“You’re a brave woman, Mrs. Benton. Thank you,” Abby said sincerely.

As the elevator doors closed, Xavier frowned. “Now you’re corrupting my staff. I’ll need two hands to beat you adequately, but be assured I’m keeping count.”

After a second of worry, she relaxed because the look in his eyes wasn’t one of anger, but…something else.

Two could play at this game. She set her hands on the arms of his wheelchair. “Considering what you plan to do at home, you should be more polite, Mr. Leduc. You might need someone to do all the work.”

His eyes narrowed, and his hand fisted the front of her hoodie. “You’re correct—about someone working. As I recall, you have some lessons coming in the fine art of sucking.”

Her mouth dropped open, and he released her hair to trace a line around it. “Yes. My cock between those pretty lips.”

The elevator door slid open.

As she pushed his wheelchair past the bulldog receptionist and the guard, she could feel the wetness between her legs.

Chapter Eighteen

I don’t want to do this. Abby was shaking with fear. As Xavier limped into Dark Haven, she wanted to stop him and tell him that she changed her mind.

At the reception desk Lindsey handed a waiting Dom a bright-green wristband and looked over with a smile. She spotted Abby, and her face turned cold.

Abby closed her eyes and swallowed down tears.

“Good evening, Lindsey,” Xavier said.

“Good evening, my liege.”

In the locker area, Xavier took Abby’s coat and hung it up, leaving her naked except for her glasses.

She stopped at the door to the main room. I forgot to put on my big-girl panties. “Wait.”

“No, pet.” He pushed her inside.

She tried a calming breath. It didn’t work.

“Stay brave.” He led the way across the room.

Staying a step behind him, she focused on the backs of his boots. The temperature took a decided drop as whispers whipped around her like sleet, stinging her skin.

He climbed the stairs to the left-hand stage, leaning heavily on his cane.

She hesitated. I’d really prefer to stay down here, thank you very much. He glanced back, motioned, and she followed. Clasping her numb hands in front of her, she stared at her bare feet.

“If I might have your attention.” Xavier’s voice held no emotion. He wasn’t gloating about her punishment. If anything, his attitude was sympathetic—although inflexible.

Someone at the bar cut the music to the dance floor, and silence spilled across the room.

“I posted on the members’ Web site and sent you all an e-mail about Abigail’s research. By doing her fieldwork here without my knowledge or the consent of the members, she has broken club rules…as well as the unspoken ethics of our community.”

The angry murmuring was in agreement. Guilt washed through Abby again.

“However, I read the ethnography essay as well as the notes she kept. She presents our community in a good light. No names appear. Dark Haven isn’t mentioned by name or location. Members are not described. No scene descriptions are used. Basically she’s looking at the club dynamics in an interesting way, like an extended family, showing the social network, the interactions, and the hierarchy.”

The crowd was silent.

“Since I’m at the top of that hierarchy, I rather enjoyed it.”

Mild laughter.

“If she survives tonight and still wishes to be a member of this club, I’ve given her permission to finish her research here tomorrow and next weekend. I’ll post a sign in the reception area and send an announcement to the members, so you can stay away if you wish. Once the paper is finished, a copy will be available online for anyone interested, and concerns can be addressed before she sends it to the journal for publication. Questions so far?”

“What do you mean if she survives tonight?” A woman’s voice, strong and self-assured.

“I’m speaking of her punishment, Angela. It’s divided into two parts, and the members who were wronged are invited to participate.”

That started a murmur of approval.

Abby bit her lip. Xavier hadn’t told her what he planned.

“Are you talking blood sports, Xavier?” DeVries’s rough voice was all too recognizable, and Abby shivered. Blood? She’d have stepped back, but her feet were frozen to the floor.

“No blood. Sorry,” Xavier said.

“Well, now I’m really disappointed.” The Enforcer’s voice didn’t match his words—he didn’t sound upset.

“Members present on the same nights as Abby should have received a green band,” Xavier said. “Abigail’s first session is on the spanking bench. Any Dom or submissive can trade me their green band and administer one swat with the paddle.”

Abby felt a tremor run through her and stiffened her spine. It’s just pain.

