Noah mentally added another stroke for her insouciance. He regarded Gabriel steadily. “I want to make one thing clear. This is not a game. The lifestyle, should you choose to indulge in it, is fraught enough with fear and danger without being indecisive.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I asked you what you wanted, you said you didn’t know.”
Madelyn returned and placed a tray on the coffee table. She knelt beside the table, hands folded in her lap, and waited.
“In reality,” he continued. “What you wanted was to fuck Madelyn.”
Gabriel’s startled glance shot to the woman in question and another dark flush crawled up his neck.
“I don’t see—”
“You are the Dom, the one in control,” Noah cut in. “Your partner is counting on you, trusting you to orchestrate every action taken. You cannot waffle or hesitate. Don’t ever enter into a scene without knowing exactly what is going to happen or what you’ve planned. Flexibility is also a necessary trait because often the scene will morph from your original direction, but at least you’ve started off with a plan in mind. Honesty dovetails with trust in such a way that you cannot have a successful scene without both. Do you understand?”
Gabriel shifted on the couch, fingers drumming along the soft back. “I assume you want me to snap to and answer with an emphatic ‘Yes, Sir.’”
“It’s a good start.”
The other man smiled slightly. “I do understand. I get the concept entirely. Ironically, it’s a theory I’ve preached since I took the reins of running my first company.” He looked down at Madelyn. “I’m sure it won’t be a surprise to you, Madelyn, that yes, I was thinking about fucking you in the elevator.” He lifted his gaze back to Noah. “But common courtesy and a sense of surrealism prevented me from coming out and saying it when you asked. Yeah, you could call it hesitation, but cut me a break here. I haven’t even had the luxury of really finding out anything about you two. Saying I want to fuck a beautiful, desirable woman so soon after meeting is usually the stuff of stalkers and arrest records.”
Noah’s lips twitched. He saw Gabriel’s point, understood where he was coming from. He actually appreciated his sense of genteelism. The trait was something definitely lacking from the majority of their cases these days.
“All right, I’ll let it slide this time,” he said. “Madelyn, please pour us some tea.”
She picked up the porcelain teapot and poured with practiced elegance into three small Japanese cups.
“It is a white tea infused with dried cherries. Would you like some sugar or agave?”
“Sugar, please,” Gabriel replied.
Noah took the white cup she handed him, plain and hot. He sniffed, sucking down the relaxing aroma. Not sweet, not tart, just soothing.
Gabriel took a tentative sip and nodded. “Pretty good.”
“You don’t drink tea?” Madelyn asked.
“Not unless it’s iced and filled with about a cup of sugar. But this is very nice.”
Noah cupped the bowl in his hands and closed his eyes, cleansing his mind of the anger and frustrations of the day. It was a difficult chore but one he knew he must accomplish in order to move forward and begin teaching Gabriel.
“You were going to tell me about Kay?”
His eyes snapped open and immediately, what little tranquility he’d achieved fled faster than a rat from water. “The bitch’s name is Krista.”
“Okay, Krista. What happened?”
Noah took another calming sip of tea. Madelyn’s soft touch glided over his leg, and she laid her head against his thigh. Though she didn’t tremble or appear distressed, he felt her tension.
“She was assigned as our client three years ago. She was already a Domme, knew her preferred role in the lifestyle, but was somewhat erratic. She flitted from one scene to the next, varying her methods and means and finding little to no satisfaction. Our goal then, as it is with all our clients, was to assess and steer her toward the correct path. The one which fit her tastes the best.”
His heart surged and thudded and he swallowed hard against the horrid memory of just what those tastes were.
“On the first day we met, she explained she felt odd. Different than her dominant peers but didn’t know why. We watched her in action and quickly picked up on the fact she liked harsher punishments but often relented because her submissives did not enjoy it as much as she did.”
“Does that matter?”
