he laid on Beth’s bedroom floor, he saw it in her eyes as she looked at him. Her father had beat him into a bloody pulp. His jaw was broken and one arm was too. It laid out next to him at an awkward angle.

Beth’s eyes held no compassion for the young man that she had just been claiming she loved, had just given her innocence to. No, the only thing there was disgust.

Her words he could still hear, “Get up, Arsen! Defend yourself or something!”

She held the blanket over her naked breasts as she sat up in the little twin bed they’d just made love on. Her blonde hair fell across her tanned shoulders and her blue eyes drooped at the outer edges as she looked at him with so much disappointment that he couldn’t believe it.

“Help,” he’d managed to get to come out of his broken mouth.

The same mouth that had lavished her with sweet kisses moments before her father came in and caught him on top of her. Arsen had been pulled away and slung across the room before he knew what was happening.

He lay naked and twisted on the floor and all he could do was look at Beth and feel like a complete loser who let this happen to himself. She needed him to be so much more than he was.

It was her mother who finally came to his aid. She’d found something and knocked her husband out as he wasn’t going to stop his assault on Arsen until Arsen no longer was drawing breath.

Arsen was confused as Beth jumped off the bed, wrapping the sheet around her naked body and yelled at her mother, “What did you do to Daddy?”

Her mother shoved her back onto the bed and shouted, “He was about to kill Arsen!”

Beth looked at him with disgust again. “Get out! We’re done!”

His body was in agony as her mother picked him up the best she could and took him to her car. She took him to the hospital and left him at the emergency room, alone.

Arsen came back to reality and took the last of his drink which seemed to be disappearing way too fast. Another drink came, but a waiter brought it and left it for him.

Shame filled him as he realized he’d scared the waitress. He was always doing shit like that. He seemed to have no real filter as to who he could talk to in his dominant way and who he couldn’t. It was a fine line, and he seemed to always be on the wrong side of it.

A popular song came on and the table full of girls in front of him shrieked, making him cover his ears. They all grabbed each other and ran to the dance floor like a heard of elephants.

Arsen looked around and saw table after table of young women doing the exact same thing and he shook his head and mumbled, “This is not going to work for me.”

His drink was new, so he knew it’d take him until at least the end of the upbeat song before he was done with it. The night was still young, and he had no desire to go home all alone. The women in that club were not going to be anything he needed on that night.

“Oh, hell,” he heard a young woman’s voice say as she walked past him.

He turned his head and watched her take a seat at the table the women had vacated. She watched them for a moment then took her cell phone out of her back pocket and started looking at it.

Arsen looked her up one side and down the other. She was tall and curvy. Her breasts were exactly the right size, a little bigger than most women’s. Her ass was round, and he liked the way that her tight jeans fit it perfectly. She had on leather cowboy boots that she had her jeans tucked into.

Her hair was long and dark, falling in waves to the top of her plump ass. His mouth was watering already. Looking all over her, he noticed the absence of a drink and looked back to find the waiter near him. He motioned him over and told him to take the same thing he was drinking to the young woman who stood alone at the table in front of him.

He sat back and watched as the waiter took the drink to her and when she asked who had sent it, he pointed to Arsen. She smiled and waved and mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him.

He liked her manners already. She knew how to accept things and that was a thing he had to have in a woman. He believed in lavishing gifts on them. It had been years since he had a submissive that he had felt enough for to do that.

The women in the last three years had all been people he felt nothing for. Just women who liked things the way he did, nothing more. The fact that three of his previous subs were gone was a thing which made him sad, only he wasn’t given the time to mourn them.

His attention went back to the young woman he’d sent the drink to. She had gone back to looking at her phone and occasionally tapping the screen. She was too far away for him to see the color of her eyes, but the shape of them were like almonds and she had thick, dark lashes that fluttered occasionally as she smiled at her phone’s screen.

The herd of bitches came back off the dance floor and the tall blonde Barbie hugged the new girl and started wagging her finger at her, obviously admonishing her for not being on time like the rest of the mindless young women at the little party.

The red head lifted her arm high in the air and the waitress came to them with a lit up cake. It was the blonde’s birthday it looked like and the other women sang happy birthday to her then she blew the candles out. The dark haired beauty looked completely out of place with the mob of air heads.

Another song came on and the girls made another screaming shriek and ran to the dance floor. Barbie grasped at the gorgeous dark-haired girl, but she shook her head and stayed at the table, alone.

Arsen saw his chance and took his half empty glass and glided the distance between the tables, coming up behind her. He hesitated and took in her essence. The vague aroma of lavender wafted past his nose and he leaned closer to smell her hair that was shiny and full.

His hand fisted at his side as he had to stop himself from taking a handful into his fist and pull it to make her come to him.

“Hi,” he said, and she spun around, nearly knocking his drink out of his hand.

“Oh! Sorry,” she said. “You scared me.”

His first thought was that she was right to be afraid. “You should run.”

She smiled and blushed. “Oh yeah?”

He nodded as he leveled his dark eyes on her deep blue ones.

“I think your eyes are gorgeous. I had to come and say hello. I had to see the color and I have to say I’m not one bit disappointed.”

Her smile sent waves of some unknown sensation through him. She could be dangerous to him he thought. She could push him out of his comfort zone and he knew it without any doubt.

“Your eyes are pretty nice too,” she told him then took a sip of the drink he’d sent her. “Thanks for the drink. I’m not really knowledgeable about alcohol yet. I only turned twenty-one a few weeks ago.”

“I see,” Arsen took a drink as he looked at her. “What is it that you do?”

“I’m in school. I wanna be a lawyer when I grow up,” she said with a giggle.

Her voice was soft and easy on the ears. Her giggle was too. Not silly, or sexy, just kind of a sweet sound he thought he could listen to a lot.

“I’m a lawyer.”

Her eyes brightened. “Anyone I may have heard of?”

His impending legal problems sprung to the forefront of his mind and suddenly his name was not a thing he wanted her to know. Just in case it ended up on the news in the near future.

“Name’s A.C. I’m nothing big, just a small time lawyer.” He took a drink and watched her reaction.

“We all have to start somewhere,” she said with a smile. “One day you’ll make it big, I bet. You have the look of a powerful attorney.”

He smiled and thought she had a look about her too that showed she was capable of great things.

“You don’t really fit in with the bitch pack, do you?”

Her eyes traveled to the dance floor where the other girls had gone. She shook her head, making the dark waves of her hair move across her shoulders and one strand fell across her breast making Arsen’s cock twitch.

“The tall blonde is my roommate. She turned twenty-one today and made me come. I’m not real big on hanging with, what did you call them, the bitch pack? That’s funny, I’m stealing it.” Her smile revealed straight, white, perfect teeth. Pink, plump lips pulled over them and everything about her was genuine.

“Steal it,” he said and stopped himself from telling her the corny words that ran through his mind.

Arsen had thought to himself that she was already stealing his heart, but those were not only thoughts he never had at least since back in the days of his naïve innocence and Beth. The words would never pass his lips.

His time was limited before the bitch pack would come back so he asked, “Would you allow me to take you home. I have a car outside. I’d love it if you’d let me give you a ride.”

“Sorry, I’m not that kind of girl,” she said and sipped her drink. “You’re a complete stranger after all.”

The fact she was no easy piece made him thrilled, but he wanted her much too badly to take no for an answer. “Smart girl,” he said.

“Thanks,” she looked him over and frowned. “You’re most likely married anyway. Have a house full of kids you’re here to get away from.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked as he’d never been told he looked domesticated before.

She bit her bottom lip as she looked him over. “Can’t say really. You just look like you’re used to getting your way. Not many single guys get their way very often.”

He held his left hand up for her to inspect. “You will not find a tan line around this finger. I’ve never been married.”

“Can I ask you a question?” She looked up at him and he found himself loving her basic character. She would be able to be what he wanted in a sub, he saw it in her.

“Sure.” He moved a little closer to her, feeling the warmth which came from her.

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-five.” He moved a step closer and touched her waist. “Old enough to teach you things that you’ve never thought about knowing before.”

Heat came off her body as her faced turned pink. “I bet you could.”

“You should let me take you home.” He leaned into her, his hand moving from her waist to the small of her back, gently moving her body to his, their hips touching.

He knew she’d fit him perfectly and his dick stretched the giving fabric of his slacks. Her body trembled with the contact and he knew she’d be fantastic in bed… and the living room, the hallway, the backseat of his Escalade.

“I’m really not that kind of girl. There are plenty of easy ho’s around here though.” She peered up at him as she tried to take a step back, but his hand on the small of her back stopped her retreat.

“I don’t do easy,” he said and found his mouth moving to take hers.

She licked her lips and for a second he thought that he was home free. “Don’t.” Her voice was but a whisper, but her word stopped him.

He moved back a little. She would be begging him soon enough. “Smart girl.”

“I am and you, sir, I dare say seem a little bit dangerous,” she took in a deep breath and backed another step away from him.

