Tightrope [Black Ops Brotherhood 6] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Bella Juarez

  Neither one of them moved as they stared at each other for a long time. A look came over him that she hadn’t seen in a while; the tiger was back, and he didn’t like not having his way. It didn’t matter because her tigress would trump his tiger any day of the week. He walked toward her and stood in front of her. She snapped her fingers and pointed to the spot where she wanted him to kneel. He sank to his knees, but she knew he was still fucking with her by the smug-ass look on his face, so she leaned forward and came nose to nose with him.

  “I will believe whatever comes out of your mouth. No pranks, no jokes right now. Do you understand?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I understand.”

  “Do you want a divorce?”

  The question had struck a nerve, and she’d gotten his attention by the way his expression changed. It relieved her that the question alarmed him and wiped that smug look off his face in a hurry.

  “No.”

  “You’ve been extremely disrespectful this week. Can I expect this from now on?”

  “No.”

  “No? Is that how you talk to me?”

  “What am I supposed to say? You said you didn’t want to be my Mistress anymore. So, no.”

  “Don’t fuck with me. You know what’s happening and what’s coming your way. No. What?”

  “What the fuck do you want from me?”

  Moving faster than he expected she grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked. “No. What!”

  “No, Mistress!”

  “Stop fucking with me, or I will walk out that door, and you can do whatever the hell you want without me. Until I tell you any different, I am Mistress. Do you understand?”

  * * * *

  Dan wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her not only did he understand, he was happy as hell to have her back. But he knew Rio, and there was no way he’d make it easy for her. For the last week he’d been miserable. He hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since he’d made up his mind to get his Mistress back. Last night when he’d come in so late, he’d tossed and turned when she left to sleep on the couch. It had taken everything he had not to come out, pick her up, and start another fight. Hurting her the past few days had been gut wrenching. But she’d driven him to the point of desperation, and he had to do something. He’d lost his Mistress, and he was scared that eventually it would lead to him losing his wife. Losing her frightened him when he remembered how empty and lost he’d been without her. He refocused; he had to drag her out from behind the wall she’d built again, even if it meant dragging her kicking and screaming. He sure as hell wasn’t giving her an out because she’d see right through him and withdraw. She had to believe this was serious enough for her to take some kind of action. She yanked him again and threw him off balance, and he realized he’d taken too long to answer.

  “I understand, ma’am.”

  By the look she’d just drilled him with, he knew he’d pay for it. She hated when he called her that, and he did it just to push her buttons.

  “Go to the bedroom and get naked. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Digging in, he decided to push it a little more. “I have someone waiting for me. We have plans for the night.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she looked at him as if she’d shoot him if he uttered another word. He was a little concerned when her expression went cold. Maybe he’d gone too far?

  “Go ahead, you have a choice. But remember, don’t come back. So, either walk out the door right now, or shut the fuck up.” He stayed put. “Now one more time. Get your ass naked and in the bedroom right now.”

  Leaning forward, he put his hands on her knees and came nose to nose with her. “All right, Mistress. Game on.”

  A tremor of excitement ran through him because she was beyond pissed. Mistress was now in full-blown cop mode by the way her body tensed, and her eyes went even colder. She remained expressionless as she stared him down.

  “Move,” she said slowly.

  Her soft voice was low and firm. God, how he loved hearing that tone whenever she used it during playtime, and his cock hardened in response. Taking a deep breath he relaxed and willed himself not to get too excited, yet. As he walked to their bedroom, he left a trail of clothes behind him because he knew it pissed her off to no end when he left things lying around.

  “Now what?” he called out when he reached the bedroom.

  The sting to his ass made him jump. He hadn’t heard her walk up behind him, and he didn’t recall seeing anything in her hand or around her that would cause his current discomfort.

  “I told you to shut the fuck up. Do I need to gag you?”

  “I don’t give a fuck what you do. Let’s just get this over with. I have plans.”

  Another smack landed on his ass, and this time she’d managed to make it hurt.

  “Ow! What the fuck?”

  “Say your safe word or shut up, and do what you’re told.” She smacked him again. “Hands on your head and spread your feet.”

  Lacing his fingers, he put his hands on top of his head. When she came around, he saw what caused his discomfort. It was the crop he’d bought her as a present to encourage her to try something different on him. When he’d given it to her, she didn’t like it because it was too heavy and would inflict more pain than she liked. He tried to explain that was the idea. He wanted her to kick it up a little more. Instead she’d gone out and gotten that damn cock cage, and decided to torture him a different way. Interestingly enough, she’d still managed to get him to his happy place and rock his planet when she locked up his dick for two long, painful weeks.

  She left him for a moment, and when she returned, she had some cuffs with her. “I said spread your feet and eyes forward,” she ordered, kicking his feet apart like she would a prisoner being arrested. The sudden action of her kicking his feet apart made him slip. She caught him enough to assist his balance. The action of her attempting to catch him told him there was a little affection and tenderness still left in his Mistress.

  “I know you can understand me, so why are you being slow? Do I need to say it a different way? Or are you trying to be a pain in the ass?”

