The Trust She Yields

by Jennifer Leeland

  David didn't try and lie. “I don't have control.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “She's been abused, and I may have made it worse."

  His friend's eyebrows shot up. “The expression on that woman's face wasn't fear. She wants you. And you want her. I've never seen you like this."

  David nodded. “I don't get like this. Maybe I'm getting old.” He slouched into a chair and scowled at the fireplace. “Maybe I'm losing my grip."

  "Not likely. She's going to test your control, but maybe you need it tested.” Justin sprawled in a chair across from him. “You're very tightly wound. It would be nice to see you really enjoy yourself."

  David resisted the urge to growl at his friend. Justin was reveling in this. The bastard. “Where's Catherine?"

  "She's changing her clothes. Don't change the subject."

  David rose and poured another drink. “I thought we were finished."

  The smile dropped from Justin's face. “No.” He leaned forward, his gaze intense. “You've always been there for everyone. Me, Zac, Pamela, all of us. Now, it's your turn.” Justin rose to his feet. “Anything you need, you call me."

  Catherine sauntered in the room and linked her arm with Justin's. “The new girl is beautiful, David. How did you meet her?"

  "The same way I met you. At a bar."

  "She's been trained before.” Catherine wasn't asking. She recognized a fellow submissive.

  David nodded. Trained? Yes. When Lee followed the rules, she submitted beautifully. How was he going to control himself, and Lee, for thirty days?

  "She's got that look.” Her brow wrinkled and her lips tightened.

  He was well aware Catherine referred to the fear on Lee's face. She ought to know. Catherine had been a victim as a child but found a way to deal with her fear. David helped her at first, but Justin loved her, cherished her, in a way he couldn't.

  "She won't talk about it. Yet.” One side of his lips rose in a smile. “Of course, this may be the one that breaks me."

  Catherine shook her head vigorously. “Oh, I don't think so."

  "Not in the way you mean,” Justin added.

  Tomorrow. She'd be here tomorrow and he'd have to be ready. One of them was going to break. He just hoped it wasn't him.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Three

  Morning light streamed through the kitchen windows, and David's finger's stilled on his laptop for a moment to enjoy it. This contract was unique, different. It contained added elements specific for Lee. Funny. When he'd drawn up a similar agreement with Catherine, he'd only added one page to the standard Dom/sub contract. The one for Lee had four extra pages.

  One of them was a list of punishments. She had to understand the consequences and he had to stick to them. With Lee, getting creative might cause problems. Control was the key.

  It was always the key.

  With firm fingers, he clicked to print the contract and made two copies, then set them neatly on the table and closed his laptop.

  He checked the clock. It was a quarter to noon. Anticipation sizzled along his nerves. In his entire career as a sexual dominant, he'd never before experienced this level of desire, anxiety, and need. It was a welcome challenge.

  Two minutes later, he smiled as he heard her car in the driveway. She was early. Maybe she couldn't wait either.

  David made himself wait until she rang the doorbell, then rose and opened the door. She carried one bag and kept her gaze lowered. He stepped aside and ordered, “Come in."

  As she slipped inside, he lifted the bag from her shoulder and carried it up the stairs. She followed behind him. “I can carry that, sir."

  "When you're here, we'll stick to the rules. You will not speak unless you have permission.” He smiled gently to take the sting out of his words. “Think of this as BDSM bootcamp."

  She smiled faintly but remained silent, and he placed her bag in the same bedroom they'd visited the night before. It was his room, with his scent and his power, but she wouldn't know that. He was prepared to sleep in a guest room unless she invited him into her bed. They'd know that after she read and signed the contract.

  "Come.” He took her arm and led her down to the kitchen. She sat at the table and bit her lip. She seemed nervous, skittish.

  He placed the contract in front of her. “Read it carefully. I want you to know what you're signing up for."

