48 Hours

by Callista Arman

  Montevale had emerged from his private suite with the dress, his expression curiously strained. Maddie’d touched it gently, then looking up at him, whispered, “Did this belong to your wife?”

  Damn. Patrick never would’ve guessed Montevale had once been married. But from the look on the Dom’s face, he’d been deeply in love with her. His jaw locked tight, he’d excused himself immediately and left the room.

  Patrick looked at Maddie. “He was married?”

  Maddie nodded. “Monique told me about her. Rafael loved her very much and now he seems so lonely. I wish I could…”

  “What?” Patrick asked sharply.

  She shook her head and sighed. “Nothing, I guess.”

  Patrick had gone cold inside. Maddie was falling for Montevale—it was plain enough for even an idiot to see. The Dom had returned a moment later with the fur coat and a pair of gold stiletto sandals in exactly Maddie’s size. A limo and driver soon appeared, as if from nowhere. The limo delivered them to the steps of this exclusive members-only club.

  Patrick was sure once they stepped through the door that Maddie would be required to shed the fur coat and face whatever patrons were inside all but naked. She must’ve been contemplating the same thing, because she stood staring at the door, looking so adorably uncertain Patrick wanted to kiss her right on the spot. He didn’t think Rafael would go for such an open display of affection.

  Or maybe he would. At odd times Patrick had caught Montevale gazing at Maddie with a painfully tender, almost yearning look in his eyes. It was clear he was as enchanted with her as Patrick was. Patrick’s stomach tightened into a knot. Was Montevale considering turning the forty-eight hour agreement into a long-term relationship? If he was, Maddie would agree, Patrick was almost sure of it. And then where would Patrick be? The thought of Maddie becoming Montevale’s exclusive property tore him up inside.

  Patrick wanted Maddie for himself. All the time, every day. But when he tried to fit the scenario into their everyday lives, the image wouldn’t come. Nerdy loser dominates hard-ass attorney? There was a porn flick that hadn’t been shot yet.

  Montevale’s voice broke into his brooding. “One last preparation, cara,” he said to Maddie. She turned toward him.

  Rafael’s hand dipped into the pocket of his jacket. He drew out two thin silver chains and handed one to Patrick. “One leash for each Master,” he murmured. “It is necessary to show ownership when one enters this club. Otherwise…” His voice trailed off, leaving Patrick to wonder what was permitted to happen to submissives who weren’t claimed with a leash.

  Maddie went pale. Patrick clipped his leash to one of the rings on Maddie’s collar. He wrapped the other end of the chain around his fist. There was no way he was going to move more than two feet from her side.

  Rafael clipped his leash on Maddie’s collar. Together, the two men led her up to the small porch. Patrick expected Rafael to use the knocker, but he didn’t. Instead, he extracted an ornate gold key from his pocket and inserted it in the lock.

  “Shall we?” he said.

  The door creaked open, revealing a small but elaborately decorated foyer. The walls were paneled in rich wood. A fireplace with a marble mantelpiece was set in one wall, flanked by two suits of medieval armor that stood like silver guards. The chandelier was a rough wooden wheel, lit by candles. The floor was marble as well, done in a dizzying pattern of tile. A staircase with a red runner was visible in the shadow to the left. The only light came from torches—real fire, Patrick was surprised to note—which flickered in medieval-looking holders in the wall.

  Rafael and Patrick ushered Maddie inside. A man dressed in black leather materialized at Patrick’s side. He was a large man, his bare chest crossed with studded leather straps, his face hidden under a black hood punctuated only with eye and nose slits. He wore a whip, holstered at his waist like a weapon.

  Rafael removed Maddie’s coat and handed it to the masked man. He gave a grunt and stepped back. Patrick snorted. Apparently, the menacing character was no more than a costumed cloakroom attendant.

  Rafael led the way through the foyer and into a dimly lit hallway. The passageway was too narrow for three to walk abreast. Patrick’s first instinct was to hang back and stay at Maddie’s side, but a look from Rafael told him to step forward. Together the men strode the length of the corridor, trailing Maddie behind them on her twin leashes.

