“Yes, Sir. I will.”
“All right then.” Galen picked up his light deer-hide flogger and used it to warm up her skin, walking back and forth behind her, striking her upper back, occasionally going down on a knee to work over her pretty, round ass. Her golden skin colored beautifully to a rich red color and gradually showed a slight pebbling. Her breathing evened out, came slower as she sank into the sensations.
He loved watching the descent, the slide of tension out her body.
Sally’s head was still up. Galen chose a heavier flogger and positioned himself where he could see the side of her face as he laid the leather on her back. Harder. Her expression would tighten, and she’d breathe out through the burst of sensation. Not real pain—not yet. But getting there. A pretty sight, watching her take what he gave her.
He moved behind her and increased the intensity.
CHRIST IN NEVER-NEVER land, that felt as if she were being slammed into by a million tiny hammers. He wasn’t going to go easy on her, was he? She closed her eyes and inhaled through the edgy pain, through the edgy response that followed. The arousal simmering under her skin kept growing, even though the last strike had been powerful enough to knock her body forward against the cross and jostle the clothespins around her breasts, adding a whole new level to the sensations inside.
Whap. Whap.
No time to breathe between. Each blow just a little more forceful than the previous ones. She filled her lungs and opened her eyes. Galen was beside her. His dark gaze swept over her, studying her, before meeting her eyes. “You’re doing good, pet. Give me a number for the last couple.”
He wanted to see if their assessments added up. How hard had the blows been? “Maybe six?” God help her if he ever got to a ten.
“About what I thought. Can you take more?”
Oh, she wanted to; she’d do anything for him. And she wasn’t close to her limit yet. “Yes, Sir.”
The small smile of approval made her melt inside and resolve to take anything he could give her. Her mouth firmed.
Rather than looking pleased, he frowned. “I expect to hear yellow if we get to that point, Sally. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Okay. Yes, Sir.” Yes, Master. My Master. When he looked at her like that, when she knew that he saw her…she could take so much, much more.
“Good.” He unbuttoned his black shirt and tossed it to the side. He was pumped up by the flogging, and his olive skin stretched tightly over his exquisite musculature. Streamlined steel. A triangle of black hair on his chest pointed down toward his black jeans. Tight abs. God, he had a great body.
As he used a figure-eight technique, he moved behind her, hitting her on the left upper back and swirling the tails before striking the right upper. The left slightly lower. The right. He’d lightened his blows, and the flogger felt wonderful. She had a feeling her endorphins were kicking in, flooding her system with happy juice. Leaning her head against her arm, she waited for the next one.
A burning feeling detonated in her outer breast. “Ow!”
Vance stood in front of her, holding the clothespin he’d just removed.
The flogger hit her back, shoving her into the cross. Another clothespin came off, and she squeaked at the sharp pain. The flogger hit a second later.
“Breathe, pet.” Galen’s cheek rubbed against hers as he checked in with her. His voice was as dark as his eyes.
Tilting her head, she stared at him, seeing his enjoyment with the scene, with the flogging, with her submission. With her.
She sank into his pleasure, opening under it like a night-blooming flower. And she pulled in a breath.
“Good girl.” As Galen stepped away, she managed to turn her face forward and meet Vance’s dark blue gaze. The same pleasure showed there.
And the floor seemed to drop from under her feet. Everything in her wanted to continue, for them to push her to new places, take her higher.
As if she’d spoken the request, Vance nodded. With the next clothespin, he wiggled it slightly, teasing her, and just as the flogger struck her back, Vance removed the pin. Her back felt as if she were glowing, her breasts…the sensation was…was…not quite pain, but a thick burn, like a syrup of sensation. She was starting to feel as if she’d been breathing the dentist’s gas. Wonderful, wonderful place.
The Doms worked together, clothespins coming off, flogger like punctuation. Heat increasing front and back. Over and over.
Galen moved to her other side, using his backhand, and damned if it wasn’t harder yet. Vance had removed all the clothespins.
