He shrugged. “I moved some money around while you were gone. It’s all worked out.”
“You would put me through college?” Shock didn’t begin to describe her emotions.
He narrowed his eyes. “Of course. When you figure out what you want to study, we’ll make it happen.”
Her heart was overflowing. If this amazing man could find it in his heart to keep her as his own and arrange for her to have everything in the world her heart desired, surely she could make room for one tiny baby. Or two. Maybe two.
She smiled. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.” He gripped her shoulders. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t move.” He left her there on her knees, shaking, but not nearly as distraught as she had been earlier. She could handle this. She was strong. And she had the best man in the world at her side.
Chapter 25
Three nights later…
“You okay?”
Brooke lifted her gaze to find Faith staring at her, concern written all over her face. She had never been so happy to see someone in her life—except maybe Tuesday morning when Carter showed up at her grandparents’. But she’d never had a real girlfriend before she met Faith, and she hoped the two of them could be friends. After all, their men were as close as brothers.
“Great. Thanks.” Brooke set a hand on the padded leather bench she stood next to in the middle of Zodiac’s main floor. The leather was supple and somehow calming.
“Rowen said you had a stomach bug.”
“I did. Food allergy, they think. I went to the doctor on Wednesday finally. No idea what caused it. Any number of things are possible. My body isn’t accustomed to most of the food I’ve eaten in the last few weeks.” Brooke patted her stomach, glad the nausea had passed.
She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed about the negative pregnancy test. By the time she was willing to read it, she’d convinced herself she could handle being a mother. She smiled at her private thoughts, not saying anything to Faith.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here this afternoon,” Brooke continued. She had come early with Carter, insisting she was completely healed and ready to try some new scenes. He’d invited Rowen and Lincoln, which wasn’t strange since they also owned the club and were knowledgeable about the dilemma she and Carter were facing.
Of course Faith was with Rowen, and she too knew her craft well. Brooke trusted her.
Faith smiled. “Thought I could help.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Brooke did something she had rarely done in her life until the last few weeks. She leaned forward and gave Faith a tight hug. “I appreciate your help.”
“Sasha is here too. Have you met her?”
Brooke shook her head. “Not yet, but I’ve heard a lot about her.” She was Lincoln’s girlfriend. She was also Rowen’s sister.
“I hope you don’t mind. I invited her. I thought it might be nice if you had a stranger in the room too. It adds to the atmosphere of a real club scene, but at the same time, you’ll have the knowledge that Sasha is someone you can trust. You’ll be fast friends eventually. I can feel it. You have similarities.”
Brooke tipped her head to one side. “Like what?”
Faith chuckled. “You’re both very submissive. And strong.”
“You’re not?”
Faith laughed. “Oh I am too. It’s just different somehow.”
Footsteps behind Brooke alerted her to the arrival of the men. They had been upstairs while Brooke wandered around in the main room of the club for a few minutes.
When Brooke turned around, she found all three men and a woman approaching. The brunette would be Sasha.
Sasha was almost as small as Faith, but her personality was vibrant, exploding from her eyes in an inviting way that told Brooke she was going to love her. With springy brown curls hanging down her back and green eyes that stood out even more than Brooke’s, she was incredibly attractive. “Hey. I’m Sasha. Nice to finally meet you.” She stuck out a hand.
Brooke took it, shocked by her grip and warmth. “Brooke.”
“Hope you don’t mind if I watch? Carter thought it might be a good addition.”
Carter came up behind Brooke and wrapped an arm possessively around her middle, tugging her against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “It seemed awkward to leave Sasha out of our scene since the rest of us are all here.”
Brooke smiled, tipping her head back to look at him. “I’m glad you invited her.” She was as nervous as she’d ever been, but adding Sasha had nothing to do with it.
“Love your dress,” Sasha added, her gaze roaming down Brooke’s body and back up.
“Thank you.” Brooke blushed, feeling the heat creep up her cheeks at the compliment. She wasn’t used to being admired. Nor was she accustomed to wearing a dress.
Carter had bought it for her and surprised her that afternoon before they left the house, laying it out on the bed with a delicate set of matching bra and panties. All three items were black.
Brooke’s book of firsts was going to have a long list tonight. She’d never worn lingerie that wasn’t purely utilitarian before. She’d never owned a little black dress. She’d never exposed her skin in public—and she knew from several negotiations with Carter in the last few days that he expected her to expose herself in this intimate setting to a certain degree.
Ever since she’d put the lacy bra and thong on, she’d been preparing herself mentally for the eventuality that everyone else was going to see her in nothing but the set.
Carter’s hand slid up between her breasts to cup her face, angling her head back and exposing her neck. He spoke to the room at large, but his gaze never left hers. “She’s beautiful all the time, but it’s very gratifying to watch her move in this dress because she feels pretty in it too.”
He wasn’t wrong. She felt like a model. “Thank you,” she mouthed even though she’d already thanked him about two hundred times.
He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. “As sexy as this dress is, I’m about to take it off. You ready for that?”
