“I’ll need a count, sub.”
She felt Sir Mark rub his hands over her butt cheeks, chafing them, then without warning a stinging fire flared on her ass. The sharp pain brought tears to her eyes.
“One, Sir,” she choked out, her throat tight with tears.
He swatted her again, then again and again.
“Two, three, four, Sir.”
Sir Jacob swatted her two more times and she counted them for him. Crying, she felt his finger slide over the crotch of her thong and knew he would find her panties damp from earlier but her pussy completely dry. Disappointed, she rested her head on the padded bench and hiccupped. Maybe she wasn’t submissive after all.
Sir Jacob crouched down next to her, his eyes meeting hers. “Sir Vincent is going to spank you now. Count them out for him.”
Addison sniffled then nodded as she waited for Sir Vincent to begin. Feeling the warmth of his leather-covered leg pressing into the side of her bare hip for a moment, she tensed as he moved back and his hand slapped her ass, making a sharp stinging sound. She cried out and more tears filled her eyes. “Seven, Sir.” He swatted her three more times in rapid succession. “Eight, Nine, Ten, Sir.” Sir Jacob rose and she felt him testing her with his finger. A moment later he crouched down by her side again.
“Tell me what you’re feeling, Addison.”
Addison hiccupped, then feeling frustrated and disappointed she blurted out what was on her mind. “Nothing! I just don’t understand. When Cade spanked me it was amazing. I still dream about it and I wake up aroused every time, but right now I only feel the pain of being…hit.” More tears slid from her eyes and formed a pool on the padded bench beneath her cheek.
Jacob thought about it for a moment. “Addison, I’m going to blindfold you and when I do I want you to think of only one thing…Cade. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Excellent.” Jacob nodded to Sir Vincent and a moment later a mask slipped over her eyes, blocking out the light and the mirror image of the room behind her. “I want you to fantasize about Cade. That he’s here and it’s his hand spanking you. You don’t need to keep count. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jacob waited a couple minute and when the pulse in Addison’s neck began to beat more rapidly he ran his hands over her ass then squeezed her buttocks and lifted his hand and swatted her, hard. She cried out with pain but at the same time he saw the small vein in her neck pulse faster. He smiled and swatted her again and again. Her ass began to turn rosy, but more importantly he could see the cream of her arousal wetting the edges of her thong as she pressed her ass back into his hand. He gave her a couple more swats then massaged her ass cheeks and ran his hand up over her back to her neck.
“I’m going to remove the mask now, little one,” he told her as he pushed the mask off her head. He looked into her dilated eyes, the intense periwinkle-blue barely showing in a thin circle around her pupils. She was panting, and he thought she probably didn’t realize she was rocking back and forth with arousal. “How do you feel now?”
Addison blushed then held her body still as she cleared her throat. “Uh, really aroused, Sir.” She lifted her head and a delighted giggle escaped her. “I don’t understand?”
“That’s because it’s not just the spanking that arouses you but the thought of Cade spanking you.” He chuckled when he saw her shiver at the mention of Cade’s name. Releasing the restraints, he helped her up then carried her to a couch and wrapped a blanket around her. After opening a bottle of water and handing it to her, he sat down across from her. She curled up like a kitten that had just gotten a nice bowl of cream, he thought. “If you can convince that stubborn fool to have a marriage and a D/s lifestyle you’re going to be revoltingly happy,” he told her with an envious chuckle.
Addison giggled. “Thank you, Sir. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you and Sir Mark and Sherry for all you’ve done for me.” She glanced at Sir Vincent and blushed. He sent her an understanding grin.
“If Cade Ramsey doesn’t want a D/s relationship with you, little one, I’m calling dibs.”
“I saw her first,” Jacob told him.
Addison laughed. She could hardly wait to see Cade and show him what she had learned. But first she was going to deal with his brothers and make them squirm for helping him keep his secret all these years.
Chapter Three
“Think Cade will be here?” Logan Ramsey asked as he slid two beers across the table to his twin brother Luc.
