bed and spank her naked ass until she apologizes. And then do things to her that make her smile and scream my name into the pillow.
“Your name is Darko? Wow, but don’t take yourself too seriously there, Mister Mysterious. I mean, I see what you were going for, but what vampire movie did you drag that one out of?”
“I’m Serbian. It’s a family name.”
“Oh.” Her laughter dies in her throat, and I’d like to follow her blush down her chest with my tongue, those dusky tones of mortification that keep on coming. She looks at the floor. “I’m sorry. I thought it was a name you chose, like a pretentious thing to try to seem all dark and mysterious. I didn’t mean to bring family into it.”
Family means something to her or she wouldn’t have apologized for insulting mine, even innocently. Of course it does—look how far she went to find her sister. Something we’ve got in common. Family means everything to me as well. The more I find out, the more I want to know about Sloane. “Apology accepted. No offense taken.” Her volatility and passion are appealing. I’m still half hard from the look in her eyes, the curl of her lips, the fists she doesn’t realize are clenched at her sides, and the memory of the heat of her pussy through her jeans. “Any other questions?” Why did I feel the need to prove myself to her with Milena?
“If you’re so good at the coaching, and you’re a man who likes winning, why isn’t that your preference?”
I brush the stubble of my jaw with the backs of my loosely clenched fingers. I hadn’t really thought about it before. “Being a participating Dominant gives me more.”
“Because you get to be the one with the subs?”
“Partially. But it’s more rewarding because of what it allows me to do.”
She swallows. “Which is?”
“Weed out the unworthy.”
“Unworthy?” The word clearly rubs her the wrong way.
“Would ‘unsuitable’ better stroke your sensibilities? The lifestyle isn’t for everyone. True kink isn’t for hobbyists, regardless of what the books would have people believe.”
She pulls the hat off again and runs her fingers through her hair. “I’d have thought you’d want as many people as possible in it. More people to play with.”
Irritation slithers through me at her arrogant misunderstanding of who and what we are. “This isn’t play. It’s not something we do; it’s who we are. It can’t be torn out, shamed out, or denied. Not without significantly harming us.”
She senses the truth I hadn’t meant to speak. “I’m sorry.”
“I do not play with people as though they are my toys and mean nothing. Do you think us so cold?”
“When could we start the training?”
Is she so eager to train or trying to appease me for her giant faux pas by rushing in? I push back in a colder tone than I’ve used with her. “What makes you think I want to train you?” My sudden authoritative tone widens her eyes and she looks at the floor.
“If you weren’t the tiniest bit interested, you’d have already thrown me out.”
Maybe she is a submissive after all. My hands ache to touch her again. “You’re so very expressive. It’s your best feature and your worst enemy.” Time for the real test. “I would very much like to see you on your knees. Now.”
She stands and jams the hat back on. “On the bed?”
“Where you stand.”
She lowers herself to her knees. Her unquestioning obedience is a good sign. I want her ass in my hands and her screams of pleasure in the air. Clearly, she’s used to being unflappable, contained. Recollection of her profession eludes me; I’ll have to look into that as well. What will she be like when she feels safe enough to really let go and give in to the deep release I could give her?
Kneeling with her head slightly lowered, she causes a rush of interest to my groin. I walk around her in a small circle, inspecting her face and body from every angle. She and Tessa really are identical, but