Out of the Darkness (Untwisted #2)

by Alice Raine

  ‘Dominic, I believe the lady said she’s taken.’ A cold voice interrupted, and as ‘Dominic’ turned his large body to see who it was that was interrupting him he unblocked the alcove entrance, allowing me to see an incredibly pissed-off Nathan glaring at the other man fiercely with his hands bunched around two glasses as if he might shatter them at any second. Even with Nathan looking ready to commit murder an involuntary smile flew to my lips at his return.

  ‘Nathan?’ Dominic said in surprise before turning back to me with an odd expression on his face. ‘This is your master?’ he asked me incredulously.

  ‘Yes,’ I replied confidently. Bloody hell, Nathan looked ready explode on the spot. Quickly standing, I moved beside him in a show of my commitment and, after reliving him of the drinks, I placed them on the table, linked my hands in front of me and lowered my eyes as he liked. I also hoped that by doing this I might calm Nathan enough to stop him killing the big brutish guy, which at this moment was exactly what it looked like he wanted to do as the muscle on his jaw went into hyper drive, twitching and jerking like it was going to jump from his face.

  ‘Haven’t seen you in here for a while, Nathan, I didn’t realise you were still on the scene.’ Dominic murmured, holding out a hand towards Nathan for a handshake. Instead of reciprocating like I had expected, Nathan instead wound his hand around my waist and pulled me snugly against his side while he continued to shoot daggers at Dominic with his icy gaze.

  I noted several points of interest here; one, I was damn glad I wasn’t on the receiving end of his stare because it looked manic. Two, he had his arm around me which had never occurred before, but felt rather nice, and three, Nathan had quite clearly just made a claim over me in front of this other guy which thrilled me immensely.

  ‘No offence meant, Nathan, I thought she was fair game, didn’t realise she was with you,’ Dominic said, not sounding the least bit apologetic and still looking at me like I was a piece of meat for sale. God, this guy really needed to learn some manners.

  Not sure if I was allowed to speak, I found that I just couldn’t help myself, this guy was such an arrogant arsehole and he really needed putting in his place. ‘I told you I was with my master, how much clearer could I be?’ Nathan would never have tolerated my tone if it had been directed at him, I knew this much, but my loaded question had been thrown towards Dominic and apparently Nathan wholehearted approved because not only did he give my waist an encouraging squeeze, but he then did something completely out of character – met my gaze and smiled at me broadly.

  Wow – a real, no nonsense smile from Nathan. It was so stunning that my legs almost felt weak and I was immensely grateful for his arm around my waist keeping me upright. Good God, but this man could smile when he wanted. It was such a shame he didn’t use it more often, although if he did I suspect women would be falling at his feet left, right, and centre.

  A frown settled on my brows at my last thought; I only saw him at the weekends so for all I knew women were falling at his feet on a daily basis. This was a thought that I did not like one bit, but at the moment Nathan was smiling down at me looking so proud that I couldn’t help but shelve my jealousy and smile shyly back before averting my gaze.

  Without saying one more word to us, Dominic pursed his lips and then disappeared into the crowd, leaving Nathan and I alone at last. A sudden feeling of awkwardness came over me as I stood encased by Nathan’s arm, and apparently he felt it too because he cleared his throat and then dropped his arm, leaving me feeling a little chilly even though it was excessively hot in the club.

  ‘So who was that guy?’ I asked in hopes of breaking the strange silence that had fallen over us now.

  Nathan sneered and looked in the direction that Dominic had left in. ‘One of the co-owners of this place. The guy behind the bar that introduced you to me, David Halton, is the original owner and used to run Twist as just a small bar from the premises next door, but then a couple of years ago this place came up for sale so he joined together with a few other investors, Dominic included, and expanded the bar into a club too. David likes to be front of house whereas the others like to take a back seat.’ Nathan pushed my new drink towards me and set about finishing his. ‘Drink up; I’ve had enough of this place for tonight.’

  Chapter Twenty-one – Nathan

  Running a hand through my hair, I scowled as I practically tugged a handful out and then tried to reassemble it into something resembling its usual order. I was feeling distinctly out of odds tonight and I couldn’t really put my finger on why. That wasn’t strictly true, actually: several things had pissed me right off in the last week that were no doubt contributing to my mood.

