Defended Page 6

  Was he going to play with someone else after she left?

  Don't think about that. Not my business. Not yet.

  First she had a decision to make. And she couldn't really protest if he wanted to play with someone else when she hadn't even made a claim. Even though she kind of wanted to.

  Watching Melody walk away with her friends, Kawan felt deflated.

  Letting her go tonight was the right thing to do. Not pressuring her was the right thing to do. Leaving their next contact up to her was the right thing to do. But all of it screamed against his instincts, which said to stake a claim and convince her that being his baby girl was what she wanted. Submissives could be easily manipulated. It was what Krissy had claimed he’d done to her.

  His resolve firmed.

  That was exactly why he had to let Melody go tonight. He'd given her a taste, now she had to decide if she wanted the full meal and everything it entailed.

  It was still harder than he'd thought it would be to watch her walk out of the club.

  Once she disappeared through the door, he sighed and looked around for something to distract himself with. There were plenty of interesting scenes going on. He grinned when he saw that Alexander now had Sienna in the hot tub with him. Well, she was partially in the hot tub. She must have said or done something to get herself in trouble because she was bent over the side of it, facing away from the water, while Alexander spanked her wet bottom.

  Wet skin always hurt more than dry, so it was no surprise that she was shimmying and squealing as he reddened her bottom.

  He wondered if he'd have the opportunity to demonstrate the difference to Melody.

  "Excuse me, Kawan, isn't it?" A deep voice at his elbow interrupted his reverie and he barely managed to keep from jumping in surprise.

  He immediately recognized Jaxson Davidson, the owner of Black Light, although he was missing his two submissives and lovers. Kawan had met all three of them once before when he was just visiting with Alexander, several months ago.

  "Yes, hello again, Mr. Davidson," he said, opting for formality since they were only the barest of acquaintances and he was a client of the firm, as well as this being his club.

  The Dom held out his hand in greeting for Kawan to shake. "Just call me Jaxson, please. Now that you're a member, I'm sure we're going to be seeing a lot more of you, although hopefully we won't need your specific services."

  Kawan chuckled. Since Jaxson would only need his services if he were defending himself or the club against a lawsuit, he didn't take offense.

  "I'd much rather be here for pleasure rather than business," he said, letting his hand fall back from Jaxson's very firm shake. "Are your submissives here with you this evening?" He'd heard that Jaxson was very rarely seen without them, but the Dom shook his head.

  "They’re at home with our twins, but I needed to come in to take care of a few things. I was going to say hello earlier, but you were busy." Although his expression barely changed, his eyes glinted with appreciation. He'd obviously caught a little bit of Kawan's scene with Melody.

  "Thank you for waiting." Kawan's lips quirked with amusement, but he was sincere. Considering it was Melody's first time receiving a spanking, he could only imagine how she would have reacted if someone had approached them in the middle of it. Although, she hadn't minded being spanked in the club itself.

  Perhaps she had an exhibitionist streak.

  "Since I saw her leave and Alexander is currently, ah, occupied, I thought I'd introduce myself and see if you wanted an introduction to another submissive?" The offer was made without any judgment. Kawan was sure there were quite a few people who played without commitment, and technically he wasn't committed to Melody but... he already didn't feel like playing with anyone else.

  He'd never been very good at dating multiple people at once or 'playing the field'. Once he knew he was interested in someone and thought she might be interested in him as well, he waited to see what happened before seeking out anyone else.

  "No, thank you, but I wouldn't say no to a drink." Since he wasn't going to be scening again tonight, he could have one while he waited for Alexander and Sienna.

  Chuckling, Jaxson clapped him on the shoulder. "Well then, let me introduce you to Klara and she'll make sure to take care of you in a different way."

  That sounded a lot better than standing around feeling out of place because the woman he wanted to scene with had left.

  By the time they got to Elliott's car, Peggy was much more her normal self, although Melody kind of wished she wasn't. She wanted to just sit in the back seat and think. Unfortunately, Peggy wasn't really the 'sit quietly' type, especially when she had questions to ask.