“Doubt it.” Luc slid a bottle farther along the table to the youngest Ramsey brother, Zane.
“He’s never missed a year,” Logan said as he lifted the beer to his mouth, his movements in perfect sync with Luc’s.
Zane took a sip then asked, “Anybody heard from him lately?”
“Worrying about big brother?” a deep voice asked from the shadows. “Waste of time. Last time I spoke to him he was searching for a billionaire’s daughter.” Jackson Ramsey grabbed a chair, swung it around then straddled it. “If he’s coming he’ll just show up.”
“Did she run away?” Logan asked.
“Scumbag boyfriend kidnapped her.” Glancing at the empty bottles on the table, Jackson caught the eye of the bartender and circled his finger in the air to let him know they needed another round.
“Still wish he’d call once in a while and let us know he’s still alive,” Zane mumbled as he finished his beer then grabbed another one as their waitress, Janie, set four beers on the table and removed the empty bottles. “Just doesn’t seem right to celebrate The Tradition without him here.”
Four pairs of green eyes glanced at the empty chair at the table. Cade had begun the tradition on the first year anniversary of the day the five brothers had been adopted by Jake and Katherine Ramsey. He had been twelve then and had woken them at midnight and had them gather in the ranch kitchen for a late-night feast of cake and sweet tea. It had been twenty years since that first celebration, but the brothers still tried to get together on this day in memory of the two people who had been willing to take on five rowdy and bitter boys.
“How’s the ranch?” Zane asked Jackson.
“Busy. Putting in a new fence along the east boundary.”
“Glad it’s you and not me,” Zane told him, sipping his beer.
“You could come out on the weekend and help.”
“Can’t. I just got the Dalmon case. I have to appear before the Judge on Monday.”
“That the guy who tried to have his wife killed for her money?” Jackson asked.
“Yes.” Zane turned away. A sure sign he didn’t want to talk about the case. “How’s the club doing, Logan? Any special events planned for this month?”
“The May Day masquerade ball is next Saturday. Same as every year.”
Jackson set his empty bottle in the center of the table then signaled the bartender for another round. “I’ve heard a disturbing rumor about Valerie Jones and those two friends of hers.”
“Damn, I wish Cade hadn’t ever fucked that girl.” Luc acknowledged the warning glance Jackson gave him by making room for Janie to move between him and Logan. When she bent forward to unload the tray, his eyes automatically skimmed her body. The skirt she wore was short and tight. The material of her top low cut so a man could appreciate a glimpse of creamy breasts. She had really nice breasts. His eyes met Logan’s across the curve of her ass. “Put it on our tab, darlin’.”
Janie smiled. “I’m still happily married.”
“Can’t blame a man for trying, darlin’.”
Jackson waited until Janie had picked up the tip then moved away before continuing the previous conversation. “Seems Valerie’s going around talking about Club Mystique and Cade.”
“Damn.” Zane sat forward. “Does Cade know?”
“Yup. So far he’s managed to do damage control concerning that night Addison caught him with you two dumbasses and Linda. If Addison hears these rumors, she’s going to put one
and one together and come up with Cade’s head.”
“How were we supposed to know she was going to show up out of the blue and see Cade with Linda?” Logan asked.
“A very-naked-sucking-on-Cade’s-cock Linda,” Luc reminded him. “I agree it was our fault for having her at the ranch but once Cade started dating Addison—”
“And messing with her,” Logan added and Luc nodded.
“He would come home wound so tight and so fucking distracted we were afraid he’d screw up on the job and get himself killed,” Luc concluded.
“It’s partly Cade’s fault, too,” Logan added. “Hell, we all know how hell-bent he is on having a so-called normal marriage with Addison just like Katherine and Jake. I told him he was fucking up but he wouldn’t listen.”
Luc nodded in agreement. “He could have explained to Addison about being a Dom that night and what it means, but he’s so damn stubborn and he thinks that part of his life is none of her business. He wouldn’t even let us explain it to her.”
