Her Lawful Master (Pleasure Island Book 4)

by Anya Summers

  Theo caressed the side of her face, trying to calm her anxiety. “I will be with you every step of the way. It will be just like we’ve practiced at the restaurant these last few days. I don’t want you to focus on anyone but me while we are here, okay? And I will not leave your side the entire time. I believe in you, Piper, that you can do this.”

  Piper searched his face, fear clouding her visage, her body ramrod straight as tremors wracked her slight frame. He was about to abort, worried that he had pushed her too far. Then she nodded with a shaky breath and said, “I trust you.”

  Pride, and another emotion he wasn’t ready to examine, flooded through him. She was incredible in her bravery. Now it was up to him to ensure the scene went off without a hitch. He guided her through the crowd to the alcove he’d reserved. In the eight by eight space stood a medical table, with the back raised at an angle and metal stirrups. Theo only planned to restrain her and give her oral. For this first time, he wanted a scene that was simple and brought her pleasure. They could save the more complicated scenes for when her trust in him was implicit and they’d moved past her fear.

  Inside the alcove, he ordered, “Disrobe for me, please. Then bring your gorgeous ass over here.”

  Theo patted the black leather seat. She nodded and did as he requested, her fingers shaking slightly. He kept his gaze trained on her as he stripped out of his dress shirt and tie, so he would catch the first sign of distress if her anxiety and panic got the better of her. He noted that the leather restraints were already at the station as he had requested.

  When she was nude, he held out a hand, drawing her over to the medical table. He helped her up and noticed her eyes were wide with fear.

  “Relax, Piper, deep breaths. For our scene, I’m going to restrain you, then eat your pretty little pussy. That’s it, nothing more. I want you to focus on me and the pleasure I’m giving you, understood? And remember, use your safeword, love, if you need it. Eyes on me.”

  She nodded, biting her lower lip, and drew a deep breath in through her nose. She kept her gaze trained on him and he waited to press further until her body relaxed slightly. Good. It meant she was letting go of her fear and putting more emphasis on her trust in him. Then he fit a black blindfold over her eyes. At the last second, her gaze darted to the crowd forming beyond the velvet rope of their alcove.

  Damnit.

  That was the last thing he wanted her to focus on. He brushed his lips against hers, wanting to override any panic on her part. Her lips were like ice as he kissed her, warming them with his caress.

  “Focus on me, Piper,” Theo spoke to her in soothing tones. “I love how wet you get when my tongue is plunging inside your pussy, how it weeps for my touch.”

  He attached her wrists to the side of the table. “And I adore the little noises you make in the back of your throat just when you are about to come. It’s sexy as hell.”

  Then he fit her legs in the stirrups, positioning them so that they were bent at the knee and spread wide open. And through it all, he talked to her, telling her what a good submissive she was and more.

  In the alcove beside them, Sherry was in the middle of a torrid three-way with her Doms. The trio were now screwing on the sawhorse. Nick and Patrick were rather vocal in their pleasure as they pumped inside Sherry. They were loud enough that even the club music didn’t overshadow their grunts. The song currently playing on the hidden speakers was a thumping bass number. Laughter erupted near the center dais. Then Piper went rigid, struggling against her bonds.

  Tears were leaking from her beneath her blindfold and panic erupted inside Theo.

  “Relax, Piper, focus on me and the pleasure.”

  If anything, at his words, she became more agitated, fighting against her restraints, but she wasn’t using her safeword. He reached for her, attempting to soothe her with his touch. But when he stroked her face, Piper let loose with a blood-curdling scream.

  “Piper,” he yelled. He tore the blindfold off and Piper gave him a thousand-yard stare as she fiercely struggled against her bonds. Fucking hell, she was having an attack. Her gaze didn’t even register that she could see him as her distressed movements increased against her bonds.

  Jared stepped into the alcove. “What the fuck happened?”

