Dark Redemption

by Barron, Melinda

  “Leave it to Heaven,” Honor said as Ryker and Gideon came up to her. “She’s flirting with him.”

  “I think she’s a little shell shocked, and maybe this is her way of trying to gloss things over,” Ryker said. “But Heaven’s a survivor. It might take her a little bit, but she’ll bounce back and be her old self by, say, an hour from now.”

  Honor watched her sister. She could see that Ryker was right. She was trying to put on a good front, as if nothing was wrong. She wanted to go to her and hug her, tell her things would be fine. But she knew that would upset Heaven even more.

  Instead, she turned to her Masters and batted her eyes at them. “How am I doing in the flirting department?”

  “Perfect,” Ryker said. “You’ve got me hard.”

  “That makes two of us,” Gideon said.

  “Good. We’ve found my sister, so you’re no longer my employee, are you, Ryker?”

  “That’s right. I’ll end the billing cycle at, say, eleven.”

  “What time is it now?”

  “Eleven oh one,” Gideon said, turning to Nash “You have a flogger I can borrow? Or maybe a riding crop?”

  “Yes, I do,” Nash replied. “Would you like a room, or do you want to go public?”

  “Public,” Gideon said, looking back at Honor. “I have a sub who can’t follow orders when she’s told to stay put. A riding crop across her sweet ass might get my point across.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Heaven said with a laugh. “Honor always did have a mind of her own.”

  “That’s good,” Gideon said. “As long as she learns to follow directions, we’ll be just fine.”

  He took the crop that Nash handed him and flexed it. The instrument bowed slightly, and then snapped back into place. “Perfect. What do you think, Slick?”

  “I’m thinking that, although it was frightening, I liked the punishment without pain better.”

  “Well, let’s take a vote,” Gideon said. “There are three of us. All for the whipping, raise your hand.”

  Gideon’s hand went up, and so did Ryker’s.

  “This isn’t fair. I’ll always be outvoted.”

  “Yes, you will,” Ryker said. “And you’ll love losing every vote. Trust me.”

  The End

  Redemption

  Dark Redemption - Book 6

  Chapter 1

  “How do you screen your members?” Nash Pierce stretched his long legs out in front of him and lifted the longneck beer bottle to his mouth. He darted his gaze to a sub that had been trying to get his attention ever since he’d walked into the bar.

  Nash was used to attracting female attention. At six foot four, he towered above many men. His cocoa-colored skin came from his white mother and black father. From his father he’d received his height, and from his mother, dark green eyes that usually made females swoon. His shaved head was his own idea, something that wasn’t too hard to maintain, since his hair grew so slowly. He didn’t want to give the sub false hope, so he just nodded and looked away quickly. He had other ideas for the evening.

  The man sitting with him was speaking, but Nash continued to scan the room.

  “Jaguars has a public area, as I’m sure you do at High Tide. To make it to the members’ area, a visitor, whether Dominant or submissive, has to be invited by a member. Once they apply for membership, they have a six-month probationary period. After that, they can become full members.”

  Nash turned his attention back to Chad Gates, the owner of Jaguars. “Six months, huh? Ours is only three. Maybe I should think about increasing the time, and get to know someone just a little better.”

  “Well, probationary periods are an interesting thing, if you ask me. The prospective member is on their best behavior for that time, of course, but I find that in six months you can get to know a person fairly well, and see if they would be an undesirable addition.”

  Nash nodded and let his gaze wander the room again. Jaguars was set up in an old warehouse type building, unlike his own establishment, High Tide in Miami, which was in an old plantation home. The rooms were large in both places, but at Jaguars there was a greater sense of openness, much like the Southwest where the place was located.

  “The hulking sub working the door belongs to you?”

  “Only as an employee,” Chad said.

  “What can you tell me about Heaven?” Nash asked.

  “I knew you were here for something more than seeing your protégé collar a new sub. But I have to warn you, she won’t be here tonight. Neither will her sister, or her Doms.”

