ONE: ISABELLE
What have I done?
The lights of New York blur outside the windows of Cam’s Maserati as he speeds away from The Underground, his secret club. He hasn’t said a word to me since I walked in and offered myself to him.
Offered to be his sub.
I feel a shiver just remembering how I waited on my knees for him, naked, my head bent and obedient. He had no idea that I followed him there tonight. I can’t believe I was so bold.
Stupid, a voice in my head corrects me, sneering. But I push it away. I’m still clinging to the hope that Cam will take me up on my request. That he’ll introduce me to the world he’s been hiding from me: a world of dark secrets and thrilling possibility.
The world that fills me with fear—and a hot desire.
I meant everything I said to him tonight.
“I want you to show me. What you do here. What you are. Teach me, Cam. How to please you, how to feel pleasure for myself.”
I sneak a look at him. His eyes are fixed to the road, but I can see the tension radiating from under his designer suit. His strong hands grip the steering wheel, his muscular body clenched and angry. It reminds me of the last time he drove me home from the club, the night that started everything. My adopted brother Brent had taken me there with a business friend of his. He’d planned for them to play—with me as their toy. It was only Cam busting into the room that rescued me from Brent’s selfish abuse, and opened my eyes to just how toxic and damaging our relationship had become.
For ten years of my life, Brent had been the center of the world to me. But now I see how he corrupted my childish adoration, manipulated me for his own pleasure and kicks. Since our father disinherited him, he depends on me for his luxury apartment and fancy cars. He thought I was so weak that he could push me around forever, but that night was the end for me.
I’m finally free.
And it’s all thanks to the man beside me in the car; the man ignoring me like I didn’t just offer him everything.
“Cam?” I can’t take the silence anymore. “Are you mad at me?”
“No.” Cam’s reply is short and harsh.
“What did I do wrong?”
Instead of answering, Cam wrenches the wheel, turning into the underground parking garage of his luxury apartment building. The car screeches to a stop in the far corner. Cam shuts off the engine, breathing heavily.
“Cam?” I reach over and touch his arm, but he flinches away.
“I won’t discuss this tonight.” He says.
“But—”
“Isabelle, no!”
When he turns back to me, his jaw is clenched, and warning flashes in his blue eyes. “Don’t push me, that’s an order.”
I catch my breath, feeling the thrill of his command. This is the Cam that scares and arouses me, the man who is totally in control of every situation.
My nipples tighten. I feel wet.
“Yes, Master,” I murmur, testing him.
“Don’t call me that!” Cam growls. He shoves the car door open and gets out. I quickly scramble to follow.
“Why not?” My voice echoes after him in the empty parking garage. He stops, his back turned to me. “It’s what you like, isn’t it?”
Cam slowly turns. His fists are clenched at his sides as his eyes rake over me. Everything about him screams power and precision, and it takes my breath away.
“This isn’t a game, Isabelle. You don’t know what you’re offering me.”
“Maybe I do.” I take a step towards him. “Maybe being your sub is the one thing that makes sense to me right now.”
Cam shakes his head. “You’re still confused about Brent—”
“No!” Now I’m the one to angrily cut him off. “This is about you. You’ve showed me a new side of myself. I never knew until I met you. Until I saw your playroom, and realized… I want this.”
Pleasure and power. Submission and control. They were just words to me until I discovered Cam’s secret life as a Dom. Now, it’s all I can think about.
“This is my choice,” I vow, taking another step toward him. I’m closer now, close enough to see the lust in his eyes, and how close he is to the edge. “This is what I want. I’ve spent my life pleasing other people, and now I want to please myself.”
“Do you even hear what you’re saying?” Cam tries to be dismissive. “You want to please yourself by becoming my sub?”
“Yes.” I stand my ground. “That’s what you told me about the scene, isn’t it? That I would find freedom in surrender. That submitting to you would show me a pleasure I’d never known before.”
“I wasn’t talking about you,” Cam scowls. “I meant other women. Women who have experience in this world. Who know the rules.”