Hot off the Presses: Book one of The Dom series: Mark Me (the “hot as frack cover”)

Holy FRACK Batman!!!! LC Chase has done it again! This cover is so hot that I keep fanning myself…..and needing to take a moment alone. *Snickers*

And since the book is all about Sex, Doms and Toys (and yes, they even play poker at some point), I figure that this is the perfect place to do a bit of book promo. I will let you all know when the book goes live.

Where these gorgeous men came from I don’t know but yeah, this is the cover for book one of The Dom series, entitled “Mark Me”, and because I’m so excited I’m going to give you all the entire unedited first chapter of the book.

Aren’t you excited?

So enjoy the boys and the story.

- "The Dom" 

Mark Me

Chapter One

“Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law.-Boethius

Vicktor let his eyes drift over the smoky room again.  He simultaneously admired and rejected the scores of beautiful, willing men who were all anxiously vying for his attention.  None of them appealed to him.  At least not on any level past a purely lustful one.  Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue for him.  He hadn’t obtained his reputation for being a “hit and run” type of man if it hadn’t been an accurate depiction of his life, but dammit, he was almost thirty-five and it was time to settle down, time to finally find the one man that he was going to let finally catch him.  In a manner of speaking.  The bar was always full on Saturday nights, but tonight it seemed to be bursting at the seams.  Unfortunately for him, that meant that there was not only more of the twinks hoping that he would choose one or more of them, but there seemed to be a lot more competition in the air.  Other men who wanted to prove that they were better, stronger, sexier, more manly than he.  They lost…they always lost…but he always let them play.  Well…almost always.  Tonight he wasn’t looking to play.  Tonight he was looking to win.  He was an Alpha male on a hunt to find what was his and he wasn’t going to stop until he got it and he wasn’t going to give up until it belonged to him.

He sighed and leaned back against the bar behind him, his long brown fingers clenching, without conscious thought on his part, on the glass of Scotch that he held in his hand.  He tried to contain the growl that rose up in his throat, quite aware that there was no one to growl at, no willing body for him to mark…no tree to piss on and let everyone know that it belonged to him.  His light brown eyes slid closed and he rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension that had inexplicably built there, feeling the white hot fires of rage dissipate from his gut and he sighed…again…this time with relief and not with frustration…okay, not only with frustration.

“No luck tonight DV?” he heard a voice beside him ask and he turned his head to see who it was who had decided to intrude upon his moment of desultory personal reflection.  He grinned when he saw his good friend Thaddeus Adkins.

“Ah hell Thad.  They get younger, I get older and all the while, none of them seem to get any better…” he said, his voice tinged with a slight trace of annoyance and frustration.

“And you just seem to get better with age,” Thad smiled back at him.  “Yeah man, I know.”

Vicktor nodded and opened his mouth to inquire about Thad’s partner, Desmond, when the door opened and his angel walked in.  The man he had been looking for.  The one he’d spent most of his adult life both trying to avoid and pursue.  His soul mate had just walked into the door.  Petite, with black hair that swept his shoulders and gorgeous green eyes, the thin young man seemed completely unsure of himself as he stepped fully into the bar.  Vicktor let his eyes drift over the other man while he seemed completely unaware.  He stood somewhere around five feet eight inches tall, on the thin side, and he also seemed to be fighting exhaustion…if the bags underneath his eyes was any indication at all.

“DV!  Man!  What the hell?  Where did you go?” Thad asked when Vicktor turned to him and blinked stupidly.

Slowly, sanity and reason returned and he knew that he couldn’t just stand there ogling the guy.  He had to do something, say something, send him something.  He gave himself a firm mental shake and reminded himself of who he was, of his reputation, of his status, of his skills, of his entire fucking personality.  He wouldn’t get all gooey eyed just because his perfect man walked through the door, with his pale skin, dressed in a black shirt and black pants, like he was scared of being discovered.  Vicktor was determined to bring the other man out of his shell…but maintaining his individual identity while doing so.  He nodded with his head towards the direction of the small man who seemed to be making his way towards them with a smile on his face.

He saw Thad look over his shoulder and then smile before he leapt up.

“Thank you for pointing him out to me!  That’s why I’m here!  I’ve been waiting for him,” Thad replied and Vicktor felt his heart clench.

