With or Without You (The Dom's of The Cage Book 4)

by P Nelson

“You’re right; it was me.” Dillon hit a fist into his own chest. “I was the one who received the threats against Thea because I’m the one who would hurt the most if something were to happen to her.”

  “Right like you care more than her family.” Bill wasn’t about to lose this argument.

  “Do you see any fucking family around, asshole?” Dillon swept a hand out to encompass the living room. “You stole her family the day you leaked her BDSM lifestyle to the press. I’m not sure she can thank you yet, but congrat-u-fucking-lations, you’re officially a complete dick.”

  “Enough.” The word ricocheted off the walls. Dillon and Bill both stared at her. “A pissing match is only going to ruin the carpet.” She sighed, staring at Bill. “Go home or get back work. Do whatever. Just leave. I can’t look at you right now.” She picked up the tray Dillon had loaded for her and left the two men in the living room. She dumped the tray on the kitchen counter and stared into space. She was vaguely aware the elevator door had beeped.

  “I’m fucking sorry, Thea.” Dillon came into the kitchen. Thea did what was natural and walked straight into his arms. He hugged her close; their heads resting side by side.

  “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.” Thea closed her eyes. She was surprised she didn’t have tears to waste on Bill’s confession of betrayal. Last night, the spanking Dillon had given her had purged most of her feelings of anger and resentment. In the wake of the discipline, only logic and a keen understanding for her place in the world remained. Apparently, her place was no longer in the VPD. “Just like everything else, I guess I’ll just have to get over it.”

  “Good. Because now we don’t have a bunch of stiff assholes following us wherever we go, it’s time to make good on the contract you signed.” Dillon pulled away from her.

  “What do you mean?” Thea was confused.

  “You might not be a detective anymore, Miss Demopoulos. But you still have duties at The Cage, and I expect you to take them up again,” Dillon informed her. Thea’s jaw dropped.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Dillon didn’t know why Thea bothered arguing with him about coming to The Cage this evening. She signed the contract, read enough of it to know this was going to be an eventuality. Apparently, she thought it was going to happen at some distant point in the far away future. Nope. Dillon had been hatching plans on how to ditch the cops and come to The Cage before Bill informed him the subterfuge was not necessary.

  “Doesn’t it feel good to be here?” Dillon asked as the dark Mercedes pulled right up to the entrance. Joe slipped out of the front passenger seat and came around to Thea’s door.

  “No.” Thea’s tone made it perfectly clear she didn’t like losing the argument with him earlier. The door opened, and she stepped out of the car and into Joe’s shadow. Dillon left the car on his own side, scanning the parking lot, the surrounding woods, and other warehouses for anything out of place.

  She was wearing the scarlet bustier, leather boy shorts and sky-high heels he picked out for her. Thea had argued she was a sub now, shouldn’t she dress appropriately. Dillon informed her she was his sub and required her to dress as he liked. Besides the corset was universal fetware. Her overcoat covered the whole ensemble again this evening.

  He followed Thea and Joe into the reception area of The Cage where the regular receptionist sat behind the desk and greeted them with a smile. Next to her, Dillon recognised the receptionist from The Feather Flogger. He was sure Delaney had called her Janey last night, but he was too wound up by Thea’s actions to pay any notice.

  “Good evening, Mistress Thea and Master Dillon,” the regular receptionist greeted them. “Master Joe, you have permission to walk the dungeon floor this evening after signing this nondisclosure agreement, but you don’t have any Dom rights. If you’d like to earn those rights, Master Flynn welcomes you to speak to Calla our club psychologist and to our Domme in Residence Mistress Thea.”

  “Thank you.” Joe didn’t appear flustered by the receptionist’s words. He merely pulled the nondisclosure agreement closer towards him to read over the contents.

  Thea signed in on the sheet provided. “I’ll see you boys on the floor.” She waved before disappearing into the ladies’ changing room.

  “It’ll be good to have Mistress Thea back in the dungeon,” the regular receptionist commented. Janey nodded even though she had only started working at The Cage, her eyes on the hired muscle. Joe grunted after signing his name to the nondisclosure agreement. “Master Linkin left you a set of leathers and a pair of boots in this locker.” She held out a key.

