Lucky bastard.
I turned my attention to Clara while the men entertained themselves with the slaves.
“What is your color, my sweet Clara?”
“Yellow.”
She had two colors she could use during our scenes, green and red. Green for go. Red for problem. We learned together, testing tolerances and limits. Not once had she ever given a response other than green.
“Yellow?”
She bit her lower lip and kept her voice low so that we weren’t overheard. “I’m trying not to jump, but I’ve never been this scared.”
Her comment was not lost on me, nor its reference to the Island of Conclusions. I pressed our foreheads together and brushed my nose against hers.
“Trust in me. I know it’s hard, but I need you to trust me.”
She gave the tiniest of nods. “I will try.”
“What color?” I wouldn’t proceed without a green. I would never force her to do anything against her will.
Never again.
Her voice returned shaky, but true. “Green.”
“Good girl.” I tried to reassure her. “You can close your eyes if you need to, or I can use a hood.”
She shook her head. “No hood, please.”
“As you wish.” I held out my hand.
She took it, and I helped her to her feet. I’d practiced this particular pose and could do the knots in my sleep.
I leaned in and brushed my lips over hers. “I will not fail you.”
And so, our evening began.
Chapter 42
I began my rope work, as always, by taking in a few slow, deep breaths. This time would be different from all the others. Before now, exploration and perfection guided my hands. I had to learn Clara’s body, getting to know the rhythms of how she responded to my touch. The need to achieve perfection kept me laser-focused and on task.
Exploration and perfection were not my goals now.
There was an audience and this was a performance.
While Clara and I might not be the focus of their attention with the slave girls present, we remained under a microscope, nonetheless. While Carson reinvigorated his flaccid cock, his penetrating gaze watched my every move. It was too intense. Too inquisitive. I wanted to blind the fucker for staring at my girl, but this was necessary.
He needed to see Clara’s absolute devotion.
For the most part, he ignored his business associates who were getting their dicks sucked. A woman gyrated over Chambers, and Abrams had a girl beside him. He made a show of feeling her up. Xavier was the only one without a woman.
He and Carson traded hostile glares while a length of rope passed through my hands.
“Still green?” I checked in with Clara.
With the basic harness nearly complete, I worked on the ties which bent Clara’s forward knee. Once I began, she would need to balance on one leg. A difficult feat, it was made bearable with her hands resting on my shoulders. I loved that contact and her dependence on me.
“Yes, Sir.” Her breathy reply indicated she had slipped into a meditative space.
The feel of her hands on me never failed to stir a reaction. My dick lengthened, tenting the fabric of my pants as I worked. This was not a pose for fucking. It was pure artistry, enforcing the submissive’s complete reliance on her Master as ropes wrapped around her body and limited her movement. Nevertheless, I wanted to slip inside of her. Now that I’d had a taste of her sweet pussy, I needed more. I didn’t think I’d ever have enough.
The thought of her being helpless in a room filled with depraved men did not sit well with me, but there was nothing to do about that.
Sounds of sex filled the room as the men took their pleasure. I tuned all of it out, working quickly to finish this part of the evening.
With her left leg bent and bound, I turned my attention to her arms. One would sweep out behind her while the other lifted gracefully overhead. I reinforced the main scaffolding of rope which would bear her weight, double checking all the important pressure points.
“Are you ready?” To complete my work, it was time to lift her into the air.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Do you trust me?”
“I do.” Deep in a trancelike state, her answers came as single words and short sentences.
“Do you forgive me?” I pressed my lips to hers, seeking the connection we shared.
Carson may have walked in on us, but I refused to let that ruin what had been the best, most intimate, sexual experience of my life. Something had shifted within me, a reverence for what we’d shared, and intense appreciation for the trust she extended.
I deserved none of it.
“Always,” she said.
It would be nice if that were true, but Clara didn’t know all my secrets. I would share them with her. She deserved to know the kind of man she extended her trust toward. My fear was that she would revoke everything once she understood I was very much the monster she feared.
A killer.
A rapist.
There was no redemption for a man like me.
I pulled on the ropes attached to the ring overhead, and slowly, gracefully, Clara rose into the air. Her lower leg dangled, and her right arm rested by her side.
I went to work attaching the ropes which would connect her arm and leg, measuring out the precise lengths which would turn all this loose rope into a work of art once I tied her ankle to the support behind her.
Clara’s eyes closed as I manipulated her body.
Completely helpless, and at my mercy, she surrendered to it all. When I placed the last rope and tied the last knot, I took two steps back to admire her.
A thing of beauty, she slowly twirled in the air. One leg swept out behind her, an arm trailed behind with it, while her front leg arced forward in mid-leap. Her other arm curved gracefully overhead. I had even tied in her hair, letting it sweep backward to continue the movement.
Carson came to stand beside me, and I resisted the urge to block him.
