by BJ Wane
Raising her legs, she rubbed her feet over his clenching buttocks before crossing her ankles at his lower back and tightening her thighs against his sides. “Just how,” she nipped his corded neck, “I like it.” As he rose above her to ram deeper than before, she licked over his brown nipples, his chest hair tickling her nubs. With a triumphant laugh of pleasure, Nan exploded around him again, loving his rough possession and all those muscles pressing down on her.
Dan struggled to hold back, but as Nan’s wet, swollen pussy squeezed and massaged his girth for the third time, the friction proved too hot as she bathed his flesh with the slickness of her climax. With several more pummeling strokes, he spewed his seed into the latex, his whole body shaking from the exultant, spiraling pleasure ripping through him as he continued to pound into her tight depths. By the time he pulled back with excruciating slowness, dragging his spent cock along her still quivering nerves, their harsh, gasping breaths blew hot on each other’s necks, their heaving chests lifting and falling together as his perspiration-damp skin slipped on hers.
The incoming storm that had followed them home burst open with a window-blazing streak of lightning, a booming clap of thunder and a pounding deluge of rain. Nan dropped her legs from around his back and he missed the tight grip already. “Give me a minute,” he said gruffly as he stood. “You can use the bathroom as soon as I get rid of this.”
She flicked a sleepy-eyed look of satisfaction toward the full condom and he spun away before he caved to the temptation to pound into her again. She took less time than him in the bathroom, and as she padded naked back toward the bed, he noted the tired shadows under her eyes. Holding back the covers, he invited, “Come on, baby, let’s get some sleep. I know you have to get up early.”
“I do,” she replied, sliding next to him and curling against his side. “But this is weird. I haven’t spent all night in a man’s bed since college.”
“Then I say it’s past time. Close your eyes. I’ll leave the bedside lamp on.”
She stiffened and started to pull away but he tightened his arm around her with a warning growl. “Nan.”
“I hate this!” she burst out against his chest. “I’ve never feared anything.”
“Well, now you do. We’ll deal with that phobia later. Now be quiet. If you’re not tired, I am.” That was a lie, but he’d say anything to get her to rest.
Ten minutes of silence passed with her breathing softly next to him, one long slender arm draped across his waist, her hand gripping his side as if anchoring herself to him. He thought she finally slept until her hushed voice interrupted the lull between thunderclaps.
“I met up with him three times, in public places before going to his house, and I let Jay know where I was going, who I was meeting.”
Every muscle in Dan’s body went taut. If she was willing to talk, he wouldn’t stop her, even if he wasn’t sure how he would react to any new revelations. “You played it safe, which is good. Think how much worse it could have ended if you hadn’t.”
Nan shuddered against him, her deep, indrawn breath pushing her breast against his side. “I know, I’ve thought of that. But I ignored my unease when he showed me his dungeon, which was both creepy and exciting, if that makes any sense. The first night at his house, he put me in the guestroom, another questionable move. I told myself he was going slow, being thoughtful even though I let him know I was interested in submitting. That lasted until he did everything to my body for two hours except allow me to climax or fuck me. After instructing me not to touch myself, he left for his room.”
“You were pissed.”
“Yeah, you know me, I’m not into punishments for no reason. I planned to leave in the morning. But when I came downstairs, naked because he’d taken my clothes, he was waiting on the veranda with a gourmet breakfast and a return of his charming demeanor.”
When she paused, he took a stab at what came next. “It didn’t last. He showed his true self.”
“Yes. He ordered me on my knees and then revealed what he expected from his slave. After refusing to lick his damn shoes, I spent the next four days locked in a windowless bedroom, no food and only tap water in the attached bath to drink. I didn’t know that would be the best part of that week.”
Nan’s soft skin grew cool and Dan pulled her tighter against him, his rage returning full force as the storm outside beat against the window. “You don’t have to say anything else. I don’t need details. Tell me how Jay got you out.”
