Praise (Salacious Players Club, #1)

by Sara Cate

RULE #1: NEVER PUT UP WITH A DOUCHEBAG BOYFRIEND—DUMP THAT LOSER.

RULE #3: ALWAYS DO AS YOU’RE TOLD—ESPECIALLY WHEN IT INVOLVES GETTING ON YOUR KNEES FOR A HOT MILLIONAIRE DADDY.

“You should start on your knees. Never be on your feet when I enter the room. And you don’t speak unless I ask you to. When you do, you will address me as Sir and nothing else. Is that understood?”

“Normally, I’d want your eyes on the floor, but I want to look at you.” He tilts my chin up as he examines my face. I can’t breathe. I can’t move. I can’t do anything because I am defenseless prey in his hands. He’s a lion and I’m a meek gazelle caught between his teeth. His features soften, and the corner of his lip twitches. “Lovely.”

He’s so intimidating, and maybe that’s where Beau gets it from, although Beau acts more powerful than he really is. This guy just is powerful, no denying that.

Was humiliating myself worth five grand? It sure fucking was.

RULE #4: AFTER A HUMILIATING DAY WITH YOUR EX’S DAD, TACOS AND MARGARITAS ARE ALWAYS THE ANSWER.

I zone out while shoveling ice cream into my mouth, thinking about the way he touched my cheek, how strangely gratifying it felt when he said that one word: lovely. He didn’t call me pretty or say, ‘you look nice.’ This was different. It was…approval.

I mean, to each their kinky own, right?

“He wasn’t any good for me. It’s better to be alone than to be with someone who’s bad for you.”

When love becomes toxic, it’s not love anymore.

“I think you dated a jerk because you think you deserve a jerk.”

“Dude, you’re fourteen! How are you so wise?” “I read smart books,” she replies with a laugh. “Oh, then I guess I’ll have to show Mom your e-reader. Let’s see how smart she thinks Mating the Werewolf is.”

RULE #5: WHEN THE HOT MILLIONAIRE DADDY WALKS INTO THE SKATING RINK TO OFFER YOU A BETTER PAYING JOB, YOU TAKE IT.

And suddenly, there is no hesitation. The words just travel effortlessly across the table straight from his lips to my ears. “Ms. Underwood, you looked exquisite on your knees.”

RULE #6: AVOID MALLS FOR THE RISK OF RUNNING INTO YOUR EX WHILE HOLDING BAGS OF LINGERIE YOU FANTASIZE WEARING FOR HIS DAD.

What could possibly be so bad about being someone’s pet, sub, or slave? In the playful sense, of course. As long as it’s consensual and everyone has something to gain, I don’t see why it’s so taboo.

The forbidden fruit always tastes sweetest.

If this week has proven anything to me, it’s that I need to watch myself around this girl. She’s too perfect to ignore and too forbidden to be mine.

I wanted to…I don’t know, impress him. No, impress isn’t the right word. Turn him on? Ick, no. Please him. That’s it. I wanted to wear an outfit that didn’t just fit me but him too.

To feel his hands on my body, his lips on my skin. To walk into a building on his arm and know that no matter who is in that building, I am the most important one to him. And everything shifts in my brain from seeing him as a father to seeing him as a man.

“Oh my God, you are a hooker, but I’m not complaining!” “I am not!” “Well, just keep dressing like one.”

To be comfortable in my own skin and flaunt that. To know that I may not be a twig or have perfect skin, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be sexy.

“Not just any love, Emerson. It means you’ll have true, all-consuming, intoxicating, life-changing, earth-shattering love. Love you would die for. That you couldn’t possibly live without. Love that makes it hard to breathe. Like you can feel it not just in your heart but in your veins and your bones and your muscles. Everywhere.”

“You’re such a good girl, Charlotte.” My shoulders relax, seeming to melt down at my sides as I gaze up at him, those beautiful words washing over me like warm water. Suddenly, I’m all gooey and compliant, like that one little phrase put me in a trance. He could literally do anything to me in this state. And I sort of want him to.

“Charlotte,” he says quietly, approaching me. “Hi,” I stammer awkwardly. “You look…so beautiful.”

I turn my head, trying to look away. But a strong hand holds my chin gently, turning my head back to the window. “Watch them. You know you want to.”

“You can touch yourself back here, Charlotte. No one can see you.”

My hips shift, and I feel something hard against my lower back. As I brush along the length of it, he groans and squeezes me tighter, driving his hips into me. I take in a sharp inhale, my vision growing blurry. He’s hard. Emerson is hard, and he’s rubbing his erection against me. “You feel that?” he whispers. “That’s what you do to me.”

“Touch yourself, Charlotte.”

“That’s it, Charlotte. Good girl.” His words spur me on, sending bolts of lightning through my body. My own fingers rub my clit in fast circles, and it feels so good; it’s a relief. Emerson’s hand rests over mine, but he isn’t touching me. Instead, he grips my hip with one hand and grinds his erection against my backside.

“You are so fucking beautiful. Make yourself come, baby.”

They know that I just masturbated in public while watching Pornhub Live back there.

“I don’t want to go back without you.”

More than anything, I want his attention. I want to live in this world with him and I want him to be my guide—not just for one night. I want to be the only woman on his arm…to be his.

So I barely leave my room all day, researching and reading and trying to fully understand what it is that Emerson wants. No, what I want.

And I have no idea how he will react. If he’s angry, I’ll be humiliated. If he’s surprised, I’ll be pleased. And if he loves it…God, I don’t know how I’ll feel.

“You are such a good girl,” he says, and I nearly melt into the floor. “You want to learn how to be a good sub?” “Yes, Sir,” I reply.

“I want there to be days when you’re just Charlotte, okay?”

I’ve never had a desire to be claimed before, but suddenly, it’s like I need the world to know I belong to Emerson Grant.

You made me very proud today. And you are more than enough. You are perfect.

“I belong to you as much as you belong to me, Charlotte. If I’m your Dom, I’m no one else’s. Don’t ever assume I would do that to you. Understand?”

“Now tell me. What else will you do?” Our eyes meet in a charged moment. “I’ll…” “Say it,” he whispers darkly. “I’ll be good.”

I’m falling hard for Emerson Grant. I’m so fucked.

“I’ll fill out that form for you if you want, but I don’t need to. You want me to tell you that I want to taste you, Charlotte? Because I do. I want to touch you, tease you, fuck you, bend you over my knee and turn that pretty little backside red. There’s not a thing on that list I don’t want to do with you, so you can put the paper and pen away, little girl. Every single thing would get a five from me.”

And at the end of the day, I’d rather be Emerson’s pet than Beau’s girlfriend.

“Because I didn’t expect you to be so perfect. I had no idea keeping my hands off you would be this hard. And then I walked in that day and found you on your knees…” He squeezes his eyes shut, pressing his forehead against mine. “Jesus Christ, Charlotte. You have no idea what you do to me.”

“My girl wants this, doesn’t she?” he growls as he does it again. “Yes!” I cry, pulling him in for another kiss. “Then get on your knees and take it out.”

“Open your eyes, Charlotte,” he commands, and I do. As our eyes meet, he growls, “God, I love fucking you.”

Dear God, please let this be the only man I fuck for the rest of my life because there’s not a chance in Hell anyone else could ever top that.