Defended Page 2

  While he wasn't a 24/7 Daddy Dom, he definitely wasn't just an in-the-bedroom Daddy Dom either. But with all the submissives available in the city, and hopefully no gossip following him from Richmond, surely he'd be able to find a good match for himself. He hoped.

  “We’ll find you someone,” Alexander said, looking more serious. “Black Light is your best bet to find what you’re looking for.”

  “I know.” He just couldn’t help but wish that Ms. Williams had been what he was looking for.

  “Now, enough about the pathetic state of your love life,” Alexander teased, leaning back in his chair. “We’ve got work to do.”

  Shooting him a glare, Kawan took another huge bite out of his donut.

  Chapter 2

  Freedom!

  The warm spring air felt especially good against her skin as Melody took a deep breath, not sure that she'd ever take being outside for granted ever again.

  "Oh my gawd, Mel!" Peggy, Melody's best friend and roommate squealed as she threw her arms around Melody. She'd been just coming up the courthouse stairs as Melody exited the building. "I'm so sorry I'm late, but you're here! You're out!"

  Red curls bounced and one of them got in Melody's mouth as she hugged Peggy back and spit it out. She'd been looking for that orange-red hair all morning. If she hadn't been so distracted by her hot lawyer, she probably would have been a lot more upset about Peggy not being there... although she wasn't exactly surprised either. 'Reliable' was not one of Peggy's virtues. She was flaky, self-centered, and impatient, but she could also be a really good friend.

  Case in point—even though they'd drifted apart after high school, when Peggy had found out that Melody needed a place to live while she was working toward her PhD, she'd immediately insisted that Melody move in with her. Rather than paying half the rent, which Melody wouldn't have been able to afford, Peggy took the bulk of the financial burden while Melody worked off her half by keeping the apartment clean and cooking their meals. It was a win-win since it meant Melody got to live in a nicer apartment in a much better neighborhood than she'd have otherwise been able to afford, and Peggy no longer had to clean or cook, both things she hated to do anyway.

  Sure, sometimes Melody wished she could just come home and relax instead of having to pick up after both herself and Peggy, but if she'd lived alone she would have had to do the same thing. And if she was really too tired to cook, which did happen because the long days in the lab could be exhausting, Peggy never minded ordering out. She had a cushy job working at her father's company, which gave her an enviable paycheck.

  She'd also been the one to pay Melody's bail, putting Melody even further in her debt.

  "So are you done?" Peggy asked, pulling away. Her green eyes scanned Melody up and down, her nose only wrinkling a little as she took in the outfit Melody was wearing. She considered herself a fashionista and she didn't always approve of Melody's clothing choices, but today Melody was going for 'responsible' looking, not stylish. The outfit might be boring, but it had served its purpose. "You're free to go?"

  "Free to go!" Melody confirmed, nodding, feeling relief flood through her all over again. Peggy squealed and hugged her tight once more, looking just as relieved as Melody felt.

  "Let's go get lunch to celebrate!" Peggy said, grabbing Melody by the hand.

  She resisted the tug, digging in her heels slightly to keep Peggy from pulling her off balance. "I can't. I'm already behind on all my work and everything because I had to be here today. And I need to check in with Katherine."

  Katherine Standish was her mentor and the only other person she'd dared call about her court appearance today. The rest of the research team knew she wasn’t coming in but they didn’t know why.

  As usual, when she said Katherine's name, Peggy made a face. The two of them had met, but had definitely not hit it off. Sometimes Peggy could be jealous of Melody's other friends, and Katherine had definitely become one, as far as a mentorship allowed. Between working on her dissertation and trying to keep up with the social demands Peggy made of her, she didn't really have time for many other friends. Just Katherine, since she was both a friend and mentor.

  Well, and the others on her team, but she didn't see really them outside of the lab. She didn’t even want to see some of them outside of work.

