by Finley Blake
“Close your mouth,” he said quietly, “and drink up. It’ll help with the charade.” He raised a brandy glass to me, then downed the fiery liquid in a single gulp.
There was no way I could take my gaze off those eyes – those eyes that were the blue of a familiar Alaskan sky… The green military dress uniform he wore only accentuated them, bringing out fleck of gray I’d never noticed. I tipped my glass to lips and hissed, “What are you doing here?”
“Apparently the same thing you are,” Nicholas murmured, casting his eyes down as he lit a cigarette. “Except my costume isn’t nearly as fetching as yours.”
“So you’re seducing the enemy for information about your own whereabouts?”
His lips quirked and he blew out a steady stream of smoke before answering. “In a manner of speaking, yes. Why don’t we discuss it in on the dance floor?” He extended a hand and I looked down at it. “Violet,” he said, “let’s go. Now.”
I took his hand and followed him to the wooden floor where the other couples danced. Nicholas dropped the cigarette in an ashtray at an empty table and pulled me into his arms. Part of me was happy to know he was safe, but my curiosity was overwhelming. Why was he here? What happened to him while fighting on the front lines?
“Yes, I know you’re surprised,” he said in that uncanny way he had, “but I’d like to know what you’re doing here too, especially if your plan is to sleep with Regime soldiers.”
“That’s not quite what I intended,” I stuttered.
“Isn’t it?”
When I lifted my gaze to his, I realized he wasn’t looking at me with censure, but concern. “I was worried about you. You left me with no information, no idea of where you were.”
“I did it for your own safety. Don’t you have any common sense?” Even though his words were harsh, I knew him well enough now to understand the fear behind them. He couldn’t lose someone again…
Still, heat flushed my cheeks when I responded, “If you had any common sense, you might have told me about the hidden laboratory in the basement, instead of always conveniently forgetting to show it to me! When Adette came banging on the door, followed by Regime soldiers, I didn’t know what to do. Thank goodness my father briefed her on that little surprise!”
“If you had known, would you have been any less rattled?” Nicholas’ fingers squeezed around mine, and then he sighed. “If I had any common sense, I would have done the formal collaring ceremony before I left. Then you would have been bound to follow my orders. Well, since it’s too late, I’ll just do it now and then send you somewhere safe.”
“What?” My eyes grew wide and I glanced around the dance hall. “You can’t be serious.” A collaring ceremony? Here? And… wait… A collaring ceremony? Most submissives aspired to that kind of commitment. It was supposed to be one of the most special days of my life. I needed time to prepare for it, to really consider it.
“Let’s go to my room and I’ll show you how serious I am.”
“No.” I started to push away from him, but I remembered where I was. Making a scene would only draw more attention to us, so I lowered my voice and added, “Not until you tell me what is going on.”
Nicholas glared at me. “I thought the school had sent me a submissive, but you do have a stubborn streak, don’t you?”
“All you wanted was a maid,” I shot back at him. “If you want more, there’s going to need to be trust on both sides, don’t you think? This isn’t the time or place to make snap decisions. This is where we need to learn to trust each other.”
For once, he appeared defeated. He heaved a sigh and nodded. “You’re right. I need to stop being so hardheaded myself. Will you come and have a talk with me, Violet?”
I nodded too, mollified by this change in his attitude. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me past the stage, then up a narrow staircase to a hall lined with doors. Withdrawing a key from his pocket, he unlocked a door at the end of the hall and gestured me inside. The room was not particularly impressive. There was a bed, a dresser, a closet, and a small washroom with a sink and toilet.
“You realize I can’t tell you everything,” he said, loosening the knot in his tie. “Not here, anyway, but one day when we’re back home and this is over, I’ll explain.”
“Back in the cabin?” I asked, trying to choose my words carefully.
“Maybe that, maybe somewhere else.” He lit another cigarette. “I know, it’s a disgusting habit,” he said when he caught my eye. “But cut me some slack while I’m here.”
“What are you doing here, then?” I sat back on the bed and watched him pace the room like a caged lion. Any tension I felt evaporated once I saw his anxiety. All I wanted to do was take him in my arms and let him know everything would turn out alright, no matter what.
“There is fighting out there, that’s the truth,” he said. “We’ll be part of it soon enough. However, I came here looking for a specific person. He’s the one who killed my wife, Lydia, and I want the satisfaction of taking him out before anyone else gets to him.”
I sat there in silence for a moment before I said, “That’s a dangerous game to play. Adette did the same thing to avenge her mother, and look at her now – on the run from the Regime, trying not to get caught as she fights them.”
“Yes, but I’ve been on the run in my own way for almost twenty years.” Nicholas set the cigarette in an ashtray on the dresser, then sat next to me and took my hands in his. “What good has accepting exile in the forsaken land done me or anyone else? None whatsoever. But the moment your friend did what she did, everything changed. People realized it took only one person to take big steps to undo a major injustice. So another person, then another person, and then another and another took matters into their own hands, emboldened by what she did. Now look at us – we’re at war again, yes, but we know we can win. We know we don’t need to sit back and accept the Regime. Your friend started this revolution. Now help me finish it.”