Jackson set his beer down. “Eventually she’s going to find out how we’ve all kept her in the dark and when she does I don’t want to be anywhere around.”
Logan let a small grin cross his lips as he added, “That girl is still as wild as a spring pony. First time I ever saw Dad looking scared was the first day we met Addison when he caught her riding Diablo. I’ll never forget how she rode that big, mean bastard up to the fence, pulled him up in a cloud of dust, and asked Dad how much he wanted for the stallion in that sweet little Irish accent of hers.”
“Damn, I wished I’d seen that.” Zane laughed.
“Only time I ever heard Dad raise his voice to anyone,” Jackson added. “Once he got her off Diablo he started in yelling at her. Telling her how much danger she had been in, but Addison just stood there staring at Cade with those big blue eyes. Then when Dad finally wound down she told him she’d like to take him with her and he could send the bill to her accountant.” Jackson laughed. “I don’t think she was talking about Diablo anymore, though. I think she was talking about Cade!”
The brothers’ laughter drew the attention of several women at a nearby table but they were oblivious to the silent offers in the ladies’ eyes.
“Remember the day she shoved Cade into the river so he wouldn’t fuck Laura King?” Luc asked. Masculine chuckles echoed from the table as the memory of a muddy and wet teenage Cade carrying a screaming twelve-year-old Addison over his shoulder flashed across their minds. “Every time he took a step she hit him with that stick she was carrying.”
“Damn, I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes and by the time I could see again Cade was sitting on the steps with Addison across his lap and he had gotten that stick away from her and was swatting her on the bottom of those ragged red britches she always wore.”
“I swear her screams were so loud they scared the horses.” Jackson chuckled. “Who would have ever thought a little thing like that could make so much noise?”
“Well, considering her mother was one of the most famous singers in the world it makes sense that Addison can scream the roof down,” Zane told them. “Too bad she didn’t get her mother’s voice.”
Jackson choked on the sip he had just taken. “Hell’s fire, Zane, don’t remind a man of that when he’s drinking. I’ll never forget the night she serenaded Cade with that dirty Scottish ditty about what a highlander wears under his kilt. When he realized she’d gotten into Maggie Lamont’s ‘cough medicine’ he threw her into the horse trough. That sobered her up real fast considering it was the middle of January and the trough had a thin layer of ice on the top!”
“I don’t think anyone has ever made Cade as mad as Addison,” Logan said.
Jackson laughed. “What you don’t know is that Laura King had snuck up to Cade’s room that night. How Addison always knew what Cade was up to I’ll never know.”
Laughing, they all turned and looked toward the entrance when the door slammed shut.
Luc whispered, “Speak of the devil,” and pointed out the lusciously curvaceous woman who had just entered the tavern. She was dressed in tight blue jeans and a V-neck lavender vest that left bare a generous amount of cleavage and an intriguing strip of smooth belly. As she turned, scanning the room, they saw the long waves of shiny, reddish-gold hair flowing down to her waist, making a man want to bury his hands in the silky mass.
“Damn, she sure grew up nice.” Zane squawked as Jackson kicked him under the table.
“That’s Cade’s woman, boy. Keep your eyes to yourself.”
“Tell it to all the other bastards in here,” Zane shot back. “They’re looking at her like they want to eat her up. Who would’ve ever thought Addison would look like that?” He glared at Jackson. “You kick me again I’m going to come over this table and kick your ass. A man can’t look at something that pretty and not admire it. How Cade’s managed to keep himself from taking her to bed and keeping her there I’ll never know.”
* * * *
Addison scanned the room for Cade’s brothers. She knew they would be here tonight even though it was a Friday night and the Hard Times Tavern was crowded nearly to overflowing. She hadn’t heard from Cade, so she figured he wouldn’t be here, which was a lucky break for her. His presence would have played havoc with her plans. Tonight, she intended to teach Jackson, Logan, Luc, and Zane a lesson they wouldn’t soon forget.
