“He’s an ass.”
She lifted a brow and tipped her head. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s arrogant,” he said on a low growl.
She laughed. “So are you. Perhaps this is why you dislike him. He reminds you of yourself.”
Noah jerked away and jammed his hands on his hips. “I don’t dislike him. He’s just too damn sure of himself. Like you said, he’s too new for such egotism.”
Madelyn smothered a smile. “Whatever you say, Sir.”
“That’s more like it.”
She fiddled with the belt to her robe. “Noah.” She faltered, tugging her lip between her teeth.
The remaining darkness drained from him, and concern once more flitted across his face. He stroked her cheek. “What is it, Madelyn?”
“I know you won’t believe me, but he’s very vulnerable. Wait,” she cried when he opened his mouth on a certain smart-ass response. “I see it in him. He’s so at loose ends right now, adrift in confusion. This is something new for him, and he does not know how to respond.”
Noah’s brow furrowed. “Is that why you think he ran?”
“Yes. He did not mean to injure me, and when he did, it scared him greatly. We must find him and show him neither of us is angry.” She sighed again. “More than that, we must show him we understand and convince him to play again.”
Noah looked like he wanted to argue, but after a moment, he nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But this time no freaking hard discipline implements.”
Before he could get all righteous and self-accusing again, Madelyn agreed. “I am going to take a shower.”
“Wait,” he said, clasping her arm. “Take your robe off. I’m not quite done with the wound. It’s not fully healed.”
She tried to peer over her shoulder but couldn’t see the gash properly. “Really? It doesn’t hurt.”
He snorted. “Of course it doesn’t hurt. That’s part of the problem, remember?”
She winked. “Fine, but hurry up. I want to track him down. Maybe I’ll skip the shower, and we can leave sooner.”
Noah’s hands roamed warmly over her back, and she shivered and arched beneath him, a low purr emanating from her throat. She may not feel pain, but she sure as hell always experienced pleasure when stroked this way.
“No, go ahead. We should give him some time to cool down, anyway.”
Madelyn wiggled, directing his palm to a spot low on her back. “What if he’s getting into trouble?”
“Jeez, woman, enough with the worry. He’s been on the island for three days already. I think if he was going to find trouble, he would have by now.”
“Hm, you are correct, I suppose.”
“I am.” Noah cupped her butt and squeezed, then slapped lightly. “You’re fixed. Now go on, shower up.”
As she slid the silken cover-up back on, something, French intuition inherited from her grandmother perhaps, urged her to dress and find Gabriel right now. “Noah, maybe we should—”
“No, little one, go relax in the shower. He’s fine.” Noah grimaced. “I need the time to reflect and compose myself as well.”
“What? You seem calm enough to me now.”
He shrugged. “Appearances are deceiving, Madelyn.” He glared at nothing. “Krista is proof positive of that statement. The woman is gorgeous with a body that doesn’t quit and legs a man would gladly quit breathing to feel wrapped around him. And her mouth. For all the vile she spews, it’s perfect for sucking cock.”
Ire roused in her again, and she tugged open her robe, then slid it off her shoulders, standing proudly bare before him. “Funny, you do not sound like a man who hates her.”
Lust flared in his eyes as his gaze roamed over her body. “Just because she has the soul of the devil doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the beauty she has on the outside.”
“Then what composing must you do?”
“I still want to kick his ass, Madelyn,” he snapped. “He hurt you, sliced you open.”
“Mon Dieu, let it go already.”
“I’m trying, I promise. But it’s going to take a little time.” Again he looked at her, his green eyes turning warm with sensual desire. “We could burn some of that time up with a little private session.”
She was very tempted. But Gabriel called to her, and the longer she stayed, the more urgent the call became. “Rain check, chéri, when we are both concentrating only on each other.”
“As always, your cooler head prevails.”
“Good. I won’t be long. Be ready to leave when I come out.”
His brow show skyward and she giggled. “Brat.”
“I know. I’ll pay for that later, non?”
Noah crossed his arms and shook his head. “Nope.”
“Merde.”
His warm chuckle chased her into the bathroom, and she closed the door, leaned against the cool panel, and exhaled a grateful breath. Hopefully her teasing would help sort his mood out.
She started the shower, inhaling the misting steam as it billowed into the room. Noah had always been protective, but since the incident with Krista, he’d become smothering at times. Despite their cases since then, he’d rarely let up. Or perhaps, because of them. The people they’d helped in the intervening years were nice enough if a bit regular. Just your normal subs and Doms.
She giggled at the thought. Normal and BDSM were usually never used in the same context.
Gabriel.
His name flittered through her mind, and she gasped, insides reeling as though dealt a physical blow.
She lathered her skin, rinsed, and stepped from the shower. A quick, mostly useless rubdown and she opened the door.
Noah sat in front of the TV, remote in hand, but staring at a blank screen.
“You’re still rushing, darlin’,” he said without turning.
“I know,” she replied and dashed across the room. She yanked open a drawer and pulled out underwear, jeans, and a red T-shirt. “He calls to me, Noah. I don’t know why but we need to track him down. Now.”
