Master My Love: Decadence LA, Book 1, page 1
Master My Love
By
Maddie Taylor
Copyright © 2023 Maddie Taylor
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
Master My Love, Decadence LA Book 1
Published by Maddie Taylor/Breathless Romance
www.RomanceByMaddieTaylor.com
Cover Design by Fantasia Frog Designs
Images by DepositPhotos.com
Editing by Decadent Publishing
This book is intended for entertainment purposes only.
Activities represented are based on fantasy only, not real people or events.
Recommended for adult audiences only.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Master My Love | Decadence LA, Book 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
The sensual thrill ride begins with Club Decadence...
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Master My Love
Decadence LA, Book 1
IN A WORLD WHERE BOUNDARIES are shattered and inhibitions are shed, will she risk it all for a second chance at love?
Valerie Thornton’s life is nothing like she dreamed it would be. A widow with an empty nest, she’s lonely, unfulfilled, and yearning for the spark of something special. Then a mysterious invitation to an exclusive lifestyle club arrives in her mailbox like the guiding hand of fate, gently nudging her toward her destiny. How could she possibly refuse?
Walking through this newly opened door and into the most exclusive club in Los Angeles is one of the most exhilarating experiences of Valerie’s life. The testosterone-filled atmosphere inside is pure temptation. Every man she sees is more handsome than the last. Then, she meets the irresistible and highly intimidating Eric Dupree. He’s clearly the right man to bring each and every one of her fantasies to life, but how could he possibly be interested in a forty-year-old novice like herself?
As the owner of Decadence LA, Eric is drowning in professional success. The club is a hit, and his new Rossi Security satellite office is growing by leaps and bounds. But years spent focusing on his career and the perks of his bachelor lifestyle have taken their toll. He knows it’s time for something more in this next chapter of his life.
After meeting Valerie, Eric is charmed. But she’s an inexperienced spectator in his sophisticated world, and despite her curiosity, she’s far too innocent. What in the world could have brought her to his club? And, more importantly, why can’t he get her out of his head?
Publisher’s Note: Master My Love is book 1 in the Decadence LA series, which is a spin-off to Maddie’s popular Club Decadence series. It contains spicy, suspense-filled romance with power exchange and BDSM themes, which may be disturbing to some.
Chapter 1
TEETERING ON FOUR-INCH spiked heels, Valerie Thornton came to a stop and looked behind her. After making sure no one was watching, she gave the back of her leather skirt a firm tug. She’d done this more times than she could count since leaving home an hour earlier. But the hem kept creeping higher no matter if she was moving, sitting, or standing still, nearing a point in its northern migration where it stopped being provocative and became indecent.
A slender twenty-five-year-old could walk into a club in a miniskirt and it was perfectly acceptable, even expected. At forty, a widow, the mother of two, and the former chairman of the Long Beach High School PTA, who left slender behind twenty years ago, attempting to pull it off was a different story. Val had to question yet again what she was thinking when she put it on.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the main entrance without flashing innocent bystanders, she was relieved. But that vanished, replaced by dread when she eyed the rather steep steps. There were a lot of them. Anyone behind her would see her dimpled thighs and most of her ass, thanks to the thin scrap of lace wedged between her cheeks. The girl at Victoria’s Secret called it a cheeky panty. However, the minuscule garment wasn’t deserving of the name. It was more like a thong or a belt.
She didn’t fault the sales person, likely working on commission, for selling a size 12 woman something only a 6 should ever wear. No, she laid the blame for her current underwear crisis—or lack thereof—squarely at the feet of her new, ex-best friend, Kate.
While squirming uncomfortably, she stifled the urge to tug at both her skirt and the scrap of lace. “I’m gonna kill her,” she muttered then clamped her mouth shut, seeing the odd looks a couple shot her way before skirting around her and mounting the steps.
When she watched the doors swing open and the man and woman disappear inside, she took her words back. She would give anything to have Kate by her side.
An experienced submissive in the lifestyle for years, who frequented play parties and bondage clubs, her friend knew what to wear. She’d put together the leather and lace ensemble, which Val had squeezed herself into, for what Kate called maximum impact.
She grunted. More aptly, it was minimum coverage, but being clueless about what to expect, Val followed her advice.
Heck. Clueless didn’t begin to describe it.
What she knew about BDSM came from books and movies. Taking the leap from fiction to reality by coming here alone made her question her judgment, if not her sanity. What she needed was a jolt out of the boring, lonely existence and back into living, and it had to happen soon before she was too old to do something about it.
She glanced at the invitation in her hand. Ever since it had arrived in her mailbox—without a sender’s name or postage—she had trouble thinking about anything else. At first, it had freaked her out that a stranger, possibly a stalker, might have been to her home. Then she wondered if it was someone she knew. Trying to guess who had been driving her nuts.
