by Katee Robert
Seeing Meg’s reaction to him is almost as satisfying. She’s so angry with me, my Meg. It doesn’t seem to register that her anger is a pure thing, untainted by so much baggage we carry around. An anger that only drives her desire higher.
I continue kneading the tight muscles in Hercules’s shoulders as Meg stalks naked to the door and opens it. The woman who walks through is one of my personal favorites of the submissives on staff. Aurora. She’s sweet and gentle and cries so prettily. She’s beautiful in the way priceless art is beautiful. Her light brown skin all but shines in the low light and her hair—pink this month—falls in waves that are almost curls around her narrow shoulders.
She smiles at Meg, and I give a smile of my own as Hercules’s breath catches. “She’s very beautiful, don’t you think?”
“They both are.”
It amuses me how loyal he is to my Meg, little though she deserves it. He wants to play knight in shining armor to her princess in distress, and he still hasn’t quite realized that she’s as much dragon as I am. More so in certain situations.
Meg takes Aurora’s hand and pulls her farther into the room until they stop in front of the chair directly across from us. It’s just high enough to bend someone over if you want to fuck them, and Hercules and I are low enough that we won’t miss any details.
He won’t miss any details.
Meg looks at me askance. “May I, Sir?”
Anyone else might miss the hint of disrespect that flavors those three little words. I raise my brows, and she has the grace to flush. On another night, I’d make her eat those words while she eats Aurora’s pussy as I flog her until she sobs. That’s not on the agenda right now and she knows it, the little brat. “Yes.” I wait for her to start to turn before I put a little snap in my voice. “But first come give our little Hercules a kiss.”
Her brows slam down, and it takes her visible effort to recover. I’m not playing fair, but then she should expect it from me at this point. A punishment is still a punishment, even if it doesn’t appear to be one on the outside.
This boy got under my Meg’s skin. A mutual feeling if the way he tenses beneath my hands is any indication, but I knew that already. He wouldn’t have effectively sold his soul to me for anything less than blinding lust. Meg kneels gracefully in front of Hercules and, after another arch look in my direction, leans forward and presses a kiss to his lips. Because I’m still touching him, I feel him gravitate toward her to deepen the kiss.
I’m not surprised when she lets him. Meg is drawn to this man in an entirely different way than she’s drawn to me. It’s part of the reason he’s here.
I count slowly to fifteen, allowing them this, if only so I can be the one to take it away. “That’s enough, you two,” I say mildly. “You’re making poor Aurora feel left out.”
Aurora, at least, isn’t disobedient enough to contradict me. She stands exactly where Meg left her, gaze downturned and her hands clasped before her. All of my submissives have a style, and I allow them that freedom within certain boundaries. Aurora wears a short silk slip that might appear virginal if it weren’t short enough to barely brush her thighs and didn’t have thin straps that appeared as if they’d break under a harsh exhale. The Dominants who contract with her eat that sort of thing up, and she’s become one of my biggest moneymakers as a result. She also has a schoolgirl crush on Meg, so this scene serves to reward them both.
Meg rises gracefully to her feet and pads to Aurora. She uses a single finger to lift her chin, and I don’t have to see Meg’s face to know she’s smiling warmly down at the woman. “We’ll keep it simple today, okay?”
“Okay,” Aurora whispers.
“Safe word?”
“Thorn.”
“Good girl.”
As Meg begins, I turn my attention back to Hercules. He’s so tense, he might as well be marble carved on the floor between my legs. That won’t do. That won’t do at all. I knead the tight muscles in his shoulders. The man may be nothing more than a pawn, but he’s no less beautiful than my Meg, albeit in a different way. Hercules has the coloring and bearing of someone used to walking in the sun. Whether he’ll wither living here in the dark remains to be seen.
I lean down until my lips nearly brush his ear. “First, you learn by watching. Then you learn by participating. You belong to me, and I won’t allow anyone else to hurt you.”
“Anyone else?” His voice had an edge of growl.
