by Ivy Nelson
Austin obediently turned to face the curtain, and Patrick tucked her dress up so it wouldn’t cover the results of her punishment.
Patrick and Lance took a few minutes to discuss spanking and take questions from the audience. When they were done, Patrick called Austin back to the front of the stage.
“Austin, how do you feel after that?”
She blushed but leaned into the mic. “Horny, Master Patrick.”
Patrick gave her a mock scowl and shook his head. “How about remorseful for being a disrespectful sub?”
Austin grinned. “Oh yes, that too. Master Lance spanks hard,” she said, reaching back to rub her bottom.
“How do you feel about the fact that punishment makes you horny?”
Austin dropped her hand and said, “I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s part of my sexuality, so there’s no need to be ashamed of it.”
Patrick lifted her chin, so she was looking him in the eye. “Very good girl. I know that was vulnerable for you. I think you deserve a reward.”
Her eyes clouded with lust and Patrick hated that this was as far as he could take it tonight. He handed the microphone to Lance, who would take over narrating the scene for the sensual spanking Patrick was about to give.
“Across my lap, sweet sub,” Patrick said, taking her wrist and helping her over.
He caressed Austin’s warm ass and she sank further into his lap, relaxing for him.
“Good girl,” he crooned. “Let’s see how wet we can make you.” With gentle movements, he pushed her legs apart and cupped her between her thighs. “Soaked already,” he murmured. “Did Master Lance make you horny, baby girl?”
Austin nodded. “Yes, Master Patrick.”
“Do you want me to spank you some more? Maybe until you come in front of all these people?”
Austin gave another frantic nod. “Yes, please, Sir.”
Patrick grinned and brought his hand down on her right cheek. She groaned and he felt his cock stir. The swat wasn’t overly hard, but it wasn’t a soft pat either. He struck again, alternating cheeks. “Such lovely sounds you make,” he said after several swats. He dipped a finger between her legs and found her clit. Lance had finished his explanation of the scene and now stood back to watch it unfold. When she was just on the edge, Patrick would resume spanking her, a little harder each time.
He repeated this process multiple times. A few swats followed by massaging her clit until she was on the brink and begging to come. He’d considered denying her until the crowd was gone and they were alone in their suite, but that seemed too dickish, even for him. The fourth time through the sequence, he continued to brush at her clit with his fingers until she exploded in his palm.
His cock was pressing hard against his jeans as his beautiful sub came undone beneath him. He wanted nothing more than to lift her into his lap and kiss her hard, but he knew if he did that, he wouldn’t stop at just a kiss.
The thought that the sacred ground of Solitaire could have been violated by someone wishing to do them harm put knots in his gut as he helped her stand. Solitaire was his home, and now Austin was his girl. He would do whatever he needed to protect them both, and right now, that meant ending this demo as if it were a God damned play at the Paramount theater instead of finishing it the way he wanted.
He pulled her into a hug as she shuddered. Turning them so the audience could only see them from a side profile, he whispered in her ear. “I’m so proud of you, baby girl. I can’t wait to fuck you later when everyone leaves.”
She kept her face buried in his shoulder and nodded.
“I think that concludes our demo,” Lance said. “Patrick and I are going to go backstage with Austin and make sure she’s OK. Before the demo we discussed the kind of aftercare we would all need. That’s an important element to this. Figure out with your partners what kinds of things you need after an emotionally charged scene. They can take a lot out of a person, and tops and bottoms alike should get the aftercare they need—even after a punishment session.”
The audience murmured their agreement.
“Before we go, I think it would be remiss of me not to tell you that she didn’t actually tell me to fuck off. But she played along with our little roleplay for the purposes of this demo so let’s all give her a round of applause.”
The audience erupted with cheers, clapping, and whistles, and Patrick and Austin turned to face them. Austin gave a small wave before Lance held the curtain open for them to disappear behind.
“You OK, Austin?” he asked quietly when she curled herself into Patrick’s arms again.
“I’m good. Just overwhelmed. That took more out of me than I thought it would. Are you OK?”
Lance smiled. “I’m great. That was fun. Thank you for playing along. You’re done with your reception shift tonight, so stay here as long as you like.”
Austin nodded and Patrick’s arms tightened around her.
“How was that for you?” he asked when they were alone.
“It was really nice. I wasn’t sure how I would feel, but it was OK. I’m just drained. How was it for you?”
Patrick stroked her hair and wrestled with how honest to be. “I didn’t like watching Lance spank you,” he admitted. “But he was respectful about it, so I didn’t get too jealous. Watching your ass turn red still made my cock hard though, so it was a positive experience.”
Austin pulled away to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry you felt any negative feelings at all.”
Patrick smiled. “That’s sweet of you to say. I’ll be fine. I’m the one who gets to take you to bed at the end of the night.”
Austin blushed. “That’s very true.”
“We should get back out there. I have to stick around down here until two, but if you need to get away, you can go to the suite.”
Austin nodded and leaned up to kiss him. “I’m fine. I’m enjoying getting to know some of the other subs, and Simon recruited me for the shutdown crew tonight, so I’ll be down here until two also.”
