Jayden held strong for a breath or two before he allowed Miguel to pull him close.
Miguel got the message loud and clear. Jayden decided to submit in this instance, but it would not always be the case. He’d already shown that when he’d teased Sydney instead of taking off her panties. Miguel should be annoyed but found he had no problem with that. He wouldn’t have respected the other Vampire as much as he did if Jayden had just given in.
Finally he released the other man. Their gazes locked, neither of them wanting to let go. “Later,” Miguel said.
Jayden’s lips quirked. “Later it is, my man.”
Miguel turned to Sydney. She sat up on the bed, one foot flat and her arm wrapped around the raised knee. Her expression was still blank, but a battled warred in her eyes. She looked between his eyes and the items in his hand. “What are those?”
Miguel didn’t respond but walked up until he stood beside the headboard of the bed. “Computer, frame scenario eight.” The programming went into place and a metal arch rose from the ground. It had four hooks that would attach to the links in the cuffs and suspend her across the arch. He tapped one of the metal rods with his foot and two platforms appeared for Sydney to stand on.
He looked at her. She hadn’t moved, but her breathing was uneven and he smelled her excitement. Miguel set down the two floggers and lifted the cuffs, the chains clinking. “I already mentioned I would control you.” He gestured to the frame. “I will tie you up and then use the flogger on you. For the time you are under my control you won’t have to think or decide. Your only job is to experience and savor the pleasure.” He put his hands on his hip. “Do you agree?”
She glanced between Jayden and himself. The other Vampire had crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the foot end of the bed. The bulge between his legs showed that he liked the situation as much as Miguel and had no plans to interfere.
Miguel raised the locked cuffs. “Chose a safe word.”
She swallowed. Her nipples were tight peaks. He couldn’t see her moist pussy in this position, but her scent permeated the air telling him all he needed to know.
“A safe word?”
He only looked at her.
For a few minutes no one spoke. He could wait as long as she needed. She needed to make this decision herself and agree to give up control.
Her breathing had turned into panting and a flush had spread across her body. In the end she climbed to her feet and swallowed. “My safe word is asparagus.”
Miguel stilled. “Asparagus?” He couldn’t stop the question from escaping.
She nodded. “It is not something I am prone to say in the heat of the moment.”
He nodded. “Computer, safe word is asparagus.” The cuffs unlocked with a loud click. He captured her gaze. “If you say asparagus everything ends. The cuffs will come off and all play finishes, so don’t use it because you are unsure. Tell me to slow down, tell me you can’t process the pleasure, but if you say stop everything ends.”
She licked her bottom lip as she studied him. In the end she nodded and held out her hands.
Triumph surged through Miguel, but he still needed her to state her consent. This was too important to allow her a way to hide. “Do you agree to my demands?”
Sydney crossed her arms before her chest.
He gritted his teeth at her defensive posture but continued to wait. Miguel might be the Dom, but she had to explicitly give her permission. Otherwise this didn’t work.
After what felt like an age she straightened and uncrossed her arms. “I agree to your demands.”
Miguel nodded, keeping the elation off his face. For the first time in longer than he could remember something other than his plan dominated his thoughts. Miguel knew she would most likely be the death of him, but right now he didn’t care.
He secured the cuffs around her wrists and helped her into position before attaching the chains to the arch. The noise of the chains against the metal of the bar hardened his already aching cock even more. She now stood with her arms raised and spread. He did not cuff her ankles, but the foot platforms forced her to stand with her legs spread a little wider than she would do naturally.
He stroked the flat of his palm down her back, over her bottom and then down one leg. He ran his hand up the other leg, more triumph curling through him when she widened her stance.
He picked up the heavy flogger and caressed her back with its tails. A shiver ran through her. For a moment it was as if the heavy leather stroked down his own back. He froze, but the sensation had already disappeared.
Miguel snapped the flogger, the heavy leather sounding formidable, the weight of it in his hand familiar and tightening the anticipation. He swung the flogger, the thud of the many tails against her skin heavy and intimidating, but the sting minimal. Until he learned more about her desires and responses, until he knew how much pain she could handle, and more importantly, how much pain she wanted, he would hold back.
He repeated his move over and over again. Her shoulders and bottom flushed pink. She moaned low and guttural and curled her hands around the chain attaching her to the frame.
He caressed her pink back with his hand, for a moment wishing it was not so rough and calloused.
She whimpered.
The blood flowing just under the surface of her skin tempted him, but he had promised. He put down the heavy flogger with a loud flop and picked up the lighter deer flogger.
She tightened her fingers around the chains. Tension spread into every muscle in her body.
“Relax, otherwise it will be painful.”
She exhaled but kept her muscles tight.
Miguel narrowed his gaze but said no more. Instead he swung the lighter flogger with an expert hand, hitting her outer and inner labia, her opening. And her clit. Her anus. With every hit her screams grew louder. More of her essence gathered at her opening and slowly slid down her upper thighs.
But concern curled through him when she grew tighter and tighter, not giving her muscles a chance to relax, for the fire to spread through her body and catapult her over the edge into pleasure.
