by Jayne Rylon
“It’s gonna hurt like a bitch. I’m ready.” She braced herself then met his concerned gaze. “Do it, quick. We need time to figure out…God damn!”
Jeremy held his breath and supported her neck as he tipped her head forward. The numbness and deadened receptors would roar to life as Lily’s vertebrae realigned. He pressed his thumbs against the base of her neck then dragged them upward, releasing the tension. His hands made quick work of the knob controlling the protrusion of the bumper, which disfigured her spine.
She sagged in the restraints, her head lolling forward, looking more like a crucifixion victim with every modification he made. Next he mauled the chains pinching the bare flesh of her legs. Bruises dotted the tender curve of her calves, ringing them with pretty purple bands. He admired her flexibility when she drew herself up far enough to tuck her sexy legs under then unfold them so they dangled in front of her.
Pins and needles probably jabbed her joints like a thousand white-hot bee stings. Still, she didn’t complain. Jeremy wrapped one arm around her waist, lifting her, bearing her slight weight, relieving the pressure on her shoulders. They had to come a close second to the agony in her back. He turned the key in her manacles, catching her when she flopped forward and would have collapsed onto the ground.
“I can stand on my own,” she snarled and tried to shove him. Rubbery arms led to futile efforts.
He cradled her against his chest, trying not to jostle her as he transported her the few feet to the padded table, intending to rub her down. The instant he settled her onto the surface, she popped upright.
“I’m fine.” Lily shook her arms and kicked her feet, returning circulation to her limbs.
Jeremy stared. Dom or not, he was still a man.
“Eyes up here, Radisson.”
“You jiggle nice.” Clint barked out a laugh at Matt.
Jeremy expected Lily to castrate the enormous man. Instead, she sneered. “Guys are so easy to lead. A flash of boobies and they’re hypnotized.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” He reached out to touch her shoulder. She slapped his hand with a precise chop that hurt a hell of a lot worse than he’d ever let on. Son of a bitch.
“I’ve had enough groping for one day.”
“You sure?” He leaned in, determined to turn serious. “Are you going to pretend a part of you didn’t wonder what it would be like to surrender?”
“Damn straight. Wouldn’t you?” She sneered. “I know all about Gunther’s shop, Master Jeremy.”
“Shit…are we the only ones who have no idea what that means?” Clint asked Matt in the background. “Who the fuck is Gunther?”
“I’m starting to think our computer geek has another side.” Matt frowned. “You could have told us the truth, JRad. We wouldn’t have judged you. Hell, Mason and Tyler are into some freaky shit. I’m sure they would have had your back. Probably joined in.”
“That’s not me anymore.” Jeremy couldn’t explain why the lie persisted.
“Are you sure, lover boy?” Lily slithered from the table like an anaconda stalking its prey. She circled him, twisting his insides into knots when she ran her fingers low on his abs, around his hips, over his ass then overflowed her dainty fist with his package. “This nice, stiff cock tells me otherwise.”
If she expected him to run from her brazen touch, she had another thing coming. He leaned into the rough caress and considered the spell she wove effortlessly. How many men had thrown themselves, prostrate, at her feet? He could almost understand why.
Then his instincts rebelled, launching a counterstrike. His hand snapped out, locking hers to his crotch. “I’m glad you approve of your effect on me. I’ve dreamed of you tied, your eyes begging like they were when I entered this room. Tonight I’ll show you how damn good I can make it for you.”
“Like hell.” She snarled and altered her grip, lacing her fondle with a bite of pain from her razor-sharp claws. The enhanced sensation only made him stiffer.
“Wildcat. I like your spirit.” He swooped down and bit her lip before she could retreat, tethered to his body by her shorter arms. “You can fight all you want. I promise I won’t take your rote objections seriously.”
“If I tell you no, it’s not a reflex. It’s because I don’t approve of your bossy mitts on me, asshole.” She dropped her hand from his crotch and strode behind his back.