Arsen shook his head. “A little dangerous, no.” He was very dangerous, and he knew it. A young innocent thing like she was didn’t stand a chance under his expert hands. He’d bend her to him as easily as a young sapling to a post.

She surprised him as she leaned back in close to him and whispered, “I have to tell you that you are the first man who actually made me think about doing what you asked though.”

He smiled without realizing he was doing it. She was a bit dangerous herself. He felt a pull like he never had before. It was a thing he couldn’t even afford to have at that time in his life.

There were no guarantees he’d even be walking the streets the next day. He could be scooped up by the authorities and placed in custody at any moment. The detective had made that abundantly clear to him just that afternoon.

The other young women were coming back to the table, and he wasn’t about exchange pleasantries with any of them. He kissed his fingertips and placed them on her lips. “See you around then.” He turned and left before she could say another word.

After paying the tab and taking care of the bill for the party that the young woman was a part of, he took his credit card back from the bartender and went out to get in his car.

Paul jumped out and opened the back door for him. “No girl, boss?”

“Not yet,” Arsen said as he sat in the back. “Give her time. She’s coming, she just hasn’t realized it yet and I don’t want to hang out with her idiotic friends.”

He took a beer and sipped on it as he contemplated his day and all he was up against. His mind wandered off to how it was he got involved in the life he led.

All the way back to how he was living out of his car in Los Angeles after he got out of the hospital. His mother had left him there, leaving him alone after Beth’s father’s beating had put him in the hospital.

It was her chance to have a valid excuse to finally abandon him the way he knew she’d wanted to for years. She said the hospital would make her pay if she stuck around. It was in his best interest if no one could find her, then the state would have to pay his hospital and doctor bills and he’d only have to live six months in a foster home after that.

She told him she was doing it all for him. He’d be eighteen in six months, a month after that he’d be out of high school and being in the system would ensure him that he could go to college, like he always said he wanted to do.

Yes, she was sacrificing all for him.

He frowned with the thought. After a long drink from the tall bottle he nodded and thought, at least he was able to go to college and make something of himself.

And physically, with the help of Beth’s mother, he made sure his body toughened up as well as his heart. It was she who set him up in a small apartment near Stanford University where he got his law degree and learned about the life of a sub under her tutelage.

Under her firm hand, he learned to turn pain into something else. Power and pleasure. While the professors in law school worked his brain out and made it work in a way that would take him into a productive future, Mistress Sinclair taught him how to take his power in his own hands.

The apartment was where she had taught him all there was to know about BDSM. She was a closet case who had to hide her obsession from her family. Her husband would have been a terrible Dom, she’d told him. He was too mean spirited and lacked self-discipline.

She taught him to be strict and to dole out the proper punishment when it was called for to get the sub to do what made the Dom happy. She taught him, what she would later tell him, was a little too well as he quickly outgrew his desire to be a submissive to her.

He was made to be a Dom and when he sought out the underworld where people went to find others who wanted the lifestyle, he had begun to enjoy Mistress Sinclair who tried hard to punish him back into submissiveness to her. All the lashings in the world would not see him spend a lifetime in that role.

Arsen’s back still carried the scars from the whips she used to try to subdue him, but the lashes healed eventually and she came to realize he was not going to bend to her will any longer. He’d grown into a huge man, muscles on muscles and a determined spirit that refused to follow anyone.

He held the reins. He held the chains, He held the whip, and she had no want to be at the stinging end of it. That’s when he moved out to his very first place and found his very first sub at one of the clubs he’d found. Kyla was his first and now she was gone.

They’d spent a year together. He never loved her, but she was good at doing what he wanted. In the end, it was her entire devotion to him and what he wanted that soured their deal. One couldn’t call what they had a relationship.

He took her on no dates, sent her no flowers, and called her no sweet names. He did take care of her. Gave her a car, kept her in a nice place, though not the same place that he lived in. He gave her money so she didn’t have to work. She was to be available to him whenever he wanted and she did have to come to his office many times to give him what he needed there as well.

People asked about her and him and what they were to each other, but Arsen only told them they were acquaintances who occasionally fucked. He thought about the one legal aid he had. She was an older woman who’d helped her lawyer husband before he died.

She often told Arsen he was wandering down a path that would never make him happy. He found it odd the woman in her sixties had even an inkling into what he was really doing.

She never came out and told him she knew, only hinted that she did and let him know it would grow old one day and he’d want someone to love and cherish. Not bend to conform to his will and dominate with his authority.

So far, Arsen had found no one who made him want to open his hard and dark heart to allow to come in and possibly hurt him or take control of him. But the young woman who was inside the club with her friends had nothing in common with what had made something twitch not only in his pants but also in his heart.

Now was not the right time for any type of relationship. Definitely not one of traditional means. No normal woman would understand the things that were most likely about to become public knowledge about him.

The young law student certainly looked like a girl who’d run if she knew his dark and troubled secrets. His eye twitched as he thought about her pretty, little face that was so full of life and hope falling as she heard the things he’d done.

She’d hate him for sure. He should just leave and stop waiting for one more chance to get her to let him take her home. She wasn’t the type he usually went for. She wasn’t one of the girls from the club who was looking for that sort of thing.

She was a nice girl in a normal club. She wore cowboy boots and jeans, not stilettos and ripped stockings. Her blouse covered her ample breasts, not torn and leaving nothing to the imagination.

She stood tall and held herself with confidence even though she was young and had yet to start her law career. He envisioned her in a tiny leather corset, a collar around her long and slender neck, with a chain he held as she made her way through a dark room on her hands and knees.

The men in the clubs he went to would be so fucking envious of him if he took her to any of them. She was a true woman of great beauty and confidence. To have her doing for him as he wanted would be some big feat.

Arsen shook his head to clear it. What in the hell was he thinking? Women should be the last thing on his mind. They were the reason his freedom might be taken away.

Everything he worked so hard for might be gone in a flash because of women and how he chose to have sex with them. He needed to go home and be alone. Contemplate his case and his whole damn life.

But just as he was about to tell Paul to take him home. The door to the club opened and out she walked. “I’ll be right back,” he told Paul as he got out of the car.

He followed her as she walked down the busy sidewalk of downtown San Francisco. She was all alone, and he found himself thinking that she was too pretty to be walking alone. Something bad could happen to her.

Arsen slowed his pace as he thought what it was he wanted to do to her and that it wasn’t entirely good for her either. He wanted to hold her down and make her beg him to fuck her after all.

Some young guy took notice of her as he walked towards her.

“Hey, baby, where you off to?” he asked as he approached her.

Arsen’s body filled with tension as the guy spoke to her. She turned her head, ignoring the guy, but the idiot had the balls to reach out and grab her arm, making her stop. Arsen stopped only feet behind them, his hands balled into fists.

“Too good for me, or what? Not even a, fuck you, can you be bothered with saying to me,” the guy said as he glared at her.

“Let me go.” Arsen watched as her hand slipped into the purse she had hanging from her shoulder.

The bottle she was pulling out had Arsen stopping and falling back to be sure he got none of the pepper spray near him. A little doorway offered him protection from the stuff which was about to fill the air, but he could still keep an eye on her.

“Who do you think you are, bitch?” the man slurred at her and yanked her arm hard.

Arsen had to cover his mouth to keep the laugh quiet as he watched her pull the pepper spray out of her purse in one swift motion and spray the fucker right in his baby blues.

He screamed and let her go. She turned around and went right back into the club she’d just left. Arsen smiled all the way back to his car and climbed in, telling Paul all about the tenacious young woman and how much more her actions had him intrigued.

Paul turned around and leveled his eyes on his long-time friend.

“Okay, Arsen, give me the news.”

Arsen stopped smiling and looked at his friend turned employee.

“My ways have caught up to me, Paul. That’s all it is.”

“Your ways, while questionable, are not illegal. So how is it they’ve caught up with you?” Paul asked with a frown.

“I’m not sure how much I really want you to know. You see as a person who is aware of almost all of my comings and goings, you’re sure to be brought in if they decide to make a case against me. It’s best you only know what it is you truly know, not what I can add.” Arsen leaned his head back on the leather seat and looked at the ceiling.

“So, I can expect to get called in myself. Fantastic!” Paul groaned. “Crap! The shit I’ve seen you do are not things I ever wanted to talk to anyone about, Arsen.”

“Sorry,” Arsen said as he continued to look up. “As far as a friend to you goes, I haven’t been the best, have I?”

“Don’t think like that, Arsen. I love you, man. I’m not judging you by any means. So you should tell me what I say and not say. If they ask me if I’ve seen you hit a woman, how would I answer that?”

“Fuck if I know,” Arsen said with a moan. “Maybe something like, everything he did was mutually accepted by all parties he engaged in those types of activities with.”

“That’s a fucking mouthful, isn’t it?” Paul asked and had to laugh. “What about that time you had me hold that chick for you while you took your tie off. I tried to get the hell out of the room before you got started but I saw you tie her up and hang her up on that door and smack the shit out of her with your belt. I remember her begging you to stop.”

