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

by Jennifer Bene

  “Tonight is a celebration for me and my friends!” Antonio’s voice seemed amplified in the space, or maybe it was the softer music, or the sudden absence of the small chorus of cries and moans. “This incredible, beautiful, smart, funny woman agreed to be my wife tonight.” A short round of applause accompanied by murmurs of congratulations followed his announcement. He continued, “But that’s not all. I didn’t fall in love with Jules because she’s beautiful. Or because she’s smart, which she is. Or because she makes me laugh, or because she has a heart way too big for a girl that’s only five feet tall.” Laughter bounced across the groups in the room. “I fell in love with Julie because we found in each other someone who accepted, and balanced, the core of who we are. I can be myself, and so can she, and we are unapologetically ourselves when we are together. So earlier this evening we toasted the fact that she agreed to be my wife, and now we will celebrate the way we really like to celebrate.” His grin spoke volumes. “Isn’t that right, Julie?”

  “Yes, sir! Please!” Julie was tugging on the cuffs, her small, fit body reminding Thalia of a gymnast as she begged. She knew Julie was wound tight after a month away from Antonio and since the girl didn’t have a shy bone in her body, this was perfect for her.

  “Be a good girl, angel, and wait to beg until you really need it?” Antonio’s voice hummed with promise, and Thalia shifted on James’ lap in anticipation.

  “Yes, sir.” Julie responded and Antonio stepped out of the pool of warm light, leaving Julie’s pale skin bathed in that golden glow, her hair hiding her face from view as she rested against the St. Andrew’s cross.

  Antonio returned and raised his arm, uncoiling a single tailed whip for the crowd. Energy pulsed through the room as a collective shudder of anticipation concentrated attention forward. “Have you missed me, angel?” His voice sounded deadly serious, and the quiver in Julie’s voice meant she had an idea of what was coming.

  “Yes, sir. Every day, sir.” Julie turned her head a bit, but she couldn’t see the whip in Antonio’s hand from where he stood.

  Antonio moved closer to her, his voice staying loud enough to be heard, “What did you ask me for last week?”

  “Punishment, sir.” Julie said it lightly, almost laughing, but her fists were clenching and releasing in the cuffs. Preparing. Waiting.

  “Yes, angel, and I promised I’d make tonight memorable.” Antonio trailed the leather handle of the whip down the line of her spine and Julie’s back arched. He stepped away confidently and with a quick movement of his arm the whip cracked harmlessly in the air to her right. Julie, and half the room, gasped. Thalia jumped and James slipped his hand into her hair, which pooled heat in her belly. She needed him as much as Julie needed this.

  “Kalen wouldn’t let Antonio touch a whip around a sub if he didn’t know how to use it, baby.” James thought she was afraid. That wasn’t it. Thalia was trembling with excitement and need. Her hand traced over James’ and she tried to press his touch more firmly against her clit to get some relief. He chuckled and tightened his grip on her hair and she clenched her fists on her thighs to keep them still. “Watch.”

  The room was hushed as Antonio stepped to the side, “Don’t forget to breathe, angel.” Julie’s ribs expanded and the whip cracked across her skin. She cried out, her body tensing before she relaxed. A moan of thanks rising out of her. Thalia had to remind herself to breathe too as she watched the red mark blossom on her skin. As another whip lash landed, Thalia felt James spread her thighs until her knees draped over the outside of his. Her legs spread wider in the dark as he leaned her back against him, and his hand trailed up her thigh until his fingers finally found their mark. She cried out in unison with Julie, and dug her nails into her palms trying to hold still. Trying to pay attention, to watch as he’d commanded, but, fuck, his fingers were slipping under her panties. Parting her lips to drag his touch lazily up to graze her clit, and then he dipped his fingers lower. She was so wet she was slick, and James’ groan in her ear as he felt it only made her want him more.

  “You really are enjoying this, aren’t you?” James’ voice growled in her ear, and she pressed harder against him.

