Independence: #2 Angel

by Karen Nichols

  Colin continued eating. He could have probably explained to her why she’d let him into her life, but he wanted to hear her talk to him. He wanted to hear her put all the confusing feelings into words. He wanted her accustomed to sharing the many thoughts and emotions racing through her.

  “Regardless of whether you accepted my time with you or not, I owed you an apology for what happened Friday night, Angel.”

  “Why do you believe you have control over all that happens in the world?” She smiled up at him, the single arched brow he offered making her swallow hard. “That isn’t what I’m doing,” she insisted firmly.

  “Don’t you believe you should be able to control the actions of your father and brothers where your friends are concerned? I suppose that makes us both arrogant in some respects,” Colin leaned back, lifting another fry from her plate and popping it into his mouth while she considered his comments. “If the only reason you regret me coming to see you, is your father, then we find a way to eliminate that issue because I’m not going anywhere unless I hear you tell me that you aren’t interested in exploring a relationship with me.”

  He wasn’t angry at her, she thought, relieved and still uncertain about the boundaries and where they began and even what they were. She guessed it was a bit disrespectful to call your Dom arrogant, but she was also convinced it was an inherent trait that made them what they were. And part of what seemed to shoot straight to that spot between her thighs when she thought about him.

  “I’m trying not to lie to you,” Angel finally said. “I know I came here to force things out of my head. It somehow felt safer than a plain bar. They have better control over the annoying people here and the music…the sounds…manage to push it all away for a time. There are so many things to occupy your mind. I don’t know why I allowed you closer than anyone else. I…that still bothers me.”

  “Bothers? Is accepting attraction that difficult?”

  “I’ve never admitted to attraction before,” she confessed. “Anyone who ever paid attention to me has been hurt, Colin, badly hurt. And that has been my fault. I’ve told him over and over that…that he was wrong, that there was never anything between me and…and boys, Colin. Boys he hurt because they were nice to me.”

  “I’m not a boy, Angel,” Colin straightened in his chair and stood up, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet before him. “And you’re not trading one devil for another,” he met the abruptly averted gaze, his palm sliding up her arm and cupping her chin. He turned her face to him. “Anytime this isn’t working for you, first, I’ll know. But second, you have free will and the right to tell me it’s over. I won’t stalk you. I won’t hurt you. But I also won’t give up easily if I think your reasons for ending it aren’t genuine.”

  “I don’t know why I trust you,” she said honestly, staring up the few inches into the dark blue eyes. “Or believe you. I’m afraid it’s because I want it so badly, I’m trying to justify what I feel.”

  Colin brought both palms up to frame her face, tilting her head back and taking her mouth before she could think. Before she could process anything and think about moving away.

  He didn’t hesitate. Didn’t pause. He wanted her to be aware of the power she was capable of eliciting from him; the passion that had sparked between them. He wanted her to know what he was feeling had a deep, strong basis that wasn’t going to be denied. In either of them.

  His tongue speared forth, sliding between her lips and tangling with hers, coaxing and stroking until she raised her arms. He felt her palms against his chest, flat and spread out as she pressed higher and slipped around his neck. But Colin didn’t slow the assault, his mouth slanting over hers for more, his teeth nibbling over her lower lip and onto her jaw.

  Angel felt her heart pounding as his mouth trailed hot kisses to her ear. A shudder swept through her when he bit down sharply just above the small gold ring she wore in her ear. Her hands clenched in his hair, her pussy matched the pulse thumping in her neck when the edge of his teeth nipped down her throat.

  When he lifted his head he just stared down at her, willing his control back into its neat little box.

  Angel opened her eyes and knew what she’d see.

  Colin, waiting.

  She felt…warm…her mouth swollen and hungry for more. More of Colin.

  Was that all she was after? Just the pleasures her body craved and he seemed capable and willing to give her. Nothing more. Nothing complex. The problem was, Colin Whetstone had complex written all over him and then some. Surely there were easier women in his life to have sex with. Women without possessively religious relatives in their life.