Arsen ran his large hand over his face which had gone ashen with the memory his friend brought up.

“It’s part of the act. Our safe word was rose, and she knew that. She wanted to beg, that’s all. Man, that’s one of the girls this shit is about. This is bad, Paul. This is really bad.”

“Not that chick!” Paul ran his hand over his face as well. “Man, Arsen, she was into that crazy violent shit. There was the time she begged you to choke her. Then another time when she came out to the car completely naked, and you two went to one of the clubs and when you two got back in the car, her body was covered in bruises.”

Arsen’s stomach was hurting again, and he felt like he might throw up. He grabbed another beer and downed it.

“I’m in so fucking deep, Paul.”

“And why are we waiting out here for yet another female, Arsen? I can’t tell you what a bad idea this is. Does the word, ‘stalking,’ ring in those ears of yours?”

“I fucking know! Fuck!” Arsen balled up his fist and hit the back of the seat next to him. “If this girl was one of them I’d tell you to take me home and lock my ass up until I came to my senses. But she’s not into that at all. Well, I don’t think she is, but she seems like she might like some aspects of it.”

“Stop! Do you hear yourself?” Paul asked.

Arsen took in a deep breath and let his mind work like the lawyer he was. Was he that self-destructive that he was on the verge of the end and still he was consumed with sex?

“Drive away, Paul,” Arsen said finally. “This is ridiculous. Drive away.”

Paul turned around and pulled his seatbelt on and turned his blinker on to pull away from the curb.

“Good decision, Arsen.”

The sound of metal smacking against metal made the men look out the left side of the car and Arsen moaned as he saw there was no way they’d be leaving and getting him away from what would surely be part of his downfall.

A truck had run into a car right next to them. The wreck had them sandwiched between the mangled cars and the sidewalk full of people making their way to the various clubs and restaurants along it.

“Fuck me,” Arsen swore.

“Just stay in the car,” Paul said. “Don’t even look over there to see if she comes out of the club again.”

Arsen laid his head back and tried not to think, but the other woman who was no longer around, his second sub, filled his mind. Her dark skin had always been a thing he thought beautiful about her. Meagan was tough at first. A real spit fire.

He’d broken her down until she was a shell of her former self. Arsen had thought it was up to him to teach her that her place was where he said it was. He wanted her home all the time. He had her order the groceries instead of going out to get them.

When she went out, her beauty had other men gawking at her and it made him insane. She was his. They’d drawn up a paper which said so. He wanted no other eyes falling on her.

One night as she laid in her bed in her apartment he had her in, she asked him to stay the night with her. She was alone too much and was beginning to hate it. She asked him to please stay with her and he hadn’t wanted to start that kind of thing.

He’d been taught that was not what people who lived that lifestyle did. It made them weak, and that was a thing he didn’t want to be. And look where that had left him. Alone and accused of things he could’ve easily done.

No alibi for any of the things he was accused of and the fact he’d recently met with each one of his old subs. One last go round he wanted with each one as the lifestyle was beginning to grow boring, just like the older lady who used to work with him said it would.

Arsen wanted to see if any one of the women made him feel like they had a spark. Like the life he’d been living was something maybe one of them could spark an interest in again.

Work and more work had been filling his days and nights. Random hook-ups weren’t filling the emptiness that had begun to grow in him. He gave each woman one last shot to see if it was one of them who could fill him, or begin to at least.

The last sub he had was named Lacy and their contract was short-lived. Her quiet nature, he soon found out was due to her being a complete air head. Arsen knew she didn’t really have the brains to decide if she really wanted what he dished out or not.

And when she even forgot their safe word, and he went on with his spanking of her until she was sobbing uncontrollably, he knew that she wasn’t cut out for that kind of sex life.

But for reasons that made no sense he took one last shot with her anyway and now she was another who was gone and he might stand accused of that too.

Policemen began to show up to the scene of the accident and as the two drivers’ of the wrecked cars argued over who was at fault, one cop knocked on the driver’s side window and asked Paul and any other witnesses in the car to please step out so they could talk to them.

Paul and Arsen stepped out of the car and Arsen quickly told them he hadn’t seen a thing and had no idea of who was at fault. Something brushed up against his arm and a voice filled his ears, “What happened?”

He turned to find the deep blue eyes of the girl he should be avoiding for not only her own good but his too.

“They wrecked. Um, hit each other, I mean, they smacked into one another. Fuck, you know what I mean, right?”

His stammering made her giggle, and he had to ball his hands into fists to stop himself from grabbing her hair in his hands and pulling her mouth to his. Her lips, plump and pink formed a smile.

“Nervous?”

“Me?” he asked and found his voice going high.

That was not like him. She did make him nervous, and that was odd.

“Do I make you nervous?”

“Hell no!” He slipped his arm around her waist.

Paul came to his side after telling the cops he had no idea who was at fault either.

“Hi,” he said to the girl who would be running away from Arsen if she knew what he really wanted with her. “I’m Paul.”

Arsen gave him a look that told him to go get in the car. The wreckers were pulling the wrecked cars away, and they’d be able to leave in minutes. Paul walked away and got in the driver’s seat.

“As you can see that’s my driver, Paul. So you won’t be completely alone with a stranger if you allow me to drive you to your home.” Arsen told her as he moved her along with him, his arm tight around her waist.

“I don’t think so. It’s very nice of you, don’t get me wrong.”

“It’s really not safe for you to walk. Please, just get in. I swear we’ll take you straight home. If anything happened to you and I saw you were hurt or God forbid something worse, it would haunt me forever,” Arsen told her as he opened the door and gently pushed against her.

“I’d hate it if I haunted you. I think that would mean bad karma for me,” she said and looked into his dark eyes. “Promise me something.”

“Anything,” he said. “I think I could promise you anything?” His finger trailed over her collar bone and he looked deep into her eyes.

They were full of trust, even though they shouldn’t be. If she only knew what he wanted to do to her beautiful porcelain skin, watch it turn a nice shade of pink after he had paddled it well.

“Promise that you won’t hurt me.” Her words hit him hard.

“Why would you say that?” he asked as he pulled his hand back and searched her eyes.

“It’s just that I don’t go places with strangers. I don’t do stupid or dangerous things,” she said as she looked at him with such innocence. Too much innocence.

Arsen took a step back. “You should run, little girl.”

“Should I, really?” she asked as her eyes danced. “A little while ago I tried to walk home, and a guy grabbed me. I had to empty my pepper spray on his ass. So I’m quite defenseless and a nice, strong lawyer seems a safe bet. A hell of a lot better than taking the chance the prick I sprayed may be waiting to get even with me.”

“You know I saw you do that. You seem quite capable of taking care of yourself in situations you feel threatened in.”

“I know a little self-defense.” She watched his reaction carefully. “If you did something I didn’t want you to for instance, you could be sure I’d take your balls in a vice-like grip and make you beg me not to rip them from your body.”

His laugh came from deep in his chest. “You’re pretty sure of yourself. And what if I did something to you, you wanted me to? What then?”

“I’m a big girl, I can take care of things. So, are you going to give me a ride or should I catch a cab?” Her arms crossed over her chest and he knew he should put her sweet little ass in a cab and move on without looking back.

“I should definitely put you in a cab. To be honest, I’m a bit afraid of you,” he said with a smile.

“I’m a bit afraid of you too,” she smiled back. “But what’s the fun in always playing it safe?”

“By all means, climb into my lair, little girl.”

He held her hand as she lifted one leg to place her round ass on the leather seat. Arsen sucked in his breath as he pictured that ass beneath his palm.

He balled his hand into a fist again to stop himself from making a swift smack to it as she lifted it some to scoot over so he could take the place next to her. She stopped just short of moving all the way to the edge, staying in the middle.

His arm draped over the back of the seat and she leaned back and took a deep breath. “I love the smell of leather,” she said as she let the breath out.

“Good,” he said, thinking that she’d really like the good amount of leather he kept in a closet in his penthouse.

“Good?” she asked as she turned her face to look at him. “That’s an odd thing to say.”

Paul turned and looked at Arsen.

“Where to, boss?”

Arsen looked at the young woman.

“Your place or mine?”

“Take me to my house, scoundrel. 555 Bayview Drive.” She looked at Paul. “Please, Paul.”

“Yes, my lady,” he said with a laugh and the privacy window between the front seat and the rest of the large SUV went up.

Arsen’s arm moved down off the back of the seat to touch her shoulders. He felt her shiver and pulled her closer.

“Cold?”

“No, just out of my comfort zone,” she answered and ran her hands over her bare arms as she wore a sleeveless shirt.

“You know, it’s okay to get out of that boring old comfort zone every now and again.” His mouth touched her neck for just a moment then he pulled it back.

She turned to face him and he found her breathing had increased and came a bit heavier than normal. She was getting ready for him, he knew it, but was she ready for all of him?