“She’ll get a short recess. Then, since she was ‘observing’ people, Abigail will be blindfolded and hooked up to the fucking machine. Any Dom can exchange the band for one minute with the controls. I’ll monitor and stop the machine before she can orgasm. At the end of that time you’ll see—and undoubtedly hear—her climax. Since she observed yours, you may now observe hers.”

Applause broke out.

Oh no, absolutely no. She wrapped her arms around herself as her whole body shook.

“When her punishment ends, she will apologize, and then, as we do for a properly penitent submissive, we forgive her. Questions or complaints?”

Murmuring.

“Sounds quite fair, Xavier,” a Dom called.

“Thanks for letting us participate in her punishment,” another said. “We know you didn’t have to do that.”

Xavier’s boots appeared in front of Abby. His calloused hand cupped her chin. “Look at me.”

She lifted her eyes to his dark ones.

He studied her for a minute, then nodded. As he ran his thumb along her jawline, the simple caress made her shudder in her loneliness. “Follow me downstairs.”

In the dungeon he guided her to lie facedown on what they called a sawhorse. It resembled a warped picnic table with the tabletop only the width of a torso. The leather was cold under her belly, adding to her frozen feeling. Her breasts hung on either side of the narrow board. Padded benches supported her knees and lower legs and forearms.

Xavier put wrist cuffs on her and secured her arms and legs, adding another strap over her lower back. Her bottom stuck out over the end. She tried to move, couldn’t, and her fear grew. It’s pain. I can handle pain. They’d hit her only on her butt.

He took an incredibly wide paddle from his toy bag. When he laid the weapon on her back, she shivered at the cold hardness of it. She turned away from the room, then realized the wall in this section was mirrored. Her face would be visible, no matter what. Her breathing hitched, and nausea roiled inside her.

“Do you feel as if you’re on display, pet?” Xavier asked, squeezing her shoulder. How could she be so desperately grateful for his touch?

“Yes,” she whispered. I don’t want to do this. I want to go home. I wish I’d never met you people.

ANY LINGERING ANGER at her had died the minute the little fluff had followed him into the club. A submissive who took responsibility for her own actions was one to be cherished. Xavier went down on one knee so his face was level with hers. Leaning in to keep his words for her alone, he shared his body warmth. “You’re being very brave, Abby. I’m proud of you.”

Her eyes sheened with tears, and his heart ached. She was a true submissive; her Dom’s approval overshadowed everything else.

“Red is still your safe word, but using it means the punishment is at an end—as is your membership here.”

She nodded.

“If you feel more than pain or embarrassment, as in muscles cramping, dizziness, sickness, your hands or feet going numb, then use yellow, and we’ll see what’s up. Do you understand? Say it aloud.”

“Yellow means you’ll check on me. Red means I”—her face twisted—“I lose my membership, but the punishment will stop.”

He saw her determination to see it through. “Good. Abby, I’ll be here the entire time, never more than two or three feet away. You’re mine, little fluff, and I won’t leave you.”

Her tears spilled. “Thank you, my liege.”

They were both going to hurt before this was over. With a silent sigh, he pulled her glasses off and set them at her fingertips where she could touch them. “Let’s begin. Remember, if you keep your muscles relaxed, it won’t hurt as much.”

Her huffed laugh, and the look she gave him—easy for you to say—lightened his heart. He ruffled her hair and moved to one side.

Despite the cluster of people standing around, no one stepped forward until Simon gave an exasperated snort. He handed Xavier a green band, picked up the paddle, and dealt Abby a mildly stinging swat across both cheeks.

Abby jerked slightly but didn’t make a sound.

“I forgive you, pet.” After handing the paddle to another Dom, Simon asked Xavier in a low voice, “Will she last?”

“She’s more stubborn than you’d think.”

“How about you?”

Xavier wanted to kill every single person who looked as if they’d pick up the paddle. “I want to protect her. Instead I’m the one who arranged to give her pain.”

“I know the feeling.” Simon squeezed his shoulder. “But she needs forgiveness from more than just you. Her pleasure in the friendships she made here was obvious, and she’ll be able to recover them now. You know that, or you wouldn’t have included the members.”