“I’m here now,” I said.
“After I forbade you from following me, you did it anyway.”
Squaring my shoulders, I said, “You bet your ass I did. You told me my job was not to fight, but it’s everyone’s job – including mine – and you know it. The moment Adette brought Regime soldiers to our front door, I knew I couldn’t sit and wait anymore.”
“They came to the cabin?” Nicholas’ hands tightened on mine.
“They did, led by Captain Korroziya himself.”
He bowed his head and muttered “Shit” under his breath. Then he reached up and tugged at his tie, as he glared at me through narrowed eyes. “Anything could happen now. Anything. Do you understand that?”
“More than you know.”
“So before that happens, I want to make something absolutely clear to you, Violet – I love you and I want you belong to me. I want you to be mine and if you’ll let me, I want to make this official.” He tossed his tie on the bed and rose to his feet.
“What?” My gaze darted from side to side. “Here? Now?”
“Better late than never.” He opened the top drawer of the dresser in his room, then turned to me with something in both hands. “I got this the moment I arrived in the city. It’s something I couldn’t wait to bring back to you, if I somehow lived through this. So I’m glad you’re here, even if I didn’t want you caught up in the middle of everything.”
What lay in his hands made me catch my breath and my hands drifted up to touch my neck. There it was – a ring of silvery metal with purple colored gems inlaid around it. A heart-shaped diamond hung from a ring on it. It was extravagant, and so very…
“Beautiful,” I said, barely able to breathe. “It’s so beautiful.”
“The amethysts made me think of you – violet gems for my Violet girl.” He stepped closer so I could see the details. “Do you want to wear my collar?” he asked.
I looked up at him and nodded. As much as this wasn’t the time or place I’d expected to do this, I knew
at the moment that it was right. We had thrust ourselves into this situation and we both needed to know we were there for one another. “I do want to wear it,” I said. “I want to belong to you.”
“Then kneel for me and think about what I say to you.”
Without hesitation, I took up the position he commanded, my knees pressing into the well-worn brown carpet. My heartbeat had not settled into a regular rhythm from the minute I set foot in the dance hall, and now it quickened for a very different reason than fear. Anticipation. There was always something sensual in the act of kneeling; there was something even more exciting about doing it here, surrounded by the enemy.
Nicholas must have felt it as well, because his eyelids dropped slightly and his lips parted for a long moment before he said, “When you accept this collar, you accept me as your Master and protector. Do you understand, Violet?”
“Yes,” I responded.
He walked around behind me and I kept still, waiting to see what would happen next. “There will be no debate when I give you an order, no refusing to obey me, and no running away when things get tough. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” I felt his hand at the back of my neck, moving my hair away, and I bowed my head the way they’d taught me in school.
“Do you accept this collar, Violet Morningside, and willingly bind yourself to me as my submissive?”
My heart beat wildly as I whispered, “I do.”
Cool metal slid around my neck, then fastened at the back. The sensation was shocking at first, but it soon warmed to my body. Nicholas took his time fastening it, turning a small screw that locked it. He kissed the back of my neck and said, “There’s no turning back now.”
As his lips trailed along my flesh, all I wanted to do was turn around and throw him down on the bed. It wasn’t something I felt often, but there were times…
How ironic, after he’s just collared me.
But it was Nicholas who took control, as always, pulling me back against him and running his hands down my sides. “This dress,” he growled into my neck, “is certainly something. What would you have done if someone tried to touch you like this?”
“Well, I guess I would have…” My voice trailed off as his palms brushed over the front of the dress and my nipples hardened at the contact. I moaned and leaned back against him.
“You would have been screwed,” he said, “in more ways than one. Let me show you.” He pulled me to my feet and turned me around so I was facing the bed. “Bend over and put your hands on the mattress,” he commanded.
I did so, turning my head to peek over my shoulder.
“Spread your legs for me.” There was something in his eyes that told me I was in for one hell of a night as I stepped my feet apart.
In that position I felt vulnerable. That feeling only grew as he drew my dress up along my legs and over my backside, exposing me. His hands found my bottom and rubbed along it. It felt perfectly natural to arch my back and push into his touch. Already, I was damp with arousal, the wetness seeping through my panties. His fingers brushed over them and I gasped at the contact.
“What a naughty girl you’ve been, coming here against my command.”
“Now you’re telling me you want my help,” I answered.
He gave my bottom a warning tap. “I do, but there’s only one man whose cock belongs in you, and that’s mine.” His hand drifted down along my panties again, tracing that middle crease from back to front. “This,” he said as he brushed his fingers over my vagina, “is mine. It belongs to me. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve accepted my collar. It’s time you learned to say ‘yes Master’.”
Swallowing my nervousness, I said, “Yes, Master.” What a thrill it was to say those words at last, to do what the school had trained me to do.
