“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.”
“Go and get ready, I’ll finish up here.”
Her heart thumped as she placed her rag on the counter and silently left the room. In the privacy of her bedroom, she cursed herself for being so stupid. How could she have forgotten something like that? She had disrespected her Master by not telling him everything that was going on with Mark Trammell and Greg. She should have informed him right away when Greg Preston turned up on her doorstep the other night.
She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her black eye was fading and the marks on her cheeks weren’t as noticeable as before.
She quickly jumped into the shower, scrubbing herself hard as the frustration of her actions ran through her head. She hated disappointing Master Steve. To see the look in his eyes when he was displeased with her was the worst thing in the world to her. And if he was going to be her husband, she would have to tell him everything. The thought was daunting.
She still had her pride and knew it would be hard sometimes to admit when she had done something she shouldn’t have. She just hoped that being his wife might make her behave a little more sensibly. With any luck she would no longer get herself into this type of situation again.
She pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a loose top, not even bothering with underwear. She would only have to remove it as soon as they got to the club anyhow.
Putting a little make-up on, she took the time to examine her face a little more thoroughly. How had she ever thought she could hide anything from Master Steve? Not only had the bruises been obvious to anyone with half an eye, but she knew he could read her expressions as easily as any paperback.
“Ready?” He was standing in her doorway, now with a shirt on as well as his jeans and those great boots of his which clopped across the floor when he was in the dungeon. He looked gorgeous.
“Just about,” she said with a sigh. This wasn’t going to be the joyful occasion she had been hoping for.
“Don’t look so miserable.” He came over and stroked her cheek, smiling at her in the mirror. “It’ll be fine.”
She tried to smile as she got up and grabbed a jacket before following him out the door. It was a quiet journey. April couldn’t get it out of her head that she had disrespected him and then forgotten about it. How in hell had that happened?
“We’ll talk once you’ve got changed,” he told her as he parked outside the club.
She nodded. She knew this wasn’t going to be as much fun as she might have hoped, but at least she’d probably get to see her friends again. Summer had recently started taking shifts in The Bottom Bar and Tuesday never missed an opportunity to go to the club after work. Her hopes were short lived though.
“Until then I don’t want you to talk to anyone, understand?” His voice was deep and she felt it right down in her groin.
She stared at him. She had been hoping to start telling everyone their news. After all, it’s not every day a girl gets engaged!
Master Steve must have caught her expression as he frowned, leaning farther toward her. He was studying her face. “Do you understand, April?” That voice again.
She nodded. “Yes, Sir.” She understood all right. It had been OK for him to tell his partner, but she couldn’t tell her friends! She huffed, biting her tongue to stop her from telling him exactly how she felt. She knew Master Steve. He was a fair man and she was confident she would get her chance to explain her thoughts before too long.
Silently she got out of the car and took his hand as he led her into the foyer. Hope was walking toward the elevator as they climbed in, and she waved as soon as she spotted her friend.
“Hi, April, how are you?” She rushed up to them and gave April a huge hug as she joined them.
“She’s not allowed to speak,” Master Steve informed her.
April watched Hope’s face fall as she loosened her grip on her.
“Oh, sorry. I hope everything’s all right,” she told her.
April nodded with a faint smile. Hope was used to quite high protocol and knew all about being punished at the club. Her Dom, Master Esteban, was a very strict man and most of the subs were afraid of him. He would punish Hope for the most trivial things, in their opinion, like not adjusting her skirt correctly before serving customers, or speaking about things he deemed unacceptable, even when she wasn’t with him.
Hope diligently took a step away from them and stood on her own whilst in the elevator, not saying another word. When they arrived on the lower floor, Master Steve took a step back, ushering the two ladies out of the elevator before him.
“Good luck,” Hope mouthed to April without him seeing, before making her way toward the bar.
