by P Nelson
The way she was gazing up into his lover’s face, all her secrets bared to him was telling enough. But that Linkin had watched her scene with numerous partners over the years and this was her first honest response showed him more about the sub she could become than anything else. Linkin needed to find out why she only played with poser Doms when she had the capacity to experience so much more fulfilment with true submission.
“Does our little sub want to play?” Martin asked her, and Delaney’s body went rigid for a moment as if she was considering his offer. Linkin watched as she shook her head and appeared to get her brain working again.
“You know I can’t. I have a contract with another Dom,” she responded and let out a little nervous laugh. “What a thing to ask a girl.”
“A man can always hope.” Martin’s voice sounded like velvet and midnight promises as he continued to stare into Delaney’s eyes. Linkin smiled and was glad Delaney wasn’t looking at his face. He knew his partner very well and right now Martin was using his very best game to seduce her whether she knew it or not. Twisting her head away from Martin, she looked up at him. Whatever she saw there made her shiver, and he wanted nothing more than to lay his hands on her, glide them up and down the silk of her skin. Keeping his hands stubbornly at his sides, he drank in her expression of worry tinged with lust.
“We can give you what you need, little sub.” His voice held an earnest note to it Linkin had never heard before. Mentally, he took a step back to analyse his interaction with Delaney. What was it about her that made him want to dominate and cuddle her close at the same time. Normally, he left the aftercare to Martin, who enjoyed pampering the subs they took on. But the thought of bathing Delaney after working her body hard, running his fingers through her soapy hair as her cries echoed off his bathroom walls almost made him come in his leathers.
“What are you thinking about, Master Linkin?” Delaney asked on a breathless whisper. Big Daddy BB’s whip slicing through the air with a crack saved him from answering. The sound caused more than one sub, including Delaney, to jump and look over to watch Bondie’s punishment.
She turned her full attention to the sub manacled to the St Andrew’s cross on stage. Linkin watched her expressions on her profile. He wanted nothing more than to get her between Martin and him. His gaze flicking around the dungeon floor, he spotted a couple of regulars he knew and nodded at them just as Robert came into view. Normally, he would let Martin handle the nasty business of breaking off a contract with a naughty sub, but Linkin wanted Martin to keep an eye on Delaney. The club was safe enough for unattached subs, the Doms here knew whether a sub was available for play, but he wanted to make sure everyone was aware that Delaney was under his and Martin’s protection while her ass wipe Dom was MIA.
The BDSM world was just like the mundane world, full of predators looking for opportunities. Linkin knew this because he was a predator, too; he just used his powers for good. He caught Martin’s eye and nodded towards where Robert was standing. Martin made to leave when Linkin shook his head and glanced meaningfully at Delaney. He frowned at Linkin in a way that let him know two things. One, don’t get his hopes up for a night of exquisite passion with Delaney because she was hung up on her poser Dom, and two, be nice to Robert. He might have broken his contract, but he was still a nice kid.
Linkin didn’t bother saying anything as he reluctantly left Delaney’s side. The fact her left flank was now open to an attack as the people watching Big Daddy BB and Bondie surged in to take his place bothered him. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do until he took care of Robert. Pressing through the people who had started to crowd the dungeon, Linkin looked around the area and was happy to see his cameras were all blinking and doing their job. Robert spotted him as he walked towards the bar area. A frown passed over his features before he sunk down into the slave pose Martin and Linkin preferred for both their male and female subs. Legs spread wide, eyes on the floor in front of them and hands palm up on their thighs.
“Good evening, Robert.” Linkin had to speak a little louder to be heard over the sounds of conversation and various implements meeting bare flesh in a staccato of punishment. “Stand up, please.” Robert looked up at him and searched his face before he got back up to his feet. By the look of panic on Robert’s face, Linkin knew the young man had an idea of where their conversation was headed but decided to brazen it out.
“Is there a problem, Master Linkin?” he asked as he kept his chin down in an outward display of submission.
