She swallowed tightly. Though his question was rhetorical, Ava opted for his cock over the nasty, ball gag. The damn thing made her jaw ache and caused her to drool like a dog salivating over a steak. If she was to earn a sore jaw, she’d rather achieve it by worshiping his cock.
“I’m sorry, Master. I—I didn’t mean to lash out like that.”
“Then why did you?”
His question came from right beside her. Ava swiveled her head toward his voice, completely unaware that Quinn had moved to this side of the bed. “It’s… You’re doing different things to me.”
“I certainly am.”
The humor in his voice both perplexed and ticked her off. “I don’t understand, what you’re doing. What do you want from me?”
“Everything,” he chuckled before his tone turned stern. “Do you trust me?”
“You know I do.”
“Hmm, I’m not totally convinced that’s true, sweetheart.”
Quinn stroked his fingers over her cheek. Ava nuzzled into his touch. Suddenly, the questions and worries that had been pinging through her calmed and leveled out.
“It is the truth. I swear. It’s just that I can’t seem to find my place…my center. The feeling that I’m connected to you.”
She felt his fingers slide to the edge of the blindfold before he lifted the fabric and peeled it away. Ava blinked at the harsh light as his face came into focus. His dazzling green eyes were brimmed in pride and lust but, most of all, reflected an unconditional love. All at once, her heart swelled, and the contentment she’d sought enveloped her in a blanket of peace.
“I told you I was going to push you farther than you’ve ever gone, didn’t I?”
“Yes, Sir, but I didn’t think that I’d feel so…”
“So what, my love?” he prodded.
“Lost…struggling to find my submissive place.”
“But that’s exactly how I want you to feel. Do you know why?”
“No.” Ava shook her head.
She sat quietly, waiting for him to explain. Explain why he aimed to shake the foundation out from under her in such an unusual and disquieting way. Tendrils of self-doubt began to web through her system. Was she lacking to provide him with the type of submission he craved? Had the failure to follow his task been as much of a disappointment to him as had been to her? Questions cluttered her mind. Ava’s anxiety mounted as she patiently waited for him to say…something.
As if gathering his thoughts, Quinn pursed his lips, then flashed her a devastating smile. His eyes twinkled as he eased onto the bed beside her. Ava exhaled the boulder of tension from her lungs, and her heart sputtered. The heat of his body and masculine scent—a mixture of woodsy cologne and soap—surrounded her like a blanket of reassurance. Ava wanted to climb into his arms, curl up against his steely chest, and stay there for all time.
“A Master pushes limits, princess. It’s his job. I’ve been neglecting my duty to you…to us. But I intend to make that up, starting here and now.”
“You’ve not been neglecting me. You’ve been busy… We both have. Besides, I like the things we do. I…” Did she dare say it? “I know where I stand…what my role is, and where my place is in our BDSM relationship.”
“And therein lies the problem, princess. It’s time to move past the things you like, and push to another level to find more fulfillment than we’ve experienced thus far.”
Ava’s heart sank. In a backhanded way, Quinn confirmed her biggest fear—she wasn’t meeting his expectations. What if she never attained the level he desired? What then? Would he kiss her good-bye and seek out another sub…one with more experience, who could make him happy?
The thought made her want to throw up.
Quinn cupped her chin, forcing her gaze. Studying her with his moss-colored eyes, he sliced her open like a scalpel. Quinn had always possessed an almost freakish ability to read her thoughts. The slash of his brow told her he’d picked up on the guilt and shortcomings that wheedled their way into her brain.
With a frown settled over his mouth, he stood and extended his hand. She stared at his wide palm and capable fingers before accepting his invitation as he helped her from the bed. His skin was hot, setting off a familiar current of electricity that tingled up her arm and sent a low vibration humming through her system.
He moved his hand to the small of her back. A ripple of delight rolled up her spine as Quinn led her across the room to a nondescript wooden door. Funny, she hadn’t even noticed the portal when she’d unpacked. Of course, her mind had been focused on other things.
