“I promise.” He kisses my hand before plucking it off his shoulder. “Now let’s go. We’ll both get ours soon enough.”

Easy for him to say. As he pulls on the leash and makes me trip behind him, I think about how I’m the one standing to lose everything tonight. Ian Mathers will merely go down as the man who bagged himself a Domme and turned her into a hungry slut for his cock.

Yes, I know what I’ve been talking about all along. Yes, I know I am a hungry slut for his cock. Give me a break, please. You damn well know what I mean.

The club is dark. It’s always dark on weekend nights when it’s all about partying and people fingering and blowing in corners. Nevertheless, I almost throw up stepping from the opening hallway into the main room of The Dark Hour, which is packed with people.

People who don’t notice me until we pass the third table.

I see their faces go from indifferent to shocked. One woman smacks a man on his chest to get his attention. Their nods in our direction say they know exactly who we are and what this means.

I can practically hear the thoughts in everyone’s heads. “Guess the papers were true. How about that?”

Keep in mind how we look. Ian is in front, wearing his usual suit sans tie and stopping a server to preemptively order us drinks. Meanwhile, that pretty leash in his hand is attached to Kathryn Alison’s throat.

Or should I say Katie?

Regardless, here I am, dressed in my black corset, boots, and blazer, with my hair up in Ian’s favorite hair-pulling style. When we left my apartment an hour ago, I felt confident. Empowered. I was dressed to kick ass and still would in my own, special way. Except now I’m seeing the looks people give me. Some of them are intrigued. Others are confused. Even more whisper something to someone else. These are people I’ve never talked to before, but they definitely know who I am and my reputation around here.

I see Fox, hanging out with a couple of other submissive guys. One of whom I’ve Topped before. Their eyebrows go up, one of them shaking his head.

Fuck him.

“So the rumors were true. I guess you can trust those scandal rags sometimes.”

Ian comes to a stop, and so does my heart.

Lana Andrews stands before us, pursing her lips before sipping more of whatever she’s drinking. Her demeanor screams she won a bet. Probably with her husband.

“Good evening, Lana. Always a pleasure.”

“Isn’t it? I should be saying that to you. Look at what you’ve got attached to that leash there.” Lana gestures to me with embellishment. Enough to catch the attention of some people around us. “I read the rumors and heard some people talking, but you know how all that is. I wasn’t going to believe it until I got it from the source myself. So… you managed to get your honey to do this for you?”

I interrupt my Dom – an act I’ll probably pay for later. “He didn’t get me to do anything. I’m doing this of my own free will.”

Lana tsks into her glass. “You need to train that one some more, Mathers. So rude.” Her wink sends shivers down my spine even though I’m wearing this jacket indoors. “See you kids.”

My bottom lip curls inward as she walks away. Ian touches my chin. “She doesn’t mean any harm, darling.”

Easy for him to say. He’s not getting the same amount of attention that I am.

“You’re doing fine.” Ian brings me into his arms, the leash dangling between us. “Ignore the fools.”

“Some of those fools are important outside of this club.”

His lips are tender against mine. “If they value their working relationship with your father, let alone my family, then they’ll keep it to themselves. Come on. I got us some drinks.”

We don’t join any friends, although I see some around. James and Gwen wave at us. Eva is upstairs with a submissive female friend. The Andrews, of course, start a game of Telephone with their gaggle of buddies sitting in the common area.

I’m sure the subject is me.

The drinks are brought to us the moment we sit down on a leather couch in the corner. It gives us a grand view of the club, while keeping an eye on who is looking at us in turn. I don’t see any of my Domme comrades yet. Nevertheless, I get a text from Eva saying I look great and that her friend doesn’t know if she wants to fuck me or be fucked by me.

I’ll take that as a compliment, I guess?

“Tell me how you’re feeling.” Ian is comfortable settling me on his lap and wrapping the leash around my shoulders. His hand rests on the small of my back. “Are you okay?”

Would it be strange to say that I wish he hadn’t asked me that? Naturally, I’m glad Ian has taken a vested interest in my well-being. Any Dom I serve would have to be like that, but in this moment I really ain’t feeling great and don’t need reminding.

“I’m fine,” I lie. My legs cross, allowing me to lean against the back of the couch and loom over my very fine boyfriend. In my mind, he’s the target of everyone’s lust, male and female. Even if they don’t want to fuck him, surely they want some of this sexual power emanating from him. Trust me, I know. When we were going over what we were going to do tonight, I got so hot and bothered that I interrupted our planning to fuck him on his dining table.

“There’s no sense in lying to me, Katie.” Ian rubs my back, a soothing motion, but not enough to settle my nerves. “Tonight is going to be… an experience. I need to know exactly how you’re feeling at any given moment. This means being open with me.”

I take a drink. “All right. I’m anxious.”

Strong fingers massage my neck. “What can I do to make you feel more at ease?”

There are a hundred eyes on me. No matter where I glance, someone is pointing to us, taking a drink while glaring over the rim of their glass, or to excitedly whisper. We are definitely going to be the subject of local gossip for some time to come. It’s not enough to gab about Kathryn and Ian being a serious couple. Throw in the kink aspect? I wouldn’t be surprised if the two sex and gender academics in the room try to write a psych paper about us.

So, what would make me comfortable? Forgetting that these assholes are here would probably help.

“Who is the dominant one here?” Ian says it, but he doesn’t reprimand me when I lean down and kiss him. In fact, his hands grip me so hard that I have to wonder how long he’s wanted to make out with me in front of kinky friends. Knowing him? Probably since the first time he dominated me. All his Dom friends will be impressed with this spectacle.

No, I can’t think about that.

I am a sub. I came here to be adored and to serve in turn. That means I should only have eyes and words for my Dom.

Fuck the others.

“When did you suddenly get frisky?” Ian grabs my ass the moment I push my hand between his spreading legs. He’s not hard, yet, but it doesn’t take me long to find his cock hiding in his trousers. Oh, who am I kidding? In this place, nobody’s cock stays hidden for long. I’ve seen two since I walked through the door ten minutes ago.

I break off our kiss and pick his drink off the nearby table. Without asking for permission, like the insolent sub I will always be, I swallow some of it before handing it to Ian. He finishes it off, puts the glass back down, and pulls me down onto the couch.

As a Domme, I have never done anything pegged in the world of exhibitionism. I’m usually not into that. I don’t need people watching me fuck to get off. On days when it doesn’t make me shudder, I feel completely indifferent about it. I guess it’s because I’m a woman from local social circles. Not one people got to know through my pussy being displayed in a club. Hey, I’ve got nothing against those girls, especially those who married their rich-ass Doms and now run half those circles. But it ain’t me.