Dex shrugged his wide shoulders, while moving toward the desk. “If the shoe fits…” His sky blue eyes met hers, not as beautiful as Sean’s, but striking all the same. “I’m sorry it has to come to this, Mara. You’ve been through enough.”
Abruptly, he bent at the waist. When he rose, he held the moose hide flogger in his hand. Turning, he tossed it to Cap who caught it easily.
Running the wide, heavy tails through his hand the giant of a man said with a wicked grin, “Nice and weighty. Megan will enjoy this, or not.”
“I’ll take this little gem for my own naughty bride-to-be.” As he walked away, Mara noticed he held the purple and black knotted cat in his hand. He swished it against his black leather pants as he paused at the door. “Excuse the interruption. We’ll take care of the rest.”
They left, Dex closing the door quietly behind them.
“Why do I feel like I threw my friends under the bus?”
“They do that to themselves by continuing to gossip. I’m waiting to see how long it takes them to figure out there’s a direct correlation between the weekly Little Black Dress nights with Ben’s signature margaritas and Thursday spankings.” She made a face, which made him chuckle. “Don’t worry about your friends; those two big nasty Doms are more whipped than their subs.”
The image of the diminutive Elena and Megan cracking the whip over their giant husbands was too funny. She couldn’t help the huff of soft laughter.
Sean’s voice was warm with feeling, when he next spoke. “I’m proud of you, Mara. That was a very brave thing to do.”
“It seemed rather selfish to me. I gave up one awful deed to be forgiven for another.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit.” He leaned in, pressed a quick kiss to her lips and rose from his crouch. “I think it’s time to get you off the desk.”
Handling her as if she weighed nothing, he flipped her, turned her and settled her across his thighs where he sat perched on the edge of his desk.
“Master?”
“Mm…” His response was muffled as he nuzzled her neck.
“The rabbit,” she moaned. “It’s driving me insane.”
His head came up. “Ask for what you want, Mara.”
“Please, may I come again, Master?”
“Very nice, baby,” he praised, reaching to reclaim the remote.
“Wait,” she burst out, and then more deferentially, “I have a better idea, with your permission, of course.”
He sat back, one dark brow arched, clearly intrigued.
“Um, I was hoping I could… That, uh, you know—how we used to… under the desk.”
He grinned. “How can I argue with that? Is your leg up to it?”
“Yes, but,” her gaze shifted to the couch, “maybe I could use a pillow?”
“In exchange for your lips around my cock, you better believe it.” He set her on her feet and took his seat, grinning as she padded toward him on bare feet. “Did I mention I really like this look?”
“Once or twice, I think.”
He took the pillow from her and slid it into the kneehole under his desk.
She lifted her cuffed wrists, angling her head in question.
“Nope. Those stay. I like that look as well.” His hand skated up her thigh to her hip. With a little pat, he grinned. “Hop into your hutch, little bunny.”
Once settled at his feet, she reached for his button. Something she always dreaded before, with Sean, it was different. The joy she found in giving him pleasure, making him wild with need and having him lose control by her hand, well, mostly by her mouth, was intoxicating and it had become something else that she craved.
His zipper down, she freed his very generous erection and with her eyes fixed on his, she lapped at the smooth, silky crown as her hand moved up and down his length. Taking her time, she savored the silk on steel texture, his familiar taste, loving the growling noises that rumbled from his chest and throat. In minutes, a tug on her hair indicated his growing impatience. Immediately, she opened her mouth, taking him deep to the back of her throat.
He groaned, his hand threading into her hair. “You have no idea how hot you are with your sweet bunny ears bobbing up and down, your curls bouncing against your lush tits, and my cock buried between your lips. You’re like sugar and spice in one sexy package.”
Guiding her head, he urged her to take more. As she did, the rabbit came to life, buzzing away on her clit, and whirling in her pussy. Her muscles tightened, reminding her of the plug in her ass. When he upped the speed of all three vibes, she sucked faster, adding more suction. Sean thrust upward, nudging the back of her throat briefly. Humming with pleasure, the vibrations in her throat transferred to his cock.