  Firstly was last weekend when I’d gone to Club Twist with Stella, I’d thought it would be good for her to see other like-minded people, but in the end the only thing that had occurred was for me to get more and more fucking annoyed as various twats stared at her and ogled her body. Fuckers. It had taken every ounce of my self-control not to deck someone. She was with me for fuck’s sake; they should keep their fucking eyes to themselves. Closing my eyes, I ground my teeth together as I remembered how Dominic had looked at her like she was his for the taking. She was mine. That was the last time we would be going there for a while, that was for sure.

  The other thing that had pissed me off this week was the continuing issues at work. We’d lost another fucking contract to someone undercutting us, again by 18 per cent. Who the fuck was I kidding? Work was shit at the moment, but Gregory was on the case and I had every confidence he’d sort it.

  No, if I was honest with myself then I could admit that all my issues were because of Stella. As well as attracting far too much male attention last weekend, she’d gone and topped up my anger towards her by getting an urgent phone call from work this morning. It was Saturday, my day with her, but she’d not thought twice about going into the fucking office for some weekend overtime.

  So now I was sitting on my own like Billy No-mates, when really I should be doing something deliciously kinky with Stella. Fuck it. I was in such a bloody bad mood. I felt fidgety and far from my usual self.

  Sighing, I picked up the phone next to me and dialled my brother. It had been a while since we’d met up for a beer, maybe a few late afternoon drinks with Nicholas would take my mind off Stella and all the kinky things I wanted to do to her but couldn’t.

  After exchanging brief pleasantries with Nicholas, I frowned and my eyes narrowed suspiciously at his tone. He was sounding decidedly perky, which was not a description that would usually apply to my stoic, withdrawn brother.

  ‘What’s made you so happy, Nicholas, you sound like you’re grinning as you speak,’ I asked, realising that I was actually scowling at my brother’s apparent happiness. With my foul mood I think I had actually been hoping to find him in his usual dour mood to match my own melancholy.

  There was a chuckle down the line from Nicholas and my eyes widened like saucers. A fucking chuckle? Really? My mood dropped another notch lower.

  ‘If you must know, I’ve finally started sleeping with that woman I told you about,’ he confessed, sounding rather smug.

  Ah, OK so this was making a little more sense now. If there was one thing my brother and I had in common, it was our insatiable appetite for sex. That, and our preference for being dominant in the bedroom. ‘Your piano student? Rachel, was it?’ I asked, trying to remember what he’d told me about the woman he’d met a few weeks ago and offered some lessons to. My brother was a world famous concert pianist, not a piano teacher, so when I’d heard he’d offered her lessons I’d kind of assumed that he had an ulterior motive. Turns out I was right; his ulterior motive was sex.

  ‘Rebecca. Yes, I’m still giving her lessons but things have developed physically between us. I have to say I’m surprised by how well it’s going.’ He sounded like he was grinning again, and in return I glowered. It was just as well we weren’t on video call otherwise Nicholas would see just what a miserable git I was being to
day. Wasn’t I supposed to be supportive and pleased for him?

  ‘So as well as your student she’s now your submissive? That’s probably pushing the whole “naughty pupil and pervy teacher” thing a bit far don’t you think?’ I teased wickedly, my mood lifting slightly at the lovely kinky images that such a scenario would present.

  ‘Rebecca’s not my sub, Nathan, we’ve discussed my issues and we’re working around them,’ Nicholas explained cautiously and this time my scowl transformed to a complete look of shock. Not his submissive? What the hell was she then? With our fucked-up childhood, it had been easier for Nicholas and I to avoid the whole girlfriend thing, in fact both of us had started down the route of only getting involved with submissives and stuck to it. Well, I’d stuck to it, but apparently, my younger brother was now branching out.

  Pausing I ran Nicholas’ crazy words through my mind several times before finally finding my tongue. ‘She’s not your sub? Are you crazy?’ I spat. OK, so that wasn’t the most tactful of responses, but what the hell else could I say? Nicholas wasn’t ready for this shit, he needed to realise what he was getting himself into before it was too late.

