Enthrall Secrets (ENTHRALL SESSIONS 7)

by Vanessa Fewings

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think that’s why you’ve never married?”

  I nodded.

  “How did you meet him?”

  “Cameron introduced me, in a roundabout way.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Promise not to be shocked?”

  “I’ll try. But there’s no telling with you.”

  I smirked. “I was a member of Cam’s first club. He was concerned about me. I was reckless. I’d shown signs of suicidal tendencies.”

  He looked horrified. “Something happened to you?”

  “My parents disowned me. I spent my childhood in foster care. Ran away from the last family I was with. They were a little cruel. Got a job working as a bartender in Massachusetts. I broke into Cameron’s club and he took me under his wing. He used his influence to get me into Harvard. Before that he worked out a strategy that would help me see life was worth living. He placed me in Danton’s care.”

  “How did Danton help you?”

  “He showed me how to live.” My lips trembled at the sacred memory of him and the words he’d told me. “How to…seize opportunities.”

  Ethan reached out and touched my cheek. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I heard a cello.”

  “Do you really think it was him?”

  “I can’t think of any other explanation.”

  I tilted my head. “You don’t seem like the type of man who would believe in the mystical.”

  “You don’t really know me.”

  “I want to,” I replied, smiling. “After Danton passed away I found out he’d sent funds to a Swiss bank account in my name. Money to pay for university. He was concerned his will might be contested by his family. So he planned ahead. It’s because of him I have a PhD.”

  “What a great guy.”

  “He saved my life. I’m forever indebted to him.”

  “He obviously loved you a great deal.”

  “During our time in the dungeon, you muttered something about your wife going in first?”

  His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I did?”

  “Yes.”

  “I must have spaced out or something.” He let out a sigh. “We’d come home from the supermarket, just around the corner. She went on ahead into the house. I was locking the car and bringing the rest of the bags in. Leon was already inside. He shot her in the head before she could deactivate the alarm. Then he ran. I always felt it should have been me that died. Still, we got the bastard in the end, didn’t we?”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “That was four years ago now.”

  “Think about a session with Cameron, please.”

  “This is not how I saw my day going, lying in bed with the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  “Ethan, you could swear at me and it would sound sexy.”

  He laughed. “How the hell can a day start off so shitty and end up so incredible?”

  “You have to accept police protection. Please. I’m scared for you.”

  He looked away.

  “They’re going to come back for you when they hear you’re still alive.”

  “Funny isn’t it.”

  “What?”

  His intense blue eyes met mine. “I didn’t have anything to live for until now.”

  Chapter 25

  ETHAN PACED IN Cameron’s office.

  It was reminiscent of that time he’d been in here after our fake session, only now he was on our side.

  He stopped and stared at him. “Cole, how does it work again?”

  Cameron tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned back against his desk. “I will storm into your psyche and rip it apart until it gives us what we need. I will be your advocate, your knight in shining armor.”

  Ethan flinched. “That doesn’t sound fucked up at all.”

  “I’ll be waiting right here,” I told him.

  Ethan gave me a nod and turned to glare at Cameron again. “Can something go wrong?”

  “I have a hundred percent success rate.” Cameron straightened his back. “After your session I’ll give Scarlet to you. She’ll be your sub or domme. You choose. You’re an alpha, I respect that, but you also have a desire to be dominated. That officially makes you a switch.”

  “Just when I think I can’t feel more embarrassed,” he said.

  I resisted frowning at Cameron, even though his methods were meant to be brilliant. Still, there was always a first time for something to go wrong and I didn’t want it to be with Ethan’s case.

  I’d fallen for him, there was no denying that. Fallen for his gorgeous face, that sexy southern drawl, and the way he blushed when on the verge of arousal.

  Ethan looked over at me. “Tell me it will work.”

  “I believe it will. Dr. Cole’s the best there is.”

  Cameron gave me a smile. “Has Penny prepared the dungeon?”

  I nodded.

  “Inform Mr. Booth we’re ready.”

  They’d both cleared their schedules for the week and Ethan had taken time off work.

  Ethan rubbed his jaw. “An entire week?”

  “It’s the only way. It must be intensive.”

  “How does it work? What happens in there?”

  “We’re locked in a room and none of us leaves until the job is done.”

  “Fucking hell.”

  “We most certainly hope so. Ready?”

  Ethan gave a reluctant nod. A call was placed to the dungeon master and a pretty submissive was sent to Cameron’s office.

  Arianna arrived wearing only a choker. She knelt before Ethan and stared up at him lovingly.

  He looked a little lost for a moment as he blinked down at her, obviously trying to wrap his head around the fact he was really doing this. His incredulous stare found mine.

  I offered a comforting smile.

  “See you on the other side,” he said.

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  “I’ve lost my mind.” He froze, like they always do, doubting, questioning himself, realizing that this was either a stroke of genius or complete madness. “Please let it work.”

  “Arianna,” said Cameron. “Take our client to the nirvana room.”

  I moved over to Ethan and embraced him. “Thank you for trusting us.”

  “All part of my death wish, apparently.” He gave a nod to Arianna to let her know he was ready.