  “Yes, Master.” She moaned it, just as Julie let out a scream when another lash landed. Her eyes were glued to them as Antonio moved to her side, whispering to her. A smile tugged at his lips and his hand disappeared between her thighs. Julie jerked and moaned, her cries instantly flipping to pleasurable whimpers, begging for more.

  “Please, sir, please, I’ve missed you, I’ve missed you -” Julie’s sweet voice carried up into the open air of the ceiling, rebounding back and across the gathered group. Other sighs and moans filtered through the dark, as if they were answering, or pleading for her, or with her.

  “Please?” Thalia joined, her hips rolling to press more firmly into James’ touch, and he responded. The hand in her hair slid to wrap gently around her neck, holding her tightly back against him so he could look down the plane of her body. The steady beat of his heart countermanded the rapid staccato of her own, until he thrust two fingers inside her. She moaned, louder than before, and she knew that the dark wasn’t hiding them completely. She knew the beautiful distraction that Julie made wouldn’t make her invisible in James’ lap - but she felt fine. There was no panic, no fear, just a rising heat that coiled around her spine and begged for more.

  “Eyes open, pet.” James crooned in her ear, his command had her body responding before she realized her eyes had closed. But there was Julie again, her skin glowing in the warm lights, bright lines across her skin, and Antonio drawing back.

  “Oh fuck!” Thalia gasped as James rocked his hand against her clit, alternating the thrusting of his fingers with a torturous pressure on that bundle of nerves. Her hips bucked, her breath hissed between her teeth and she leaned back to brace her hands on either side of James. His touch on her throat tightened a little and it filled her with a buzzing lightness that made her whimper.

  “Language, pet.” His words came low against her ear, his lips moving against her skin and she writhed on his lap. Another snap of the whip, and Julie’s scream collapsed into a quiet sob. It yanked Thalia’s attention forward again. Her body was wound so tight. A week away from James, the accident, their relatively gentle touches since he’d come back - it had all neglected this side of her. The side of her that James had helped her accept. The side that made her pulse pound between her thighs at the sight of a whip, at the sound of Julie’s cries. The side that made her want to be in Julie’s place, that wanted James to create that perfect balance of pleasure and pain with her.

  “Jules? Check in, angel.” Antonio was talking to her, his voice warm with concern and affection.

  “Hmmm...” Julie sounded dreamy, her head lifting, her muscles tightening and relaxing under her skin as she shifted. “A little more, sir?”

  Antonio’s grin could have matched Julie’s sunshine any day. It was pride, and love, and desire - and his hand adjusted his grip on the whip. “I fucking love you.”

  A soft laugh came from Julie, but it was cut short when she gasped and cried out as the whip landed again. Her body was taut, and Thalia was fighting the urge to arch off James’ lap completely as his fingers rolled over her clit. He spiraled her higher and then slid them back inside her, stoking the heat at her core. When his other hand trailed down inside the top of her dress and found her breast she jumped in his lap. Another lash for Julie. Another sinful bend of James’ fingers that had her rolling her hips to meet his hand again and again. He pinched her nipple until she cried out, and then rolled it between his fingers to soothe the pain.

  Over and over. Rising and falling waves of pleasure spiking with crests of pain that James handled with every inch of knowledge he had about her body.

  Another lash. Julie’s scream and sob.

  James biting down on her shoulder to muffle a groan that sent a shock of pleasure down her spine.

  Antonio dropping the whip. His hands finding Julie’
s body, and instantly drawing out moans as he returned his hand between her thighs.

  “Please, please, Master. I’m so -” Thalia was begging, but a sharp pinch to her nipple cut her off. James knew she was close, she could feel her body trembling as that tension reached a brutal level. Heat wrapping around her spine, increasing with every roll of his fingers over her clit. His touch speeding up to match her need.

