A Love Like This
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Laila Callaway
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2.0M
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19
Chapter One
Anastazja
Despite her wide eyes taking in every inch of the bustling club, Anastazja Gajeski didn’t notice the hot glances landing on her.
Her heart was beating too fast, her breathing too uneven for her to be able to acknowledge those glances.
She bit her bottom lip and headed straight to the bar. She had a ticket, allowing her a single drink at the bar; she decided to put it to use now. Taking a long sip from the porn star martini, she wondered if coming here was a mistake.
She had a wrist band that said Taken. It was protecting her from the advances initiated by any doms in the area, and she was grateful for that.
Normally, she would’ve loved their attention, but this was her first night at this club. It had taken her three months of living in this city to seek out a club to satiate her BDSM needs.
But it was not the first time she had been to a club like this. She used to visit the one in her hometown before moving here.
She had even scened a couple of times, but not finding the right dom for her, she had mostly stuck to voyeurism.
It was harder than one could think to find the right pairing. Some doms expected too much of her, while others could not meet her expectations. She admitted to having a specific set of requirements and not being the perfect sub.
She didn’t like playing with different doms and was looking for a long-term relationship, one that could be had outside the club too. Not all doms wanted that.
She told herself that she had come to the club tonight to check it out. She wore a Taken band to keep herself off the arena and allow her to look around without distractions.
Anastazja took another sip of her cocktail and scanned the room again. It was a typical BDSM club, similar to her old one, except that this one had slightly more tasteful decor.
People were in all sorts of outfits. She was clad in a modest, short black dress tonight, not wanting to attract attention.
But little did the blonde bombshell realize that avoiding attention was impossible with her beauty. Her arrival had piqued the curiosity of many members.
Her dead-straight, blonde hair fell down to her waist. Her eyes were hypnotic, such a deep icy blue that many asked if she was wearing colored contacts. Her skin was pale and creamy, her features angular and attractive.
She was obviously of Eastern European descent, which only added to her beauty.
Anastazja finished her drink and pulled out her phone to message her sister. She sent a brief text, cursing her for pushing her into doing this.
She took deep, calming breaths and told herself that her next visit would be easier and that she was nervous because it was her first time.
Sliding off the stool, she decided to watch some demonstrations. They would take her mind off how new and nervous she felt.
A couple of doms nodded hello at her as she wandered around the room. She smiled back politely but made no other moves to indicate interest.
There were a couple of demonstrations on. A man was flogging his male sub, who seemed to be enjoying the “punishment” far too much.
Anastazja could see why the sub was enjoying himself: he had an enormous dildo stuck up his arse.
She subtly giggled at his predicament and moved on to the next demonstration. Lost in the performance of two doms teasing an obedient sub, she was unaware of a fresh set of eyes latching on to her.
Ace
Ace Jackson had thought this would be just another shift. As a dungeon monitor (DM), it was his job to protect the clients of the club and ensure that everyone was scening safely.
There were eight DMs on the lower floor and five more upstairs. They took turns to observe the different areas.
Currently, he had the easiest job. He was supposed to stand near the demonstrations and ensure they were running smoothly. In half an hour, the DMs would switch, and he would move outside to the patio.
Ace always watched the demonstrations more closely than he needed to. He was meant to step in if things went wrong, or if he sensed a sub was at risk of harm they did not consent to.
He would listen to what the doms were saying, enjoying their interactions with their subs.
He missed scening. It had been a long time since he last scened. Too long.
He had first developed an interest in BDSM in high school. He had experimented with his girlfriend, and they had enjoyed their scenes together for four years.
But after graduation, she wanted a vanilla relationship and decided that while it was fun to experiment at college, BDSM couldn’t be continued beyond that.
Ace found that he couldn’t do that. Although he enjoyed vanilla aspects, he couldn’t live his life without an element of BDSM. It offered the control that he needed to function.
Once single and at the club, things went out of hand. Subs would throw themselves at him, desperate to scene with the man who had been off the market for the two years he’d been a member.
Despite being flattered initially, he found himself getting sick of the constant requests. Whenever he tried to form a relationship with a sub, they never had any connection outside the club.
All the dates he went on failed miserably. There would be chemistry during a scene, but when in normal clothes, in a restaurant, the spark would disappear.
He had found himself reluctant to put out during a scene: after all, sex made things messy, and feelings got involved, and, inevitably, both Ace and sub would be disappointed.
