Salvaged by Love (Thalia Book 3) (The Thalia Series)

by Jennifer Bene

  “Congratulations! You are perfect together.”

  “The ring is gorgeous -”

  “- happy for ye, man -”

  “- get an invite?”

  “What a story -”

  “- so happy for you -”

  Julie and Antonio were overwhelmed with back slaps and hugs and oohs and aahs over the gorgeous yellow teardrop diamond that looked like frozen sunlight. When Thalia finally stepped forward she hugged Julie tight and spoke into her ear, “You’ll have to tell me if fiancé sex is as good as ‘I’ve missed you’ sex.”

  Julie cackled and blushed, and Antonio glanced at her with a look that made Julie seem like the only person in the world he knew existed. Ethan was shaking his hand, but it was as if he wasn’t aware once his eyes were on her. In a moment they were back in each other’s arms and everyone else was just watching them.

  “Oh! Kalen!” Maggie spoke up, scrambling back to the table. “We have to celebrate and I have the perfect way!” She returned to their little group with her phone grasped in her hand and a grin on her face. Her blue eyes were radiant as she almost vibrated in her excitement.

  “Yes, blessing?” Kalen seemed wary, but he wasn’t fighting the smile on his lips very well.

  “Crucible.” Maggie said it with a dark tone, and Kalen held up his hand, but Maggie kept talking. “I have the address, the password, and come on, we have to celebrate this. Please?”

  “Maggie...” Kalen sighed.

  “Sir. Pretty please?” Maggie pouted and it was fun to watch Kalen melt with a groan.

  “Just the four of us?” He asked, and Thalia almost opened her mouth to ask what Crucible was and why she and James weren’t invited.

  “Everyone should be invited! It’s a party!” Maggie paused and glanced over at Marisol, “Everyone that wants to come anyway.”

  “Hell, Kalen, what’s Crucible and why are you being all secretive about it?” Antonio cut straight to it and it made Thalia smile. He was just as brash as Julie.

  “Crucible is a very exclusive, very hard to find, and even more difficult to gain entrance to, sex club in Edinburgh.” James’ voice purred next to Thalia’s ear and she shivered. “It’s where Kalen and Maggie met.”

  “True. Though at this point we are almost benefactors. Maggie and I do our part to keep it going.” Kalen tugged Maggie forward so that she tripped into his arms. He grabbed the cell phone and pinned her against him with the other arm. He calmly read through the texts, sent a response with a quiet beep, and then looked down at the squirming mop of red hair.

  “Kalen! Don’t erase the answer to tonight’s question!” Maggie fussed at him as he tucked the phone into his pocket. With a grin he brought his hand back and landed a loud pop on Maggie’s backside.

  “First, blessing, that’s three for ye today, and second, since we’re going to Crucible tonight... I’ll pay out all three sets in front of a crowd.” Kalen was suddenly all Dom. Loud voice, immoveable and solid as a crag. Maggie turned breathless in his arms, nodding against his broad chest.

  “We’re going, sir?” Maggie asked quietly, her smile peeking out at Julie from beneath her hair.

  “Yeh, blessing. I think everyone here will find that Crucible helps them solidify their decisions.” Kalen’s mouth hovered over Maggie’s and she tried to lean forward to kiss him, but he pulled back. “After all, it worked for us, right?”

  “Like magic.” Maggie whispered, and Kalen kissed her hard.

  Chapter Four

  Crucible.

  Thalia hadn’t known what to expect when Maggie had suggested it. She’d asked James about it and he’d only kissed her and told her it was a ‘wait-and-see’ kind of place. Of all the ideas that had floated through her head, she could have never imagined what they found when they got to Crucible’s location for the night.