April watched her go, wishing she was at work right now instead of here waiting for her punishment. It wasn’t the physical side of it that worried her, it was just that she felt so miserable for making Master Steve unhappy. She took a deep breath. At least once it was over with she could look forward to enjoying herself again. The thought of going shopping for her ring tomorrow, as well as a dishwasher, eased her mind a little.
“Meet me beside the cross,” Master Steve growled at her as they reached the changing rooms.
She nodded. As quickly as she could she got undressed, putting on a pretty pink halter-neck style top and a short white skirt. She left her hair loose and went into the dungeon.
The familiar smell of leather and polish welcomed her into the room, and the sound of Nine-Inch Nails rang through the air. It was quite busy and she sighed, a little disappointed. If she was about to be punished she didn’t want a big audience!
Making her way toward the large St. Andrew’s Cross which dominated one wall, she felt her heart thumping hard against her ribs. She usually enjoyed being on the cross. It was one of her favorite things in the club. She felt a little off guard, wondering why Master Steve would choose one of her greatest pleasures as her punishment. There had to be more to it.
She knelt in front of the cross, keeping her back straight and her hands palm-up on her knees. With a deep breath, she took a last look around the room before focusing her eyes on her lap. Everything seemed to fade into the background, the music, chattering, shouts and screams of ecstasy and pain. Her mind was filled with the remorse of upsetting her Master, and her heart ached.
“Good girl.”
She heard his deep, gentle voice and saw those black, shiny boots stop in front of her. The smell of his leathers mingled with his aftershave filled her senses and she closed her eyes to breathe him in.
“Do you know why you are being punished, darlin’?” His voice was soft, but strict.
“Yes, Sir. I didn’t tell you about Greg Preston coming to my house. Then I didn’t wait for you to take me home when I saw you in the diner. I neglected to tell you that I had been hit by Mark Trammell, or that I had even met him. I put myself in danger by allowing these men into my home, and then again when I attacked Mary-Lou at the hospital.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she imagined how disappointed he must be with her and she was glad she wasn’t looking at that gorgeous face.
She sniffed hard before continuing. “And today I completely forgot that I had been bad and needed to be punished.”
She felt his warm finger under her chin as he tilted her face up to meet his. Damn! He looked so handsome. He didn’t have a shirt on again and his muscles were hard, tense. He looked sad. She knew he wouldn’t really want to punish her. He hated doing it.
“Are you sorry?” His voice was gentle and he was staring into her eyes.
She wanted to sob into that taut chest of his, feel his skin next to hers, hear him tell her it was all right. But it wasn’t all right. Not yet.
“Y-yes, Sir.” Her lip trembled as she stammered, hoping he could see just how sorry she was. He did. His face relaxed a little and he nodded.
“Good girl.”
She swallowed hard, trying to quell the hard lump in her throat that matched the one in the pit of her stomach.
“I was worried sick about you, April. I care for you so much, no, I love you so much that it hurt me to think that you were in danger and hadn’t come to me. I was working on the rape case, trying to pin down Mark Trammell for the crime I knew he’d committed but had to prove. He kept slipping away from us, and I hated the thought of scum like that out on the streets, preying on innocent women like yourself.” He paused, swallowing down some emotion. April’s heart went out to him.
“The first time I saw Kayleigh Watson in that hospital bed I thanked God it wasn’t you. Selfish of me, I know, but that’s how I felt. Once we made the connection between him and his sister, I knew he was closer to you than I’d thought. I was scared. I didn’t want him anywhere near you. It hurt me when I discovered that you had actually met him, invited him into your home, and that you then covered for him after he hit you. It made me sick.
“When we realized he was on his way back to your place I was horrified. I wasn’t just angry about him, darlin’, I was scared for your life.”
