I told Gwen that I was just telling Ella that dropping a tray of drinks happened on occasion, and it was nothing to worry about or be embarrassed about. It earned me a grateful smile from Ella before she assured Gwen that she was fine now and left to get back to work. I'd grinned after her like an imbecile, then pointedly ignored Gwen's quizzical expression and started asking her what was on my schedule tonight before she could question me about Ella.
For some reason, I didn't want her to know that Ella and I were involved. It's not like I had any rules against sleeping with my employees, not that I'd ever done it before. However, I didn't want to have to explain what was going on between Ella and me since I didn't even understand it myself. Thankfully, my distraction worked, and Gwen didn't bring Ella up again.
Now, the club was finally closed, and everything was winding down for the night. I'd sent Gwen home early an hour or so ago, and as I watched the last few employees straggle out on the security feeds in my office, nervous anticipation began to rise up inside me. By the time everyone else was gone, and Ella was heading down the hall toward my office, I was a ball of pent-up energy that I couldn't contain anymore. I flew to my feet and went to the door, flinging it open just as Ella reached it.
She startled and blinked up at me, her body tense with nerves that were obviously just as jangled as mine were by what we were doing tonight. Hers I understood. This was all new for her, but mine made no sense to me. I'd been a Dom and a club member for years before taking over for Rex. I'd taken many submissives into one of the club's private rooms, the one in my home, and more recently into my private one here after buying Désir Dangereux late last year. I shouldn't be nervous at all, but for some reason, doing this with Ella felt different, heavier and more meaningful, and it rattled the hell out of me. I sucked in a deep breath to calm myself. Ella needed me in control right now.
"Ella," I said with a calmness I didn't quite feel yet.
Her face softened a little as I reached out to take her hand. I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her as she relaxed against me and put her arms around my waist. It felt good to hold her, and it helped settle the last of my nerves as I breathed in that familiar clean citrus scent of hers.
"Do you trust me?" I whispered into her soft flaxen hair.
She leaned back and looked up at me with certainty brightening her eyes. "I've always trusted you," she replied quietly, and my heart sang with those words.
"Then you have no reason to be nervous, my lovely," I murmured as I reached up to cup her face in my hand. "Whatever happens or doesn't happen tonight is up to you. Okay?"
"Okay," she whispered with a small smile.
I brushed my thumb across her pink heart-shaped lips, so perfect and velvety soft. My mouth was practically watering. I wanted to kiss her again, but I feared if I did, I'd just end up throwing her on my desk, ripping her clothes off, and fucking her until she screamed. So I stepped away and grabbed her hand instead, then led her out of my office and down the hall.
We made our way across the now empty main room into another hallway lined with the numbered doors of the club's many private rooms. We passed them all by and came to the only unlabeled door at the end of the hall. I pulled a key from my pocket and unlocked it, then swung the door open, and led Ella inside with the distinct and inexplicable impression that my life was about to change.
I flipped on the recessed lighting, bathing the room with a soft golden glow. Ella's eyes widened as she looked around, taking in the large space as I closed the door behind us. I'd had the room decorated elegantly in black and gold, wanting it to have an opulent yet sexy masculine feel. The dark walls were covered in a subtle black damask pattern. The massive bed that dominated the far wall with its tall and ornate black headboard, was clad in soft black linens with gold throw pillows. A large plush rug in a deep shade of gold covered the ebony hardwood floor at the foot of the bed. I watched Ella's mouth gape open in surprise as she turned back to face me, and I grinned at her expression.
"What?" I asked wryly. "Did you expect The Red Room of Pain?"
She smiled back at me abashedly with her cheeks flushed a lovely pink. "Kind of," she answered as she shrugged one shoulder. Her eyes darted away from me almost immediately, her curiosity getting the better of her yet again tonight.
"Go ahead and look around," I told her reassuringly. "You can touch anything, and ask me anything. Nothing is off limits."