Patrick was happy she was fitting in to the house submissive group so well. She was stubborn sometimes and liked to be in charge, so he hadn’t been sure how that would go. So far, she seemed to be blossoming.
He hated not being able to play with her, but until Lance deemed it safe, he would take all the stolen moments he could.
Chapter Twenty-One
Austin sat in her office on Monday morning thinking about her weekend at Solitaire, as she twirled the bracelet on her wrist. Patrick was back in California to take care of business, and she was due at the detention center in two hours for a visit with a client.
Her phone rang. Picking it up without looking at the caller ID, she gave her traditional professional greeting.
“Miss Yates, I have another client I’d like you to look in on and take over the case for us.”
“Mr. Thorley,” she said, sitting up straighter. “What do you have for me?”
“I’m emailing you the details now. It’s another case that could really use a woman’s touch.”
Austin rolled her eyes. That meant it was a case with a female defendant.
Pulling up the email, she gave the file a quick scan. Rosaline Nash, a very wealthy woman accused of trying to poison her husband. She had paid the firm a pretty penny.
“I’ll be happy to speak with her, Mr. Thorley. Is she out on bail?
“Yes. We’re the second firm she’s hired. Let’s try not to lose her as a client. She can be picky. I need all your attention on this one, so I’ve reassigned the Sutton case to Mike and Jack.”
Austin froze, her finger hovering over the arrow key on her keyboard. “Mr. Sutton was very clear that I’m supposed to be in charge of his case.”
Austin scowled at the phone. The law required Patrick to be able to pick his own attorney. His contract may allow a partner to oversee the case, but Austin still had to be allowed to represent him in court. Surely Thorley knew that.
“Mr. Sutton doesn
’t know what’s best. If he doesn’t like my decision, he can find another firm to work with. We don’t need him or his money.”
“And we need Rosaline Nash?”
“Watch it, Miss Yates. You’re just an associate.”
Austin fought the urge to growl. “I need to go, Mr. Thorley. I have a client to see.”
A knock on the door startled her as she hung up the phone. “Come in,” she called.
“Hey, Austin,” Mike said. “I’m just here to pick up the Sutton file.”
“I’m not done annotating it yet. I’ll send it over when I’m done,” she said.
Mike shrugged. “Whatever. The trial isn’t for another six weeks, and that’s if it doesn’t get delayed again. I’m sure we’ll work out a plea before then.”
Austin pointed a finger at him. “Patrick doesn’t want a plea deal. You will never get him to agree to one.”
Mike scowled. “Mr. Sutton will be made to see reason. They want to send him to prison. He’s going to do time, it’s just a question of how much.”
Austin had to dig her nails into her palms to prevent herself from hurling her stapler at his head. “Just get out. I’ll send the file when I’m done with it,” she said through clenched teeth.
Mike backed out. “What, are you fucking him?” he muttered as he closed the door.
Austin buried her face in her hands. She hated this place. But it was her penance for sending an innocent man to prison.
With a heavy sigh, she gathered her files and left the office wishing Patrick were here.
She tried calling him, but it went straight to voicemail, so she sent him a text.
Need to talk. It’s kind of urgent.
Thirty seconds after she hit send, his face lit up the screen and she smiled. It was a photo she’d snapped at dinner one night. His brooding dark brown eyes sent her heart into overdrive.
“Hi,” she said, breathlessly.
“Hi. What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice stern and no nonsense.
“Um… I don’t know how to tell you this.”
She heard him speak to someone. “Excuse me, please. I need to take this call in private.”
A few seconds later he said, “Spit it out, Austin. I’m in the middle of a meeting, but I’m here if you need me.”
“Sorry. Mr. Thorley reassigned your case to Jack and Mike. Won’t take no for an answer. I’m not sure what to do. Mike came for your file. I told him I needed to finish making notes. He said he wasn’t in a hurry because he was going to arrange a plea deal for you anyway.”
“Like hell he is,” Patrick bit out. “I’ll be on a plane this afternoon, and we’ll work this out.”
She took a deep breath. “There’s one other thing.”
“I’m listening,” he said impatiently when she paused.
“Mike asked me if I was fucking you. He left before I could respond.”
He was quiet, but when she spoke, she could hear the edge in his voice. “I swear to God if I see that bastard anywhere near my case, I’m going to deck him. You really don’t need to be working there Austin.”
She cringed. Of course that’s where his head would go.
“I know. I just can’t. I don’t think I’ve earned it yet.”
“I wish I knew what you meant by that, Austin. You’re fucking brilliant. Why can’t you let yourself have the thing I know you want?”
“It’s too difficult to explain.”
Patrick sighed. “Baby girl. You really know how to try my patience. I need to get back to this meeting and salvage an investment deal. I’m going to handle this with Thorley. I’m sorry about what Mike said to you. He had no right to question you like that.”
“I miss you,” she whispered.
“I miss you too, baby girl. I’m serious about getting on a plane tonight.”
Austin wiped at a tear that trailed down her cheek. “You don’t have to do that. Go back to your meeting. I’m sure you can handle this with a phone call.”
“And miss a chance to spend the night with you? I don’t think so. I hear the tears in your voice. I’ll see you tonight.”