“You have broken your contract with Master Martin and me. We do not feel the need to renew it.” Linkin knew his words were brutal, and he meant them to be. Martin would have consoled, but cheating with unknown partners in the lifestyle was something for which Linkin had zero tolerance.
“It was only a couple of kisses,” Robert blurted out. “Let me explain.” He continued as he looked around for Martin. “Master Martin will understand I was lonely.”
“Master Martin is as disappointed by your actions as I am. Would you have even told us about your extra-curricular activities if someone we knew hadn’t spotted you and was thoughtful enough to warn us of your behaviour?” Robert squirmed under his speech, and it was all the confirmation he needed. “You risked putting our health at risk for a couple of kisses.” His tone implied Linkin didn’t believe Robert had stopped at a bit of canoodling. “You broke trust with us, and that only happens once.” Linkin turned on his booted heel to return to Delaney’s side. The thought of her soft sighs was like a balm to his nerves after dealing with Robert.
“You’re such an asshole,” Robert muttered. Linkin turned back to face his ex-sub.
“Want to say that to my face,” Linkin asked and watched as Robert shrank back for a second before taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders.
“I was never into you anyway,” Robert spat, and Linkin was momentarily impressed with the other man’s courage. Despite what people in the vanilla world believed, a good sub wasn’t a pushover. A really good submissive was a strong, independent person who gave their trust and surrender to a Dom who fed it back to them through dominance. “All the subs submit to you because they want to be with Martin.” Linkin stared at Robert who shrank back again. This was not new information to Linkin. He had long ago realised that Martin’s brand of dominance was much more palatable to most subs they encountered. Linkin was unaffected for the most part when subs tried to get between his boyfriend and him. What they didn’t realise was that they shared a bond so deep it would take a very special sub to join them on their level. No way would either one be tempted away, however.
“Feel free to speak with Master Martin.” Linkin had already segregated Robert and his antics to the back of his mind. He was no longer of any priority to him. The man striding into the dungeon with a tall redhead on his arm was another matter entirely. Linkin focused on Master Rex and the woman at his side. The sub he didn’t recognise and could be a tourist for all he knew, but the way Master Rex was sliding his hand down to grip her ass meant there was something between the two of them. He looked back over to where Delaney was standing with Martin. Their heads together in discussion, Linkin liked the image of them being cosy. Delaney glanced over, and Linkin knew by the expression on her face she had spotted her Dom.
Chapter Three
Martin had been explaining the finer points of using a four-foot whip opposed to a longer one when Delaney felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Covering her shiver of apprehension, Delaney peered over her shoulder to find Linkin staring intently at her. Her body’s response was not at all unusual when Linkin focused solely on her, and Delaney was about to turn back to her conversation when she spotted Master Rex.
The feeling of delight at seeing him here quickly evaporated, and horror took its place. He hadn’t decided that he might still catch her here for them to play together. It was painfully obvious Master Rex meant to spend the night with the tall redhead beside him who needed to eat a cheeseburger.
“Delaney,” Martin warned. Normally, she liked the way her name rolled off his tongue. She liked it even now despite the fact he was trying to control her. She didn’t want to make a scene and knew under normal circumstances, she’d hate to be the centre of attention when it came to pity. She watched as her Master wrapped an arm around the beautiful woman at his side and kissed her full on the lips.
A squeak erupted from her mouth, and she felt anger rising in her chest. Not the bone-deep feeling of betrayal she expected to find after she had lavished months of attention on Douchebag Rex as he would now be known to her. Mentally picking up her pride from where it had shattered down around her ankles, Delaney wrapped it around her shoulders once again and took a step forward.
“Why don’t you let Master Linkin and me take care of this.” Martin’s voice was low but held a dangerous edge. Delaney glanced over at him, and his expression was firm, but his eyes were worried.