“Who is he?” he asked.

“Oh him?” Thad shrugged one shoulder.  Very calm and nonchalantly Vicktor nodded, hoping that his feelings weren’t evident on his face.  Please don’t be claiming him here, please don’t be claiming him here, he thought to himself.

“That’s my brother-in-law Daniel.  I brought him for you.”

Vicktor’s head swung quickly in Thad’s direction, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open.  “What the fuck did you just say?” he questioned, his voice sound harsh to his own ears.

“Daniel is obviously a sub.  He sort of came to this realization the other day when he was over to the house.  You know that I, for obvious reasons, can’t train him on how to be a sub, so I thought that I’d bring him to you.  I know that you’ll take care of him and sort of ease him into that role,” Thad pointed out as Daniel finally noticed them and began to head over.

Vicktor swallowed thickly and straightened up in his chair, feeling as if he was either about to be interviewed or as if he were about to meet the parents of his partner.  Seconds passed before he once again remembered who he was and inhaled deeply before releasing the breath slowly.  He was “The Dom.”  People came from all around the fucking world, paying him exorbitant amounts of money to train their subs or to get better training on how to be a better Dom.  He was the shit, he knew he was the shit and within an hour, Daniel would know it too.

Feeling much more confident, he sat back with a small smirk on his face and watched as Daniel’s eyes nervously took in his appearance before turning to stare at Thad.

“Hey Thad.  Why did you want me to meet you here?” the younger man asked hesitantly and Vicktor felt his cock harden in his pants.  Without a word he stood and looked down at the younger man who took a hesitant step back.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked, watching as Daniel’s body shook at the sound of his voice.  Only Vicktor was aware of Thad slipping off the stool and walking slowly out of the bar, never once looking back to make sure that his brother in law was going to be okay. Vicktor knew that that was more about the fact that Thaddeus trusted him rather than the idea that he didn’t care for Daniel. Everyone knew how fiercely protective Thad was about his family members and Daniel was no exception. The man in question didn’t even blink when Thad disappeared from their space in front of the bar, Daniel’s eyes were trained on him.  As it should be, he thought to himself, feeling his hard cock leaking behind the zipper of his jeans in view of this almost perfect display of submission. Oh yeah, Daniel was going to be the sweetest sub he ever had.

“N-no,” Daniel responded, his voice quivering as he took a small step back.

“Some people call me Vicktor.  Some people call me Vic.  Some people call me The Dom,” Vicktor began, grinning with an almost wolfish satisfaction when Daniel’s body tensed at his title.  Oh, it seemed as if his new little sub had heard of him.  He stepped closer to the younger man and leaned forward, at six feet four inches, he wasn’t the tallest man in existence but he was rather tall, it was his broad frame that made him so intimidating.  People tended to see a tall, muscled black man with tattoos on his shoulder, his forearm and chest and see someone to not be fucked with…they’d be right in his case.  He was very intimidating, he liked it that way, it made it easier for subs to follow his orders and it chased off the sadistic bastards who called themselves Doms.  Being a Dom was a privilege, not a right.  What he did wasn’t a game, it was a lifestyle.  He oozed Dom from his pores.  He pissed dominance and everywhere he walked subs had extreme orgasms just from him looking at them.

It wasn’t arrogance, it was the fucking truth.

He leaned over and placed his lips right next to Daniel’s left ear. He didn’t want his new sub to miss his next words, he exhaled lightly on the smaller man’s pale ear, chuckling at the slight whimper the other man gave him, “You can call me Sir,” he said gruffly before leaning down and biting Daniel’s neck hard enough to leave a mark.  He wasn’t surprised when he felt the other man shake through a very forceful orgasm.  He knew that he had judged the smaller man correctly. Daniel was a sub that loved to be bitten and he would bet his favorite flogger that the man would cream his pants the first time Vicktor brought up the idea of using his paddle on him.

“That was one.  Before the night is over, you’re going to be calling me Sir, begging me to keep you, and you’ll have had seven orgasms.  That’s one, make sure that you count,” he ordered, allowing his voice to slip into its “Dom octave.”  He stood up to his full height and stepped back, “Let’s go,” he commanded before turning his back and walking away, he heard Daniel’s shuffling steps behind him and smiled wolfishly, he was so happy that he chose to come out tonight.