Her breasts were swollen, and each throb somehow coincided with the pulsing in her pussy. The flogger blows were sending her higher, making her giggle even as some tears spilled over.
“She’s sliding into subspace.” Vance moved into her field of vision, and he had the nicest smile.
“Adorable, isn’t she?” Galen’s voice was like the velvet dress her mommy had made her. “Time for something a little harsher.”
With a contented sigh, she leaned her face against her arm, waiting for the next thumpety strike.
“What the hell?” Galen sounded so pissed off that Sally blinked and turned her head.
Oh shit. The pretty fog in her head receded.
Standing over his toy bag, Galen held up his heaviest flogger. The strands had been tied into pretty bows until the business end looked like a mass of ruffled leather flowers.
Don’t laugh; don’t laugh. Giggles rose so fast and violent that she choked, trying to hold them back until her ears were ringing. She couldn’t…and then she was laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach. Oh God, stop. The stunned expression on Vance’s face set her off again until her sides hurt worse than her back. A wave of laughter spread from one side of the dungeon to the other. Oh man, they were going to kill her. Tears streamed down her face as she gasped for breath.
Warm hands closed over her breasts. “You’re in big trouble, sweetie,” Vance murmured, playing with her breasts, rolling one nipple and the other, sending molten zings down to her clit in surges of pleasure. He ran his fingers over the tender areas where the clothespins had been, and her entire body turned as liquid as a snowman on a sunny day.
With a glint in his sharp eyes, Vance tugged at her nipples until she moaned for more. His scent wafted to her, crisp and bright, like a spring morning in Iowa. And when he kissed her, she wanted him so bad that if they’d been in private, she have tried to rip his clothes off.
His tongue invaded, played; his lips were firm. His hand cupped the back of her head, positioning her so he could take her deeper until her lips were swollen and her body hummed with need.
“All yours,” he said eventually, and he wasn’t speaking to her. To Galen? Oh God.
She felt Galen’s warmth a second before his body leaned into her from the rear. Even through his heavy jeans, his erection was solid and thick against her buttocks. He closed one hand over her breast, using it to anchor her to him. His other hand cupped her face, turning her so he could take her mouth in a punishing kiss. Even though her breasts were aching and tender from Vance and the clothespins, when Galen pinched one nipple, she felt only want. Even her pussy felt swollen as she rubbed her bottom against his erection.
He released her, smiling at her whimper of need. “You need a spanking, little brat.”
Naked over his knee. “Okay,” she breathed.
And he laughed. “No. Instead you’re going to take three more. About an eight. Can you do that?”
“Is that my punishment?”
His flash of a grin seemed to ignite whole new areas of need. “No, pet, that’s just fun. Mostly for me. And you’ll take it because I want you to—won’t you?”
Oh, when he looked at her like that, she’d do anything. His eyes softened at the answer in her face, and he ran his finger down her heated cheek. “That’s my girl.”
Yes. Please, yes. She breathed out and tried to collect herself despite the happiness running through her.
He shook out the flogger he’d used before. Not the one with the pretty bows. Heh. At least he wouldn’t be using that heavy sucker today. Her attempt not to smirk failed miserably.
He must have seen, because he shook his head. “Any flogger can reach a level eight, pet. It just means more work on my part.” He looked her up and down. “Curve your shoulders in.”
To make sure he didn’t hit a shoulder blade. Oh man.
“Look at me, sweetie.” Still in front of her, Vance wrapped his big hands over her wrists, pinning her to the cross. Restraining her physically for his partner. One holding, one hitting. God, she loved being right here, overpowered and taking it. Her insides turned molten. Vance bent slightly so she could look into his eyes. She pulled in a breath. Exhaled.
Wham!
The pain exploded in her upper back as her body slammed against the cross. Tears wavered, blurring her vision as she pulled in a breath, and then, like a slide into a tub, the pain turned to a sweet heat that filled her body. No one had ever hit her so hard.
And yet—she wanted another.
“Brace your forearms on the cross,” Galen said.
Vance helped her adjust her position before securing her again.
