by Avery Gale
* * * *
Jenna had heard Colt tell her to come and then everything was lost in a wash of color so amazing she was sure she’d been launched into some kind of H. G. Wells time machine or something equally sci-fi. She felt like her body and mind had actually separated for a few seconds, it was the most amazing feeling she’d ever experienced, and that was really saying something when she stopped to consider the orgasms she’d experienced at the hands of Colt and Mitch during the past couple of days. As she was trying to figure out how to make her neck muscles work—damn, her arms and legs weren’t responding either—she felt a warm, wet cloth being wiped over her inner thighs. Colt also dried her then carried her to a sofa she hadn’t even noticed earlier and wrapped her in a fluffy blanket that smelled like a summer morning. His sweet words of praise brought her back into the moment quickly. When she looked up into his eyes, they were filled with warmth and affection and what looked like pride. “You handled that beautifully, pet. I am so proud of you. How are you feeling?”
“Surprising good except for my sore tush.” She smiled and knew she had flushed a bright red. “Um, but what about you and Mitch?” She knew they hadn’t found their release, she could feel the steely evidence beneath her.
“Well, pet, we aren’t finished playing with you yet. Now that you’re back with us, let’s get back into the scene and play.” Colt’s words were meant to convey she was to observe protocol and she had understood the message.
“Yes, Master.” Jenna’s words were softly spoken against the side of Colt’s neck. Christ, the feel of her breath against the side of my neck is almost enough to make me come. Colt stood her on her feet, keeping a hand on her to make sure she was steady before he stood up. Mitch had moved over to what looked oddly like the exam table in her gynecologist’s office. Oh shit, I’m not sure about this. There are a lot of straps on that table.
Her steps slowed, and Colt didn’t miss her hesitance. “Come along, pet, none of that. We want to play with you, not have to punish you.” His words were followed by a smart swat to her tender ass, causing her breath to catch. “Master Mitch and I want to explore you and begin preparing you to take both of us. There are a number of pieces of equipment in this room we could use to do that, but we felt this one would be the most comfortable for you. Now, up you go. Lie down. That’s right. Scoot down so that beautiful ass is hanging almost entirely off the end. Let’s get your feet up into these stirrups. Notice these are nicely padded. I’ll bet the ones in your doctor’s office aren’t, are they?”
Jenna knew he was talking to her in his “Dom voice,” but it was also threaded with enough compassion that she was sure he was trying to keep her as calm and distracted from the fact they were strapping her down and they hadn’t mentioned “breakaways” this time. Jenna was starting to breathe really fast, and her rapidly beating heart was about to pound right out of her chest.
Mitch stepped into her line of vision just then and started gently massaging her arm, rubbing from her tense shoulder clear to her fingertips, in strong, sure strokes. Looking into her eyes, he spoke softly. “I’m going to strap down your arms for two reasons, sweetness. First, I don’t want you flailing around and dropping your arm off the table, too easy to dislocate a shoulder or injure yourself by hitting parts of the table that you’ll see make an appearance from time to time during this scene.” Smiling, he added, “Oh yes, this table had features your ob-gyn’s table doesn’t have, I promise you that. And second, you have us both so close to the edge, if you touch us in a way we can’t completely control, this scene will be over way too soon. And we want to play with this sweet body for a while before we come.” He leaned forward and kissed her right on the nose, then moved the “wings” of the table out and proceeded to strap her arms just above the elbows and at the wrists. Jenna noticed that he checked the straps to make sure they weren’t too tight by running his little finger around the inside of each of the cuffs.
Colt ran his callused palm down the center of her chest, over her flat stomach, and down until it rested at the top of her pelvic bone, causing her to shift her attention to him. “Pet, it is important that you remember to let either Master Mitch or myself know immediately if you start to notice any numbness or tingling that indicates impaired circulation, do you understand?” Colt’s voice was full of concern, and she appreciated that they seemed to be making her safety a priority.
