Auctioned to the Protective Dom [The Spectrum Auctions 4] (Siren Classic) Read online

  “No, girl, keep it, until you get dressed. Then come and find me at the bar.” With that he turned his back on her, and walked across to the long bar that took up one side of the room, and Rissa bit her lips to stop herself from calling him back. There was something about the way his shoulders tensed that tore a hole in her gut. She’d done this to him, and for what?

  “You heard your Master, girl. Go get yourself dressed, unless there is something you want to tell me?” Slade’s deep voice shook her out of her befuddled thoughts and she shook her head.

  “No, Sir, nothing. I’ll just go.”

  Before anyone could stop her, she took off in the direction of the locker rooms, more confused than ever. Why had Jonas not simply handed her over to Scarlett? She’d given him the perfect opening, after all. Maybe that meant she hadn’t blown it with him completely, after all.

  * * * *

  “Okay, spill, what really happened? And if you intend on driving her home, you better not have that.” Slade’s voice stopped Jonas mid shot to his lips, and he slammed the glass back on the counter with a curse.

  “Nothing fucking happened.”

  Jonas ran a hand through his hair, and scowled at the older man, when he raised an eyebrow, seemingly waiting for Jonas to extrapolate.

  “She looked pretty freaked out on that stage, so—”

  Jonas’s growl interrupted Slade, and he whistled through his teeth.

  “Well, well, well, looks like Pedro is right. You do have it bad, my friend.”

  Jonas swallowed the curse bubbling on his tongue, and wished like fuck he could refute that notion, but with his dick still rock hard in his pants, he knew Slade had him there.

  “Fat lot of fucking good it’ll do me. I finally get her on her own in a play room, and she cries red on me.”

  Slade frowned and Jonas nodded grimly.

  “You were in the littlies room, right?”

  At Jonas’s short laugh in response the groove between Slade’s eyes deepened.

  “What the fuck did you do to her in there to make her safeword?” he asked and Jonas shrugged his shoulders, and stared longingly at the shot glass. The sharp burn and eventual oblivion would be welcome right now, for sure, but Slade was right. He couldn’t drive her home, if he had another one, and he sure as fuck would make sure he got her home okay. Maybe then he would get some answers to the questions that were burning a hole in his guts.

  “I’m fucked if I know, man. One minute I’m talking to the teddy in an effort to make her relax… stop smirking, Slade.” Jonas punched the other guy in the shoulder, and to his credit, Slade did try and hold in his amusement for all of one second, before he burst into laughter.

  “I’m sorry, but you were doing what?” he asked “Jeez, I’m glad petal isn’t into all of that.”

  Jonas narrowed his eyes and smiled.

  “Ah, she might not be, but I give you two minutes of fatherhood will be all it takes, before you talk in a silly voice, and having conversations with plush toys will be the new normal for you.”

  Slade’s amusement dissipated and he grew thoughtful.

  “No doubt, but that’s different, as you well know, Jonas. You’ll have your work cut out for you with Rissa, I reckon, unless Scarlett got her all wrong, and she’s not a little after all.”

  Jonas shook his head, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “No, Scarlett is right. I’m sure she is, but for some reason she’s not finding it easy to let go. Scarlett should have never put her up on that damn stage.”

  Slade nodded in agreement.

  “Maybe not, but at least it got you close to her. And talk of the devil, here she comes. I’ll leave you to it, Jonas, and good luck.”

  Jonas waved a dismissive hand at Slade, his attention taken up by a visibly flustered Rissa approaching. Head down, and back in her usual jeans and t-shirt, she clutched his suit jacket to herself in much the same manner she’d clutched that damn teddy to herself earlier. The rush of protectiveness that filled his veins took him by surprise.

  He wanted her, had done for a long time, but the need to protect and take care of her was far greater right now. It pulsed through his body like a living entity. With it came the certainty that come what may, Rissa was his and his alone.

