Striking a Balance (Thalia Book 2) (The Thalia Series)

by Jennifer Bene

  James moved to the cabinet and opened it. A variety of items were hanging from hooks, and several drawers were beneath them. He took out a long piece of dark metal with cuffs at either end and turned back to her, leaving the doors open. She realized she’d been holding her breath and she gasped slightly when he knelt down in front of her. His touch was gentle on her ankles as he wrapped the cuffs around each of them. When he spoke the edge in his voice ramped her tension higher, “This is called a spreader bar.” Something clicked and the metal extended pushing her legs apart. He stopped when her feet were almost uncomfortably wide, and he didn’t need to explain it further.

  “Yes, Master.” She said softly. His hands traced up the outsides of her legs, over her hips, her waist, until he cupped her breasts and rolled her nipples between his fingers. She moaned and pressed her chest forward into his hands. James turned back to the cabinet and opened a drawer then returned to her. His mouth closed over one nipple and the tugging had her arching towards him, then he bit down enough to make her cry out. The zing of pain shot down her spine and made her clit pulse, her hips bucked and then he released her nipple.

  “Your body is incredible, pet. So responsive.” He repeated his attentions on the other nipple and then held up two beautiful black clips with shiny dark beads dangling from each. “I’m going to decorate you. Be still for me.” She recognized them as nipple clamps instantly and her mind fought to push back the memories of Marcus and the hours she’d spent with the rope – she bit her lip against the yelp as the first one bit down. Thalia shook her head a little and focused on James, his strong jaw line, the angle of his shoulders. His hands, they were his hands on her. The second one bit down and her cry was a little louder, but she trusted him and that meant she could let go. She wasn’t afraid of him.

  “Breathe, pet. Remember to breathe.” His voice was soothing as his eyes locked onto the dark beads against the pale skin of her breasts. “You are so beautiful.” He knelt again and she expected him to push her legs farther apart with the bar, but instead his tongue brushed up her slit. She moaned and clenched her fists. Stretched as she was she couldn’t push her hips forward more than an inch or so, but he groaned against her core as she tried. His tongue swept slowly again from her perineum, between her lips, until he finally sucked her clit gently. Thalia whined as his gentle licking stoked the heat inside her, making her pull against the cuffs on her wrists to try and get more. It distracted her from the clamps until they became a dull background ache to the pounding pleasure between her thighs. He stood up suddenly and thrust two fingers inside her, before he tilted her head back with a fist in her hair. When he kissed her she tasted herself and she moaned loudly against his mouth. Her hips rolled in time with the thrusts of his fingers, and she felt that glorious edge rising to meet her. Her pulse racing, the muscles in her belly tightening, the moan rising in her throat.

  Then he stopped.

  She panted and jerked in the bindings as he stepped back from her and watched her whine and struggle against the cuffs. Other than the slight flush in his cheeks, she’d never know he was affected at all. He was stoic, his breathing even, his dark green eyes moving like heat across her skin. Her thighs were wet and her pussy clenched tightly against the absence of his fingers, “Please, Master?”

  “Not yet, pet. You may not come without my permission, if you do you will earn a punishment, understand?” His voice was lower, and it had that delicious bite to it that made her legs weak, but he still spoke so evenly. How was he so much calmer than her?

  “Yes, Master, I understand.” It came out as a whine, but she tried to take a breath to push herself back from the edge he’d brought her to.

  “Good. Let’s start.” He turned back to the cabinet and she was stunned, he hadn’t started yet? What would starting be? What did he have planned? All questions she wanted to ask, but the words disappeared in her mouth as he took out something that looked like a many tailed, short whip from the cabinet.

  “This is a flogger, Thalia.” He held it in front of her so she could see it clearly. It was black with a braided handle and a lot of long strands hanging from it. “I’m going to use this on you, and it will sting and light your skin up beautifully. I want to see your skin turn pink under my hand. It will not hurt much at first but it will build on itself,” he stepped close to her and his skin brushed against the nipple clamps making her moan. His free hand wrapped gently around her throat as he leaned her head back, “Be as loud as you need to, pet, I want you pink all over.” Her pussy clenched at his words.

  “Yes, Master.” Her voice shook as she said it, her body taut as a bowstring after the stress of the day, the long wait for this moment, and then him bringing her right to the edge of orgasm. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and released her throat to walk around her.

  “Your skin is so pale, pet.” The strands of the flogger flashed across her ribs with a thump, the tips lighting up in stings where they landed. She gasped at the first sensation. “Lovely.” He almost whispered it, but it made her soar on the inside that he found so much pleasure in her skin. The strikes began to land steadily across her ribs, her back, and then started to trail down the round of her ass. The stings quickly faded into heat in her skin, and she felt fine for a while as the flogger moved down her thighs, and her calves. He stepped around to her front and she bit her lip as she saw the controlled expression on his face before she dropped her eyes. He made her feel beautiful, his comments on her skin changing her mindset from being the girl who couldn’t tan to save her life, to her pale skin making her someone who was wanted, craved.