  Without a word, she bent her head to read, and he studied her as she did. Her black hair was pulled back in a braid this morning. He'd have to insist she wore it loose when she was with him. He loved how it tumbled over her shoulders. Her skin was smooth and tan, but the lines of her neck were his favorite to admire. She wasn't skinny but had broad shoulders and generous breasts. A goddess, really. Made for sex.

  His cock swelled and ached. But she had to decide whether she wanted sex with him. Part of her contract was about that choice.

  When she reached the page where she had to check one box or another for sexual contact, she raised her head and met his gaze. “May I speak?"

  "You may."

  "It says here I'm to be naked at all times unless you say otherwise.” She frowned at the contract, reluctance in every syllable.

  He nodded. “Not for the reasons you think.” He sat down across from her at eye level, her level. “Look at me.” He waited until she raised her gaze to meet his. “Vulnerability is the first step toward regaining your power. Until you can be vulnerable with me, the barriers between us go deeper than clothing.” Not that it wasn't a sexual thing for him, too. Naked, Lee tormented him. But his strained control was beside the point. “Right now, you'll be physically naked with me until you can be naked emotionally."

  Her lips tightened. “All at my expense, I notice."

  "You know better than that,” he said steadily. But maybe she didn't. “This is not about humiliating you. The kneeling, the nakedness, all the rules, in fact, are designed to give you back your greatest power."

  She snorted. “Power?” She stabbed her finger at the papers. “You seem to hold the power."

  Clearly, she had a warped view of the power between a dominant and his submissive. He had his work cut out for him.

  "Look again,” he said softly. “Safewords, strict guidelines, and several restrictions are in place that give you the power. As a submissive, the very action of your surrender gives you power over me."

  Heat blazed in her eyes and turned them a golden brown. His cock twitched at the sensual promise in them. She knew that power. Teaching her to use it was going to be both a challenge and a pleasure.

  She bent her head to study the next few pages. He enjoyed watching her read, her eyes intent on the page, her forehead slightly wrinkled with concentration. Her head cocked to the side, and she glanced at him again. “May I speak?"

  "You may."

  "I thought sexual contact was part of this."

  David, again, had to suppress the rage at the man who had abused her. “No, Lee. I can do all the things you need, give you the dominance you crave, without sex.” His voice was soft, and he desperately tried to keep his own desires out of it. He closed his eyes. She might choose ‘no.’ He shouldn't have cared, but for the first time, he wanted to put his own needs before the submissive in his charge. He wanted Lee in his bed. Naked.

  She studied him. “But what about you? Doesn't that leave you ... wanting?"

  He bit back a groan. Control. He had to have control. “Yes, but this is about you, Lee, not me. These thirty days are for your growth.” And mine, though you may never know it.

  Slowly, she nodded and bent her head over the contract again. She checked a box, but he refrained from trying to see which one. Finally, she signed the final pages and let out a long sigh. “It's done."

  He picked up one copy of the contract and flicked through the pages. Joy filled him when he noted she'd checked her approval of sexual intercourse. He placed the contract beside his laptop and faced her. Her head was lowered, and she stared at he
r hands on the table. “I have a copy of my last blood test, if you wish to see it."

  "I brought mine as well,” she murmured.

  "Good.” He gripped the back of her chair. “Let's get started then."

  She only nodded, yet the smell of fear wafted from her. When he touched her arm, she flinched, but he persisted in wrapping his fingers around her arm and silently encouraging her to stand.

  He led her back up the stairs to the bedroom. She came willingly, but he tasted her terror as if it were his own. When they reached the room, she stood in the center of it as she had the night before with her arms wrapped around her body.

  "Undo your hair. From now on, it's never to be bound in my presence.” The act of her fingers picking apart the braid and releasing her hair made him harder.

  "Strip,” he ordered.

  She did and then knelt before him. He hadn't even told her to yet. It shook him how easily she dropped to her knees. How beautiful her bowed head was to him. “Now, remove my clothes."

  Step by step, she would have to do the things a submissive was supposed to do. Her past might rise up to smash her, but she had to face it. Step by step.