  Jonas schooled his features into a mask of indifference. By the time Rissa stopped in front of him, and handed him his suit jacket, he was reasonable sure that none of his thought processes would show to the nervous woman in front of him. Their fingertips touched when he took the jacket out of her trembling hands and Rissa gasped when he grasped her wrist, and pulled her closer.

  “Thank you, baby girl.” Her breathing hitched and her pulse sped up under the tips of his fingers. Oh yes, she might fight this attraction between them, but she felt it nonetheless. She also clearly liked it when he called her that.

  “There’s no need for you to…I mean…I’m not…” Her whispered words trailed off. She tried to pull out of his grasp, but when he urged her closer, and opened his legs to enable her to step between them, she willingly followed. Jonas threw his jacket over the empty stool to his left, and keeping a hold on her wrist put his free one on her nape. He pulled her closer still until he could rest his forehead on hers. The sweet, floral scent of the shampoo she used tickled his nose and he inhaled deeply.

  “I’m not what? I own you for twenty four hours, do I not?” A shudder went through Rissa’s slight frame, but she didn’t pull away away from him either.

  “I can’t hear you, girl?” Jonas firmed his voice on purpose, and Rissa pulled back and bit her lip. He gently extricated the plump flesh from between her teeth, and shook his head at her.

  “Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours, baby girl. Let me help you.”

  Chapter Two

  The soft words delivered in his deep voice soothed her renewed agitation and when Jonas nudged her chin up to make her look at him, she read nothing but genuine concern in his blue eyes.

  “It’s nothing, Sir. I’m not your concern. I’m a mess, and you really don’t want to bother with me.”

  Jonas’s hold on her chin grew painful, but it was the sudden ice in his blue gaze that hurt far more.

  “Let me be the judge of that.” He gentled his hold on her chin, when she tried to nod. Heat blossomed deep in her belly as he leant in, and nuzzled into her neck. His hot breath ghosted across the sensitive skin under her ear, and she barely swallowed her needy moan when he ran his tongue along her ear and bit down lightly on the lobe. “Relax, baby girl, and let me take care of you. I promise I can.”

  Those words, delivered as they were in his deep, accented voice, lit a flame of need and desire seep inside her soul. Oh, how she wanted to believe in that breathy promise, but she heard those words before. A shiver went through her at the immediate dark thoughts that invaded her brain, and she stiffened in his arms. Jonas’s deep sigh made her feel even more wretched inside, especially as he released her slowly.

  Her throat went dry when he shrugged back into his suit jacket, nodded at the submissive behind the bar, and then held his hand out for her to take.

  “Let’s take you home, baby girl.”

  Frozen in place, caught up in the doubts of her past, Rissa stared at his outstretched hand. She couldn’t help but feel that her entire life would change if she joined her hand to his. It was an utterly ridiculous and melodramatic notion —the rational side of her did realize that—this was Jonas for pity’s sake. One of the gentlest Doms the club had. He would never hurt her. Deep down, she knew that, had seen him in action often enough, but the scared stiff part of her, the part that had trusted and been hurt badly, couldn’t bring herself to move.

  Jonas stepped closer, so close that his scent and heat enveloped her, and she closed her eyes when his measured breaths raised the ends of her fringe. He’d been drinking. She could smell it on his breath as it mingled with hers. Not enough to worry her, but enough for her to notice. It made him seem more virile somehow
. She pulled his scent deep into her lungs, when he framed her face in his hands, and kissed her forehead. Such an innocent act, yet her skin tingled where his firm lips lingered for a second.

  “Trust me, little one. I just want to make sure you get home safely. I’ll worry over you otherwise, and you won’t want to rob a man of his beauty sleep now, would you?”

  The hint of humor in his voice meant she had to open her eyes. Jonas winked at her, and against her will her lips quirked.

  “That’s better. I thought you’d completely lost your sense of humor there for a while. Now tell Daddy where you live, and I’ll make sure you get there in one piece.”