Madelyn’s head jerked up. “Oui,” she snapped. “It matters greatly. This is not just for you, the dominant. We are part of the equation as well. Our needs and desires are what you are trying to craft and achieve while balancing them with your own style of command. Your raison d’être in the lifestyle is solely dependent upon the symbiotic relationship with your submissive. It does not have to be an emotional bond you create. There are Doms who find and change partners nightly. But they know what kind of Dom they are and what sort of submissive suits their needs.”
Noah laid his hand on her head and stroked. “It’s all right, Madelyn.”
Her shoulders remained tense. “Do you understand this concept, Gabriel? One cannot exist without the other, but knowledge of both self and partner are an absolute necessity.”
“Yes,” he said with a slow nod. “I get it perfectly. So because Krista was not honest or clear about her desires, she was unhappy?”
“Exactly,” Noah said.
Madelyn resettled herself, and he heaved a silent sigh of relief.
“Once we learned this, we decided on a course of action.” His stomach clenched again. He’d decided. Madelyn didn’t have much of a say and that still bothered him. “As you are probably becoming aware, there are many varied taste and pain levels in our society. Some submissives want to be humiliated and hurt more than most normal people would ever be able to stomach, let alone do. They are a fairly small sect, but their needs are just as important as anyone else’s. Remember earlier when we discussed the ultimate pain junkies? The ones to whom being sliced and beaten bruised and bloody is the greatest expression of pleasure they can experience?”
“Yes.”
The clipped reply gave him pause for a moment, but Noah didn’t want to spend the time it would take to ease Gabriel’s still-lingering anguish over the accident. Something he was damn glad to see.
“Those are the kinds of subs Krista needs, and they are rare to find, but like I said, they’re out there. Once we established her level, we went about teaching her how to administer such power safely. We discussed our unique abilities.” Sweat broke out on his brow as Madelyn pressed deeper into his thigh. “If I’d known what that knowledge would unleash, I never would have…”
“Shh, chéri, it is all right. It is over. I am safe.”
Ah, sweet Madelyn, always anxious to soothe away his pain and guilt.
“What happened?” Gabriel asked softly. “What abilities?”
Noah knew he couldn’t explain adequately the scope of the horror Madelyn endured without giving a full explanation of their talents. “Earlier I mentioned that Madelyn’s pain receptors take a long time to kick in. Remember that?”
“Yes.”
“That’s only a portion of it. She can take extreme, very extreme amounts of pain and torture.” He grimaced at the word, gratified to see Gabriel mirror the expression.
“It’s true. I have been pushed to the brink many times, but only once so far, have I feared for my safety.”
Gabriel studied her and then Noah. “Krista?”
“Yes. Most Enricher pairs are symbiotic. My ability is healing. I don’t know how or why I have this talent, but I can heal nearly any pain or hurt incurred by someone.”
“Uh-huh.”
This was always the hardest and most frustrating part—making them believe. “Stand up, Madelyn.”
She rose gracefully. “Yes, Sir?”
“Gabriel, do you remember what her back looked like when you accidently hit h
er with the bullwhip?”
He blanched but nodded. “God, yes. I’m so sorry.”
Noah waved away the apology. “Turn around and lift your T-shirt, little one.”
She pivoted, gripped the edges of her shirt, and pulled until the material pooled at her neck.
Gabriel sucked air sharply and surged forward. “Impossible,” he breathed, his fingers dancing along her spine.
Madelyn giggled and shifted. “That tickles.”
She dropped the shirt and turned again. She patted him on the head. “You see? All better. This is our gift. I will take whatever pain you wish to administer, even that which you do not intend like this morning, and Noah will make it better. As if no injury ever existed.”
“Un-fucking-believable,” Gabriel said and dropped back against the couch, face slack and dazed with shock.
Noah nodded at the man’s cup and waited as Madelyn refilled it, added a couple teaspoons of sugar, and handed it back. “Drink up. It’ll help.”
“But how?”