  "Ugh, fine, Miss Responsible," Peggy said, rolling her eyes, but she gave Melody's hand a squeeze to take the sting out of her derision. "We're going out this Saturday night to celebrate though. Elliott's taking me to Black Light again and this time you are coming."

  Just the name of the premier BDSM club made Melody's insides clench tight. Peggy had been talking about nothing else since she'd started dating Elliott a month ago. Before Peggy met Elliot, neither she or Melody had ever done anything but read about BDSM. Now Peggy had real life experience, and raved about it, but Melody still wasn't sure how she felt about making her own fantasies a reality.

  She pressed her lips together, thinking about how she was going to answer.

  "Uh uh." Peggy pointed her finger at Melody, giving her a look of warning. "You're going. You don't have to do anything, but you need to see how cool this place is. I was right about how awesome Runway is, right?"

  Runway was the regular club that operated above Black Light and was also where Peggy had met Elliott. They'd gone last month at Peggy's insistence to see DJ Elixxr, the hottest new DJ on the scene, and it had been a really great night. Unfortunately, between the drinking and the late hour they'd finally come home, Melody had been dragging for the entire week after. Something that Peggy didn't have to worry about. She'd just called out sick on Monday to finish her recovery, an option that Melody hadn't had.

  "You were," Melody conceded. Anxiety warred with excitement. Could she really go to a BDSM club? Part of her really wanted to, but the rest of her wasn't too sure it was a good idea.

  "You're going," Peggy said, in the bossy tone that indicated she was putting her foot down. The same tone that had made Melody agree to go to the party where she'd been arrested, to Runway last month, and to a ski weekend two months ago. When Peggy used that tone, Melody knew there was no arguing with her. Granted, only the party had turned out really badly.

  She groaned, but she couldn't deny that the little bubble of excitement in her stomach was already growing in anticipation. Besides, she should celebrate not having to go to jail, right? YOLO and all that. "Okay, fine. But I'm not going to do anything but watch."

  Squealing, Peggy jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "Yay! I knew you'd give in. You go to work; I'm going to go home and pick out your outfit for Saturday. We might have to go shopping."

  Now Melody really felt like groaning, but she hid it behind a smile. "Fine, do what you will. Does Elliott know how bossy you are?"

  Because she'd definitely gotten the impression that Elliott was a Dom. Not that she was an expert on spotting Doms. But she couldn't see him submitting to someone else; he had too much of an air of unthinking authority. A lot like her lawyer this morning, in fact.

  Peggy smirked. "Nope. He thinks I'm sweet and submissive. It's fun."

  Oh yeah, fun. Melody hoped Peggy wasn't getting her into anything she couldn't handle.

  Lunch at the Blue Duck Tavern with all three senior partners of his new firm was only slightly intimidating. Alexander had brought Sienna with him, with no objections from anyone, and Kawan had also spent time with Connor Lambert at Black Light his last visit, so Urbanski was the only partner he hadn't spent any social time with.

  He doubted he'd see Urbanski at the club any time soon. Alexander had told him that the older gentleman and his wife were strictly vanilla, and more amused than intrigued by the standing membership all three partners had to Black Light. They'd never visited the club.

  In respect of that, conversation didn't turn to Black Light until after Urbanski excused himself, needing to get back to the office to meet with a client.

  "You're coming to the club this weekend with us, right?" Alexan
der asked. He was playing with Sienna's long braid while she finished the duck fat French fries she was eating slowly, obviously savoring them.

  "That was my plan," Kawan said, grinning widely.

  “I won’t be there,” Connor said, leaning back in his chair, only sounding slightly regretful. “Ella and I are going to New York for the weekend.” Ella was his fiancée, a sweet and sassy spitfire whose masochistic streak matched Connor’s sadistic one perfectly. They’d known each other for years, but got close after being matched at Black Light. Although, now that Kawan thought about it, both couples had come out of the yearly Valentine’s Day roulette game the club held.