  The corridor widened, coming to a dead end before a pair of paneled doors. A slice of light was visible under the doors and Patrick could hear the faint buzz of voices coming from the other side. Again Rafael extracted a key, this time a long skeleton key. He inserted it in the keyhole and turned. The door creaked slowly open.

  * * * * *

  Maddie couldn’t see the room at first. She was standing behind Rafael and Patrick, the combined breadth of their shoulders blocking her view. But she could hear a low murmur of conversation, punctuated by groans and cries that were distinctly sexual in origin. Oh, God. What had she gotten herself into now?

  She heard Patrick suck in a breath. His shoulders went rigid. Rafael stepped forward, pulling his companions into the room, then stepped aside to push the door shut behind them.

  Maddie took in the scene before her. There were about two dozen people present. A handful were engaged in various bondage tableaus, while the rest watched, holding cocktails and chatting among themselves. Black-costumed waiters circulated with drinks.

  Rafael led her a little ways into the room. Just a few feet away, a woman was bent over a padded table, her arms and legs locked to the table legs. She was crying softly as her Dom whipped her buttocks with a flexible cane. Maddie saw pink weals rise. Heard the woman beg for more through her tears.

  On the other side of the room, a man was bound upside down to a large tilted X-shaped frame. A woman in a black rubber dress was working him with a flogger. In another corner, a woman lay trussed on a cushioned stage, the ropes binding her body a study in intricate knotwork. In another corner, a woman knelt, giving a man head.

  Maddie’s head spun. What would Rafael require of her during their hours here?

  A man greeted Rafael. Rafael introduced Patrick, but made no move to include Maddie in the conversation that ensued. Just as well. She was sure she couldn’t get a word past her lips.

  They made a slow circle of the room, stopping at each of the tableaus in turn. Maddie cast a sidelong glance at Patrick. His eyes were wide. She could tell by his expression which of the tableaus turned him on. He gave only a cursory glance to the man on the frame, but the trussed-up woman earned a good deal of his attention. Another scene, where a woman was being fucked up the ass also interested him. Maddie felt beads of sweat warm her breasts and sides. Watching those things aroused her, too.

  “What will Maddie’s display be this evening?” Patrick asked.

  Maddie went still, waiting for Rafael’s pronouncement.

  “Nothing too advanced, I think,” he said thoughtfully.

  Nothing too advanced? God only knew what that would be. Maddie’s knees trembled. She hoped she wouldn’t embarrass herself by fainting.

  Rafael procured her a glass of wine and ordered her to sip it. She did, and when she was finished, he had a black-hooded waiter refill it. She drained the second glass, too. The warmth of the alcohol weighted her limbs and calmed her nerves.

  More of Rafael’s friends approached. Three men this time, each with their own submissives waiting patiently behind them. Each of the men inspected Maddie brazenly, but as Rafael offered no introduction, they didn’t speak to her. He introduced Patrick, however, who had no trouble at all slipping into the conversation. Many times, he even seemed to be controlling the banter. Maddie studied him from beneath her lashes. Patrick seemed entirely at ease speaking with these men, all of whom had to be as rich and powerful as Rafael. In other words, completely out of Patrick’s league. But if she hadn’t known otherwise, she would have thought he was one of them.

  Rafael spent a good ha
lf-hour chatting, leaving Maddie to wonder what her “display” would entail. But that line of thought left her anxious, so she blanked her mind. She couldn’t control what would happen, so why bother to try? All that mattered was when the time came, that she was brave enough to please Rafael.

  Finally, Rafael led her to a small platform. Padded handcuffs hung from the ceiling above it. A small crowd gathered around as Rafael lifted the hem of Maddie’s dress and tugged it over her head, leaving her naked. Then he lifted Maddie’s arms and cinched her wrists into the cuffs. Using a switch on the edge of the platform, he raised the chains, lifting Maddie until her toes just barely touched the floor. Gently, he set her swaying.

  Oh, God. She hated this. Swaying helplessly, unable to gain her balance, while a group of faceless men and women looked on. A few were laughing. Others were making comments about her body. “Nice meaty ass,” said one portly man appreciatively. She wanted to die.