  “You sure?” Nash frowned and looked around the room again.

  “I’m sure. Gideon, Ryker, and Honor have a dinner to go to. Since she got back from Florida, Heaven has been staying at a friend’s cabin in Chama, about three hours from here.”

  “She’s been gone for six weeks? Staying by herself, or with a Dom?”

  “By herself. Gideon told me she stayed home for about two weeks and then left. She’s shown no signs of coming back to town.”

  Nash took another pull from his beer to hide his frown. “They’re not worried about her?”

  “They are, but she’s a grown woman, and, as Gideon says, you can’t drag her back home. The only way to get her out of there, probably, would be for Pablo Acosta, the cabin’s owner, to evict her. He’s not going to do that.”

  “Maybe he should. Is he a Dom?”

  “Yes, but his sub, Shasta, has talked him into letting Heaven stay as long as she likes. Personally, I think it’s doing a disservice to her. She needs to be around people.”

  A commotion on the other side of the room caught Chad’s attention.

  “I’ll be right back.” He walked toward the bar and Nash watched him go, his mind centered on Heaven, the little sub whose head barely hit the middle of his chest. He remembered she had the brightest green eyes that he’d ever seen, even with the wariness that had been hidden there when he’d met her. An image of her popped into his mind: dyed blonde hair, barely five feet tall, curvy with large breasts and hips. He remembered her beauty, too, her small nose and pouty lips. Just the thought of her made him hard.

  When Heaven had been found at High Tide, she’d been about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder against her will. It was incidents like that that made Nash think Chad’s six-month probationary period was a good idea. Of course Franklin Guest – the man who had claimed to own Heaven – had used threats against her friends and family to get her to do his bidding. He wasn’t a Dom at all, but a man who got off on the misery of others.

  Nash longed to see him get his comeuppance, but Heaven had refused to prosecute, saying it would cost too much – not moneywise, but emotionally. Nash had stood by her wishes at the time, but now he wished he’d pressed her a little harder. Maybe if Guest had been punished, Heaven would not be having such a hard time dealing with what had happened to her.

  Staying by yourself for weeks on end couldn’t be healthy, but Nash knew there wasn’t much he could do about it. He wasn’t Heaven’s Dom. He was just the man who owned the property where she’d been found after her disappearance.

  “I’m back.” Chad sat down. “We have a strict limit on what people can drink, two drink minimum.”

  Nash made a noise of assent, then cleared his throat. “Tell me about Heaven.”

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Everything.”

  Chad nodded with a smile. “She’s a pistol; that’s for sure. Or at least she used to be.”

  “Tell me about her before the incident with Guest.”

  Chad thought for a minute before speaking. “Heaven’s a pain slut, plus she’s willing to try anything. I told her lots of times that she needed to slow down, stop going off with people that she didn’t know. But she always said she was having fun, she loved it, and she wasn’t going to stop.”

  “What about her Dom?”

  “She never had one, except for her husband. I didn’t know her when she was marri
ed. But Honor tells me after he died was when she went really crazy.”

  “What about her sister? Has she always been wild?”

  “Honor? No, they’re as different as night and day. In fact, you could have knocked me over with a feather when Ryker and Gideon collared her. Heaven tried to get her into the lifestyle, but Honor didn’t care for it, until she met her two men.”

  “Sometimes that’s what it takes.”

  Chad nodded, then pushed back in his chair. “That’s what Heaven needs, really, a firm hand. Right now she’s brooding, afraid to come back into the world. Someone needs to go up there and give her a good talking to.”

  Nash gave him a sly look. “What are you suggesting?”

  “How well did you get along with her in Florida?”

  “I only saw her for two days, but we formed a bond. I would have loved to top her, but it wasn’t the right time.”

  “Now is.”

  “Well, except she’s what, three hours away? And I’m only here for one night.”

