Gabriel slowly nodded. “Oh yes, he did. Do you want me to haul your defiant little ass downstairs? You might get an eyeful though. Your little stunt landed Nisey in hot water, but you’re not getting off scot-free, and since Caelan is only one man, he asked me to deal with you. He even told me your safeword was starfish.” Gabriel reached under her arms and lifted her, with an ease that shocked her, until she was at eye level. “It may have been a while, I definitely remember how to deal with bratty little subs who don’t know how to take the measures to ensure their safety seriously.”
Her eyes widened as what he was saying sank in. She was going to find herself over his knee before the night was over. “Shit…”
His expression drew dark. “Language, louloúdi mou. Unless you really want to add onto your punishment.”
She shook her head.
“The correct answer is ‘No Sir.”
“No, Sir.” she repeated obediently, uncertain. She knew what to expect if Caelan were the one disciplining her, but Gabriel, the man - the Dom she’d lusted after since she’d first met him sent anxiety through her. Would he be like Caelan and use pain for punishment? Or would he be like Ossie and use verbal abuse? If she had the choice, she hoped it was the former and not the latter. The pain from a spanking would fade with time while cruel words had a way of lingering.
“Now, we’re going inside before you catch your death of cold and I freeze my balls off. Then after you check on Sophia, I’ll see to your punishment. Do you understand?”
She bit her lower lip, but nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good.” Then he swung her around until she was cradled against his chest. She wanted to protest she could walk, but the expression on his face warned her not to.
* * * *
Once she checked on Sophia, who was sleeping soundly with her little diapered bottom in the air, Zhenya rejoined Gabriel in her living room. He’d removed his coat and was standing at the window overlooking the backyard with his thumbs hooked in the back pockets of his jeans. Just as she was opening her mouth to alert him of her presence, a loud moan drifted up from below. Her face flushed. She’d forgotten about Kalinda’s warning that the upstairs apartment shared a vent shaft with the one running up from the playroom.
“Amazing acoustics you got here, Zhenya,” Gabriel said without turning. “Makes me curious if you listen each and every time…or if Caelan is aware you can hear everything that goes on in his playroom.”
“I don’t…” She shook her head vehemently, as he turned to face her, his expression almost tortured. She could only imagine how hearing Caelan and Nisey was effecting him.
“No, you don’t what? Listen or know if Caelan is aware of it?”
“Both. I don’t believe he’s aware of it, but I certainly don’t listen to what he and Nisey do. It would be an invasion of their privacy.”
A particularly tortured scream rang through the vent and Zhenya flinched. “I…use ear plugs. Dear Lord, what’s he doing to her?”
“I suspect paddling the truth out of her.” Gabriel approached her. “Which is what I should be doing to you, but I’m not going to.”
Her hopes rose. “So we’re going to forgo the punishment?”
He shook his head. “No. You’ll be punished tonight, Zhenya, but since you just had a baby, I can’t in good conscious drape you over my legs and warm your bottom. You’re more than likely too sore to tolerate more than a few swats and that just won’t do for your infraction. I could take you downstairs since Caelan has a whipping post in the basement, but I don’t want to interrupt him and Nisey to ask to use it.”
Dread coursed through her. “Then what are you going to do to me?”
He sighed, moving to the futon. Sinking down on to it, he met her eyes. “Something I found works better than any mere spanking. Something which I normally reserve for only my submissives because of its intimacy.”
Before she could open her mouth to ask what it was, he pulled her down into his lap, cradled her against one arm before covering her parted lips with his. Shock rolled through her. He was going to kiss her as a punishment? Then the sensations hit her. The firm press of his lips, the slightly bitter taste of the beer he consumed earlier, and the rough texture of his tongue against hers. He swallowed her soft moan and pressed even deeper, as one hand came up to gently cup the curve of her breast. Pleasure shimmered through her even as her brain tried to protest, to shout a warning against giving into the building feeling.