  After parking on a busy street in the middle of Edinburgh and climbing out of Kalen’s car to wait for the others to grab spaces, Thalia’s mind was racing. James had hugged her close to keep her warm in the cold air since the very tight, and very short, little black dress she wore did nothing against the chill. He had picked it though, and the way he’d grinned when she put it on was worth the temporary shivers. Julie and Antonio had arrived next. She was wearing a dress the color of mist and it made her hair glow like a halo around her head in the streetlights. Antonio’s dark hair and dusky skin were a sharp contrast. They stayed to the side, whispering to each other and kissing occasionally with big smiles. It made Thalia feel warm to watch them.

  James pulled her attention away when he turned her in his arms so she looked up at him, “Well, baby, how are you feeling?” His thumb traced her bottom lip and she smiled. He looked so serious, and all Thalia could feel was the thrumming nervous excitement beating through her veins. None of her usual panic or anxiety.

  “I’m fine, I promise. I’m actually excited to see it... You know, Analiese said she used to go to clubs like this all the time.” Thalia felt heat in her cheeks as she heard Chloe and Lauren’s laughter approaching, “She said I’d probably like them, like getting to see others like me, that I’d like getting to be myself where no one would judge me.”

  James chuckled and pulled her closer to the heat of his body, and she slid her arms under his jacket, soaking it in. Thalia pressed her cheek to his chest, breathing deep the smell of clean soap, warm skin, and spice that was intrinsically James. “No one is going to judge you at Crucible, pet, trust me.”

  “I do trust you. Completely. So...” she fought the urge to bury her face in his shirt and ruin her make-up, “What’s going to happen when we get there?” Thalia voiced her only question for him, and he leaned back to look down at her, concern etching his forehead again.

  “Nothing you don’t want, baby.” James brushed her hair over her ear before he cupped her cheek, “In fact, let’s agree right now that if you want to leave, you don’t even have to say your safe word. All you need to do is tap me three times. Anything makes you uncomfortable, or if you are simply done for the night? Tap three times. Alright?”

  “Thalia!” Lauren was waving at her, and Thalia waved and smiled at her before looking back at James’ concerned face. He always gave her an escape route, it was always a choice, and she loved him for that. And everything else.

  “I promise if I want to leave I’ll tap three times, but I don’t think I’ll need it.” Thalia spoke softly, “Plus... you said earlier you weren’t done with me for the night.”

  James laughed a little and grinned down at her, his eyes turning bottle glass green in the street lights, “No, pet. I’m nowhere near done with you.”

  “That’s good to know, Master.” Thalia watched as the title made James shift closer to her, his grip tightening around her. He’d liked it since their first night together, and she still loved to say it. His fingertips traced her curves and a shiver ran across her skin, promising more.

  “Come on!” Maggie shouted and grabbed Kalen’s hand as Ethan and Marisol approached. Her shout unfortunately interrupted wherever James’ hands had been going. They led the group down a quiet side street, marked with charming old style street lamps, before stopping without warning in front of a weathered old stone building. It was tall, and it was clear at one time it had been well cared for. Important in the area, but the whole section of the city seemed to have been forgotten by time.

  A broad shouldered man stepped out of the shadow of a doorway and smiled warmly at them. “Well, this is a surprise, Kalen.”

  “Sorry we did nae reach out to ye in advance, Michael.” Kalen stepped away from Maggie and shook his hand.

  “Ye and Maggie are always welcome.” Michael laughed, his shaggy hair falling in his eyes before he pushed it back. “So are yer friends as long as ye can give the right response for the night. Can nae break the rules for ye.”

  Maggie bounced on her toes and leaned up to whisper in Kalen’s ear. He chuckled and slid his arms around her to hold her in front of him. “Alright. Go ahead, M
ichael.”

  Michael crossed his arms, shrugged a shoulder, and spoke clearly. “They condemn what they do not understand.”

  Huh?

  Kalen chuckled to himself and mumbled, “Clever.” With a nudge from Maggie he looked up at Michael and spoke his answer, “Pontius Pilate.” Thalia felt her forehead crease at the Latin sounding words, and James chuckled. She had definitely missed a joke of some kind.