“Christ, Mara, I hope you’re ready for me.”
He cranked up the rabbit and in seconds, she was crying out, the sound muffled by the length of him riding her tongue. She convulsed around the toys lodged inside her while riding the crest of her second, or was it the third, mind-blowing orgasm of the morning. Sean jerked in response, shouting her name, coming in a surge of hot splashes.
“Damn, baby,” he breathed as he pulled her off her knees to cuddle her against his chest.
Although they both climaxed, there was no let up from the inexhaustive supersonic toys wedged inside her that kept going and going, until she begged in a desperate cry, “Please, Master, turn it off.”
He shifted beneath her searching for the remote. A few clicks later the persistent humming, gyrating and buzzing ceased. She exhaled in a long drawn out breath as she collapsed limply against him.
When he settled back, his chest rumbled as his arms squeezed her tight. “How can you be so cute and fluffy, but have such a wicked hot mouth?”
Heaving another sigh, she answered with a tired giggle, “Like a real bunny, I like treats, especially carrots. You have a very tasty carrot, Master.”
“Huh,” he grunted. “I don’t know how much I like being compared to something usually labeled as baby and sweet.”
With an impish grin, she angled her head back, beaming up at him. “You are definitely of the jumbo variety, although still very sweet.”
“Don’t let that last part get around the club, I’d lose my street cred as a badass and have to turn in my Master’s badge.”
She squirmed, very much aware of the toys. “I think your reputation is safe, especially after they get a load of this harness and bunny tail.” A stray thought had her giggling. “I can’t promise they won’t give us some interesting nicknames, though, I wouldn’t mind Bugs and Lola, but you, with your flogger wielding ways, might end up with the unfortunate name of Elmer Thud.”
He groaned. She laughed outright.
“You know someone will think it, if I did. And, if the bunny thing takes off, you’ll just have to rename Decadence.”
“I know I’m going to be sorry I asked, but to what?”
“The Hare Club for men.”
He rolled his eyes and she giggled.
“Too corny? How about IHOP?” She broke into gales of loud laughter as he tickled her.
“Stop, please, I swear,” she begged as tears rolled down her cheeks, but she couldn’t resist just on more. “I promise, Lucky! No more harebrained jokes!”
His mirth couldn’t be contained and rumbled in his chest, but he finally relented. “Cute, sweet and full of sass, I like seeing my bunny happy.” He captured her chin and with his beautiful blue eyes smiling down at her, kissed her, leaving her more breathless than she already was.
Chapter Twenty-eight
As predicted, word of Mara’s tragic past spread like wildfire through the club. As did the truth about her leaving and the betrayal that had been falsely laid upon her shoulders. When Sean escorted her into the lounge that night, Regan and Elena were waiting to see her. Lexie and Joanna were present too, seated at a nearby table, plainly lending their support, but allowing them space.
Tearfully, Regan spoke first. “I was a bitch, Mara. I sho
uld have given you the benefit of the doubt, or let you tell us your side of the story. You took a bullet for Lexie. Someone who would blackmail and threaten her friends doesn’t do something like that.”
Elena stepped forward, arms extended, tears glistening on her long dark lashes. Brutally victimized herself, as a survivor, she more than anyone knew what Mara had been through. As she welcomed Elena’s embrace, her friend broke down.
“Lo siento… perdóname.”
“No, Elena, there’s nothing to forgive.”
“Yes. I am not one to judge, yet I did.” As her arms tightened around Mara in a fierce hug, she whispered, “If you need to talk, no matter when or where, I will be there for you, mi amiga. I swear.”
They clung to each other for a moment, before Mara felt a soft tap on her arm.
Megan stood beside her with watery eyes. She hadn’t been with Cap back then, but she knew her socially through Regan.
“I feel two inches tall. I listened to the stories and convicted you out of hand, without a chance to defend yourself, which is a shitty thing to do. Then when you were shot twice and needed friends around you…” her voice trailed off as she sniffled.
