by Selena Kitt
She wrinkled her forehead for a moment, then gave him a tentative smile.
"Storm."
He quirked an eyebrow. "Storm? That's your word?"
She nodded. "Because the storm brought me here. To safety."
Zane ground his teeth in frustration. "Dara, how do you know you're safe here? I could be another monster like your Master."
"No." She shook her head. "I feel differently with you than I did with him. I, um, was afraid at first but you're so different."
He barked a laugh. "But you know nothing about me."
"I know you've been kind to me, and angry on my behalf. That's more than I need."
Zane was half tempted to call a halt to this right now. Again he wondered if he was losing his mind—about to indulge in some D/s play with a sub he'd never met before who was obviously traumatized. If anyone he knew had told him they were planning this, he would have chewed their ass out. But this was not a normal situation, or normal circumstances. Zane saw himself as damaged goods, too. Maybe the coming together of two traumatized people was what impelled him to do this. If he could be her savior, maybe she could serve the same purpose for him.
But he'd have to be careful about what activities he chose. The most important thing to him right now was giving her pleasure, however he had to do that. He zipped up his jeans but left the button undone and gave Dara an intense look.
"The first thing for you to do is take off those clothes."
Her eyes widened. "But—"
He knew she was thinking about the scars. "We hide nothing here. Understood?"
She nibbled her lower lip but then, with trembling hands, removed the garments he'd found for her, folded them, and placed them on the couch. Then she returned to stand in front of him, head bowed, hands folded, waiting for his instructions.
He had a hard time holding on to his temper as he scanned every inch of her body. There were scars everywhere; scars from the whip and what looked to be burn scars. Fuck, fuck, fuck. When this storm was over he ought to hunt this bastard down and tear him limb from limb. But for the moment he had to put it out of his mind, or his rage would consume him.
"I liked your mouth on my cock. You pleased me," he said.
"Thank you, Sir. I would enjoy pleasing you more."
Damn! Was she actually teasing him in the middle of this fucked up situation?
"Did your Master tie you up?" he asked. "Restrain you?"
"In the beginning."
"Did you enjoy it?" He needed some basic information to know how to proceed.
"I think so. But—"
"But what?"
"But it was so long ago I'm not sure." Tears filled her eyes. "Was that the wrong answer?"
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"There is no wrong answer, Dara." Zane blew out a breath and squelched the murderous rage that kept surging through him. "This is supposed to pleasure both of us. I enjoy rope play. Done properly, it enhances sexual arousal."
"Oh."
He couldn't figure out if that aroused her or frightened her, but this was the mildest play he could indulge in with her. Provided he could find what he needed in the cottage.
"Yes. Sometimes the purpose is not just to reach orgasm but to hold back as long as possible, so when it comes, the result is explosive." He glanced toward the bedroom. "I'm going to see what we have that's appropriate. Until I return, submissive mode."
At once she dropped to her knees, hands clasped behind her back, head bent. Zane let his eyes travel once more over her body before he headed for one of the two bedrooms. If he was lucky, Derek sometimes brought subs here to play and kept toys for just such a situation. Rummaging through the drawers in the main bedroom Zane found an extra-long length of softly woven rope, silk scarves, a flogger, and other toys, as well as creams and gels.
Why Derek, you naughty son of a bitch. Thank you for all this.
He carried his treasures into the living room, where Dara still knelt in submissive pose. He knelt beside her, the images already forming in his mind of how he wanted her bound.
"I'm going to blindfold you," he told her, folding a silk scarf. "Pleasure is always greater when sight is taken away. You can feel everything with a greater intensity."
She licked her plump lower lip with the tongue that had just worked such magic on him and in an instant his cock leaped to attention again. With ruthless determination he suppressed the quickening desire in his body. This was for her. He had to remember that, and focus. But maybe afterwards—
First things first, jerkwad.
"Whatever you desire, Sir."
"Good. Stand up and face me." He looked around for a place to put her, somewhere she'd be just uncomfortable enough while he twisted the rope around her.
She moved at once, facing him and waiting for his next orders. Again he had to force himself to blank out the signs of abuse all over her body. If Zane ever saw this guy, murder would be too good for him. He focused instead on the gentle curve of her hips, the slim lines of her legs, the proud tilt of her breasts that would be more than a handful for him. Breasts that were tipped with plump, rosy nipples which just begged for his mouth.
Nestled between her thighs, her cunt was bare and smooth. Waxed, he was sure. Shaving would not do such a clean, perfect job. He wanted to spread wide the lips of her pussy and tug at her clit with his teeth. Then he'd attach a tiny vibrator to it that he controlled with a remote. She'd never know when the sensations would hit her, and he'd make them last long enough to push her toward orgasm, but not enough to give her relief.
Zane took a moment to let his gaze roam over her body one more time before he took the first length of rope and began to create an intricate design. He took his time, making each coil of the rope specific, and each knot settle in a specific place. He worried that confining her this way might frighten her, make her think she had no escape, so he reminded her she had a safeword to use.
"I won't be angry if you use it," he reminded her again and again. "In fact, if you don't use it and your pain level goes beyond what gives you pleasure, then I will be angry. Do you understand?"
