Since Trish hadn’t been told she had to look away, she looked up to see Nicole’s face flush. She was almost shy, yet the part of her that craved this Lifestyle was too strong for her to deny. Trish tried to remember who her Master was, but was coming up blank. Maybe it had to do with the fact her brain wasn’t working anymore. Her body had taken over and her mind was shutting down.
Trish smiled tenderly when Sander held up the glass of water to her lips, allowing her to sip the cool liquid. Her hands were clasped behind her and lay on her lower back. This evening was going to go well, she just knew it.
“In a way,” Lashe replied, taking a sip of his club soda before placing it behind her on the small table for just that reason, “tonight will be like an apology. These people will see you up there and know that you are no longer pretending to be something you aren’t. That must be very freeing.”
“Yes, Master,” Trish replied, truly meaning it. “I want them to know that—”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You bring her back here, where everyone knows that she’s just going to turn around and somehow expose us to the public?”
Trish looked up to find Senator Shelton standing in front of them, anger clearly written over his face and evident in his voice. His tone was hushed, as if he didn’t want to create a scene, but that didn’t matter. People immediately started to stare.
“Eyes down,” Sander ordered, standing up. Trish instantly looked down at her pillow, but couldn’t prevent her heart from racing. She knew that the Senator had every right to be wary of Sander and Lashe bringing her back here, but all she kept thinking was that he was a corrupt man who needed to be exposed to the public. “Senator, the owners of the club have given their permission for our submissive to be here. We’re here to play, nothing more.”
“Her kind are fucking piranhas, and if you’re not careful, you’ll have the teeth marks to prove it.”
Trish gritted her teeth. She knew she should apologize for her previous behavior, but that didn’t mitigate what this man was involved with now. She wished she had told Sander and Lashe everything before coming this evening, but she hadn’t. Now, she could only kneel here and be insulted. Trish fisted her hands behind her back as a reminder to stay where she was.
“She’s paying her penance this evening as a show of her remorse,” Sander replied in a low voice, but Trish detected a trace of loathing. “I suggest you take it and move on.”
“Really? And what about my assistant seeing her at the courthouse the other day? Do you really expect me to believe that her being there had nothing to do with me?”
Trish knew that Sander was about to defend her. She shook her head, trying to tell herself to remain quiet, but it wasn’t fair that Sander was about to lie for her and he didn’t even know it. If she came clean now, would they believe her that her story had nothing to do with the Senator’s Lifestyle and everything to do with his illegal activities? Accusing the Senator here wasn’t a good idea, Trish knew, but when Lashe stood up to back up his brother, she had no choice.
“Yes, I was at the courthouse investigating a lead that involved you.” Trish stood up, although she knew it wasn’t graceful and felt awkward standing in front of the Senator naked. She crossed her arms, knowing that she would be punished for it. God, she hoped she’d be punished, for that would mean they still cared. “But it’s not what you think.”
“Why you little—”
“I suggest we take this in the back,” James said, interrupting the Senator from saying anything more. “There’s no need for everyone to be privy to what is about to be said.”
“I think the good people of this club should know exactly what kind of filth Sander and Lashe would bring in here,” Shelton said, glaring at her.
Trish quickly looked to Sander and Lashe, her heart sinking as they looked at her as if she’d betrayed them. She reached out to Sander, who stepped away. Panic started to settle in her chest. She couldn’t lose them. Trish turned toward Lashe, who was rubbing his hands over his face. Damn it, this wasn’t supposed to happen this way.
“It’s not what you think,” Trish said rapidly, the plea in her voice evident. “It has nothing to do the club, it has nothing to do with the Lifestyle, it has nothing to do with us. I was doing my job.”
“Not here,” James warned, shrugging off his jacket. “I want everyone in the back room. Now.”
Trish was too afraid to move, thinking that if she did, Sander and Lashe would leave the club. Her feet felt glued to the floor. She was grateful when James stepped in between them and placed his jacket around her. The club had gone silent, scenes had stopped, and people were outright watching them. Trish had enough senses left that she realized they were looking toward Sander and Lashe for some type of sign. Did they have that much authority here?
“Go with James,” Sander commanded, leaning down and grabbing his bag.
“Not without you,” Trish said, although her voice came out hoarse. “You promised me, never without you.”
Trish was well aware that she threw out her only card, but she was desperate. They had promised her that they would never leave her alone at times like this. Would they keep their promise or would they end it here and not give her a chance to explain?
“We’re behind you, little minx,” Sander said.
Hearing her nickname off of his lips eased her apprehension, but the defeat in his tone made her want to cry. Trish cast a glance over at the Senator and refused to allow him to see her do that. James stepped back from her and into the Senator’s personal space, whispering something to him that caused his eyes to widen in alarm. The next thing she knew, James was corralling them through the play area to the back room.
Trish pulled James’s jacket tighter around her. The room had a bed. If she hadn’t been so afraid of what might happen in the next few moments, she might have wondered why. As it was, she watched warily as the men seemed to take sides. The Senator walked around the bed and stood there, looking at James as if the man held all the answers. Sander and Lashe stood on her side, but a few steps away and enough space to make her feel alone. James stood at the end of the bed, as if he were judge and jury.