  "So who was that guy? How do you know him?" Peggy was twisted around in her seat, staring back at Melody. The passing street lights made her look even more intimidating than usual.

  "Mr. Park," Melody said. She'd introduced him hadn't she? But Peggy just stared at her blankly. "My lawyer?"

  "Oh!" Comprehension dawned. "The hot Asian lawyer. I remember." She blinked. "So he's a Dom. Did you know he was going to be there?"

  That sounded almost accusatory, although Melody couldn't understand why.

  "Of course not! If I had, I wouldn't have tried to hide when he showed up." She felt herself blushing again at just the memory of it.

  "Oh yeah." Peggy snickered. "That was funny. What were you thinking?"

  "I wasn't really thinking." If she had been, she wouldn't have done something so ridiculous. Definitely not where Peggy could see. Her bestie was probably going to make fun of her for days about it, and she couldn't really blame her. She'd do the same. That was just how their friendship was. Although she was careful because sometimes Peggy could be sensitive. Melody let most stuff just roll off her back, so she knew she was in for some serious ribbing.

  "Did you have a good time?" Elliott asked, his tone almost gentle. She looked up to see him glancing in the rearview mirror with an assessing gaze.

  "Yes." And there went the blush again. Her cheeks were starting to feel sunburned.

  "What did you two do?"

  Peggy's brazen question made Melody glance at Elliott again. He was a nice guy and she was really grateful that he'd taken her to Black Light as a guest, but she didn't really know him. While she definitely wanted to break down the evening to Peggy eventually, she didn't really want to do it in front of him. But it would be kind of rude to come out and say that, right? Especially since she'd technically been his guest.

  To her relief, he also came to her rescue.

  "Maybe the two of you can talk about that in detail after I drop you off," Elliott said. His voice sounded a little deeper than it had a minute ago, a little bit more authoritative. Melody shivered.

  "But—" Peggy started to protest, but Elliott shot her a stern look.

  To Melody's shock—and gratitude—Peggy subsided, slumping into her seat rather than twisting back around to face her.

  Sighing, Melody let her head fall back against the headrest as Elliott turned the music up, effectively ending any further attempts at conversation. So far, he was her favorite of Peggy's boyfriends. Definitely not one she could just run roughshod over the way she did sometimes.

  Kawan wasn't the type to be pushed around either. Melody smiled as she stared out into the darkness.

  Daddy Kawan.

  Yeah. That had a really nice ring to it.

  Chapter 7

  By the time they got back to the apartment, Peggy was practically bursting at the seams with impatience. Melody took the opportunity to slip away to her room while Peggy and Elliott were saying goodbye at the door, hoping that maybe she'd be able to hide out in her own room and Peggy would take the hint, but... no such luck.

  Five minutes later, Peggy knocked on her door and came right in without waiting for Melody to answer.

  "Tell me everything!" The redhead squealed, practically launching herself onto Melody's bed, bouncing with excitement. "Did he spank you? Did you
guys have sex? Was he bossy? Was it good?"

  "Slow down," Melody protested, laughing. Even though part of her was craving some quiet time to think and reflect, Peggy's excited energy was contagious. Besides, she needed Peggy's help to loosen the corset. So far she was doing a crap job of it on her own, and she really didn't want to have to sleep in it. "Help me with my corset, and I'll tell you everything."

  Peggy immediately bounced up off the bed and came over to begin loosening the strings. Oh man. If taking off a bra felt good, taking off a corset was almost orgasmic. She felt her entire body sag, relaxing, and she sucked in the biggest lungful of sweet, sweet air. That was almost as good as ‘I’m not going to jail’ air.

  Something poked the back of her shoulder.

  "Hey, woman, you're killing me! Dish!" Peggy demanded, poking her again before returning to the corset strings and finishing loosening them. Melody pressed her hands over her stomach as the corset drooped, keeping it from falling down completely.