  Well, if he hadn’t found a match for himself by next Valentine’s Day, maybe he’d take a spin at the wheel and give himself over to the hands of fate.

  “I’m sure this won’t be Kawan’s only visit,” Alexander said, giving him a sidelong look. He knew all about the implosion of Kawan’s last relationship and what Kawan was hoping to find with this move. “Even though he has his own membership now and doesn’t need either of us to get him through the door.”

  "It is the best perk of moving here,” Kawan acknowledged mildly.

  Connor chuckled and elbowed Alexander in the side. "I told you that's why he agreed to come work for us."

  "It wasn't the only reason, but it definitely helped," Kawan said, winking at Sienna when she looked over at him. She giggled and Alexander mock-scowled at him.

  "Stop flirting with my fiancée," he admonished, although it was clear to anyone who knew him that he wasn't actually bothered by it. Although he and Kawan could be competitive with each other, they'd always kept their competitions to grades, moot court, and mock trials during school. Their relationships were hands off, other than meaningless flirting, something that Sienna had at first been startled by, but which she now often played into in order to tease her dom.

  "You're only engaged; she still has time to change her mind and come let Daddy Kawan spoil her." Kawan winked again and Sienna giggled harder, ducking her head when Alexander turned his gaze to her. "I promise to be a much nicer Daddy than Alexander is."

  "Don't listen to him," Alexander instructed her sternly, but his blue eyes were dancing with amusement. "His girlfriends think they're going to be pampered and spoiled, and the next thing they know they're in a diaper with a bottle in their mouth."

  The smile on Kawan’s face froze in place as he forced back the memory of Krissy’s accusations. That was exactly what he was looking for. But he wanted someone who would enjoy it. Who would thrive under those circumstances. Fortunately, Connor didn’t notice anything wrong.

  "Nothing wrong with that," Connor murmured, a little smile spreading on his lips, but they all knew that for Sienna, that kind of baby time would be more of a punishment than a pleasure. Not that Alexander couldn’t make it enjoyable if he wanted to, but ‘baby time’ wouldn’t be Sienna’s preference.

  "Shhhh, Sir," Sienna said, holding her finger to her lips as their server approached, her cheeks bright pink from the conversation. She gave the young man a brilliant smile as he cleared their plates and offered the dessert menu.

  Alexander really was lucky to have her.

  Watching them gave Kawan a familiar pang of envy. Visiting Black Light was definitely going to be a priority. Hopefully he'd be able to meet someone who wanted the same things he did. Someone who wouldn’t feel the need to deceive him.

  The wide, soft, doe-eyes of Melody Williams flashed through his mind again, and he pushed the image away. Their instant attraction aside, she wasn't what he was looking for, what he needed. He was sure by the time he got to the club this weekend, he'd have forgotten all about her.

  No changes.

  Sighing, Melody sat up and stretched, her back aching from all the time she'd spent bent over the microscope this afternoon. Comparing the new cultures to each patient’s bacterial profile was tedious but necessary work. Even a small change in their gut microbiome and blood sugar could be impactful to the research, if it were the right kind of change.

  As much as she wanted her PhD, she also wanted her research to mean something. To make a difference. Her mom struggled with both diabetes and depression, which was what had drawn Melody to this particular study.

  Not that her mom really understood how looking at her poop could affect her mental health, but the important thing was that Melody understood it.

  All my reading material has butt stuff.

  The thought made her smile.

  Glancing at the clock, she winced as she realized it was actually no longer afternoon, it was almost evening. Everyone else had already gone home and she was the only one left in the lab. She needed to get her butt in gear if she was going to make dinner for herself and Peggy and then get ready to go out to Black Light tonight. Thankfully, she was almost done—and had almost caught up on everything she'd fallen behind in this week.

  It had meant pulling some longer hours than normal, but it was worth it. For once, Melody didn't mind at all. Long hours were a hell of a lot better than being in jail.

