by Carew, Opal
* * *
It was dark and there was something cold and hard against her back, like a stone wall.
“Matt?” Kate called into the darkness, disoriented.
She blinked and it seemed to get lighter. She was in a room, like a dungeon. Cold stone walls surrounded her.
Panic rose in her. “Matt?” she cried.
She tried to step forward, but couldn’t. She felt the bite of cold metal around her wrists. She glanced up to see solid metal bands around her wrist with chains attached to the wall. The chains clanked as she pulled at the restraints.
Matt, tall and wickedly handsome, walked toward her, wearing tight, black leather pants, his chest bare.
“Matt?”
His big shoulders bulged with muscles and the broad expanse of his chest was solid and smooth. Her gaze glided down to his tight, ridged abs. So sexy. Then further, to the bulge threatening to burst the seams of his leather pants.
She licked her lips.
He chuckled and leaned close to her ear. So close that when he spoke, his breath whispered across her neck, setting the fine hairs on her skin prickling to attention. “Like what you see?”
She wouldn’t answer. She knew she shouldn’t be with Matt. Knew she shouldn’t want him.
But she did.
She wanted him to strip her bare and drive into her. Fill her deeply with his big, powerful shaft. Dominate her with his power. With his body. With the intense pleasure only he could give her.
He stroked her hair back, a gentle brush of his fingertips, and her skin rippled with awareness. His lips brushed lightly against her temple, his breath caressing her ear.
“Tell me you want me.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to be with you.”
He chuckled again. “Liar.”
He eased back and his mesmerizing, deep blue eyes locked with hers. She couldn’t look away, and she knew she couldn’t lie, because she was sure he could see into her soul.
She tugged at the restraints again, needing to get away from him. “Let me go,” she pleaded.
He leaned in close. “I’ll never let you go,” he murmured.
His words rippled through her, stirring a need deep inside. She knew there was some reason she should be afraid of him, that she should want to be free of these chains so she could get away, but this feeling, right now, of being totally under his control, sent her senses reeling. She wanted him to control her. She wanted him to own her.
He grabbed the collar of her blouse and tore downward. Her clothing seemed to disintegrate, then she was standing before him, totally naked. His big, masculine hands glided down her sides, then he nuzzled the base of her neck. Pleasure rippled through her.
“I should punish you for leaving me,” he said, his lips brushing her collar bone with feathery light caresses.
“Is that why you brought me here? To punish me?”
He locked gazes with her again. “Yes.” He moved away and picked up a flogger. Big, with multiple strips of leather.
Suddenly, she was facing the hard, stone wall, her wrists still chained. He wielded the flogger and it slashed across her back. But unlike the vaguely remembered pain of the last time she’d been whipped, the violent sensation erupting from the leather straps was mind-shattering pleasure. He whipped her again and she gasped at the intensity of it. He whipped her again and again. Her insides tightened and her body melted with desire. She could feel it dripping from her.
She gasped at the next strike. Waves of blissful joy washed through her.
He paused before the next strike and she sucked in a desperate breath, needing it so badly she wanted to cry out.
“Do you want more?” he demanded.
“Oh, yes, Sir. Please. More.”
She gasped as the leather slashed her skin again, her body arching. Pleasure washed through her, rippling through every cell in her body. He kept on until she wailed her release, riding a wave of bliss that thrust her into pure ecstasy.
She fell against the stone wall, cold and hard. His hand brushed her shoulder and she found herself facing him again, her back against the cold wall.
He stroked her cheek with his finger. “Have you learned your lesson?”
“Yes, Sir.” The words came out in a throaty murmur.
“And what have you learned?”
She gazed into his eyes, revealing her soul to him. “That I belong to you.”
He smiled and she felt great satisfaction in the fact she’d pleased him.
* * *
Kate jolted from sleep. Oh, God, the dream had left her heated and filled with longing. She had to stop herself from leaping from the bed and racing to Matt’s room. Banging on the door and begging him to take her. She could feel the moisture between her legs, desperately wanted him to glide into her with his big, masterful cock.
But she couldn’t do that.
Oh, God, she was being a fool. She couldn’t be with Matt again. Couldn’t give herself to him. The flogging in the dream had been pleasure itself, but she knew from experience that’s not what it was really like.
What was wrong with her? How could she be so messed up?
* * *
For hours Kate lay in bed listening to the rat-a-tat-tat of ice pellets hitting the window and all she could think about was being in Matt’s arms. She’d longed for him so much—had longed for him for the past two years. The dream about Matt had left her confused and full of turmoil. How could she want Matt so desperately after what he’d done two years ago? Emotions swirled through her as she lay in the dark room thinking about that dreadful night.
But it felt so far away now. Being near Matt again, the way he looked at her, the way she felt around him … God help her foolish heart, she found herself questioning if she’d been wrong about him. Maybe he wasn’t guilty of the things Ileana had told her. Could Ileana have lied to her? Her gut clenched. But why would the woman have lied?
Her heart ached. Oh, God, she wanted so much to believe that Matt wasn’t that warped person. That he really was the man she once believed cared about her above all else.