He switched the lighter flogger into his left hand and lifted the heavier flogger with his right.
He teased her with lighter taps against her pussy, keeping the heavy leather quiet, giving her no warning. Then he switched to the heavier flogger and smacked her behind over and over again.
She screamed and screamed.
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Jayden move, but he shook his head.
This was his responsibility. Just when he thought he would have to stop because she would not be able to handle more she broke with a scream. A scream filled with so much agony, so much pain and beneath it a rage so hot he was amazed she had managed to keep it contained for so long.
The dam she had walled herself behind after the tortures her dead husband had put her through cracked and she released some of the poison that had been building up inside her. With a hoarse sob, her knees buckled, but Miguel was there to catch her.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her. “Sh, I have you. Let it go, Sydney, just let it go.” Jayden appeared at his side and gestured at the cuffs. Miguel shook his head. This was her decision.
Much too quickly for his liking her control returned and her sobs quieted. He continued to hold her. She fell silent.
“Do you want to stop?” Miguel wasn’t sure what he wished her response to be. The power of her submission had driven him so close to the edge he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep control. But her responsiveness made him want to do so much more.
She turned her head, her blue eyes red-rimmed and tired but filled with a fire that wrapped around his dick and squeezed. “You said you were going to give me three.”
Sydney didn’t know what was up or down, before her or behind her. Her world had narrowed down to the sound of the flogger as it flew through the air, the heavy thud as the leather smacked her skin and the sting that spread through h
er body like electricity.
Never before in her life had she been tied up and flogged. Her feminist parts should protest this lack of control, but she was too excited to finally have a deep and hidden fantasy come to life. None of the men she had been with had showed any interest in bondage and when she mentioned it to Marius his response had ensured she never did again.
And now her kidnapper, the man she should hate with everything inside her, had shown her what she always wanted to know. That it was all right to let go, that she did not need to be in control every hour of every day.
Despite the impossible, probably deadly situation she found herself in, for the first time since lifting the laser and killing her husband she felt as if she could finally take a deep breath. It made absolutely no sense and it terrified her more than she could describe, but the weight on her chest had eased.
She had done some wild things but never two men at the same time. Initially the thought of someone watching had worried her, but it had enhanced her pleasure. Knowing that there was a third watching, knowing he could enter the fray at any moment, combined with everything else had driven her higher.
Miguel—after everything that had happened it was right to call him that—studied her. Once again he gave the computer instructions and the frame pulled together until she stood against a cross. It should have been weird to have the material change as she was attached to it, but she knew Miguel was in complete control. Despite the situation, she trusted him to keep her safe in the bedroom. Sydney had no illusions about what could and would happen outside the closed door, but she knew inside he was the master of everything that happened to her and he would look after her.
Her nipples hardened. Her pussy moistened again. Pleasure still coursed through her body, every nerve ending standing at attention. Anticipation trembled in her core. This time she could see what he was doing. She could see the flogger coming.
And he didn’t hesitate for even a moment. Instead he swung the heavy flogger hitting her upper thighs, her stomach and her hips. Once in a while one of the many tails trailed up her torso and hit her small breasts or between her thighs, but never with the intensity she wanted.
She curled her hands around the chains and tugged. They had no give and that excited her.
She wanted to rub her legs together, to drive the friction higher, but cold chains had wrapped themselves around her ankles, locking her in place.
Excitement and fire spread through every single cell in her body, pushing her closer to that peak, that heart-stopping pleasure of release.
But she couldn’t go over.
He kept her on the edge, on the brink, but no further. Her moans and whimpers turned to groans. “Do it! For Jade’s sake, do it!”
His eyes darkened, but he didn’t respond and continued to flog her. Heat gathered in the spots he kept hitting. Soon the heat would turn to pain, but she welcomed that. It would give her a way to release the pleasure surging, racing, and frothing through her.
She arched her back in an attempt to get that smack just where she wanted—no needed it.
A couple of tails teased her breast. Her left knee. Her hip. Now a couple of the tails curled around her waist and smacked her bottom.
But never her nipple or her cunt. She couldn’t stand it any longer. “Do it!” she screamed, her eyes pressed shut, her hands clenched around the chain and her toes curled against the metal footholds.
He stopped.
Her eyes popped open.
“The more you demand, the slower I will respond.”
Frustrated screams bubbled up from deep inside her, but she swallowed them down. With a groan she unclenched her hands and released the chains. “I understand.”
He scrutinized her. Then he continued his torture until she thought she could not stand it for a second longer.
Smack!
Oh Jade, yes, exactly there. Her nipples.
Slap!
Her pussy.
Smack!
Jade, her clit.
Slap!
And her nipples again.
Now each touch launched her higher and higher onto a plateau she had never before experienced. Pleasure curled in every cell, in every breath.
Smack!
And the dam broke!
Pleasure so intense it threatened to drown her rolled through her, under her, over her. It surrounded her.