She turned and gawked around the room as she gnawed on her lower lip thoughtfully, riveting my attention on her mouth and getting me hard already. Her eyes stopped on a large ornate gold chair to the left of the bed, and her eyes widened. She approached it and ran her fingers over one of the arms and then the seat back that was upholstered in quilted buttery black vegan leather.
"Is...is this a throne?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes."
"And you actually sit in it?" she asked curiously.
"Among other things," I said suggestively, unable to help from picturing myself sitting there with a naked Ella kneeling at my feet and begging to worship my cock with her sweet mouth. My dick grew harder still.
She stepped away from my throne and moved toward the next piece of BDSM furniture that caught her eye. She eyed the massive wooden X propped against the wall. She slid a hand up the smooth surface of one of its arms and tentatively touched one of the black vegan leather cuffs dangling from an eye hook above her head.
"That's a St. Andrew's cross," I explained.
She continued her circuit around the room as I identified everything she touched, the spanking bench, the stockade, the bondage table, the suspension frame, and the whipping post. Her eyes widened and heated with differing degrees of interest as she moved past each one. I noted her particular interest in the spanking bench and the whipping post for future reference. Not once did she appear afraid or disgusted. It was a very good sign.
Finally, she came to the rack mounted on the wall were my paddles, whips, and floggers were hung, along with more cuffs, rope, and several steel spreader bars of differing lengths. She ran her hand over the items, pausing to finger my favorite single-tail signal whip.
"You know how to use all of these?" she asked, wrapping her fingers around the whip now. I tracked her hand as she dragged it slowly down the short length of braided black vegan leather.
Well, fuck. My breath caught and my dick, now a steel bar in my pants, throbbed almost painfully. I clenched my hands into tight fists as I fought the overwhelming urge to rush forward and maul her.
"Yes," I growled out in a low and strained tone. "Quite well, in fact."
Her eyes briefly heated at my words before she moved away from the rack and approached the final piece of furniture in the room, a tall ebony chest of drawers. She fearlessly grabbed the pulls on one of the wide drawers and pulled it open. She gasped as she stared down at the contents with widening eyes. I smiled as I came up behind her.
"Were you expecting socks and underwear?" I asked her facetiously as I glanced over her shoulder at the multitude of sex toys lined up neatly on gold velvet inside the drawer.
She turned her head and shot a playful glare up at me. "Smart ass," she said in a wry tone as she pushed the drawer shut. She pulled open the next one down and gazed inside for a long moment.
"Do you have any questions?" I prompted since she hadn't asked a thing about any of the toys yet.
She turned to look up at me with a more serious and thoughtful expression, and started gnawing on her lower lip again. My God, it was distracting and sexy as fuck.
"Why all this?" she asked curiously.
"What?" I asked, as I ripped my attention away from Ella's gorgeous lips.
"Why did you get into all this kinky stuff?" she asked. "And how? You weren't before I..." she trailed off uncomfortably before mentioning her sudden departure from my life twelve years ago. I ignored the slight twinge of pain and resentment that hit me since I didn't want to think about that right now.
I star
ed off into space a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. I hadn't given my life as a Dom a thought in a long while.
"After...after I finally stopped using," I began tentatively, "I was struggling, feeling lost and like my life was out of control. The stress of managing my cravings was getting to me, and it was all I could do to keep from using again to get some relief." I met her eyes again. "Rex suggested the BDSM lifestyle, thinking it might help me."
"Rex?" she asked incredulously.
I nodded. "He's in the lifestyle, and owned this place for over a decade until I bought it from him last year."
"And it helped you?" she questioned with an almost eager expression. "Getting into all this?"
"Yes," I replied. "Becoming a Dom helped me get my life back." Saved it really. I think if I'd started using again, I wouldn't have been long for this world, or worse, ended up gone yet still alive like my mother.
She pursed her lips and glanced around the room with a serious and thoughtful expression. Finally, she met my eyes again. "Will you show me what it's like?" she asked with a look of desperation edged with hope and longing.
It was a look I recognized. I'd felt the same way once upon a time, and I wanted to help her, to erase that lost and broken look in her eyes that was always there. She needed this, and I could give it to her and quench the scorching desire that raged between us in the process.