  She had to stand close to undo the buttons of his shirt. Her lips parted slightly when she slid the material from his shoulders and it fell to the floor. Her hands trembled as she flicked the button of his pants open and slid the zipper down. Cold fingers dipped under the waistband of his underwear and dragged them to the floor. In perfect symmetry, she finished on her knees. His cock sprang up, and her mouth was so close, he felt her breath on the head of his hard length.

  "One thing you'll have to understand.” He stepped away from her, away from her lush mouth. “Trust is everything."

  She kept her head bowed, and he studied her naked body. Her black hair cascaded down her back, and he saw the whole ugly scar on her ribs. Jagged, white ridges ran from just above her left breast all the way to her hip bone as if someone had tried to gut her. It stunned him.

  He gently tangled his hand in her hair and lifted it away from her neck. Her back was criss-crossed with scars. Some were too deep to be pleasure whippings. He let her hair fall back. She'd been beaten. There was no control in those marks. A sense of offense welled up in David. He'd seen the results of horrible things people did to others. Still, this was done by one of his own, inside his safe world.

  This changed everything.

  Those scars explained her fear, her terror, at being vulnerable. She had to be treated like a newbie, like someone who had never experienced this power exchange before. He should have seen this sooner. He'd been deceived by her aura, her natural submission to his dominance. He pursed his lips. “Get dressed, Lee."

  Her head jerked up, confusion and hurt evident in her hazel eyes, but she didn't speak. She begged him with her gaze not to reject her, and he stroked her cheek. “We have things to discuss first."

  Tears glistened on her cheeks as she slipped back into her clothes. He retrieved a robe from the back of the door and belted it just as Lee started for the door. He gripped her arm with gentle restraint. “No. Sit here."

  He placed her in one of the overstuffed chairs, and she curled up like a small child. He took a deep breath. “I want you to feel free to speak for the next few minutes. All the submissive rules are off."

  Her shattered expression made him wince. “What did I do wrong? Just tell me? Why would you seek me out and offer me this if you were only going to reject me?” Tears thickened her voice. “Being a submissive is my whole life. I can't be anything else. If you don't want me..."

  "Lee, I haven't rejected you.” He kept his tone low. “Those scars, those wounds are too deep. You have to start over."

  She shook her head. “I don't understand.” Her voice came out muffled as she buried her face in her hands. “I came here because I had to, because I needed this, missed it."

  Her sobs shuddered through her whole frame, and David had to resist the urge to comfort her. She had to finish, and if he touched her, he didn't think he'd be able to stop.

  "The contract remains the same. Only I need you to do a few things for me."

  She hiccupped and blinked. “What?"

  "I need a safe word, and we need to agree to no sex for a while."

  Her brows clashed. “You're treating me like a newbie.” She sounded offended, incensed even as she lifted her chin. “I earned my place at your feet."

  She was so beautiful like that, her body straight, her eyes defiant. He didn't want the broken child who cried. This was the woman he wanted.

  "I'm not robbing you of your place or demeaning your training.” The last words almost choked him. “I am concerned for your safety. You don't know the difference between sweet punishment and abuse."

  Her knee jerk reaction was all over her face. She opened her mouth to disagree with him; he could see that. But then, she closed it. Her lips tightened. “Fine."

  Defiant and angry, she was a challenge he couldn't wait to explore. Not fucking her was going to be incredibly difficult.

  David stood, the robe parting between his legs briefly. His cock still hard and wanting, he caught her hungry stare. He arched a brow. “Back to the rules. Shall I state them for you?"

  Her gaze swerved to his face, desire and anger swirling and jumping in her golden eyes. “I'm to keep my eyes lowered unless you instruct me to look at you. I'm not to speak unless you give me permission to speak.” She swallowed. “I'm to begin every evening when I get home from work by kneeling naked in this room and awaiting your pleasure."

  They were normal rules, but he added two more. “There will be no intercourse for seven days, and you will now tell me your safe word."

  She struggled. It had been a long time since she'd used one, he could tell. Finally, she shrugged. “Red light was my first."