“Hmmm, you taste as good as I thought.” He whispered his praise against her lips as his thumb flicked over the tight bud of her nipple through the thin cotton of her t-shirt. A whimper escaped her as long forgotten sensations washed over her. It’d been months since she’d experienced a man’s touch. How this was punishment she didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to stop him.
After pressing another kiss to her lips, his lips trailed kisses to the shell of her ear. Nuzzling the lobe, he sighed softly into it before tugging on it with his teeth. “So unbearably tempting, even to a man like me.” His tongue traced over crevices of her ear before plunging inside. She cried out in surprise as he found an erogenous zone she didn’t know she’d had. Ossie had never done such a thing to her. Goose bumps rose on her arms and her breathing grew ragged as sparks flew from her ear to her extremities. Her nipples tightened further, and the flesh between her thighs ached, and not from the birth of Sophia. No, this time it was desire causing the sensitive flesh to pulse.
Gabriel growled and shifted under her, his erection pressing against her bottom. “So damned responsive.” He lightly pinched her nipple through her shirt while his other hand, the one attached to the arm holding her close, stroked over her lower stomach.
“Oh, theé mou, parakaló̱…” As she babbled in Greek, pleading with him, or to God, he dipped his fingers under the waistband of her jeans, toying with the softly rounded flesh of her belly. Pleasure of not only having another person touch her, but also it being this particular man was like a fine wine going straight to her head.
“Shhh, I’m right here.” He continued to nuzzle her ear, stroking the fire hotter inside her until she was squirming against his erection in efforts to give him the same pleasure he was giving her with his touch. His resulting hiss in her ear sent another wave of pleasure through her until she was panting, her body readying itself for the orgasm sure to come. She’d never been this responsive before, had never trembled on the cusp of release as the result of some light petting. He hadn’t thrust his hand into her jeans to cup her mound, he hadn’t sucked on her nipples, or even undressed her. In fact, he hadn’t done anything more than kiss her within an inch of her life.
Or at least until his hand slipped between her jeans and panties. She gasped and wanted to protest as he pressed firmly, forcing the material between her nether lips. She whimpered and tried to squirm away. He shouldn’t be touching her there, not when she was still bleeding… “You can’t…”
“It’s normal, and a little thing like a bit of blood isn’t going to stop me from enjoying you, Zhenya.” He nipped her ear and pressed harder against the material. “Tell me it hurts and I’ll stop, but if you can’t, I’m going to continue,” he promised, his fingers rubbing in tight circles above her clit. She moaned softly.
“I can’t…”
He lifted his head to stare down at her, his blue eyes smoky with desire. “Of course not. If you could, I wouldn’t be doing this right.” He licked her lower lip, his gaze locked to hers. It was incredibly intimate, almost more intimate than anything her husband had ever done with her. It intensified every sensation. She couldn’t look away, she found. Seeing the mix of lust and determination, she skated along the edge. Her breath came out in soft pants as she rocked up to meet his hand.
“Right there?” he growled, rubbing faster. “Is that where you need it?”
“Yes….please…” She tipped her head back, her thighs trembling as release beckoned. She needed just one more stroke and she’d fly apart. Just a
s her body readied for it, he withdrew his touch. Her hands grasped his arm, trying to urge him into resuming. “No!”
“Stop it, Zhenya.”
The firm order in his Dom voice had her freezing, her hands still wrapped around his forearm. She met his determined gaze. “Please don’t stop!” She could hear the plea in her own voice. She’d beg if she had to. Her pussy was on fire, and she was so close to coming she could taste it.
“Promise me you won’t do something this foolish again and I’ll give you the release you crave.”
Anger hit her broadside. The bastard had worked her up only to prove his point by denying her! Her eyes narrowed in frustration. It would be a cold day in hell before she begged the power hungry ass for anything. “No.”
He stared down at her. “Then I guess we’ll do this as many times as it takes.”
“It won’t matter! I’m not going to let you use my body against me, Gabriel Poulanos! You can tease me ‘til the cows come home and I still won’t…”
A purely evil light entered his eyes as he sighed. “So be it.”