“I was wrong,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“I thought all of this was a waste of time. Is she in subspace?”
A look of contentment spread across Clara’s face, smoothing out her features and highlighting her beauty.
“The entire practice is a meditative experience for both the slave and Master. I find it brings us together on a different plane.”
“Sounds like metaphysical bullshit.”
“I once thought the same thing. Fortunately, I’m open-minded. You should consider trying it out. If you enjoy control, there’s nothing that tops this.”
“I think a whip and crop do just fine.”
“Again with the blunt tools.”
He tensed beside me.
“Don’t get me wrong.”
I tried to ease some of the negative energy between us. I couldn’t win this man over if we were constantly at odds.
“There’s nothing more delicious than the screams of a slave beneath my whip, but that’s control by force.” I gestured toward Clara. “This is surrender by choice.”
“Interesting.”
“Once you have a taste of that, it changes everything.”
“If you say so, and speaking of the other, when do we begin?”
I glanced at Xavier and waved him over. He would stand guard over Clara until Jake returned with Kate. Clara’s guards, Chad and Bay, would make their entrance with Jake, dragging a struggling Kate to her ‘doom.’
For the next hour, I would watch everything unfold from a secret room and try my best to resist the urge to protect my sweet Clara.
“Is it time?” Xavier made a show of examining Clara.
“Your business associate is getting antsy,” I said.
“Not antsy, but ready to move things along,” Carson said.
“Well, take your seat then.” I rubbed my hands on my trousers. “The bitch has been stewing long enough. I’ll be right back.”
Xavier gestured back t
o the couches. “Can I get you anything else?”
“No, I’m good.”
As I retreated, I couldn’t help but overhear Carson as he whined.
“It’s about time we get this show on the road.”
“Are you that eager?”
“Your friend is crazy if he thinks he can pull this off. I’m just here to watch. Honestly, I’m surprised you’re involved at all.”
“I follow the money. You have an operation which caters to a similar demographic which, I understand, brings in a healthy profit. Men like us always find those willing to pay to indulge their darker cravings.”
“What’s his interest in my business?”
“Not your business as much as your client list.”
“That’s not something I share.”
“He’s not looking to take it, but rather provide a service, one you will benefit from.”
“Then why aren’t you going into business with him?”
“Who says I’m not?”
The rest of their conversation faded as I exited the room. The heavy wooden doors shut behind me, and I picked up my pace. In less than a minute, I scanned my retina and entered Command and Control.
Kate glanced up. “That shit is a piece of work.”
“You don’t say.” I crossed my arms. “Are you ready?”
My attention shifted to my identical twin who stood behind Kate. The makeup artists had been hard at work placing bruises on her body. Knowing my brother’s tastes, some of those were probably real and had been put there by his hand.
“As much as possible.” He placed a hand on Kate’s shoulder.
Kate had a bruise around her eye. Cuts along her jawline and temple. Her arms and wrists were heavily bruised. I couldn’t see the rest of her body.
The thin silver scar across her neck glistened in the light of the fluorescent bulbs.
Initially, the plan had been to build up that area and place a blood reservoir beneath it. Her neck was supposed to be sliced, thus enacting my revenge, but the special effects team ran into difficulties. She could be cut there, and blood would flow, but Jake would strangle her instead.
I had intended on her being nude for the whole thing, thinking it would have the greatest impact. Jake refused.
Kate would be whipped fully clothed. His uncanny precision would strip her in front of the audience, lending realism to the entire show. Beneath her shirt, more bruises waited to be unveiled, but he would lay down actual welts before strangling her.
Kate’s screams would be real, as would be her death.
Joining us in the ready room was Forest’s medical team: his sister Skye, Tia Meyers, and Ryker Lyons.
It would be up to those three to bring Kate back to life.
The timing had to be perfect.
Skye handed Kate a tiny capsule.
“Keep this in your cheek, then crack it open when…” She swallowed thickly, “after Jake strangles you.”
“I got it.”
Jake glanced at me and the muscles of his jaw bunched. From here on out, both Kate and Clara’s safety would be in his hands.
Kate spun around. “I guess it’s time.”
Chad and Bay, who had been standing silently along the far wall, took a step forward. Chad grasped a long pole. Bay had a set of iron cuffs.
My gut twisted as they approached Kate. She obediently turned and lifted her hands up. Chad lay the pole behind her head, along her shoulders, while Bay locked the cuffs around her wrists and secured them to the rings on the pole.
Meanwhile, I stripped.
We’d discussed how Jake and I would switch places. The easiest thing would be to wear identical clothing. No one would be the wiser, but then Jake mentioned blood splatter. There would be no way to mimic any of Kate’s blood.
Jake removed his clothing and dressed as I handed him my shirt and then my pants. He said nothing the entire time. A reluctant participant, he hated every bit of this plan. That was fine by me.
