by Sara Brookes
Her hand tightened around his wrist. “Yes.”
“You’ve proven your point to me time and time again over the past few months, Elena. While I understand mind games are part of the lifestyle, I thought we’d reached a point where they aren’t necessary anymore.” He dragged his finger through her wetness, dipping the tip into her heat. “I know you say you find pleasure in giving me pleasure, but why can’t I give you pleasure in another way? Deliver it by my own hand?”
He spread her wide, tucking two fingers into her pussy. She didn’t try to stop him and he noticed the split-second flash of desire that lit her green eyes. She felt so good surrounding his flesh, he was hard-pressed to even move his fingers. But he did, recognizing the softening of her features as he started to move.
Encouraged, he quickened his pace, brushing off her hand so he could work her flesh as he chose. Her ragged pants blew hot and fast against his lips as he leaned closer, pressing his mouth against hers. When she whimpered he slipped his tongue into her mouth, pushing his thumb against her clit. Her muscles tightened then immediately released as though she’d realized her body was starting to betray her.
“I can keep this up all night if that’s what it takes, Elena. My arm isn’t going to get tired anytime soon.” He moved faster as if to prove his point. “I guarantee you that.”
“I should say no to you. Order you to stop.”
Triumph surged through him. “But you can’t.”
“No. Fuck. You are so damn irresistible, Alex.” Her body went lax in his arms, her back bowing as a long, drawn-out moan spilled from her lips. “Yes. Oh god yes, that feels so damn good. Just there…” Her fingers tightened against his shoulders as she clamped down on him. “Right…yes. Just like that.”
He continued his movements, thrusting fast in and out of her. She was so beautiful, being so open and bared to him. Groaning her name, he crushed his mouth against hers. Her body went rigid for a split second, a wail finally tearing from her throat as she clenched around him impossibly harder as each second of her climax ripped through her. The intensity shimmering in the air around them was mesmerizing.
Even as she continued to thrash in his arms he tunneled his fingers into her, feeling her come apart against him, wanting more than just the single orgasm. He wanted to fill her with more than just his fingers, but he recognized what she’d given up in order to surrender to him this way.
And here he’d thought Elena didn’t have a breaking point.
He’d take what he could get for the moment.
“I could watch you come a thousand times more.” As he pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat she shuddered one last time, his arm around her waist taking most of her weight. As he turned her so he could place her on the seat of the golf cart, he grazed his lips over her now-sweaty forehead. She was so soft and feminine, her heated body lush and so lovely against his. Now that he’d given her this he wanted to give her something else.
“Take me to the club.” Her eyes opened slowly, the first telling shadows filtering through the lightness. She was already formulating reasons to deny him. “I owe things to people there. To you. I think I know enough, that I’m educated enough now, it’s time I followed through on accepting the punishment I earned last year.” Her eyes flared with bright heat now. He’d obviously hit some kind of nerve. “How about another wager?”
The moment of vulnerability she’d just shown, a lightning-quick loss of control, evaporated. He watched her shake it off, pulling herself back together to the patient, controlled Domme she was. “No.”
“We skip ahead to the last hole. I sink it in three and you take me to club and allow me to pay my dues for my mistake.” It was a long shot since the eighteenth hole was a par five and even the best players at the club couldn’t find the hole in four. But he’d been practicing day and night and was convinced he could pull off the eagle. “I’m trying to clean up the last pieces I left trailing in my wake, this is one of those things. You know that as well as I do.”
“And if I refuse?”
The condescending edge to her voice wasn’t enough to sway him now that he knew she was just as breakable as he was. Damn if she wasn’t worth the trouble. “I won’t mention the club again and I won’t question your methods. I’ll graciously accept what you have to teach me without complaint. I won’t ask you for a thing.”
Releasing her, he jerked off the condom, removed the ring and plug, lifted his pants over his hips, fastened the row of buttons and bent to retrieve his club. He hoisted her bag over his shoulder and walked away, heading directly for the last tee.
She arrived a few minutes later, her clothes smoothed perfectly into place and her composure still just as steely as before. Her demeanor gave no hint to the frantic moment that had occurred on the green minutes ago.
She stood there staring at him, the tension crackling in the air between them. The silence was maddening.
“Maybe I was wrong.”
“About what?”
“Maybe this whole lifestyle isn’t for me after all. Maybe I just like the idea of everything and not so much the execution.” He stepped into her, pleased she didn’t step away. “You’re so used to toying with submissives, both with their emotions and state of arousal, you thought you could do the same thing with me. But you can’t. Back there I got through your defenses and scared the shit out of you. It threw you off your game and you don’t know what the hell to do now. You know as well as I do going to the club is the right thing.”
“I do.” She heaved out a heavy sigh, rolling her shoulders. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
At least he’d gotten her to admit something. “You can’t selectively choose with something like this. Something you know is so important to me. I told you I didn’t want to be treated any differently yet that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
She didn’t say anything as she set up her shot. Her club connected with the ball with a loud thunk and when her ball sailed into a thicket of trees behind a bunker, he knew he’d really gotten to her. It wasn’t the kind of shot she couldn’t recover from, but it was enough she’d have to work to get the ball around the tress in order to have a chance at the green.