Not giving her the satisfaction of preaching from his rear, he rotated. They spiraled around each other in the tiled space. His shoes clicked in the dead silence while her bare soles padded on the hard surface. Like two wrestlers facing off, they searched for the best angle of attack.
“It’s too warm in here to blame the temperature for your hard nipples, Lily.” He licked his lips. “Why not let me taste them. Let me treat you to a night off. Maintaining an intense scene is draining. How many things run through your mind simultaneously? The safety of your submissive, ensuring their pleasure while crafting your own, teaching lessons, performing for others…all of it is exhausting.”
“So don’t stress yourself. I’ll coddle you.” She grinned. “Lie back and relax. I’ll be gentle. Mostly.”
Jeremy growled. “I don’t think so.”
“Matt and Clint will be there to protect you from any of Morselli’s guests who try to swerve into realms too extreme.” Lily’s gait smoothed out as she recovered from her stiffness.
Too bad his got choppier as his dick swelled to epic proportions.
“I’m glad you trust them.” Jeremy shook his head, concentrating on their battle. Nothing would keep him from ruling her tonight—sharing the experience he could build for them both, salvaging the wreckage Morselli caused. Together they could make bittersweet lemonade. “You’re right. They’ll keep things in control and leave me to focus on you alone. If you’re a good girl, maybe they’ll frisk you a little too. I’ve seen how much you enjoy fucking multiple men. I can give you that, Lily.”
“I take whatever I need.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need you to pimp me out. But…if you’d like to try being the center of some male attention, I’m sure there are plenty of attendees who’d be glad to fuck you. Have you ever been used by another man, Jeremy? Maybe as part of your training?”
He didn’t answer her as he squashed the flashes of memory rising to the surface.
“I thought so. Care for a replay?”
“Enough, Lily.” Jeremy grabbed for her. She dodged, quick despite her atrophied muscles. “We need some ground rules. Limits.”
“Okay, fine. I won’t permit any guys to fuck you.”
“A safe word for you, sweetheart.” He smiled at her disdain. “Simple, okay? Yes is no and no is yes. The best way to make the bark worse than the bite for Morselli’s guests.”
“So when you scream protests I should whip you harder?” She tilted her head. The corners of her decadent mouth tipped up. “You’ve got it, baby.”
“Lily—” His exasperated sigh was cut short when the door slammed into Matt’s foot. The giant’s bulk didn’t budge.
“Should I open this, JRad?”
He stepped in front of Lily, shielding her from whoever might enter their temporary haven. When he nodded to Matt, she took advantage of the diversion and came to stand by his side, shoulder to shoulder. Or shoulder to rib cage at least.
How could one tiny, naked woman seem so imposing?
Matt yanked the handle, and a sparsely dressed man tumbled into the space. “Mr. Morselli requires your attendance in the main hall. You’re to wear this.” He thrust a fist full of black leather straps, studded with metal brads at each of them.
“We have at least forty-five minutes before the event.” Jeremy refused to accept the delivery.
“Not anymore.” The messenger shook his head. “Mr. Morselli ordered me to evacuate this space. He thinks there may be a maintenance issue making it unsafe. If we’re not there in ten minutes, he’s coming up.”
Lily planted her fists on her hips.
“Please, don’t make him seek you out.” The man dipped his head and pleaded with Lily. “It will be me who pays, not you ma’am.”
“Damn it.” Lily hissed worse curses under her breath. Rationality rose to the surface in an instant. She packed away their differences and turned to him. “We can settle this downstairs.”
She spun, seeking her boots and corset, ignoring the standard costume their attendant had offered.
Jeremy nearly swallowed his tongue when she bent over to snatch the scrap of her black lace thong off the bench then wiggled into it. She had her boots on and nearly laced before he’d recovered. The wheeze of Clint’s appreciative breaths echoed in the space.
When she came to the corset, her arms reached behind her but couldn’t quite secure the catch. He ambled closer and whispered into the nape of her neck, “Don’t strain your shoulders any more than they already are, Lily. Let me.”