  “Thank you, Master.” She moaned at his first strike across the fronts of her thighs. A growl came out of his chest as the flogger wrapped around her hip and the tips struck the already sensitive skin of her ass. She yelped, and he repeated the strike on her other side. She arched in the restraints as the skin of her ass lit up again.

  “Thalia.” The flogger swept across her stomach and her pussy tightened, her clit aching. She twisted in the cuffs, the spreader bar keeping her legs from closing as she realized she was building toward an orgasm. “Who do you belong to?”

  “You, Master.” She almost shouted it, taking deep breaths as the flogger swept across her right breast and her clamped nipple made her cry out. He did it again on her left breast and she screamed and jerked in the cuffs as a quick pain shot down her spine.

  “Say that you’re mine.” His voice was low and strained, and she wanted to look into his eyes but she kept them down. The next strike came between her legs, and she screamed again, biting down on her lip as his command sank in. The pain across her clit holding the orgasm at bay.

  “I’m yours, Master!” She shouted, and the flogger came up between her legs again, her swollen clit aching. Tears were at the edges of her eyes but she took a shuddering breath.

  “Yes, you are, pet. Now tell me why you’re mine.” He dropped the flogger on the floor in front of the cabinet, and took out a black strip of leather that looked like a belt without the metal fixtures.

  Her breath caught as she stared at it hanging at his side, his strong hand holding it in a loop. “Bec- because you bought me, Master.”

  James stood to her side, brought back the strap and laid it across her ass. She jerked forward in the restraints and instantly started crying as the sharp burst of pain faded to blend with the heat in her already over sensitive skin. His voice was steady and clear, “Wrong. Anyone could have bought you, pet. Buying you just took you from Marcus and Anthony. Think back, why are you mine specifically?”

  She shook her head as she felt the tears streak her cheeks. If that was the wrong answer, what did he want? He didn’t wait. He laid the strap across her ass again, a little below the last one and she bucked again and cried out.

  “Answer me, pet. Refusing to answer is not an option.” She twisted in the restraints and gritted her teeth against the whimpering sounds coming out of her mouth. Thalia made herself remember the auction, and the
panic and the fear and how terrified she had been of what Marcus would do. How Marcus had reacted when James had said he’d take her, that he was going to buy her.

  “Master, I’m yours. Please...” she begged, her skin was electric and too sensitive from the flogger. The strap hurt a lot more, and he brought it across her a third time and she screamed again. She jerked in the cuffs as frustration built in her. What did he want?!

  “Think, Thalia. Why are you mine and not still with Marcus?” His voice was tinted with anger, like it always was when he spoke about Marcus. The same tone he’d had every time he’d reviewed her marks. It had become clear that he didn’t just disagree with Marcus like he’d said that night, he hated him. A fourth lash of the strap had her screaming and begging.

  “Please, Master, please, I’m yours, I’m yours, I’m yours -”

  “Stop. Answer me why.” He said it louder and she whimpered as she saw him appear on her other side with the strap. A fifth stripe went across the backs of her thighs and she sobbed.

  “Because I chose you, Master! I wanted to go with you, please, Master, stop! I’m sorry!” She was shouting through her tears and she jumped when his warm palm started to rub across her ass and the backs of her thighs. The strong, soothing movements of his palm helped even out the stinging skin as he whispered against her ear.

  “Shh, pet, shh. That’s right, you’re here with me because you chose it. I asked you if you wanted to come with me and you said yes. I asked you if you wanted to submit to me, and you said yes. And you’re doing beautifully, you are perfect, Thalia, bloody perfect.” His voice was warm and soothing, but she couldn’t stop crying. His hand kept rubbing her skin, letting the heat of the welts absorb. “God your skin is gorgeous like this. All pink from the flogger with the red lines of the strap...” His voice slid into a growl as he continued, “and they’re all mine.”

  “Ye- yes, Master. I’m yours.” She said it through hitched breaths as she tried to calm down. His hand slid down her stomach, and his fingers parted the lips of her pussy and she gasped. The flogger had brought her blood to the surface making even the faintest touch between her legs so much stronger.

  “I wish I could explain to you how lovely you look right now.” His fingers thrust inside her to gather her wetness before bringing it back to her clit to circle it. “Flushed, marked by my flogger and my strap, the way the red stands out on your skin. The way your body looks stretched out and waiting for me, how your swollen pussy tells me you’re enjoying everything I give you.” His voice was right against her ear, his breath brushing over her neck as she whimpered. His fingers circled her clit in tight movements that spun her higher and higher.

  “Master, please, may I come?” She asked him on a moan, her head dropping back against his shoulder, her thighs quivering as the pleasure started to overwhelm her.