* * * *
“Sweet mother of God! Let me come.” Zhenya tossed her head back and forth against the couch cushion, she was nearly beyond herself with her need to climax, and Gabriel was beginning to doubt his own tactics. They’d been at this for nearly an hour as he let her ease back from the edge, before driving her right up to the precipice and stopping. He was aching nearly as much as she was, but each time he demanded her promise, she stubbornly pursed her lips and said no. They were having a battle of wills he wasn’t sure he could win as he took in her bare breasts, their tips shiny from his mouth. He could feel the dampness of her sex through her underwear, but still she hung on.
“You know what I want, Zhenya. Give me the words and it stops.” His voice was hoarse, from desire or his own strain, he couldn’t say, but he was going to get that promise. He eased his fingers away from her aching pussy.
She immediately cried out. Her grey eyes were wide and her frustration was evident as she smacked the couch. “Dammit!”
“The words, louloúdi mou.” he reminded her. “You either tell me what I want to hear, or I’m going to walk away right now. There’ll be no more teasing, just you alone with an ache you might be able to satisfy, but I doubt…”
“I can please myself better than you can.” She glared at him before trying to push his arm aside. It would leave her free to pleasure herself, but he wouldn’t allow it. He held her firm.
“You’re nothing but a conceited ass!”
He smiled softly. If she only knew. “And I have a reason to be.” He licked her parted lips, savoring her taste. “Because unlike the single orgasm you’ll give yourself, I won’t let it stop at just one. You’ll come over and over again…” A growl crept into his voice as he cupped her mound and squeezed just enough so she could feel it, but not enough so she’d climax. “...until I’m satisfied you have nothing more to give.”
“Okay! Okay! I promise!” Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. He brushed them away with his free hand.
“You promise what, Zhenya?” It was a struggle but he kept his voice even.
“I won’t go down to the gazebo at night without an escort.” Her chest was flushed as she squirmed against his palm.
“Not good enough!” He loosened his hold on her mound. “I want you to promise, you’ll listen to Caelan, Jude, me or any other Dom who has your best interests at heart when it comes to your safety. And obey!”
She nodded, her hips lifting wildly. “Yes, Sir. I’ll listen. I’ll obey when it comes to my safety! Now please!” Her hands clung to his shoulders.
“Good.” He took a deep breath. “Because so help me God, Zhenya if you don’t, the next time you blatantly disregard your safety, I’ll push you this far, cuff you to the nearest suitable object and walk away. No amount of pleading or promises will sway me. You’ll have no release. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir!” She nodded vigorously.
“Good girl.” He drew in a deep breath before slipping his hand under the waistband of her panties, delving through her wet folds to find her slippery clit. Grasping it between his thumb and forefinger, he gave it a gentle squeeze. A shocked look crossed her face before her eyes rolled back in her head as she screamed. When she bucked through an amazing orgasm, his cock throbbed, wanting to join her in release. But with the firm control he’d learned as a Dom, he pushed the need down. This was about her, not him.
Monitoring her pleasure, he refused to let it ebb, and each time she began to relax, he forced her over the edge again with his clever fingers inside her wet sex, and his mouth worshiping her breasts and nipples. He was lost in her reaction, despite the aching flesh between his thighs. When he could wring no more from her and she was a limp, begging mass under him, he eased her back down from the heights of pleasure.
Chapter Nine
Following Caelan into Jude’s office, Gabriel wondered for the seventh time how the hell he’d let his friend talk him into this. His head was pounding from lack of sleep, and he was out of sorts after leaving Zhenya’s apartment as the sun was rising in the east. He’d barely taken the time to pop his head into Caelan’s part of the house to assure his friend he’d be at the meeting, informing him he had to catch a cab back across town so he could shower and change clothes before his weekly conference call with his dad.