As the day approached, her response to the invite went from hell no to maybe, and finally, to why the heck not?
Now, on the threshold of an exciting new chapter in her life, and here she was, shaking in her stilettos, and rapidly sliding toward hell no.
“Go for it,” her friend had urged. “If what you see isn’t to your liking, you can leave. But you’ll always wonder what might have been if you don’t at least try?”
Kate was right. Val would kick herself tomorrow, and for weeks, months, and maybe years to come if she chickened out. Invitations to open sub night at Decadence LA, the most exclusive sex and bondage club on the West Coast, didn’t appear in her mailbox every day.
What’s more, despite being completely terrified, and possessing no psychic ability at all, Val sensed that tonight, whether good or bad, would be transformative.
Staring up at the double doors, she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She wiped her damp palms on her skirt and tugged at the hem one more time. That she made it this far on her own was amazing, quite frankly. She rarely went clubbing and had never gone by herself. But Val had a craving, an unfulfilled need that sitting home alone every Friday and Saturday night wouldn’t appease.
Was it possible what she’d been searching for lay behind those innocuous tinted doors? More so, did she have the courage to go inside and find out?
“If you don’t do it now, you might never get the nerve again. And that would be a damn shame?”
Val glanced over her shoulder. The owner of the deep masculine voice was a stunningly handsome man who looked about ten years her junior. He wore all black, his leather vest open in front. Without a shirt on underneath, his muscular chest, broad shoulders, and powerful-looking arms were visible and nothing short of magnificent.
Encircling one bulging biceps was a free-form tattoo, the design hypnotically beautiful, and although she was hardly an expert, she could tell an artist’s hand had inked it.
She couldn’t help but admire it. His ripped abdomen had a line of dark hair that drew her gaze to his obscenely tight pants like a flashing neon sign. The bulge behind his button fly and outlined along several inches of leather-encased thigh was impossible to miss. Blindness or death would be the only believable excuses for not noticing.
Holy cow!
His low chuckle and softly uttered, “I’ll take that as a compliment, little subbie,” made her realize she’d spoken aloud. “A word of advice, since you’re obviously new. Curb your enthusiasm once you get behind those doors. Eyeing a dom inside, the way you did me just now, is like sending him an engraved invitation. You’ll be bare-assed over a spanking bench for a sound paddling, and likely a hard fucking, before you can say, ‘Thank you, master, may I have another.’”
Val gasped as mortification raced through her. Caught gawking at his, um...attributes, she deserved the crude set down.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, as she side-stepped, heading toward her car rather than the entrance. “This was an incredibly bad idea.”
He took her arm, not roughly, but with enough firmness to spin her around, thwarting her hasty escape.
“Whoa! I didn’t intend to scare you off.”
Her head fell back, ready to demand he let her go, except the words evaporated on her tongue. She’d never be considered tall by any measuring stick, but standing this close, the massive, plainspoken, intimidating man made her seem like a kid. It wasn’t only his size. He exuded confidence, and she sensed an underlying current of danger. If she hadn’t met him outside a BDSM club, one glance would have declared him a dominant, even to a novice.
He gazed down at her, amusement apparent on his handsome face. She didn’t take it as condescending but genuine, and weirdly, it didn’t bother her. Perhaps it was the warmth and openness in his dark eyes that she found engaging, or the playful smile on his lips that gave the impression he was quick to laugh as a rule, not by exception.
Heat radiated off his big sexy body, and she’d have had to be nose blind to miss the fact he smelled fantastic. Except he couldn’t be over thirty, not much older than her son. Her physical reaction to him, specifically the increasing dampness of her tiny panties, made her feel like a cougar. Worse, a pervert.
“It’s probably a smart idea for me to leave before I make a bigger fool of myself.”
“Why did you come here?”
The question, though stated in a low, subtle tone, drew her attention to his face, which had tightened into a firm, no-nonsense expression. She’d pegged him right; he was a dominant, and his commanding presence compelled her to reply.
“Curiosity, I guess,” she admitted, disclosing only half the truth.
He didn’t fall for it. “A woman doesn’t come to a place like this by herself because she’s curious. Try again.”
“I, um...” Val stammered while searching for a dignified way to convey her real motivation. She made another attempt after discreetly clearing her throat. “I have a...need.”
She only got out that much before a rush of heat swept from her chest up her neck and suffused her cheeks.
“Now there’s an honest response I can appreciate,” he said, grinning with approval. “You’ve come to the right place, little subbie. No matter your kink, you’ll find what you’re looking for here, even if you might not be sure what it is yet.”
Unable to withstand his scrutiny—those beautiful brown eyes far too perceptive—her gaze flittered away.
His deep chuckle washed over her as he took her hand and squeezed it gently. He went a step further by pressing his lips to her fingers.
“Those blushes are going to create quite a stir.”