The big man rose and set the remote on the lacquered coffee table. As she stepped into her clothes, she studied him. His tension seemed to have eased.
“Better, then?”
“Yeah.” Noah shoved his fingers into his pockets. “I’m sorry, love. I’ll try to reel it in. It’s just being here bugs me. Sets me on edge.”
She zipped her jeans and tugged the shirt over her head. “I know. Perhaps when we are done this time, we will ask Clarissa to keep us away.”
“Good idea.”
She smiled. “Ready?”
“I guess so.”
Slipping her arm through his, she snagged her purse from the closet doorknob. “Let’s go find him, chéri.”
* * * *
Noah led her from the hotel room and down the long corridor. He’d be damned if he would admit it out loud, but finding Gabriel had weighed heavily on his mind the entire time Madelyn was in the shower.
When he was alone and allowed logic to seep back into his brain, he knew he owed the other man an apology. And a real lesson in using whips, not just some by-the-pants overview. He would make sure no one, especially Madelyn, was around during the training, either. No sense tempting ill fate.
Again.
They rounded the curve into the elevator hallway, and he pressed the down button. A sharp blast like the tingle of an old-fashioned hand buzzer zipped up his arm, and he frowned.
Is there a short in the system? He eyed the elevator warily as the chrome doors slid open.
“Noah?”
“Why don’t we take the stairs?”
She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re developing claustrophobia? Besides, we’re ten floors up. Come on.” She stepped into the car and placed her hand over the doors.
“Fine,” he muttered and followed her in. Nothing happened. The elevator was perfectly sound, mirrors and lights all perfectly in working order. He propped his shoulder on the back wall. “Let’s go.”
&n
bsp; She gave him a questioning look, which he ignored.
The trip down was absolutely uneventful. Maybe his finger had been slick or something. The sensation had been a little jolt like when someone licked the end of a battery.
The rotunda housing the various elevators was abuzz with activity. People in all sorts of dress—and undress—bustled around. He nodded to the couple from the bar who’d given Gabriel his spanking show. She looked replete and her Dom smug.
All in a good day’s work.
“It’s likely he will not be in the bar,” Madelyn said. She moved to the glass doors that fronted the beach and pushed them open. “I think he would have left the hotel entirely.”
“Yeah. I suspect he’s at one of the other buildings.” Noah studied a large standing map like the ones which graced amusement parks and malls across the nation. He found the requisite “you are here” sticker and studied their location.
The property boasted eight separate venues, each spiraling away from the main hotel like the tentacles of an octopus.
Gabriel could be at any of them.
He traced the first dotted path with the blunt tip of his finger, ending at Port Plunder.
“No.”
The Cove and Big Richard’s Palace also received negative shakes of his head.
Madelyn shifted impatiently beside him. “Pick one, please. We just need a starting point.”
“Give me a sec,” he ordered.
He looked at the roads leading from the back side of the hotel, following the red path with his eyes. Amaranthine. He tapped the coiled red whip indicating the island’s most limitless facility. Another tingle ran along his skin, and he sucked in a breath.
“There,” he said, stabbing at the whip. “He’s there.”
He looked down and caught Madelyn’s puzzled stare. “How do you know? You sound so certain.”
“I can’t explain it,” he said. He looked at his finger. No outward sign of the zap he’d just felt showed, but he knew without a doubt it was a connection to Gabriel. “I just know.”
“All right, chéri.”
As they threaded their way through the teeming throngs of people, Noah’s senses went further on edge, and he cupped her elbow, picking up the pace.
Madelyn was right. Time was of the essence.
Gabriel was in some kind of danger.
Chapter Five
“Good afternoon. Mind if I join you?”
The sultry, slightly Southern-tinged voice flowed over him like honey, and Gabriel tipped his head back to look at the owner.
She was tall, just a few inches under his own six three and sleek as an alley cat. She wore dark leggings and a low-cut, green silk shirt which made it obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her breasts, though a bit on the small side, pushed through the thin cotton, proudly displaying tight, taut nipples.
Her green-eyed gaze was steady and self-assured.
He hesitated. Inviting strangers to sit and drink with him once landed him in a precarious, gut-turning scenario which he had yet to shake.
The woman shifted, revealing just a hint of impatience. She shook her head, sending a cascade of auburn hair around her oval face. “Sorry I bothered you,” she murmured and turned to leave.
Feeling like a complete ass, Gabriel caught her wrist. “Wait, I’m sorry.” Her skin was cool and almost moist beneath his hand, and he released her, waving toward the empty chair. “Please, sit down. May I buy you a drink?”
She studied him coolly before gracefully sinking into the seat opposite him. “Yes, you may.”
Gabriel signaled to the waiter, who appeared instantly, took her order, and disappeared quietly. Good help, he thought. Get in, get the job done, get out.
“I’m Gabriel,” he said and held out his hand.
She leaned forward, and he caught a glimpse of one round breast. She was not as lush or large as Madelyn.
Gabriel struggled to force that thought from his mind. Comparing women was not only asinine, it was dangerous.
The stranger’s fingers dipped into his briefly before she withdrew. “You may call me Kay.”