“You had your hands full with the twins.”
“No excuse!” Her guilt-ridden expression matched that of her sister. “I know how terrifying it is to be held at gunpoint by a madman,” she gestured to the other two, “we all do. We should have been there for you, honey.”
“We suck as friends,” Regan threw in.
More arms slipped around them as Lexie and Joanna joined in and they soon became a jumble of entwined arms, clasped hands, and tear stained faces.
Minutes later, when the group hug showed no signs of waning, Sean stepped in. “Ladies,” he said indulgently, “why don’t we let Mara get some air.”
One by one, they let her go until the feminine arms were replaced by strong masculine ones as Sean enfolded her in his own reassuring embrace.
“Thank you all for giving me a second chance,” Mara began, her speech halting and broken with emotion. “I swear I never betrayed anyone at the club. And the blackmail, it wasn’t me.”
“We know. It was Shelby,” Megan offered.
Mara stiffened, the name coming as a shock. She twisted to Sean in question.
“Yes, the same Shelby. We’ve been so preoccupied with Victor’s shit, I never filled you in on what’s been going on here. Why don’t we move to a table where we can talk?”
The group moved to the bar where Dex, Cap, Rick and Jonas had watched the mini-drama unfold. The men nodded at Sean and greeted her with smiles, accepting her back into the tight circle of not only Masters and subs, but also friends.
With the others contributing here and there, Sean explained how Shelby had applied for membership not long after her scene with Mara that night, and how over the course of the past year she had obtained detailed information and compromising pictures of the owners and several high-profile members as part of a blackmail plot. Shelby hadn’t been working alone, either. Somehow, she’d gotten involved with a former teammate who was disgruntled with Cap for not letting him in on the ground floor at Rossi.
By the time they were through, Mara’s mouth hung open while she shook her head in disbelief.
“How awful. I can only imagine the impact if those pictures got out. Have they gotten the photos back? Are they both in jail?”
The group, already subdued at the telling of the tale, fell silent.
“Shelby was troubled—” Lexie began hesitantly, looking to Jonas who pulled her closer into his side. Her pain-filled eyes switched back to Mara. “—More than anyone here suspected. She took her own life while in jail.”
With a sharply indrawn breath, Mara’s hand flew to her mouth. Her lone encounter with Shelby hadn’t fostered a bond of closeness by any means, but learning someone so young had turned to suicide as an escape was heartrending.
“Her partner, Charles Anderson, masterminded it all, we believe,” Jonas explained further as he held Lexie close, his hand idly stroking her bare arm. “Unfortunately, we may never know for sure. “He died while resisting arrest.”
As the news of Shelby’s death had sunk in, her mind was whirling over the intrigue and tragedy that had infiltrated the club while she’d been gone.
“So much has happened since I’ve been gone.”
“The understatement of the year, Mara-mine.”
“And the drama continues.” Cap’s low rumble came from beside her. He said so low that at first, Mara was unsure he meant for anyone else to hear, but the other men shared a concerned look, evidently clued into whatever drama Cap was referring to.
Mara turned uncertain eyes to Sean. “I don’t understand, with the blackmailers out of the picture—”
“The threats have continued,” Sean clarified.
“And it appears I’m the next target.” The group looked toward the newcomers. Master Peter had arrived. He handed Cap a Ziploc bag containing a letter size white envelope.
“Someone give me a napkin,” Cap ordered, holding his hand out.
“Don’t bother. I have it memorized.” He took the last vacant seat on the couch, pulling his wide-eyed, visibly shaken wife onto his lap and proceeded to recite word for word what the letter contained.
Major General Peter Davis,
Decorated officer, leader of men, war hero… Ha! More like perverted, abusive, misogynistic prick. You disgust me.
And your hypocrite wife, pretending to be concerned about battered women, all the while playing your twisted, abusive games—sick!
You didn’t heed my previous warnings. As ringmaster of your sadistic circus, you pay first.