  Julie’s cries rose as well, “Sir! Oh God, yes, please!” And the room seemed to follow. Groans and sighs and moans and the sound of skin echoed, and rebounded, and built.

  Until it snapped.

  Julie screamed her release, a babble of thank yous, and laughing sighs. Thalia arched sharply when James snapped her head back by her hair, and his command against her ear pushed her over the edge, “Come for me.”

  Sparks exploded behind her eyes, the sounds of the others in the room blurred into the thrum of the music and the rocking of her hips as James slowed his touch to help her ride out the wave. Her legs were shivering, her breath shaky as she felt the tingling buzz across her skin as the orgasm began to ebb.

  “Beautiful. You are beautiful and perfect, Thalia, bloody perfect.” James tilted her head back and he kissed her. Whatever breath was left in her lungs was instantly stripped away in the heat of his kiss. His lips claimed hers, his tongue sweeping in to taste her. He groaned against her mouth, his hand digging into her thigh as she tried to control her shivers in his lap. When he finally pulled back, Thalia felt dazed. Her mind was fuzzy and blissfully unaware of everything outside of her and James. Nothing else needed to exist.

  She had him. And in him, even if he didn’t know it yet, she had love. And acceptance. And fun. And joy. And really, really great sex.

  Thalia giggled and James arched an eyebrow at her, his dark green eyes catching hers for a moment before a smile split his lips as well. “Mmm... thank you.” She mumbled and leaned forward, placing a kiss on his lips. He kissed back before he smiled and broke it.

  “I’m sorry, pet. Do you think we’re done for the night?” His voice was all mischief, and she laughed.

  “Give me five minutes to stop shaking like a leaf?” Thalia smiled at him and he laughed.

  “Anything for you.” James let her slip off his lap, and she felt her legs fold until she found herself sitting on the marble. Her knees drawn under her as she laid her head on his thigh. Warm comfort rolled over her as James’ hand instantly slid into her hair, his nails grazing her scalp, his fingers moving through her hair in a rhythm they had developed over months. It was something she hadn’t been able to do at Purgatory as much as she wanted. Kneeling next to him, sated and comfortable. And she still wanted it. She felt cherished as James looked down at her, the edge of his mouth tilted in an unconscious smile, while she bathed in the afterglow of her pleasure. Thalia’s eyes tracked to Antonio as he released Julie and he sat down with her in front of the large cross. She fit in his lap perfectly, her head tucked under his chin, his tanned arms wrapped around her protectively. Julie was coming out of subspace, and Thalia could see it in her soft gaze, and the way she melted against Antonio.

  Angry murmurs pulled her attention away from the newly engaged couple, and Thalia looked over to see Marisol standing up next to Ethan. She had her arms crossed, her eyes wild as she hissed something else and Ethan tried to tug her so she would sit back down on the couch. Marisol suddenly looked over and locked eyes with Thalia, her anger snapping Thalia out of her glow in an instant.

  “Fuck this!” Marisol shouted, and the buzz of the room stuttered.

  “Sit. Down.” Ethan’s voice was all command, but Marisol didn’t even recognize it.

  “Really, Ethan? I am not a dog!” Marisol slammed her heel onto the marble. “You like this? This bullshit?”

  “Stop, Marisol.” Ethan growled it and stood up, but she took a step back from him and waved her arm across the room.

  “These people are crazy! You said you wanted to treat me like a princess! But you want to be like them? You want to hit women for fun like some - like some abusive motherfucker?!” Marisol was screaming, and there wasn’t a person in the old museum that wasn’t staring at her as she raged. “I was fine when you wanted fuzzy handcuffs and to be wild a little, but this? You are wrong. You are all wrong! This is - this is just a bullshit excuse for violence against women! And you!” Marisol pivoted and pointed at Julie and Antonio. “Julie, you agree to marry him? You, all you girls, you need HELP!”