“That’s easy,” she said in a relived tone. “When I didn’t contact him for over twenty-four hours, he tried calling, texting, leaving messages. Gerard confiscated my phone, and he answered the texts, but my brother saw through his evasive replies and returned to New Orleans as soon as he could. He said he went straight from the airport to Gerard’s place, but Gerard insisted he put me in a cab a few days after I first arrived and he hadn’t heard from me since.”
“And he’s wealthy, comes from old money and his family holds influence, right?”
“Right.”
She nodded, and her hair tickled his nipple. Ignoring the small jolt of pleasure, he asked, “How did Jay get in then?”
“Determination and love. He browbeat his superior to get him a warrant, threatened to go it alone, even to quit his job if he didn’t get help from his precinct. Since they needed him more than they cared about pissing off the Avet family, they sanctioned a surprise raid. Their timing was perfect. Gerard wasn’t home, and when he returned, he saw the police cars and ambulance and kept driving, straight to his private jet. The bastard fled the country, and it took months to extradite him back.”
Dan shifted on top of her, kissed her and then said above her damp lips, “Remind me to thank Jay.” Rolling back over, he pulled her on top of him, spread her legs alongside his and pushed her head to his shoulder. “Go to sleep now. You have nothing to fear with me here.”
Chapter 11
As soon as Nan fell asleep on top of him, Dan shifted her to the side and slid out of bed. He lied when he told her he didn’t need to hear all the details of those days in the basement, and he would never be able to sleep until he filled in the gaps. Snatching up his jeans, he padded out of the bedroom, pulled them on and moved quietly downstairs and out onto the front porch. The rain still fell in a steady torrent and blew a light mist over his face and chest, but the cool dampness did nothing to smolder the heat of his anger.
He still had her brother’s phone number from when he’d spoken with Jay after Nan quit answering his and everyone else’s calls and texts. Disregarding the late hour, he sat down on the porch swing and pulled out his phone. Jay answered on the third ring, his irritable voice coming through loud and clear in Dan’s ear.
“Do you know what the hell time it is? Who is this?”
“Dan Shylock, and yes, I know what time it is. I’m calling about Nan.”
“What’s wrong? Is my sister all right?”
Dan rushed to reassure him before getting right to the point. “She’s fine, sound asleep…” He paused before ensuring there were no misconceptions by saying bluntly, “In my bed.”
“And you woke me at one o’clock to tell me that why?”
If Dan didn’t know how close the siblings were, and didn’t have Jay to thank for rescuing Nan, he would be worried about the silken note of menace in Jay’s voice. “Because I care, a lot.” And he was just now starting to realize what an understatement that was. “And because I’ve been helping her get over what happened to her in New Orleans, but I need to know more. Why is she so afraid of the dark?”
The rustling of sheets and low cursing resonated through the line before Jay replied, “She should be telling you herself, but since I know how stubborn Nan can be, and how she thinks she can get over those days on her own, I’ll not only tell you, I’ll send you pictures. You show them to anyone else and I’ll come up there and yank your balls out through your throat. Are we clear?”
Dan winced, but understood where the o
ther man was coming from. “Understood.”
A jagged streak of white lightning split the black sky as Jay said, “We found her in a soundproof, locked room in the cellar, where he’d left her in the pitch black for three days. I am only going to forward three pictures, which will be shown at his trial. And I intend to talk to my sister tomorrow, Shylock, so you damn well better not be leaving anything out.”
“I’m not,” he murmured into the dead phone. Dan supposed he ought to be grateful Jay agreed to talk to him at all. The pictures came through seconds later, and his blood turned to ice. The one of her head and face, of the broken capillaries on her cheeks, her black, swollen eye, her blood-matted hair, shook him to the core. Fury built, threatening his composure as he scanned the mottled red and purple bruising along her ribs and abdomen, the split skin down her back.
Dan stabbed the delete button, erasing the images that would be forever seared into his brain. The desire to curb his rage with a six pack was quickly suppressed as he gazed out at the storm-lit sky. He knew from working with addicts who also had suffered trauma, like Pete, there was no escaping or erasing certain images through substance abuse, they would be there tomorrow regardless of what he did tonight.
