I can’t believe you didn’t know. You should have known.
A vision flashed through his head. Soft, perfect skin, cold to the touch. How could anything so perfect be so cold?
He forced himself to look back at Ian. He wasn’t going there. He wasn’t ever going there again. Years were between him and the memory, but when he allowed it to, the remembrance came back as sharp and achingly bitter as if it were happening in the moment.
“You want to bring her baby into the D/s relationship? I have to say, uhm, I’m probably not going to allow that. Babies aren’t permitted in the club and when they try to sneak in, I have a long talk with their parents about their very bad behavior.”
Keith rolled his eyes. God, the woman who put up with this dude’s shit probably deserved a medal. “I was wondering how she was going to handle childcare. Club hours are late and her sister works here. She doesn’t have any other family.”
Somehow, he hadn’t thought Ashley would be irresponsible.
“So she should give up her sexuality because she bore a child? This seems to be a recurring theme of the day. It makes me want to have a vasectomy.”
It really wasn’t any of his business what went on with Ashley’s daughter. If she wanted to pawn the kid off so she could play at D/s, that was her problem. “Never mind.”
Taggart sighed. “You’re no fun. She works here three nights a week. She goes to school during the day. I think she’s getting some kind of degree in business. Ryan would pay for all of it, but Ashley insisted she needed to pay her way. This was their compromise. Ryan and Jill pay for her school. She lives in their guesthouse. She pays her car payment and all her household expenses. That’s why she works here. She can work here while Ryan’s mom watches the kid.”
It was a damn near perfect setup, the kind he liked. He could step in with an offer of his own. He could put her through school, take care of her, make her his submissive. Their relationship could be purely transactional. He could probably convince her. She was curious, and he’d been a Dominant for a very long time. He knew how to draw a pretty little sub in. She could be installed in his home by the end of the week, learning how to please her Master.
Except for the problem of the baby. He couldn’t ignore the baby. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of them.
Taggart was staring at him, a deep frown on his face. “If you have a problem working with a woman who has a child…god… This is where I’m supposed to say something about how I’ll find a more suitable submissive, but what I really want to do is punch you in the face because I find you offensive.”
Keith held on to his temper. “I don’t have a problem playing with her. I simply know I’m not ready to be involved with a woman who has a child. It’s a serious responsibility and one not to be taken lightly. If you find that offensive, then maybe this isn’t the right place for me.”
Maybe it had all been a mistake.
Taggart held a hand up. “I misunderstood. I find the idea that a woman has to give up her sexuality when she becomes a mother offensive. I don’t have a problem with you knowing you don’t want to be a dad. Here’s the great news. No one is asking you to. All you have to do is walk a potential sub through the world to see if she likes it. But you seem to prefer someone other than Ashley. I’ll ask Simon to do it. I would ask Jesse, but I can’t handle another wedding. They make me vomit.”
Simon Weston. He’d met the man when he toured Sanctum the first time. Weston was a big Brit. He’d been dressed in leathers, but it didn’t take much imagination to see him in a perfectly pressed suit. Weston was younger than him. He was smooth and cultured. Weston was probably perfect for Ashley.
The idea of Weston touching her silky skin, introducing her to the pleasures of D/s, made him want to rip the fucker’s perfect male-model head off his body and kick it to the street.
“I’ll do it.” He signed his name to the contract before his brain could take over. His dick nearly sang a hallelujah chorus.
But just signing the contract didn’t mean they would have sex. There were plenty of Doms who played with subs without spreading them wide and dipping their cocks into that sweet, soft pussy. Plenty of Doms would just flog a sub without ever forcing them to their knees and pressing their cocks to pretty pink lips.
Yeah, he didn’t have to have sex with her, but he was damn straight going to try.
He stood up and shook Taggart’s hand.
“Welcome to Sanctum,” Taggart said. “And when you walk out, if you happen to see a stunningly gorgeous strawberry blonde about five eleven—she’ll have an anxious look on her face—well, if you see her, do a guy a solid. Lie.”
Keith turned, eager to leave the weird world of Ian Taggart. Two days. He would start Ashley’s training in two days and after the six weeks was done, he would have gotten her out of his system one way or another. He’d either screw her until the need passed, discover she wasn’t the sweet sub he thought she was, or he would realize that he needed to let her go.
One way or another, he’d be free.
He’d barely shut the door behind him when the blonde Taggart had mentioned showed up.
“Was he an asshole? He promised me he wouldn’t be an asshole,” the blonde said, a worried look on her face.
“He was a complete dick.” Keith smiled on the inside as her face froze in a mask of feminine outrage.
“Ian!”
Keith chuckled as he walked away, feeling more excited about the future than he’d felt in forever.
Chapter Two
Ashley touched the small silver necklace that she’d just clasped around her neck. It was a training collar. It marked her as belonging to Master Keith for the duration of their time together. She’d found it on the top of the pile of fet wear that had been placed in her assigned locker. She was to wear it while she was in Sanctum.
She was the slightest bit disappointed that he hadn’t placed it on her himself, but then this wasn’t some grand romance. She needed to remember that.
“You look good, hon.”
Ashley started at the words, turning around like someone was about to kill her.
A gorgeous woman with black hair and brilliant blue eyes stifled a laugh. “I take that back. You look like a deer caught in the headlights. Did you piss off your Dom? Are you about to get your ass smacked?”