He grasped her wrists in one hand, pinning them in the small of her back for a heartbeat. Long enough to savor the catch of her breath. Then he released them in favor of drawing the panels of her fine-boned garment closed. He secured the delicate hooks, so many of them lending unimaginable strength.
The smooth glide of her skin brushed his knuckles, tempting his fingertips to roam over her shoulders and down her arms. When he closed the final clasp, he couldn’t resist. His hand caressed her spine above the fabric then circled her neck. He cupped Lily’s delicate throat in his palm, keeping her from escaping when he brushed her hair aside and placed a gentle kiss between her bared shoulder blades.
“I’ll be with you.” Their last private exchange slipped from his lips, a hairsbreadth from her ear. “No matter what. You’ll be protected. Trust us. Trust me. I’ll take you where you need to go and deliver you safely through the night.”
He grinned when she melted. Until the moment her elbow drove into his gut.
“Quit fucking around and change.” She snatched the leather harness and pants from the slave watching with wide eyes. “If you make this man suffer for your indulgences I’ll take it out on your ass tonight.”
She strode into the hallway, leaving him to don the apparel. Despite the circumstances, he had to admit he felt better wearing the supple material, which heated to match the scorching surface of his flesh. Thank God or his raging erection would never have fit inside.
Finally, he snatched the packet off the table and tucked it inside the pocket intended to be more for design than function. Luckily the tiny paper wrapper didn’t make much of an impression.
Matt had tailed Lily, never abandoning her. Clint clapped a hand on his shoulder, the gesture making a loud slap as bare skin met bare skin. “You have your work cut out, JRad.”
“She’s worth it.”
“All the best ones are. Lucky bastard.”
Chapter Seven
The rumble of mingled discussions increased as they approached the black curtain. Crystalline clinks interspersed with soft laughter and the occasional crack of a paddle on bare ass, composing a familiar soundtrack. Lily had attended many exclusive kink parties.
Never one with stakes as high as this.
The man beside her threw off her A game. Her nerves jangled where usually they lay dormant. Her pussy heated at the thought of what the night had in store. Uncertain victory affected her system, tilting it out of whack. The outcome of her usual liaisons were never in doubt.
Tonight, anything could happen.
She almost regretted the possibility of striping Jeremy’s skin with the kiss of her whip. The golden bronze of his strong back seemed perfect as it was made. No enhancement necessary beyond the ink and leather he’d adorned it with.
Lily would be lying to herself if she denied her urge to bond with him by burying his cock inside her. Her pussy clenched at the thought. She visualized riding him, working them into a frenzy to release the delicious tension coiling them both tighter than springs. The anticipation glowing around them tasted sweeter than any she’d experienced before.
Somehow, her mental motion picture morphed. Jeremy pressed her face to the floor as he fucked her from behind. He possessed her, protected her and satisfied her—freed her from inhibitions so she could experience without calculating the effects of every action. Constant risk evaluation and monitoring of the image she projected could detract from her experience.
What would it be like to simply react and trust her partner to provide for her needs?
She must have sighed aloud.
The arrogant jerk turned to her with a grin. “Feeling all right?”
“I wouldn’t gloat if I were you.” She stared at the bulge in his pants, refusing to allow her tongue to peek out and lick her lips. “It’ll only make your surrender more difficult.”
A frown dimmed his smirk. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Lily. Don’t always have to be so tough. I’ve got your back. No matter what.”
Shivers tingled up her spine like the effervescent bubbles in the champagne being consumed nearby. She blinked to clear the moisture threatening to prickle. “Promises are meant to be broken. It’s better if you don’t offer what you can’t guarantee.”
She studied the setup of the space, anything to avoid the temptation of his gaze.
His hand enveloped hers.
Lily should have wrenched her fingers away. She couldn’t.