  “Thank you.” Joe responded and winked at Janey. Dillon had to blink a few times to make sure he was lucid and witnessing Joe flirting with someone. Joe disappeared into the locker room.

  “Master Dillon.” The receptionist smiled warmly at him. They had played a while back. The experience had been enjoyable, but nothing compared to the raw of power of the scene he had this morning with Thea. The connection was electric. The leather of his belt smacking her ass. Every single sigh that escaped her perfect lips. Dillon was instantly hard thinking about it.

  “I’ll see you out there later,” Dillon replied politely. He had no interest in playing with anyone but Thea. He entered the familiar confines of the men’s changing room and walked over to his locker. Luckily, the night was still young, and the room was relatively empty. He didn’t want to get into a big conversation with someone and miss supporting Thea on her first night back at The Cage.

  Joe had already left the room by the time Dillon ran out onto the dungeon floor. Thea was speaking to Master Flynn and Calla near the bar. She was safe and appeared to be coping with the dungeon environment well. He tried to remain as casual as possible as he walked up to the trio.

  “Mistress Thea, I cannot express how wonderful it is to have you back on the dungeon floor. We’ve been getting by without you, but it isn’t the same without our Domme in Residence.” Master Flynn sounded relieved to have Thea back. “I know you’ll need more time before you can take up more regular duties at the club, but just your presence on the dungeon floor will be a great boost to the morale of the community.”

  “I for one am so happy to have you back.” Calla smiled up at Thea, pleasure shining in her eyes. Her enthusiasm for having Thea back at The Cage was palpable.

  “And she’s looking forward to her sessions this week,” Dillon prompted as he stepped in beside Thea.

  “Really?” Calla perked up further at the prospect of some real progress.

  “Yes, and I’ll have the sessions at your office, not the apartment,” Thea informed the therapist. This was also a part of the new contract. Thea had to stop using the apartment as a safety blanket. Eventually, Dillon was going to move them both out into new digs, but he hadn’t gotten far enough in his planning to even bring it up to her.

  “This is some good progress, Thea,” Calla praised. Master Flynn’s gaze swept between Dillon and Thea a few times; knowledge and speculation burned in his irises.

  “For now, I’m going to take it easy, reacquaint myself with the crowd and the staff.” Thea was saying all the right things. They decided to take the night hour by hour, her transition back to the Domme in Residence night by night. Dillon believed it’d be easier for her to slip back into the swing of dungeon life if there wasn’t a huge commitment to make on the first night.

  “Well, you’ve come on the right night.” Master Flynn’s eyes sparkled. “There are any number of intensely creative public scenes to choose from.” Master Flynn nodded to Thea, Dillon, and, last, at Calla. “I’ll leave you to your evenings. And Thea. We’ll talk soon.” The words were comforting, from one Dom to another.

  “Whose asses are in the line of fire tonight?” Thea asked with forced enthusiasm.

  “We don’t have to watch any scenes.” Dillon could take her upstairs to the privacy room he had signed out before they came and have her on her knees instead. Nobody but the surveillance team would know she was
submitting.

  “I need to walk around the dungeon and take in a few scenes if I’m going to get a bead on the vibe in here.” Thea wasn’t even looking at Dillon as she said the words. She was too busy drinking in the dungeon. A wave of relief washed over Dillon as his plan started to come together. Coming tonight had not been a mistake.

  &

  Thea clapped along with the rest of the crowd as Master Gaige and his sub Lilith performed a demonstration with a violet wand. Lilith, manacled to an St Andrew’s Cross, faced the crowd, naked. Her attentive Master was currently demonstrating how to run the wand over her skin, especially her nipples and her pussy to create pleasurable electrical sparks on her skin.

  All night, Thea wandered through the crowd, occasionally with Dillon, other times on her own, realising Dillon was keeping a discreet watch on her, with increasing confidence. When she first stepped onto the dungeon floor earlier in the evening, Thea had to tamp down some serious nerves. The corset she was wearing covered more of her skin than the sheer teddy she had been wearing last night, but her scars were still visible on her upper back and in her cleavage.