  “What did you feel, Angel?” Colin asked when she finally looked at him. Not that he was giving her much of a choice. Their bodies were as close as possible without him being buried deep and hard inside her.

  He felt her hesitation, her confusion. He knew keeping her thinking, keeping her talking was the key to finding the woman he’d glimpsed now and then. He doubted she’d ever allowed herself to talk about what she felt or what she needed, let alone what she wanted. Communication and psychology were a vital part of being a good Dom and he was going to make certain he was the best possible for Angelica.

  “I’m not used to talking about things like that,” she admitted finally, sighing when she realized he wasn’t going to let her slide out of answering. “I…it feels good. It’s nice to kiss you.”

  “Good…and nice,” Colin repeated with the faintest of smiles. “I’ll have to do better.”

  “Alright…warm,” she said with a hint of exasperation.

  “Warm. That’s what you felt?” He challenged mildly.

  “Well…”

  Colin braced his feet a foot apart, his palm sliding over her hip and onto her behind to pull her hard against him. Their hips were almost aligned but there was no mistaking his intent.

  “Just warm…” Colin murmured before lowering his mouth to her throat and biting his way very softly down and onto her exposed shoulder. He moved his lips next to her ear. “Is your pussy wet, Angelica?” He heard her sup in a little breath, her hands fluttering for a brief moment before settling at the band of his pants. “When I do this…” he dragged his tongue from her throat to her ear and bit down on the tiny gold ring there. “Does it make your pussy clench?”

  Angel closed her eyes, trying to think when she felt his hand pressing heavily along her ribs to cup her breast. She gasped when his fingers slipped inside the lace cup of the corset and rubbed over a nipple. The gasp gave way to a low, soft moan.

  “Or does this make you want to rub against my fingers or my cock and come so hard it hurts,” he pinched the taut nipple just to the edge where her breath stopped.

  “New sub, Colin?” Reed walked past with a wink at the stoic expression on his friend’s face.

  “Very new, Reed,” Colin nodded at him and held Angel still while his friend ran his hand down Angel’s back. He felt her suddenly go stiff in his arms and he looked at Reed with a prearranged faint nod. Angel immediately tried moving, tried jerking herself from them both. But the solid male bodies allowed no quarter.

  Reed continued stroking his hand over her back, from her bare shoulders, along her spine and onto her ass.

  “Breathe, Angelica,” Colin ordered firmly. “Is Master Reed hurting you?”

  “N-no, Sir,” she answered immediately, biting her lip to try and force herself to draw in a breath.

  “People who care about you, are going to touch you,” Colin told her. “I’m going to allow my friends to touch you, Angelica. As my sub, you are going to allow them to touch you with my permission. You’ve agreed to be my sub. That means you trust me to know what would be too much for you to take. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, Sir,” came the quiet whisper, her chest heaving and finally realizing that his palm was still holding firmly to her breast. He was rubbing and arousing her nipple between his fingers, a hard pleading little pebble that ached for more. “Sir…�
�

  He liked the heat in her voice; the low timbre that told him he was having an effect.

  “Better than just nice, Angelica?”

  “Yes, sir,” she answered in between soft panting breaths.

  Sensation. That was his key. He’d glimpsed it; felt it when he’d first met her. Her surrender would be delicious to watch and even more so to feel. Textures and surprise; constant sensation. All the things she’d been denied as a woman.

  “Stay still,” he ordered firmly, holding her gaze sternly. Pleasure ran through him when she kept her gaze locked on his, her lips moving and voice barely audible.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He ran his fingers over Angel's hairline, across her cheekbones and along the soft lines of her jaw and throat. He squeezed and massaged her shoulders gently for a stretched out minute before moving down to her breasts. He’d chosen that corset on purpose. The slightly elastic lace was easy to stretch around her breasts, freeing her nipples for his attention.

  He remained in front of her, a quick glance at Reed and he watched the elastic of her skirt spread and dropped from her hips. Her eyes widened and her hands clenched.