“Breathe,” Vance murmured.
In. Out.
Wham!
Ow ow ow. She shook her head as the burn turned liquid and wonderful.
“One more, baby girl.” Galen’s voice came through the surging in her blood, through the endorphins buzzing into her brain, as she slid right back into her happy place. Happy, happy, happy.
Vance’s face wavered in her vision as he studied her. She could feel Galen’s watchful gaze like a pressure on her side. “Green,” she whispered. “I’m green.”
The corners of Vance’s eyes crinkled, and he tightened his grip on her wrists.
She pulled in a breath. Let it out.
Wham!
Her eyes went unfocused as the impact reverberated through her whole body. Past the surface, deeper, shaking into her bones. Blast, burn. The sweet rush like hot rain flowed over her skin. She was sliding in and out of subspace, happy and warm and yet…there.
Something pressed against her back, startlingly cool, ever so wonderful. It rolled over the burning skin on her shoulders, working up and down. It must be the long metal cartridge that she’d found in Galen’s bag, the one for which she couldn’t figure out the use. What a nice, nice use. With a sigh, she put her head back on her arm and let him care for her.
“Sally.” When she slid back into the present, Vance kissed her lightly and opened his hands, releasing her wrists. Galen put an arm around her waist to steady her.
As Vance headed for the cleaning equipment, Galen helped her over to a couch against the stone wall. He sat down and pulled her, facedown, across his thighs.
He wants a blowjob now? She tried to reach for his zipper and had her hand caught.
“Lie still, Sally.” The splash of liquid between her shoulder blades made her gasp. The feeling of him massaging the superbly cool gel into her burning skin made her eyes almost cross.
He hit a tender area.
“Ow!” She tried to push up, but his free hand was on her collar, holding her in place. God, she loved that feeling. “Easy, baby girl,” he murmured. “This will help the swelling and keep you from bruising.”
But she kind of wanted a few bruises to remember this by. Because she’d done it. Taken it.
Liked it.
He continued until her whole back felt as if an arctic mist had settled on a bad sunburn.
“I’m proud of you, Sally,” he said, his voice grave and impossible to disbelieve. “I asked you to take something, and you did. For me. That makes me feel good.” He massaged her scalp gently.
With a sigh of happiness, she laid her cheek on his muscled thigh and relaxed into his care. “But I didn’t think you were a sadist,” she whispered.
He caressed her cheek, and she could smell the leather on his skin as well as the hint of shaving lotion he’d used earlier. His beard growth was heavy enough that he often shaved twice a day. Because of her.
His relaxed chuckle made her feel good, as if their scene had pushed him to the same happy place she was in. “I’m a Dom, and I like taking a submissive to her limit and an inch beyond. Pain is one of the easiest ways to get there.”
She’d definitely gotten there. No one had ever pushed her as Galen did, demanded what he did. And somehow, Vance’s hands-on restraint had felt like the same demand—and had let her go further. She’d submitted to the Masters before, but never…never like this. Never been taken so far. Been left so clear and sparkling inside.
As she rubbed her cheek against his thigh, she thought about the creek in the back pasture in Iowa. Frozen until the spring thaw. Then the little stream would flood, and the dirt and debris of the long winter would be scoured away, leaving the water so clear that even the tiny stones on the bottom could be seen.
The couch dipped as Vance sat down. He picked her up and set her in his lap. Her knees and calves rested on Galen’s thighs. Despite the discomfort of having Vance’s iron-hard arm behind her tender back, she loved being in his arms. With a happy sigh, she laid her cheek against his broad chest.
He pulled the elastic tie from her hair and tossed it to Galen. Her hair spilled down over her shoulders in a soft, cool wave.
After tucking the tie away, Galen picked up a blanket—Vance must have tossed it on the couch—and spread it over her legs and stomach. Snuggly, snuggly, snuggly. He smoothed the fabric, stroking her legs. “Should I ask what else you did in my toy bag?” he asked.