Slowly, he ran his fingertips over her lips as he gazed at them. His cock went hard in an instant as she parted her plump lips and pulled his finger into her hot mouth.

She sucked it gently and ran her tongue around it. He watched her and took one of her hands, placing it on his growing cock. Her eyes went wide, and she pulled her mouth off his finger and looked at the lump he held her hand to.

Her eyes darted up to his as she put her fingers on the button of his slacks. She seemed to be silently asking if she could let the beast free and he gave her a nod.

His stomach tensed as he knew he’d be taking her anyway he pleased in just a little while. He watched her open his pants up and his large erection sprang out at her.

She gasped and sprang back, her eyes went wide and he was pleased with her reaction. His big male member was a thing of beauty and she seemed to realize that.

Her eyes went to his again, and she licked her lips. He gave her a nod of approval and she lowered her head to his lap. The touch of her lips sent shivers through him.

His hands moved through her dark waves and he groaned as she moved her mouth over his throbbing cock. Her mouth moved over him so fluidly he knew her innocent demeanor had to have been a farce.

She stopped and looked at him.

“Why’d you stop, baby?” he moaned as he pulled at her hair.

“I wanted to know if I was doing it right. It’s my first time and if I’m doing it wrong and you’re up here laughing at me, it would make me very upset. So, am I doing it right? Is there anything I should be doing better? Do you think I should just stop even trying?”

“Seriously?” he asked in disbelief.

She nodded, and he pulled her hair, making her face come to his. He took one deep, hard kiss then released her mouth.

“So, should I continue?” her face was full of innocence and he knew she really was telling him the truth.

“You’re doing a fantastic job. Please, get back to it.” He let her go, and she resumed her position, placing her hands on his massive member and her mouth on the tip of his dick.

Arsen had been given so many blow jobs he couldn’t even keep count of them, yet never had one sent the sensations through him this young woman’s sweet mouth was doing.

He laid his head back on the leather seat and tried not to think about a thing as she ran her tongue up the underside of his cock and sucked gently as she pulled her hot mouth back up his long length.

All he could think was this was not going to help his situation at all. Red and blue lights lit up the back window and had Paul slowing the car down and pulling to the side of the road.

Arsen’s heart stopped as he knew his time was up and they must be about to officially charge him for the murders.

Part Two: For Him

STEELE GANNON

A thin vein of light fog rolled in under the barn door. Steele Gannon had just finished brushing her horse’s mane after taking an evening ride to clear her mind from the long school day.

Steele Gannon was a college student in her first year of law school at Stanford University. She’d found a passion for criminal law at the tender age of fifteen when a murder happened in the town she lived in.

At that time her family was living in Baltimore and Steele, and in a rare instance, was watching the nightly local news. The story of a young sixteen-year-old girl who was missing from her sister’s apartment was headlining that night.

Steele found herself worried about the girl and she kept up with the news story as the weeks, then months played out with no sign of the girl. After being missing for four long months, Phylicia Barnes’ body was found floating in the Susquehanna River and later her sister’s onetime boyfriend was accused of the murder.

It seemed he’d made sexual advances towards the young girl and when she thwarted him, he’d strangled her. A death that Steele found eerily brutal and scary. She’d not wish that death on anyone.

She’d read up on how long it takes to die that way and how aware the victim is of what’s happening to them. The brain takes a long time to stop working with a lack of oxygen. So the victim is helplessly aware they are going to die.

As the trial went on, it was obvious to most that the young man had murdered young Phylicia and Steele was glad the family would get justice. Only the young man had a couple of female lawyers who somehow managed to get the clearly guilty man acquitted from the murder charges.

Steele, though terribly disappointed with the loss for the family, was intrigued by how the lawyers managed to win such an open and shut case. She became fascinated with the law and started reading any law book she could get her hands on to find out more about the complexity of criminal law.

Her cell phone buzzed in the back pocket of her blue jeans. She looked at it and found a text from her roommate, Gwen. It was Gwen’s twenty-first birthday, and she was bugging Steele to hurry to the bar so then they could do the cake.

Steele was not a fan of the bar scene. She preferred wine and a good book, and that was exactly the way she’d spent her twenty-first birthday six months before. She wasn’t one to hang with a pack of girls either. The little birthday party for her roomie wasn’t a thing she was looking forward to.

But it was her roommate, and she’d never let her live it down if she didn’t at least show up for the cake. So Steel gave her horse, Tripper, one last hug and closed his stall for the night.

“Good night, big boy. I’ll see you in the morning to let you out into the pasture.”

Gwen would be pissed at what she was wearing, tight blue jeans, a white cotton sleeveless shirt, and her cowboy boots, jeans tucked into them, a thing Gwen hated. But if she wanted her there anytime soon, she’d have to put up with her appearance.

She climbed into her truck. One look into the rear view mirror had her ditching her cowboy hat and pulling the braid out of her hair, leaving it in waves that cascaded over her shoulders. The dark waves fell clear to the top of her ass.

Her hair was about the only thing Steele found attractive about herself and she took excellent care of the long, thick, dark, silky mass. She’d somehow managed to get a mix of her parents’ hair colors. Deep, rich browns and golden glows along with a smattering of copper strands made up her hair color. Her sky-blue eyes contrasted with her dark hair and she’d been told she looked exotic by more than a few people.

Her skin was a light tan and her butt and breasts were larger than most young women her age. At twenty-one, she was no innocent, but she wasn’t promiscuous either. Only a couple of boyfriends she’d had that ended after short bursts of affection.

Steele wasn’t the mushy gushy type, but the two she’d dated were and she found herself bored with them after mere months of their attention. She liked a man’s man, but had yet to find one.

She was a strong young woman with goals and aspirations, she wasn’t interested in the guys that she’d met so far in life. Gamers, most of them were, and that bored her to tears. She liked the outdoors and doing things that made her mind work.

The way the two guys she’d been intimate with had touched her and treated her left her empty. She’d never climaxed with either and found them annoying when they’d want a little action, but couldn’t manage to pique her interest.

In the end both had told her she was frigid and would have to get over herself if she was ever to find happiness with a guy. At that point in her young life she could’ve given less than a shit about hooking up with men. Her mind was on law school and learning all she could so someday she could be a criminal lawyer who won cases no one would ever guess she could.

Steele pulled up into the parking garage of her apartment building. She knew Gwen would make her drink something, and she wasn’t a drinker and had no idea of how she’d handle the liquor. She wasn’t about to try to drive home after consuming even one alcoholic beverage.

The evening air was nice, not too crisp, and she had a bottle of pepper spray in her purse if anyone should try to bother her as she walked the mile to the downtown San Francisco area where Gwen and her friends were having the little party. Though not excited about the bar, she was excited about getting out for a little while. It wasn’t a thing she did, and she prided herself on pushing her comfort zone’s barriers from time to time.

The music leaked out of the bar’s door and she found the bubblegum pop annoying already. She liked hard rock, much unlike every other girl on the planet she’d been told about her taste in music.

After her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit bar, she found her roommate and gaggle of girlfriends shaking their asses on the dance floor. A thing she wasn’t about to get caught up in. Too sober and too embarrassed to be shaking it yet.

She saw Gwen’s purse sitting on a table right next to the dance floor and knew she’d be trying to get her to dance with them, a thing that had her wanting to leave already.

“Oh, hell,” she muttered to herself as she made her way to the table.

Steele took a seat on one of the tall chairs that surrounded the little table and reached back and took her cell phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. While she waited she might as well see what her Face book peeps were up to on that Thursday night.

To her surprise a waiter showed up with a drink in his hand.

“From the gentleman at the next table, miss.” He placed the drink on the table in front of her.

“What is it?” she asked. “I mean, I’m new to this drinking thing. Is it going to knock me on my ass?”

The waiter smiled.

“No, you’ll be fine. Sip, don’t chug. It’s a whisky sour, just like the man who sent it to you is drinking.” He turned and gestured to a man with dark waves which hung to his broad shoulders.

Steele smiled and gave the man a little wave and mouthed, ‘thank you’ to him. She turned back around and had to take in a couple of deep breaths. The man who’d sent her the drink was the best looking man that she’d ever laid her eyes on.

The fact he’d even noticed her was making her wet, and she wasn’t one to go all wet and wiggly so quickly and easily. But the way he looked at her with his dark eyes that seemed to narrow as he took her all in, made her knees weak.

Steele prayed he wouldn’t come talk to her. She was sure she’d get all tongue tied and make a complete ass out of herself if he did. She wanted desperately to take another look at the magnificent specimen of manhood.

He had a beard which was not a thing she’d ever thought attractive before, but it was meticulously groomed close to his face which was so symmetrical it looked perfect. She guessed he was some type of lawyer or business man because he had on an expensive suit, but his tie was gone and the top buttons on his shirt were undone. He must’ve had a rough day, she thought.

He’s got to be married!