She nodded.
"Let me hear you say it," he commanded.
"I will use my safeword if you exceed my tolerance level."
Zane swallowed a sigh. That wasn't exactly what he meant, since he had a frightening feeling that her tolerance level was higher than it should be. However, he'd take what he could get and watch her with great care.
He moved slowly, placing each twist and loop of the rope just so. The pattern he was using was one he'd employed often. He knew from experience that he could push his subs to a high level of sexual pleasure with this tie. That was what he wanted for Dara—sexual pleasure, not fear.
By the time he'd finished her hands were tied behind her back, a ladder-like pattern winding up that led to her front. Her breasts were encased in the rope, all except for her nipples, which he tasted frequently as he wound the silk around them. They were plump, swollen buds, and when he closed his teeth over first one, then the other, they pebbled against his tongue. By the time he'd pulled a length of rope between the cheeks of her ass, with a knot resting firmly against her anal opening, the pulse at the hollow of her throat was beating wildly.
He stopped for a moment to caress the swell of each cheek of her ass, then applied a light slap to each. He smoothed his hand over her ass again and applied another series of slaps, this time a little harder. Dara rocked a little and made a tiny whimper but Zane was sure it had nothing to do with unwanted pain. He'd been a Dom long enough to know exactly how to apply a spanking to give maximum pleasure. While Dara's buttocks might now be a faint shade of red, the sounds she made weren't those of agony. Sure enough, when he slid one hand between her thighs and dragged two fingers the length of her slit, he found her sopping wet. He wanted nothing more than to suit up and lunge his cock deep inside her but this was for her, not him.
Well, maybe a little for him. For the first time in weeks, he wasn't
wrapped in a black cloud of pain and despair. If he could lose himself in her for a little while, and at the same time show her the good side of D/s, well, it was a win/win situation, right?
Taking the last length of rope, he fashioned a knot that he settled right on her clit, pulling hard to tighten it and put pressure on every one of her sensitive spots. Last, he tied off the end using the length of rope circling her waist. Now the thick cord was abrading every one of her sensitive spots. He wished he had something secure in the ceiling to hook her to but a quick glance upward showed him nothing but a ceiling fixture, which was certainly not strong enough to bear her weight.
Okay, he'd improvise. Balancing her with great care, he lifted her to the couch and arranged her so she was on her back, bound arms behind her, the cheeks of her ass resting on her heels. He was watching her carefully for signs of pain beyond the pleasure point, well aware she'd never tell him about it. When he was satisfied with her position, he picked up a tiny vibrator he'd plucked from the drawer, cleaned it carefully, and hooked it to the rope just above where the knot was pressing against her clit. The vibrator worked with a remote and the moment he pressed the button and it began to hum, he heard Dara suck in a breath and saw her body tense.
"Too much?" he asked. He was pretty sure the answer would be in the negative. She would be used to intense pain, something for her abusive Dom's pleasure, nothing for hers.
"N-no, Sir." She moved her body, pressing down on the couch with her bound hands in an attempt to press closer to the teasing thrum of the vibrator.
"Did your Master find ways like this to give you pleasure?" Zane already knew the answer but he wanted to hear what she would say.
She wet her lips and exhaled a slow breath. "N-no."
"No, what?" He might be very empathetic to her but it was important not to bend the rules of behavior.
"N-no, Sir."
He managed to tamp down the feeling of murderous rage that wanted to rush through him again. Maybe he wouldn't beat the shithead to death. Maybe instead he'd torture him for hours on end.
Focus, Zane. Focus on the here and now.
"Then let's see if we can give you the pleasure you've been denied."
He sat on the couch at her knees. With her hands and ankles intricately bound and linked together, her body was bowed upward. He watched the little vibrator do its dance, saw her try to squeeze her thighs together—but he'd made it impossible. The bare smoothness of her cunt allowed him to see how wet she was, the lips of her pussy and the pinkness of her slit shiny with her juices.
Placing his hands on the inside of her knees, he pressed them further apart until every inch of her sweet cunt was open to him. He could see the tempting sight of her opening, a darkened rose color as heat flushed through her skin. When she tried to lift her body toward the vibrator, as if seeking to increase the stimulation, he pressed harder on her knees.
"You want to come, don't you?"
She nodded and gave a soft moan, even as she tried to jerk against his touch.
"Not yet." He reached below where the vibrator was attached and traced her opening with the tip of a finger. Her inner muscles flexed, trying to draw him in. "I'll tell you when you're ready."
She moaned again, then bit her lip as if trying to hold it back.
"Don't," he told her. "I want to hear you. I want to know how hot this makes you, how long you can do this before only an orgasm will keep you from driving yourself crazy."
All the things he enjoyed with his subs, especially—No! He stopped himself. Don't go there. Focus on this, right here, right now. That was all that mattered.
As he watched Dara twist and thrust in her convoluted position, his cock twitched to life again and swelled against the fly of his jeans. With an impatience he struggled to control, he stood up and shucked both his jeans and his boxer briefs, kicking them to the side. He knelt on the couch, placed his hands on her knees again, and once more pressed them as far apart as he could get them with the restraint of the rope. When he pressed one finger just inside her channel, her muscles clamped down on him at once.