  “Help me get her out of the restraints. She’s having a panic attack,” Theo said, cursing under his breath. He and Jared undid the bonds, removing the smooth leather from her trembling form. She was shaking so violently, Theo’s own panic escalated. He’d pushed her too far. The moment he’d spied the full gathering, he should have canceled the scene immediately. And now he was worried that she wasn’t coming out of her trance-like state. Horror clouded her face. Fast and furious tears streamed down her cheeks.

  A warm blanket was handed to him and he wrapped it around her shoulders. “I’ve got you, love, it’s just me, you’ll be fine. Come back to me, Piper. You’re safe. Piper, can you hear me?”

  Picking her up, he left the alcove and settled on one of the nearby couches that Jared had made other club attendees vacate. The music started up again with a softer, more seductive song.

  “Get them further back,” Theo snarled at Jared, needing to create a safe space for Piper. Jared shooed the crowd away, getting the other DMs to form a barrier and protective circle around Theo and Piper.

  “Come on, love, follow the sound of my voice and come back to me. I’m here, you’re safe,” Theo crooned. Little by little, as he murmured to her, gently coaxing her, her struggles diminished with the sound of his voice.

  Jared knelt down beside the couch as Piper sputtered and gasped, drawing in a full, deep breath. Thank god.

  “That’s it, Piper, you’re safe. Deep breaths, love.” Theo stroked a hand down her back.

  “Are you all right, lass?” Jared asked, searching her face. Theo knew he’d messed up tonight, and so did Jared. But he wasn’t concerned about any punishment from the DFC, only worried about Piper and ensuring she was okay. He’d deal with the rest when the time came.

  She sat rigid in Theo’s arms but nodded at Jared, tears flowing down her cheeks, and said, “Yes, Sir. I just need to leave. I can’t stay in the club.”

  “I’ll get her home,” Theo said. She was his damn sub, and he’d prefer it if everyone backed the hell off so he could care for her. The scene had gone horribly awry but he would fix it.

  Jared, nearly a decade his junior, glared furiously at him and snapped, “I will make sure she’s unharmed before she leaves my club. I don’t give a flying fuck whether you are a Master or not, after the scream I heard, it’s not up to you.”

  Theo knew Jared was only looking out for Piper. And, in truth, if positions were reversed, he’d want the same. As much as it galled him to do so, he conceded with a slight nod of compliance. Theo’s concern in this entire fucked up night was Piper.

  “I’m fine. It wasn’t Theo’s fault, Jared. I just want to go. I need to go, please don’t keep me here.” Piper sobbed and buried her face in Theo’s shoulder. He held her close, attempting to soothe her with his touch, stroking her back.

  “Call me if you need anything, lass,” Jared said gently to Piper before his irate green gaze whipped to Theo. “You’re free to leave. We’ll talk tomorrow morning.”

  After the uproar he had caused, Theo merely nodded. He would be fine with whatever disciplinary measures Jared and the rest of the DFC members lobbed at him. Tonight was his fault. Piper’s panic attack was his fault. In his desire to make a deeper connection with Piper—and, he had to admit, reinforce his skills as a Master—he had pushed his little sub too far. Assuaging his guilt was the least of his concerns. Piper’s well-being came first, above all else.

  Theo carried her out of the club. His heart broke as she trembled in his arms. He prayed that he hadn’t done too much damage and would have given nearly everything he had to rewind the evening, back to before they’d entered the club.

  Holding her in his arms, he drove them back to her lodgings. The
o carried her inside, not stopping until they were seated on the leather couch. He cradled her body, holding her close.

  “Why?” Piper cried into her hands. “Why did you make me do that?”

  “I’m sorry, love. I arrogantly thought it was time to test your boundaries a bit more. You’d done so well each time in the restaurant, I thought—”

  “But I told you from the start of this thing that I couldn’t do public scenes. I told you that I don’t do them for a reason. Do you know why?” she sobbed, shoving his arms away and scrambling off his lap until she had put the coffee table between them. He felt every inch of the distance between them, the wall she was erecting. Piper paced the floor, her movements jerky.

  “No, I don’t. Why don’t you explain it to me, then. Bloody hell, I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I’d sooner lop off an arm than do that. I was trying to help you, you have to believe that. I’m so very sorry that you had an attack tonight and that it was my doing, that I pushed you too far. But you survived and came out of it.”

