She narrowed her eyes at him. “For what?”
“Shooting me the bird? Does that ring a bell?”
“You were being an ass.”
The corners of his mouth slanted upward but he didn’t allow a full smile to curve his lips. “You aren’t helping your case.”
“You better not even think about punishing me for flipping you off when you deserved it, Venom.”
“Or what?” He reached up and flicked the strips of fabric binding her to the bed. “You’re my prisoner tonight.”
Her jaw dropped. “Venom—”
“Hush,” he whispered with a little smile. The kiss he planted on her lips left her reeling and panting for air. Showing his strength, he easily turned her onto her belly. There was enough length in the tether between her roped wrists and the headboard to allow the fabric to twist.
“What are you doing?” Her eyes widened as Venom pushed her up onto her knees.
“Punishing you, of course.” His hand unexpectedly smacked her bare bottom. Her gasp of outrage and shock was covered by the crack echoing in the room. A second later, the fingertips of his other hand discovered her clitoris. He expertly manipulated that bundle of nerves while spanking her twice more. “But I have a feeling you’re going to enjoy it.”
Chapter Twenty
A few nights later, Venom exited their playroom with his bag of selected equipment and tossed it onto the bed. He could hear Dizzy humming to herself in the bathroom as she finished getting dressed. Because he knew how she liked to dally when it came to her makeup and hair, he gently prodded her to hurry along. “Are you nearly ready to go?”
“Almost!”
He doubted that very much. Almost in his lexicon meant a minute or two maximum. To Dizzy, almost seemed to mean a quarter of an hour. “I don’t want to be late.”
“We have forty-five minutes, Venom. The ship isn’t that big.”
“You know, for a woman who is about to be tied up and completely at the mercy of my whims, you sure are sassy tonight.”
Her soft snort and amused giggle traveled out of the bathroom. If he wasn’t so damn infatuated with her, he would use this as a teaching moment to instill some discipline. Considering the way her punishment had gone the other night, he knew that he simply didn’t have it in him to mold her into a more obedient, more typical Harcos wife. No, he liked her just the way she was.
When she appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, his brain threatened to explode. His cock started to fill and his heart raced. Dizzy had convinced him to allow Hallie to take her costume shopping for their first night at the club. He wondered if that was such a good idea now.
Swallowing hard, he asked, “Where did you get that shirt?”
“At the uniform shop,” she answered while slowly advancing toward him. “The costume shop didn’t have anything I liked so I decided to make something fun.” As if reading his mind, she quickly added, “I checked with the regulations before cutting up the shirt. I was assured there weren’t any rules against it.”
Venom eyed the naughty little outfit she had crafted. He had a feeling a pile of complaints were going to be stacking up on Vicious and Orion’s desks tonight. “There probably will be by morning.”
Spinning slowly, she asked, “What do you think?”
His lecherous gaze raked her sexy body. She had cut a land corps uniform shirt in half and altered the top to be formfitting. It tied in the front and she had done something to the sleeves to make them puffy and pleated. The flirty, feminine take on the top was definitely going to turn heads.
Dizzy had used the remainder of the fabric to make a skirt. The hem barely covered her sweet little ass. The garter belt and black thigh-highs he had chosen for her looked sinfully sexy. He was glad that he had indulged her request to wear panties tonight. Though he didn’t mind other men looking at his gorgeous bride, he didn’t want them getting a peek at the parts of her that belonged only to him.
“I think I should probably toss a weapon or two into my bag because I’m probably going to have to fight off every swinging dick in that place to get you out of there.”
Dizzy’s mischievous grin made his heart flutter. “Then I guess I did well.”
“Very well,” he said and reached for her. He only allowed a quick kiss because he knew how easily he was distracted by her sweet mouth. When he pulled back, he studied her hair. She had pulled it up into a high ponytail but that wasn’t going to work. “I’m going to braid this.”
“I can do that.”
He shook his head. “I would like to do it.”
