Dark Control an all-new sexy standalone by Annabel Joseph is available NOW!
Dark Control by Annabel Joseph
Release Date: September 25th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Not all fantasies are safe, sane, and consensual. Welcome to the world of The Galleryβ¦
Juliet meets Fort St. Clair on a miserable, drunken night, and wakes up the next morning cuffed to his guest room bed. Of course, Fort would never take advantage of her. No, the pleasure and pain he wants to inflict on her body must be negotiated in advance, because once Juliet sets foot in his private, exclusive dungeon, she belongs to him.
BDSM at The Gallery is supposed to be a straightforward arrangement, an affair by the rules, but Juliet and Fortβs growing connection brings unexpected emotions they canβt control. Sheβs the free spirit who transforms his rigid world, and heβs the Dominant she can finally trustβor can she?
I crossed to join him on the sofa, leaving some space between us for the questions and uneasiness to fit. He put his cup on the table behind him, then reached across the space to touch the top of my knee. His fingers trailed over the place heβd grabbed me last night, lightly, nothing sexual now. He wanted to discuss things. A future for us, maybe.
Next, he tilted my neck, inspecting the place where heβd bit me, his touch lingering like he might still soothe the pain. βNo marks,β he said. βAt least nothing obvious. You feel okay?β
βYes, I feel fine.β I felt more than fine. God, I felt a million things. βHow do you feel?β I asked, turning the question back on him.
βConflicted,β he said, coming right out with it. βHereβs the thing about last night. What I did to you up against the wall in that work room…that was me on my best behavior. That was me being a gentleman.β
βWas it?β I took a sip of my tea now that it was cooler. βIt felt pretty nice.β
βI can be worse. I usually am when it comes to sex.β
βHmm.β I took another sip of tea to process, rolling the vanilla and cinnamon flavors on my tongue. βYou mean you can be even rougher?β
βRougher, colder, more intense. Iβm a Dominant, but itβs more accurate to call me a sexual sadist. I like to hurt women and force them to do things for my pleasure. Itβs how I prefer to get off.β
βI understand about BDSM.β
He shook his head. βYou understand mainstream BDSM, the safe, sane, consensual stuff they do at Underworld. Youβre into the romance of it, the slap and tickle to get off. To me, thatβs going through the motions. Itβs not real. Well, not real enough.β
I met his gaze, wondering what he meant by that. Not real enough?
βItβs hard to explain,β he went on, an edge of frustration in his voice. βEspecially to a BDSM baby like you.β
βA BDSM baby?β I protested. βMaybe Iβm a mess, but Iβm not a baby. Iβve been submissive for years. Iβve done a lot of scenes, experimented with a lot of things.β
βIβm not trying to insult you. Iβm trying to explain. Youβve been with a few Doms, youβve participated in the lifestyle, but at the end of the day, youβre looking for pleasure, a good time.β He grimaced. βIβm into something different.β
βYou donβt like having a good time? How does that work?β I blinked in confusion. βWhy do you do whatever the hell you do if itβs not fun?β
βItβs fun to me. Dark fun, though.β He shifted, pushing back his hair. βI do BDSM for the rush and release. I like to push boundaries, and hang out with other people who like to push boundaries. Places like Underworld only scratch the surface of power exchange. I belong to a private club where peopleβ¦go a little further.β
βSo…β I put my tea on the low table in front of us. βThis is why youβre not good for me? Your sadism is the reason you believe we wonβt work out?β
βItβs hard for me to work out with anyone, Juliet. Except, you know, the women who come to the private club. I can be as rough as I want, as cruel as I want, and they want more.β
I looked away from him, biting my lip, considering how to reply. βDo you think…β I turned back to him. βDo you think I didnβt want more last night? Do you think I responded badly to your force?β
He held my gaze. βI think you responded wonderfully. Thatβs why Iβm sitting here on your couch, drinking tea with you, which I literally fucking hate.β He picked up his cup as if to illustrate his point, pounded the rest of his tea, and swallowed with a disgusted face. βI hate tea, Jewels. More than anything in the world.β
βIβm sorry.β
βIβm not sorry. I only meant to say hi to you last night, but it went further than that, and now we have to decide…β
βDecide if weβre going to go further still?β I looked at him from under my lashes. βHow often do you go to your private club to do dark, sadistic, non-fun things?β
βOften enough,β he said tightly. βAnd I donβt always play with the same women. Itβs not a relationship thing, where we all pair up into couples.β
βItβs a sex club thing.β
He shrugged. βItβs scratching a mutual itch with no emotional expectations. So itβs not for everyone, especially emotional types. When the wrong people get caught up in that kind of lifestyle, the results arenβt pretty. Thatβs why Iβve been trying to stay away from you, even though I find you painfully attractive.β
βPainfully attractive.β I sniffed and sipped my tea. βCanβt hurt me, canβt live without me.β
βItβs not a joke, Juliet.β
βI know.β If it were a joke, I wouldnβt feel such lust and confusion, such horrible curiosity. βYou could show me the kind of dark stuff you like to do,β I suggested. βYou could invite me to this club to see what goes on, and I could tell you how I felt about it.β
βSpectators arenβt allowed. Only vetted people are allowed at the club, so there arenβt any misunderstandings.β
βOh.β At this point, I understood what he was trying to say. Even after last nightβs scorching-hot hookup, he thought we might be terminally non-compatible.