He knew that he owed Thaddeus one…or rather, seven.

~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~

Daniel had no idea what the fuck was wrong with him. He didn’t even know Vicktor. He knew of him, sure. But, everyone knew who Vicktor Parthings was. Everyone who was interested in “the scene” or had even considered getting into it. Besides that, his brother Desmond was a former sub, turned househusband, who used to masturbate to pictures that he had of Vicktor. Daniel hadn’t understood it at first. He could understand the initial attraction. Vicktor was very attractive.

Who was he kidding? Vicktor was a fucking, walking wet dream. He stood at about 6 feet, he was muscled, had gorgeous, smooth, milk chocolate skin and his hair was black and hang straight down to the middle of his cheeks, plus his eyes were light brown. He was a fucking living, breathing orgasm.

Daniel shivered as he followed the older man out of the bar. Desmond used to say all of the time that he wanted to be dominated by Vicktor and Daniel had laughed at him, wondering what the hell was so special about the man that everyone called “The Dom”, that it would make his brother jack off over his photos three and four times a day. He was still trying to figure out what the big draw was. Vicktor was sexy, but he wasn’t all that.

He purposefully ignored the large wet stain on the front of his jeans that made a liar out of him.

“Did you drive here?” Vicktor asked him and Daniel lifted his head and found his gaze ensnared by the taller man’s.

Shit.

That was the fucking draw right there. Vicktor looked like he wanted to take care of him. Like it would be his greatest honor to take care of him and that, in order for him to take care of Daniel, he had to dominate him. Daniel was inclined to believe him. Fuck, he’d get on his knees right there in the parking lot if Vicktor asked him to. He saw Vicktor’s head tilt to the side and a small smile come to his face as if he were amused by Daniel.

Wait, had Vicktor asked him a question?

Shit. He couldn’t even think now. What the hell had the massive mountain asked him? His mind swirled through the haze of lust and desire and submissiveness until…

“Oh! No, I took a cab. Thaddeus told me to take a cab. He said that I wouldn’t need my car, which I thought was really weird, because I know for a fact that he and Desmond are supposed to be meeting up later for dinner and I didn’t think they’d want me with them, so the fact that he was telling me to leave my car, didn’t make any sense to me, you know? I mean, it wasn’t like they’d want me to join them at dinner, you know? I mean-“ Daniel stopped talking abruptly when Vicktor placed his hand over his mouth.

“Slow down Boy. That was a yes or no question. Just answer yes or no unless I ask for more. Got it?” Vicktor said with amusement tingeing his words.

Daniel nodded, allowing his tongue to peek through his lips for a moment and licking the palm of Vicktor’s hand. The salty flavor of the other man’s skin burst across his tongue and he saw Vicktor’s nostrils flare and his eyes darken with lust and desire and knew that his own body was reacting in the same way. What the fuck was wrong with him? He wasn’t usually like this. He’d been looking into the whole submission thing for a while, but he wasn’t usually this…impetuous. One part of him wanted to run away from Vicktor, who was obviously the catalyst behind his personality change, while another part, a larger part wanted to kneel right there and beg The Dom to spank him until he passed out.

“Get in the car and then we’ll go back to my place and talk. Okay?” Vicktor said. Daniel nodded and took a small step back, watching as Vicktor walked around the large black SUV to get into the driver’s side. Daniel took a step forward until his brain processed what had been said.

Talk?

~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~                                ~~**~~

Thaddeus nodded to the waiter who led him to the table where his husband waited, a broad smile on his face, his heart still pounding in his chest as he caught a glimpse of the gorgeous man waiting there. Desmond was the perfect specimen for being a male model. All long limbs and dark hair and bright blue eyes. The first time Thaddeus had seen him, he knew that he’d wanted to have the other man on his knees submitting to him. By the end of their first scene which they’d had two days later, he’d known that he wanted the other man wearing his collar.

Two weeks later, he knew he wanted Desmond to wear his ring. So he’d proposed to the beautiful man in a romantic ceremony. Both of their families in attendance, all of their friends, except Vicktor who’d been off in California for some sort of conference and hadn’t been able to get away. He’d gone down on one knee and everyone had cried with the words he’d said and he’d been so sure that Desmond would say yes.