“I’m going to hurt you, little Hercules. And you’re going to enjoy every moment of it.” I dig my thumb into the trigger point at the top of his spine. Unsurprisingly, there’s a knot there, and I work it ruthlessly until he lets out a little pained sound. I exhale carefully against his ear, enjoying the way it makes him shiver. Does he realize he’s leaning back into my touch, ever so slightly? I doubt it. “Meg is a woman of varied tastes. She’s also one of the best Dominants working in the Underworld. Aurora is one of the best submissives.”
While I spoke to Hercules, Meg guided Aurora to bend over the arm of the couch and brace her forearms on the cushion. She’s a little shorter than Meg, so her toes barely touch the ground. Meg runs her hands up the other woman’s legs, starting at her ankles and working her way up to her thighs. She slides Aurora’s slip up over her hips, baring her ass. “Paddle or the flogger?”
“Paddle, please.”
“Good girl.” Meg smiles, and it’s as if we’re not in the room. I’ve always loved watching her work like this. There’s a reason why every single submissive in Carver City will crawl over broken glass to her the second she crooks her finger. Hercules will be one of them. He already is if the avid way he watches the scene unfold is any indication.
Meg walks to the chest behind my desk and comes back with a wide wooden paddle. It could possibly break bones in the wrong hands, but she’s a master of our craft. She gives it a few experimental swings, building the anticipation.
I murmur in Hercules’s ear, “Do you see the way Aurora’s toes curl? She wants that first strike.” I glance down Hercules’s chest and allow myself a smile to find his cock standing at attention. “Meg will warm her up with pain, and then if she’s a good little submissive, she’ll allow her to come.”
“How?”
I doubt Hercules realizes that he’s voiced the question, but I answer anyway. “Knowing my Meg, she’ll eat her pussy. She’s got a taste for it, and Aurora is so pretty when she comes through her tears.”
Meg delivers the first strike across the lower curve of Aurora’s ass, right where it meets her thighs. The other woman jumps, but then obviously fights to hold still, to obey. Meg smacks her again, falling into a rhythm I recognize intimately. I force my attention back to Hercules, who’s breathing hard as if he is the one being beaten. “I’m going to touch you now.”
He gives a shaky nod, his gaze glued to the swing of the paddle. It won’t take much to send him into subspace when we begin to play, not if he’s dancing on the edge of it simply from watching. He’s like a child who’s never seen Christmas, and the sheer splendor of it overwhelms him. At least at first.
I slide my hand down his chest and delve into his shorts. I’ve seen his cock, of course, hard and wet with Meg’s desire. I still take a moment to enjoy the way he fills my fist. I give him a hard stroke and then lift my hand. “Spit.”
“What?” He’s hoarse as if he’s been screaming for hours.
“I won’t repeat myself.”
It takes him a moment to respond, to obey, to coat my palm with his saliva. Against my better judgment, I’m moved by the purity of him. I want to break him into a thousand sharp pieces, to drag him down into the dark with the rest of us, but I can’t help appreciating the very thing I want to ruin. I take his cock again. There will be a time to tease, a time to torment. Tonight’s not it. He needs to know exactly who he belongs to.
I jerk him roughly, relentlessly, until he’s lifting his hips as best he can and fucking my hand. His gaze is pinned to where Meg beats Aurora, an
d while I appreciate the sentiment, that won’t do. I dig the fingers of my free hand into his hair and turn his face to mine. “I own you, little Hercules. Say it.”
His blue eyes are glazed as he licks his lips. “You… You own me.”
“Now be a good boy and come for your master.”
One stroke. Two. And then he gives a guttural curse and does exactly as commanded, coming in great spurts across his own chest. I give him a few more pumps before I release his cock. I don’t move back. Not yet. I simply maintain my position, bracketing him in as he shakes, allowing him to lean on me while he finds his balance again.
It won’t last.
I won’t allow it to last.
But I can’t quite help running my fingers through his hair and guiding his face to lean against my thigh as I settle back to watch Meg work.