Obviously annoyed she tossed down her club, selected another one, slid back into the cart and took off down the path without waiting. Pleased he’d put a knick in her armor he calmly set up his shot, landing the ball neatly on the center of the fairway to the left of the sand. From his vantage point, he watched her stalk across the grass with her iron clutched in her hand. As he slowly made his way down to where his ball rested on the green he watched her hit the ball with far more force than was necessary.
She was allowing her emotions to really show now. He grinned at her loud swear when the ball knocked against a thick tree trunk and ricocheted farther away from the green and into the woods. Somehow he didn’t think her frustration was entirely caused by her inability to get the ball onto the green.
A quick, easy hit placed his ball a few inches from the hole and momentum carried it into the cup. By the time he looked up she was stalking toward him. Fury tinted her cheeks pink, darkened her eyes to nearly black.
“Do you even understand what you’re asking?”
“Yes,” he said with utmost certainty. This was something he knew he alone held the power to fix. This was something he could do for her and feel as though he’d contributed to their fucked-up relationship instead of taking so much from her.
“No. I don’t think you do.”
He calmly hefted her clubs onto his shoulder and slid the one club she’d allowed him into an open spot. “While I don’t understand every single nuance of this lifestyle I do understand the rules. I interfered when I wasn’t supposed to. I let my emotions get the best of me. When it first happened you said something about punishment. My guess is there is no expiration date on when it is to be carried out. Am I close?”
“Remarkably.” She growled softly.
God, she was sexy as he
ll when she got this worked up. “So I understand what I’m asking with complete and utter confidence. I need to do this. You need to as well. I can’t see where you have much choice in the matter.”
“Fine. Give me a few days. I’ll need to contact the owner and grease the wheels again, so to speak. You aren’t the only one with a lot to lose.”
A fact he was counting on.
Chapter Twelve
Alex swallowed as the doorman led him through the door of Element Twenty-Six. He understood the importance of the gesture as he now knew and understood the rules of the club thanks to an email he’d received a few days ago. The paperwork he’d been sent had been daunting, but he’d filled the many forms and returned them without complaint. He wasn’t a member of the club, but he had followed the proper protocols this time.
The atmosphere wasn’t the same as when he’d been in the club last year. It seemed much more subdued with less of a crowd, including fewer scenes. He imagined this was more in tune with how it operated on normal nights.
If normal even applied to a fetish club.
He scanned the open floor plan, dismissing anyone he saw who wasn’t Elena.
Mistress.
Would he ever be able to use the formal title? He could barely speak the word to himself let alone say it out loud. It sounded as natural as his name, but something kept holding him back from allowing the word to pass his lips. It was a level of respect he wanted to give her. He suspected it had to do with her inability to return his feelings. With the wall of thick concrete she kept tossing up between them whenever things appeared to be drifting into territory she couldn’t handle.
He was still determined to crack her tough exterior.
Rocco nodded toward a seating area, gesturing for Alex to join them before disappearing. He spotted Elena sitting with someone. Alex couldn’t explain how he knew, but he sensed the man was a figure of importance at the club. The air around him vibrated with authority. Most people walking around gave the area a wide berth. Elena nodded at something the man said, her gaze finally scanning the club as she listened attentively.
Their gazes collided with a force that nearly knocked Alex off his feet.
Elena was different here. He couldn’t put his finger on why, but he chalked it up to the fact he was so new to this type of atmosphere. Command and power radiated from her even though she simply sat on the couch talking.
In this moment he knew his choice to offer his apology was correct.
Not to mention his guess that Elena needed this place, needed to be here. Needed this kind of atmosphere occasionally to compliment her room at Sanctuary. He didn’t fully understand the hows and whys, but he hoped to someday. Just as he hoped to understand her more. Understand why she couldn’t give him what he wanted the most.
Elena gestured him closer. “Come sit, Alex. This is Chaplin. The owner of Element Twenty-Six.” The blond man offered his hand, which Alex shook. His grip was strong and friendly, which was surprising given what Alex guessed earlier. As Chaplin’s hand dropped away, his fingers brushed through the long strands of hair on the woman kneeling next to his feet.
Alex blinked.
He hadn’t even noticed the woman until Chaplin had touched her. For as much energy as was flowing through the atmosphere of the club this woman appeared so serene and utterly at peace kneeling beside her Master.
Unclear about what his role here was, Alex started to kneel much like Chaplin’s sub, but Elena waved him off. “Not necessary right now. Have a seat on the couch beside me.”
Though Elena was keeping the playing field level between them he still felt as though he should do something to acknowledge her as the woman he chose to submit to. He just didn’t know what.
“Chaplin, this is Alex Conners.”
Chaplin offered him a warm smile. “I have to say. It’s nice to finally meet the man responsible for the wonderful coffee I find myself drinking every morning.”
“I’m flattered.”
“And I’m impressed. You’ve done very well.”