A light tickling sensation made her stiffen. Was that the tip of his tongue or the brush of his breath? It happened too quickly to be sure.
Straightening, he hung onto her hand, though she tried to tug it away.
“I have a proposal, shy newcomer. Let me show you around. You can look your fill and ask anything you like, with me by your side as both your tour guide and protector. At the end of our time together, if you’re brimming with excitement and ready for more, which I suspect you will be, I’ll introduce you to a few nice, amenable doms. If not, and you decide this isn’t what you want, I will personally see you to your car—no pressure. How does that sound?”
“You wouldn’t want...” She couldn’t continue. Was she really asking this stranger why he didn’t want to do it himself?
“Sweet newbie, you are delectable, and I’d enjoy nothing better than showing you the ropes, no pun intended. However, I’m only in town for a few days on business, and I sense you are looking for more than a little playtime. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir.”
The title rolling spontaneously from her lips sent a shiver down her spine. Why had she called him that? She hadn’t gotten up the front steps yet and she’d already fallen into a submissive role. Why did she respond to him so readily, with barely a thought?
Despite his youth, he possessed the same charm and emitted the same authoritative aura as the heroes in the BDSM books she devoured. He spoke like he had experience, and she couldn’t discount his self-assurance, which in this situation made her the student in need of guidance, and him the master. As she considered what those lessons would entail, a wave of excitement swept through her. Except the dominant she envisioned was not this gorgeous twenty-something man.
With a firm squeeze of her hand, he returned her attention to their negotiation.
“Are you ready to explore, little newbie? And search for what or who motivated you to dress up in skin-tight leather and spiked heels and venture here alone hoping to fill the hole inside you?”
She opened her mouth to deny it, but he silenced her with a stern look.
“Before you say no, take a moment and consider what made you tremble. If you’re honest, you’ll admit it is the need you spoke of which undoubtedly has your panties wet and your pretty pink nipples hard and begging for attention.”
She tilted her head forward. Her eyes focused on the gap at the neckline of her corset. Although far from flat-chested, she didn’t entirely fill out her top. Val crossed her arms, immediately feeling the tips of her breasts poking into her skin through the leather. They were stiff, yes, but how had he known their color? Had he guessed, or did she have a wardrobe malfunction she wasn’t aware of?
In a panic, she reached behind her with one hand to check if her laces had come undone.
“You’re covered, but I’m a foot taller than you. From my vantage point, when you move a certain way, I can see clear down to your navel. Thank you for that,” he added with a broad grin.
Her jaw dropped as she clutched the material to her chest with both hands. When she tried the damn thing on, she twisted, bent double, and jumped to make sure nothing would pop out. Standing before him now, she felt horribly exposed.
Lowering her gaze, she wondered what he must think.
He raised his hand to her burning cheek. “Relax. You’ll see a helluva lot more skin once you’re inside. I have a meeting to attend in about an hour, however, which doesn’t leave us much time. What’s your decision?”
She hesitated, still stuck on inadvertently flashing him.
It’s a sex club, for crying out loud. She wasn’t naïve enough to think there wouldn’t be nudity. And according to Kate, the dress code was leather, latex, and lace, the skimpier the better, not nuns’ habits and monks’ frocks. Her little nip slip was tame compared to what she expected to see.
He lifted her chin with a single long finger. “I need your answer.”
Though he spoke softly, his tone was exacting, not teasing anymore.
Val could feel her heart pounding in her ears and all the pulse points in her body. It was now or never!
People joined this type of club for one reason, to fulfill a desire, whether to dominate or submit, spank or be spanked, flog or be flogged, and certainly, to fuck and get fucked. Was she any different?
When she tried to speak, the interchange between her brain and tongue failed, and nothing came out.
“I’m going to assume that’s a no. Too bad, because I see plenty of what-ifs and regrets in your future.”
He pinched her chin gently before he turned and mounted the stairs two at a time. He’d reached the doors, his hand moving toward the lever when she made up her mind.
“Wait!”
As fast as her stilettoes would allow, she dashed up the steps behind him. Swallowing nervously, she prayed the ability to speak intelligibly had returned.
“You’re right. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with regrets. If the offer for a guided tour is still open, I accept.”
“Atta girl. If nothing else, you’ll go home with your curiosity satisfied.” Gallantly, he offered her his arm, waiting until she curled her fingers around it. “What will I be calling you tonight, little subbie?”
“I’m Valerie, sir.”
“A beautiful name, but I bet your friends call you Val. May I?”
More comfortable thinking of him as a friend, she nodded. As his smile deepened, a dimple appeared in his cheek. Lord, he was devastating. She didn’t think for a minute he hadn’t left a trail of broken hearts in his wake.
“I’m Antonio and a host of other nicknames I won’t get into. But tonight, I’m Master T to you, little newbie. Say it for me.”