Her imperious tone lifted both his brows and ire, but he tamped the emotion. He came here for new opportunities and to check out new ideas and thoughts. Or, as his assistant had said, to break out of his damn comfort zone and actually meet people.
“Kay,” he murmured. “What brings you to Pleasure Isles?”
Her low laugh was both erotic and condescending. “The same as you, Gabriel, I’m sure. The same as all of us. The pursuit of absolute, unfettered lust.”
She was direct, that was for sure.
The waiter set her glass in front of her, sloshing a bit of liquid over the rim.
Her lips tightened, and she carefully shook her wet fingertips as he apologized profusely.
“Yes, yes, that is enough. I’m certain you’ll be more careful in the future.”
Gabriel took a swig of his beer. “I take it you’re a Domme?”
She nodded and smiled, though her eyes remained dark and impassive. “I am, at that. You?”
He shrugged, not ready to discuss what the hell he was since he was still trying to figure that out. “Let’s stick with curious.”
Kay leaned forward and cupped his fist, stroking the ultrasensitive webbing between his thumb and forefinger.
“There is no shame in being a submissive, Gabriel. A lot of men are. A lot of men crave the release of control, long to give away all responsibility.”
Her skin was no longer moist but still retained the slight chill, even in this tropical climate. Damn good air-conditioning.
“I assume it’s the same for women?”
“Indeed,” she concurred. “With society’s expectations of women these days—the demand for us to multitask with work, home, and hobbies—quite a few find great comfort in being confined, tied, whipped, disciplined.”
The southern huskiness in her voice turned each word into an erotic vision in his mind and his mouth went dry. He could clearly see Madelyn being confined and tied and whipped. He wanted to see her that way.
“You approve, I see.” She winked and lifted her glass. “I love a man after my own heart, though I do prefer them on their knees in front of me.” She laughed again and sipped.
Though difficult to do, Gabriel shooed Madelyn’s lingering image aside. He focused his attention on Kay. “Do you get many men in that position?” he asked. For whatever idiotic reason, he’d always pictured women as the submissive partner. That a man would gladly enjoy and encourage such domination from another person never entered his mind.
“Oh yes. More than you would ever expect. I like men because of their abilities to handle more discipline, too. They make my role much more interesting.”
He frowned. “How?”
Her long red nail tapped the glass tabletop. “Well, say you have a man and woman. She’s a bit on the small side and hardly bigger than a teenager. The man, however, is built along sturdier lines. He is taller, heavier—not fat, though, I despise out-of-shape people—and a bit surlier. If I had to choose between the two, I would take him. He’s like a blank canvas with which I can work and create.”
“Huh.” Gabriel considered that for a moment. “So you’re saying less of a chance the guy would be hurt?”
Her lips twitched and she shrugged. “Or that he could take more punishment than his female counterpart.”
An image of Madelyn, bent over the sofa, her lean, pristine white back slashed by the deep bleeding wound of the bullwhip, flashed into his mind. He clenched his teeth and breathed out through his nose, trying to quell the sudden urge to puke.
But he could not help wonder if Noah’s body would have been able to take the whip better and with less damage.
“Would you like a demonstration?”
He roused himself. “Sorry, what?”
Annoyance flicked in her eyes. “Good thing you’re not my sub,” she said, voice tight. “I’d punish you for your inattention.”
>
The arrogant words pissed him off, and he nodded. “Good thing, then. Interesting meeting you, Kay,” he said, shoving back his chair and standing.
She rose as well, her hand clutching at his bare forearm. “Occupational hazard,” she said with a self-deprecating smile. “I asked if you would like to witness a demonstration of what I’m talking about. The difference between disciplining a man and a woman?”
“I don’t think so, but thank you.”
Her fingers tightened, the rounded tips of her nails gouging into his skin. He met her eyes.
“Good thing you’re not my submissive,” he said evenly. “Think of the punishment that little infraction would bring.”
Her smile widened. “Come on, Gabriel. Live a little. Indulge your curiosity. I see it in your eyes.”
He wanted to deny the comment, but couldn’t. He really was curious to see how a female dominatrix operated. So far, he’d only watched a handful of men with their female partners.
“There’s a small gathering just down the beach going on right now.” Kay’s slow drawl worked up his spine and tingled in his ears.
He brushed away his hesitation. “All right, lead the way.” He stepped aside and allowed her to pass. Her long red hair rippled as she stalked past with purpose, the click of her high heels strong against the natural stone floor.
“Follow me.”
The woman sure did like to toss orders around. Gabriel popped his shoulder, thought about new experiences, and fell into step behind her.
As they approached the glass door leading toward the beach, he reached around her and pushed down the steel handle.
“Thank you,” she said. She pushed her way through the door and headed for a patch of lush tropical bushes. She turned left and disappeared into the greenery.
Gabriel was tempted to fall back and forget the whole thing.
“Don’t run, darling,” her amused voice taunted from the darkened shadows. “I promise you’ll love watching this.”
He gritted his teeth, cursed his overblown sense of curiosity, and followed her path. She was waiting with a wide smile.
Looping her arm with his, she urged him onward. “Where are you from?”
Empowered [Sexual Magic 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 5