What he did now, how he moved forward with Nan, depended on her. She had made leaps and bounds tonight at the club, surprising him, and he thought, maybe herself as well. But lapses were inevitable, and pushing for more too soon, could be more harmful than good. Unless she ended their bargain because she’d fulfilled her end of it by climaxing under his hand, and his body, he would let her set the pace for the next step. After having her again, he just hoped he could drum up the patience to go slow, if that was what she wanted and needed. Since he already ached to feel her slick cream bathing his cock as she squeezed another climax out of him, it sure as hell wouldn’t be easy.
Nan roused from the most restful night she’d enjoyed in months, blinking her eyes open to note the time on Dan’s bedside alarm. Crawling out of his warm, comfortable bed, she was grateful she didn’t have to answer to a boss other than herself. That meant she could open up fifteen minutes late without anyone berating her. Still, she didn’t like disappointing her customers, and there were a few who were already addicted to the gourmet coffees she’d added to the menu and showed up first thing every morning for their flavored caffeine fix.
As she picked up her clothes off the chair wondering where Dan was, soreness from the previous night’s excesses made itself known with every move. Her vagina and rectum ached with each step into the bathroom and her skin still appeared flushed, her breasts tender to the touch as she soaped up in the shower. By the time she finished and dried off, she had no desire to add to her lingering discomfort by donning the tight corset again. Slipping the thong on, she wrapped the dress around her, enjoying the sway of her unfettered breasts as she skipped downstairs.
Nan caught sight of Dan out the glass front door, standing with Pete near her car. With his black Stetson obscuring a good portion of his face, she couldn’t read his expression, but damn, he looked good in tight jeans and a worn, button-up work shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal the corded muscles of his forearms. Standing with his scuffed up, cowboy booted feet apart, he frowned as he looked down at the malnourished, scrawny kitten Pete held cradled in his hands. Her heart executed a slow roll as Dan reached out one finger and brushed the poor kitten’s head in a compassionate caress; the same way he’d touched her last night as she’d spoken about Gerard’s abuse.
She didn’t know where the two of them went from here, but if the slow warmth spreading through her body and the tightness around her chest were any signs, she knew she wasn’t ready for whatever this was between them now to end. There would be time to go back to their old relationships, enjoying each other at the club on occasion and socializing as friends outside of those evenings. Still, she would leave it up to him, she decided, stepping outside and drawing their attention away from the pitiful cat.
“Who do you have there, Pete? Poor thing looks as if she’s lived a sad life so far.”
“I saw a coyote stalking her behind the barracks last night and chased him away. Some food and attention and she’ll be fine,” he said, his eyes softening as he gazed down at the pathetic feline. “That is, if I can talk the boss into letting me keep her.”
Scowling, Nan took up Pete’s side. “Look at that face. Let him keep her and nurse her back to health.”
“Do you know how many animals this makes he’s adopted?” Dan shook his head, a grin curling his mouth. “But he was just putting you on, hon. Of course he can keep the cat. But,” he turned a serious look upon his hired hand, “the squirrel’s tail has healed. Turn that damned rodent loose or I will.”
Pete chuckled, his face appearing younger and less strained as he smirked. “I already did this morning. As soon as I finish the chores, I’ll take her to the vet in Billings and get her checked over.” Nodding at Nan, he said politely, “Nice to see you again, ma’am.”
Shaking her head, she waited until Pete was out of earshot before saying, “I’ve asked him to quit ma’aming me. I can’t be that much older than him.”
“You’re not, it’s the military background, and his own sense of courtesy.” Dan eyed her with one of his probing gazes before asking, “How are you this morning?”
“Other than sore, I feel great. Thank you for the good night’s sleep.”
Taking her elbow, he steered her to her car and opened the door. “Come back this evening and let’s see if we can make it two in a row. We’ll stay in, order pizza, and I can see how rusty your pool skills are.”