  “And what happens if I don’t surface from an attack? Did you even for a second consider that, big guy? Let’s get something straight here. Just because we’ve had a few good fucks, doesn’t mean you understand anything about me. I can’t do public scenes and be the perfect little submissive. Seeing those people surround the scene area and hearing the laughter put me right back into the nightmare I can’t outrun.”

  “How can I help you heal if you don’t tell me what happened?” he said, rising, his own temper boiling over after the strain of the evening.

  She gestured with her hands as she paced the room and shouted, “You want to know? Fine. Fourteen years ago, I was visiting Kenya. I was hungry to score photos for National Geographic and a few other magazines to really make my mark. I followed a young boy into his village, thinking I would capture the photo of a lifetime. I did. And it’s a picture I can’t destroy because its imprinted on the very fabric of my soul.” She inhaled a shuddering breath and continued, “In the village, there was a group of men, sitting near the communal fire. They’d been drinking. And they decided as a group to rape me. I wasn’t fast enough to get away. There were six of them. They held me down in the grass, and one by one, they raped me. I can still recall every man’s face, what their laughter sounded like, the smell of the smoke from the communal fire. The agony as they forced their way inside me. There are parts of me that died that day. And I almost did die. When they had finished and passed out from the drink, I crawled away, bleeding, barely conscious. As luck would have it, I stumbled across a Doctors Without Borders campsite two miles away. They saved my life that night. So, ask me again why I can’t do public scenes.”

  It was so much worse than he had assumed. Theo wished he could take away all the hurt and suffering she’d been through. He wished he could have five minutes alone with each of those fuckers who’d hurt her. The only thing he could do was offer her comfort, prove that he didn’t think less of her because of the terror she’d gone through. As horrified as he was by her story, he’d never been in awe of anyone so much in his life. Theo sought to close the distance between them and approached her, moving around the coffee table. “Piper, love, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you tonight. Just—”

  She lobbed a book at his head and he ducked just in the nick of time as she screeched, her voice filled with so much pain, “Get out. I don’t want to see you. Just leave.”

  Piper scurried out of the living room, heading directly into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut. He heard the flip of the lock as he advanced across the room and then pounded his fist on the door. “Piper, let’s talk this through. I won’t ask anything of you tonight but your forgiveness.”

  “Just leave, Theo. If you want me to consider forgiving you, I need space, I need time. Please leave.” She sobbed brokenly and his heart ached for her.

  Theo stared at the door. He knew he had fucked up monumentally. Would she ever forgive him? Her cries pierced his soul and he had never felt so helpless in all his life. Short of breaking down the door, all he could do was wait her out and pray that he hadn’t ruined everything between them. Theo would give her tonight, do as she asked, and give her the space she begged him for. Perhaps then they could mend fences in the morning and he could seek atonement for his epic blunder this evening.

  “I will leave my number on the fridge. Call me if you need anything. I’m sorry, Piper,” Theo murmured and backed away from the bathroom door. Her muffled sobs would live with him for a long time to come. On his way out, he scribbled his number on a piece of paper and put it up on her fridge. Then he let himself out of the villa.

  He’d royally screwed the pooch on this one. When he’d seen how crowded the club was this evening and sensed her fear, he should have backed off. And now she might never speak to him again. He stormed inside his villa and headed directly to the fridge. He yanked a beer out, nearly ripping the cap off, and swallowed a long draught before he noticed that his personal cell phone on the counter was flashing that there was a message. Just as he reached for the device, his ex-wife’s name flashed on his screen as she called.

  It was barely ten on the island, which meant it was the middle of the night in London. Theo answered, “Diane, what’s going on?”

  “It’s Jacob. He was in an accident. He’s in the hospital and in surgery right now, but—”

  “I’m on my way. Text me the hospital info and I will be there as soon as I can get a flight to Heathrow,” Theo said, his heart lodging itself in his throat. Terror unlike anything he’d known before swamped him. He couldn’t lose Jacob.