  “Shut the fuck up, Marisol!” Thalia hadn’t even realized she’d stood up, but she had. Something shifted inside her when Marisol’s vitriol was aimed at Julie, tainting the moment she had built with Antonio. Enough was enough.

  “What?!” Marisol faced her, her beautiful face all twisted in disgust and shock.

  “I told you to shut the fuck up, Marisol.” Thalia threw her hands up, “An excuse for violence against women? Really, Marisol? What the fuck do you know? Did anyone do anything without your consent? Didn’t you always have a safe word to stop it? Every. Fucking. Time. You did. You have no idea what it’s like not to have that! You have no idea what’s it’s like to have someone actually hurt you and have no way to stop it! You don’t know what that’s like, but I do! I do, and this, ALL of this, is nothing like that!”

  “That’s -” Marisol’s face was shocked. Maybe from the words that Thalia had said before she’d even thought them through. Maybe from the fact that it was probably the most words Marisol had heard from Thalia at once - ever. But it didn’t matter, because Ethan didn’t let her finish.

  “Get out, Marisol.” Ethan’s voice was level, his expression cold, when Marisol’s head whipped around to stare at him.

  “You are telling me to leave?” The disbelief was apparent in her voice.

  “Yes.”

  “And what? You are not leaving with me?” Marisol laughed.

  “No, Marisol.” Ethan’s words cut off her laugh sharply.

  “Seriously? You are choosing this chorrada over me?”

  “We are done. I’ll pay for your ticket home, then you can get your things out of my house, and never deal with this chorrada ever again.” Ethan was cold. He didn’t even flinch when she slammed her foot down and screamed.

  “You cannot do this!” She screeched.

  “It’s over, Marisol. Go to the airport. Go home.” Ethan crossed his arms across his chest, his brown hair and his dark eyes making him look more serious and more in control than she’d ever seen him.

  “Fine. I leave. You can’t make me a dog. And I’m keeping the clothes, Ethan! And the jewelry!” She shouted at him as she started stomping towards the exit.

  “Too bad you didn’t keep up the lies long enough for the car, eh Marisol?” He called after her and she screamed something in Spanish that made him laugh as she stormed out the door.

  Thalia was willing to bet she and James were the only ones who knew why that last comment was so damning.

  At some point someone had cut off the music, and now the room was quiet enough to hear the creak of leather seats as people shifted uncomfortably. Ethan sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, and Kalen disentangled himself from a half-dressed Maggie to stand and drop a hand on his shoulder.

  “Well, everyone, it looks like I made the right choice to bring a few bottles of whisky along, eh!” Kalen’s voice boomed out, cheerfully dragging attention away from Ethan. “No matter what ye want to drink to tonight, for good or bad, the drinks are on me!”

  Several cheers went up and the man from the door, Michael, brought in a box where the distinct clinking of bottles could be heard. The music thumped back to life as glasses were filled behind a makeshift bar in the back corner that Thalia hadn’t noticed. As she stayed standing and the club resumed as if someone had hit play, she felt James’ hand slip across her shoulder to rest behind her neck.

  “Yer girlfriend has quite the flair for angry speeches.” Kalen was grinning as he looked at her, and Thalia felt the heat in her chest and face. W
hy did she keep losing control of her mouth like that? And why had she mentioned anything about her past? She’d definitely have to say something to the girls now.

  “I thought she was amazing.” The pride in James’ voice made the fizzy warmth spring back to life inside her, and it pushed away her nerves.

  “That she is.” Kalen took a step to the side and grabbed two glasses off a tray passing by. “Here, before they drink all the good bottles and we’re left with shite.”

  Thalia took one and so did James, and in an instant Kalen was pulled aside by someone he knew. A half dressed man with a large tattoo of a tree coiling up his side started laughing with him. The naked woman next to him had Japanese orchids tattooed over her entire left side down to her knee - it was beautiful. James tugged Thalia’s arm so she turned to face him and he moved them a few steps away from the crowd gathering near Kalen and Antonio and Julie.