Who loved her as much as she loved him.
She longed to slip from this bed, go to his room, and climb into bed with him. To feel his strong, protective arms around her. And be loved by him again. To be made love to by him again.
Her fingers curled around the edge of the duvet and she clung to it tightly as butterflies flitted through her stomach.
But if she went to him, would he hurt her?
Her thoughts continued in circles as she tossed and turned, but finally the blanket of sleep surrounded her, like a thick, fuzzy wrap that insulated her from the world. As she snuggled into its warmth, her anxiety slipped away.
She felt herself floating. Drifting through nothingness. The silence, mingled with the dark, gripped her, engulfing her. It pressed against the pupils of her eyes, filling her ears, leaving her sightless and deaf because no light or sound could penetrate.
Only darkness. And silence.
The nothingness around her shifted, until she felt hard concrete beneath her bare feet. She opened her eyes. Darkness surrounded her. She blinked several times as, slowly, her eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light. She could barely make out her surroundings. A small, dim room. Stone walls and floor. She became aware of a biting pain around her wrists and an ache in her arms and shoulders. Her arms were suspended above her head and when she tried to pull them down, she couldn’t. At a clinking noise above her, she glanced up. Chains, linked to metal bands encircling her wrists, disappeared into the darkness above her.
The memory of Matt walking out of the darkness, then pleasuring her until she cried out in ecstasy prickled through her brain, but this was different. A chill crept the length of her spine, rippling outward to her fingers and toes.
Someone laughed behind her. A familiar laugh she hadn’t heard in a long time. Deep and frightening. Chilling her to the core.
She heard a snap, then a line along
her back exploded in pain. Another snap and more pain.
“No,” she cried.
The man behind her simply laughed again. The leather whip bit into her flesh a third time.
“Please. Stop.” Tears ran from her eyes at the biting pain. Still he slashed the whip against her back. Her legs gave out and she hung from the chains. The metal bands bit into her wrists, tearing at her flesh.
He whipped her again and again. The agony lanced through her, finally leaving her numb.
Matt was responsible for this. He had heartlessly arranged this. Planned to do the same thing to her himself later. But for now, he wanted this man to inflict pain on her. To teach her to submit fully. To make her understand what punishment she would suffer if she did not submit completely.
The man turned her around and pushed her against the wall behind her, slamming her wounded back against the cold, hard stone. She cried out at the pain.
He stared at her with cold eyes and pressed his arm against her throat until she couldn’t breathe. She struggled against him, trying desperately to suck in air, but she couldn’t. Panic gripped her as she felt blackness surrounding her. Terror arched through her and a scream welled within her.
* * *
Kate bolted upward as the scream tore from her throat. Her head jerked around as she tried to comprehend where she was. Moonlight streamed across the room and she realized she was sitting up in bed.
“Kate, what the hell?” The door flung open and Matt stormed into the room.
His gaze locked on her and he raced toward her.
She skittered back until she was pressed tight to the headboard, her eyes wide. As Matt closed in on the bed, she shook her head in panic. “No.”
Matt halted, staring at her with a narrowed gaze.
“Kate, what’s wrong?”
“I…” Suddenly, all the pain and anguish from that horrible ordeal burst through her and tears flooded from her eyes. “How could you do that to me?”
He sat down on the bed and reached for her, but she shifted sideways, putting more distance between them. His hands rolled into balls. “Do what, Kate?” He gazed at her with kind, tender eyes. “It was just a nightmare.”
“No.” The word came out hoarse and shaky. “It wasn’t. It really happened. You made it happen.”
“What, Kate? What do you think I did?”
“That night … at the party … you…” She sucked in a breath of air, steadying herself. “You sold me to that man.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Kate flinched at his sharp words.
“Kate,” he said more softly, “I really don’t know what you mean. Why do you think I sold you to someone?”
“Your friend … the hostess…”
“Ileana?”
She nodded. “She told me it was part of the role-playing that evening. That you had arranged for me to submit to a man named Victor.”
“Was that the man you disappeared with that night?” he asked with gritted teeth.
She nodded again.
“What did he do?” Matt’s voice was nearly a growl.
“He … took me to a room. Like a cell with stone walls. It was in the basement of the big house where the party was.”
“Did he hurt you?” Matt’s dark blue eyes blazed with anger, but she knew it wasn’t at her, and confusion swirled through her.
She nodded. Then she couldn’t look at him anymore. Despite her swirling emotions, the indignation in his eyes made her insides churn. Oh, God, could she have been wrong about Matt’s involvement? But both Ileana and Victor had confirmed that Matt had set up the whole thing. And Ileana was Matt’s friend. Why would she lie?
“Kate, believe me, I would never have allowed such a thing if I had known. That night, Ileana spirited you away to show you the house, then other than seeing you dance briefly with that man, I didn’t see you again. Ileana told me you left with him.”
“No, he chained me up. He…” She shook her head, unwilling to think about it again. “Ileana arranged a ride for me afterward. She told me you’d left already.”