  "So be it.” David dropped the robe, picked up his clothes and dressed. He had to ignore her heated gaze at his hard cock that resisted his attempts to contain it in his pants. He managed. Barely. He took a deep breath. “Your first test is now, Lee."

  This time, there was no hesitation. She dropped from the chair onto her knees with her hands clasped behind her back. David nodded. This was the right thing. Like him, Lee wasn't into a little spanky-spanky. For her, it was a way of life, a personality quirk. He had to train her again or she'd never know how to function in the D/s world.

  * * * *

  To be treated like a newbie was an outrage.

  Lee's thoughts were jumbled as the carpet scratched her knees and her body trembled with need and cold. But part of her was relieved that someone acknowledged what she'd known deep down. Barry had abused her. What he'd done wasn't dominant or sexual. That David emphasized she'd been misused gave her a warm, safe feeling.

  And damn, he was sexy.

  The man was hot, with his fit stomach and his long, lean cock. That butt of his was delectable, tasty. Seven days was a long time. An eternity. She almost groaned at the torture of being so close to him, naked, kneeling in front of him and not getting fucked. It might kill her.

  Dressed, he was no less appealing. The black Dockers only emphasized his solid hips and tight ass. His dress shirt was unbuttoned and untucked, which made her mouth water.

  "Undress, Lee."

  Great. She was going to be naked, and he wasn't. While she removed her clothes, the appreciation in his watchful gray eyes made her heart pound. Her bare skin felt hot and feverish when she dropped to her knees in front of him once more.

  Seven God damned days. She closed her eyes.

  Cool metal rasped her wrists, and he clicked handcuffs on her. A chain that ran the length of her spine brushed the cleft in her ass and dangled to her feet. There, he clicked another pair of cuffs on her ankles and connected it to the chain. Completely immobilized, she tested its strength. Her arms almost hyper extended. The chain was short, her hands nearly touching her ankles and her body arching backwards. She might have fallen over, but David was there to anchor her.

&
nbsp; "Your first lesson is to only come when you are told to."

  Phhttt. I learned that, years ago.

  Her lips involuntarily lifted in a smile. His hand connected with her ass in a sharp smack. She jumped, and once again he caught her to keep her upright when she would have tumbled over on her side.

  "You think you know how to do this. You don't.” He strode over to the cabinet and brought out several items. A heavy slapper, nipple clamps, a dildo, and a butt plug all rested on a small end table within his easy reach.

  Lee trembled. Nipple clamps. She hated them. Had even said she hated them on her questionnaire.

  The first thing he did was stroke her neck, her shoulder, her upper arm. His long fingers slid along her skin, and she shivered. He grazed the tips of her breasts with gentle touches that made her arch into his hands. He held the weight of her tits as he squeezed her nipples with his thumbs and forefingers. Lightning shafted through her body, and her pussy clenched.

  With the chain so short, her back arched so her breasts thrust outward, accessible to his attention. He knelt on one knee to lick her nipples, one after the other as his hands wandered over her belly and brushed the curly hair at the junction of her thighs. Her breath caught. Then his teeth scraped her beaded flesh, and she moaned from deep in her throat.

  His fingers slid over her clit with light, fluttering strokes that teased moisture from her entrance. He pressed two fingers into her slick channel as his thumb rotated around her aroused nub. She bucked into his hand, helpless, enthralled. When his mouth rose from her breast to plunder her mouth in a deep kiss, she squeezed his invading fingers, close to falling off the edge.

  "No, Lee. You can't come yet.” His mouth hovered over hers, and he watched her. She reached within and took a deep breath. The pain was exquisite. To hold back, to stop the wall of pleasure that threatened to overwhelm her, so difficult and yet so erotic at the same time.

  A tear escaped, and he licked it away. “Such a pretty tear. Do you beg as prettily as you cry?"

  At the low rumble of his voice, she almost lost her grip. Pleasure shimmered through her body, and she had to focus to keep the wave from overtaking her. He lowered his head, and his teeth dug into her neck.