  Michael grinned, “Welcome to Crucible. Enjoy yer evening.” He pushed the door open with some effort and the heavy pulse of music from inside flowed into the night. The man’s eyes traced over each of them as they moved inside, and Thalia felt like she was about to skydive, or sing on stage, or swim with sharks. Her heart was racing, her stomach filling with fluttering butterflies that beat a rapid tempo inside her and made it difficult to breathe.

  The weird codeword exchange should have been the strangest part of Crucible - but it wasn’t. It was where Crucible was for the night.

  Thalia tightened her grip on James’ hand as they stepped forward into the dark interior. It swallowed them whole, and no one made noise even as the door swung shut behind them. Continuing forward they emerged from a short hallway and the ceiling suddenly rose high above them. Thalia felt her lips part in awe. There were burnished gold arches disappearing into the gloom at their peaks where the dim light of the space couldn’t reach. Intricate designs were carved into them with old paintings almost invisible on the ceiling spaces between them. The room was lit as if a club had been installed in the old building. Which, after staring around her, was obviously an old museum or gallery of some kind. An endless smooth floor reflected the flashing lights that cut through the dark, and the movement of people seemed to fill the space. Some sitting on chairs or couches, others obviously kneeling on the floor. Others tied in place on the walls, where the sounds of a dozen sessions compounded with the music. Thalia felt her stomach tighten with nerves and excitement, her heart crashing into her ribs as she tried to watch everything at once.

  Even Lauren and Chloe were quiet for once.

  “Still okay?” James’ lips were against her ear and Thalia forced herself to swallow even though her mouth was dry. Not fifteen feet away there was a naked girl on her knees between the legs of her Dom. The man’s head was dropped back on the chair, his fist buried in her hair as she sucked him. Heat pooled between Thalia’s legs, but a sharp tug from James brought her back from staring.

  “Yes, Master.” Thalia breathed and he chuckled, his hand sweeping down to brush over her thigh and send a shiver through her.

  “Let’s sit. James, would ye find space? I have something to arrange.” Kalen grinned and something passed between James and Kalen unspoken. Thalia was glad they had mended what her arrival and her situation had damaged. A friendship that old, and that important, couldn’t be lost. Kalen turned and walked off into the dark like he knew the place, and James took Thalia’s hand and pulled her forward.

  People. People everywhere.

  Not just people.

  Submissives.

  Doms.

  There was a very handsome young man in a pair of leather pants kneeling with his hair in his eyes at the booted feet of a woman. The woman’s eyes locked onto Thalia’s as she passed and on instinct she dropped her gaze. The woman’s laugh followed her, but Thalia wasn’t worried. She was brimming with questions. Were female Doms common? Were male submissives? Did places like this really exist? Thalia had only met everyone at Purgatory! Her brain was a blur as they passed a girl being spanked in turns by two couples with paddles. Her cries and moans rose over the music. A man’s shirtless back moved in front of her, coated in sweat, and Thalia had to jump to the side to not run into him.

  By the time James sat down and pulled Thalia possessively into his lap, her cheeks were burning. Her eyes were devouring everything with abandon and even though she knew she shouldn’t look, she was. A lot. And she couldn’t stop. Heat pulsed between her thighs, her clit throbbing to be touched, and she found herself squirming on James’ lap. His laugh buzzed across her skin as if he’d stroked her. “Like anything you see, pet?”

  Thalia nodded, biting her lower lip as she stared across the room at a girl bound by her wrists to the wall. Her body was stretched up, her feet on tip toes. She had obviously arrived in a corset and skirt, but the corset was mostly unlaced, and the skirt was bunched at her waist. Bright red lines marked down her backside, and the man next to her was speaking against her ear. Even from so far away Thalia could see the tremble move through her. She knew that feeling. She loved that feeling.

  Anticipation. Nerves. Excitement. Tension.

  “Talk to me.” James’ hand slid up her thigh, pushing the hem of the dress up. Thalia parted her legs slightly and his fingers took advantage, dipping to stroke the inside of her thigh, but no higher.