Chapter 10
Meg
I’m so furious, I can barely think straight. All my attention should be on Aurora, and Hades is sitting there, fucking around with Hercules within my line of sight. It feels like a punishment, because that’s exactly what it is. He never comes at something from the front when he can flank the problem instead. I don’t know why I’m being punished for Hades’s machinations. I obeyed his commands, every single one of them, even when I knew it would hurt Hercules to leave him and kneel at Hades’s side.
I did it all, and yet I’m the one on the outside of their little scene with my face pressed against the window.
I toss the paddle to the ground. My headspace isn’t right to keep up the pain play. I won’t lose control. I won’t allow myself to misstep like that, but it’s not fair to Aurora to do this when my darker emotions are riding me so hard.
I step to her and run my hands up the backs of her thighs and squeeze her ass. Even with the shortened beating, she’ll be a little bruised tomorrow, just like she adores. “Spread.”
She eagerly spreads her legs, balancing on her toes. I press one hand against the small of her back and slip the other between her thighs. She’s so wet, she soaks my fingers as I explore her. “You’ve pleased me, Aurora, and I’m in a giving kind of mood tonight.” A lie, but it doesn’t matter. She has nothing to do with the ugliness going on in my head. “You can choose your reward.”
“I want…” She twists just enough to look up at me from beneath her curtain of pink curls. “I want to make you come.”
God, this girl is a gift. Whoever she lands with when she finally settles down is one lucky asshole. I keep stroking her pussy, pretending to consider it. As if I’d deny her anything. As if I’d deny myself this. “I’ll consider it.” I push two fingers into her and fuck her slowly. She whimpers and writhes, but I hold her steady as I work her toward orgasm one agonizing stroke at a time. This moment, right here, is one of my favorites when I top. I love seeing someone come undone and knowing I’m the cause behind it. Knowing that I’m giving them exactly what they need.
I sink down onto one knee and pull her hips back away from the couch arm. She spreads her legs even more, anticipating me. “Good girl,” I murmur. I reward her with a long lick, but really I’m being selfish. I want to lose myself in this girl, to forget for a little while that my life is off the rails, and has been for a long time. To stop thinking about the two men watching us right now. To avoid any fear about what the future will bring. Not to worry about anything but making this beautiful girl come apart.
I take my time, enjoying this, enjoying her. But even in the midst of this, I am still all too aware of the two men on the couch watching. Or are they even watching anymore? Have they gotten distracted with each other until they’ve completely forgotten I’m in the room? The thought shouldn’t hurt as much as it does.
Aurora’s breath sobs out every time I circle her clit, and suddenly I’m done playing. I want her there, and I want her there now. I work her pussy with my tongue until she’s thrashing and I have to tighten my grip to hold her down. Aurora loves that shit. She always has. She comes with a breathless cry and rolls her hips, fucking my mouth as much as I’ll allow. I bring her down gently and press one last kiss to her pussy before I rise and help her off the chair.
She’s all sunshine and soft smiles as I smooth her hair back from her face. I kiss her forehead. “You did well.”
“May I have my reward?”
I laugh, a little of my dark mood filtering away. It’s impossible to be completely morose when I’m spending time with this girl. “You know, most people just want more orgasms.”
Aurora looks at me with those big brown eyes. “I like what I like.”
“Don’t we all?” I take a step back, make sure she’s steady on her feet, and then sink into the chair. “Very well, pet. Come get your reward.” I spread my legs.
She shoots a look at Hades and Hercules, and against my better judgment, I do the same. The sight of them steals my breath and muddies my thoughts. Hercules is languid in the way only a recent orgasm can bring—and the evidence of it is right there on his chest. He’s slumped between Hades’s legs, his head on his thigh. For his part, Hades appears completely relaxed…as long as I don’t look into his dark eyes. They’re all predator as he takes me in. My scene with Aurora might end once she’s received her reward, but the scene going on with Hades isn’t over. Not by a long shot. This was just warm up.
They haven’t forgotten me, after all.