As the cab had pulled away from Caelan’s, he’d refused to let his thoughts linger on how Zhenya had felt under his body, her pleasure drunk eyes staring up at him in wonder as he eased her back down from the heights of pleasure. Or how he’d been unable to help but watch her as she slept in his arms, until Sophia had whimpered at five. He’d avoided her eyes as he gotten up to get the baby. He hadn’t been able to watch as Zhenya had placed her daughter at the breasts he’d licked and sucked at. The taste of the milk against his tongue as he’d sucked had made him long for something he had no business in having. Not only did he feel he was betraying Sara’s memory, but he wasn’t ready to feel more than lust for another woman. And Zhenya’s sweet giving nature drew him like a moth to a flame.
“Thanks for seeing us at such short notice, Jude.” Caelan took one of the chairs in front of Jude’s desk. Sinking into the opposite seat, Gabriel kicked his legs out.
Jude smiled. “Of course. You said it was important?”
Gabriel tried to keep his focus on the meeting at hand as Caelan and Jude discussed what had happened at the mall the day before, but all he could hear were the echoes Zhenya’s cries as she found completion in his arms. He was so distracted, he didn’t notice his preoccupation until there was as sudden silence in the room. He jerked back to the present when Jude laughed.
“I see what you mean, Caelan. He’s got something on his mind, and I’ll have to agree that it probably has something to do with your pretty upstairs guest.”
He growled at the other man, despite knowing Jude was happy as a lark with his Mistress and was no real threat. “She’s….” He swallowed the word ‘mine’ and glared over at Caelan. “This is your fault, you Irish bastard.”
Caelan’s eyes widened and he placed his hand on his chest dramatically. “Oh dear, now what have I done?”
Pissy and irritable from his lack of sleep, Gabriel wanted to coldcock his friend. “You know exactly what the hell you did. You made me deal with her.”
Caelan nodded sagely. “Of course, and whatever you did must’ve worked. She was very apologetic this morning, and if the sounds I heard last night were any indication, you tamed her the old fashioned way.”
Gabriel colored as his question from the night before was answered. If Caelan had been able to hear Zhenya’s cries, then the vent acted like a two-way radio.
“The old fashioned way?” The intrigue in Jude’s voice was evident. “So does that mean you bent her over your knee and paddled her?” He seemed genuinely curious and Gabriel wasn’t surprised. Not only was the other man new to the scene, but he’d only be
en Olivia’s submissive for the past year and half.
Caelan just laughed. “No, grasshopper. That may be the way Olivia punishes you and Micah, but in Gabriel’s case, he believes in even an older, if not more devious plan of attack.”
Jude leaned forward intrigued. “Really?”
“Yes, he believes in withholding pleasure.”
A frown crossed Jude’s face as he leaned back in his chair. “Okay, I could see how that worked if you were in a relationship, but you’re not sleeping with Zhenya, are you?”
Gabriel’s cock leapt at the sound of her name and again he wanted to hit something. “No.”
“Then how—”
Caelan laughed. “Well, you see he got her all—” Then Caelan mimicked the oral sex by sticking his tongue between his splayed fingers.
“Knock it off, you pervert!” Gabriel slugged his friend in the shoulder. “I did not give her oral sex! She just had a baby, for Christ sakes!”
Rubbing his shoulder, Caelan glared at him. “No, he just indulged in some heavy petting until she was all hot and bothered, then stopped. Several times in fact, if what she told Nisey is true.”
Gabriel colored. He didn’t want to even know how the other man had found that out. More than likely he’d overheard the women talking. I can’t imagine Zhenya disclosing those kind of details to him.
Jude burst out laughing, drawing Gabriel’s attention back to the conversation. “Dear Lord that sounds like what Micah and I did one time to get Mistress to take her pain killers.” A heated glow filled the other man’s eyes at the memory. “It’s a rather effective way to bring the female of the species around to our way of thinking. Although I found out it was a double-edged sword.”
A muscle twitched in Gabriel’s jaw. “Yeah it is. But don’t make a huge deal out of it. She wasn’t recovered enough to handle a spanking, but I still got her to promise to obey you and Caelan when it comes to her and little Sophia’s safety.”
“And yours,” Caelan reminded him, a foolish grin on his face. “I highly doubt she’s going to cross you after last night.”
Gabriel's Light (Doms of Chicago) Page 7