  She found as the evening progressed, however, that people’s gazes would skim the unsightly marks, but no one’s eyes lingered too long on them. And not one person commented on them. Everyone expressed genuine happiness at her return, commiserated with her over the way the media had treated her and generally welcomed her back into the fold.

  Leaning against the bar, she found herself listening to a conversation between Master Flynn, Master Gaige, and Master Eric on whether they should ban the use of eight-foot whips. Apparently, one of the Doms in training had seriously marked one of the subs.

  “He needs more time on the mannequin,” Thea surprised herself by saying. All three of the men turned to stare at her. “The eight-footer is not a tool that can be mastered in a weekly course. It takes skill to wield a tool so wild with precision. We should consider its use like that of fire at The Cage. Ability must be proven at least twice with at least two weeks in between before the Dom gains the right.”

  “Like Junior Dom training wheels.” Master Eric turned considering.

  “If you want to look at it that way. Yes.” Thea wriggled in her corset and pulled it up in the front. It had been months since she had worn a constricting garment, and the confines were seriously chafing her. The three men all stared at the marks on her skin, and Thea’s cheeks warmed.

  “A crop,” she stated.

  “I beg your pardon, Mistress Thea,” Master Gaige replied.

  “The scars you see. They were made by a crop, not a whip.” Thea saw understanding light the men’s eyes.

  “It makes sense.” Master Flynn sounded clinical. “The way the pattern is dispersed and how deep the wounds were when you were rescued.”

  “Yes, the crop can be a destructive tool.” Thea was happy her voice remained steady. For some reason, talking about her scars and how she came by them to these proud, strong men wasn’t as hard as she might have imagined. Perhaps it was because the subject had come up naturally, or perhaps it was because they still saw her as their equal. No beating was ever going to change their opinion of her.

  She belonged in the dungeon just as much as before her abduction. Nothing could take her place at The Cage. These men were subtly letting her know that, to them, she was still plain old Mistress Thea. She had to blink rapidly not to let the tears forming in the back of her eyes fall down her cheeks.

  “Not going soft on us, Mistress Thea?” Master Eric asked with a grim smile. “The only way we’ve kept all these subs in line is with promises of your swift retribution for any misdeeds while you’ve been away.” It was exactly the right thing to say. Thea took a deep, steadying breath.

  “I have to say there have been a number of disturbing rumours to reach my ears since my absence,” Thea remarked.

  “Do tell,” Master Flynn sounded mildly curious, which meant he was interested.

  “Essentially about a sub revolution,” Thea remarked, and all three of the men groaned.

  “That’s Delaney.” Master Gaige sounded as if he wanted to strangle her.

  “You would think with not one, but two badass Doms, she’d be less...” Master Eric searched for the word he wanted.

  “A pain in the ass,” Master Gaige supplied.

  “She obviously needs to be brought in hand.” Master Flynn nodded as if Master Linkin and Master Martin wouldn’t discipline their sub with regular enthusiasm.

  “Perhaps some orgasm denial might help?” Thea suggested. “As much as I enjoy inflicting disciplinary pain, there are far more inventive ways to train a sub.”

  “And that is why we’ve missed you,” Master Gaige grinned at her.

  “She certainly has been missed.” Dillon came up beside her, and Thea did her best not to drool over his bare chest. Several subs were doing their best to entice him over, but he wasn’t paying them much attention.

  The new contract was the same as the old contract. They were exclusive to one another for the duration. No little honey subbies on the side for either of them, which suited Thea fine. She wasn’t interested in anyone besides Dillon, and at this point, she wondered how long that had been the case. Certainly, since well before her abduction, Thea had lost sexual interest in many of the men she played with at The Cage. The ritual of the scenes she performed with them had stopped ending in sex for her. The three other Doms greeted Dillon, and Thea listened as the spoke about club business.

  “Are you ready for the next part of our evening?” Dillon questioned. Thea stared at him. Yes, she was ready for the sexual release. After watching everyone else play in the dungeon for hours, the sexual tension in her body had increased to painful levels. However, they agreed before coming out tonight. That she was subbing for him was between them and no one else.