She couldn’t stop the massive sob which wracked her whole body. To hear this big, strong, hero of a man admit that he had been scared tore her heart in two. And to think she had done this to him was just unforgiveable. She longed to clench her hands together, to get some sort of purchase on anything physical, but she couldn’t. Her position didn’t allow that. It was even harder that she was forced to look into his anguished face as he told her how he felt. Seeing the emotions in his eyes, the way his neck twitched, his jaw tense, was sheer torture. She wanted to put her arms around his massive body, to apologize over and over again, to beg his forgiveness for putting him through the whole horrific episode.
He paused and she could hear nothing but her own heart pumping relentlessly through her. The sounds and smells of the club dissipated and all she could do was strain her ears to hear him speak again and she willed him to speak again. She couldn’t stand the silence. It cloaked her in despair and misery. It afforded her no hope, no prospect of reconciliation. She felt dead inside.
Strong fingers wiped the tears from her face and he came into focus once again. She gawped at his beautiful features.
“I was proud of you today, darlin’.” His voice was like melted treacle, smothering her sadness like a blanket over an electrical fire. It quashed her fears and left her numb, not daring to believe this could be resolved.
His melancholy expression had lifted a little and he had the hint of a smile on that adorable face. She sniffed, not daring to think.
“It seems to me that you forgot about defending yourself, but when it came to protecting that helpless woman you kicked straight into action. Those moves were perfect, especially when you got the bitch to the ground. You did great. It was an honor to watch. You remembered everything I’d taught you. I was real pleased.” His eyes looked warm and twinkling and his face relaxed as he spoke.
April felt a warmth flood through her entire body and she realized that she had been holding her breath. With a sigh, her muscles eased and she gazed into his eyes, oblivious of her surroundings. The only thing she could see, hear, or smell was him. He was her universe, all that mattered.
“Now I know that I need to mete out some sort of punishment for all this, but I’ve got a confession to make. I’m not so perfect myself.”
She was astonished. Her Master was admitting to something?
“I went off half-cocked, accusing that Greg Preston of assaulting you when he didn’t. Because of my actions, he came around to take it out on you. That’s how this whole mess with Trammell started, so, in a way this was all my fault.” His look of contrition melted her heart even more, and she imagined it was now just a soggy mess inside of her. She knew he’d been wrong to accuse Greg, but she should have told him the truth in the first place. None of this would have happened if she’d just told him…
“Now don’t you go defending me, here.” He grinned. “I know you’re dying to tell me that I really am perfect.” He winked and she felt like she was flying. Suddenly the world seemed right again. He was joking with her! In the middle of all this, he was making fun.
“But, you see, darlin’, no one is. We all make mistakes. We’ve both been wrong in this and I hope we’ve both learned a lesson. We need to communicate.” He laughed and she knew he had seen the irony in that statement. How could she communicate when she was not allowed to speak?
She nodded as a massive smile spread across her face.
“OK, so this is what we’re gonna do. Firstly, from now on I want you to tell me everything, no matter how trivial, ya hear?”
She nodded happily.
“Good, ’cause I can’t have a wife knowing things that I don’t.” His voice was quiet as he leaned even closer to speak to her. He obviously didn’t want anyone to overhear their news.
She nodded again, her heart lifting.
“So what I’ve decided is that you will be beaten with a single tail up on that cross.”
She gazed at him in amazement. This was a punishment?
He chuckled. “OK, I know that’s no hardship for you, but wait till you hear the next part.”
She gulped. Oh shit!
He smirked. “Now, I know you’re just dying to tell everyone our good news, especially as I’ve already told my best friend. This’ll give you women something to chew on for years if you let it. So I’m gonna continue to not allow you to speak to anyone. This is our little secret for now.”
She sighed, glad that he had acknowledged the unfairness of it all. It was a small price to pay for his forgiveness though.
“And, with all this talk of pregnancy and stuff lately, I thought that the best way to ensure you stay quiet is with this.”
Her jaw dropped as she stared at the pink pacifier in his hand. He couldn’t seriously think that…
“Open wide.”
Oh yes he could!