His blue eyes turned icy. “That lying little…” He mumbled the final word, then turned to her. The cold blaze of anger in his eyes turned to warmth as he gazed at her. “Kate, believe me. Whatever happened to you that evening, it had nothing to do with me. I promise you that. And if I’d known about it, I would have killed the bastard.” He practically growled the last words.
She sucked in a breath at the sincerity in his voice. Could it be true? Had she been wrong all this time? Her heart ached at the possibility.
He reached out to her and she hesitated, then placed her hand in his. It was so big and strong. So comforting.
“Come here, Kate.” He drew her forward and swept her into his arms. His embrace was heaven on earth.
She felt safe cocooned there, close to his solid body, his hand stroking her hair. Tears fell from her eyes and she found herself sobbing against his chest. Releasing all the pent-up pain that had been deep inside her for two years now.
“So that’s why you left?” His voice was stiff and constrained. “You thought I was some kind of monster?”
The Revelation
Kate drew away and gazed up at Matt. The agony in his deep blue eyes sliced through her.
“I’m so sorry, Matt. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She stroked her hand along his whisker-roughened cheek.
He nodded, but shifted back. His arms slipped away from her. She missed the warmth of them, the feeling of security they gave her.
“Are you okay now?” His voice sounded flat and his eyes showed no emotion.
“I … think so.” But she wasn’t. Confusing emotions swirled through her. For so long, she’d believed that Matt was responsible for the pain she’d suffered. That Matt was a ruthless, uncaring man. But now she knew the truth. And she’d been horribly wrong. A sharp pain started in the pit of her stomach and spiraled through her.
The look of betrayal she’d seen flash across his eyes before they’d blanked of all emotion tore at her heart.
She had to get used to the idea that Matt had done nothing to drive her away. Yet she had left him, suddenly and with no explanation. He had thought she’d just walked away from their relationship.
Her hands curled into balls. Oh, God, he must have hated her.
“I think we should both get some sleep.” Matt stood up and walked toward the door.
“Matt…”
He paused, but didn’t turn around.
“I … I’m sorry.”
He simply nodded and left the room.
* * *
As exhausted as Kate was, sleep did not come soon. Random thoughts swirled through her head in an erratic whirlwind, with no beginning and no end. She flipped back and forth restlessly while the mocking blue digits of the clock ticked off the minutes.
How could she have ever believed that about Matt? But at the time, she’d trusted Ileana. And why not? She’d been the hostess of the party. She’d been Matt’s friend. The party had had a BDSM theme, with people dressed as Masters and slaves. It had seemed like a game at first, going with Victor. He’d seemed charming, yet authoritative. When she’d followed him from the dance floor, she’d thought they would do some harmless role-playing. She’d never dreamed he would lead her to a cell and chain her up. Even then, she’d remained relatively calm, still assuming it was role-playing … and assuming he would stop if she said so. But he hadn’t even offered a safe word. As soon as she’d seen the leather whip, she’d told him she wanted to end it, but he’d just laughed. Then as he began to whip her, he’d ignored her cries of protest.
It had been a nightmare, and he had kept insisting it was Matt’s idea—to teach her to be a proper submissive. With each slash of pain, he’d beat the idea into her. Matt wanted this. He’d arranged it. Ileana had reminded her of it afterward when Kate had been limp with pain and anxiety. Ileana had arranged a ride home for her, but before she’d let her go, she’
d given Kate a friendly caution that maybe she should steer clear of Matt if she really didn’t like this kind of thing, insinuating that she was surprised at Kate’s negative reaction to being beaten.
Kate had decided then and there that the lifestyle Matt was into—reinforced by Victor’s obvious pleasure at hurting her, and Ileana’s apparent surprise at Kate’s fear and anger over the event—was a horrific thing. It had also made her believe that Matt had to be a ruthless and cruel man who had totally fooled her. In her weak and confused state, her blurry mind couldn’t help but believe that about him. She could find no trace of the trust she’d once had in him.
Tears pricked at her eyes at how wrong she’d been. Not only had Matt not betrayed her, she had betrayed him. One, by believing what she had about him. And, two, by walking away without a word. Without even telling him what happened.
She realized now that she’d probably been so quick to flee without confronting him because she’d been afraid of his effect on her right from the beginning. Of what she became around him. She became weak and vulnerable. She would have let him do anything to her.
Now, she felt sick at the realization that she had hurt him. Badly.
He was angry with her, and he had a right to be. She’d walked away without a word. But worse, she had believed such a terrible thing about him.
She wished she knew how to make it up to him.
Tomorrow, the driver would come and pick her up and she might never see Matt again. Oh, God, maybe he’d been serious about wanting to invest in her company. Until now, she’d thought it was just a ruse to get her here, but now that she knew he was not the ruthless man she’d thought he was, she realized that maybe his offer to invest was genuine. Which must mean he still harbored feelings for her.
And now that he knew what she’d believed about him, he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her or her company.
She sighed. She’d find another investor. She had to. She wouldn’t expect him to work with her after this. But she didn’t want to leave things the way they were between them.
She drew in a deep breath and pushed back the covers, then padded across the room. Her insides quivering, she opened the door and headed for Matt’s room.