Aurora runs her hands up my thighs and smiles in a happy way that warms my heart. My life would be so much easier if I had fallen for someone like her instead of someone like Hades. She is light and springtime and sweetness. She might even make me a better person just by virtue of loving me.
Or at least that’s the fairy tale.
I sink my fingers into her pink hair. “You’re teasing.”
“Sorry.” But she doesn’t look the least bit sorry. That’s okay. I’m not either. Aurora presses a prim little kiss to my pussy, and then she goes after me with abandon. She gives herself completely, unabashedly.
I wish I could enjoy this for what it is. If it was just us in the room, I would. Aurora and I have played plenty of times before without Hades present, and I’ve never had a problem focusing everything on her. But now? I should feel powerful in this moment. I’ve made my submissive feel good. She’s driving me closer and closer to orgasm. I should be walking on top of the world.
Instead, I look at Hades and Hercules, and I feel my reality fracturing in a way that has nothing to do with pleasure and everything to do with unwelcome pain. Change always hurts. Always. Hades might think he has control of this situation, but I don’t. I’m out of control and spinning out.
Hercules shifts, drawing my attention fully. He’s hard again. I might laugh if there was more air in the room. His attention seems to be everywhere at once—the curve of Aurora’s back, her mass of pink waves as she licks my pussy, my flushed body bared on the couch. His finally meets my gaze and sticks. Those blue eyes are wide and hot, and he looks like he’s been led into hell and only now realized that there’s no going back.
Welcome. Plenty of suffering to go around.
Aurora sucks my clit hard, setting her teeth against the sensitive bundle of nerves. My orgasm surges, and I don’t know where to look, Hades or Hercules, Hercules or Hades. In the end, I close my eyes and shut them both out, letting Aurora tease me through the waves. My body finally gives way, and I slump down on the couch. “Well done, pet.”
She makes a happy sound and climbs up to cuddle against my side. This is as important as the rest, the opportunity to bring us both down. I stroke her hair idly, letting her warmth sink into me. I don’t want to open my eyes yet. I truly don’t. The second I do, the next stage begins, and I don’t know if I’m ready for it. I don’t know if I can survive whatever Hades has planned, tonight or in the future.
There once was a time when I didn’t even question it, when I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was first in Hades’s world. First before the Underworld, before all who patronized the place, first even before h
is ambition. I would walk into a room and it didn’t matter what he was doing; he would level that intense focus on me and smile. We’d talk for hours, and fuck, and talk again. He built up the trust that had been fractured with Declan, the asshole who convinced me to bargain myself away.
Some people looked at us and assumed that Hades built me into the woman I am. It’s not the truth. He simply gave me the platform and freedom to figure out who I was meant to be. To explore the dominant nature I dimmed for past partners, for the world itself. To lose myself in the freedom of submission.
We plotted and planned and together we boosted the Underworld into the hub of power in the center of Carver City that it is today. No one fucked with us, and that was partly because of my role, my plans, my help.
Until it all changed. Not at once. I didn’t even notice at first. Our conversations shortened and eventually stopped almost completely. Hades started shutting me out, and I didn’t know what to do but shut him out in return.
I know this man better than any other person in this world, but right now he feels like a stranger to me.
“Meg.”
I obey the command and look at him. So cold, those dark eyes behind his black frames. As cold as they were when I first came to the Underworld, before he let me in. It takes everything I have not to tense. “Yes, Sir?”
“It’s time.” His expression thaws as he looks at Aurora. “You did well.”
I can actually feel her blooming under his regard. I don’t blame her for it. Impossible not to feel like the sun has turned in your direction when his smile is warm and genuine. She sits up a little. “Thank you, Hades.”
“Would you like to watch what comes next?”
Aurora nods quickly. “Yes, please!”
“Meg.” A snap of command in his voice in response to my reluctance. I bite down a sigh and slide out from my spot. I round to the cedar chest on the other side of the chair and pull out a blanket. I take my time wrapping it around Aurora, partly to spite Hades, partly because I don’t want her to feel anything but warm and fuzzy about our scene.