“Yes, Master, I understand.” The soft conviction in Jenna’s voice went straight to Colt’s dick, making it even harder, something he would have sworn wasn’t possible. Christ, but she was so incredible he couldn’t believe his good fortune.
“Well then, pet, we’re going to begin.” His smile was somehow sweet while still hinting at devilment, that contrast caused Jenna’s channel to flood with cream. Oh shit, what have I gotten myself into? And why am I so turned-on by being strapped down spread-eagle for God and anyone else to see everything between my legs, hell, everything that ought not to be public? Wonder how many Hail Mary’s Father Mike would have given me for this? For some reason, Jenna’s disjointed little self-talk seemed to calm her.
Colt had noticed Mitch go still, always an indicator that he was “reading,” so he was watching his expression closely. When Colt saw Grayson working to suppress a smile, he knew they were good to go.
Chapter 20
Alex had just gotten off the phone with General Franklin’s dick- wad aide, who had announced he’d be arriving at ShadowDance day after tomorrow “at 0900, that’s 9:00 a.m.” the jackass had explained to him. No fucking shit, you little twerp. He had never met the guy face-to-face, but Colt had, and his impression had been that the guy wasn’t to be trusted, was a pompous ass and smarmy. Now the question was what had Colt Matthews said to Franklin that had prompted the old man to send a liaison to ShadowDance? Reaching for his phone, he typed a message to Colt, Call me ASAP on secure line, and hit send.
Zach walked in and sat down with a heavy sigh. “So what’s got you looking like somebody kicked your puppy, bro?” Alex filled him in on their impending visitor, and they decided they’d put the man up in a small guesthouse on the property. It was heavily monitored with technology the guy likely wouldn’t be familiar with, so they’d be able to keep him away from Katarina and also keep a close watch on him. Something just wasn’t right about this guy, but they neither one could put their finger on it.
Changing subjects, Zach asked, “Have you heard from Dylan? Any luck finding Melita?”
“I have a call in to him now, but no, I haven’t heard anything yet. I know he was able to contact his former boss, but I haven’t heard the outcome of that conversation yet.” Turning to look back out the window that looked toward the gardens, Alex spoke, almost as if thinking aloud. “I wonder if Robertson had already picked her up? What if he’d left her with some of his cronies? Where would they have stashed her? Would it be possible that she was somewhere close since he planned to come here? Damn, is that possible?” He looked at his brother as if he’d just had an inspiration. “Call everybody you can think of within a hundred-mile radius, see if they saw anyone matching Cal Robertson’s and Melita’s descriptions. If Robertson was close, then whoever was with him babysitting the hostage took off with her after Katarina killed Robertson. And if so, maybe we can track them from here. It’s a long shot, but I don’t know how else to help at this point.”
Zach rose from the sofa he’d been leaned back in and moved to his desk at the other side of the room and was already reaching for his phone before he’d ever sat down. Alex was right, it wasn’t much, but it was action and they’d both grown antsy over the last few weeks worrying about finding the brave woman who’d taken such a big risk to help another woman in a dungeon club. Helping Kat escape Robertson had been a risk not only to Melita’s personal safety but also to the undercover case she had invested two years of her life building. Zach knew Melita had likely paid a high price for doing the right thing, and that price would have been both personal and professional. B
ut, had it not been for her courage, Kat would have likely died that night. And then, learning that courageous woman was the ex of a close friend, a woman they both knew and genuinely liked, well, finding her had become an even larger priority.
Before he got caught up in his own calls, Alex asked, “Where is Katarina? I haven’t seen her in a couple of hours.” They didn’t let their pregnant wife out of their sight for very long at a time because she was something of a trouble magnet and they tried to make sure at least one of them was close by her at all times.