  He realized her tenderness was short-lived, and her displeasure was still very much alive.

  “No, ma’am,” he said.

  She shot him a warning look indicating her annoyance at his answer, then knelt down in front of him and secured cuffs around his ankles. These were new. He’d bought most of the gear they had, and he didn’t remember them being part of their inventory. Curiosity ate away at him as she tightened the cuffs around his ankles, and when he stole a glance, he looked right into her eyes. She stood and grabbed him under his chin.

  “You have three fucking rules you need to remember. Why do you want to piss me off?” She released him. “Keep. Your. Fucking. Eyes. Forward.” She punctuated each of her words with the crop as she slapped his belly. He hissed and closed his eyes. “Eyes. Forward.” Two more smacks.

  Opening his eyes, he exhaled. The delicious pain set his skin on fire and sent the first rush of endorphins into his system. Goose bumps danced to the surface of his skin and heightened his senses. He opened his eyes and glared at her. Damn, he’d missed his Mistress.

  “Where’s your collar?”

  The collar had come off right before his mission in Mexico, and he’d been waiting for her to put it back on him. He wanted being collared by her after they were married to be something special, sort of like a different kind of wedding night. But since she’d shied away from him, and he had to go to the lengths he had to in order to get her back, he decided to fuck with her a little longer and make her work for it.

  “I threw it away.” Smack. “Ow! That fucking hurt!” he said, raising his voice.

  “Say what?”

  “What.” Smack.

  He paid for his smartass remark with a sting from her crop that set his abs on fire.

  “Where’s that collar?”

  It took every ounce of self-control he had not to lean
down and kiss her and tell her he’d been fucking with her for the last week, but he didn’t want her to stop. His Mistress had returned, and she was his perfect woman. Smack, smack, smack. The second rush of endorphins coursed through his veins and took his breath away.

  “Where’s that fucking collar? Now!”

  It took him a moment to speak because he’d quit breathing. The rush from the pain was like free falling out of an aircraft. The moment the icy wind hit his body it would leave him breathless for a few seconds. Then, in order to concentrate on his jump, he had to remember to breathe and control the initial adrenaline rush.

  “It’s in the wooden box in my top drawer,” he answered between breaths.

  Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back when she disappeared from his sight. His heart rate had increased, and every nerve hummed with the after effects of her crop. He willed himself to relax and get his breathing under control.

  “On your knees,” she said. He slid down to his knees, and she draped the collar around his neck. When her hand brushed past his face, he unconsciously leaned in to it. She paused as he rubbed his cheek against her fingers. “You’re not getting out of this, Danny,” she said softly.

  I don’t want to. I need you. He swallowed his words before he could say them out loud. He had to focus and see this through for the both of them and the future of their marriage. The emotional rush made him clear his throat to move the sudden lump. He was sure she made that statement just now to keep herself in check.

  As she secured the other cuffs around his wrists, he saw she had it under control because her strikes were tempered. A couple were meant to be harder correction swats, but over the time they’d played, she’d learned how to keep him on the razor’s edge. There was no doubt she loved him. She could abuse the shit out of him right now, and he wouldn’t stop her.

  All of his obnoxious behavior over the last week had been designed to push her anxious tension over the edge, and he knew she’d either end up in tears or get even with him for all of his bullshit. But the course he’d chosen had even pushed his limits. Making her believe that he was messing around on her had been something he’d struggled with before deciding to press forward. Once he got her past all the demons that haunted her, he hoped she’d forgive him for all of his crap.

  “Up, on the edge of the bed.”

  * * * *

  Taking a deep breath, she regrouped. She had a plan and needed to stick to it. She treasured his small demonstrations of affection more than the huge displays he made at times. His rubbing against her fingers just now made her almost deviate from the plan and tested her resolve. Today would settle things one way or another. She would test one of his limits to see just how far he’d go to earn her forgiveness, and after she finished with him tonight, he’d never look at another woman again. If he was as dedicated to this as he claimed, he’d do exactly what she told him to do. But she also understood him and there was no way he’d make this easy for her.

  Tempering his jaunt to subspace, she needed him fully conscious to what she said and did. Danny was quick to let go and give in to his feelings, so she watched him closely while she used the crop to settle him to a submissive state. In a few minutes, he’d be shaken to his core, and by the time she was done, he’d reach another dimension. She knew Danny. She’d known him longer than she’d known anyone outside her immediate family. In order to get him off his game, she had to give him the rush he craved but not allow him to get wrapped up in it. As much as she wanted to beat the shit out of him for everything he’d done over the last week, she maintained her calm and restrained her anger.

  Despite what he thought, it wasn’t pain he needed. He needed to be controlled. Creating all kinds of mischief was a signal that he wanted someone to draw the line and hold him to it. When she’d drawn those lines in the past, it tamed him and gave him stability. He fought it and wrestled with her, but in the end, her control calmed him. Pain gave him a short-term fix, like a drug. Controlling him gave him long-term constancy, a sharp contrast to his chaotic, violent career. Women he’d been with had been dazzled by the SEAL and sucked in by his charm. Instead of taking him in hand, they tried to manipulate him, and when his games left them frustrated, he’d get bored and move on.

