Club Shadowlands Read Online Free PDF Page A

his hard chest, her hips cradled against his. He felt good against her. Too good, and hadn’t she wanted to keep her distance from him?
    His other hand was low on her back in the hollow above her buttocks. And she wasn’t going all stiff at being touched. But he’d had his hands on her already, she realized, flushing as she remembered how he’d dried between her legs. She hadn’t even known his name.
    She still didn’t know his name. She pushed herself back and looked up.
    With the light behind him, his eyes were almost black as he studied her. His lips curved and a crease appeared in his cheek. “You need a drink and a chance to catch your breath.” He released her from his arms and held out a hand. “Come.”
    Should she? She considered her options. Go with him or try to walk back through the bar on unsteady legs, getting hit on every few seconds. Well, that was easy. She put her hand in his.
    Still smiling, he led her to the bar. “This time you may choose your drink.”
    She hesitated. Water or alcohol? Water would be smart, but a drink would definitely help the shakes. And somehow the fear had burned off any alcohol from before. “A margarita. Thank you.”
    “Cullen,” Master Z said, his voice somehow carrying past all the conversations, maybe because it was so deep. The bartender glanced over.
    “A margarita, please.”

    24
    Cherise Sinclair
    Ignoring the other people waiting, the bartender made her drink and set it in front of her. He smiled at her escort. “Definitely a pretty pet, Master Z.”
    “I’m no pet.” Jessica scowled. “What kind of derogatory term is that, anyway?” She tried to slide onto the bar stool but couldn’t quite manage. Wobbly legs, short -- why couldn’t her parents have been tall? Then she wouldn’t look so much like a dumpling with feet.
    Sir grasped her around the waist and set her on the seat, taking her breath away with his effortless strength and the feel of his muscular hands through the thin fabric she wore.
    “Not derogatory,” he said, standing close enough that their hips brushed. “It’s an affectionate word for a sub.”
    “But I’m not a sub. I’m not into that at all. I hated what that man wanted to do. Being whipped… Just the thought makes me sick.”
    He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his fingers leaving a tingle in their wake.
    “It’s a rare person who would enjoy being assaulted by a stranger.”
    “Huh.” The shakes were lessening, and her brain was starting to work again. “So a submissive person doesn’t just go belly-up when some guy orders her around?”
    He grinned, a flash of white teeth in a darkly tanned face. “Hardly. Just as with any relationship, a Dom/sub relationship has attraction” -- he stroked a finger down her cheek and her breath stopped at the intense look in his eyes -- “and trust.”
    Pulling her gaze from his took effort, but she managed. She wasn’t comfortable at all with the way her senses had woken up, as if he’d plugged her into an electrical current.
    Turning, she rested her elbows on the bar top and concentrated on her drink, trying to ignore the way her body felt, the way he affected her. Hmmm, her reaction was probably from him saving her. She’d read something about that. Okay, fine.
    Be cool, continue talking, girl. “What kind of trust?” His scent came to her again, appealingly male.

    Club Shadowlands
    25
    He curled his hands around her bare upper arms and turned her toward him. With one hand, he tilted her chin up until his gaze trapped her. “The trust that your master knows what you need and will give you what you need, even when you aren’t always sure.”
    The words, the sheer certainty in his rich voice, sent heat stabbing through her, a wave of need so potent she quivered inside.
    As if he could see into her head, he smiled slowly and whispered, “The trust that lets a woman be tied down and spread open for her master’s use.”
    Her mouth dropped open as she took