  “You have a rental car, and plane reservations can be changed. Here’s the guest of honor.” Chad stood to greet Andy and his sub, Sissy. Nash gave him a hearty hug, then greeted Sissy with a kiss. When the two had left to talk with a woman at the front of the room, Chad clapped Nash on the shoulder.

  “You did a good job mentoring him before he moved out here,” Chad said. “He’s a good Dom.”

  “I agree,” Nash said. “I was honored when he asked me to come and take part in the collaring ceremony. It’s gratifying to see someone you taught use those teachings so well.”

  Before long, the ceremony was in full swing. Nash stood at the front, holding Sissy’s collar while Andy bound her to a St. Andrew’s Cross, flogged her breasts and pussy before slowly bringing her to orgasm, telling her all along how she belonged to him, in every sense of the word.

  As Andy fastened the collar around Sissy’s neck and snapped the lock into place, Nash could think of nothing but Heaven, sitting alone in a cabin, scarred by a man who had no business practicing BDSM. He wanted to sit down and talk with her, wanted to see where her mind was at, and whether she was recovering, or just hiding out.

  And hell, who was he kidding, he wanted to top her. He wanted to watch passion grow in her eyes, wanted to watch her beg him for punishment, and then beg him to fuck her. He wanted to flog her, watching her squirm under his touch. He wanted to get her on all fours, mount her, and stuff her pussy full of his cock; then he would make her beg some more before filling her pretty little ass too.

  His cock twitched at the idea and he shifted his weight, trying to give it room inside his suddenly tight pants. He knew he could go and find the pretty little brunette who’d been giving him the eye all night long. She would ease the ache in his loins; he had no doubt of that. But she couldn’t knock out the image of Heaven that he’d carried since she’d been discovered at the Playhouse.

  When the ceremony was over, he congratulated Andy and Sissy, and talked with them for a while before going in search of Chad. He found him talking to his wife, Sloan, and their third, Ryan.

  “So,” Nash said. “How far is it up to Chama again?”

  “Three hours,” Chad said, reaching into his pocket. He handed Nash a sheet of paper. “Here are the directions. There’ll be a red SUV parked outside the cabin. That’s how you’ll know you’ve got the right place. If you left now, you’d be there around two or three. But if I were you, I’d wait until morning. We won’t call and tell her you’re coming, unless you want us to.”

  “No. Let’s make it a surprise. If all works out well, I’ll take her back to Florida with me for a while. We’ll do some soul searching, and see if we can’t get her over this bump in the road.”

  “Heaven’s always been wild,” Chad said. “She likes the excitement of sex. But somewhere along the way she’s lost sight of what BDSM should mean and why she was attracted to it. Maybe you can help her rediscover it again.”

  * * *

  Heaven stretched, then sighed loudly. Sunlight seeped in through the open window and she squinted, then put her arm over her eyes. The clean smell of mountain air drifted inside and she buried herself under the covers, wondering what time it was. Then, she decided it really didn’t matter. She didn’t have any plans for the day. She would get up when she wanted to, read another book, and then go to bed. Sometime in between those things she would find time to eat. She might even give herself an orgasm.

  She knew she should call Honor back, but she didn’t have the energy to face her baby sister’s pleas that she come back to Santa Fe. The store was in Honor’s capable hands, and Heaven wanted nothing more than to hide from society and never have to face another human being again.

  She’d been in this cabin for four weeks now, with breaks to go into town for food and more books. She’d glanced at newspaper and magazine headlines as she’d waited in the grocery store lines, but other than that, the only contact she’d had were brief conversations with Honor. Lately, she’d even been refusing those.

  The idea of staying here forever was tempting, even though she knew it wasn’t a possibility. Sooner or later she would have to face people again, would have to go back to her real life.