  “Her.” Thalia’s mouth was so dry. She knew she should be talking to Julie, celebrating with her, or at least chatting with Chloe or Lauren - but she couldn’t tear her eyes away as the man swished the cane through the air.

  “Remembering your punishment?” James’ lips were against her neck, running warm, soft kisses down to meet her shoulder.

  “Yes, Master.” She arched as his teeth nipped her skin, an involuntary moan slipping from between her lips.

  “What’s going on in your head, pet. Tell me.” His voice slid quickly into that clear edge of command and she felt any internal barriers that she normally maintained in public buckle under the onslaught of sounds and visuals and his voice.

  “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed that.” Thalia said it just as the man brought another lash of the cane across the girl’s backside. Her cry of pain, her shivering dance on her tiptoes, made Thalia’s breath catch. “I- I want to do that again?”

  “Anything for you. Let’s make a list.” James shifted her back farther into his lap so that the heat of his chest bled through the back of her dress. “What else would you like to try?”

  Thalia felt like she had when he’d taken her shopping. Only now she wanted to shop. Her eyes skipped over the ecstatic Julie who was sitting in Antonio’s lap and leaning forward to chat with Lauren, while Chloe was straddling Brad and kissing him - she was telling him something, and he was laughing. Thalia pulled her eyes from them too, ignoring the sullen Marisol who forced a smile at Ethan before staring off into nothing again.

  “The girl, the one with the people with the paddle.” Thalia pointed back down the gallery, and where once there were paintings now there were people.

  “What do you like about it?” James’ voice was level against her skin. His warm breath moving across her collar bone made her whine, and his damned hand hadn’t moved an inch higher.

  “I just like it. Please, Master, touch me?” Her voice was pleading, but he didn’t relent.

  “Answer me, pet. Is it the fact that strangers are doing it?” His voice didn’t hold an ounce of judgment, but she shook her head. That wasn’t it. In her head she could only picture James standing behind her, and maybe Kalen if she was honest with herself. “Hmm. Is it that she’s bound? The other girl who caught your eye was bound as well.”

  Thalia felt her body shiver, her thighs tightening and pressing together as her pussy flooded with heat. Memories of James pinning her, cuffing her, keeping her bound so he could touch her, it overwhelmed her. “Yes.” It was the only word Thalia could form as James’ hands pulled her thighs apart.

  “Hmmm.” His mouth was against her neck again, the heat of his breath making her whimper with need. “Is it also the paddle?”

  Thalia’s mouth opened and she moaned softly. “Mmhmm,” she murmured the affirmative as his fingers slid higher up the inside of her thigh. She wanted him. She wanted him badly, and based on the hard press of his cock against her ass, he wanted her too.

  “See anything else you want, pet?” He growled against her ear, and she felt the first incredible stroke of his fingers against her soaked panties.

  “You, Master, ple
ase, Master?” Thalia didn’t care who could hear her begging, or who was watching, or what was happening. Her world shrank to just her and James. His hand between her thighs, the warmth of his body at her back, his mouth against her neck, the sharpness of his erection under her echoing her own need and amplifying it.

  “Patience. Part of coming to these clubs is watching, and learning.” His other hand slid up her side and cupped her breast for a moment, before moving up her neck to force her head to lift. “And you have to watch to learn.”

  The lights across the space dimmed, the electric flashes that had seemed to be timed with the music calmed. The pounding bass and dreamlike vocals swelled for a moment, and then softened so that the last few gasps and cries in the dark seemed so much louder.

  A warm light bloomed against the back wall, highlighting the gold arches that formed the incredible ceiling of the place. There was no grand announcement as Kalen helped Antonio strap Julie to a large wooden X. But all attention was focused towards them. Thalia hadn’t even noticed them slip away. The blonde was naked and so tiny against the tall beams of wood. It made her seem all the more fragile as Antonio almost blocked her completely from view when he stepped behind her to speak with her. Thalia could see Julie’s hair bounce when she nodded and Antonio stepped back and turned to the room.