Reclaimed in Ecstasy

by Nina Pierce

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered the words in her ear.

  “I’m not.”

  Rain pounded on the roof as another bolt of lightning lit up the sky and the answering rumble of thunder shook the windows.

  It took all of Derek’s willpower to keep his hands moving along her satin flesh. His instincts had been right about this wounded bird, the one who made his heart race and his libido scream for mercy. The scars on her heart had been inflicted by a man who’d promised to love her.

  Shit, no wonder she’d closed herself off from him.

  “What did he do to you?” he asked.

  Sara’s forehead fell against the mirror, her heavy pants fogging its surface.

  “He dominated me. Controlled me. Bound me to him.”

  The fingers of one hand slid along her cleft, brushing the tight knot of nerves with every pass, while the other toyed with the chain on her nipple clamps. Derek alternated biting and licking her shoulder, neck and ear, working to keep her senses overloaded, replacing the painful memories with the pleasure he offered her body. “I have you bound, does it frighten you?” He already knew it didn’t as another hot rush of warm liquid flowed over his fingers.

  Damn, she was so incredibly responsive.

  “I’m not your prisoner.”

  “No, you’re my submissive. My toy.” He slipped a finger into her moist depths, drawing a satisfying gasp of bliss from her lips.

  “Yes, Master, I’m yours. Use me for your pleasure.”

  “You offer so much when you submit, Sara.” His cock was painfully hard, and as difficult as it was to quiet his own sexual hunger, this woman needed time to purge the ugly truth trapped in her heart. “I see how much it pleases you to give yourself to me.” He added another finger, stretching and finger-fucking her, pleased when she arched into it. “I feel it. It’s a gift to be treasured, not exploited.”

  “I loved Marc. I willingly gave him all the power.” Tears welled in her eyes.

  “Why? Why did you give so willingly?”

  “My parents’ illnesses had taken so much from me. I had to be so strong while they were sick. When they died, I needed someone to take care of me.” She closed her eyes and spoke through clenched teeth. “Despite my age, I was too immature and needy when I met Marc. And he was so driven. So commanding. And even more needy.”

  In one fluid motion, Derek bent, grabbed a condom and sheathed his cock. “Why didn’t you leave?” Derek’s gut knotted in cold fury, he suspected he already knew the answer.

  “In the beginning he treated me…like a queen.” Her words were smoother now, only her chin quivering with the horrific memories. “But after…after the wedding…It all changed.”

  Derek embraced her from behind, pressing the heat of his body against her and sliding his erection between her legs. “How?” He whispered the question against her ear, his tongue tracing the delicate rim.

  She shook her head, panic mapping deep lines across her face as the last of the tears rolled down her cheeks.

  Quickly he released the clamps at her nipples, letting the chain dangle from her clitoris. She gasped at the wash of physical pain. He hoped it was enough to push her forward.

  “What he did was wrong, Sara. None of it was your fault.” Derek’s hands smoothed over her breasts, their sensitive points pebbled in his palms. Slowly he pumped his hips, his cock bumping up against the chain, exciting them both. “He can’t hurt you now.”

  “He separated me from my friends. From my family.” She drew a deep, shuddering breath as he continued to knead her breasts and toy with her nipples. “It was so gradual, I didn’t even notice until it was too late.”

  “You mean you never left your house?” He smoothed his hand down her flat stomach and around the flare of her hip, once again sliding his fingers along her sensitive folds.

  “No…I mean yes, we left the house.”

  She gasped when he guided himself into her, his cock wrapped in the velvet fist of her body. Jolts of electric bliss shimmied up his spine.

  “Please, just this.” Her back arched, pushing him deeper. “I don’t want to talk about Marc anymore.”

  “A little more, Sara.” His teeth grazed the strained cords of her neck as he rolled the hard pearl of her nipple between his fingers, her body going liquid against him. “Why didn’t you ask for help while you were out?”