  “My sub will stay on display thirty minutes,” Rafael informed the crowd. “She is still in training. I will permit casual touching, but no intimate contact.”

  Maddie’s breath left her. She was to hang for half an hour, being pawed by anyone who wanted to touch her? This was horrible. Humiliating in the extreme. So why did her pussy respond with a trickle of juice?

  A man approached, running his hand over her stomach, carefully avoiding her breasts, though he looked his fill. He smiled at her, then retreated. A second man touched her ass—she couldn’t even see who it was handling her. Shame flooded her. A third man ran a hand over her hip, then pushed gently, sending her swaying again.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the entrance door open, admitting three men. One had a submissive woman in tow, the other two were looking around as if the club was new to them. The younger man half turned toward her, his attention on a whipping scene.

  Her heart slammed into her throat. The newcomer was Mike Kellman IV.

  The older man with him was most certainly Mike Kellman III, KK&R’s senior partner. Maddie tried to suck in a breath, but it was as if all the oxygen had suddenly been drained from the air. She stared at the Kellmans, praying they wouldn’t look over at her.

  A man and woman stepped up to the platform and started running their hands over her, but Maddie hardly felt them. Her mind had seized and gone numb. Who was she kidding? Of course Mikes Three and Four would see her. It was only a matter of time.

  When they recognized her, her career as a lawyer would be over.

  She tried to twist, giving them her back, but her body only twirled back to its original position. Patrick must have noticed something was wrong, however. He caught her eye and sent her a questioning frown.

  She tilted her head ever so slightly in the Kellmans’ direction. Patrick followed the motion and his blue eyes went wide. But before he had a chance to react, the Kellmans grew bored with the flogging scene and started strolling toward Maddie.

  A man ordered his sub to run her hands up and down Maddie’s legs. Maddie shut her eyes, wishing desperately that she could shrink to nothing and disappear. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t hide. Should she call out for Rafael? He stood about ten feet away, deep in conversation with a female Dom. But no, she’d only anger him and draw the Kellmans’ attention that much quicker.

  “Maddie.”

  She opened her eyes to find Patrick standing in front of her. Before she could think, before she could even breathe, he lifted a swath of black fabric and brought it down over her head.

  A hood, like the ones the waiters were wearing! She let out a trembling breath as a flood of gratitude poured from her heart. Patrick had come to her rescue once again.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I hope it’s enough,” he muttered. He shoved her hair up under it and secured the ties around her neck. The eye slits weren’t positioned correctly, so she couldn’t see, but she hardly cared. Her face was covered. Would Mike Four recognize her body? Maybe not. He’d have no reason to expect Maddie to be on display at a D/s club.

  “I’m going to back off so they don’t see me,” Patrick said. “I’ll explain the situation to Montevale and be back the second your time’s up.” He checked his watch. “That’s only ten more minutes.”

  His heat faded away. Someone else approached. Strange hands glided over her skin. A moment later, she felt a familiar, clumsy touch.

  “Her tits are too small,” Mike Four complained. “And her ass is too big.”

  “I like a woman with a big ass,” Mike Three replied. She felt her boss’s hand cover one globe.

  “I don’t,” her ex said, prodding Maddie’s stomach. “I had enough of that with Maddie Brindisi.”

  “And yet you lost her.”

  “I didn’t. I dumped her.” Mike Four’s voice jumped up an octave. “She’s a frigid bitch. All she wanted to do was talk law. She hated to fuck.”

  “She hated to fuck you, you mean,” Mike Three said. His hands drifted to Maddie’s thigh, dangerously close to her pussy.

  She should have been repulsed. But the sensation of having all these strangers touch her had aroused her body, even as her mind had recoiled from it. Her inner muscles contracted and she let out a moan.

  “Maddie Brindisi was an ice queen.” Mike Four said. “All she wanted to fuck were her law books. I need a passionate woman, like this one. If her tits were bigger, I’d offer to buy her from her Dom.”

  “You wouldn’t know the first thing about being a Dominant,” Mike Three said dismissively.

  Mike Four snorted. “It doesn’t look too hard. Did you see that bitch getting fucked up the ass? I could get into that.” His hand drifted down Maddie’s stomach, brushing barely an inch from her clit.