She watched as he lifted a small key from his pocket. With a tiny snick, the lock disengaged and the door swung open. Peering inside, Ava sucked in a gasp.
CHAPTER THREE
A hidden dungeon unfolded before her. The scent of leather permeated her senses as she skimmed a gaze over the numerous paddles, crops, and whips suspended by individual hooks along the wall. Every type of BDSM implement, from innocuous to frightening, was at Quinn’s disposal. There were several pieces of dungeon furniture, as well. A thickly padded table, spanking bench, and sturdy-looking suspension frame, but Ava’s eyes stilled on the massive St. Andrews cross, situated in the middle of the room.
Her mouth went dry. While she’d experienced some of the implements in private play with Quinn, like the flogger, nipple clamps, and crop, she’d only seen some of the other toys, like whips and quirts, used on other subs at Club Genesis.
A palpable wave of Dominance rolled from Quinn’s body, lending an air of formality to the atmosphere. Ava knew he’d purposefully acquired this special room for more than a relaxing session with a thuddy, heavy flogger followed by hours of lovemaking. He aimed to make their time together in the private dungeon serious and memorable.
A tiny shudder passed through her. Did she have the mettle to buck up and venture into the unknown without leaving claw marks on the drywall? She wasn’t sure, but she knew she had to try to meet his Dominant needs.
“Before we begin,” Quinn stated, placing his strong hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. “I am pleased with you, princess. You bring me much joy and happiness, and the power you give me…well, I couldn’t be a prouder Master.”
She leveled him with a wide-eyed stare. Yes, he’d read every one of her insecurities as if she were an open book.
“This isn’t a test of your submission, my love. It’s simply an exploration of fantasies…yours and mine.”
His words were laced in wicked promise. A flutter of confidence began to bubble inside her. “I’d love nothing more than to make all your fantasies come true, Master.”
“Let’s see if we can do just that then, my precious princess.”
Quinn’s wide, satisfied smile sent her heart racing and a sense of triumph warming in her veins. He pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead, then led her across the room to the big, polished cross. Without a word, he wrapped her wrists in fleece-lined leather cuffs. Ava’s body trembled in anticipation. While he bound her ankles to the cross in another set of cuffs, she slightly mourned the loss of being bound by his soft rope. The ability to move her torso freely felt strange, and would take a bit of getting used to, but Ava sucked in a deep breath and focused on her cuffed limbs.
Peeking over her shoulder, she expected to see Quinn stripping out of his dress clothes, but instead she watched as he plucked several toys from their hooks. Stealing glances beneath her long lashes, she watched him place several items on the table beside her before he arched a brow in her direction.
“Eyes toward the front, princess. You don’t need to fret over the toys I’ve chosen. Your job is to relax and savor the pleasure I give you.” An eager smile kicked up the corners of his mouth. Moving in close, he cupped a hand to her nape, then softly massaged her tense muscles. “What is your safeword, my love?” he asked in a low, buttery voice.
“Bats.” Ava had chosen that specific word based on her phobia of the nasty, winged rats.
“Ver
y good,” he praised in a loving tone. “I want you to close your eyes and relax while you open your mind. Focus on the sound of my voice and hand over your control to me, princess. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Ava issued a resolute nod, wondering when he was going to get naked. But Quinn simply remained behind her, kneading the knots from her neck and shoulders. She quickly realized he had no intention of following the patterns of the past… the systematic progression she’d grown accustomed to. She suddenly felt overexposed and uncomfortably vulnerable in a prickly way.
Relax and open your mind, he’d instructed. With an inward nod, she exhaled a calming breath. But when he stepped away, a palpable hum sang though her as she restlessly lingered…waiting for him to begin. Not knowing what he planned to do was driving her out of her mind.
#
Quinn trailed a long, slow gaze up and down Ava’s naked body. She was a vision of absolute beauty. He could have stared at her luscious body cuffed to the cross for the rest of his life. But then they’d both miss out on the pleasures he planned. Still, he found he couldn’t look away from the view of her stretched out…all that inviting pale flesh was a tempting canvas. She even still bore a hint of pink upon her supple ass cheeks. He found it impossible to keep from touching her again. Drawing his wide palms up and down the length of her back, Quinn began reinforcing the Dom/sub connection. Soothing and centering his girl, he branded her trust, absorbed her love, and treasured the power she relinquished all the way to his soul.