She started and bit her lip. Christ in pigtails, if she told him about the anal plugs, he’d probably hitch her to the cross for more flogging.
Vance’s chest bounced with his laugh. “From her expression, I’d say you better check the rest of your equipment.”
She tried not to grin. Vance liked to examine his bag’s contents before a scene, but Galen usually cleaned and set up his stuff right after using it. He rarely messed with his bag before a scene. That’s why she’d chosen to sabotage his stuff rather than Vance’s.
Well…and because she’d been mad at him. At the time.
Galen gave a grunt of exasperation. “You are a sore trial to me, pet. So. Aside from my toy bag, have you done anything else of which we’d disapprove?”
“Sometimes you really sound like a Harvard grad.” Her attempt at humor didn’t help the tightening in her stomach. If they found out about her hacking, the two Feds would have her head—or worse, have her arrested. They’d be so pissed off. They must never, ever find out.
The silence of both of the men warned her that she’d woken their suspicions. But she…couldn’t manage to lie. She didn’t want to lie. “Nothing that concerns you.”
Vance tightened his hand on her shoulder, his eyes shrewd. “Everything about you is of interest, sweetheart.” His lips tipped up. “Especially if we wouldn’t be pleased.”
How could she feel so happy with their attention—and so worried? When she dragged her gaze from his, she realized Rainie stood nearby, waiting to be noticed.
Yay, saved by the girl. “Hey, you waiting for one of us?”
Quite properly, Rainie didn’t talk to the submissive but waited for a Dom to speak.
“Go ahead, Rainie,” Galen said.
“Sir, if you’re done, Master Z hoped you’d join him and the others in the main room. They’re near the center.”
“All right. Please tell him we’ll be there shortly.”
Dismissed, Rainie moved away, shooting a worried glance back over her shoulder at Sally.
Galen leaned forward to tap Sally’s chin. “We’ll discuss your refusal to answer another time. For right now, how does your back feel?”
Thank you, God. She leaned forward and wiggled her shoulders. “I’m okay.”
“Good. You may put on your skirt,” Vance said. “Leave your breasts free for my enjoyment.”
As she slid off his lap, she felt her face flush. Yet a thrill ran along her nerves. She’d always envied subs who had their own Doms.
As a trainee, once a scene was over and aftercare done, she would have been sent back to work. But the Feds considered her “theirs,” even if temporary, and instead of dismissing her, they were keeping her close. For more than just a scene. Had she ever been so happy?
“Drink this, imp.” Galen handed her a bottle of water before putting his hand on her back—in a nonsore area—to keep her beside him. She looked up to see Vance on her other side, and the…rightness…of the arrangement settled into her heart.
The Masters and Mistresses—the ones with the official titles—were in a sitting area in a rough circle. Olivia and Anne bracketed Cullen on a couch. Most of the rest sat in chairs, with Sam, Nolan, and Jake standing. Even Jake was there.
“Galen, Vance.” Master Z motioned toward an empty couch.
After putting Sally’s water on an end table, Vance sat down in the middle of the couch with Galen to his right. The two Doms pulled her down and arranged her so she lay, faceup, her head and shoulders on Galen’s thighs.
Her butt rubbed against Vance’s jeans. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
“I don’t see any other submissives, Z. Is it a problem if Sally is here?” Galen asked.
When Sally turned her head, trying to see, Galen laid his hand on her cheek, stalling her. “Close your eyes, pet,” he said softly. “You’re here for our pleasure, not your entertainment.”
“You’re welcome to have your toy,” Master Z said, and she could hear amusement in his voice. “We released the others to spend time together and have something to eat.”
Oh, that sounded like much more fun. Sally tried to sit up.
Galen put his hand between her breasts, pressing down strongly enough to push the air from her lungs. “Did I give you permission to move?”
But… She looked at Vance, who had a softer heart. Maybe…
He met her gaze, reading her question. “No.”
Fine. Maybe she wasn’t certain if she loved them—but she was positive she didn’t like them right now.
Masters of the Shadowlands 8 - If only Page 22