“She has gone to town with Rissa for new shoes. She said, and I quote, ‘If I have to be as round as a hippo and waddle like a duck, I should at least have great shoes.’ I wisely didn’t comment, it sounded like a setup to me.” Zach’s goofy smile reflected just how smitten he was with his little “kitten.” She really seemed to be coming into her own. Both he and Alex were proud of the changes in her over the past couple of months. She was no longer the shy, insecure woman who had first returned to ShadowDance Mountain. Her confidence had grown. They’d seen it happen with women before, as they became secure in their submission and learned to trust their Dom, they flourished in other areas of their lives, and that was exactly what they were seeing in Kat. They were thrilled to see her blossom under their love and nurturing, but, at the same time, she was getting to be a handful at times. She was racking up so many punishments they’d likely have to paddle her pert little ass daily for their child’s first two years! Zach smiled to himself. I can think of a lot worse ways to pass the time!
* * * *
Dylan Marshall hung up the phone, he had listened to Alex Lamont’s idea, and he agreed it was a long shot, but he was out of other ideas. He’d get his deputies on it right away. The downside of living in a small, rural community was that everybody was up in your business all the time, but the good thing was they were in everybody else’s business, too, so if there had been strangers around, someone was bound to remember. Now, if the trail just wasn’t completely cold, they might just have a prayer of finding Melita, and God knew alive and well would sure be a welcome bonus.
He’d been saying every kind of prayer he knew. Damn but my granny would be proud, well, she’d be even more pleased if you’d find the only woman you’ve ever loved, too. Jesus, he was even talking to himself now. He just kept turning it over in his mind like a rock tumbler polishes the stones, he was hoping continually rotating the ideas would shine something enough to make it stand out to him. The one thing her supervisor had said that kept coming back to him was that he’d had a call from Mia a couple of days ago, and he felt she was still undercover, but that she’d tried to relay a message he hadn’t been able to unravel. She’d said, “Tell Matt to come to the ball, but no Cat Woman this year.” He knew the message was meant for him, she had nicknamed him Matt because it was a play on his name, Dylan Marshall. Marshall Dillon’s first name in the Gunsmoke series had been Matt. Dylan sat staring at the wall, rubbing a pencil slowly back and forth between his thumb and forefinger when it was like he’d been hit over the head with it…Oh my fucking God, it couldn’t be that simple, could it? Christ almighty, the ShadowDance “Annual Submissives’ Masquerade” was this coming weekend. And “no Cat Woman” was obviously a warning that Katarina should not attend. He grabbed the phone and called Alex immediately. If he was right, he needed to see The Club’s invited guests list immediately.
Chapter 21
Jenna was convinced she’d never felt more vulnerable in her entire life, yet somehow, she still felt safe. She decided she would try to figure out the puzzle of that later, because right now something was brushing the inside the arch of her left foot. The soft tickle of a feather slowly worked its way up and around her ankle. The touch was so light that if she hadn’t been attuned to what was happening, anticipating each and every touch, she might have missed it. Just as she was starting to register the sensation, it stopped. Mitch leaned into her field of vision. “Jenna, I’m going to blindfold you for the first part of the sensation play so you’ll be more focused on feeling. When one of the senses is taken away, the others are enhanced. Now, close those beautiful, inquisitive eyes for me.” When Jenna closed her eyes, she felt him place something silky soft over her eyes and secure it before speaking to her again. “Do you know what your Master was using on your foot before, sweetness?”
“Yes, Master Mitch, it was a feather.” Jenna knew her voice was airy, and she was starting to recognize that tone in her own voice, when she sounded like that, she was starting to sink into “the zone.” She smiled at her own ridiculous observation, she felt a small slap directly on top of her already-sensitive pussy lips which caused her to gasp and her juices to begin to flow in a rush she was afraid would be literally running out of her. Christ, how embarrassing would that be? Get yourself together, Jenna, you’d better pull your head out of your ass and enjoy this moment before it’s gone and there isn’t another to replace it. God, but it was going to be hard to let Colt go. She was starting to see herself in the role of “his,” but she knew he’d never want her forever. Well, hell, even a bastard like Ted Scott had only wanted her for an evening. She’d resigned herself long ago to the fact that she was going to be a terrific aunt someday, but she’d probably never find a man willing to deal with the baggage she carried. What man would want someone who had been so weak they couldn’t even fight off the sexual advances of an injured man? Once she’d recovered enough and her brothers had been home long enough to teach her some self-defense moves, she’d vowed she’d never be a victim again, but even all that preparation and training couldn’t undo the damage of the past. She’d never be able to recover the truly fun-loving, free spirit she’d been before it had all been taken away. Her fear every time her brothers had gone on a mission had been almost debilitating. Would Ted Scott make good on his threat and kill them? Would he kill one of them as a warning to her? She’d known if he killed one, the other would be as good as dead, they were twins, and that bond was soul deep.
