by Avery Gale
“Now that you are a bit more grounded, baby, I’m going to use my belt on your ass. I wanted my implement to be something from my body, and this is a wonderful leather, and it’ll be perfect for putting five nice stripes across this beautiful, lush ass.” He’d no more than finished speaking than the first strike landed at the very top of her ass sending a streak of fire zinging through her system like lightning.
Oh my fucking God that hurt so bad, I’ll never survive four more of…Before she could even complete the thought, the next two landed in short order working their way down her ass. She was sure her ass was on fire. Yep the smoke detectors will start screeching any second, you just wait and see. The next strike was over that crease that they’d each hit, but the belt set it completely on fire. She was sure she’d have blisters when this was done. He moved up closer to her, and before she could register that he was leaning over her from a different direction, she felt the tip of his leather belt connect with her pussy lips just as Bryant spoke in to her ear. “Come now, love. Let us hear your pleasure.” She let out a scream and started to shake from the inside and felt the waves of orgasm race toward her fingers and toes from her core. She collapsed, but Trace had been ready and caught her easily around the waist. She felt like she was having convulsions, but she couldn’t control it, she didn’t think she was ever going to stop coming.
Mitch had known she was dancing on the edge, but her reaction stunned him. He’d never had a woman react to a punishment at his hand so strongly. He found himself wafting between pride in her, pride in himself as a Dom, wonder at the gift God had given him, and a desire to bury his cock deep inside her that felt like a primal urge with the strength to break him in half. “Damn, baby, that was fucking amazing.” He knew she was so lost in the moment she probably hadn’t even registered that he’d spoken to her, let alone understood the words.
Trace picked her up and stood her in front of her Masters, but he kept his hands on her waist making sure her knees didn’t go out from under her again. He leaned over her shoulder and spoke close to her ear. “Well done, little one. You took your punishment with an amazing amount of grace and dignity. I’m proud of you as I know your Masters are also. Now, kneel and thank them for the lesson.” He helped her kneel and then stepped back.
From her position in front of both Bryant and Mitch, she spoke softly. “I’m so sorry I let you down by coming when you hadn’t given me permission, Masters. Please forgive me.” She knew she’d been set up, but she also understood their plan had come from a place of love and compassion. It was obvious they were trying to get her ready for what was to come, and they wanted to minimize the chances that she might be flung headlong into the terror of a flashback and embarrass them and herself.
“Oh no, baby, we aren’t afraid you’ll embarrass us, we just didn’t want you to have to endure any more trauma if it could be avoided.” Mitch had reached forward and pushed her soft curls away from her heart-shaped face.
The plan had been for Trace to participate in the sex, but the moment felt too intimate between these partners, and he was slowly backing away from them when it occurred to him that Rissa would take it as a personal rejection, so he walked back up to her. Sensing his plan, both Bryant and Mitch stepped back. Trace stopped in front of Rissa and looked down at her. He could only hope his eyes would convey the warmth and respect he felt for the little sub. “Little one, you are amazing…” He saw immediately the doubt cloud her eyes. “And I will gladly join your Masters in reminding you of that anytime they see fit to invite me. But right now, this moment is about the three of you. I’m leaving, but believe me, it isn’t because I don’t want to be here for the rewards.” Smiling down at her, he said, “I’ll be there tomorrow and any other time you need me, do you understand?” When big tears filled her beautiful green eyes and spilled over, he used his thumbs to wipe them away. “There are many people who will be in your corner tomorrow. I want you to remember that. I’ll intervene with Mistress Sutton before she makes her way to you also—what was it you called her? Oh yes, Hagatha. Damn, I like it—I believe I’ll use that among some of the younger Doms tomorrow and watch it catch in the wind and spread like wildfire.” Chuckling, he placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered in her ear. “You have a second chance you know. This is it, grab it with both hands, darlin’, and don’t you dare let go, because every single day with those you love is a gift.” And with another quick kiss to the top of her head, he turned and quickly walked away.
Mitch walked him to the door and thanked him before catching up with Bryant who was carrying their woman down the hall to the master bedroom. They had big plans for their little sub tonight, and he couldn’t wait to sink into her sweetness. But first they’d attend to her and make sure she was back on level ground, and…then, all bets were off.
Chapter Fifteen
The drive back to ShadowDance the next morning was treacherous, even though the roads had been cleared the afternoon before, strong winds overnight had drifted the narrow mountain roads shut in several places forcing Mitch to blow through the drifts faster than he would have ordinarily traveled in such conditions particularly with such precious cargo. Rissa sat ramrod straight in the front seat between both men and stared straight ahead. She’d donned sunglasses because the bright sun reflecting off the pristine snow would lead to snow-blindness quickly without the protection. Bryant had been texting with the staff at The Club and knew things were set up and would take place immediately upon their return. No one saw any benefit to making Rissa wait until later in the afternoon to get this punishment put behind her. She was already nearing her saturation point for anxiety, and everyone agreed that getting this over with as quickly as possible was in her best interest.