He was wrong.

No one had been more shocked than him when Desmond had told him no.

When he’d asked why, he had been shocked when the other man said that it was because Thaddeus still hadn’t said that he loved him.

It had taken him three months to say it the first time, though he’d felt the emotion from the first night. It was an emotion that had done nothing but strengthen and grow firmer as the days had passed.

It wasn’t until six months after he’d proposed that first time that he’d proposed again.

This time Desmond had said yes.

One year later, they were still happy and still in love.

Thaddeus had never been so happy to be rejected in his life.

He walked towards his husband, his grin getting bigger as he got closer and closer to the love of his life. He leaned over the table and captured Desmond’s lips with his own as soon as he stopped at the table, moaning into his the smaller man’s soft and sweet kiss. Pulling back after a long moment, he sat down in his seat, ignoring the looks of shock, interest, disgust and confusion on the faces of the other patrons in the restaurant. He knew that people looked at him and even Vicktor and expected the both of them to be surrounded by a bunch of groupies, with the both of them wearing long chains of gold or silver talking about “bling, bling” and “bitches” and growing up in “the hood.” They wouldn’t be further from the truth with their stereotypes, however. He had grown up in the suburbs of Moline, Illinois and while Vicktor never spoke about where he’d been born, Thaddeus knew for a fact that he’d grown up in Moline, right next to him, after he’d been adopted by the Parthings family. The Parthings were a very well to do Caucasian family and Vicktor had grown up attending the orchestra, the ballet, the theater and museums in addition to going to concerts and football games with everyone else.

They’d both attended Ivy League schools after graduating from college. Vicktor had attended Harvard University and he’d attended Stanford. The two had kept in touch, not only because they were best friends but because in middle school they’d both realized that they were gay and while they’d realized that neither one of the would “bottom” for the other without a fight a some bruises, they both realized that they got off when they were dominating others.

They weren’t sadistic about it, and contrary to what his therapist had told his parents, it wasn’t a control mechanism employed by a victim of rape or neglect. Hell, he’d never experienced either of those things and he was still a Dom…or he was before he’d married Desmond, now he was just a husband. Vicktor though. Vicktor was born to be a Dom. Regardless of his birth parents, Vicktor was born to take charge. Born to lead. Born to dominate. He’d grown up telling people that he pissed dominance and leadership and it wasn’t an exaggeration. The man had such a presence about him that Thaddeus had found himself fighting against the urge he had to kneel or bend over for the other man. Which is the reason why they’d only been friends growing up and never anything else.

“So did DV agree?” Desmond asked, his voice soft and slightly hesitant. Thaddeus cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, ignoring his husband’s grin at the evidence of his obvious state of arousal.

“He agreed so well that neither he nor Daniel even noticed when I left the bar,” Thaddeus stated, graciously accepting the menu handed to him from the waiter. He saw as Desmond glared at the waiter who was still standing by the table as if waiting for Thaddeus to notice him.

Thaddeus grinned. His husband was so cute when he was being all fierce and possessive. People didn’t understand that sometimes Doms got off on their subs or their partners being just as possessive and jealous as they themselves were. The Dom/sub relationship was completely different from that of a Master/slave relationship and Thaddeus knew that even if he’d been a “Master” and Desmond was his “slave,” that Desmond still would have been extremely possessive. It made his chest rumble with a contented purr.

He saw Desmond grin at him and he barely glanced up at the waiter, he only had eyes for his husband. Besides, he had a feeling that this was going to be a very short dinner.

“I’ll have a steak, well-done, with Portobello mushrooms on top with the red skinned potatoes on the side, let me have the sour cream on the side. My husband will have the lemon-ginger chicken with the steamed vegetables, no butter on any of that, bring him the butter on the side. Bring us another bottle of wine and the check as well. We’re going to be having dessert at home. Off my husband’s naked body,” Thaddeus ordered, ignoring the waiter completely and looking at Desmond the other time. He heard the waiter gasp before uttering a quick and almost inaudible “Yes sir,” before scampering away. Thaddeus grinned at the look of complete and utter adoration shining in his husband’s eyes.

“I think we may have to get those meals to go, love,” Desmond stated huskily.

Without hesitation Thaddeus lifted his hand in the air, “Waiter!”