  His hold on her tightened imperceptibly, when she couldn’t suppress her gasp at his words. She lost herself in the heated intensity of his darkening gaze instead, and murmured her address in a breathy whisper.

  “That’s my girl. Now that wasn’t so hard now was it?” Jonas kissed her again, on the tip of her nose this time.

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  * * * *

  Fuck, those two words delivered in her breathy voice made him so hard, Jonas was pretty sure he could pound concrete with his damn dick right now. He’d taken a risk giving himself that title, but the involuntary tremble that had gone through his girl had reassured him, he was on the right track this time. There was no doubt in his mind that Rissa needed a Daddy, and god help him, that Daddy would be him. He might have just condemned himself to days, if not weeks of jerking off to his own hand, judging by how skittish she was, but he would give her what she needed, cum what may.

  If that was just cuddles, gentle guidance, and his protection for now then that’s what she would get. With that in mind, he willed his erection to go down, or at least deflate enough for him to be able to walk in comfort. Casting his mind back to the terrified expression on Rissa’s face when he’d claimed her on stage did the trick. This time when he stepped away and held out his hand again, Rissa took it. Jonas clenched his teeth against the jolt of connection that shot though his system. She felt it too, if the way her eyes widened and her breathing sped up was any indication. With her digits trembling in his he pulled her along, all too aware of the curious glances thrown their way. Fortunately no one else approached them, because Jonas was in no mood to explain his actions. Pedro held the door open for him as he exited the club, and while his friend raised an eyebrow, he didn’t say anything other than to wish them adios.

  Jonas didn’t miss the way Rissa tensed and scooted closer to him, as they walked past the Spaniard. It confirmed what Jonas had always instinctively known. Pain was most definitively not his girl’s kink, which was fine by him. While Jonas could at a push dish out a certain amount of pain, if that’s what his sub needed, he much preferred to nurture and encourage the woman who’d trusted him with her submission. Not that Rissa trusted him yet. A smile kicked up his lips as he imagined her lithe body trussed up in his favorite Shibari rope, with her floating happily in subspace.

  Rissa’s pull on his hand once they were outside in the car park brought him out of that happy day dream. Turning around he frowned when he saw her worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, her eyes darting across the car park.

  “What is it, baby girl?” he asked, then slapped his hand to his forehead. “Forgive me, which one is your car? I can follow you, if you’d rather. One way or the other, I’ll make sure you get home safely.”

  The most delightful blush stole over his girl’s delicate features. Out here in the harsh light provided by the security lamps, she looked incredibly young and insecure. Again the very real need to wrap her up in cotton wool, to shoulder all of her worries, and to coax a smile from her lush lips, took his breath away. Rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand, he silently willed her to answer.

  “It’s not…that is…I don’t have a car,” she finally said. Heat rose in her cheeks and she dropped her gaze to his chest and kept it there.

  “You don’t drive?”

  Rissa shook her head, and if that was possible looked even more embarrassed. It made Jonas wonder what on earth was going on.

  “Girl, look at me and answer my questions.” He firmed his voice on purpose. Visibly startled Rissa looked up at him.

  “I do drive. I just haven’t got a car right now, that’s all. It’s no big deal.” Her gaze flitted all over the place and the pulse at the base of her neck jumped erratically. He should probably let this go, but instinct drove him on to probe deeper.

  “If you haven’t got car, then how do you get to the club?”

  Rissa shrugged her shoulders. There was a brief flare of defiance in her gaze as she glanced at him, before she fixed her eyes on a spot just above his shoulder.

  “Not that it’s any of your business.” She gasped when he yanked her toward him. Burying his hands in her hair, he tipped her head up, until she had no choice but to look at him.

  “I think you’ll find that this is very much my business, girl. I own you, for tonight, at least, and you will give me the courtesy of answering my questions, or so help me this Daddy will spank his baby’s insolent little behind. Are we clear?”