“Oh, I see you already have.” He chuckled as he placed the piece of rubber on her tongue. “Now I know humiliation isn’t your thing, so let this be a lesson to you.” He tipped her jaw up to close her mouth around the strange object.
April bit down hard on the rubber teat as he helped her up onto the cross. He was kind enough to allow her to face the wall, with her face turned sideways, so she hoped the stupid thing in her mouth wasn’t too noticeable. The titters from a few passers-by told her that she was foolish for even thinking that. They noticed all right. Damn!
She heard Master Steve giggle into her ear as he leaned over to check her restraints. He was enjoying this! She took another deep breath. It was time to suck it up, literally.
“You OK, darlin’?” His voice was warm and soft.
She nodded.
“All right. Now I know you can’t use your safe word, so you just stick up your right index and middle fingers if you want ‘yellow’ and one finger—either one you choose—for ‘red’, got it?”
As she nodded, she couldn’t stop the giggle that rocked her body. He was supposed to be dishing out punishment and yet here he was giving her carte blanche to stick her fingers up at him, and she knew exactly which one she would use for ‘red’!
She relished the sting of the single tail as it swiped across her back. This was just what she needed. The whip stung her skin, and she could feel by the precision of Master Steve’s strokes that he was making some sort of pattern on her flesh. He wanted this to be a reminder to her, not that she would ever forget it.
His big hand held in the heat before soothing away the pain, and she relaxed into the warm wood of the cross. She closed her eyes, no longer bothered if anyone stopped to laugh at her with the pacifier in her mouth. She had never sucked her thumb as a baby, but she found the feel of the rubber between her tongue and the roof of her mouth strangely calming.
She sighed as the leather thudded across her flesh, no longer hurting, just beating out a soothing rhythm on her body. Now and then Master Steve would check on her, his gentle voice wafting into her dreamy thoughts, and she would nod, almost di
sappointed that she didn’t get the chance to stick her fingers up at him.
His breathing was steady, controlled, just like the man himself, and she cherished the sound. The feeling of his complete attention on her, giving her what she needed—what they both needed—was delightful. And knowing that he was hers was the best feeling in the whole world.
She had longed for so long to be able to claim him as her own, but had never dared to. The thought of trusting another man after what Greg Preston had put her through had prevented her from living her life to the fullest, and she resented her ex for that. Now that she had finally laid that ghost to rest, she was free to start over again. She was free to trust. Free to love. And, by God, did she love that man with the whip!
Vampire Sex’s “Don’t Cum Easy” rang out somewhere in the distance, and there was a faint mumble of customers at the bar, but April wasn’t paying attention. She was soaring out of her body, feeling elated and content at last. The constant thud on her back, the sound of that gorgeous man praising her, encouraging her, were all that mattered now.
“Beautiful, darlin’” he muttered. “And you’re all mine!”
Her aching pussy went into overdrive and she felt her juices trail down her legs. Her eyes were closed tight as she lost herself to the feeling of utter oblivion. With one more thud she was there, higher than she had ever been, roaring out as her whole body tensed and she wailed her release as she bit hard on the soft rubber in her mouth. Bright lights danced in front of her still-closed eyes, and the sensations soared through her over and over again.
“That’s it, darlin’. You’re so beautiful. God, I want you.” As aftershocks began to wrack her body, she felt his warm hands unfasten her from her shackles, and he lifted her in his muscular arms, still murmuring and nuzzling her neck and her hair.
He didn’t take her over to the sofas as he usually did. Tonight he took her down the corridor to one of the private rooms. She snuggled into him, listening intently to his heart hammering hard against her ear.
Gently he laid her on the huge bed, and she took in her surroundings as he quickly removed his boots and leathers. The room was painted a pale lilac with a massive black iron four-poster bed in the middle of it. Silk drapes hung from the posts, enclosing them in a safe, private cocoon. She loved this room.
Waiting on April Page 16