  "Okay, well he remembered me, obviously," Melody said, blushing again, although this time it was from pleasure rather than embarrassment. She stepped away, heading over to her dresser so she could get her pajamas. Peggy pranced back over to Melody's bed, bouncing with palpable excitement as she listened. "And we started watching one of the scenes, and he asked me what I knew about, you know, BDSM and stuff."

  "Did you tell him about your book addiction?" Peggy teased.

  "Yes." Melody replaced the corset with a soft t-shirt, sighing with happiness as the material brushed against her sensitive skin. She felt all tingly where the corset had been. Not surprising since it had left all sorts of red marks on her from where her body had been scrunched together.

  "And then what?"

  "Then... I kind of lied about something so that he would spank me." She grinned, grabbing a pair of yoga pants. She still couldn't believe she'd had the courage to do that.

  "What did you lie about?"

  "Reading Daddy Dom books," Melody admitted. She knew Peggy thought those books were stupid.

  "Ugh, good for him, you should be spanked for reading those."

  Yup, that was about the reaction she'd anticipated, but she found herself bristling anyway. It hadn't bothered her before when Peggy had made her opinion on those books clear, but now it did. Maybe because now it felt like a critique of her and Kawan, rather than just Peggy not liking the books... it was hard not to take the judgment a little more personally.

  "He didn't spank me for reading them." She jerked her shirt down and pulled the pants on.

  Behind her, Peggy snorted. "It looks like he barely spanked you at all. Did you get off at least?"

  "Oh, yes." Melody moved over to her dresser and pulled her pants down, twisting around so she could see her butt. It still felt a little sore, but it wasn't even pink.

  Well, that was kind of disappointing. She rubbed the ivory skin and frowned, making Peggy laugh. Hopping up from the bed, Peggy came over and got in almost the same position, mirroring Melody, before pulling up her skirt to show off her own ass. Unlike Melody, she wasn't even wearing a thong, she was completely pantiless. There were some long welts across both cheeks, dark pink lines crossing the pale expanse.

  Melody's eyes widened. "Holy shit!"

  "Elliott used a cane," Peggy said smugly, running her hand over the marks while watching herself in the mirror. "Want to touch?"

  "Uh, yes." She was utterly fascinated. Partly repelled, partly enthralled. The raised welts were a little warm to the touch, the flesh definitely swollen, and she couldn't suppress a little shudder.

  The idea of being caned made her want to run screaming, but Peggy seemed proud of the marks, and there was a little part of Melody that wished she had something similar to show off. Not that it was a competition, but she just wanted to know... could she handle it?

  "How much did it hurt?" she asked, straightening back up.

  "A hell of a lot more than a spanking," Peggy said with a final smirk at herself in the mirror before dropping her skirt. "I guess he went easy on you since it was your first time at the club. Are you going to see him again?"

  "Maybe... He said he wants to, but he also wants me to think about whether or not I really want to get involved with him."

  "Why wouldn't you want to? He's hot." Peggy fanned herself with her hand, rolling her eyes upwards for emphasis.

  Even though she knew Peggy's opinion on Daddy Dom books, Melody didn't have anyone else to talk to about this stuff, so she just decided to go for it. Especially since Peggy thought he was hot, maybe she'd be more open-minded.

  "Well, he's a Daddy Dom, and he wants me to think about what I want out of a BDSM relationship before I decide if I want to do anything more with him." She anxiously watched her friend's reaction, feeling a little churning in her stomach. Peggy stuck her tongue out, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

  "Ew, wait, he's actually a real live Daddy Dom? Or like a sugar daddy?" Her expression turned contemplative. "A sugar daddy might be okay. We could have fun with that."

  "I don't think he's a sugar daddy. He says he wants a baby girl." The nerves in her stomach were actually making her feel a little nauseous, even though she kept her tone normal. She hated it when she and Peggy disagreed, and she was already anticipating that they would about this.

  "Gross." Peggy patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll go back to the club and find a different Dom. One who's not into little girls. Ugh. Too bad. What a waste of a hottie."