Her heart soaring, Nan beamed up at him as she settled behind the wheel. “You’re on. Double pepperoni and I should make it by six or seven.”
He nodded, tipped his hat and strode toward the stables, leaving her to drive back to town with butterflies tickling her abdomen and a feverish expectation humming through her veins.
Nan’s upbeat mood lasted through the busy day as she conversed with her customers, more relaxed than she’d been since returning home almost three weeks ago. By the time the afternoon crowd dwindled, the last patrons waving goodbye as Tamara, Sydney and Avery entered, the lingering discomfort from the previous night’s excesses had expanded into a full-body tired ache. The months she’d wallowed in self-pity and allowed Gerard’s actions to keep her away from home and her friends had taken its toll on her stamina. That would be the next thing she planned to build back up now that Dan had succeeded in breaking through the ice that kept her from the lifestyle she loved for so long.
“I expected you guys much earlier,” she greeted her closest friends, cringing inside at the mixture of censure and worry reflected on all three of their faces. Wiping her hands on a towel, she came around from behind the counter as Sydney flipped the door sign to closed. “So, now you know. Sit down and I’ll treat you to a cappuccino from my new machine.”
“Bribery won’t get you out of talking to us,” Tamara warned with a narrow-eyed glare.
“I don’t want to get out of anything, but I won’t rehash all the sordid details either. Between my brother, the D.A. and lately, Dan, I’m tired of reliving the ordeal.” Carrying a tray with four steaming mugs, she took a seat at their table and passed out the hot drinks. “Please try to understand, and respect that.”
“Well, hell, steal our thunder, why don’t you?” Sydney grumbled, reaching for a mug.
Avery squeezed Nan’s hand, her eyes pooling with tears as she said, “I’m so sorry for whatever you went through. I hope the bastard has paid.”
“Not yet, at least not enough. I have to go back to New Orleans to testify at his trial the first of August. I knew if I didn’t get back here and distance myself from the whole trauma, I wouldn’t make it through the testimony.”
“What are you willing to tell us?” Tamara asked.
Nan picked her way through the week-long kidnapping, touching upon Gerard’s actions, and her own without going into a lot
of the details. From the expressions of shock and outrage crossing her friends’ faces, they were getting a clear picture without them.
“Okay.” Pressing her palms on the table, Nan pushed to her feet and stated firmly, “That’s it, and now it’s time to move on. I have to return my library books and get out to Dan’s.” She wiggled her eyebrows with a wicked grin. “We’re staying in tonight.”
“You and Master Dan, or you and Dan?” Tamara wanted to know as they all rose to leave.
“I honestly have no idea, but I’ll be happy with either. Now, shoo, and thank you. I mean it.”
“No more secrets,” Sydney admonished with a quick hug.
“No, no more.” Nan didn’t pay heed to the twinge of guilt tightening her abdomen. There was no reason to mention the strange mishaps occurring since she’d returned; she would figure them out soon without embarrassing herself by coming across as overreacting to a few misplaced items.
After locking up, she ran upstairs to grab her books and walked over to the library. She noticed there were only a few browsers still inside as she smiled at Alice behind the counter. “Hey, Alice. I’m glad I got over here before you closed. These are due.”
Alice took the books, her brows dipping as her worried eyes ran over Nan’s face. “Thank you. Are you feeling okay? You look a little peaked.”
The older woman’s voiced concern rang loud enough to draw a few eyes their way, and Nan tried to stifle her irritation by reminding herself Alice was just being nice. “I’m fine, just a little tired. It’s been a busy weekend.”
“Maybe you ate something that didn’t agree with you,” she prompted while cataloguing her returns.
Nan clenched her jaw, getting testy, wishing the other woman would let it go. She felt fine and didn’t think she had looked bad at all when she’d glanced in the mirror before coming over. Reining in her impatience, she tempered her tone as she replied, “If so, it wasn’t anything from my refrigerator. I just tossed several things, and all I’ve eaten today is a sandwich from the bakery, and I feel great. I need to get going.”