I didn’t care what he thought. The rift between us would likely remain for the rest of our lives, and his forgiveness wasn’t something I could force. Not that it mattered. I didn’t need him to forgive me.
All that remained was to make things square with Wu. Through my negligence, his daughter died. Whatever it took, I would save his twins.
Chapter 43
Rope bound me.
Suspended me.
Embraced me.
I twirled in a room designed to inflict pain, and yet I found myself wrapped in Josh’s protection. He may have left temporarily, but his touch encircled me with every inch of rope wound around my body.
I was in bliss.
Master Xavier stood beside me. I sensed Josh’s hand in that. He placed Xavier there to watch over me.
But where did My Monster go?
If I flexed my muscles, I could rock gently, maybe even spin a little. Normally, I did that, enjoying the slight movement as I hung suspended in the air. This time I didn’t.
My eyes closed and I breathed to a count of four.
Josh taught me this meditative breathing, coaching me through more rigorous suspensions in the past.
Breathe in to a count of four. Hold for four. Then breathe out, once again counting to four.
I thought it silly the first time he talked me through it, but the more I did it, the more I enjoyed it.
My mind quieted with the slow intake of breath. The world faded as I took in an influx of energy inside my body. Held it and exchanged it with the spent, negative energy inside of me. Then I breathed it all out, releasing all the tension from my body and expelling negativity.
Through it all, peace swept through me.
Keeping my eyes closed helped. I could pretend I was anywhere. Oftentimes, the place I chose was that one night in my bed. The time when Josh snuck in to do nothing other than hold me in his arms. That was the first time I felt truly safe with him. It may have been the pivotal moment in our very unusual relationship.
Push and pull.
Those words defined everything about us.
The men on the couches having sex with the slaves were difficult to block out of my meditation. The sounds coming from that end of the room left little to the imagination.
The other man who had approached retreated to the couches. That made me feel a thousand times better because there was something repugnant about him which made my skin crawl.
Xavier shifted in front of me. He didn’t repulse me like Carson. Instead, he reminded me of My Monster. The two of them shared similar qualities. A hard man, Xavier was dominant and unyielding. Nevertheless, I sensed compassion within him.
The same could not be said of Carson.
“Your Master will return in a moment.” Xavier leaned close, speaking softly.
Deep in my meditation, I barely heard him, but then he kept his voice low, as if he were trying not to draw attention to us.
I said nothing. Josh told me to speak to no one and I would honor his wishes. Pleasing him brought a sense of fulfillment I was only now accepting as something I craved.
I did it not because it was expected. Not because he demanded it. And not because he forced it upon me. Although all of those reasons had once been powerful motivations in the past.
My reason for doing it now was because it was something I chose.
As if on cue, the doors to my left swung open. My eyes might be closed, but the depth of my meditative state accentuated my other senses, such as hearing.
Four people entered. One stumbled.
My eyelids ponderously lifted and my breathing shifted back to its normal pattern. The need to see My Monster, and reestablish our connection, pulled me from this floaty space.
But when my eyes opened. I blinked several times.
I saw My Monster, but there was something different about him.
Don’t jump to conclusions.
A gorgeous woman stumbled between two men. Her hands had been manacled to a pole placed behind her head. The two m
en jerked her forward, nearly tripping her, as My Monster proudly walked in front of them.
The scowl in his face was one I knew well, except it was…different. The green depths of his eyes flickered with the same menacing ferocity I feared and respected, but didn’t feel the same. His purposeful stride carried him past me, but it was as if he were a half beat behind.
I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.
What the hell is going on?
“You fucking prick!” the woman yelled.
The two men forced her ahead of them, toward the center of the room.
She kicked out at them, but her foot connected with nothing as the man to her left dodged to the side. She stumbled, and would have fallen, if not for the other man who gripped the metal pole and held her up.
“Gentlemen, welcome to this evening’s main event.” My Monster stopped in front of those gathered on the couches. He swept an arm back toward the woman. “Let me introduce Kate Summers.”
Carson gave a low chuckle and shifted in his seat, eagerly propping his elbows on his knees. The others leaned back and pushed the women who’d been pleasuring them to the side.
“As you know, Kate orchestrated my arrest. I’m sure the cunt thought I’d be locked up for good, but the wonderful state of Georgia saw fit to release me.”
Laughter sounded from the men.
“You deserve to rot behind bars,” Kate screeched.
The two men who entered with My Monster attached her to the St. Andrews Cross. She kicked and hissed, fighting them with all her strength. Unfortunately, she was no match for the men.
Knowing the scene which had played out on that cross the last time I was in this room, my belly churned and bile rose in the back of my throat.
This can’t be real?
Looks real
Don’t jump to conclusions!
I tried listening to that voice in my head, but found that impossible. I had watched My Monster kill the girl with the spiky hair. He strangled the life out of her.
“My father died the night of my arrest.” He stepped close to the woman and punched her in the stomach.
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