  “By the time I’ve finished with you,” said Cameron, “You’ll know bliss again.”

  “Wish I’d come here sooner then.” Ethan winked at me. “Here goes everything.”

  With a gesture from Cameron, Arianna rose to her feet and took Ethan’s hand, leading him out.

  The door closed behind them.

  Cameron turned to face me. “He’s fallen hard for you.”

  “Is that what you see?”

  “Is that what you want me to see?”

  “Yes.”

  “Come here.” He pulled me over to the full length mirror at the back of the room and positioned me in front of him, wrapping his arms around me. “You’re extraordinary. Of course he’s fallen head over heels for you.”

  My reflection stared back: an empowered mistress, a sensual woman, a sultry vixen who knew the art of a man’s pleasure and the way to soothe his soul.

  Yet, remarkably, Ethan was saving mine.

  Cameron’s reflection looked exquisite as shadows danced over his dashing face. And my thoughts lingered a while on those memories of us in France, how perfect it had been, just him and me and Danton during those final weeks.

  Danton would always own a piece of my heart.

  Always.

  Cameron’s hand rested on my belly. “There’s a cure for him. And you’re looking at her.”

  “Please don’t hurt him.”

  “A little pain never hurt anyone.” He arched a brow.

  I elbowed his stomach. “Do you think he could ever love me?”

  “He already does.”

  Chapter
26

  IT WAS MY turn to pace in Cameron’s office.

  Something was wrong.

  Dreadfully wrong.

  I could feel it surging through my veins and chilling my blood, an internal alarm that never failed to warn me when danger threatened.

  Ethan had been locked away in that dungeon for too long.

  A week had come and gone and it had never taken Cameron this long to get a result. Yes, he had an impressive success rate, though due to patient confidentially he never discussed his methods. They’d been whispers, of course, of just how controversial they actually were. His unusual technique of locking up a client in a dungeon until he acquired the desired result wasn’t exactly mentioned in the Journal of Psychiatry.

  Cameron had used a similar method on me, but instead of him performing the therapy himself he’d entrusted me to Danton.

  Inside that beautiful greenhouse, that cool breeze brushing over my nakedness, those beautiful butterflies flittering around me, my secret spilling within the safety of that glass cocoon as Danton reached a place inside me no one ever had.

  Right now, Ethan was meant to be wrapped in a nurturing environment just as profound, but could Cameron succeed where everyone else had failed? We knew his methods usually worked, we’d seen the evidence time and time again as his patients withdrew from that dungeon reborn, as profoundly as a butterfly flying free from a chrysalis - a metamorphosis like no other.

  I’d tried to keep busy.

  Really, I had.

  I’d managed Cole’s office and taken his calls and dealt with all the humdrum details that went along with having Chrysalis run smoothly. I had my own clients, too, that needed nurturing back at Enthrall. Lotte and Penny, my fellow dominatrixes, knew all too well my will to not disrupt the session was failing and had even strongly advised me to leave Chrysalis until it was over.

  But I’d promised Ethan I would stay close in case he needed me.

  Insanity.

  My addled brain was suggesting mutiny…that in some other universe it was okay to break into a room mid-session and rescue the client from Cameron’s therapeutic clutches.

  Was he pushing Ethan too far?

  Cameron hated failure and no doubt he’d been pushing Ethan way more than was ethical. I couldn’t stand by and let him take this beautiful man through one more minute of torturous therapy.

  I mean, all those other experts had failed, hadn’t they? Were we arrogant to believe we could achieve what those brilliant minds hadn’t? Ethan was going to have to find a new way to face this.

  No, don’t do it.

  My conscience warned me to turn back and yet my feet continued to hurry through the foyer and down the steps toward the dungeons, my chest tightening as I neared the door, hands shaking, my imagination running wild with what I would face. A broken man lying on the floor? Cameron’s wrath for interrupting them? Richard’s amusement that I’d tipped my hand, proving I’d fallen for Ethan?

  With a shove I pushed open the door.

  A waft of cologne, leather, and the heady scent of power.

  Stillness.

  A central chain held up a leather harness in the center. I knew Ethan had been strapped into it at some point. Candles burned to the wick. Soft lighting that my eyes grew accustomed to. A pizza box in the corner. One of Richard’s sweaters thrown over the back of a chair.

  With my throat tight, I backed out and bumped straight into a body. Turning sharply, I saw a scantily clad Arianna, her choker secure around her throat, her dark hair curling down and around her shoulders, nipples pert from the cold.

  A pang of jealousy hit me that she’d spent time with him.

  “Where are they?” I asked.

  “They left.”

  “I can see that. What happened?”

  She gave a shrug. “It’s over. Obviously.”

  Raising my chin high I assumed dominance. “Where are they?”

  She measured her words carefully. “At Cameron’s.”

  “Beverly Hills?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did they leave?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I softened my tone. “How did Ethan look?”

  “Ask Dr. Cole. I’m not allowed to discuss it.”

  “Were you in there?”

  She raised her hand defensively. “It was just Master Cole and Master Booth. I’m only here to make sure all personal items are out before they clean.”