He looked to be in his thirties and had to be a successful something or other, she just knew it. The gang of girls made their way back to the table and Steele was caught up in Gwen’s long arms before she knew it.

The tall blonde was a sweet girl, but her taste in friends left a lot to be desired. The red-head, Tracy was a complete bitch and her other friend, Laura she thought might be a lesbian, but she didn’t claim to be. Then there were a couple of stragglers she didn’t know but recognized from their college.

Gwen started wagging her finger in Steele’s face.

“Why are you so late? And what the hell are you wearing? Did you come straight from that smelly old barn you keep your horse at? Oh, will you ever decide to clean up for anything?”

“Nice to see you too, Gwen,” Steele said with a laugh. “I hope your birthday is going well.”

“It is,” Gwen said and changed her mood quickly as she saw the birthday cake coming her way and the girls began singing her the birthday song. “Yes, cake!”

Steele took a step back and got out of the way so Gwen could blow out her candles. She could swear the gorgeous man who’d sent her the drink was looking at her. She wasn’t about to do more than glance from the corner of her eye, but she was pretty sure he was looking at her.

Why would he be? She thought. I’m nowhere near his league. I’m sure he has a beautiful wife at home waiting for him to get there and tuck their three kids in for the night.

Another song came on and the girls around Steele burst into a simultaneous scream and ran to the dance floor. Gwen tugged at Steele’s arm to get her to join them, but she wasn’t budging and adamantly shook her head. Finally, Gwen could take it no more and gyrated her body out to join the other girls.

Steele picked up her drink and took a sip, happy she got out of her roommate’s clutches. Something stirred her hair, and she turned around quickly, finding the gorgeous man right behind her. Her arm hit the drink he held and nearly knocked it out of his hand.

“Oh! Sorry. You scared me.”

“You should run.”

Steele smiled nervously and found herself blushing. “Oh yeah?”

His voice was deep and velvety. He stayed close to her. So close that she could smell his cologne which she knew had to be expensive because she’d never smelled any like it before. His elbow touched her upper arm and a constant stream of electricity was flowing across her bare skin.

The way he told her she should run had her thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts, a thing she never did. He was beyond intriguing and he gave off a dangerous vibe.

He nodded as he leveled his dark eyes on her. “I think your eyes are gorgeous. I had to come and say hello. I had to see the color and I have to say I’m not one bit disappointed.”

OMG! He thinks my eyes are gorgeous!

“Your eyes are pretty nice too,” she told him then took a sip of the drink he’d sent her. “Thanks for the drink. I’m not really knowledgeable about alcohol yet. I only turned twenty-one a few months ago.”

“I see.” He took a drink, and she found herself mesmerized by the way his lips conformed to the glass. She licked her lips as she noticed a drop of the liquid on his bottom lip. With a quick flick of his tongue he got it and she felt her panties get a little bit wetter. “What is it that you do?”

His words had her looking back at his eyes and feeling like an idiot for starring at his lips.

“I’m in school. I wanna be a lawyer when I grow up,” she said with a giggle.

“I’m a lawyer.”

Steele was even more intrigued...

“Anyone I may have heard of?”

“Name’s A.C. I’m nothing big, just a small time lawyer.” He took a drink, and she doubted he was a small time anything.

“We all have to start somewhere. One day you’ll make it big I bet. You have the look of a powerful attorney.” She shifted her weight as she let her eyes run up and down his fit body.

The man was muscled like a machine. She just knew there was a tight little six pack hidden under his starched white shirt and she bet his ass was solid as a rock.

He smiled and said, “You don’t really fit in with the bitch pack, do you?”

Her eyes traveled to the dance floor where the other girls had gone. She shook her head. “The tall blonde is my roommate. She turned twenty-one today and made me come. I’m not real big on hanging with, what did you call them, the bitch pack? That’s funny, I’m stealing it,” she said with a smile, finding him funny and great looking.

What a fantastic combination! Now, if he’s great in bed that would be a trifecta!

“Steal it,” he said as his dark eyes twinkled with amusement.

She took a sip of her drink and peered at him over the ridge of the glass. He was much too good to be true. He held himself like a man, not some boy who was trying to get into her pants. This man had the look of a man who got his way.

“Would you allow me to take you home? I have a car outside. I’d love it if you’d let me give you a ride.”

“Sorry, I’m not that kind of girl,” she said then took another sip of her drink as he was getting under her skin and making her itch for him in a way she’d never done before. “You’re a complete stranger after all.”

“Smart girl,” he said with a smile.

Am I? Or am I just being a big chicken?

“Thanks,” she looked him over and just knew he had to be married. He was too good looking and well put together to be single. “You’re most likely married anyway. Have a house full of kids that you’re here to get away from.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked, looking a little confused.

She bit her bottom lip as she looked him over.

“Can’t say really. You just look like you’re used to getting your way. Not many single guys get their way very often.”

He held his left hand up.

“You will not find a tan line around this finger. I’ve never been married.”

She looked up at him. Her mind was spinning a bit with the knowledge he wasn’t married and that made him fair game. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” He moved a little closer to her. Her body warmed with the closeness and she wondered what it would feel like to be wrapped in his strong arms.

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-five.” He moved a step closer and touched her waist, making her legs shake. “Old enough to teach you things you never thought about knowing before.”

Her insides melted. He was actually coming on to her. There was an actual chance she could feel this powerful man’s arms wrapped around her. His naked body touching hers.

Steele blushed with the naughty thoughts that were running through her head.

“I bet you could.”

“You should let me take you home.” He leaned into her, his hand moving from her waist to the small of her back, gently moving her body to his, their hips touching.

Steele had to fight the urge to give into the man. His face was so handsome and his body so rock hard. There had to be some downfall with the perfect man.

“I’m really not that kind of girl. There are plenty of easy ho’s around here though.” She peered up at him as she tried to take a step back, but his hand on the small of her back stopped her retreat. She found she loved the way he made her do as he wanted.

“I don’t do easy,” he said, and she found his mouth moving closer to hers. He wanted to kiss her. Right there in front of the whole bar, he wanted to take her mouth, and she wanted to let him so damn bad that she could already taste his lips.

He was so close to her she could feel the softness of his whisker covered face. Steele licked her lips.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

She was still the same young woman inside no matter how crazy her brain was thinking. Steele did not make out with strangers and she sure as hell didn’t do it in a bar with people watching.

He moved back a little. “Smart girl.”

“I am and you, sir, I dare say seem a little bit dangerous,” she took in a deep breath and backed another step away from him. Her body was yearning for his, a thing she knew wasn’t smart to give into.

He shook his head.

“A little dangerous, no.”

She surprised herself as she leaned back in close to him and whispered, “I have to tell you that you are the first man who actually made me think about doing what you asked though.”

He smiled, making her happy to see he really did want her. It was still running around her mind that he had to be fucking with her. He was gorgeous and out of her league in every possible way after all.

The other young women were coming back to the table she could tell by the way his eyes darted to the dance floor and a frown covered his handsome face. He kissed his fingertips and placed them on her lips.

“See you around then.” He turned and left, leaving a chill covering her body as he did.

Almost instantly she regretted not going with him. Gwen had her by the shoulders and steered her out to the dance floor not taking no for an answer any longer. Steele watched as the gorgeous man paid at the bar then left.

Her chance had gone, and she felt like an idiot for not taking him up on his offer. As she danced to the crappy music, she felt disappointment in herself. She’d wanted a man’s man, and he sure seemed like one.

His body and attitude commanded respect and attention. She was sure he could make her do just about anything he wanted her to. What did she want with a man like that anyway?

She wasn’t sure what she wanted with a man like that, but she did want him. And she’d missed out on that chance.

I’m an idiot!

The night went on and after an hour, she managed to sneak away from the bitch pack. She smiled and thought to herself that the man from earlier was clever and it was hard to find clever.

Out the door she went, the cool air making the skin on her bare arms goose-pimple. She ran her hands up and down them and silently cursed herself for wearing a sleeveless shirt after dark.

Down the sidewalk she went, making her way back the mile-long walk to her apartment. Her eyes darted up as some damn guy focused his drunken gaze on her as he came towards her.

“Hey, baby, where you off too?” the drunk guy asked as he approached her.

Steele turned her head, ignoring the guy, but the drunk had the audacity to reach out and grab her arm, making her stop.

Oh no he didn’t!

She looked up to find his glassy ice-blue eyes glaring at her.

“Too good for me, or what? Not even a ‘fuck you’, can you be bothered with saying to me?”

Placing her hand in her purse to retrieve the pepper spray, she warned the fool, “Let me go.” She pulled the bottle out.

His words were slurred as he said, “Who do you think you are, bitch?” He yanked her arm hard, and that was all she could stand out of the asshole.

Steele pulled the pepper spray out of her purse in one swift motion and sprayed the drunk right in his drooping eyes.

He screamed and let her go. With the man out there, she had no choice but to go back to the bar and wait for him to leave the area so she could go home. She turned around and went right back even though it was the last place she wanted to be at that time.