“Good girl. You are such a sweet little submissive, aren’t you? You will do everything I tell you.” His fingers drifted over the backs of my stockings, plucked teasingly at the garters, then moved back up to my panties. “Everything I tell you,” he repeated in a whisper. “And when you don’t, I will find ways to punish you.”
My body shuddered when he said those words to me. Nicholas was a very different person from the angry, hateful man I’d met months ago. It gave me pleasure to know I had wrought that change in him – helped make him whole and feeling again, and fulfilled by his role in our relationship.
As if he read my mind, he leaned close to bite at my shoulder and murmur, “I would still be lost if not for you, Violet. Don’t you ever forget that you saved me from myself, understand?”
I nodded, my breath hitching when his fingers burrowed beneath my panties, delving under the silky fabric to find my drenched slit. One finger ran lazily along it, up and down, and up again, spreading the wetness along my flesh, and I shuddered at his touch.
“That’s a good girl,” Nicholas said, his breath hot on my ear. “You want me, that’s obvious. Now let’s see if I can make my submissive beg for my cock.”
The rawness of his language elicited a gasp from me and color heated my cheeks. Despite my discomfiture, his deft fingers continued to stroke me. I think he took some pleasure in finding ways to affront my modesty and make me blush, because his erection pressed against my backside only a moment later. My body quivered at his warm, insistent touch. His fingers passed over my entrance again, taking up the moisture that had collected there and swirling it around my clit.
A low moan escaped my lips and I gripped the blankets on the bed. The floor muffled the riotous laughter and seductive music from downstairs, but I was still well aware of where we were – among our enemies. Still, the delightful torment continued, stoking my need for something to fill me. Preferably the throbbing member he had just released from the confines of his pants, as its hot length burned against my bottom like a brand every time he moved.
His other hand pressed into the small of my back. “You know your place, don’t you?” he asked.
“Yes Master,” I whispered.
“Show me.”
He stepped back, the warmth of his body now gone from mine. It took a moment to reorient myself and then I turned to him. Though he tried to look impassive – cold, even – there was a hint of a smirk on his face and his eyes were glazed with lust. There was only reaction to his demand that felt right to me, one that St. Eden’s had taught me, one that Nicholas expected.
Once again, I knelt before him.
Only this time, rather than bow my head, I looked up at him with wide eyes. I was sure my own desire was naked to him in my expression, but I didn’t care. There were some things I was shy about and some things I could not help but show.
“Oh gods,” he said with a sigh. “The things I want to do to you, my sweet little Violet…” He stepped up to me and the smooth head of his cock brushed over my lips, leaving a thin trail of salty fluid. I tasted it, still watching him, then grasped him and guided his firm shaft into my mouth. His next intake of breath made me smile before I took him in, inch by inch, lapping at him with my tongue. When he pressed against the back of my throat, I took a moment to adjust to his size, and then withdrew him a bit.
As if he could not wait, Nicholas placed his hands on either side of my head and urged his cock back into my mouth. “I’ve missed that feeling,” he said with a little sigh.
There was no way for me to answer, so I just looked up at him as my fingers curled against his slowly thrusting hips.
“I think I’m not the only one.” He threaded his fingers in my hair and gave a few more shallow thrusts. “It would be much too easy to just finish this here.” With what sounded like a groan of regret, he reached down to grip my shoulders and draw me back to my feet. When his lips crashed against mine, I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him as close as possible.
The kiss was full of longing, as his mouth devoured mine, his tongue filled my mouth, his arms moved to embrace me fully… We had been apart only a short time, but I could tell even th
at was far too long for Nicholas, now that he had love in his life once more. Inarticulate sounds of desire passed between our lips, and our once stationary hands moved along each other’s bodies, roaming and caressing, and then locking into place to continue our fervent embraces. Neither of us wanted to let the other one go.
Somehow the silken dress slipped off my shoulders and Nicholas’ hands guided it down over my body, past my hips, and to the floor. His mouth followed, his lips dragging against my breasts. I clung to him as his tongue flicked at one of my nipples, then moaned when he suckled at my breast, drawing my nipple into his mouth so hard, it was almost painful. Pleasurably painful.
I let my head fall back as he nursed on me, one of his hands at my back pressing me against him, and the other tugging at my panties. Two of his fingers delved into my soaking wet pussy, tearing a gasp from my parted lips. Each thrust of his hand, each long draw of my nipple into his mouth, made my knees buckle, until he finally laid me down against the bed to continue his sensual onslaught. He switched to the other breast and a sob of pleasure escaped me.
With a moan, I shuddered and bucked against his hand, coating his fingers as my release came. When I thought I could move no more, he continued, still circling those insistent digits around my sensitive clit, still suckling at me so hard I wanted to cry.
“Please, stop.” I was barely able to get the words out. But he continued, his other hand now free to roll and pinch the nipple that remained bare. Another orgasm wracked my body, less intense, but just as exhausting.
“I need to punish my submissive for disobeying my orders,” he murmured against my flesh. Then, to my surprise, he dropped to his knees and parted my legs. “I will make you come again and continue to do it until you beg for mercy.”