  “Once I left without him.” Sara’s head rolled back against his shoulder, her heavy-lidded eyes losing focus. “But he came to get me and punished me for two, maybe three days. Not for pleasure, only for training. He bound and gagged me, using me on and off, rewarding me with food and water.” The tears started again. “But I blamed myself. I was his submissive. His toy. I never should’ve left.”

  And there it was. A Dom who used a submissive’s trust against her needed to be hung by his balls. If the bastard wasn’t already dead, Derek would’ve killed him himself.

  He forced his anger aside, focusing on Sara. He teased her nipple and canted his hips, pumping in and out of her, working to keep her off balance. “Sara, no one has the right to hold you prisoner.”

  “But I loved him. It’s what Marc wanted. My life became moments of making him happy. Being there when he wanted me. Sara was lost, and in her place was the shell of a woman who couldn’t find her way out.”

  He kept at the slow slip and slide of their bodies, his hands moving between pain and gentle caresses. She shivered in his arms, a contented sigh escaping from her lips. “Why didn’t anyone come for you?” he asked.

  “He made my family believe I didn’t need them. Made excuses to my friends. In the end, there was no one left to save me.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “And by then, I believed I wasn’t worth saving.”

  “You’re the strongest woman I know.” He buried his face in her hair, pulling her closer, hoping he hadn’t called this wrong. “Why didn’t anyone see? How could they not know?”

  “Because Marc was that good. We went to clubs and came here to Paradise Cove every couple of months, but just for appearances. We visited with only Ethan. Marc told him this bungalow, the one we’re in now, was our retreat. Our getaway from the world.” A deep sob shook her body, the emotion rising from the depths of her soul. “But…”

  Sweet Christ. How the hell had she managed to walk back in here?

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, the words spoken through trembling lips. “But it’s my fault. I’m to blame. I should’ve been stronger.”

  “A submissive is never to blame for the actions of her Dom.” It took all of his focus to keep his hands moving even as his heart broke for this brave woman reliving her past. “And through it all, you loved him?”

  “With all my heart.”

  “Then he took advantage of your love and violated your trust. He was wrong. He used you.” He held her tight, his breath feathering across the delicate shell of her ear. He wanted her to feel every word he spoke. “You aren’t responsible for his actions. You are not to blame, Sara.”

  A sob escaped, proof that the last of her defenses was falling away. He leaned back and slapped her ass in several quick spankings, forcing her to really hear his words. Without giving her time to recover, he yanked on the chain dangling between her legs, sending pain coursing through her system. Without the ecstasy to replace the misery—her healing would be incomplete and she would never be whole again.

  “Say it. You’re not to blame.”

  “No, I—”

  His hand came down in two more hard spanks on her reddened cheek, the sound echoing off the walls. He wasn’t sure when the thunder had stopped, but only the rain and howling wind joined her hiccupping cries.

  “He took advantage.” Derek punctuated his words with pain and pleasure as his hands pinched the tight peaks of her nipples and his hips continued their slow push and pull. “He used your love against you. Marc is to blame. Say it.”

  Her eyes met his in the mirror as she found her inner strength. “He did! He used me.” Tears rol
led down her cheeks. “I hate him! I hate everything he did to me!” Her forehead fell against the mirror, her words so quiet, Derek wasn’t sure he heard them. “I hate him.”

  He wrapped her in his arms. “Enough pain, Sara. You’ve done so well,” he whispered. “No more memories. No more pain. Just you and me.” He buried himself to the hilt, eliciting a moan of pleasure from her. Derek released the clamp from her clitoris and let the chains fall to the floor. His fingers circled the sensitive bundle of nerves, knowing the ecstasy would wrap around the despair and replace the dark heartache and memories.

  Despite her emotional outpouring, Sara bucked against his vigorous assault. She anchored herself with the mirror, her cheek pressed to its cool surface, her hands wrapped in white-knuckled grips around the frame.

  His ecstasy mounted, pleasure tightening his balls and sparking in jolting spasms along his low back. His fingers dug into her ass as he pumped his hips, slamming into her with quick thrusts that had them both quivering. Skin slapped against skin, the sound lifting with their strangled cries of bliss. She was so incredibly tight, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could last, but he forced himself to focus on her.