He reached for my hand and held it hard. His deep hazel eyes hit me full force, his lips pressed in a line. βIβm trying to protect you,β he said. βSince I canβt…β Those eyes raked over me, leaving me feeling stripped. βSince I canβt enter into any kind of…β
βRelationship,β I provided.
βAny kind of relationship with you, especially the sweet, emotional relationship you probably wantβ¦β
I let out a long breath. βThatβs fucked up. You donβt know me well enough to know what kind of relationship I want. Honest talk: I wanted sex from you from that first sober morning I met you, and I got it.β I stood with my cup and saucer, carrying my tepid tea over to the sink. It had too much sugar. It was too sweet, like me. βI donβt have any judgment about your…your thing. Your sexual sadism, your private club, your playboy ways.β
βPlayboy ways,β he repeated in an amused mutter.
βAt the same time, I think youβre kind of an asshole. If you donβt want a relationship with me, donβt ask me to dinner at the Ivy. Donβt invite my boss to be part of your ad campaign, and then drop by his art show to fuck me against a wall after weeks without contact.β
βI tried to call you after the Ivy. You blocked my number, Sparkles.β
I glared at him from the kitchen. βSparkles?β
βTo go with Jewels. To go with your eyes when you get really emo and intense.β
I picked up a dishtowel and started aggressively wiping invisible spots on the counter. βI had to block your number, Fort. No offense to you personally. Iβm just at the point where I have to be more careful about the men I let into my life.β
βAs you should be.β He stood to bring me his cup, his expression turned serious. βI try to be careful too. I try to maintain boundaries when I think someone might be easily hurt.β
My eyes widened. βMe? You think Iβm some fragile flower? Iβm just super sensitive to bullshit right now.β
He didnβt reply, only watched me with his lofty, level gaze. A sadist? Definitely. He could hurt me in so many ways, and those were only the ways I knew about.
βCome here, Sparkles,β he said from across the counter.
βMy nameβs not Sparkles.β
βCome here, Juliet.β
I wanted to say no. I wanted to make some more hot tea and dash his most-hated mixture in his face.
No, I wanted to go to him. His expression was kind, if resigned. His arms opened for me. I walked around the counter and let him embrace me. He pressed his cheek against my forehead and stroked my back.
βYouβd hate it,β he said. βYouβd hate what Iβm into.β
βI didnβt hate it last night.β
βI was careful with you last night.β He tilted my head back and brushed fingers across my temples and through my hair. βWe have this rule at the club: never fuck with the vulnerable. Weβre not allowed to hook up with women who are emotionally or physically complicated, women we might damage. We canβt even bring them into the space. Itβs like an honor system.β
I tugged my chin from his fingers and looked away.
βI figured out why I like you,β he went on. βI figured out why I want you so much. Itβs because youβre all on the surface. Your emotions are right there, plain as day, all the time. You donβt give a fuck about saying what you feel and being who you are. You have this open expression, this way of looking at me and at other people. And you dress however you want.β
βWhatβs wrong with the way I dress?β
His eyes glanced over the blue fur headband I wore. βI love the way you dress. I love the way that headband matches your eyes, but not your clothes.β
βThese are my Sunday hangout clothes,β I said, pouting. βTheyβre not supposed to look hot and put together like your freaking designer suits.β
He held me against his chest, running his big hands up and down my back. βJust shut up for a minute, because I donβt know what to do with you. I donβt know what to do about what happened last night…β
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About Annabel:
Annabel Joseph is a NYT and USA Today Bestselling BDSM romance author. She writes mainly contemporary romance, although sheβs been known to dabble in the medieval and Regency eras. She is known for writing emotionally intense BDSM storylines, and strives to create characters that seem realβeven flawedβso readers are better able to relate to them. Annabel also writes non-BDSM romance under the pen name Molly Joseph.
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