She swallowed. Already? Now? I guess that’s what we’re all gathered here for…
Carter lifted a brow as he spun her around to face him. He cupped her cheeks in his usual way, essentially blocking her off from everyone else to keep her focused strictly on him. “I know it’s a big step for you, and we don’t have to do this today. We don’t have to do it ever. It’s up to you.”
She bit her bottom lip, trying to drag forth the courage to participate in this scene. They had a deal. If she wanted him to strike her with any significance, he needed to be able to see her bare skin to ensure he wasn’t hitting too hard or breaking her skin.
She understood his perspective, and she desperately wanted to take this next step, but it was going to be huge for her to expose so much of her body to other people. Friends. Close friends in the lifestyle. No one would judge her. Ever.
She could do this. “I’m ready.”
Carter kissed her forehead and then turned her to face the bench she’d been staring at before everyone came in the room. “Lift your arms, baby,” he whispered in her ear.
She took a deep breath and let him slide the silky material of the dress over her head. In less than a heartbeat, she stood in the main room wearing nothing but the black, lacy bra and thong that suddenly seemed skimpier than they had earlier.
Her butt was totally exposed, which was intentional because Carter intended to devote most of his attention to that area of her backside.
He set a hand on her lower back and smoothed it down over one cheek and then her thigh. His lips were inches from her ear as he spoke to her in a voice everyone else would have to strain to hear. “I’m going to lift you onto the bench now. You know where to put your knees and elbows.”
She nodded.
He gripped her waist and lifted her into positio
n.
She bit down on her lower lip, trying to calm herself. Four other people were in the room. All were silent. She could feel them positioned around her at different angles. Their presence was intentional—ensuring her physical and mental safety.
“I’m not going to secure you to the bench, but I want you to keep your hands and knees where they are. If you wiggle too much, I’ll not only bind your ankles and wrists, but your waist too.”
She nodded, unable to say a word. My waist?
“Safewords?”
“Yellow and red,” she murmured, settling her cheek on the cool leather, eyes closed. If she didn’t look directly at anyone, she might be able to pretend they weren’t there.
“Good girl.” He shifted her slightly with his fingers on her hips from behind, and then he molded them to her butt cheeks, gripping the flesh, warming her. When his palms slid down to her thighs, his thumbs super close to her sex, she felt the first twinge of arousal.
It still shocked her that she could get so turned on by his dominance. Nothing like that had ever happened with Faith, but then again Brooke hadn’t been interested in Faith in that way. She’d simply enjoyed the release.
Shocking her further was the fact that she liked what Carter did to her even more. The addition of a new kind of release she’d never dreamed of still surprised her every time he touched her. When he worked his magic to bring her to orgasm at the same time he struck her with his hand or one of his tools, she reached a level of euphoria she’d never thought possible.
As his hands smoothed up her body, he leaned over her and set his lips on her ear again. “Are you aroused?”
She could only hope he heard her whispered “Yes.”
“I’m going to spank you first to get your mind in the right place and warm up your skin, and then I’m going to use a crop on you. Understood?”
“Yes.” She more than understood. She couldn’t wait. No one had used a crop on her yet. She was anxious to experience the sting. He’d warned her it would be intense. Faith had used a whip on her but not with enough force to leave lasting welts, and Brooke had never exposed her skin for any of her scenes with Faith.
His first swat landed without warning, making her flinch. He soothed the skin for a second and then repeated the action on her other butt cheek. She might have jerked a bit but not as forcefully as the first time.
A series of rapid spanks then landed all over her bottom, up and down, some of them halfway on her thighs. Those were the ones that made her horny. She started to panic a bit at the prospect of coming in front of all these people.
She hadn’t anticipated the ability to get aroused with an audience. It snuck up on her. She had no way to stop it.
“Trust me, baby,” he whispered in her ear. “Nothing will happen we didn’t discuss.”
They had not discussed orgasm, but he couldn’t control her body’s reaction to his touch.
Several more swats landed on first one cheek and then the other, and then Carter was behind her again, massaging her bottom. “You ready for the crop?”
“Yes.” She’d been ready for days. If it hadn’t been for the stupid foodborne illness, she would have insisted he dominate her like this sooner. “Please.” She said the word in a respectful tone, not allowing it to come off as pleading.
“Good girl.” With a hand on her lower back, he used his other hand to set the folded leather end of the crop against her heated butt, dragging the cool leather over her skin. Moments later, he tapped her flesh in one spot, each tap growing in intensity. Finally, he lifted it a few inches and thwack.
It stung. It took her breath away. It also felt amazing.
She moaned, letting her head loll back and forth against the padding of the bench. That first strike of the crop sent a tingling straight to her clit. She wouldn’t be able to avoid an orgasm. Would anyone notice?
Gripping her pussy, she forced herself to concentrate on Carter’s touch and the sting of the crop as he slapped her with it again in another spot. “Okay?”
“Yes.” Perfect.
He stepped closer to her side, dragged the crop across her skin several times, and then swatted her harder than before.