  Sara grew taut against him and he doubled the speed of his fingers against her clit. Her eyes squeezed tight, her mouth open in a silent scream as her orgasm slammed into her. He held her through every shuddering cry, pumping into her from behind as she came apart in his arms.

  Derek strained to control his own release. Sara had worked hard for this reward and he wouldn’t deny her even one second of the rapture quaking over her muscles. Just as she was coming down, he reached up, squeezing her breast and pinching the nipple, his other hand feverishly working her sensitive flesh. Her body quaked and shattered as another orgasm rolled through her, contracting her muscles around his cock.

  When she cried out for her Master, he lost all control.

  Ecstasy shot out along his nerves, his cock buried motionless in her silken heat. Hot currents of bliss quaked down his spine as the climax rocked through his body.

  They rode the last shudders of pleasure together, both of them completely exhausted from the physical and emotional strain. He pulled from her wet heat, but kept his torso molded to her back, smiling at her contented sigh. Her heart hammered beneath his palm as her breathing slowed. The woman melted against him, her head rolling back on his shoulder. Derek had held many subs coming down from subspace, but none had fit so perfectly in his arms. And damn if he didn’t want to stay here in this moment where trust and security surrounded them like the golden glow of the sun slanting through the windows.

  He wasn’t sure when the storm had stopped, but it seemed to have cleared out as quickly as it had arrived. One more trial. One more push to exorcise the demons and he and Sara could enjoy the rest of their time at the resort.

  And wasn’t that new? When the hell had she crawled under his skin and made him want her for more than just this moment? But damn if the brave woman in his arms hadn’t made him feel whole again. Derek definitely wanted more time with her and hoped this weekend wouldn’t be the end for them.

  But reality slapped him back to the present as anxiety pinched his heart. He’d broken down so many of Sara’s defenses, and if he’d done his job well—replaced the emptiness with gentle messages of self-worth and healing.

  Jesus, he didn’t want to screw this up, especially since she’d become more than a damaged sub to him. What he did now would either heal Sara completely or push her into territory that would rebuild the walls he’d worked so carefully to destroy.

  Derek dropped kisses along her jaw, whispering words of praise for all she’d given him. “Sara, open your eyes.”

  Her heavy lids fluttered as she worked to obey his command. Crystalline blue pools reflected her trust as she pushed away the sexual haze and met his gaze.

  Gently, he turned Sara’s face back to the mirror, sweeping her hair away from her flushed cheeks. “Look at how beautiful you are.” He emphasized the compliment, his fingers brushing over the silver studs of the collar at her neck. He ignored the panic sparking in her eyes and mapping deep lines of fear across her forehead as his hand trailed up her arms to link with her hands still bound to the mirror. “My submissive. Beautiful. Giving. Compliant. Everything a Dom could want.” He lowered his head and bit her shoulder, letting the pain once again center her. “See what I see, Sara. A beautiful submissive willing to give everything to her Master.”

  She closed her eyes and shook her head.

  But he refused to let her ignore this one last hurdle. This one last trigger needed to be purged before this willing submissive became whole again. “Open your eyes and look!” he commanded. “You. Are. Beautiful. Say it.”

  “I’m not.” The tears that had stopped shimmered once again. “I can’t!”

  He felt her retreat, her walls slowly building.

  He was sure he was reading her right. Sara had gallantly trudged over the rubble of her past. Heroically faced the dark shadows taunting her. And now she only had this one last curtain to push through before the past was nothing more than a horrible memory.

  Forcing her to believe in her own courage, Derek cupped her chin in his palm, demanding she stare at her own reflection. They’d come this far and he refused to let her stop without completing what had begun. “Sara, this is who you are. No one can take this from you.”

  “No.” She shook her head, trying to break from his grip.

  He ignored her cry. “You are strong—”

  “No. No—”

  “You are submissive. And you are beautiful.”