Austin knew better than to argue with him at that point. His mind was made up.
“OK. I’ll be waiting.”
That afternoon, when she was back in her office, Jack came to collect Sutton’s file.
“He’s flying in to meet us in the morning. I’d really like to look over everything you have.”
Austin had taken the time to copy everything she needed, so she reluctantly handed him the folder.
“Sorry,” Jack said. “I know you brought him in, but I think you’ll do great with the Nash case.”
Austin gave him a tight smile and turned her head back to her computer screen.
Patrick’s plane was landing at seven, and she would meet him at his hotel at eight-thirty. She just had a few more hours to go.
When she walked into the Four Seasons, Patrick was waiting for her in the lobby. He didn’t pull her in for a kiss, just put a hand at the small of her back and walked her to the elevator where he scanned his card for the penthouse level.
They were the only ones in the elevator, so he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her hair. She inhaled his scent, but they still didn’t say anything to each other.
Once inside his suite, he gripped her hair and kissed her hard.
“Strip,” he commanded.
When she was naked, he hauled her into his arms again and ravaged her mouth. “Christ, I feel like a fucking teenager. It’s barely been twenty-four hours since we said goodbye. You’ve managed to get under my skin.”
Austin sighed and sank into his still clothed chest. “I feel the same way. What are we going to do about it?”
Patrick chuckled. “Right now, we’re going to bed, and after I’ve fucked you senseless, we’re going to figure out how to make you realize what you’re worth, so you’ll stop letting Thorley and his goons run you over.”
Austin sighed. She’d been hoping to avoid that conversation. Thankfully, he was more focused on the fucking her senseless part at that moment, because he didn’t give her a chance to say anything else.
The next morning, she woke sore and satiated. He was already up and dressed. Breakfast was waiting for her when she wandered out of the bedroom.
“Morning, baby girl,” he said, handing her a robe and pulling out a chair for her.
“I want you to quit your job,” he said when she was sitting.
Her head jerked up from dishing eggs onto her plate. “Excuse me?”
“I’m tired of watching these jackasses run you over. I spent the morning on the phone with them, and I can’t imagine why you’re still there.”
Austin sighed. “Please, Patrick. I don’t even know how to explain everything. I sent an innocent man to prison when I was working for the DA’s office. I’ve spent the last five years trying to do something about it, but I can’t. I work for Thorley because after I rage quit the DA’s office, he was willing to give me a shot. I didn’t realize at the time that I was just a diversity check mark for them—I’m one of two female associates. But I feel like I’m stuck here until that verdict gets overturned.”
Patrick stared at her, clearly not understanding. “So, this is some kind of punishment for you?”
Austin gave a slow nod. “I told you it was difficult to explain.”
Patrick pushed his chair closer to hers and picked up her hand. “It’s fucked up is what it is. You need to let go of the past, Austin. I’m sure you had every reason to think you were doing the right thing when you prosecuted that case. At the very least, you were just doing your job. If he’s really innocent, the system will sort it out.”
Austin gave a short laugh. “You don’t know how many innocent people I’ve seen locked up, Patrick.”
He stroked her hair. “Sweetheart, that’s not your burden to bear. Follow your dreams, open your own firm. I’ll support you every step of the way. I won’t even say I’m going to help you, because I
don’t think you need help. You might need a kick in the pants to get started, and I’ll definitely give you that.”
Austin shook her head. “I don’t know. That’s a big undertaking. And you still might be stuck with Jack and Mike as your lawyers. The contract says a partner can oversee the case and there is a lot of latitude about what that means.”
Patrick smiled. “Don’t worry about that. I’m perfectly within my rights to fire them and hire another firm, preferably yours.”
“There’s no way I get this done in six weeks.”
Patrick grinned. “You would be amazed what a wealthy investor can accomplish in a short timeframe. We got Solitaire up and running in less than three months.”
Austin shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. I’ve been saving my money. I’m perfectly capable of doing this myself when the time is right. I don’t want your money.”
Patrick sighed. “I’m going to let this rest for now. But we’re not done talking about it.”
Austin gave a dry laugh. I’m sure we’re not. I guess I should go to work soon.”
Patrick stood. “We’ll go together. I have a meeting with your friends in an hour or so anyway. I’ll have the driver drop me off at a coffee shop and walk in on my own.”
Soon they were on their way to the law firm with Patrick’s arm around her. Having been independent for so long, Austin wasn’t sure how she felt about how right it seemed to have him there. He kissed her gently when the driver dropped him at the coffee shop.
When she stepped out of the elevator onto her floor ten minutes later, Jax Fischer was waiting outside her door.
Mr. Fischer,” she said, holding out her hand. “What a pleasant surprise.”
He stood and gave her an uncomfortable smile. “Why do all you snobby wealthy types insist on calling me Mr. Fischer? I’m just Jax.”
Austin chuckled. “I should be offended, Jax. I’m neither snobby nor wealthy.”
Jax looked around her office, skepticism written all over his face.
“I’m not destitute or anything, but compared to the boys at Solitaire, I’m pretty well in the middle class. All of this is paid for by the owners. Now they are definitely wealthy.”