"Yes, Ella," I answered in a low seductive voice as I put my arms around her and pulled her close. "I will."
The look of sheer and utter relief on her face stunned me as did the fiery lust that followed right on its heels. Helpless to resist, I leaned down and kissed her sweet lips with a blistering heat and dominating passion that was a mere taste of what was yet to come.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
____________________
Ella
The force and power behind this kiss was like nothing Calder had given me before, hard, fierce, and absolutely dominating. So much so that my lips almost felt bruised, and I was a limp and swooning puddle of goo in his arms by the time he pulled his mouth away from mine with a low sexy growl.
His eyes suddenly softened with concern. "I need to ask you something first, Ella," he said in an unexpectedly serious tone. "It's important."
I blinked up at him, my brain still a little stunned and misfiring as I tried to gather a coherent thought. I nodded for him to continue when I could think again.
"Did Ray abuse you in any way?" He reached up to caress my cheek. "I don't want to upset you unintentionally or set off any psychological triggers."
I hesitated, not wanting to talk about Ray right now, or ever, with Calder, but his concerns were valid and reasonable. "He...he shoved me around a lot, but never actually hit me." I frowned and looked down at his wide chest. "It was mostly psychological and verbal abuse" -my voice dropped to a whisper- "or threats to take Violet away from me."
I closed my eyes as that lost and broken feeling that always seemed to overshadow my life fell over me. I was so tired of it. I wanted it gone, like Ray was. I wanted to forget about the mess that my life had become. I needed a reprieve, an escape. Tears pricked my eyes as a small hiccuping sob escaped me. I felt Calder's body go rigid. I opened my eyes, and met his gorgeous gaze as a brief flash of murderous rage gleamed in his eyes that just as quickly eased back into his usual controlled composure.
"Shh." Calder's hands slid to the back of my neck, his fingers sifting through my hair. "None of that now," he said gently. "You're here with me, and I've got you," he continued with firm certainty. "You don't have to think. You don't have to worry about anything. Just be, and I'll take care of the rest."
"Okay," I replied waveringly with a slight nod.
"If at any time you need me to stop or slow down, you will say so immediately, and no matter what. Understood?" he asked in a commanding tone.
I nodded in reply, which earned me a hard stare and an arched brow.
"When we play you will answer my questions with words, and you will address me as sir," he explained sternly. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, s...sir," I replied with a jerky nod, the words feeling odd, yet somehow so very right.
His eyes burst into bright blue fire at my words, his nostrils flaring and his body suddenly radiating heat and power and sex. Oh my God. I gasped at the change in him, my body singing with instant desire. His lips were on mine again a heartbeat later, and his tongue speared into my mouth with a hard intoxicating demand that I couldn't resist. He pulled me in flush against his big body, the outline of his steely erection pressing into my stomach as he fed on me with savage and barely controlled ferocity. One hand gripped my ass, the other the back of my neck as he held me right where he wanted me, manhandling my body as he practically fucked my mouth with his talented and unrelenting tongue.
I was unbelievably wet in an instant, my body drowning in lust and my clit throbbing so sweetly. I let out a long needy mewl as this man inundated me with raw lust like I'd never felt before, and wiped away all cares and worries from my mind. I was so lost to it that I staggered when he pulled away, and he had to grab my upper arms to steady me as I clutched at his suit jacket.
"Ella," he gasped out in a strained and husky tone. He reached up to brush his fingertips across my swollen and still tingling lips as his eyes swam with lust and deeper emotions I couldn't begin to fathom or understand in the wake of his devastating kiss. His body was trembling now, and so was mine.
He sucked in a deep breath and straightened his spine, stilling his body and hardening his expression. He stepped back, and I somehow managed to stand without his support. He was all steely control and alpha male dominance again.
"You will strip, fold your clothes neatly, and put them on the dresser," he said sternly with an intimidating stare that froze me where I stood. "Now, Ella," he snapped out sharply when I hadn't managed to move yet.