  “Don’t move,” Colin said, his tone hard and unyielding. He watched her eyes, saw her acknowledge his control. She worked to steady her breathing, her body immobile, as he’d ordered.

  The silky fabric pooled at her bare feet. Her body stiffened but he kept eye contact, a stern expression and the very slightest shake of his head and she froze in place. He almost smiled when her chin tipped up, just a little in defiance. As if telling him, she could do this.

  Colin took one of her hands in his, carrying it to his lips.

  “Spread your feet, Angel…”

  She blinked up at him and he knew the instant Reed had gripped her ass in his hands and squeezed. She’d gulped in a deep breath, her eyes suddenly wide and filled with so much confusion and trepidation.

  He turned her hand over, his tongue licking down the center of her palm at the same time Reed straightened and kissed over her shoulder. She jumped visibly, her eyes flitting from side to side, searching for an escape, he thought. But she was trapped effectively between the two men.

  “Close your eyes, Angel,” Colin ordered firmly, one brow up when her lashes only opened a little more. “Reed?”

  “I thought it might come in handy,” the other man said seconds before he fit the tight elastic over her head, black satin padding effectively blocking everything from around her.

  “No…no…sir…please…”

  “Angel, close your mouth and listen to me.” He waited, holding her shoulders tightly and nodding at Reed to continue. “Answer, ‘yes, sir’ or ‘no, sir’, pet. Nothing else. Is Master Reed hurting you?”

  “N-no, sir.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Y-yes, sir,” the whispered quivering voice and her gasp was softer as Reed continued stroking from her ankles to the middle of her thighs, his thumbs brushing over the damp center of her panties.

  “We’re going to walk now. You are going to go with Master Reed through the club to a station I have reserved for us,” Colin collected her skirt from the floor and draped it over his arm.

  “I…not you? But…”

  “I will join you in a few minutes,” he fastened his set of cuffs over each of her wrists and linked them together. He lifted them in his hands, his voice firm. “These are mine, Angelica. You are mine. Tell me how a good sub reacts to what I’ve told her?”

  “I’ll go with him and do as he says,” she answered instantly, visibly struggling to control her breathing. “I’m sorry…”

  “You’re doing fine, little sub,” Reed told her from behind her, his hand stroking over the short pixie haircut. “I’m going to walk with you, at your side, guiding you through the club, alright?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Colin nodded and turned away, taking the shawl she’d been wearing along with her skirt to the locker room where he’d left his supplies.

  Chapter Nine

  Blind, she thought, the panic welling inside her until the other voice cut through her thoughts.

  “You can hear me, Angel. You know my name and you know I won’t hurt you,” Master Reed said clearly, his voice low and firm.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Take small steps and let me lead you.”

  She felt lost. She could hear so much and nothing at all. It all began to flow into a buzz in her ears. The scent of leather and sex and food and sweat and musk. The hand on her hip applied steady and firm pressure and her hands felt weighted down as they hung in front of her. She was shaking and couldn’t stop it.

  Angel was suddenly jolted to a stop, a pair of hands on her waist from behind holding her firmly still abruptly.

  “Angel!”

  Her head jerked up at the sound, lashes fluttering against the satin cover over her eyes.

  “Listen to me.”

  “Yes, sir,” she breathed. It was Master Reed speaking, breaking through the myriad of thoughts.

  “Close your mouth. I don’t know where you went, but you need to slow your breathing,” he ordered firmly, his hand tightening and pulling her hard against him. “It’s just us. Master Colin is here…slow breaths through your nose…”

  Reed stepped back, slowly releasing his hold on her and catching Colin’s gaze.

  “Kneel, Angel,” Colin said quietly, reaching for one of the large cushions and tossing it at her feet. “Knees apart, head down, shoulders back…” he waited, not offering a hand. He wanted her concentrating on something other than whatever had gone through her head and sent panic through her. “Good girl. Now what happened?”