The musky scent emanating from her pussy filled his senses, making him edgy with need. Quinn continued to massage Ava’s shoulders and spine, feeling her tension melt beneath his fingers until she slumped against the wooden frame.
A tiny smile tugged at his lips. He was already losing her to the lure of subspace. He was often amazed how she tumbled off so quickly, but then most everything about Ava blew his mind. No other woman understood him the way Ava did. Quinn had been around the block enough to know this gorgeous creature splayed out before him held his future in her soft, slender hands.
Leaning in, he pressed a light kiss at the base of her neck. Closing his eyes, he savored the steady pulse of her heart upon his lips. Ava exhaled a soft and blissful sigh as she seemed to further float away. It was time to bring her back to the surface, at least for a little bit, before he allowed subspace to pull her away once more.
Plucking up the paddle lined with rabbit fur, Quinn weighed it in his palm. The wide, polished wood was heavy…heavy enough to snag her attention but not vicious enough to make her climb the cross. Drawing the paddle back, he landed a quick slap to her pink cheeks. With a gasp, Ava jerked before snapping her head his direction and pinning him with a wicked glare.
He bit back a grin and gave her another swat. “Is there a problem, princess?” he asked in a taunting, lyrical tone as he petted the fur side of the paddle over her orbs.
“No. You, uh, surprised me is all,” she replied nervously.
“And I thoroughly intend to keep surprising you, my love.”
“So you’ve said,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Oh, my sassy little minx,” Quinn chuckled. “That attitude will cost you.”
Ava groaned and turned her head back to the cross. While he loved her feisty, cheeky personality, he knew he’d been far too lenient with her in the past. Quinn didn’t bother trying to hide a grin as he watched her tighten her butt cheeks in anticipation of another swat. No doubt Ava was trying to gain a foothold, but she had no idea he intended to make that an impossible feat.
With the flick of his wrist, Quinn landed the paddle against her flesh once again before assuaging the burn with the soft, silky fur. In the past, he would have slowly warmed her up before setting her free to languish in subspace. He would have untied her from the stunning Shibari knots and made passionate love until they both drifted off to sleep…sweaty and sated. But not today. Quinn planned to ride the razor’s edge and push past her comfortable plateau.
Unbeknownst to Ava, the many meetings he’d attended outside the office over the past four weeks had instead been training sessions. He’d arranged for Mika LaBrache, owner of Club Genesis—the private BDSM club where Quinn had first laid eyes on Ava—to teach him how to throw a single tail. Mika had offered up his beautiful slave, Emerald, to bottom for Quinn once he’d learned to control the whip. That he’d put that much faith in Quinn’s abilities made him respect the dungeon owner even more.
Quinn continued caressing her backside with the fur. Reaching over, he lifted the thick, heavy flogger to remove the single tail hidden beneath it. Gripping the cool, plaited leather, he quickly inspected the new threaded popper at the end. Rolling his wrist, he swished the long leather tongue through the air, gaining a feel of its nature. Mika had taught Quinn on several different whips, explaining that each one had its own unique and individual demeanor. Once confident with the reach and temperament of the whip, Quinn raised his shoulder and flicked his wrist, causing a deliciously wicked crack to fill the air.
“What the fuck?” Ava screeched as she jerked her head toward the sound, sending the metal couplings of her cuffs to clank and clatter against the cross.
“What did you say?” Quinn asked in a low, menacing growl. “Did I give you permission to curse me?”
“No, Sir, but…what in the he…heavens are you planning to do with that?” she sputtered.
“Why, I’m going to use it on your ass. What else would I do with it?”
“Oh, no.” Ava shook her head adamantly. “I don’t do whips.”
“You do now,” he chuckled before clearing his throat and addressing her in a formidable and authoritative tone. “Unless you use your safeword. Is that what you want to do?”