* * * *
Colt had stopped moving at Grayson’s hand gesture. One of the great things about having been teammates for so long was that they didn’t need words to communicate. Colt knew the other man was listening to the thoughts he knew had to be racing through Jenna’s mind. Damn, he could almost hear the gears grinding in that beautiful little head. He’d placed a pad and paper in one of the table’s many drawers earlier after they’d decided they would blindfold her during this portion of the scene. They’d known it would enhance her responses, and what Grayson had told her about that was the truth. But it would also enable Grayson to give Colt some information directly as to what Jenna was thinking. Grayson grabbed the pen and paper and started to write brief words and phrases, and what Colt read did not make him happy at all. She feels unworthy? What the fuck? How is that possible? She’s fucking perfect! At his puzzled expression, Grayson signed, Remember, no victim counseling.
Mitch Grayson had volunteered at a women’s shelter during college, and he had spent a lot of time trying to explain to his friends how the minds of women in general and victims in particular worked, but most of the time he’d end up throwing his hands into the air in frustration and telling them he doubted any of them would ever find a woman willing to put up with their dimwitted selves. Of course a lot of the time, they were just fucking with him, but then again, often they truly had not a clue what he was trying to tell them.
Deciding he’d let Grayson make some additional notes so he’d be able to remember everything later, Colt started moving the feather slowly up and back down the inside of Jenna’s thighs. He drew it softly through her swollen petals and saw the muscles draw together and then relax, the same muscle response he’d felt when he’d had his dick deep inside her and slowly started to withdraw, it had felt like she was trying to hold him inside with her tight squeeze. God, her pussy was already so wet, and he could literally feel the heat of her radiating clear through his jeans.
“Now, pet, I’m going to let Master Mi
tch work on those beautiful nipples for a bit, we’ll see what types of sensations you respond to. And while he is doing that, I’m going to be loosening up this beautiful ass so you are prepared for the most amazing experience you’ll ever have in a ménage.” Colt had heard her small gasp as he’d spoken the straightforward words to her. He’d known she’d like hearing what was going to happen as much to ease her fears as she seemed to enjoy the erotic words being spoken to her. He had known a few Doms over the years who liked to use humiliation during scenes, calling their subs whores or worse. None of the Doms he was friends with found that arousing at all. As a matter of fact, he was certain if that took place in a public scene at ShadowDance Alex or Zach would be having a heart-to-heart with the Dom before they’d be allowed to leave that evening. Biting back a smile, he decided to give her just a bit more “blow by blow,” so to speak.
“Oh, my sweet pet likes it when I talk a bit dirty, doesn’t she? She wants to hear how I had planned to use lube on the plug, get it all slicked up before sliding it up into her sweet ass, but since you, my precious pet, are soaking wet I think we’ll use that as lubricant instead. Listen to the delicious noises your beautiful cunt makes when I finger fuck you.” Colt moved his fingers in and out, making sure to curve them just right so they not only brushed against her G-spot, but so they’d also make a loud sucking sound. He knew he’d been right about her response when he felt her first flutters and then the pulsing of her impending orgasm. He immediately pulled his fingers out and gave her a slap. “Oh no you don’t, you are not allowed to come until we give you permission. We both want to be inside you before you are allowed your release. Don’t forget, my love, your orgasms belong to me. Do you understand, pet?” He waited for her response, knowing when a sub was lost in a sensation and trying to stave off the rush of orgasm it often took an extra second or two for them to respond.