  Not for the first time, her mind wandered to Mr. Park again. She had found her thoughts straying to him quite often over the past few days. Every time she had to put down and pick up her purse.

  I hope you've learned your lesson about leaving your belongings unattended.

  The memory of his stern look and deep voice had worked their way into her dreams more than once since her day in court. Dreams that had woken her up feeling achy and needy. The same way she felt after reading the naughty books she loved so much. Dreams that made her feel more excited than apprehensive about going to Black Light tonight.

  Because she was tired of dreaming. She wanted to do.

  And after this week, she definitely wanted to just escape for a little bit.

  Sighing internally, she cleaned up. She was just finishing wiping down her station when she felt a presence behind her.

  “Miss Williams, there you are.” The deep voice interrupting her was nothing like Mr. Park’s had been. No, this voice was low, oily, and made her feel uncomfortable the moment she heard it.

  Pasting a smile on her face, she turned to see Professor McCready behind her, and she nearly stumbled back because he was standing so close to her—invading her personal space, the way he always did. She thanked her lucky stars every night that he hadn’t been assigned to oversee her and that she had Katherine instead. McCready was the definition of skeazy, and she’d heard rumors about female students unfortunate enough to have him as a mentor.

  The university seemed to have caught on because this year he didn’t have any women in his sphere of influence… but he still had his job. Katherine had told Melody to let her know if he did anything to her, but so far he just made her uncomfortable. Standing too close, speaking too familiarly, but nothing that Melody felt like she could actually report.

  “Hello, Professor,” Melody said, holding her bag in front of her chest like a shield. She could feel her heart racing from being startled… and it didn’t slow when she saw who it was. Anxiety prickled through her.

  “You’re here late. Hope to run into anyone in particular?” The question was completely innocent, but his tone made it clear he was fishing. He winked at her, like he thought she was there for him.

  Again, nothing she could actually report, because it was just small talk, but she felt acutely uncomfortable and more than a little grossed out. Not that she let either emotion show on her face. Sometimes she thought he enjoyed making the women in the department uncomfortable.

  “Nope, just lost track of time. I’m actually running late.” She gave him an insincere smile. “If you’ll excuse me.” Gingerly, she stepped around him. He didn’t move to stop her, but he didn’t move out of her way either, and she felt her skin crawl as she hurried away.

  “Until next time, Miss Williams,” he called after her.

  Melody pretended she didn’t hear him. Yup, she definitely needed to get out and away tonight. Hopefu
lly she wouldn’t hate whatever outfit Peggy had finally picked out for her.

  Chapter 3

  Tugging on the top of the corset Peggy had squashed her into, Melody tried not to feel totally out of place as she followed Elliott and Peggy into the psychic shop. She found Elliott intimidating, although she didn’t know why. He was being incredibly nice to her, but there was an aura of authority that seemed to hang around him. She didn’t understand how Peggy could be so relaxed with him. The psychic shop confused her enough that she managed to find the courage to speak up anyway.

  “Why are we in here? Runway’s around the corner.” She whispered the question, unsure of why she was doing so. Peggy had told her that Black Light was underneath Runway, so she’d expected to go there. This shop wasn’t even on the same street.

  Elliott looked over his shoulder at her and winked. “Welcome to the secret entrance to Black Light.”

  Turning her upper body around, Peggy reached back for Melody’s hand, her eyes sparkling with glee.

  “Isn’t this awesome? We’re going to have so much fun!”

  “Totally awesome,” Melody echoed. It really was, but she was becoming more and more nervous with every step she took. When she saw the big dark-haired man at the back of the store, she felt like covering her half-exposed boobs. The corset made her waist tiny and propped her breasts up like a platter, but it wasn't comfortable and she didn't feel particularly comfortable in it. But, as Peggy said, it made her look a lot skinnier than she was and really showed off her assets.

  She just wished it maybe didn't show them off quite so much.

  As if she could hear Melody’s thoughts, Peggy looked at her right as Melody was trying to pull up her corset again.