by Cole Denton
“I can’t wait for the night when Jacob suspends you from the ceiling in the main room, Elise.”
“It will be a long wait. You know that I hate all of that pressure in my neck and spine.”
“I do. I’m just teasing you,” she said with a smile and took a sip from her coffee. “So, do you guys have anything planned for tonight?” she probed.
“He mentioned the cross and the cage. But I’m pretty sure the cage was more in a joking way.”
We talked for an hour about tonight, and then after becoming warm and damp, I headed home to get into my sexy corset and reprimand my pillow. The hours until Jacob’s return seemed to go by quickly. By the time he got home, I was aching for him.
“I see you’re all ready to go, darling,” Jacob said when he walked into our bedroom.
I was standing at the vanity, touching up my makeup for tonight, and could feel his eyes on me. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see that he wasn’t moving to start getting ready for our evening out. He was just standing there. I put the lid on my mascara and turned to face him.
Was something wrong?
“Jacob,” I began.
He seemed to shake something off quickly and then crossed the room to me. Jacob leaned down and kissed me. His kiss was deep and reminded me that I belonged to him.
“I’ll be ready in just a few minutes, Elise.”
I hung around our bedroom to be close to him, but also tried to keep my distance so he could get ready. I just had this sneaking suspicion that something was wrong, though. Something just felt off as I watched him move around our room. Clearly, Jacob was distracted.
“Sweetheart, are you sure you want to go to the club tonight?” I asked. “We could stay home and order dinner for delivery. Maybe binge watch something,” I suggested.
“No. We made plans earlier, and I’d like to keep those.”
I left it at that. If Jacob truly didn’t want to do something, he would say so. He has always been honest with me, and I knew that I could take his word for what it was. When we got to the club, we roamed around for a little while and watched a suspension scene in the main room. I had been leaning against Jacob with his arm around me when I heard Liz’s voice.
“Are you sure you two aren’t next with the rope suspension?” she quietly teased.
“Good evening, Liz,” Jacob greeted her with a smile. “Eventually, I’ll have her wrapped in rope dangling from the ceiling.” Jacob winked at me before asking Liz if she had already played with Frank.
“Something came up, and he had to cancel at the last minute.”
I could tell that Liz was disappointed. She really did enjoy Frank, and I knew that she was looking forward to us meeting him this evening. Liz ended up saying goodnight to us, citing that she was going to save her energy for another night when Frank could join her.
“Aw, that’s too bad. I feel bad for her,” I murmured to Jacob after Liz left.
“This Frank guy probably needed a break. You’re always telling me all the stuff she does to him. The guy may have needed a night off,” Jacob joked under his breath.
The club was pretty busy, and all of the stations were in use or had a waiting list two or more deep. The waiting time we were looking at to play at the St. Andrew’s Cross was at least an hour. And to be honest, I really wasn’t feeling it right now. My mind was still preoccupied with whatever Jacob had been preoccupied with. I had tried to push it away several times, but it kept coming back like a fly at a picnic. His mannerisms and body language just told me something was off, or on his mind.
Jacob sat close to me at the bar as we looked around the main room. All of a sudden, Jacob seemed to have this burst of energy and interest. He leaned in, took hold of my chin, and kissed my lips. His tongue stroked mine tenderly, and when we pulled apart, he tilted my chin so I’d look in the direction of the other side of the room.
“See him?” Jacob’s warm breath cascaded over my ear.
“Who?” I asked. Though I was looking in the direction of where I thought he wanted me to look, I was still confused as to who he was referring to.
“The young man with the blonde hair and dark pants,” Jacob finally revealed.
I spotted him. We had seen this young man here before on multiple occasions. He was submissive and liked to bottom for female Tops.
“Yes, I see him,” I confirmed.
“Would you like to top him?” Jacob asked in a serious tone.
“What?”
“What if tonight I want to help make your fantasy come true?” Jacob delved.
My mind began to race, and I was drawing a blank. Was this really happening? Was this what he was preoccupied with?
“You could tie him to one of the posts.” Jacob kissed my ear. “Maybe use the crop on him.” He took my earlobe between his teeth and lightly nibbled. His light nibbles drove me wild though and I wanted more and harder. “Make him obey you, Elise. Punish him when he deserves it.” Jacob kissed my ear softly again. “Make him appreciate you.”
All of this talk about taking a crop to a young man to punish him made me ache. I could almost feel the handle of the crop in my hand, and imagine the man quietly waiting on his hands and knees…silently begging for me to discipline him. The mere thought of the young man showing me respect and appreciation while I marked his toned, tight flesh made me wet.