“You’re not my Dom, Master Martin.” Her voice was brittle, and her throat ached. Out of the corner of her eye, Delaney could see people had spotted Master Rex, and they were waiting for her reaction. Her soon-to-be former Master hadn’t spotted her yet, and Delaney’s blood was up. She was going to make sure Douchebag Rex felt her full wrath. “You’re a good man, though, so I suggest you stay out of my way.”
Doing her best to ignore the stares of people she had known in the kink world for longer than Delaney had held onto most jobs, she walked steadily towards her target. Doms and subs scrambled to get out of her way, and she was vaguely aware of Master Martin following in her wake, Master Linkin watching with his pale intent gaze for what she would do next.
Satisfaction went through her as she recognised the exact moment Douchebag Rex spotted her. He visibly blanched before trying to get his dominant façade in place. She had seen it, though—the moment of panic. There would never be a time when she could take him seriously again. The real Masters standing around her were dominants. It was a part of their DNA, and they didn’t need to play at authority.
“I thought I told you to go home and have an early night,” were his first words to her.
“But then I’d miss watching you scene, Master.” Delaney shook her head in mock sadness. Douchebag Rex was clearly undecided for a minute on how he was supposed to proceed. Their altercation had attracted onlookers, and the woman beside him was casting nervous glances at people in the crowd.
“We were never exclusive.” Douchebag Rex’s voice had gone low as he stared directly at Delaney. She huffed out a breath. They had been as good as exclusive for months, and before he cancelled on her, indicated he was finally ready to put a permanent collar on her. Tears of frustration wanted to form, but Delaney held on to her stubborn pride.
“Now, we don’t have a contract, either.” Asshole, she added in her mind to the end of the sentence. The rage she felt had nothing to do with Rex cheating, and everything to do with her own idiocy. How had she ever thought this guy was worth her time, her effort, and her submission? She would only admit to herself that she hadn’t really given Douchebag Rex her trust and submission. He reached out and grabbed her arm.
“Delaney, let me explain,” he started to say.
“No, get your hand off me.” Delaney tried to yank her arm back. “You’re hurting me.”
“Aren’t you supposed to like it when it hurts?” Douchebag Rex’s fingers bit into her flesh.
“You’d better let Delaney go and read up on your BDSM. Assault and battery are not part of the lifestyle. Neither is playing without consent.” Martin’s voice was crisp as he gave the other man a set-down in front of everyone at The Feather Flogger.
“Stay out of this. Delaney’s my sub, and I’ll handle her how I please.” Douchebag Rex stood up taller trying to mimic Martin’s stance. Delaney didn’t bother to roll her eyes; Rex’s efforts to appear like a Dominant were pitiful. What had she ever seen in him?
“I’m not your sub anymore,” Delaney pointed out. “Not that it should really bother you, looks like you have someone to replace me.” She indicated the nervous redhead standing beside him. “Now, I really am going home.” Rex reached out to snatch her arm back.
“Let’s talk about this, baby. You need me to give you what you need.” He tried to get into her space.
“Fuck off.” A couple of the subs around her gasped and giggled. Strictly speaking, it was against just about every Dom’s rule for their subs to swear. When they did, it gave them an opportunity to spank their ass.
“Twenty smacks.” Linkin’s cold voice cut through the noise of the crowd.
“I think the lady has made her point, Master Rex. Now, is not time to push her,” Master Martin added.
“You really think you can discipline me?” Delaney asked ignoring the brewing argument between Master Martin and Douchebag Rex and standing up to Linkin. Her blood was up over Rex’s infidelity, and she was spoiling for a fight. Linkin stepped right into her space; it made her heat flutter and her stomach sink at the same time. It felt like her breasts were straining against the fabric of her corset to try to touch the bare skin of his chest. Why did this man have such a dangerous effect on her?
“You need someone to teach you true submission, little sub.” Delaney craned her neck to look up at Linkin. He stared down at her with cold blue eyes and angled chin. The man in front of her was hard all over; there would be no give in a true power exchange relationship with him. The sub within her cried out for him to put her over his knee and let those big callused hands of his run all over her naked skin. Her brain, however, was telling her to run to safety.