  My gaze returned to the room and I tried to fathom why Cameron hadn’t told me it was over. He knew how I felt about Ethan.

  Maybe that was the point? He was trying to find the words to explain why it hadn’t worked. Maybe he was in denial over his failure.

  I flew out of there and sped back into Cameron’s office and grabbed my handbag. With shaking hands I fumbled for my car keys on my way out the front door.

  Rain fell and a gust of leaves blew up and around me. The Santa Ana winds were at their worst.

  My car was where I’d left it - parked in Cameron’s VIP spot.

  A sleek limousine I’d only been vaguely aware of pulled away from the curb and idled in front of me. Of course, Cameron would know I’d come after them. He’d also know I’d be in no state to drive.

  Relenting to his siren call, I climbed inside the limo.

  Traffic was dense and impossible due to the heavy downpour, with a commute that would normally take an hour taking two. Neither Cameron nor Ethan answered their phones. The journey was endless and felt like the longest drive I’d ever taken.

  No, not the longest…

  That had been the one where Cameron had driven me away from Danton’s a week after his death. There had been no consolation in knowing Danton had gone peacefully, and had been loved so completely. I’d been too torn up to believe life would even go on.

  I’d never met another man like him…until Ethan.

  The limo pulled into the driveway to Cameron’s multi-million dollar home. The impressive estate with its imposing fountain out front was again a reminder that this was a coveted piece of real estate, even for this wealthy neighborhood. He’d had this home for a while and had once told me he’d regretted giving his gay interior designer free reign. The man had had taken the chandelier theme that Cameron was fond of and turned his house into a monument to all things crystal. Like with most things in life, Cameron never took the issue too seriously.

  I went on in.

  At least the masculine black and white marble floor tiles offset all the surrounding glamour. But the erotically shaped central chandelier was truly a piece of glorious art.

  Ethan sat at the bottom of the staircase.

  “Hey,” he said.

  I made my way toward him, glancing around for Cameron.

  “Hi.” I cupped Ethan’s face and he closed his eyes. “You okay?”

  “God, I missed you.”

  “I should have been in there.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

  Cameron would have taken Ethan all the way back to the beginning. Right into the eye of the storm until he’d desensitized him to the dreadful event, and in his own indomitable way he’d have purged all guilt and pain.

  I rested my head on his lap and we stayed like that for a while. Ethan brushed his fingertips through my hair and it made my scalp tingle. Being with him again was all I wanted.

  Finally, he stroked my back to get me to raise my head. Then he pushed himself to his feet and stared down at me. I held his gaze, conveying that he was more of a man than any I’d ever met. He was strong and brave and gorgeous and quite simply, I loved him.

  He held out his hand to me and I took it, rising to my feet.

  Together we made our way up the stairs. It felt so good to be close to him again, I wasn’t sure how I’d endured our time apart.

  The room he led me into was one I’d stayed in so many times before when visiting Cameron. This bedroom with its huge four-poster bed and dark furniture made it luxuriously
cozy. The fine artwork hanging on the walls was a reminder of Cameron’s incredible style.

  Whatever Ethan needed, I knew how to give it intuitively.

  He crushed my mouth to his, his tongue tangling with mine, a flash of fierceness in his kiss.

  His erection nudged my lower abdomen.

  I broke away and stared into his eyes as we shared a moment of realization.

  “I’m burning up for you,” he whispered.

  Ripping at his shirt I told him, “Whatever you need I can take it.”

  Our kissing resumed and we were wild together, acting in a blaze of heat as though we’d been apart forever, his body pressed to mine, his cock growing harder.

  I felt overwhelming happiness for him…for us.

  My jaw dropped when I saw his enormous beautiful cock bursting out of dark curls in a tantalizing tease.

  “Yeah.” He gave a wide smile. “Better watch out, baby.”

  He threw me onto the bed and his laughter was endearing as he ripped the rest of my clothes off, pulling at my panties and easing them over my hips. He scrunched them up and brought them to his nose and breathed me in; so sensually decadent.

  “You intoxicate me,” he whispered, taking my nipple in his mouth, suckling, sending shockwaves of bliss straight to my sex.

  Ethan’s kisses trailed over my belly and went lower until he reached my clit. His tongue flicked stunning pleasure into that sensitized nub, and an orgasm rippled through me, forcing my back to arch and my breath to catch.

  “Need to be inside you.” He rose up and plunged into me, filling me entirely.

  The lusciousness of him inside me sparked a need to bring my legs up and wrap them around him to hold him tighter.

  My sex clutched at Ethan’s cock, the pleasure growing to a blinding intensity.

  “I’m coming again,” I told him.

  He slowed his pace, thrusting in and out of me leisurely. “Jesus, Scarlet, you feel incredible.” Ethan squeezed his eyes shut. “Can we stay in bed forever?”

  “Fine by me.”

  He ground his pelvis over my clit with each thrust.

  “Oh, yes. Right there.”

  Other than our sighs, the quiet surrounded us as we savored each other, me gripping him as though refusing to ever let go again.

  When he finally came, he sent me over the edge again.