Her vision grayed as she gave herself over. Just before her lids dropped shut she caught Miguel’s gaze and the fire, the need blazing in his black eyes made her explode again despite not having finished.
Tears poured down her cheeks.
It was too much. She knew it, but she didn’t mind.
Sydney welcomed unconsciousness.
* * * * *
Sydney came awake in a rush.
“Calm yourself. You passed out. We are still in my room. Only a few minutes have passed,” Miguel said.
She took a deep breath. It would take a little longer for her heartbeat to settle back down. She couldn’t believe she’d fainted in their presence, that she allowed herself to be vulnerable and unaware.
Told you, slut, that’s what you are. Grab you between the legs and you’ll do anything.
She flinched at Marius’ voice. Part of her knew he was completely wrong, but look at her now. She was naked on Miguel’s bed. In his arms.
“Here.”
A cold glass of water appeared before her. The condensation dripped off the side and onto her hand. Sydney looked up and met Miguel’s gaze. His black eyes burned with desire and need, but banked, no longer blazing close to out of control.
He helped her to sit up, his arms around her guiding her back from the edge. She shivered. Miguel pulled her closer and tucked the sheet around her. His warmth helped. She took the glass and gulped down the water, completely parched.
He took the empty glass, set it on the bedside table and picked up a second.
She took it and drank, slower this time. Then she rubbed the cold glass against her forehead. “Where’s Jayden?” Sydney was glad Miguel was here to hold her, but she wanted Jayden beside her as well.
Miguel nodded at the narrow door. “Putting away my toys.”
Fire flared through her. The feel of the thick leather against her skin, the heavy thud every time he hit her, she sharp sting against her clit, her nipples. She swallowed and drank more water.
Jayden stepped into the room and locked the door behind him. He came over to the bed and handed Miguel the key. The small gesture meant far more, but Sydney was too tired to untangle the subtext. The metal key disappeared back into Miguel’s pocket. His eyes met hers.
For a second she thought she caught genuine emotion in them, but then the impassive mask slipped across his face again.
“Would you care for a bath?” Jayden asked.
She blinked. “Yes. Yes, I would.”
He nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.
“Have some chocolate.”
Sydney stared at the block Miguel held out to her.
“The sugar will help.”
With effort she lifted her hand and took a bite. He was right. The chocolate melted in her mouth and added to the comfort of his presence. Slowly but steadily she came back to herself.
Miguel stroked her hair, undemanding and giving her his strength.
She cursed herself and her wayward emotions. What the Jade was she doing? How could she experience comfort—no, more than comfort, serenity—in the arms of her kidnapper? Before today keeping her emotions separate from sex hadn’t been a struggle. And she had to start here? Before she could fall deeper into anger and self-loathing Jayden appeared.
“The water is ready.” He smiled and helped her up. Sydney wrapped the sheet around herself like an old Earth toga. So what if they’d seen her naked? Didn’t mean she would shimmy around the room in her birthday suit.
He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead as he handed her over to Miguel. “I’ll be back in a minute.” With a quick smi
le he marched out of the room, the snick of the door closing and the lock snapping shut a sharp reminder she was a prisoner, not an equal, not a treasured lover.
She wanted to kick herself but the idea of a bath was too tempting.
Miguel’s gaze narrowed, but he wasn’t looking at her. He glared at the space between them as if he saw something.
She paused and stared at the same piece of floor, but it remained empty.
He blinked and if possible his blank face became even blanker as she walked past him.
The bathroom was a surprise. She’d expected cold necessity, but found a wide counter with two sinks, a huge synth-glass enclosed shower and a jetted tub big enough to hold an orgy in. “Nice. I wasn’t expecting a spa.”
His right brow rose. “I am a warrior. My body is my weapon. I need to be able to take care of it.”
Well, that took the wind out of her. Talk about a dampener. But she needed that. Why did she keep forgetting he was a Feral Vampire? That he was responsible for her being here in this situation?
The water steamed in the tub, the jets rumbling and whirling the water around. Looking at the placement of the jets and the size of the tub it held approximately seventy-five gallons. At the moment the jets probably moved the water at a speed of seventeen gallons per minute.
Miguel’s hand on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts. “Would you like salts or bubbles?”
She gaped at him. “Bubbles? You have bubble bath?”
He looked at her. “It is easy enough to manufacture.”
Fuck him. And the fucking impassive Santo Horse he rode in on. “I like lemongrass and orange.” She dropped the sheet and stepped into the perfectly warmed bath. With a groan she sat on the bench and allowed the jets to pummel her. They weren’t aligned to perfectly hit the sore muscles in her body, but then she was a few inches shorter than Miguel’s six foot three and there were probably sixty to seventy pounds difference between her one-thirty-two and what she estimated as his two-hundred-and-three pounds.
“Here is your bubble bath.”
Her eyes shot open and she cursed herself. This was the second time in just a few minutes numbers had taken her away from the world again. She couldn’t allow herself to drift like this. It was if her body knew she was safe and allowed her brain to take a step away from reality to give her time to process.
Tangled Redemption Page 6