  “Okay, I will. Have a safe flight and keep me updated on your arrival,” Diane said. He could hear the fear and worry in her voice.

  “Likewise, on our son.” Theo ended the call and immediately sprang into action. He withdrew his work cell from his back pocket and saw the numerous missed calls from Diane. He’d set the ringer to silent for his evening with Piper, never imagining how fucked up the night would become.

  He dialed the one person he knew could help get him home quickly.

  “Theo, so help me, if you’ve harmed her even more, I will personally beat the shit out of you,” Jared snarled through the receiver.

  “Jared, yes, I know you will. Listen, I didn’t call to talk about Piper. My son is in the hospital. I need to get to London as soon as possible. Do you have one of Declan’s jets handy?” Theo asked. If there was ever a time he would use his position and sway at Apex, it was now.

  “That I do, and it’s at your disposal. I will start making arrangements and come get you myself to take you to the airstrip. I’ll have Mary get your things from the office as well.”

  Relief flooded Theo and he said, “Thanks, J. I owe you one.”

  “Get yourself packed and I will be back with you in a flash,” Jared said, disconnecting the call.

  Theo packed his clothes and belongings in record time. A pair of lace panties floated on top of his things as he was about to close his suitcase. Piper. Bugger it, he didn’t have time to break through her defenses right now and get her to listen to why he had to leave tonight. Damnit, he had way too many fires to extinguish. There was no time to reach her when she wouldn’t even let him in the door. Theo would have to call Piper from London and explain what had happened. As for the rest, their relationship, he would deal with it later. Worry for Jacob was clouding his judgement.

  As Theo snapped his suitcase shut, Jared arrived at his villa in his jeep. Theo rushed out of the lodge, shoving his luggage in the back where he spied his briefcase.

  “The private jet should be at the airstrip in ten minutes, give or take. Don’t worry about anything else, I will drive you. They should be able to get you to London and your boy.”

  Theo didn’t look back as they sped away from his lodge. They passed the turnoff to Piper’s place and his heart ached that he was leaving her like this. It was another item to add to his list of things to make amends for. Jared got him to the airstr
ip just as the jet landed.

  Jared greeted the pilot as Theo lugged his belongings onto the plane. Once he had his baggage stowed, he went to the airplane door, shook Jared’s hand and said, “Thanks for everything, J. If you would, please make sure Piper’s all right. I will check on her as well, once I get everything sorted with Jacob. She’s fine now, but keep an eye on her for me, will you?”

  “You know I will. I’m going to talk to her about what happened. Procedure and all,” Jared warned him.

  That didn’t concern Theo other than he knew Piper was fragile at the moment, and said, “Be gentle with her. She’s been through more than you know, and don’t be surprised if she doesn’t tell you everything.”

  Jared gave Theo an assessing glance and said, “Got it. She’s in good hands. Let me know how Jacob is doing”

  “I know. I will,” Theo said, and then Jared loped down the stairs, leaving him on board the jet. At the pilot’s order, he sat down and fastened his seatbelt. He hated leaving Piper like this, he thought as the door closed and engines revved to life.

  One problem at a time. His son came first in everything. Once Theo was certain Jacob was okay, then he would tackle the issues with Piper.

  Chapter 12

  At the slamming of her back door, Piper dissolved onto her bathroom floor. Tears streamed down her face, blinding her vision as she grappled with an unending tide of grief. She was glad Theo had left so he didn’t hear more of her sobs. Tonight had been awful, going from one extreme, brimming with hope and excitement, to having her nightmare unleashed in front of everyone on the island. All those people at the club now knew about her weakness. Shame bombarded her and she tried to breathe. The fact that Jared had felt the need to check on her meant only one thing; her episode had been beyond bad.

  Maybe if she hadn’t spent the majority of her day worrying that Theo was losing interest, she wouldn’t have spiraled into an attack. All because he hadn’t woken her up for an early morning tumble before he’d left for the day. That tiny hiccup to their new routine had sent her spinning. How pathetic was she? Not even a week ago, she would have laughed if someone had told her she’d spend a day mooning over a man.