  ‘This is none of your business, Nathan, Rebecca’s different, she accepts me, I’m trying to be normal for a change.’ Nicholas sounded pissed off with me, but I wasn’t going to let it drop, this type of error would only lead to heartache for my brother in the long run.

  ‘We’re not capable of this type of relationship, Nicholas, it will never work, it’s not how we were brought up,’ I muttered through clenched teeth.

  ‘Well maybe we were brought up wrong,’ Nicholas snarled down the line at me. Snarled? At me? What the fuck was going on? Nicholas never got angry with me, I was his rock, his older brother; he looked up to me for Christ’s sake.

  ‘Our family life wasn’t exactly normal, was it, Nathan? I know you can’t see it but Dad was seriously fucked up,’ Nicholas continued. Rubbing my forehead, I tried to ease the tension building there. I was going to get a mammoth migraine at this rate. Jesus, this was all so unexpected and certainly not what I’d expected when I called my brother this evening.

  I cringed at my brother’s mention of our father, but refused to allow his words to sink in. ‘I don’t want to talk about Dad, Nicholas, but he was our father, our role model, part of him is inside us both, brother, deep down you know it. You need to end this thing with her before one of you gets hurt.’ By this point my words were being pushed through clenched teeth, how fucking stupid was Nicholas being? Surely he could see that there could be no long-term future in a ‘normal’ relationship for men like us with our fucked-up histories?

  There was a tense silence where neither of us spoke and then with a sigh Nicholas was the first to break it. ‘I’m playing a charity concert tonight, I need to go and practice. Goodbye, Nathan.’ He hung up leaving me feeling even more unsettled than I had been to begin with. Well, as mood-lifting phone calls go that had been a complete fucking failure, hadn’t it?

  Later that night I heard a key in the door and jumped irritably to my feet standing in front of the door with my arms crossed and no doubt with my annoyance clearly evident on my features. My mood hadn’t shifted in the slightest, my continued annoyance was partly due to the heated conversation I’d had earlier with my brother, partly because I’d just got off the phone with Gregory who had informed me that the issues with my company were still not fucking sorted, but mostly because Stella had said she’d only be in work for a few hours and it was nearly bloody six o’clock now, meaning I’d lost out on an entire one of our allotted days together.

  Stella entered the apartment as usual, deposited her work bag by the door, hung her coat on the rack, and then turned to face me. As was her routine if I was around she then assumed my chosen position for her; head bowed with hands joined in front of her waiting expectantly. Fucking lovely. That pose nearly erased my foul mood with just one look at her, but then I remembered the whole great list of things that had fucked me off recently and my mood descended again.

  ‘You’re late,’ I growled, not attempting to hide my irritation or the glower on my face, she should damn well know that I was pissed off.

  ‘I know, I got stuck in a meeting, I’m sorry, Sir.’ Stella explained softly in that tone of hers that usually soothed me, but not tonight. Tonight I was wound up tighter that a clock spring.

  ‘I have told you how much I dislike lateness, Stella,’ I reminded her sharply. In response, Stella nodded sagely, her eyes still remaining averted. God, she was good at the whole submissive thing, and she was great at avoiding eye contact with me, which made my life a whole hell of a lot easier. ‘I don’t expect this to happen again, do you understand?’

  ‘Yes, Sir, sometimes it’s unavoidable, though.’ Seriously? That was how she wanted to play this?

  My eyes narrowed and a grumble of annoyance escaped my throat as I raised my right hand in a pointing gesture, causing Stella to move immediately to my side just within touching distance. I could smell her perfume, slightly sweet and floral and enticing me to her, but I shook my head and clenched my fists tight to avoid reaching out and touching her. ‘That’s not the answer I want to hear, Stella,’ I warned again in a low tone. ‘You need to remember my expectations.’ Damn right she did; I wasn’t happy with her doing overtime in the first fucking place, and now to top it off she was late? It wouldn’t be happening again, that was for sure. Maybe I’d switch her phone off next weekend when she arrived and damn the consequences.

  ‘Yes, Sir,’ Stella murmured. ‘Perhaps you should help remind me,’ she added a few moments later.