“What do you say, Elise? Would you like to give it a try tonight? There’s no harm in wanting to try. I will be right here.”
“You’ll be right here?” I questioned. There’d be no way I’d ever try something like this without him. Jacob tugged my chin so I’d look at him again.
“I will always be right here with you, Elise,” he promised.
What were we talking about exactly? A chill washed over me, and I no longer had any interest in playing at the club tonight. I was only interested in getting out of here and finding out what was going on. But it was as though he read my mind.
“What’s wrong, Elise?”
“I’m distracted and can’t relax,” I admitted.
“Shall we go home, darling?” Jacob asked. His eyes were filled with something that I couldn’t quite place, though it had a familiar feeling to it also.
After we said goodbye to a few friends that we hadn’t seen in a while, Jacob and I headed home. We walked quietly to the car, both of us with things on our minds. We were halfway home when it finally came out.
“Elise, you know Australia is on fire,” Jacob began and glanced at me. I knew where this was going, and the anxiety began to rapidly build in my body. “I’m going to go down to Australia with some members of our station and volunteer to help the firefighters over there.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He let it sink in for a few moments before he started talking again. I had to be supportive. He needed me to be supportive.
“Elise, they need our help. They’ve been fighting, and the loss is so devastating. It’s taking a heavy toll, and we need to help our brothers and sisters out.”
“I know, Jacob. It’s a horrific situation down there.”
“It’s hell on earth for them.”
“When?” I asked flatly. I didn’t mean to sound so unsupportive, but my anxiety and I were already on top of the Empire State Building sitting on a ledge.
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I let out an exasperated sigh before I could stop it. “Dammit, Jacob,” I said under my breath.
I grew annoyed that this was how he wanted to spend our last night before he left for Australia. We could have had a relaxing evening together at home instead of going to the club. It became harder to breathe and think.
“Elise, this is no different than when I volunteered in New York the day after the September 11 attacks. I went, did what needed to be done, and then I came home. That’s exactly what will happen this time.”
Jacob always volunteered to help. He was the perfect representation of what a firefighter was; brave and selfless. My mind flashe
d to the memory of the last time he volunteered with the fires in Malibu. He ended up in the hospital for smoke inhalation. But, that would always be preferred to…I couldn’t even bring myself to think about it.
I took a few more steadying breaths and got my own emotions under control before I cleared my throat and allowed myself to speak again.
“How long will you be gone?” I cautiously asked, though, I was somewhat afraid to hear the answer.
“At least a week. We need to help them get this under control and give them a much needed break. They need it. They need us.”
“I know, Jacob.” I took hold of his strong hand that he held palm up for me to take. I took a deep breath and spoke from my heart, “I love you, Jacob.”
“I love you, too. Thank you for understanding. I need to do this.”
I told him that I understood, and really, I did. It was what being married to a firefighter was about; not being afraid to make sacrifices for those in need. Even though the firefighters were the ones physically going to help in Australia, the families that they were leaving behind for a few days, were also going in spirit.
I knew from all of the other times that Jacob had gone places to volunteer, that our connection via cell phone or landlines was usually sparse. In cases with brushfires, sometimes we would go for days without talking or texting. Even though I knew this, it didn’t offer me any comfort as I sat on the couch waiting.
It was going on thirty-six hours without contact from Jacob. I knew he had arrived, and when he said that he was going to one of the worst areas of the fire, my stomach dropped. The cell phone and our cordless phone sat on the couch cushion beside me, offering little assurance to ease my aching heart and nervous stomach. Ever since he had been gone, I had been glued to the TV watching the news. My heart was filled with sorrow as I watched a beautiful country burn.
Forty-two hours later, the cordless phone for our landline rang. Hope surged through me as I lunged for the phone. Anguish and fear consumed me as I looked at the caller I.D. It was a long unknown number, and underneath it said “Australia.”
I said my silent prayers. I felt as though all of the air had been knocked out of my lungs when I desperately said, “Hello.”
Plaything is book two in The Club Oxygen Series
About Cole Denton
An ocean loving guy who’s exploring his kinky side in pursuit of all things pleasurable.
Also by Cole Denton
The Trial By Fire Series
Forged
Steel
Phoenix
Iron
The Sanguine Series
The Queen
Hybrid
The Club Oxygen Series
Oxygen
Plaything
Mistress
Slave
Sadist