As they pulled up to the front steps of the ShadowDance Club, Rissa started to hyperventilate. Mitch was physically exhausted from the strain of the drive and was relieved when Bryant took her hands and forced her to breathe with him in a slow three count until she had settled enough they could get her inside The Club. As soon as they entered they checked in and then turned to Rissa and had her give them her coat and shoes. Sally, one of ShadowDance’s regular subs was standing to the side ready to take Rissa to the locker room to change in to the outfit they’d arranged to have ready for her. Bryant turned her to face him, holding both her trembling hands in his larger ones. “Now, love, you’ll go with Sally to the locker room and change. Sally has all our instructions, and she’ll see to it that you are properly attired before she returns you to Alex and Zach’s office. They want to talk to you before we all head downstairs, do you understand?” Bryant wanted to take her in his arms and whisk her away more than he had ever wanted anything else in his whole life. If he could have changed anything, it would be reporting to other Club staff that the pint-sized sub had lied to him when making her escape from The Club several weeks ago. Hell, in many ways he felt he was just as culpable because he had gotten distracted and basically let her walk away without even challenging her story. But wishing certainly wasn’t going to change a thing, so it was best to get this over with and just move on.
Rissa nodded her head, but at Bryant’s raised eyebrow, she said, “Yes, Sir” so softly he might not have heard her if he hadn’t been looking right at her.
Patting her firmly on the ass as he turned her toward Sally, he reminded the other sub, “Remember, exactly as instructed or you’ll be right up there with her, understood, Sally?”
The other woman looked at the floor and spoke out clearly. “Yes, Master Bryant, we’ll follow your instructions to the letter and return to the office immediately.” At his nod Sally took Rissa by the elbow and quickly led her down the hall. They hadn’t got far when Bryant heard Sally say, “Come on, girlfriend, I’m going to help you get all dolled up, and you’re going to show this place what a class act you are…you hear me? I want to see some of that spunk I know is in there. You can do this…you can rock this, girl!”
Bryant looked at Mitch and smiled. “God love
Sally. Remind me to send her a big gift basket full of girly shit.” Mitch laughed, and knowing Sally was a single mom who was taking college classes on-line along with her full-time job working at The Club as their Housekeeping Manager, he suggested, “Maybe we could get her some gift cards for take-out food, textbooks, and child care? Those are the things she really needs, but I agree, adding in some spa products would be a nice touch. I’ll ask Jenna to help us; God knows she’ll love getting to spend some of our money.” Laughing, he turned to follow Bryant to Alex and Zach’s office.
* * * *
Alex was sitting behind the massive oak desk with his feet propped up and his chair leaned back, but his relaxed pose was in contrast to the anger he felt brewing just below the surface. Zach was pacing the full length of the room, eating up the distance with giant strides, all the while muttering obscenities directed at that bitch Hagatha, he wasn’t exactly sure where that nickname had come from that he’d heard a younger Dom use a few minutes ago, but it suited Rachel Sutton to a fucking tee as far as he was concerned.
After gesturing for Mitch and Bryant to take the seats across from his desk, Alex looked at both men and cursed under his breath before speaking. “God damn it to hell, I fucking hate this. I no more want to punish Rissa than I want to sleep out in the damned snow…again! But, Rissa has put us in a piss poor position, and Rachel Sutton is standing to the side swinging a damned noose.” Alex’s voice was ice cold, and while Mitch had served in the Special Forces with both he and Zach and had heard that exact tone before, Bryant was taken aback by the obvious fury waiting to erupt.
Zach stepped forward then and shook both men’s hands, welcoming them home and then saying, “I don’t know exactly what Trace Bartell’s role in this is, but he pulled that bitch into one of the private rooms a few minutes ago. He was carrying a large envelope and wouldn’t say anything except we weren’t to start until he had returned and that we were not to use any electronic monitoring in the room while they were in there. Do you two have any idea what this shit is about?” Zach stared at them both and was shocked to his toes when both Bryant and Mitch broke out in huge grins.
“Oh yeah, we spent some quality time with Trace last night, and he told us about this plan, but honestly, guys, it’s his and Rissa’s story to tell.” At his boss’s raised brows, Mitch added, “But I swear to you on the lives of our team, this is pure fucking golden.” Just then there was a quiet knock on the door.
Alex bellowed, “Come,” and winced at his own harsh tone when he saw a wide-eyed Sally and a totally terrified Rissa enter the room. Alex watched as Sally reached over and grabbed Rissa’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. He knew she was letting Rissa know it was okay and that she still had her back. “My apologizes, ladies, I didn’t mean to shout at you. It isn’t you I am annoyed with, and I want to make sure you know my mama would be mighty pissed off if she’d heard that.” He smiled and could see Rissa’s muscles relax and that she finally seemed to have taken a breath.
Rissa had always been amazed at how Alex Lamont’s smile seemed to totally transform his looks. While he and Zach were mirror-image twins, Alex was usually the more somber of the two, but when he smiled, the effect was devastating. Zach had always been the more easygoing of her bosses, but he could go completely Dom on you in a New York minute also. They were both completely alpha, and Rissa had wondered many times how tiny little Kat Lamont handled them with seemingly such ease.