  “Yes,” Thea replied, wondering what the hell he was up to.

  “Good, I booked a privacy room.” Dillon turned his attention back to the other three Doms. “Mistress Thea has expressed her desire to refresh herself with club practices on the tools and equipment.” Not an outright lie. It was standard practice at The Cage for newbie Doms to go through a full training course before they were ever set loose on the dungeon floor. This included having whips, crops, paddles etc. used on their hides as well as having anal plugs inserted properly. Only after experiencing each tool and toy could they get permission to use it inside the four walls of the club. Thea wondered who had inserted a plug in Master Flynn’s ass.

  “Yes, I’m not confident in taking a sub again at the moment. But Master Dillon has agreed to help me get back on the spanking bench, so to speak.” Thea smiled grimly at Dillon.

  “It’s to be expected.” Master Eric nodded. “You’ll be wrapping up subs’ cocks in rubber rings again in no time.” Master Flynn’s glance swept between Thea and Dillon just as it had when they first entered the dungeon. The man saw too much as far as Thea was concerned.

  “Thank you” was her heartfelt reply. Thea certainly hoped she could resurrect more of her former self over the coming weeks. The grey area where she had been living since her rescue was no longer safe and comforting. It was boring, and it lacked Dillon’s sexual presence.

  “No time like the present,” Dillon encouraged. Thea made her excuses to the other Doms. Dillon swept her to the rear of The Cage. There were still plenty of people she hadn’t spoken to yet. It was Saturday night at The Cage, and it looked as if just about every member wanted to play. With the recent murders and the closing of The Feather Flogger, Thea guessed people wanted to absorb some of their community’s positive energy. They wanted to assure themselves The Cage was still operating, and their friends were safe.

  “After you, gorgeous.” Dillon waved a hand indicating the set of black painted spiral stairs on the left leading to the privacy rooms open to sign out to all members of The Cage.

  “I suppose you think you’re clever.” Thea had a hard time keeping her tone sour.

&nb
sp; “Nope.” His grin became wider. “I know I’m excessively clever. They needed a reason for heading up to the privacy rooms. You know what Doms are like. Old bloody gossips. I just nipped their speculations in the bud.”

  “Hardly.” Thea glanced back at the bar to find Master Flynn wasn’t the only one staring at them.

  “Whatever. Get your ass upstairs, or you’ll have disciplinary spankings before we even get started.” Dillon’s tone hardened, and the sound sank into her girl parts. She had always liked it when he tried to dominate her.

  “Yes, Master,” she mocked back.

  “You’re in trouble now,” Dillon shot back. Thea made sure there was an extra wiggle to her step as she made her way up the staircase, aware Dillon was drooling over her ass.

  “Promise?” She let the question float back and enjoyed hearing his growl in return. An unexpected smile lit up her face and warmth spread over her chest. She was enjoying the banter and her surroundings. Thea waited at the top of the staircase, not sure, which room Dillon, had signed out. They walked side-by-side down the narrow walkway all the way to the last door, room number six. Thea’s breath left her in a loud whoosh. She already knew what was inside having been in all the rooms numerous times, not only to play but to help with other Doms’ scenes.

  Dillon punched in a code on the keypad, and the door opened. He waited, watching her closely. She realised he would stand there for the rest of the night; he wouldn’t pressure her. The decision to scene with him lay in her hands alone. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stared into the room. The lights had come on automatically as soon as the door opened. Black silk sheets covered the four-poster bed at the back of the room. Plenty of pillows covered the ornate wooden headboard.

  Bespoke BDSM furniture created by the renowned carpenter Master Diego decorated the rest of the room. Inside, there was a beautiful spanking bench, a pillory, and even a bench created specifically for ménage. None of these gorgeous pieces held her eye, however. Thea’s gaze was on the St Andrew’s Cross standing in front of the bed. Dillon meant business tonight if he thought she was going to let him strap her into the one piece of BDSM furniture that had haunted her dreams since her abduction. But she would never know unless she walked inside.