  She was yelling now, fighting his hand on her. “No, stop! I can’t do this! I’m not—”

  The sound of the door slamming against the wall stopped her pleas.

  Ethan stormed across the room, knocking Derek away from Sara. “What the hell are you doing to her?”

  Sara was screaming, but Derek couldn’t make out any of her words as Ethan’s fist connected with his jaw, sending him spinning backward. Hot pain spiked through his head and blazed across his bloody thigh. Sparks of confusion danced in his vision.

  “I trusted you, asshole! Now she’s covered in blood and screaming for you to stop!” Ethan bellowed. “I thought you could help her. Not fuck with her head.” His fist came up again, but he held his hands up in surrender, stopping another blow.

  The physical pain was nothing compared to the guilt stabbing at his heart.

  Obviously, Derek had pushed too hard—again. And his sub was paying the price. Would he never recognize his own limits?

  Knowing Ethan would repair the damage he’d inflicted, Derek turned and ran out the door, leaping over the two stairs and into the soft sand of the path. His feet couldn’t seem to move him fast enough to outrun his humiliation—or Sara’s heartrending cries of pain that tore at his heart.

  Chapter Six

  Sara fought against the bindings, screaming for both men to stop.

  “Sara, it’s all right. Everything’s all right.” Ethan pressed his chest against her back, no doubt trying to make her feel safe, but it only added to the cloying desperation and fear choking her.

  “Master!” The word dragged out in a mournful wail as she called after the only man who’d been willing to face her pain.

  Ethan released one wrist and she clawed at the other binding. Confusion blinded her. She fought desperately against the sexual haze of endorphins and adrenaline, trying to figure out how everything had gone so horribly wrong.

  “Sara, you’re safe. He can’t hurt you. There’s no need to fight.”

  “Let me go!” As soon as the binding relaxed, she ripped her hand free and pushed away from the mirror, trying to get away from Ethan. “He needs me.”

  “No.” He twisted her to face him. Even if his fingers hadn’t been digging into her shoulders, Ethan’s commanding voice alone would have stopped her cold. “You don’t owe him anything.” The ebony eyes raking her face glistened with pain. “Thank God I go
t here when I did.” He looked down her body, both of them seeing the blood that coated her legs. “Jesus, I thought he knew better. I’m sorry, Sara. So very sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen again.”

  “No, the blood…it was an accident—”

  “This kind of behavior is no accident, Sara. I heard your cries from the beach for chrissake.”

  Ethan had misunderstood her pleas—but not Derek.

  Derek had known what she needed and been brave enough to push at the final anchor holding her in the past. He’d seen her reaction to being called beautiful—Marc’s public command of absolute obedience—and had insisted she face it, to feel safe when she said it. Both of them understood that. Sara just hadn’t been ready to believe Derek was strong enough to hold back the wash of memories that would come when she pulled down that last barrier. She saw that now.

  But she’d been wrong.

  As clearly as the sound of the retreating Jet Ski carrying Derek away, Sara knew he’d delivered her safely through hell’s fires unscathed. She felt the truth of it kiss her unchained heart. Even as the burden of her past lifted, leaving her feeling lightheaded and free, she suffered the hollow emptiness of her Master’s abandonment. Her shoulders sagged with the loss.

  “Sara?”

  “Derek did it,” she said quietly, forcing her gaze to meet Ethan’s concerned expression. “He pushed and refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

  Ethan pulled her into a fierce hug. “I know. I’m sorry. He’s too green. I shouldn’t have sent him here.”

  A hoarse laugh escaped over the absurdity of the situation and the giddy happiness of realizing with Derek’s help, she’d purged herself of Marc’s ghost. “I do love you, Ethan, but sometimes even you are a blind ass.”

  He set her away from him, gauging her sanity, and she laughed again.

  “Trust me when I say, you sent the perfect Dom for the job.” She pushed out of his arms and spun so Ethan could examine all of her. “You’re looking at a new woman, my friend. The only baggage leaving Paradise Cove with me tomorrow is the one I can carry in my hand.”