"Please," she begged. "Please, Master. I'll be good. Please let me come."
Fuck!
Zane made his voice even and nonthreatening.
"I will let you come, girl. And I do so because you are good. This is a reward, not a punishment." He leaned toward her. "And because I believe you are a very good sub, I am going to let you come. Now."
He started to slide two fingers into her but a stronger desire propelled him into the bedroom, where he hoped like hell Derek kept a supply of condoms. When Zane yanked open the nightstand drawer he saw a large box of them sitting there.
Yes!
Damn, Derek must spend half his time fucking his brains out.
Grabbing one, Zane nearly ran back into the living room, where Dara was writhing and moaning on the couch. In seconds he had the vibrator removed, the condom slipped on, and he was carefully easing himself into her slick pussy. As her channel gripped him like a wet vise he sucked in a breath and closed his eyes for a moment.
Damn good thing she's near the edge because I won't last but a few seconds.
Calling on every bit of control he possessed, he began to thrust in and out of her, the slow glide and drag of his cock against her inner walls ramping up the pleasure for both of them. Any other subs he had been with disappeared from his mind as a volatile connection rose between them, locking them in a sensation both physical and emotional.
His balls drew up, the muscles at the base of his spine knotted, and the familiar icy feeling gripped his spine.
"Now," he growled. "Come now, girl."
She didn't need his urging. They climaxed together in an explosion that shattered him, transporting him to a place of black velvet where he sank deeper and deeper, spinning wildly. He spurted into the latex sheath again and again.
He had no idea how much time had passed before he came back to full awareness. When he did, he realized Dara was still bound in that uncomfortable position, yet she wasn't complaining. Time to get his shit together and properly care for her. Meanwhile, maybe he could figure out how his world had been rocked with such intensity—and what he was going to do next.
Chapter Four
Too bad Derek hadn't had a tub put in his bathroom, Zane thought. He'd love to be soaking in it with Dara, luxuriating in the hot water, letting it ease the residual strain in both their bodies. But he did the best he could. He turned the shower on full force, as hot as they could stand it, and took great care in soaping and massaging every muscle in her body. He couldn't prevent himself from tweaking her rosy nipples when he washed her breasts, or sliding his wet fingers into the warmth of her pussy.
She kept her eyes closed the entire time, which drove him nuts. He wanted to know what she was thinking, how she was feeling. She seemed relaxed beneath the touch of his hands but he wanted to be sure. He wanted her to be satisfied and feel safe and to enjoy what they were doing.
When the hell had all that become important to him? How had a storm-tossed waif wormed her way into his heart?
At that thought his hand stilled and he froze in place. His heart? Zane wasn't sure he even had one anymore, at least not one that could feel anything except pain and sorrow and regret. He also realized, with a shock, that since he'd rescued Dara from the lake, he hadn't once thought about the nightmare of Afghanistan or the disaster with Lily. He had been so focused on Dara, the desperation of her situation and the way she turned him on that there hadn't been room in his brain for anything else.
He wanted to sleep with her tonight, to feel her soft body curled into his, hear the sound of her breathing and feel the rise and fall of her breast against his hand. The storm outside showed no signs of letting up and he was glad, for reasons different than this morning. As long as the weather was bad, Dara could not leave. In the space of a few hours he'd gone from seeing her as an irritant and disturbance, to someone who was at last pulling him out of his pit of despair
.
It wasn't even that they'd gorged themselves on sex. Sure, tying her in the intricate rope pattern had made him hot and wanting, and of course he was turned on by her response to it. The intensity of their shared orgasm still shocked him. Now he wanted more, much more, and he didn't even know if that was possible.
When the water began to run cold he rinsed them both off, turned off the spray, and wrapped Dara in one of the big bath towels he'd set on the counter. He knotted the other quickly around his waist, then carried her into the bedroom. She hadn't said a word the entire time in the shower—or even now, as he carefully inspected all the places the rope had bound her to make sure the skin was not bruised or broken. She watched him intently as he moved his hands over her body. He'd have given all he had to know what she was thinking.
At last he straightened up.
"I'm going to feed you," he announced. "I think food is in order for both of us."
Dara tried to push herself up from the bed. "I'll fix it. Just tell me what you want and I'll take care of it."
He pushed her gently back against the pillows. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and took one of her hands in his.
"If I wanted you to do it, I'd have told you." He squeezed her hand. "I don't know what to say to you, Dara. I'm so afraid it will be the wrong thing and scare you into a corner. That's the last thing I want."
She lifted her gaze to study his face with an intensity almost palpable.
"When I first saw you, I was frightened," she said in a soft voice. "You looked so fierce, so angry."
"I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just busy wrestling with my own demons and didn't want company while I did it."
Her lips curved in a tiny smile. "You haven't been so fierce since then."
He returned the smile, the feeling so strange he didn't know what to do with it. When was the last time that had happened?
"I'm glad." He looked down at their joined hands. "Dara, it doesn't look like you'll be getting out of here any time soon. Tonight, when we fall asleep, I—that is—my dreams are not always so peaceful."