“No one knows. Sometimes a person is born with it, and other times we believe an unusual life event triggers the talent. The Council has Scryers who find people with magic talents such as we have. They visit, explain, demonstrate, and usually offer a position within the ranks.”
Gabriel swigged the sugar-drenched liquid then set the cup aside. “All right. You’ve got my full attention.”
Madelyn wiggled her hips at him. “You mean we didn’t have it before?”
Noah chuckled, though he watched Gabriel closely. When the other man’s expression finally cleared and his eyes lost that shocked, hazed look, he continued. “So, now that you understand what we’re capable of, let me explain what went so horribly wrong with Krista.”
He sipped at his tea, let the light sweetness coat his mouth, the scent pull through his olfactory center and ease his mind. “After she heard our explanation, Krista was intrigued. Very interested.” He shook his head. “No, more than that. She became obsessed, but I didn’t realize until it was too late. We set up a few short training sessions, getting her used to different implements and techniques designed to impart maximum pain with minimal damage. After three or four of these, she started asking questions such as how much was too much? How far could she push a sub, then specifically, how far could she push Madelyn? Then she wanted a demonstration. I took over and showed her the differences between just enough and too much.” He shuddered. “I hate making Madelyn bleed, but this was a necessity.”
Gabriel growled. “Was it? No other way was available?”
“Non,” Madelyn said firmly. “Do not judge, Gabriel. You will be in this position very soon.” She lifted a brow, a tight smirk on her face. “And you must agree making someone bleed is quite easy with the right whip and wrong technique.”
“Enough,” Noah snapped. “Don’t rub his face in his mistake.”
She resisted the command for a moment before dropping her head. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Gabriel said. “It’s still me who should apologize.”
“You have. Countless times,” Noah said. “What happened next with Krista is pretty damn bad. Worse than your single stroke. I still don’t know exactly how it happened, either.” He picked up a strand of Madelyn’s ebony hair and slid the lock between his fingers. “Krista asked to try. I’d watched her whip work grow and excel in those two days. She is exceptionally gifted with them. I handed her the whip, it was the most intense single-tail I had. She began to use it on Madelyn. I offered a few suggestions here and there. The turn of a wrist, shifting her body, scattering the blows, but overall she needed no guidance.”
The lump grew in his throat again, and he blinked away a shudder of revulsion. “We called a halt to that session and parted ways. I was already questioning if we should continue. Not because I’d figured out she was crazy, but because she’d picked everything up so well. She has a master hand with the whip.”
He didn’t know how he’d missed the signs and still castigated himself for the failing. “Then, she coerced Madelyn into a private meeting. When I found her, Madelyn was nearly unconscious, her back and butt and legs a bloody mess. Her beautiful skin was ruptured and sliced almost everywhere. I thought she was dead.”
“My God,” Gabriel whispered. “What did you do?”
“I shoved Krista aside to reach Madelyn. Krista was so far gone that she continued to lash out with the whip. She struck me a couple of times. I turned, grabbed the whip tail, and yanked it out of her hands. She had bloodlust, I suppose. She started to scream and yell and curse at me. Then she ran for Madelyn.” He set his jaw, fist curled so tight around the cup, he feared he might break the porcelain. Slowly, he forced his hand to relax. “I stopped her.”
“Good.”
Noah quirked a surprised brow. “Don’t you want to know how?”
“I would hope you knocked her out.”
There was a brief silence then Madelyn giggled. “Mon Dieu, but that is exactly what happened. I was not unconscious, but I could not move. I watched her come at me, then, to my great shock, saw Noah punch her in the jaw. She dropped immediately.” Madelyn snapped her fingers.
He shrugged off her admiration. “It was necessary. I would never have done so otherwise, but Madelyn needed immediate care. I could see Krista was still breathing, so I patched Maddie up and took her away. As soon as we were out of the room, I called the hotel and told them to check on her. Maddie and I left the island within a couple of hours.”