  Cupping his face, she stroked his cheeks with her thumbs because she needed an emotional connection with him to make her next move. When he closed his eyes and relaxed, she tried to formulate how she’d let him know her plans. What she was about to demand from him would stretch his limits farther than he’d ever imagined she’d go. But she’d done it before with the cock cage and the results lasted for a long time. He said he’d hated it, but in reality, it stopped a lot of his topping from the bottom. This situation was much worse. This wasn’t a game anymore. She was fighting her husband and her marriage. In order to get him back, she’d have to leave him no alternative but to surrender once and for all.

  “I have something different in mind for tonight,” she said. His eyes glazed over, and she watched the goose bumps rise on his shoulders when he shivered. Their gazes locked. “You will do this if you want to stay married to me. Do you understand?”

  The look of concern that crossed his face almost made her back down. Her words got his attention faster than any strike she could lay to his body.

  “Okay,” he said.

  The hesitant tone told her that she’d gotten the seriousness of her point across. She wouldn’t be cruel even though she had to make a point. She planned on blowing his mind and making it so good that he’d beg her to do it again.

  “I’m fucking you Danny, with my cock.”

  * * * *

  Dan’s heart almost stopped as Rio laid out what would happen to him for the rest of the night. She told him step by step what would be expected, and when she stopped speaking, he almost got up and walked out. She knew that penetrating him was one of his hard limits and one of the few things he’d been explicit about. Taking his ass was off-limits to everyone, and he’d kill anybody who tried. Even when they’d discussed it before, she’d shown no interest in that sort of play. She loved sex with him, and that meant him penetrating her, not the other way around.

  “No,” he said firmly.

  “Say your safe word, and I’ll stop,” she said, pulling away to look at him.

  Looking away, she had to know she’d just touched another nerve, his pride. He’d never say those words. Never.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes, and you can give me your decision then.” She turned and walked out of the room.

  * * * *

  Looking at the cuffs she’d fastened around him, Dan realized what she’d been preparing him for. She was dead serious about doing what she’d said. Maybe he’d pushed too far this time, and she’d had enough. She knew he’d never consent to do this, and he’d never say his safe word. There was no alternative, and as he sat there thinking about his options, she’d leave him if he didn’t do exactly what she wanted. His safe word and his ass were the last shreds of control he maintained, but as he sat there alone, he realized she controlled so much more.

  Rio held his heart, and when he was in her arms he could go still and just breathe. He recalled the panic he’d felt when she went missing and the relief of finding her in that attic alive. He’d clung to her memory like a lifeline. When he’d started to fall into despair while in that dank cell in Mexico, his memories of her had given him the will to keep going when he had nothing left. His games had really made a mess of things this time because he’d lose the only person who mattered to him. He’d been hollow for all those years after he left her behind. Now the prospect of returning to that existence scared him because he knew he’d turn into a monster without a conscience. He heard her footsteps coming back to the room, and he knew his time was up.

  She’d given him a choice.

  He closed his eyes and made it.

  “Well?”

  “Okay,” he whispered.

  “Lay back,” she said softly. The gentle but firm
order left no room for question. She tucked her crop under her arm. “Hands,” she said, holding her hands out to him.

  When he laid his hands in hers, their eyes locked for a moment. There was something in them he hadn’t seen until now. Rio was just as vulnerable and scared as he was. She didn’t want to lose him any more than he wanted to lose her. Dan felt a sudden sense of peace with his decision. As long as they were together, they’d be strong and happy. She needed him as much as he needed her. In that instant, he trusted her decision to do this and knew it would be fine, no matter what.

  “Bring your knees up to your chest.” Before he could change his mind, she fastened his wrist cuffs to the ankle cuffs. “Open,” she instructed, pushing his knees apart.

  Holy shit, she’s making me look at her?

  He’d never felt so exposed in all of his life. It would’ve been easier to bend over and grab his ankles. At least he wouldn’t have to watch her do this to him. There was no way he’d be able to get his dick up again after this. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath attempting to hold on to some shred of dignity. But she suddenly yanked out of his thoughts when she slapped his inner thigh with her crop.

  * * * *

  When she walked back into the room she knew he’d given in by the way defeat had been written all over him. Momentary doubt seized her because she had no intention of breaking the man she loved, but there would be no turning back now. She had to do this. She remembered how she’d connected what he needed to what she had to do. This was like an alpha dog mounting other dogs. It wasn’t about sex; it was about control and establishing dominance in the pack. It helped the pack survive and kept order.

  In this relationship, she was the alpha, and while what would happen was about her dominance, they were still human. They were in a relationship where sex was tied to their emotional bond. Their BDSM play had made that tie deeper because of the trust involved, and a very important facet of their marriage. She realized that when she’d turned away from being Mistress, it left him lost. Acting out had been his way of getting her to take back control. But his games had gone too damn far this time.