  Without waiting for Melody to reply, Peggy was already breezing out of her door, obviously sure that she'd just planned out their next step. Melody pressed her lips together to keep from calling her bestie back into the room. It was really late. She didn't want to start an argument right now.

  Heck, she didn't want to argue at all. Fighting with Peggy sucked. It made her feel like she was walking on eggshells until she finally got around to apologizing just to cut the tension. Peggy was pretty forgiving, but it could be frustrating. Especially when Melody didn't feel like she was doing anything wrong.

  This was definitely one of those instances where she didn't think she was doing anything wrong, but she also knew it would start an argument if she tried to convince Peggy of that, and she just didn't have the energy for that right now.

  Sighing, Melody moved to the bed and flopped down onto it. She was so tired. It had been a long week. Tonight had been blissful but exhausting. And now she was a little disappointed that her spanking hadn't left her any marks to remember it by. She wasn't going to be forgetting it any time soon, but just a little bit of pink on her skin would have been nice to see.

  Because it really had hurt when Daddy Kawan had been spanking her.

  She flipped onto her back, pressing her bottom down into the bed. Her body tingled, but only from the memory. It wasn't even that sore anymore. The skin on her stomach and sides was more sore now, just from the corset being off. Staring up at the ceiling, she frowned.

  Even though she was tired, she didn't really feel like she could sleep. At Black Light, her brain had turned off for a while, but now it was back on and running non-stop.

  Worrying over Peggy and what she would think if Melody said she didn't want a Dom, she wanted Daddy Kawan.

  Worrying that maybe Peggy was right and that wanting a Daddy was gross. Sick.

  Worrying that maybe a Daddy Dom really was into little girls. But she was an adult. Not to mention a curvy woman. There was no mistaking her for a little girl. And Kawan was seriously hot. If he wanted someone younger, thinner, and more girlish, there were definitely submissives at Black Light who fit that bill. She'd seen them.

  Pushing herself up from her bed, Melody grabbed her phone and walked over to her desk and pulled open the middle drawer. The file she'd put all her court stuff into was right on top and she picked it up. Kawan's card fell out as she lifted it, like it knew she was looking for it.

  Picking up the card, Melody chewed on her lower lip, glancing at her phone again. It
was after midnight. But he'd still been at the club when she left... maybe he'd still be awake.

  Maybe he'd still be at the club and playing with someone else.

  Well, at the very least, she could text him.

  Walking into his front door, earlier than he'd thought he'd be returning home, Kawan hung his keys on the hook he'd installed just last week. He'd bought the house over a month ago, once he'd gotten the official offer letter from Lambert, Urbanski, and Reed. As soon as he'd closed on the house, two weeks ago, he'd gotten to work with personalizing it and slowly moving in his possessions.

  This was the first house he'd ever bought. A sign of permanence that he'd never been interested in before, but that he'd wanted when he moved. His mom had taken it as a sign that he was finally ready to meet a nice girl and settle down. Which... she wasn't entirely wrong.

  He couldn't help but wonder what she'd think of Melody. His father would definitely approve, but as her only son, his mother could be a bit judgmental about any woman he introduced her to. Which seemed contrary to her stated desire for more grandchildren, specifically from him, but the contradiction didn't seem to bother her. She’d loathed Krissy, although she’d been polite about it. At the time he’d thought it was just her usual snobbery toward any woman he brought home… after the breakup, he’d wondered if maybe he should have listened more closely to his mom.

  Although why he was already thinking of Melody in such terms, he didn't know. There wasn't any guarantee she'd want to play with him again, much less do something more. He hoped she would though. The club, which had had such appeal before, was no longer quite as interesting to him.

  It hadn't been a bad evening after Melody had left Black Light, although it hadn't been as nice as playing with her either. He'd enjoyed chatting with Jaxson for a bit until Alexander and Sienna had finished their scene. They'd wanted to head home—presumably to finish what they'd started at the club in a more intimate manner—and Kawan had been more than ready as well.