Midnight Renegade by Anya Summers

2

When Brody finally lifted his mouth, Reegan clung to him. He was the one who backed away. It took her a moment to realize why. They were already at the parking garage level for members, and the door stood open, dinging quietly.

Brody snagged her hand and escorted her from the elevator without a word. Not that there were any needed after that kiss. They didn’t talk as they marched across the concrete, both in a hurry to get to his private dungeon as fast as possible. Talking would break the spell of lust that had settled over them. Because one of them would make a comment that would piss the other off, and that would be that. Her heels clicked against the pavement, and echoed as they approached his black truck.

Brody yanked the passenger door open with such force, the door creaked. Before Reegan could climb in, he lifted her up by her waist, and deposited her in the seat. She already knew the guy was strong, because he built buildings and houses and all manner of things. But she wasn’t prepared for how weak it made her knees to feel that strength up close and personal. At five-seven, she wasn’t a light weight by any means.

The man wasted no time. Once he was certain she was in her seat, he shut her door, rounded the hood of his truck, and climbed into the driver’s seat. The engine roared to life, echoing in the garage.

Reegan shivered at the influx of air-conditioning in the truck cab.

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

“I didn’t bring it. I took a ride service.”

“I’ll get you home afterward.”

“Works for me.” She kept her voice even, unwilling to let him see her nerves. Once they did this with each other, there was no turning back. No way to blot out the experience, whether it ended up being one of the biggest mistakes of her life or not.

Her lips still buzzed from the contact with his. She could taste the hints of Guinness that had been on his tongue, along with deeper notes that were distinctly him. Brody navigated roads with determination and a level of competence that was downright sexy as hell. It shouldn’t surprise her. In a room full of alphas, he had always stood out, had been just a cut above the rest. It was part of what had always pissed her off—how there was no hesitation in him, no second guessing. It was what made the sting of his rejection all those years ago so massive and damaging—because in some way, he had found her lacking.

She clasped her hands together in her lap as he exited the freeway then passed by subdivisions on a two-lane road until he finally came to a private lane. He lived on a private lane with a gated entrance? Since when?

She shot him a quick sidelong glance.

In the glow of the dashboard lights, his chiseled face was shadowed, and held the intensity she had always found disconcerting. She dropped her gaze before he caught her staring. It was enough that here, in short order, he was going to see her naked. He was going to see and do a hell of a lot more than that when it came to it.

In the dark, she spied the outline of a house. A porchlight blazed golden, illuminating a circular drive and the house beyond. The sprawling home was simply breathtaking with its multi-shaded stone design. It had arched doorways and windows, and was surrounded by trees and a rich assortment of native Colorado plants and flowers. Even though it was manmade, it remained in concert with the land around it.

“It’s gorgeous,” Reegan blurted before she could catch herself, then wanted to bang her head against the door for showing that much enthusiasm for his domain.

“Thanks. I designed her from the ground up.”

“You did? Really?”

Brody parked on the driveway near the front door. “You sound surprised. Architecture and construction are what I do.”

“I realize that, but I thought you did more prefab houses and such. Not this.” She gestured toward the colossal, rambling home, and climbed down out of the truck. There had to be half a dozen bedrooms inside. It was a big place for a single man. But then, successful men traditionally thought the bigger, the better.

The night had cooled considerably. But she wasn’t cold. Not with the knowledge burning inside her that she had made a very real choice to play and have sex with Brody tonight.

That fact was enough to rev any woman’s internal temperatures up to forest fire levels.

He joined her on the passenger side, placed his palm against her lower back, and escorted her up the stone stairs to the door. The heavy, slightly arched oak door in a deep walnut had an electronic keypad with fingerprint recognition installed above the handle. Reegan was totally impressed that Brody would add tech like that to his house.

He ushered her inside in a hurry, as if he feared she would change her mind. But she was all in at this point. It might take her a minute to decide upon a course of action, yet once her mind was made up, she didn’t balk from her decision. On the way through, she garnered fleeting images of marble and hardwood floors, deep-seated leather couches, and stately marble archways, dark wood, and wrought-iron accents as he steered her through a great room and down a generous hall to a pair of walnut wood doors that opened into a grand master suite.

Inside his bedroom, which she still couldn’t believe she was in, was a huge lake of a bed, a stately four-poster with thick, carved columns and which looked custom made. But Brody didn’t stop in the bedroom after closing the doors behind them. Instead, he directed her past the bed and seating area, through the master bath with marble tile floors, his and hers sinks on either side of a space that was big enough for his bed to fit comfortably inside, and a deep-seated tub she wanted to take a swim in. At the far wall of the bathroom was another door. This one was also fitted with a keypad lock.

Brody shoved the door open. Lights turned on automatically as they entered. Reegan’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t help it. It was a full BDSM dungeon with all the tricks. The room was easily as large as the bedroom.

“Holy crap.”

Brody chuckled, and the deep, husky tone left her shivering. “Yeah, I might have gone a little overboard.”

“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He had all the toys. The quality of the furniture, from the sawhorse to the medical table to the St. Andrew’s Cross, were unparalleled, and on par with the club’s.

She padded further into the room, unmindful of Brody, caressing the leather and wood structures with her fingers, marveling at the smoothness and craftsmanship.

“Where did you find all these pieces? I didn’t realize that you could get matching sets.”

“I made them in my spare time.”

She shot him a shocked glance. “You made them? Really? They’re exquisite.”

“Glad you approve. Now, you’ve got five minutes to strip, and present yourself at the padded bench.”

The instantaneous shift in him from relaxed into full on Dom mode caused everything inside her to tighten in heady expectation. The shift drew out the submissive within her.

It wasn’t that she wanted to submit, she needed to. Even when the command was issued by Brody, there was this automatic desire to adhere to his demands. Like the resonant frequency of the dominance men like him exuded worked with the specific calibration of her internal design.

But this was Brody. And she had agreed to do this, to scene with him. Fear sliced through her for a moment. Brody would never hurt her physically beyond her threshold. The fear had its origins from their one night together all those years ago. The dashed hope that had left her heartbroken, and questioning her judgement.

Did she truly want this? Yes. And damn the consequences. Just because she would let him play with her body, didn’t mean she would surrender her heart. It would provide her with the physical release she craved.

With her decision made, she bowed her head. “Yes, Sir.”