Zach stepped up and said, “Sally, take a minute to powwow with your friend here, give her your last-minute pep-talk, and then be on your way downstairs. You are not to be in the Main Lounge, but make sure you are close by if we need you.” And reaching over and placing his large hand on her shoulder, he gave it a squeeze and said, “We owe you one, sweetheart, and we’ll make it worth your time being here, I promise you.”
“Yes, Sir, and thank you for your offer, but I’m here because it’s important to my friend that she knows she has friends that care.” Sally had looked directly at Zach, something she rarely did as a Club sub, but his admiration for her had just gone up like a Titan missile. Oh, you are worth your weight in gold, sweetie, and the four of us are going to enjoy making sure Cort stops dicking around and claims you as his own and soon. The Club’s bartender and sub trainer had been dancing around his attraction for this sweet sub long enough. It was time to push his ass in to the game. No more standing on the sidelines whining about wishing he could play ball with the big boys for Cort Douglas.
Sally stepped right in front of Rissa, and putting her hands on the smaller woman’s shoulders, spoke clearly enough for everyone in the room to hear. “You go out there and you show everybody exactly how much strength it takes to submit. You show them that you are a kick-ass chick, you hear me? Your fear is your only enemy in that room, and don’t you forget it. And when this is done, we’re gonna have ourselves a margarita movie night and hack up Hagatha with word hatchets all night long!” Sally gave Rissa a blinding grin and then pulled her in to a crushing hug before stepping back and leaving the room.
Rissa looked up at the four men in the room and took a deep breath and waited for their instruction. All four men were speechless for a few minutes, bowled over by Sally’s words and Rissa’s bravery in the face of her obvious fear. Bryant finally recovered and held out his hand to Rissa, and she immediately moved to him. “Love, we are waiting for Master Trace to finish talking with Mistress Rachel. We aren’t expecting him to be long, but he has asked that we not start without him, as he told you last evening, he wanted to make sure he was in the room to provide you with moral support.”
Mitch waited for a sign that Rissa was tracking the conversation and not slipping off in to fear, and when she nodded and said, “I understand, thank you for explaining, Sir,” he nearly burst with pride at her response.
“Now, perhaps while we’re waiting you might have something to say to Masters Alex and Zach?” He knew she had felt terrible for letting down the men who had given her a job and a chance when she had first returned to Climax. She’d been drowning in her recovery, sitting all day and night alone in her little studio apartment above a bar downtown and had almost given up finding a job when they’d stepped up and offered her a job and provided her with a custom-built spa right inside The Club itself. Bryant watched her eyes go bright with unshed tears, and her nod was all the answer he needed.
Stepping forward, Rissa kept her eyes downcast but spoke clearly. “I want to apologize to you both.” And nodding to each of them, “Master Alex and Master Zach, you have both been so kind and generous to me, and my horrible display of disrespect for not only you both but each and every one of The Club’s Dungeon Monitors shames me more than I can begin to tell you. I’ve earned this punishment, and I’ll try to accept it with quiet grace and dignity so you will know the depth of my desire to begin building your trust and faith in me again.” She let out a shuddering breath and small wonder, hell there wasn’t a one of the men in the room that had taken a breath the entire time she had been speaking. Alex and Zach were stunned speechless at the sincerity and humble spirit of her apology.
Alex stepped forward and took her hand in his and tilted her chin up so she met his gaze. “You are amazing. I am sure neither of us has ever had to punish someone when we wanted it any less than we do at this moment. While the rules demand a public punishment, they do not specify what that punishment must be.”
Zach stepped forward and took her other hand and continued. “Our sweet wife and our not-as-sweet sister”—they both laughed— “pored over the rules and assured us that while it says we both must be present, we do not have to mete out the punishment.” Zach looked up and saw it was starting to dawn on Mitch and Bryant exactly what they were saying. “We had decided how this was handled was dependent on how you handled your private apology to us. And, sweetie, that was the most honest and sincere apology I’ve ever heard, and you make us proud to be your friends and bosses.”
They both stepped back and pulled her
by the hands over to her two Masters and placed her hands in theirs. Alex looked at them and grinned from ear to ear. “You are welcome to use any punishment you see fit, but I personally have found delayed gratification to be quite effective with Katarina.”
Zach’s laugh echoed around the room before he added, “Oh yeah, that seems to wire her up like an eight-day clock. As soon as Trace gets here—” And before he could finish, Trace knocked and then walked into the room smiling like the cat that had swallowed the canary. “Well, speak of the devil…”
“The devil, am I? Well, I’ll have you know there is a woman storming out to her car at this very moment that would be in full agreement with that assessment.” He looked like he was about ready to burst for wanting to share what had happened, but he was also relishing the moment. “Oh and before I forget, here is her membership card.” He dropped a handful of torn pieces of paper on to the desk. “Seems she isn’t planning to use it any longer, but here it is just the same.”
Rissa’s eyes had gotten wider with each thing Trace had said, but when she saw the shredded card she looked up at Trace, and big tears filled her eyes. I have the best friends in the whole world. God above, I don’t know what I did to deserve these people in my life, but I’m going to thank you each and every day from here on out, I swear it.