  Maggie sagged, panting. Despite the knowledge of who touched her, her clit yearned to be stimulated. As long as the Kellmans didn’t guess who she was, she didn’t even care if they pawed her body. And the knowledge that Rafael had commanded her to do this turned her on even more. Was this Rafael’s doing? Had his training so thoroughly sensitized her and swept aside her inhibitions that now anything he desired of her gave her pleasure, too?

  “That’s enough, gentlemen.” Rafael’s decisive voice cut through the Kellmans’ bickering. “My sub’s display time is up.”

  The chains lowered, allowing Maddie to get her footing on the ground. A second later, she was free, cradled in Rafael’s strong arms. He carried her, his steps sure. He didn’t remove her hood until they were in the entrance foyer.

  Patrick stood to one side, holding her dress and coat. She let out a shaky breath as Rafael set her on her feet. Rafael took the dress. Patrick draped the fur coat over Maddie’s bare shoulders.

  Rafael took her hand. “I’m sorry, cara. Patrick told me of your difficulty. Every member of this club is a personal acquaintance of mine. I never considered the possibility that one of them would invite a guest that you knew. If I had, I would have consulted the guest list for the evening.”

  “We got her out before they recognized her,” Patrick said. “That’s all that matters. And I’m sure they didn’t see me either, so they’ll never connect Maddie with this place.”

  Rafael eyed Patrick. “You are a quick-thinking young man,” he said. “Madeline is lucky to count you as a friend.”

  A friend, thought Maddie, her chest tightening. Just a friend. That’s all Patrick was, all he ever could be. Their work lives were just too closely aligned for them to be anything else.

  * * * * *

  They rode home in silence.

  It was late. Patrick wondered if Montevale had anything else in mind for Maddie, or whether he would let her get some rest. She looked exhausted by the day’s activities and her near-catastrophe with the Kellmans. His heart squeezed a little, thinking of what she’d endured. How much she’d opened herself for both her Masters. And not once had she complained. Just the opposite. She’d given wave after wave of sensual response. Maddie was far more amazing than even Patrick’s wildest dreams of her.
>
  Once home, Montevale led Maddie to her room. Patrick trailed behind, not willing to let her out of his sight. Would the Dom tie her up and leave her like he did the night before? Or would he banish Patrick and stay with her himself? Neither scenario appealed.

  When Maddie entered the room, Patrick drew Montevale aside. “I’d like a word with you, sir.”

  Montevale frowned slightly. “Madeline, remove your coat and shoes and kneel on the platform.” When she’d disappeared, Montevale crossed his arms, leaned against the doorjamb and waited.

  “I want Maddie to myself for the night,” Patrick told him.

  The Dom eyed him. He looked tired, Patrick thought, not in his body, but in his soul. Patrick remembered what Maddie had told him about Montevale’s wife. Had he loved her as much as Patrick loved Maddie? If he had, Patrick couldn’t begin to imagine the pain her death had brought him.

  “What makes you think you deserve a night with my submissive?” Montevale asked finally.

  “I don’t deserve her,” Patrick said quietly. “I know that. But I’d do anything to have this one night with her. Alone.”

  Montevale considered this for a moment, then, to Patrick’s surprise, he nodded. “I give my permission. But there is one requirement.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You will not take her virgin ass. That is mine.”

  Patrick swallowed. “Agreed.” He turned toward the door.

  “And one other thing,” Montevale said.

  Patrick looked back.

  “Remember what I have taught you.”

  * * * * *

  Though she heard the bedroom door open, Maddie kept her head down and her eyes fixed on the floor. Her butt touched her heels, her hands rested loosely on her thighs, palms up. Rafael had told her to kneel, so she had, waiting for him to appear. But her confusion, she heard only one set of footsteps approaching and they didn’t belong to Rafael.

  They were Patrick’s.

  He paused at the edge of the stage. A day ago, she would have looked up brazenly, right into his eyes. But tonight, she kept her eyes carefully downcast. She sensed a change in Patrick. A new resolve and authority. If she overstepped her role as a submissive, he would punish her. Of that, she had no doubt. So she kept her head bowed, waiting for him to speak.