  I sucked in a sharp breath at her words and salacious tone. This woman was like the ultimate submissive – she did everything she was asked, enjoyed the same things as I did in the bedroom but still kept me on my toes by occasionally throwing out a comment like that one. What exactly did she mean? I had a fairly good idea, but it seemed too good to be true … I needed to hear the words for myself.

  ‘What would you recommend?’ I asked, my earlier irritation suddenly subdued by a rush of excited anticipation from Stella’s provocative tone. Christ, even my cock was joining in with my excitement and we hadn’t even left the hallway yet.

  ‘Well, I broke one of your rules …’ Stella left her sentence hanging but raised her eyes and made the briefest of eye contacts before lowering her gaze again.

  My nostrils flared. Stella wanted to be punished. She wanted me to punish her. She had as good has asked for it, perhaps not in so many words, but it was enough of an invitation to get my blood pumping furiously around my body. I just needed to hear her say the words out loud …

  ‘You need to be disciplined for your lateness, Stella.’ I murmured thickly, clenching my fists at my sides in an effort to maintain my control and hoping that she would give me the consent I was looking for.

  Rolling her lips between her teeth she blinked several times and then nodded, ‘Yes, Sir.’ Her whisper was so slight I only just heard it, but it had been there, the words I had needed, and by God I certainly wouldn’t let her down.

  Lowering my voice, I stepped back distancing myself from her. ‘Go to your room, undress, and sit on the bed. I’ll teach you not to be late again,’ I ordered in a cool tone that was the total opposite of my current feelings as my heart hammered erratically under my skin and my cock leapt about in my pants. Then I turned and walked away nonchalantly into lounge as if I couldn’t care less that she was here, Jesus, it was the hardest thing I’d done in a long while.

  It was difficult, no, nearly fucking impossible, but I made myself leave Stella hanging for 15 minutes before finally making my way to her room. Walking in with my eyes lowered I quietly closed the door behind me and then turned to see Stella sat on the edge of the bed with her eyes lowered and her hands joined in her lap.

  Her skin was mottled with a fine spray of goosepimples and as I stepped closer I realised with a slight pang of guilt that she had probably got cold waiting naked for me
for so long. Instead of allowing my guilt to bloom, a smirk curled my lips – I’d soon warm her up.

  ‘I made you wait, Stella, just like you made me wait. Annoying, isn’t it?’ I murmured softly as I allowed my eyes to rove across her near perfect figure. Perfect for me anyway, with curves in all the right places and skin so soft and sweet I could almost taste it in my mouth already.

  ‘Yes, Sir,’ she answered softly. I watched in fascination as her breasts rose and fell when she spoke. They were perfect handfuls and my arms twitched at my sides with the effort of restraining myself. Her nipples were already hardened into peaks and I wondered if it were from excitement or the coolness of the room, but judging from the pulse I could see fluttering in her neck it was the former. Personally, I felt ready to burst at any moment, so that made two of us then.

  Counting down from five to zero, I drew in several breaths through my nose to compose myself. Finally, I felt in control enough to reach out and run a hand through her beautifully soft hair. ‘Are you going to make me wait in future, Stella?’ I questioned as the strands slid between my fingers and fell in waves around her perfectly pert nipples. She really was pretty as a picture.

  ‘I’ll try not to, Sir,’ Stella answered, causing me to frown and drop my arm. How dare she deliberately try to taunt me, didn’t she realise that these were my rules and she needed to keep to them? I’d followed my father’s fucking rules to the letter for the entirety of my childhood and Stella would damn well do it for me now. Roughly gripping her chin between my forefinger and thumb, I tugged. ‘Stand up,’ I ordered, noticing how my voice had unwittingly got far harsher at the thought of my father’s iron will.

  Obliging me immediately, Stella stood, but before she’d even got her balance properly, I gripped her hips, turned her round and pushed on her shoulder to bend her over the bed. ‘Wait there,’ I ordered, stepping to the chest at the end of the bed and opening the drawer where I kept my favourite toys. Pausing for a moment, I looked at Stella again; she had maintained her pose perfectly. Her back was arched downwards so that her shoulders and hips were thrust up, making her arse sit prominently waiting for my attention. A small sigh escaped my lips at just what a perfect sight she was.