Steele really wanted to go home and get into bed and think about the gorgeous man she let get away. What a fool she’d been, and it was highly doubtful she’d get a chance like that again.

She went back to the table and Gwen frowned at her.

“Where did you go, Steele?”

“I tried to go home, but a drunken asshole messed with me. I pepper sprayed him and now I have to wait for him to get lost before I can go home.” She sat back down, but Gwen took her hand and pulled her back out on the dance floor and made her dance some more.

The night was turning into exactly what she expected it would; a nightmare.

Three dances later Steele could take no more. Crazy drunk guy or not, she was leaving. The party had gone on too long for her and she headed out after letting Gwen know she was going and wishing her a happy birthday.

Just as she opened the door, she saw a wreck had happened right in front of the place and to her complete joy she saw the gorgeous man, sans his black suit jacket, standing at the back of a shiny black Escalade.

His back was to her, and she’d had just enough liquid courage to have her acting on her whim. She walked quietly up behind him, brushing her hand against his arm. “What happened?” she asked.

His eyes went wide as he turned back and saw her. “They wrecked. Um, hit each other, I mean, they smacked into one another. Fuck, you know what I mean, right?”

His stammering made her giggle. She was glad to see her presence had unnerved him. She smiled. “Nervous?”

“Me?” he asked in a high voice.

Her mind raced with the fact she made him nervous.

“Do I make you nervous?”

“Hell no!” he said and slipped his arm around her waist.

Steele felt complete with his arm securing her as if she belonged to him. His arm was strong. She could feel his bicep beneath the long sleeve shirt pressing against her back. She longed to actually see the muscled arm.

Another tall man in a black suit came up to them. “Hi, I’m Paul.”

Steele gave the man a nod and a smile. She took notice of the way the man who had his arm wrapped tightly around her looked at the other man. Paul walked away and got in the driver’s seat.

“As you can see, that’s my driver, Paul. So you won’t be completely alone with a stranger if you allow me to drive you to your home,” he told her as he moved her along with him.

Not entirely sure it was smart to actually go through with accepting the man’s ride, she said, “I don’t think so. It’s very nice of you, don’t get me wrong.”

“It’s really not safe for you to walk. Please, just get in. I swear we’ll take you straight home. If anything happened to you and I saw you were hurt or God forbid something worse, it would haunt me forever,” he told her as he opened the door and gently pushed against her.

The way he gently was forcing her to do what he wanted secretly thrilled her. Though she knew it was most likely the most stupid and dangerous decision she’d ever made, she said, “I’d hate it if I haunted you. I think that would mean bad karma for me.” Looking deep into his eyes, she searched for the truth. “Promise me something.”

“Anything,” he said. “I think I could promise you anything?” His finger trailed over her collar bone and he looked just as deep into her eyes. Her body tingled with his touch and she was hot and ready for the man in an instant.

Feeling very vulnerable in the stranger’s hold she found something in his dark eyes that told her she could trust him. “Promise you won’t hurt me.”

“Why would you say that?” he asked as he pulled his hand back and searched her eyes.

She felt compelled to tell him how she really was. “It’s just that I don’t go places with strangers. I don’t do stupid or dangerous things.”

He took a step back. “You should run, little girl.”

His choice of words had her knowing she was about to show him she was no little girl.

“Should I, really? A little while ago I tried to walk home, and a guy grabbed me. I had to empty my pepper spray on his ass. So I’m quite defenseless and a nice, strong lawyer seems a safe bet. A hell of a lot better than taking the chance the prick I sprayed may be waiting to get even with me.”

“You know I saw you do that. You seem quite capable of taking care of yourself in situations you feel threatened in.”

“I know a little self-defense. If you did something I didn’t want you to for instance, you could be sure I’d take your balls in a vice-like grip and make you beg me not to rip them from your body.”

His laugh came from deep in his chest and she loved it.

“You’re pretty sure of yourself. And what if I did something to you, you wanted me to? What then?”

“I’m a big girl, I can take care of things. So, are you going to give me a ride or should I catch a cab?” She crossed her arms over her chest and waited to see if the man was all talk and no action.

“I should definitely put you in a cab. To be honest, I’m a bit afraid of you,” he said with a smile.

“I’m a bit afraid of you too,” she smiled back. “But what’s the fun in always playing it safe?” She didn’t even recognize the woman who was saying the words that were coming out of her mouth. This was not her, but her body was overruling her brain.

“By all means, climb into my lair, little girl.”

He held her hand as she got into the Escalade. Her heart pounded in her chest as she couldn’t believe herself. She stopped just short of moving all the way to the edge, staying in the middle.

His arm draped over the back of the seat and she leaned back and took in a deep breath. “I love the smell of leather,” she said as she let the breath out.

“Good.”

“Good?” she asked as she turned to look at him. “That’s an odd thing to say.”

Paul turned and looked back at the man. “Where to, boss?”

He looked at her with a smile. “Your place or mine?”

“Take me to my house, scoundrel. 555 Bayview Drive.” She looked at Paul. “Please, Paul.”

“Yes, my lady,” he said with a laugh and the privacy window between the front seat and the rest of the large SUV went up, making Steele shiver as they were completely alone in the very back of the long SUV.

The man’s arm moved down off the back of the seat to touch her shoulders. He pulled her closer. “Cold?”

“No, just out of my comfort zone,” she answered and ran her hands over her bare arms.

“You know, it’s okay to get out of that boring old comfort zone every now and again.” His mouth touched her neck for just a moment then he pulled it back. The way her stomach tightened had her thinking the man was probably going to be able to make her orgasm.

She turned to face him and found her breathing had increased and came a bit heavier than normal. He was exciting the shit out of her without even really trying.

Slowly, he ran his fingertips over her lips as he gazed at them. She decided to let it all go and be the bad girl that she never was until that night. Steele parted her lips and pulled his finger into her mouth. Sucking it gently and running her tongue around it.

He watched her and took one of her hands, placing it on his growing cock. Her eyes went wide, and she pulled her mouth off his finger and looked at the lump he held her hand to.

Her eyes darted up to his as she put her fingers on the button of his slacks. Steele had never given a blow job, but for some reason she could think of little else other than getting the man’s cock into her mouth.

He gave her a nod, and she found herself giddy with excitement. She unbuttoned his slacks and pushed the black underwear down and a giant cock sprang out at her, making her gasp in awe of it.

Steele found that it was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever laid her eyes on. It surprised her how large it was, with a perfect tan color to it and not too veiny. She looked at him and silently asked if she could take the monster into her mouth.

He gave her another nod of approval and she took the thick cock in her hands, finding it felt like silk wrapped around a steel rod. Slowly, she placed her lips on top and licked the head. His hands ran through her hair and he moaned.

She ran her tongue along the underside of his dick as she moved her mouth up and down the long length of it a few times. Her hands holding it to cover where her mouth left. With no idea if she was even doing it right as it was her first time after all she found herself wanting to ask him if she was okay at it.

She stopped and looked at him.

“Why’d you stop, baby?” he moaned as he pulled at her hair.

“I wanted to know if I was doing it right. It’s my first time and if I’m doing it wrong and you’re up here laughing at me, it would make me very upset. So, am I doing it right? Is there anything I should be doing better? Do you think I should just stop even trying?”

“Seriously?” he asked as confusion riddled his handsome face.

She nodded, and he pulled her hair, making her face come to his. He took one deep, hard kiss then released her mouth. Just that one kiss was better than any she’d ever had. Her body tensed with need, but she was still worried she wasn’t good at giving him the oral sex she was attempting to please him with.

“So, should I continue?” she asked.

“You’re doing a fantastic job. Please, get back to it.” He let her go, and she resumed her position, placing her hands on his massive member and her mouth on the tip of his dick.

Steele took him in again with renewed passion as he’d told her it was fantastic and that was more than she’d thought she’d get for her first blow job. Faster she moved her mouth up and down him. His hands fisted in her hair, pulling it and making her ache for more.

She’s never had her hair pulled and found it very stimulating. He was aggressive as he pushed her head down with each stroke, making her take him all the way down her throat. She was hot with the knowledge she could even do that without choking on the massive organ.

The car began to slow down, and she felt them pulling over. Her heart pounded as she heard the man say, “Fuck! It’s over!”

She pulled her mouth off him as the car stopped and saw the police lights out the back window. “What happened? Did your driver run a red light or something?”

The guy was looking at her with such sadness in his dark eyes that she couldn’t understand it. His hand ran over her cheek and he pulled her up and kissed her.

The kiss was so deep and she felt like he was kissing her like he might not ever get to do it again. She pulled his pants back up and buttoned him all back up so if the cops did look in the back then they wouldn’t see his giant dick out.

He finally ended the kiss and looked into her eyes. “You give great head, baby. I wish I could’ve felt the ending, but I can’t control everything.”