  But what part of her real life was left? Honor’s two Doms, Gideon and Ryker, now lived in the house she and her baby sister owned together. The idea of sharing the space with them didn’t appeal to her. She would need to find a place of her own, which was fine with her. She’d told Honor to take the house. She could easily buy another one, since her late husband had left her more than a little bit of money, and her lingerie store, Sapphire’s on the Square, was very successful.

  What would she do, though, once she was back in Santa Fe? She could work at the store, sure, but going back to Jaguars was impossible. Despite her physical cravings for sex, her mind couldn’t wrap itself around the idea of being topped again. It was too frightening, after what had happened.

  She pulled a pillow over her head in an effort to block out the image of Guest’s eyes as he told her she would follow his instructions, or her sister would pay for Heaven’s defiance. Of course using the pillow didn’t work, because Guest wasn’t there. His face was burned into her brain. How had she gotten herself into that situation in the first place? She knew how, but she didn’t want to admit it. She’d been reckless for years, allowing herself to play with anyone who asked, and it had finally caught up with her. Now she was paying the price.

  When she thought about the things she’d done over the years, Heaven knew she was lucky that her bad experience with Guest had been her first. Chad had warned her once about going off with Doms or Dommes that she didn’t know. She’d ignored him. Now, she wished she hadn’t.

  A knock at the door made her body tense. She snuggled down into the bed, determined to ignore the unwelcome visitor. She knew it would be Gideon’s friend, Jack, coming to check on her one more time. She had no desire to talk to him this morning. The pounding came again and she groaned. Jack was determined this morning. The last two times he’d been a good boy and left when she’d ignored him.

  “Heaven, open up!” The voice was deep, and it wasn’t Jack’s. Heaven sat up, her heart beating wildly. She had a shotgun in the house, and a cell phone to call the sheriff, if needed. But the voice hadn’t sounded angry or scary, just determined.

  She pushed back the covers and stood, pulling on jeans before wrapping her upper body in a thick robe. At the front door she pushed open the curtain and peered out the window, her eyes widening at the man standing on the deck.

  “Hey, shorty, let me in.”

  “Nash.” She undid the locks and opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

  “Starving. I brought breakfast. Bagels with cream cheese and some fruit. This won’t hold me, though, so we’ll need bacon and eggs too. I hope you’ve made coffee already.” He held up two bags of food.

  “No. I –”

  “Well, then let’s get cracking. It would be a shame to
waste this beautiful day.”

  Despite his words, he still stood on the other side of the door. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a Harley T-shirt. She stared up, her shock at finding him on her doorstep racing through her veins.

  “May I come in? Or are you going to leave me standing out here on the porch?”

  “What? Oh, yes, come in.”

  He dominated the room as he stepped inside, and she remembered why he’d struck her so when she’d met him. Despite the shock she’d been feeling at the time, she remembered his size, and the kindness he’d shown her as he’d winked and flirted with her, stroking her hair and cheek when she’d started to cry while Honor had been talking with Gideon and Ryker.

  In the two days they’d stayed in Florida before coming home to Santa Fe, he’d been very attentive, and had never once made a pass at her, or tried to top her. The five of them had talked quite a bit, and when she’d finally decided not to press charges against Guest, he’d driven them to the airport and given her a hug good-bye, telling her to keep in touch, something she hadn’t done.

  “Did they call you? About me?”

  “No. I was in Santa Fe for a collaring and I asked about you. They said you’d become a hermit. I came up here to crack your shell.”

  Warmth suffused her body and she smiled tentatively. “Thanks, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “I think it’s a great idea. So point me toward the kitchen. Then, we’ll eat and talk.”

  Heaven thought this was one of those times she should not say no, but hell no. Her traitorous body was already reacting to the man standing in front of her. Her nipples tingled and her clit throbbed. She should tell him to leave, before she ended up doing something she would regret. After all, she didn’t know this Dom any more than she’d known Guest.

  But she knew that wasn’t really true. When she’d been rescued from Guest at High Tide, Nash had been gentle and caring, wanting nothing more than to make sure she was all right.