Looking to her left she scanned the large crowd of partiers for the brothers and didn’t find them. Most of the tables around the bar were occupied, although a lot of people were on the dance floor two-stepping to a country and western love song. Scanning down the right side of the room, she found them sitting at a large table in the furthest corner from the band. Seeing Logan and Luc she forced herself to stay calm and follow her plan even though her first inclination was to march over there and knock their stupid twin heads together.
Glancing around the room and seeing a lot of the women giving the Ramsey brothers hopeful looks, at first she felt sorry for them. Then she had to admit she really couldn’t blame them. She and Jenna didn’t call the Ramsey’s lickalicious for no reason. All of the brothers were over six feet tall with hard bodies, jet-black hair, and eyes of some shade of let’s-get-naked-green. And, even though she was upset with them at this moment, she had to admit that it wasn’t just their looks that made a woman yearn for them. It was them. The type of men they were, masculine, protective, strong, and according to Valerie, really good at giving a woman not just orgasms, but spectacular orgasms.
She believed now that after one of their dates Cade would drop her off and then go to a club to play. Valerie had said he had been with other women. Addison knew Valerie twisted the truth with the lie but after catching him with Linda she had to believe that part was true. Bastard, she thought. No telling how many clubs he’s been in.
“You looking for some company, little lady?” A rough-looking man moved closer to her, trying to crowd her against the wall.
“Nope.” Addison shoved him away and gracefully wove her way through the tables toward the Ramsey brothers. Thank God for Sherry and Mark Carlisle and Cassie Williams. And, Jacob Daniels, and Vincent Vitale, the first and only men she had ever met who could give Cade some competition. Even though Sir Mark had ordered Sherry not to gossip about Cade with Addison, the other subs at Club Elysium had dropped a few hints about him before Mark had managed to stop them. Cade had made quite an impression on them, she thought cynically. It seemed he was willing to fuck any woman but her.
Even though she had only experienced the one erotic spanking from Sir Jacob and Sir Vincent, she knew without a shadow of doubt that she was submissive. As she had learned more about herself, she had learned to understand Cade, and so many things had started to make sense to her now. For the first time she really understood the kind of man he was and what he needed from her. She wanted to forgive him but so much depended on his reaction and acceptance of the new, and she thought improved, woman she was becoming.
<
br /> Stepping around the last table, she only managed to smile at the brothers by thinking about her plan to make them sweat. They all stood up and Jackson was the first to greet her with a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before he passed her to Logan who greeted her the same way before passing her to Luc. Four hugs and kisses later, she slid onto the last empty chair at the table. Leaning forward, she folded her arms on the top and waited for the brothers to settle down.
Deep blue eyes moved from brother to brother until she had made a full circle, then they shifted to the tabletop, long dark lashes resting on creamy cheeks. Without looking up, she knew they were enjoying her act of submission. Recalling what Sherry and Cassie had taught her, she easily slipped into the part she had decided to play in this scene. Biting her bottom lip, she worried it for a moment. She might not have inherited her mother’s singing voice, she thought, but she sure had gotten her acting ability. “I seem to have a little problem that I’m hoping you can help me with.” She made her voice as melodious as possible, allowing her lilting brogue to wrap around the words.
Jackson tipped his head down and looked into her bluer-than-blue eyes. A few minutes ago if anyone had asked him he would have told them that Addison Matthews was out for blood. Now he thought he could see the worry in her eyes. Covering her hand, feeling how small it was, he noticed that she had lost weight and he began to worry. He lifted her hand and ran his finger over it, feeling the fragile bones beneath her satiny skin. He glanced at his brothers, knowing from their expressions that they had gotten the message he had silently sent them. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze he assured her, “Whatever you need, Addison.”
Addison nodded her head and her shiny curls drifted around her porcelain cheeks, framing it. “Well, I don’t really know how to say this. It’s a little embarrassing.” Covering her face with her hands, she let them believe her red cheeks were the result of embarrassment and not the almost overwhelming need to give in and start breaking beer bottles over their heads.
To Love and Obey [The Doms of Club Mystique] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 6