“Let me guess you’re just the Dom to do it?” Delaney had no idea why she was provoking the big bad Dom, but everything about making Master Linkin angry in any way was probably bad for her health.
“Master Martin and I would be very happy to show you how to release your true inner sub, Delaney.” His lips turned up in a parody of a smile and Delaney’s nipples immediately went hard, she felt her pussy soften. “All you need to do is ask.”
“Stay the fuck away from my sub.” Douchebag Rex’s voice broke through her exchange with Master Linkin, and Delaney was almost irritated enough to stamp her foot. Tonight, she had experienced more lust sparring with Master Linkin and his boyfriend than she had all the months she had been playing with Douchebag Rex.
“I’m not your sub anymore, Rex.” She purposefully left off the honorary Master title. “Get over it. I intend to very quickly.”
“That’s twenty smacks for swearing.” Master Linkin ordered, and Delaney glanced up at him with a frown on her face. She hadn’t sworn, but he was looking at her. Master Linkin was staring at Douchebag Rex, and the other man’s face momentarily crumpled under the authority of the obvious alpha. Douchebag Rex tried to say something, but he only sputtered up at Master Linkin. Pathetic. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the faces from people she had known for years, not wanting to see their pity over the night’s events, Delaney headed for the women’s changing room.
She had wasted months on Douchebag Rex in the hopes he would become the perfect Dom for her. That was the last time she took on a newbie tourist to The Feather Flogger. From now on she was only going to scene with experienced Doms. Pushing the door to the changing room open, Delaney went over to her locker and dialled in the code for the lock.
“I heard what happened.” Janey said from the door out to reception. She had her head inside the locker room, but her body remained in the front of the club.
“You tried to warn me,” Delaney responded with self-deprecation.
“He was never the right Dom for you, Delaney.” Janey’s voice held sympathy, and Delaney couldn’t bare it. All the friends she made since joining the lifestyle in college had now settled with their perfect or near perfect Doms. She was the only one who hadn’t found her forever Master, and now Delaney wondered if there was something wrong with her.
“Obviously,” she replied holding onto the emotions that threatened to swamp
her. She wished Janey would stop being so nice; unfortunately, it was a fundamental part of her personality to comfort others. Stupid natural sub. Grabbing her coat from inside the locker, Delaney shoved her arms roughly into the sleeves and reached for her bag. She sat down heavily on the bench behind her and rummaged through the bag until a pair of flip-flops came into view. With a heavy sigh, Delaney removed the killer high heels she was wearing, flexing her toes in delight, and slipped the rubber footwear into place. She sat staring at the high heels not really seeing them for another minute.
“What are you doing in there?” Janey asked from the doorway, clearly trying to watch the front desk and comfort her at the same time.
“Thinking about what kind of ice cream to buy on the way home,” Delaney replied as she stuffed her high heels into her bag before standing up. She didn’t bother to close the buttons on her long coat; instead she just pulled the two halves around her body and hugged herself. Shoving the locker door closed, Delaney headed for the exit and a worried-looking Janey.
“You want to stay and talk? I have a break in a couple of minutes,” Janey offered as she enfolded Delaney in her arms, squeezing the breath out of her. Normally, Delaney would have felt consoled by the other woman’s efforts, but tonight, she only felt like Janey was pressing on her raw nerves. Stepping out of Janey’s arms, Delaney gave her the best smile she could manage.
“It’s fine. I just want to go home and pretend tonight or the last few months never happened.” She nodded at Janey and stepped around her into the reception area.
“Great idea.” Master Martin stood in the reception area wearing a pair of jeans and a dark T-shirt, clearly having changed out of his leathers in record time. “Why don’t you let me drive you home?” The smile he wore was pure sin, and Delaney’s bruised heart shuddered at the thought of spending time in an enclosed space with this man and his lover.