“And today was the first time you’ve seen her since then?” Gabriel asked.
“No, last year she had a friend of ours, another Enricher, trussed like a rack of lamb and was beating him bloody.” Coldness crept through him. “The only way we could get her attention away from Mason was to use Madelyn as bait.”
“Shit!”
“Tell me about it. Longest damn twenty minutes of my life, that’s for sure. The Council had been made aware of her tactics after the first time, but there was nothing they could really do. However, when she went as far as she did with Mason, they decided to keep a close eye on her while they debated a solution.”
“What kind of solution?”
“I don’t know. Nothing Machiavellian, I assure you. We’re in the business of helping people, not killing them. But Clarissa and the rest of the Council were spooked enough to keep her under surveillance.”
“Wait a sec, if they knew where she was, why would they send you two here? Why not wait until you could approach me elsewhere?”
Madelyn sighed. “She slipped their watch, apparently. No one knew where she was until earlier today.”
Gabriel flicked at the couch. “Do you think she’s going to leave the island?”
“If she knows what’s good for her,” Noah said with a growl. He was secretly hoping she didn’t flee. He longed to have it out with the bitch. He wanted to strap her down like she’d had Mason and flail her until she bled as hard as she’d made his friend.
Revenge was a sweet temptation, and if Krista left the island, he wouldn’t have the chance to gain it.
“I hope she goes,” Madelyn said with a delicate shudder. “What she did to that poor girl was horrible.” She tipped her head. “How did you end up with her?”
Pique tinged the question, and Noah glanced down at her, surprised to find her eyes narrowed and mouth pinched.
“After what happened, I just wanted to get away,” Gabriel said softly. “I went to the farthest building on the resort and downed a few drinks. She showed up and we talked.”
“And you went off with her, just like that?” Madelyn snapped.
“No, I was actually leaving. She’d made some remark, something that made me uneasy. I stood to leave and she changed. Became softer, a bit more self-effacing. She invited me to watch a demonstration of the difference between disciplining a man versus a woman. I was curious, so I went.”
Gabriel’s eyes closed briefly before he gave them a grim stare. “If I hadn’t be
en there to stop her, I think Krista would have killed Winslet.”
Chapter Eight
Madelyn rose and slid onto the sofa between the two men. She placed her palm in the center of Gabriel’s chest. “Oui, it is good you were there. And now that you are aware, you must be on your guard.”
“Count on it.”
She gave him an approving smile then sank back into the cushions and drew herself up to sit cross-legged. She leaned her head against the couch back and stared at the popcorn ceiling. “I wish there was someplace safe we could all play.”
“What do you mean? Isn’t safety and acceptance why we’re here?” Gabriel asked.
She lolled her head to look at him. “This place is great, don’t get me wrong. Anything and everything goes here. But it’s quite expensive, and there are actually very few safety measures in place. They don’t have the desire or manpower to thoroughly screen every visitor beyond age. I’d love to be able to walk into a comfortable, clean place and know those around me have been vetted and, if there was a problem, someone would be immediately at hand to take care of it.”
Gabriel’s expression was arrested, and he sat up a little straighter. “Like a dance club, but something meant for the lifestyle?”
“Exactement. I know they exist, but they’re usually underground or members only with an exorbitant fee or something.”
“Huh, I like that. Yeah, that’s a really good idea.”
She saw him processing and sifting the information. Given what she knew of his business acumen, Madelyn was pretty sure she’d just sent him down a direction he’d not thought of before.
Just the way she planned.
She turned to Noah. “So, now what?”
He gave her that heated, languid smile which always made her burn from the inside. Her nipples tightened, and she surreptitiously spread her legs a little wider, enjoying the way the air glided over her pussy.
She knew what he was about to say and urged him on with her eyes.
“Gabriel, since you’ve had the unfortunate luck to twice experience bad sessions, how about we have a real one?”
Empowered [Sexual Magic 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 8