“It’s taken years of hard work and dedication.”
“So I’ve heard.”
The man’s steady gaze made Alex swallow. He wasn’t sure what they were discussing now. Perfect Shot or his life. He wondered how much Chaplin was aware of his past, how much Elena had shared about the obstacles he’d faced especially in the past few years.
Her hand curled around his knee, squeezing gently. “I saved Chaplin from the bowels of hell with his instant coffee and powdered nondairy creamer.”
“Brave man.”
Chaplin swept his hair out of his face as he gave a deep laugh. “Or stupid, as Elena claims. But yes, since she brought me a pound of one of Perfect Shot’s custom blends I can never go back. What you’ve done is admirable.”
Alex swallowed unsure of the meaning once again. “I had a lot of help.”
“Yes, I know.” He brushed aside the submissive’s hair, playing his fingers over the thick band of metal surrounding her neck as he tilted her head down. Alex hadn’t even noticed she’d started to lift it. “Patrick and I met a few years ago when he became a member of the club. He has a wonderful head for business and the changes you two have made recently have really drawn in more of the locals. Not to mention catering to the wave of tourists.”
Chaplin leaned over, wrapped his hand around the sub’s chin and jerked her face upward. Still maintaining an air of utter calm the Dom leaned forward and placed his lips against the sub’s ear as he held her head in place. The woman winced as he jerked her head back to make sure she stayed right where he wanted her.
He spoke quietly, his voice barely a whisper in the noise of the club. Far too soft for Alex to hear what was being said. He sat riveted, watching as the woman’s body relaxed the tighter Chaplin’s hold seemed to grow. Unlike the last time he was in the club he didn’t feel compelled to interfere. He understood. Something he never thought he’d be able to say.
Chaplin’s fingers released the woman’s chin, dipping slowly down her neck past her collar to the swell of her abundant breasts. Her breathing hitched as his finger began to circle one of her pierced nipples even as he continued to speak with her in hard, but hushed tones.
A quiet plea spilled from her lips as the tight bud hardened.
Elena’s hand tightened on his knee again and he realized he’d been holding his breath watching. He released the air, feeling the burning in his lungs ease as he relaxed. He knew exactly what the sub was going through this time. Understood the complicated nature of wanting to please even while struggling to follow orders. The seductive nature of the dichotomy aroused him.
Chaplin’s hand dipped lower, trailing over trembling muscles. His fingers splayed wide over her abdomen, his middle finger dipping past the small triangle of her pubic hair. She parted her legs, offering more of herself to her Master.
It was then Alex noticed a small electrical cord running between the woman’s knees. Her body jerked as Chaplin touched her heat, drawing a ragged wail from her throat. She was on the edge of an orgasm, ready to explode at any moment. She simply needed Chaplin to say those magic words.
Alex knew she would have to keep waiting.
Chaplin suddenly sat back, releasing the woman from his commanding grip. The submissive’s head fell so far forward, her hair surrounded her face like a curtain as her body continued to shake from denial.
“If you’re ever looking to expand and need another partner, silent—of course— please give me a call. I’m always on the lookout for a good investment.”
Alex marveled at the sheer control Chaplin gave off. He sat there casual and cool as though he hadn’t just nearly taken a submissive over for a body-shattering orgasm. As though she didn’t sit trembling at his feet, quiet whimpers coming from her as she struggled to follow his orders.
Elena squeezed his knee again.
Shit. “Yes, of course. We like how things are going right now, but I don’t think either of us would turn down a
good opportunity. I have a few ideas about expanding should the shop next door ever decide to shutter.”
“Ever thought about opening a second location?”
“No. I’d rather concentrate on expanding the current location, playing trial and error with things to suit our clientele. I’m sure you can understand.”
“Yes. Of course. Elena, I hear we’re in for a treat this evening. I look forward to it.” Chaplin rose, unfolding his tall, lean form from the overstuffed chair. The sub at his feet pushed forward so she was on her hands and knees. Without any acknowledgement of their presence she followed Chaplin, crawling behind the man as he began to socialize with other members.
Elena’s breath brushed against his shoulder. “Heather is his latest trainee. She’s come a long way from the wild, bratty submissive she was when she first joined.”
“Does he train all the subs?”
“No. He usually only takes on the troublemakers. Says he likes taming the wild out of them.”
“Quite an amazing thing to watch.”
“Yes. It is.” Her fingers skimmed over his chin, playing lightly over his lips. “You had quite a different reaction to what you saw last year.” Like Chaplin had done, she lowered her hand, dragging it over his arm as she moved to his thigh. He inhaled sharply as her knuckle brushed against the hard ridge of steel pushing against the front of his pants. “I’m proud of you.”
“You’ve taught me a great deal.”
She reached for a bag next to her foot, extracting two black circles. “I thought you could use something you were accustomed to tonight.”
Still fighting the arousal weaving its way through his system he held out his wrists and waited patiently while she buckled both in place. His arousal grew as she checked the fit. Then his system went haywire when she leaned over and pressed two soft kisses to each of the bands.