She was really confused by his behavior. Steele got back on the seat and waited to see what was going to happen. After a minute they saw the cop walk up to the driver’s window and then he walked back to his car and the light went off as the driver pulled back onto the road and drove away.

The window rolled down and Paul said, “Seems I accidentally left my driver’s license with that police officer back at that accident scene.” He laughed and rolled the window back up.

Steele kind of giggled as the man next to her grabbed her by the shoulders and growled.

“Thank God. Now no more fucking around.”

The buttons on her shirt flew everywhere as he ripped it open. Her expression had to have been full of surprise as he did it and she found him ripping her bra off next.

Sitting in front of him with her large breasts exposed had her not daring to breathe. He’d turned in an instant. She was afraid but excited as well. He pulled her off the seat and down to the floor with him. Flipping her over, he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and yanked them back to her knees.

She gasped as he easily ripped her panties off and said, “Put your hands on the seat.”

Steele did as he said with no hesitation. She heard his zipper go down then felt him force his cock into her. She was as wet as she’d ever been with the rush of excitement, but he was huge and he spread places that had never been spread.

It burned, and she screamed with the sensation. He yanked her hair hard. “No noise!”

Somehow, she cut the scream off and he pulled nearly all the way out then thrust back into her. It burned like fire and she wanted to scream so bad, but she didn’t know what he’d do if she did. She moaned a little with the intense burn and he smacked her ass hard.

Now she knew what he’d do if she didn’t do as he said.

No noise!

He pounded her with his massive cock and eventually the burn turned into more pleasure than she’d ever known. She rocked back against him, loving how savage he was. The little grunts he made and the sound of his body slapping against hers filled her ears.

One of his hands ran around and pinched her nipple then pulled it hard. She wanted to moan and tried hard not to but one slipped out and he moved the other hand and smacked her ass hard twice.

Her body started shaking on the inside and she knew she was about to have the first orgasm that she’d ever had with a man. He stopped his assault and leaned over her.

His hard chest was against her back and it felt like pure Heaven to her. His words hit her ear hot as he said, “I can feel you about to come. You don’t come until I tell you to or you’ll feel the sting of my hand until tears run out of your pretty blue eyes.”

Steele had never been talked to that way and even though she knew she should tell him to fuck off, she found herself wanting him even worse. His hand twisted in her hair, pulling her head back.

“Tell me you understand me.”

“I understand you,” she said then he kissed her hard.

Before he pulled his mouth off hers, he bit her bottom lip hard, but not hard enough to break the skin. Her body was on fire as he pulled his body back and resumed plunging deep into her from behind. His hands on her hips, dragging her back to him with each hard stroke.

“Fuck, you’re tight as hell. When’s the last time you got fucked?” he asked her through gritted teeth.

Every thrust was knocking her breath out and she gasped out, “About a year.”

He laughed “Fuck me, that’s seems impossible.”

An intense feeling was filling her, but she knew without a doubt that if she let the orgasm go he’d spank the shit out of her. She didn’t know if she was up to that so she held on.

“Good girl,” he said as he continued to pound her from behind. “You hold it like I told you to. It’s going to be better than you ever imagined it could be.”

To further make things harder, he reached one hand around her and pinched her clit between his fingers. The tiny pearl had swollen with desire and his touch nearly sent her over the edge. Only the fear of his punishment stopped her.

Steele closed her eyes and thought of nothing as she held back the thing her body wanted to do the most. His fingers left her clit and she let out the breath she didn’t even realize she’d been holding in.

He moved his body down on hers, pressing his chest to her back and his strokes went slow and somehow even deeper. “You on birth control or do I pull out when I come?”

“I’m on birth control,” she said with a hard pant.

“You want me to come inside you?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said with a little moan.

She wanted to feel his heat fill her body more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.

His mouth fell hot on her neck and his teeth grazed her flesh as he sunk his cock into her with slow movements that she felt deep inside her. He pumped short hard strokes then bit her neck hard.

Finally, he released her neck and whispered, “Come.”

Steele was nearly shocked as her body did what he said the instant he said it. She felt him tense behind her and his dick throbbed as heat shot into her as the most intense orgasm crashed through her body.

She shook with the sensation and her mind went to another place. There was no way that she could hold the moan back, and it slipped out of her mouth. She heard his follow as he pulsed inside her.

She knew without a doubt that no one would ever be able to make her feel the way that this man did. He pulled out of her, leaving her feeling empty. She hated it and loved it all at the same time.

He pulled her jeans back up and picked her shirt up and helped her get it on as she tried to catch her breath. He handed her the bra which was torn up and the ripped panties and looked a little guilty about tearing them up.

He looked at her as she held the shirt closed. “I’ll have some new ones sent to you. What’s your apartment number?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s okay. Truth be told I’m most likely going to keep these to remember this by.” She laughed a little, but knew it was true.

He tapped the glass of the dark partition. “We can take her home now.”

Steele looked out the window and saw they were very near her apartment. The driver must’ve been circling the block. His boss must do this type of thing often.

Suddenly she felt pretty dirty and more than a little dumb. The car stopped, and she grabbed her purse off the floor and reached for the door handle.

His hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“I had a good time,” he said.

“Me, too,” she mumbled, not daring to look at him.

“When I talk to you, I want you to look at me,” he said with a commanding tone.

Her eyes moved up to meet his. “Okay.”

“Good girl,” his voice was soft. “I wish things were different, but they’re not so this is goodbye.”

The door opened as Paul held it for her.

“Bye,” she said and got out of the car not looking back.

She held her bra and panties in one hand and held her shirt closed with the other and felt bad because she should be feeling shame and disgrace at what she’d done.

Instead she felt elated and nearly overjoyed as her body felt like it had been cleansed. The car waited until she was inside then it drove away. She stopped and turned to watch it pull away once she was inside the lobby doors.

It was over. The brief moment of complete pleasure was over and she wouldn’t see that man again. She turned and walked to the elevator. She wondered what was happening in the man’s life that he would say he wished things were different.

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out and went to her apartment. She mumbled out loud, “Why did it have to be goodbye? What could possibly be the reason we can’t see each other anymore?”

She unlocked the door and went inside, finding Gwen passed out on the sofa, a bottle of wine clutched in her fist. Steele took the half empty wine bottle out of her hand and took it to the kitchen.

The trash can was half full, and she contemplated tossing the bra and panties into it. Maybe it would be best to forget about what had happened if it could never happen again.

The memory would only serve to torture her and make it where no other man could ever please her again. She shook her head and kept the panties and bra and went to her bedroom. Tossing them in the dirty clothes hamper, she decided she would keep them.

God only knew when she’d ever get laid again, she may as well have a memento of the one time she let a man treat her like his property. The one time she allowed a man to take her the way he wanted to. The one time she had allowed a man to boss her so much he made her control a function she didn’t even know she had the ability to.

She pulled her clothes off and got in the shower to wash away his smell which was all over her. His cologne, sweat, and semen. It was the best smell she’d ever smelled, and she thought she must be more of a freak than she ever let on.

Steele ran her hand between her thighs and over her wet inner thigh. Wet with the mixture of him and her. Starting the shower, she climbed in and poured body wash on a rag and ran it over her legs then her arms and over her breasts.

The nipple he’d pinched was sore, and she smiled as it hurt when she ran the rag over it. Her whole body was a little sore, her vagina would hurt like a mother fucker in the morning, she was positive she’d have a hard time walking.

The memory of his huge cock in her mouth made her lean back against the wall and her eyes closed.

Why does it only get to be once?

She leaned up and let the water run over her face. She knew it was stupid, but she felt like crying that there would be no more. He was a onetime thing, and that made her stomach ache with the knowledge.

He was a thing she’d never tell a soul about. A secret she would keep forever from everyone. How could she tell anyone that she liked the way he threated to spank her until she cried if she climaxed without him telling her she could?

Gwen would tell her she was crazy and probably make her go talk a counselor or something. Maybe she was a little crazy. She never thought in a million years that she’d do something like that, much less find it so damn fantastic.

Rinsing off, she got out of the shower and went to lie in her bed with no clothes on. She never did that, but she felt like she was going to take this being bad thing all the way at least for that one night.

She climbed under the pink blanket and ran her hands over her body, another thing she didn’t do. She closed her eyes and pictured him. The man she only knew as A.C. Not even his real name did she know and she’d never even told him hers. Perhaps because he never asked for it.

He knew she was a onetime thing all along. Offering her no more than a nasty little tryst in the back of his Escalade. He’d called it his lair and her lips quirked up into a half smile as she thought that was an apt name for his car.

How many women had he taken in that car? How many rounded asses had felt his hand’s sting? How much more could he do to a woman?

Maybe he could be found in one of those clubs she’d heard about. She racked her brain to try to recall what she’d heard they were called.

Would she venture out and find a club like that and see if he was there? He had to be into that type of thing. Whips and chains were not a thing she ever looked at with any excitement. But if that man was holding a whip, she didn’t think she’d mind it.