I startled, and my hands moved to unfasten the buttons of my shirt without thought, as if I was born to submit to this man. He turned away and took slow unhurried steps toward the door. He reached out and turned the lock on the door with an oddly loud click that filled the quiet room and sent a shudder of excited trepidation through me. He faced me again and eyed my lace covered breasts avidly as I slipped my shirt off my shoulders. He continued watching me as I folded my shirt and laid it on the dresser, then pulled off my shoes and socks.
His heated gaze shot downward as I reached to unfasten the button and zipper of my black pants, then blazed a trail down my legs as I slipped them off. I folded my pants and placed them on the dresser with my shirt. His intense scrutiny could have made me uncomfortable, could have made me feel embarrassed, but it didn't. I liked it, a lot. In fact, it turned me on.
I fearlessly reached back to unhook the clasp of my black lace bra. I wanted his eyes on my naked body, every damn inch of it. I pulled the bra off my arms and watched the lust in his eyes burn hotter as my nipples pebbled and hardened under his gaze. I heard him let out a low growl under his breath, and felt powerful and feminine and very much desired. It was a heady feeling. I slid my fingers down my belly to the band of my lacy boyshort panties, and eased them off my hips and pushed them to the floor. I placed my underthings with the rest of my clothes, then stood naked and unashamed for Calder, my breath quickening in anticipation as I waited for his next command.
"Go to the center of the rug and kneel now, Ella," he said, his voice deep and authoritative, but with an unmistakable tight edge of barely contained restraint.
I hurried to obey, and dropped down onto my knees to sit back on my heels on the thick plush rug a mere moment later.
"Put your hands palms up on your thighs, spread your knees, and arch your back," he commanded. "I want to see all of you on display."
I did as he said, spreading my thighs and pushing my breasts forward for Calder, feeling wanton and exposed, the cool air of the room feeling good on my tight nipples and ever slickening sex.
"Good girl," he said in
husky pleasure, the words making my pussy clench needily. Oh God, I liked those words of approval so much. "This is how I require my subs to present themselves to me."
I watched as he moved toward a nearby ebony valet stand by the door that I hadn't noticed before. He slipped his dark-blue suit jacket off and hung it on the stand. He turned to face me again and began unfastening his cufflinks in slow unhurried movements.
"Tonight, I'm not going to whip you, or bind you, or use a single toy," he said, and I couldn't deny the wave of disappointment that hit me. "Tonight, I'm going to show you what BDSM is really about, not just the give and take of pleasure," -he set his cufflinks on the valet stand, then began unbuttoning his shirt- "but the trust that goes both ways between a Dominant and his willing submissive," -my eyes drifted down as he bared his gloriously muscled chest- "and the true balance of power between a Dom and a sub."
He slipped his shirt from his powerful arms and draped it over his jacket, then strode toward me with measured purposeful steps. "For me, it's far more than just physical, so much more than a mere sexual release. It's a liberation, a deliverance from the cares and stress in my life and from my addiction, a salvation. It can be the same for you, Ella." He stopped a few feet in front of me, and I stared up at him in wonder, longing for what he promised. "Will you grant me your submission?" he asked, his voice soft and his eyes questioning.
That was when I knew the truth, when I realized where the power between a Dom and a sub truly lied. The power belonged to the sub, to me. It was my power to give, and mine to call back at any time. I trusted Calder with it completely, knew he'd take care of me, and never let me fall. My answer was easy, simple, and immediate. "Yes, sir," I whispered breathlessly.
Calder gave me a slow blink, a nod, and then a look of dark satisfaction. His hands moved down to unfasten his pants, and I watched with riveted attention as he freed his massive erection. I stared longingly at his cock's gorgeous broad head, the veins running along his thick length, and the pre-cum weeping from the tip. My mouth watered. He wrapped his hand firmly around himself and began taking slow leisurely strokes that completely mesmerized me.
Taming Rough Waters: A Blood Brothers Standalone: Book 1 Page 18