  “I…I thought I was fine,” she answered, confused, her head down and hands clenching where they rested on her thighs. “I did,” she whispered.

  “What were you thinking, Angel?” Colin pressed, shrugging at Reed.

  “That…that there was so much to hear and smell…I was trying to…I was just thinking about it all…”

  “All right,” Colin placed a hand on her head, stroking over the silken strands, his fingers brushing the gold hoops in her ear. He looked at Reed and nodded. “Don’t move, Angel. Perfectly still.”

  Angel couldn’t stop the shiver, but she held herself still.

  “Yes, sir,” she whispered. Don’t move, don’t move, don’t move, she repeated firmly to herself until the first drop struck the back of her shoulder. An icy cold sensation slid down her back. She jumped and gasped.

  “Do I have to restrain you, pet?”

  “Cold,” she breathed raggedly.

  “Is it the cold or the surprise of it?” Colin asked, nodding to Reed and watching several more drops of refreshed cold water fall from his fingers over Angel’s shoulders, neck and back.

  “I…there are two of you,” she sputtered, gasping and struggling to hold herself still even as her back stiffened and chest tightened.

  “Answer the question, pet.”

  “I don’t know the answer,” she shot back, a little yelp breaking free when it happened again, droplets rolling down between her shoulder blades.

  “I think she needs more exposure,” Reed commented with a glance down at the front of her corset.

  “Excellent idea,” Colin responded with a nod. He dropped to his heels in front of her and lifted her chin with one hand. “I’m taking off your corset, Angel. Do not move. Am I clear?”

  “Y-yes, sir,” she answered in between tiny panting breaths.

  “There is nothing here to frighten you. No one here is going to tell your father what we do,” he watched her jaw tighten and knew he’d been right. “And even if he knew, I honestly don’t give a flying fuck. I want you here with me in every sense of the word.”

  “There are people…” she answered, an edge to her terse voice, a tremor running through her body.

  Colin opened the first catch on the corset, running one finger from her ear, over her shoulder and down the center between her breast
s. A smattering of freckles were sprinkled over her shoulders. He shot a look at Reed and nodded, releasing another hook at the same time he dribbled water over her back and neck.

  “What do you think happens to subs who can’t follow instructions?” Collin asked casually. This time his finger trailed over the rounded top of her breast and down to the nipple already puckered for attention. He flattened his palm and placed it on her stomach, just above the elastic of the tiny panties she’d put on. Just a big enough triangle to cover the bare mound.

  “They…they get punished,” she answered nervously. Her hands clenched a little tighter as more air whispered over the flesh being exposed.

  “What would you consider punishment?” Colin popped another hook free and let the corset fall behind her. He collected it and tossed it to the canvas bag he had next to the large bench. “Give me your hands, Angel,” Colin stood up and slowly pulled her to her feet, his gaze traveled from the flush of pink in her cheeks to the small, round and firm breasts. He opened the latch connecting the cuffs and stretched her arms wide. “Keep them out, pet. No moving.”

  “Answer Master Colin’s question, Angel,” Reed dried his hand on the side of his pants and reached for the tiny bows at the sides of her panties. He watched her hands jerk but not move when the sides parted and pooled between her feet on the floor. “Very good, Angel.”

  “I don’t know…sir…about punishment…I know what I’ve seen,” she said in a hopeful voice that she’d found the right answer.

  “What have you seen, Angel?” Colin asked, guiding her toward the bench he’d set up. He stretched her hands out and latched the cuffs on each end. He found the switch and raised the bar she was attached to, keeping it slow when she gulped in several small breaths. He stopped when her hands reached just slightly above her shoulders.

  “I…all kinds of things,” she let the words stumble out as if remembering his question.

  The bench was designed in three pieces and had so many uses, a chart hung on the wall in front of it. Colin unfastened the center piece and raised it to the level he wanted, so her stomach rested right against the solid, smooth wooded bar. He locked it down. Once he had her secure, she wouldn’t be able to move in any direction more than an inch.