  Jonas held his breath as he waited for her answer. He was half expecting her to cry red again, but a shudder went through her frame instead, and he had to strain too hear her whispered reply.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean any disrespect. I take the bus, that’s all. It’s perfectly fine, I—”

  “The bus?”

  Rissa jumped at his shout, and taking a deep breath in, Jonas tempered his words.

  “The bus doesn’t run late at night, so what do you do then? Please don’t tell me you walk home.” Rissa shrugged her shoulders, firmed her lips, and pushed against him. Reluctantly he let her go, bile churning in his gut, when the truth dawned on him.

  “You do, don’t you?” Another one of those shrugs was his answer and Jonas wanted to punch something.

  “Do Slade and Scarlett know about this?”

  Rissa shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. Jonas slowly unfurled his clenched fists, and ran a far from steady hand through his hair.

  “I had a car when I started this job, so it never came up.”

  Jonas swore under his breath, especially as Rissa raised her chin, in an act of defiance that made his blood burn hotter in his veins.

  “Besides, it is none of their business, what I do outside of the club. It doesn’t interfere with my job here so—”

  She blanched when Jonas swore and advanced on her. Slade’s Land Rover stopped her retreat, and she swallowed hard when Jonas crowded her against the side of the vehicle. Grasping her under the shoulders, he lifted her up until she was eye level with him, and then used his body weight to hold her up against the car. This close to her he could feel every breath she took, the slight weight of her breasts pressing against his chest. Her nipples were hard little nubs, which only confirmed that she was far from immune to him. It meant his damn cock jerked against her belly and her eyes widened when it seemed to dawn on her what exactly was poking into her. Her mouth opened and shut, but nothing but a strangled groan escaped.

  Jonas drank in her unwilling arousal, and counting to ten in his head, forced himself to calm down a little. Really, though, the thought of his girl walking the streets of London at night, made him break out in a cold sweat.

  “It would be very much their business, if you were raped and murdered while walking home from the club.” She blinked in answer, and shook her head. “And before you say that is not going to happen, and you can defend yourself, might I remind you what almost happened to Mistress Scarlett.” He shook his head at her when Rissa looked set to argue. Jonas gave her a grim smile when she slammed her mouth shut, after studying his expression. “Yes, I know they were different circumstances, but if she couldn’t defend herself, what makes you think you could. Out there”—he gestured into the darkness surrounding them—“a woman, on her own, walking home? That is just asking for trouble. You know as well as I do, that Slade or Scar
lett would gladly spring for a taxi, if there was no regular around to give you a lift. All you have to do is ask, and from now on it will be me taking you home. If I’m not there, you will ask for help from whoever is on monitor duty. Do you hear me, girl, or so help me I will spank that ass of yours until it is red raw!”

  Rissa paled, but eventually she nodded, and Jonas stepped back enough to allow her to slide slowly down his front. The minute her feet touched the ground, she pushed against him, and Jonas let her go.

  “I mean it, girl. You’re my responsibility now, and I’ll be fucked if I sit around idly and allow you to place yourself in danger like that.”

  Not trusting himself to not make good on that threat right there and then, he stalked over to his car, wrenched the door open, and glared at her.

  “Get in.”

  When she complied he threw the car into gear, and drove off with far more speed than he would normally have used, but he had to get rid of this pent-up aggression somehow.

  Rissa gasped and held onto the dashboard as he sped through the mostly deserted streets. He had a rough idea where she lived and the closer they came to her destination the more his bad mood increased, especially when Rissa gave him directions to the two up, two down street of houses she apparently called home. It had taken no more than ten minutes to get here in the car, but it would take her considerably longer on foot. At her direction he pulled up at the curb and frowned at the overflowing bin. Rubbish rolled across the street like tumbleweed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose to hold onto his temper.

  She would run a mile if he lost it now, but the run-down house they pulled up outside did not fill him with confidence. Paint was peeling off the window frames, and the front door looked as though one swift kick would bring it down. The sound of a couple arguing carried out of the top floor window, when Jonas exited the car, and he frowned as something hit the window hard.