“It was unsigned, I’m sure,” Sean grumbled.
“No, this one was signed A Concerned Citizen and True Champion of Women.”
“Wow! That’s grandiose,” Mara murmured under her breath, then asked aloud, “What does it mean you will pay? Is this guy violent? Has someone been hurt?”
“Not physically. This asshole leaked pictures and video of Judge Jenkins,” Sean informed, holding her tight.
Panicked, she looked up at him with wide eyes. “You mean…”
“I’m sorry, Mara. Jonas had as many taken down as possible, but once it’s out there—”
“It’s out there,” she finished softly. “Well, isn’t that just perfect?” Knowing her debut as a dominatrix was floating around YouTube somewhere did not make her day. “This makes no sense. Why would he show his cards this way? Wouldn’t that undermine his ability to extort money from his victims?”
“This guy doesn’t want money,” Megan disclosed from her seat on Tony’s lap. “He wants Club Decadence shut down.”
“And it appears we have no other choice but to comply.” This from Dex, who met Sean’s gaze with a look of resignation.
“We can’t keep putting our members at risk of exposure.”
A frustrated tension rippled through the group.
“Well,” Elena declared as she stood. “If tonight’s my last time on the Decadence stage for a while, I’m gonna give ‘em one hell of a show.”
Mara looked on as the undisputed rock star of the Decadence lounge walked determinedly to the stage, her hand tightly clasped in her fiancé’s. At the foot of the steps, she stood on tiptoes and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. But that wouldn’t do for the big Master Dom who lifted her off her feet and planted a wet, steamy one square on her mouth. Enthralled, Mara smiled, as did Dex, who watched while Elena, noticeably affected by their kiss, wobbled unsteadily up the steps to join her band for warm ups.
As the stage lights came up, a hum of excitement rippled through the crowd and the air crackled with electricity. With every eye turned her way, Elena picked up her guitar and belted out an awesome cover of Simple Minds’ Don’t You Forget About Me.
“I’ve always loved this song,” Joanna enthused.
“She’s awesome,” Mara breathed. “I never knew.”
Pete didn�
�t disagree. “She always seems to have the perfect song at the ready?”
“It’s a gift,” Regan agreed, “and also kind of freaky.”
“Dammit,” the voluble curse came from her right. “This is our first night back.” By the time Mara turned, Cap had put Megan from his lap and was leading her away by the hand. “Come on, angel, if this is our last chance to play for a while, I’m going to make it memorable.” In a grand, romantic gesture, he stopped and swept her up in his arms before striding purposefully toward the playroom.
The others laughed as they watched them leave, although half-heartedly.
“What did he mean first night back?”
“Cap and Meg haven’t played since the twins were born over four months ago,” Regan explained. She stroked her burgeoning belly, Rick’s hand coming up to cover hers. A second later, Regan jumped with a sudden “oof”. She moved her husband’s hand to a different spot and held it there as she beamed at him. “He’s kicking.”
Rick’s face tightened in concentration for a second, then his head came up. “The tiny little flutter was her?” he asked in awe.
Regan nodded, eyes bright. “That’s our miracle, Bear.”
Mara blinked back tears as she looked on. The couple, childless for ten years, were lost in the moment, their happiness the only glimmer of sunshine in the downcast group.
“Give me the letter, Pete,” Jonas requested. “I’ll have it dusted for prints.”
“It came through the post,” the general advised as he passed it over. “It’s been thoroughly contaminated with tens, if not hundreds, of prints.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Jonas said as he got to his feet, hauling Lexie up beside him. “I’ll drop it off this evening. We have to make it an early night anyway.”
Lexie turned to Mara with a conspiratorial wink. “We’re shooting on location at the Galveston beach house.”
Lexie had told her about Jonas’ Shibari book while she’d been recovering. It amazed Mara that the quiet professional she knew from the hospital was posing nude in ropes.
“Oh, Lexie, how exciting. It was so beautiful, Sean and I hated to leave.”
Second Time Lucky (Club Decadence Book 5) Page 34
