Read Diablo Blanco Club: Rite of First Claim for Free Online Page B

something more than indifference, you ran.”
    She stopped moving. Mike did too. “Uh-uh. I wasn’t the one running off to take pictures of the runway models in New York. I wasn’t the one—”
    “No, I was the one who got treated to insults and denials or the sight of your back whenever we ended up in the same room for more than five minutes.” There was no heat in his voice, nothing to register his emotions.
    Lyssa avoided looking in his eyes. Excitement bubbled through her body at the thought of being with Mike, but he’d never believe the excuses forming on her lips if he read the emotion in her gaze. “So why do anything about it tonight? What, are you pissed because I’ve decided to see what a real lover is like?”
    “Not now. Not tonight. Not ever, Lyssa. No other lovers but me. Remember?”
    “ No one but me touches you, Lys. Only my hands, my lips, my cock .” The heated words he’d repeated in her ear while he made love to her in the Club’s storage closet whispered through her mind. Much as she hated to admit it, those words had affected the way her body reacted to other men if they made overtures. But damn it, there had to be a way out.
    Lyssa listened to the soft cry of protest that sounded deep inside her at the thought of allowing herself to be vulnerable to this man again. Remember the plan ! Mike had already proven once that she was an afterthought to him. If there was no place for her, there was no place in Mike’s life for a child. No way his jet-setting, here-today-gone-tomorrow lifestyle would ever include the baby she wanted. No. She needed to get out. Get away from him. Now.
    “That line about claiming me was just show, right? A way to save face with all your dom friends? It’s just a lame excuse to make everyone think you actually give a damn. Right?”
    Anger and forced disinterest had worked to push him away in the past. Fighting her own needs was going to prove more difficult. Already she could feel how excited she’d become simply because he’d publicly claimed her. But there was a big difference between claiming and keeping. No one knew that better than her. Especially where this man was concerned.
    Mike ignored her question. “Strip.” The order came in a cool, amiable tone, even as his fingers pulled at the studs fastening his shirt. Her body quivered at the look in his eyes.
    “The hell I will.” Her plans for the night were ruined; there was no reason she needed to stay. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to feed his ego by sticking around.
    When she stepped toward the door, he blocked her. The dance started again. When she took a step one way, he matched her. With each step he took toward her, Lyssa moved back. She eased around the end of the bed as she watched him toss his black tuxedo jacket toward one of the nearby chairs and then remove the wide, black cummerbund. He slipped the black leather suspenders from his shoulders before he loosened the bow tie, removed it, and tucked into his trouser pocket. The studs fastening his shirt followed.
    “This is a joke, right?” she asked, cursing the shaky tone of her voice.
    “Strip, Lys.” He was so close his breath stirred the hair clinging to her cheeks.
    Her back was now pressed against the cool glass of one of the mirrored walls. After swallowing the disquiet she felt at his calm demeanor, Lyssa shook her head again. “No. There’s no point—”
    “No point?” Mike’s fingers carefully removed the bobby pins securing the auburn wig to her head. He dropped the pins and wig onto the nightstand before he combed his fingers through her hair, releasing it from the knot she’d coiled it in at her nape. “When your master gives you a command, love, you need to obey.”
    “Master?” she tried to inject a healthy dose of disdain into her tone. “You’re not my master, kid.”
    The muscle at the edge of his jaw flexed at the insulting nickname she’d always used against him. The fire ignited in his chocolate eyes