Now, after a year of failed attempts, he had given up on the scening side of things. He occasionally helped out for demonstrations, mostly when another dom needed guidance or support.
For now, his plan was to find a woman outside the club and lure her over to the dark side of BDSM.
But with the blonde beauty sauntering up to the demonstration, his plan was going out of the window. Ace’s eyes left the scene to slowly settle on her for an erotic eyeful of the delicate sub.
The black stilettos added inches to her height, but he estimated she was around five feet four or five without them. Her petite body was closely hugged by a tight black dress. It clung to her shapely ass and was short enough to show a lot of leg.
Her breasts looked just the right size for his hands to cup around. Ace’s fingers involuntarily balled into fists, feeling the urgent need to touch her.
Her hair made him want to wrap it around his hands, to hold her exactly where he wanted her. The sharp hair ends teasingly brushed her round butt as she walked with a swing of her hips.
He noticed how the little sub had attracted the attention of nearby doms. He felt uneasy with his annoyance at other people looking at her lustfully.
He shook his head and returned his gaze to the demonstration. He reprimanded himself, reminding himself that he needed to focus. These subs trusted him to step in if things went too far; he could not betray that trust.
But try as he might, his could not keep his eyes from straying repeatedly to the blonde throughout the demonstration. Her expressive face reflected all her erotic feelings like a mirror—pure, raw desire as she watched the doms take their sub, empathy when the sub was paddled, and a tiny smile when the doms helped the sub to stand up on her shaky legs at the end.
Ace had never been the one to go for conventional beauty or vain types. He liked women with raw beauty, the kind that combined both looks and personality. He could tell instantly that this woman had both.
As soon as she turned to move on, she caught his gaze. Time stood still for a brief moment as for just a few seconds their eyes locked and their hearts beat in a matching rhythm.
Her cheeks were now warm, and she broke her gaze before turning away. When she reached up to brush back her hair from her face, Ace caught sight of the Taken band on her wrist.
Disappointment flooded him. It was like a sucker punch to the gut.
She’s not available. She’s of course too alluring not to have been snapped up already.
He forced his gaze back to the demonstrations and tried to shake off the feeling of sadness that gripped him.
Anastazja
For almost an hour, the demonstrations could not get my mind off the DM. Our eyes had met only for a few seconds, but those seconds had been hotter than every minute of sexy time I had with my ex-boyfriend.
It was like the sexual attraction fizzled in the air around me.
I had no idea if the DM felt it too, but the smoldering look he gave me certainly indicated it.
He was a DM, which was irritating. There was no chance of scening with him. I wouldn’t tonight anyway as it was my first night, but I hoped that he doubled as a member and staff sometimes.
I watched some more demonstrations and found myself frustrated, unable to get the hot DM off my mind. He was gorgeous compared to everyone else here, but a real god when you compared him to the public outside.
I had never ever seen someone so handsome that it made me stop in my tracks. His hair had a rich chocolate color—long enough to be tousled but undercut and still short enough not to drop into his eyes.
His eyes. Oh, his eyes.
I could see their color a mile off—a mixture of gray and green, like a shade of sage. His face was verily that of an Adonis, with a strong, aquiline nose like that of a Roman emperor, prominent cheekbones, and plump lips. His tan, darker than anything I could dream of, kindled my desire instantly.
He was wearing the same outfit as the other DMs, a black shirt and slacks. His shirt must have been custom made for him as it hugged every inch of his bulging muscles perfectly.
A white band with DM printed on it was wrapped around both his biceps.
Cursing myself under my breath, I checked my phone, finding one missed call from Agnieszka, my sister.
Phones were not supposed to be used in the main area as they could make other members uncomfortable—they might think you were filming them.
So I headed outside to the phone zone. I dialed my sister’s number and listened to the caller tune. She picked up after two rings.
In fast-spoken Polish, she excitedly confirmed landing the job she interviewed for last week. I congratulated her, sharing her enthusiasm.
She had wanted a new job for so long, and, after a week of silence from the company authorities, we both had been worried she wouldn’t get this one.
I paced up and down the flagstones, listening to her gush with joy. Promising to speak again tomorrow, we bid our goodbyes.
“Zadzwonię do ciebie; pa, siostrzyczka.” [I’ll call you; bye, sis.]”
I hung up and put the phone in my bag. I turned around and froze in surprise when I saw the DM on guard by the patio doors.
His eyes caressed me with transparent desire. It was impossible to miss, even to my insecure ass.
“Um, hi?”