Ava took several long seconds to ponder his question then pinched her lips together and shook her head.
“Good. Now face the front. Not another word unless you need to safeword out. Understood?”
Ava shot him a curt but resigned nod. Her eyes danced with the struggle to hold on to her sense of self versus relinquishing her power. The internal tug-of-war made his blood boil with pride. Quinn ached to coax every drop of her submission.
Damn…he was crazy in love with this woman.
A visible tension had returned to her body, and her subtle shiver told him that she was scared of the whip. And that was exactly where he wanted her…unsure and taken in by her own preconceived notions of pain the toy was capable of inflicting. Of course, she didn’t know any better, and it was up to him to enlighten her.
Shifting the whip to his left hand, Quinn reached back and gripped the heavy flogger from the table. With a loud thwack, he landed the wide leather tails across her ass. Ava jumped. No, that wasn’t what she’d expected, and it filled him with delight. As he rhythmically slapped the soft fronds over her shoulders, back, and butt, Ava once again slumped against the cross as kitten-like purrs slid from her lips.
Guiding Ava deeper and deeper to that serene place inside her, Quinn felt himself shift into a more compelling level of Dom space once more. Everything around him began to blur and disappear, everything except Ava. He settled his focus solely on her, watching as the recoil of the flogger nudged her onto her toes. Studying every breath she inhaled and exhaled while his arm directed the leather tassels like a conductor’s baton.
Once he had lured her into a false sense of security, Quinn replaced the flogger with the whip. Moving in close behind her, he snaked the cold, plaited leather between her shoulder blades. Ava sucked in a quick breath, and her body jerked as he yanked her out of her reverie. He leaned in against her back and nuzzled his face against her slender neck. Rubbing his jaw over her smooth flesh, he abraded her skin with the prickly scruff adorning his face. Her squeal of laughter echoed in his ears as she crimped her shoulders, trying to ward off his ticklish assault.
With a grin, Quinn cinched a hand in her hair, then jerked her head back. As he bathed her neck in soft kisses, biting and nipping his wa
y up her silky flesh, Ava purred in delight. Her sweet sounds of surrender vibrated over his lips, making his eager cock jerk once again. It would be nothing short of a miracle if he didn’t come in his pants like a horny teen before this session was through. Gripping the flogger once more, Quinn landed the heavy tails over and over again, leading Ava back into the blissful depths of peace.
#
Lulled by the rhythmic thud of the flogger, her anxiety over the frightening whip bled from Ava’s system. She found comfort in the relaxing tempo, but every time Quinn paused, she held her breath. Poised to feel the cold, evil whip slide over her flesh again, she hoped he’d settle a sweet, enticing kiss upon her neck instead. Hands down, she preferred his kisses, but Quinn had her so off-balance she wondered if he intended to use the whip at all, or if he simply wanted to mind-fuck her to death.
You’re not thinking like a sub, her inner voice scoffed.
Ava truly wanted to settle into a proper state of mind. She could, too if Quinn would simply warm her up like he usually did and take her to the heavens. Unfortunately he had other things in mind, and dammit, she wanted to know what he planned to pluck out of his bag of tricks.
Suddenly, his warm breath breezed over the side of her neck. Ava closed her eyes. Yes. Yes. This is what she wanted…Quinn’s tender, loving, passionate side. She breathed in his reassuring masculine scent, and the ground beneath her grew stable, solid, and secure. Turning her head, she offered him her lips. But when he didn’t kiss her, Ava lifted her heavy eyelids. He stood staring at her. His sage-colored eyes had turned dark and permeated with a clit-throbbing hunger she wanted to satisfy.
“Expecting something, princess?” he taunted as a wicked smile of delight lit up his face.
“I need a kiss, Sir.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Please,” she begged, hoping he would oblige her request.
“No.” He shook his head, effectively plucking the hope from inside her. “Let go, Ava. Take what I give and stop trying to top from the bottom. You’re not in control of this session: I am, and you’re making my job harder than it needs to be.”
Sin City Submission BN Page 3