She thought she might like it a lot more than she was supposed to. Steele stopped touching herself and closed her eyes tight. That wasn’t her. That was not the person she was or even wanted to be.

A powerful lawyer was not a person who wanted to be strapped to a bed and taken the way some man wanted. A powerful lawyer was not a person who was told what to do by some man. No, that was not what her future was about.

The gorgeous man had no place in her future anyway, so why did she have an empty place inside her that hadn’t been there until he took her the way he did? She felt like she was his, even though she knew she wasn’t.

Why couldn’t things just be easy?

For Desire Part Three

STEELE

Slow strides Steele made as she walked to her first class. The previous night’s activities with the sexy stranger had her body aching in a way that she’d never dreamed would make her so happy. A smile was plastered across her face and no matter how much she thought she should be ashamed of what she’d done and allowed herself to be treated, she just couldn’t feel a thread of guilt about it.

Her mind continued to replay certain scenes from the back seat of that Escalade and every single time the gorgeous man’s face entered her memories her smile went a little bit wider. She’d never felt more alive and hoped the afterglow of the night would never go away.

Steele entered the small classroom where her professor, an extremely successful criminal lawyer, seemed to be waiting for her arrival. She was one of his favorite students as she had such passion for the law and his criminal law class was her favorite.

Tanner Goldstein was a tall man with classic good looks for a forty something man. Salt and pepper hair made him look smart and seasoned. He was smiling at her as she walked into his classroom.

“Good morning, Steele,” he said as he moved from behind his desk to run an arm around her narrow shoulders. “I have something I want to offer you. Stay after class so we can talk. You and Rowan are getting a rare opportunity to learn more than any class could ever teach you.”

He let her go as she went to her seat on the front row. Rowan sat at the desk next to hers and offered her a small smile. He most likely wasn’t super happy about having to share the opportunity with her.

Rowan was extremely competitive. Steele smiled back as the smile had yet to leave her face anyway. She leaned over a bit and whispered, “Did he tell you what this is about?”

He shook his head. “He said he’ll tell us both after class. I do have an idea though. A criminal lawyer named Arsen Sloan is being looked at for a triple homicide. Serial killer style. Three young woman all bound and strangled to death. And all three of them were his past girlfriends. If you can even really call them that.”

Steele’s smile faded as she thought about the idea all the women had been strangled. A death she’d thought brutal and had turned into a real phobia for her. “That’s awful. I don’t know if I want to be on the man’s side.”

Rowan rolled his dark green eyes at her and ran a hand through his blonde curls which were closely cropped to his head. “Then you clearly don’t have what it takes. You should just let me do this on my own, Gannon.”

She sat back and thought about what the young man had said. Maybe she didn’t have what it would take to defend people she knew were guilty. But it was a thing she’d dreamt of.

She took notes as Professor Goldstein talked about a case where all the evidence pointed to one of his defendants, but when it came down to it there was a reasonable doubt and that alone had the jury giving the man an acquittal.

Steele decided by the end of the class she would accept the offer her professor gave her, no matter what it was. This was her passion after all and she’d have to toughen up if she was to become the success she wanted.

Rowan and Steele remained seated as the class was dismissed and Tanner came to talk to them about his offer. He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he said, “Arsen Sloan is a man in a tough spot and he’s retained my services in case he’s charged with the murder of three women who he knew well. I’d like to offer you both an internship on this particular case. It could lead to a permanent internship with my office.”

Rowan spoke up quickly, “I’m in, Tanner.”

Steele’s eyes shot to Rowan. She wondered when it got to be okay to call the man by his first name. She looked back at her professor.

“Count me in as well, Professor Goldstein.”

He smiled and said, “Call me Tanner, Steele. I want you to feel just like a real part of the legal team I’ll be putting together if Arsen is charged. We all are pretty informal with each other and I don’t want you two made to feel you’re anything but part of the whole team.”

She nodded.

“Thank you, Tanner. It’ll be quite a privilege to get this opportunity to work with you. So, Rowan told me a bit about what he’s accused of. Do you think he did it?”

“I don’t ever think like that. I just need to know the facts, every last sordid detail and there will be sordid details. The relationships Arsen had with the deceased women were violent in many people’s eyes. Have you heard of the term BDSM?”

Steele nearly passed out. That’s a term she’d been thinking of last night. Though she never could come up with the term exactly. She nodded, and a chill ran through her. “Whips and chains, right?”

“Among other things. Anyway, I want you two to accompany me to my first meeting with Arsen this afternoon. We’ll take my car over to his office, so meet me here at four-thirty and we’ll be on our way to meet the man.” He gave Steele a wink. “And Steele, try really hard not to be repulsed by his demeanor. He’s what you would call an alpha male. He may come off chauvinistic. You’ll come up against that a lot in this line of work and it is best you learn how to deal with that sooner rather than later.”

Steele nodded and gathered her things to go to her next class.

“I’ll be okay. See you this afternoon.”

Rowan walked alongside her as they left the room.

“Think you can handle the BDSM thing, Gannon?”

Inwardly she cringed as she’d thought of little else last night.

“I’ll be able to handle it. I’m no baby, Rowan.”

“No, but you aren’t exactly well experienced in sex.” He grinned at her as they walked down the long hallway.

“How the hell would you know?” she said as she blushed.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I just know. So, don’t you think the sordid details might make you sick? You really should consider dropping this case. Maybe the next one won’t be so bad. More your speed, you know.”

She found her fist balling at her side as she wanted to knock the crap out of the annoying man.

“I’m not dropping this opportunity, Rowan.” She sped up and walked away from him.

“See you at four-thirty, partner,” he called out after her.

The only reason she saw not to take the opportunity was the fact she’d have to spend so much time with Rowan and his way of trying to get her to quit just so he could gain the permanent internship with Tanner’s office. But she wasn’t about to hand the position over to him.

Steele sat between the men as they rode into downtown in Tanner’s town car. His driver let them know they were there and parked in front of the large building Arsen’s law office was in.

Steele’s heart was jerking in her chest and her stomach was tight as she went inside with Tanner and Rowan. The building was magnificent, and she looked around, hoping that one day she’d have her own suite of offices in a building like that one.

The elevators were in several banks in the huge lobby and Tanner took them towards one set of gold elevator doors. Etched in them at the top were the words, ‘The Law Offices of Arsen Sloan; Criminal Lawyer.’

“He’s loaded, huh?” she asked as they got on the elevator that went straight to the top of the building to the entire upper floor.

“A billionaire to be exact,” Tanner told her.

“How old is he?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

“Thirty-five,” Tanner answered. “Now, I don’t want you to think I agree with any of the things he does, but please don’t speak, either of you, unless he directly asks you a question. Just sit back and take notes.”

Rowan and Steele gave him a nod and the elevator doors opened. Steele’s jaw dropped as she saw a monster chandelier hanging in the reception area. A giant salt-water fish tank was the other centerpiece of the large and richly furnished room.

A tall blonde woman sat at a Cherry wood desk and smiled at them as they came in. Rowan’s shoulder brushed hers as he said, “Close your mouth, Gannon.”

Steele slammed her lips together and knew she had to be turning all kinds of shades of red. She was overwhelmed with the office and she’d yet to even see but the very front. She made a mental note to make sure her lips stayed closed, so she didn’t look like an idiot in front of the powerful man they were about to meet.

The receptionist who she noticed was a complete knockout led them to a large office with four overstuffed leather chairs that sat in front of a massive oak desk. It was meticulously cleaned and only one small stack of papers sat on it.

The man who they’d come to see was nowhere around. She took a seat on one side of Tanner and Rowan took the other as she tried hard not to drop her jaw again at the different crazily expensive items he had on a bookcase behind his desk.

Her mouth had gone dry, and she pulled out her notepad and a pen, getting ready to take down every word that was said at the meeting. She was determined to get the internship and one day an office just like this one.

“Okay guys, remember the rules. This man is professional to the hilt. Maintain that, or he’ll tell me I have to let you off the case. He puts up with nothing, and I do mean nothing.”

Steele’s mind went to the fact the man was into BDSM and said, “I suppose that would be how a man who likes the kinky stuff that he does would act.”

Tanner leveled his eyes on her.

“That’s right, so watch what you say. I can’t be sure he won’t threaten to spank the shit out of you if you talk without being spoken to and for God’s sakes, do not look him in the eye. So many rules with this man, but follow what I tell you or he does or you’ll get dropped and I’d hate for you to miss out on this.”

Steele nodded and the door to the office opened. Not sure if she was supposed to look, she just looked at her lap as Tanner got up and shook hands with the man who’d walked in.

“Hello, Arsen. I hope your day has been going well.”

“Not as well as I’d like it to,” Arsen said and Steele’s ears prickled with heat.

His voice was deep and sounded like the man from last night. She continued to look at the notepad in her lap and shook her head slightly, knowing that she just wanted to hear the guy’s velvety voice again that was all it was.

That had to be it!