Yes. God, yes. It felt so good.
“More?”
“Yes.” Her voice was breathy, broken, tight. She didn’t care. She would never apologize for this kink. It was so exactly right for her.
Picking up the pace, he let the crop strike her in a row of sharp stings up and down her butt and thighs.
She moaned every time he got close to her sex, flinching several times, focusing on the pain. She wondered what her butt looked like and couldn’t wait to see the evidence of his cropping later. It would serve as a reminder of his dominance and her submission for the next several hours, every time anything grazed her skin.
He paused, rubbing her heated skin with his palm again while she caught her breath. When he spoke into her ear again, she was in a zone. “Talk to me, baby. I need to know you’re okay.”
“Better than. Please, Carter. Don’t stop.”
“Okay.”
She trusted him thoroughly. He’d explained to her on numerous occasions that he would not draw blood and he would stop when he thought she had slid too far into subspace or was disassociating too much. She knew that was why he kept checking in with her.
She loved him so much it gripped at her heart. This was out of his comfort zone. He’d made that clear, and yet he was doing this for her. For her. Someone cared enough to do something for her. It meant the world to her.
Another string of slaps hit her butt, covering every inch of skin, harder. The sting was welcome. She craved it. It calmed her soul while it amped up her arousal at the same time.
When the tip of leather suddenly swatted the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs, flicking back and forth between them, she cried out, not in pain, but in shock. The contact went straight to her pussy.
It didn’t last long, though. After a few moments, he moved around to the backs of her thighs, alternating back and forth between them. He landed two stronger slaps to her butt cheeks next, both directly aimed at the base of her cheeks where she would sit. And then he stopped.
The sound of footsteps seeped into her conscience. She’d nearly forgotten she had an audience. A moment later, Carter’s lips were at her ear. “Everyone went upstairs, baby. They could see we’re fine without them. We’re alone. I want you to let go for me.”
She moaned at his words.
And then the leather stroked between her legs again, teasing, tempting. Instead of another volley against her inner thighs, he tapped her pussy.
She nearly came undone as she screamed out. The desire to come was so close. She gritted her teeth against this craving. Wickedly delicious. A month ago, she never would have believed in this combination of pain and pleasure, and now she was living proof.
Several more swats again to her inner thighs, higher, so close…
Another quick flick across her sex…
And then the final tap landed right on her clit.
She came so hard she arched her chest off the bench, lifting her head as the pulsing orgasm took over her entire body. Wave after wave of release. Before she could catch her breath, something thrust into her channel.
She nearly died when she realized it had to be the handle of his crop. Fucking her fast and hard. Soooo good. She should have been embarrassed. Carter was watching her come completely undone, but she didn’t have the energy to care at the moment.
Fingers landed on her clit, the bundle of nerves supersensitive from the slap of the crop. He pinched the nub hard and then spanked it with the tips of his fingers.
She came again, the second orgasm washing over her with even more power than the first. So intense. The best experience of her life.
When she finally started to return from wherever she floated, he eased his fingers from her and pulled the crop out of her tight channel. Before she managed to open her eyes, he was in front of her. He ha
d her face in his hands, steadying her head, and something smooth touched her mouth.
She moaned as she realized it was his cock.
“Swallow me, baby.” His grip was firm. His voice demanding.
She’d never wanted anything more. Opening her mouth, she sucked his length as deep as she could.
He groaned into the silence of the room, pumping in and out of her mouth so that her only job was to keep her lips parted and breathe through her nose.
Her limited experience with blowjobs should have bothered her, but the noises coming from Carter combined with his firm grip on her face and his rough thrusting was enough to assure her he enjoyed every second.
Empowered, she managed to draw her cheeks in and suck harder.
He panted, his thrusting coming faster, deeper, nearly choking her. She had to open her throat and take every inch of him or risk gagging, which wasn’t an option.
She was peripherally aware of three things at once—the stinging of her ass, the pulsing of her pussy, and the powerful weight of Carter’s dominance. It was heady and would have brought her to her knees if she weren’t already in a position of submission.
The way he controlled her made her body melt. She was his in every possible way, and he knew it.
On that revelation, her lips tightened, and he came. She swallowed every pulse of his come as it hit the back of her throat, luxuriating in the power she had over him even though this was his scene.
When he finally pulled out slowly, her mouth was sore, the perfect kind of sore that would remind her who her Dom was. He gently angled her face to one side to rest against the leather. Next, he squatted in front of her face and kissed her reverently. “Open your eyes, baby.”
She hated to break the scene and return to reality, but she forced herself to look at him.
He was so perfect. Gently, he lifted her off the bench and cradled her to his chest as if she were an injured animal. Careful to avoid touching her butt more than necessary, he carried her to a couch and sat, arranging her against his chest, her heated cheeks exposed.
He grabbed a blanket and tossed it over her, but left her stinging skin open to the air. So thoughtful. She closed her eyes and snuggled into him. “Thank you.”
Collaring Brooke (Club Zodiac Book 3) Page 25