“Ms. Lawton, as Sander and Lashe have told you, is no longer pursuing her story of your personal life, Senator. She is under the protection of Safeword LLC,” James said, “and has instituted a contract with us and them, and is under no illusion that she would not be sued for every penny she owned were she to expose any member of this club.”
“Say I believe that,” Shelton said, crossing his arms, “which I don’t, then why has she been at the courthouse talking with members of my staff behind my back? I told you, Sander, that there would be repercussions if she didn’t stop poking her nose in to my personal affairs.”
“Sander and Lashe are Ms. Lawton’s Dominants, not her boss. Her work is just that—her work. What she does and what stories she may be working on are not their concern.”
“It damn well should be when she’s—”
“Are you going to rig the polls at the next election?” Trish asked, not able to contain herself any longer. Anger was starting to take up residence where her fear was, and that was a good thing. She refused to cry, and the only way to prevent herself from doing that was to get mad. It was easy to do, especially when the man in front of her seemed to be the sole reason she was in this predicament. Why did it have to be him that was the focus of her investigation? “Do you want to win the governor’s race so bad that you would resort to criminal activities?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Shelton yelled, raising his arms. “You are one fucking crazy bitch. First, you come at me when—”
“That’s enough,” Sander barked. “One more derogatory term that comes out of your mouth and I swear that you’ll be blacklisted from every club in the state. And don’t think your political position would stand in my way.”
“Gentlemen, enough,” James said, holding up his hands. “Senator, it has been brought to Ms. Lawto
n’s attention that your campaign is involved in the illegal rigging for your future run for governor. While she was using her contacts to get to the truth, and yes…a story…I did some investigating on my own. As of a half an hour ago, your campaign manager has been arrested, along with two other people that had knowledge of these criminal activities. I suggest you thank Ms. Lawton for her time into this investigation, promise her that she’ll get the exclusive story from your point of view, and leave now in order to save what’s left of your campaign.”
Trish was just as shocked as the Senator was, who was looking at James in abject misery. She knew that her informants had been leading her in the right direction, but because of her dislike of the Senator, she’d been swayed into thinking he was guilty. When she spoke with Senator Stone today, he had even seemed to think Shelton was aware of what was taking place. Obviously, by his stunned expression, he had no idea that his campaign manager had been about to rig the polls.
“I–I’ll be in touch,” Senator Shelton said, hurrying from the room.
“Wait,” Trish said, pulling the lapels of James’s jacket tighter around her. “For you to know what I had been working on, you were following me.”
“It happened by accident, if you’d like to know the truth,” James said, rubbing at his six-o’clock shadow. “Senator Stone contacted me weeks ago. I happened to be looking into it as a favor to him when I stumbled across you. But in all honesty, I had already been keeping tabs on you and knew you were working on something political. It all came together when Sander set up your meeting with Stone. Now that the Senator is gone, I’ll leave you three alone to work things out. I’ll be sticking around for a bit should you need me.”
Trish knew that James only said that as a way to reassure her that if she needed him to take her home, he’d be there for her. Safeword LLC had been keeping up her rent at her old apartment, but she’d not been back there in weeks. That wasn’t what she considered home, either. She snuck a glance behind her at Sander and Lashe, who now were looking at her with disapproval. Why were they still acting like this when they knew for a fact that she hadn’t been trying to expose the Senator’s private life?
“I–I was going to tell you tomorrow morning,” Trish said after James had left the room. She was grateful that he had left her with his jacket. “I didn’t want to ruin this evening—”
Sander’s derisive laugh interrupted the rest of her sentence. Lashe was rubbing his face with his hands again, as if not believing they were even having this conversation. Well, hell, she didn’t want to either.
“That’s not fair, Sander! You—”
“Not fair? When you came, requesting a meeting with a trusted friend who had access to political figures, I asked you if I could trust you. You looked me in the eye and said yes.”
“It had nothing to do with his personal life,” Trish said, her voice rising to match his. “My work is mine. I’m in charge of what I do for my career. You two always knew that. You can’t go changing the rules now.”
“Do you realize that if James hadn’t had a hand in the investigation as well, that who the hell knows what Shelton would have had done to you? Trish, he’s not part of the Order. We have no control over what he or his minions do. Do you understand that if you aren’t honest with us, we can’t protect you should you need it?”
“Lashe,” Sander warned.
“It’s not like she doesn’t have a clue, Sander,” Lashe said, throwing his hands up. “The Order exists. She’s about to be a submissive of the Order, so she had a right to know the benefits that come along with it.”
Sander looked at a loss when he went to put his hands in his pockets and realized there were none in his leather pants. Trish realized why he hadn’t wanted Lashe to say anything, and that was because Sander wasn’t certain that she was going to be a part of their lives after this. She looked around frantically, wondering what she could do to obtain Sander’s understanding of her role in their lives and her own. Trish knew it was extreme and most likely going to earn her a punishment should this work out, but she pushed off James’s coat and marched to the door, swinging it open.