“Okay.” She seemed a little nervous as she sat on the spot he indicated next to the bed. “Why does it need to be braided?”
“It doesn’t need to be braided but I would prefer to know that it’s totally out of the way when I’m working tonight.” He sank down onto the mattress and pulled her back between his knees. “Braided hair looks beautiful next to rope work. I’m fond of the aesthetic side of bondage too.”
“I could tell,” Dizzy murmured as he uncurled the elastic binding her hair and combed his fingers through it. “When you put the rope corset on me before the wedding, I noticed the way you made sure the diamonds were spaced so evenly. I figured some of that was about balancing the tautness of the rope but it looked too pretty to be totally practical.”
“Yes,” he agreed while gathering her hair between his fingers and starting the braid. The silky pale strands felt so incredibly soft in his hands. He enjoyed the light, feminine fragrance wafting from them. “One of these nights I’ll tie your hair into the restraints.”
“That sounds intriguing.” Judging by the prickly bumps of excitement raising along her shoulders and neck, Dizzy found the idea much more than simply intriguing.
When he finished braiding her hair, he helped her stand and kissed her cheek. He wrapped her bridal collar around her neck and made sure it was loose enough to cut down on any chafing. She stepped into her heels and adjusted her thigh-highs.
As she clung to his hand and followed him out of their quarters, she asked, “So, um, how much clothing do I get to keep on during the demonstration?”
Sensing her anxiety, Venom smoothed his hand down her back to cup her bottom and drag her against him. “I won’t allow anyone to see you naked. I like to remind you that your body belongs to me—but I would never force you to bare yourself to anyone.”
She relaxed in his arms. “Thank you.”
He brushed his lips across her temple and gave her backside a loving pat. “It’s about respect, Dizzy. You don’t have to thank me for that.”
Despite her insistence on accompanying him tonight, Venom could tell Dizzy was second-guessing herself as they entered the double doors of the club. She slowed her walk and gripped his hand between both of hers.
Low, thudding music greeted them when they stopped at the registration desk. The man behind the desk actually got up out of his seat to look Dizzy over. He shot Venom an envious smile. “Nice catch, Captain.”
Venom grunted and put his hand between Dizzy’s shoulders. He hitched his equipment bag higher on his shoulder and gently pushed her forward. She hesitated a few steps inside the club. There were couples and unmated officers lounging around the bar area.
She lifted her questioning gaze to his face. “I thought your people don’t dance. What’s with the music?”
“The music isn’t here for dancing.”
As if on cue, a shrill cry erupted from deeper into the club. It wasn’t the sound of a woman keening with pleasure but pain. Next to him, Dizzy swayed a bit and pressed tightly to his side. “Oh my god.”
Venom cupped her beautiful face and held her gaze. “Sugar, do you want to leave? We’ll go right now. I’ll cancel this class in a heartbeat and take you home.”
She swallowed nervously but shook her head. “I want to stay. But…I don’t want to see whatever the hell is making that woman scream like that.”
“Truthfully? I don’t want to see it either.” He caressed her face in a way that he hoped was reassuring. “I respect every couple’s right to indulge whatever kinks rev their engines but I’m not a fan of play that causes enough pain for a woman to let loose a cry like that. It doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Or Raze either, apparently,” Dizzy said thoughtfully.
He followed her gaze and spotted Raze storming across the club. He disappeared down the steps that led into the dungeon-like area where the whipping posts were hidden. Apparently those cries of pain weren’t the consensual kind.
“He doesn’t,” Venom confirmed, “but that’s not why he’s heading that way. Did you see the device lighting up on his arm?”
“That bright-red box?”
He nodded. “It’s a device that the monitors wear to keep everyone safe. Within the club, the universal safeword is red but most couples have a word they use whenever their play gets too intense. During check-in, the word is added to a database and tied to our chips. It allows the monitors to keep an eye on couples who are playing near them.”
Dizzy frowned up at him. “We don’t have one of those words.”