Though he didn’t comment, he didn’t persist in his argument either. The simple connection would be enough for now. She took a deep breath, threaded her fingers through his and squeezed.
She might have imagined the tiny tremor that ran through him, but she didn’t think so. Hopefully she could return the favor and grant him some reassurance. After all, he hadn’t played hardball in a very long time.
Lily still couldn’t believe it. Master Jeremy had emerged from retirement. The man was something of a legend. A myth, more like it. Someone she’d never imagined being real. An exaggerated urban fantasy. His story was a fable you told dominants in training to stress the importance of comprehending the depths of your submissive’s needs. She’d been young when the accident had happened. Too far away to learn the details, like his full name or the girl’s.
Yet she remembered. The horror had been used as a part of her own instruction. True dominants accepted their responsibility and the pain caused by failing one of their charges. Sometimes you had to make tough choices for the good of a slave, escort them to a place more extreme than you would have chosen for them. Because in the end, you were guiding them along the path of their desires, not yours.
Turning squeamish could result in a slave seeking relief elsewhere—somewhere outside the safe harbor of their Master’s domain—with someone who wouldn’t treasure their supplication as their caretaker would. When deep-rooted need drove a true submissive, they could so easily fall in to hands that would abuse their pure faith, placing them in grave danger. She’d seen ghosts of that knowledge in Jeremy’s stare when it had landed on her tattoo in honor of Malcolm.
Could they be any more alike? And yet, so very different.
How could two equal and opposite forces mingle without destroying one another?
They were about to find out. Before they could seek out Morselli or finalize their game plan, someone shoved them both toward the curtain. Matt and Clint stepped forward. Furious gestures, pointing and puffed up chests followed.
“It’s okay, guys.” Jeremy called off his friends. “Keep your eyes open and stay on the sidelines unless we need you.”
They grumbled but followed his curt instructions, crossing thick arms over their chests as they took posts on the outskirts of the space. Lily couldn’t quite distinguish the shadows lurking in the recesses. She thought they might be on a stage. Racks of undefined equipment occupied the far reaches of her vision in the dim area. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she picked out details.
An impressive selection of whips, paddles, floggers, canes and other spanking implements lined one wall. The other held more unusual fare. Shoc
k sticks, a cattle prod, low voltage TASERs and electrostimulation units completed the spark section. Candles, needles and clamps gleamed ominously below them. Lily had never enjoyed inflicting excessive pain though she’d accepted some clients who required it. Her hands were steady as she satisfied their urges. They trusted her to take them to their limits and a tiny bit beyond.
She’d become an excellent judge of human reactions. Hell, she’d hurt plenty of times. Enough to know that sometimes the ache of her flesh could distract from gaping wounds in her heart and soul.
A welcome balm.
Intense stimulation forced adrenaline to rush through a slave’s system, replacing agony with elation, driving them to a zone where they were reduced to the fundamentals of survival—living every instant to the fullest as they became aware of each heartbeat, breath or blink.
“Is that what you want?” Jeremy studied her as she recalled history. He traced her stare to the wicked implements.
“No.” She answered honestly. Though there might have been a period in her life where she had needed it, the point had long since passed.
“I’m glad.”
She bit her lip when his thumb brushed the back of her hand.
“I could give it to you.” He lifted their hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “But I’d rather please you. I think bondage would better suit. Drive you insane with your willingness to submit to me. Steal your ability to do anything except soak up every morsel of attention I’d pay your gorgeous body. Show you to accept the cravings, revel in the luxury of trust and honest affection.”
“Not going to happen.”
“It will. Tonight.”
Lily refused to be dragged into a juvenile display of will-not-will-so. Totally unbecoming of her station. Though damn him, now she imagined what it would be like to grant someone privileges and never have them abuse their rights.
She barely contained a snort. It was a fairy-tale less believable than the prophecy of the man beside her. They shared the silence, breathing in and out in unison. Until a wedge of light appeared in the center of the velvety fabric before them. It expanded as the two panels of the curtain were raised.