“May I have your attention,” Trish yelled, stomping into the middle of the room. She didn’t look back to see if Sander and Lashe had followed her until she was standing on the chair that Sander had been sitting on before all hell broke loose. “As most of you know, I did something very wrong a few months ago. I had a misconception about your Lifestyle. A person close to me was hurt when a man posed as a Dominant. In the only way I knew how to help her, I thought I would write an article on clubs like this and expose them for what they are. I lied my way in here. I’m not proud of that and I apologize. You see, Ms. Van Camp asked if I’d like to utilize the services of Safeword LLC to experience the Lifestyle myself. I said yes.”
Trish paused, trying to catch a breath. Murmurs were coming from the crowd. She’d been so afraid that Sander and Lashe would stop her that her words were running together. She knew they were still standing by the door but couldn’t bring herself to look over at them. She would say what she had to say and if they didn’t return her feelings, then she hoped like hell that James could get her out of here fast.
“Over these last few months, I’ve found that the Lifestyle is not only real, but that I’m living proof that we need it in our lives. I don’t profess to live it twenty-four-seven. I’m very independent when it comes to my work, but I’ve been fortunate to find two Dominants to accept that part of me as well. I know that it’s not easy for them. Something happened this evening that blurred the line between my independence and my need to submit. I’m sure it won’t be the last time either, but what I am sure of is that I love them more than I ever thought was possible.”
Trish felt the tears that she’d been trying not to shed burn her eyes. She looked down, away from the crowd, to see her naked body. Her sob turned into a laugh, for she knew that three months ago she would have run out the door screaming. As it was, her devotion to Sander and Lashe overrode any modesty she might have had. She made herself look back up and seek out their gaze.
“I love you, Master Sander and Master Lashe. I don’t want a daily contract, a weekly contract, or any contract. I don’t want to be tied to you by a piece of paper. I want to simply be with you, to love you, submit to you, and wear that god-awful gag to remind me that silence can sometimes be golden.”
Both men crossed the room, the crowd parting for them. Were they coming towards her or walking out? Trish couldn’t stop the sob that rose up in her chest when they came to stand in front of her. Sander wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down, holding her to him. She buried her face in his neck, letting the tears roll free. She cried harder when she felt Lashe come up behind her and enclose her in their arms. Applause erupted, but all Trish wanted to do was go home.
“Please take me home,” Trish whispered against Sander’s neck. She hoped he could hear her over the noise. “I just want to go home, Masters.”
Chapter Sixteen
Trish blew at her bangs and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She caught Sander’s look from across the room and figured she might as well have given him an eye roll, because he was going to spank her anyway. She pouted, thinking she shouldn’t be punished for a bad habit.
It was one week after her emotional breakdown at the club. She hated crying. The one good thing that came from such a disastrous evening had been confessing her love to them. And to celebrate the fact that they’d had Kennedy tear up the most recent contract in lieu of going for a more traditional route of a collaring ceremony, Sander and Lashe had planned a special evening. They were going to take her together.
“Master Lashe,” Trish asked, sweetening her voice as much as she could, “would you please remove this plug? How can I sit and write my article when the plug is bigger than my fist.”
“It’s not even close to being that big,” Lashe said, laughing. Both men had just returned home from work, finishing out the week. She�
�d greeted them in the living room, not able to take the massive plug anymore. They just weren’t listening. “Remember, we asked if you would be okay wearing different sized plugs all week while we were at work. You agreed, as long as they didn’t vibrate.”
“That was before you stuck this monster in me,” Trish said, knowing it came out more like a whine. She saw Sander raise his eyebrow. “Master.”
“Do you know why we did that?” Lashe asked, leaning down and putting one arm underneath her leg before swinging her up in his arms. Instead of laughing, like she would have, a groan escaped when the action shifted the plug. “Because we love you enough that we want you to be comfortable for when we both take you.”
“I love you, too, Master,” Trish replied, leaning her head against his chest as he carried her to their room, “but I think your cock would feel a hell of a lot more comfortable than this medieval device.”
“The toys you hate always seem to be medieval,” Sander said, his voice closer than she would have thought. Trish peeked over Lashe’s shoulder to see Sander two steps behind holding up her gag. “And you better not be saying that our cocks are smaller than that plug you have up your ass. You’ll soon find out that’s not true.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Trish said as they entered the bedroom, “and I think I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to the gag. I don’t need it anymore, Masters.”
Lashe laid her on the mattress and stepped back, putting his hands on his hips. Sander stood beside him looking down at her, sliding one hand in his pocket while the other still held her gag. Seeing both of them looking down at her, their dominance showing through, made her smile. That was probably not the thing to do right now, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Really?” Sander asked, a smile forming on his lips that made her wary. He knew something that she didn’t. “Would you mind telling me how Carrie knew about the Order?”
An Undercover Submissive [Safeword LLC 5] (Siren Publishing Sensations) Page 15