  “I want you slick when I enter you, so yes, pet, come for me.” His other hand moved from behind her and two fingers thrust inside her pussy until she was moaning loudly. The sting of the welts, the bite of the clamps, the intensity of his touch on her clit, and his fingers working inside her – it snapped the tension that he’d wound so slowly through the session. Her orgasm crashed through her and she screamed her release, his chest pressing against her back as her muscles tightened and relaxed rhythmically. James kissed her temple, and palmed her pussy as she continued to come against his hand. His palm providing gentle waves of pressure between her legs to drag out her orgasm.

  She could feel how wet she was when he swept a finger up her slit. He stepped around in front of her and grinned as he slid his finger between his lips and slowly drew it out. “You are delicious, pet.”

  Her mouth was dry as she watched him taste her, “Thank you, Master.” He knelt down and unlatched her ankles from the spreader bar quickly. When he stood up again he kissed her hard, one hand grabbing the back of her neck to pull her against his mouth.

  “Hold on, pet.” He tugged down his black hipsters and his boxers, his erection straining up hard against his stomach. His hands went under her thighs and he picked her up swiftly. Thalia’s hands grabbed onto the chain that suspended her as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips. With a groan he shifted her and thrust inside her in one quick movement, she was over slick and he bottomed out inside her hard. His head was down, his breaths moving over the damp skin of her breasts. “You feel so incredible...” He groaned and lifted her hips, before thrusting hard again.

  “Mmm, Master, please...” she couldn’t think straight as she moaned. The welts along her ass stung, and her flushed, sensitive skin overloaded her senses. His hard body pressed against hers as he started to move. Each powerful thrust bouncing her against him. At first her body’s exhaustion fought the tingling pleasure that pulsed between her thighs each time he brushed against her clit, but as his cock split her over and over, the head driving deep inside her with her hips split wide around him – another orgasm sparked like an electric current down her spine.

  “Come for me, pet. I want to feel you come.” His voice growled against her ear and he thrust a fist into her hair, yanking her head back so she had to tilt her hips forward to balance. His next thrust undid her, the thrumming energy in her spine exploded between her thighs and she screamed again, vaguely aware as lights danced behind her eyes of his cock growing and kicking inside her until she could feel the sticky heat of his seed flood her.

  “Ahhhmmm...” she sighed, moaning against his broad chest. The muscles in her legs and arms were shaking, making her teeth chatter for a second. She heard him growl against her skin, and her arms were released from above her. His arms wrapped tightly around her as James eased them both to the floor, laying her out on her back in front of him as he slid from her.

  “Thalia, pet, check in. Are you okay?” His voice had an edge of concern, as his strong, warm hands brushed over her arms, her body. She wanted to tell him she was just fine, that the orgasm had been intense and she just needed a minute – but her brain to mouth connection had a severe lag. He cupped her face and spoke more sternly, “Thalia.” Her eyes snapped open to find his incredible sea green eyes poised above her, his yacht club features pinched in concern, his soft lips parted as he took quick breaths from his efforts. She managed to nod, murmuring what she hoped were reassuring noises. The edge of his mouth ticked up into a smile. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  Thalia felt the cat who got the canary grin spread across her face and she practically purred as she stretched out in front of him, nodding slowly, “Mmhmm...”.

  “Almost done, pet, take a breath for me.” His voice had laughter in it and she felt her brows come together as he leaned over her. What did he mean almost done?

  “Oh my - fuck!” She gasped and tried to sit up before his mouth covered the nipple he’d just taken the clamp from. The warm wetness of his mouth soothed the sharp ache as blood surged back into the dark red bud. When he released her nipple with a soft pop, he arched an eyebrow at her.

  “Such language.” He smiled though as he moved to her other breast. She squirmed and shook her head a little, pleading.

  “No, no, no, Master!” The other clamp came off and her back arched, and his mouth closed over the offered breast as he soothed her with his tongue and lips, his palm continuing to rub her other breast gently. She collapsed back against the floor and squirmed as the welts across her backside lit up with each shift of her hips.

  His hands slid up her arms and he took the cuffs off, leaving them on the floor as he held himself over her. He buried his face in the space between her neck and shoulder, his teeth nipping at her skin as he tasted her. She groaned as his chest rubbed against her sensitive nipples, but he continued to place little nipping kisses across her skin, tracing across her jaw line until he took her mouth with a searing kiss that cleared her head of all thoughts of her aches.

  The man knew how to kiss. He knew how to do a lot of other things too, but god, he could seriously kiss.

  When he broke away wi
th a moan of his own, she almost pouted. He untangled their legs and pulled his pants into place before scooping her up against his chest. Walking to the door he adjusted his hold on her to open the door and then stepped into the hallway. “How was your first session, pet?”

  “Bloody perfect.” She grinned at him and he laughed.

  “Don’t say that. Americans don’t say that.” He was laughing at her but she loved it, loved the way his eyes glinted as he slid her down his body so she could stand on her own. James never scared her, he was playful, and kind, and ridiculously hot. His loud laughs made her bite her cheek to stop from smiling.

  “Fine then, it was only incredible, Master.” She scrunched up her nose at him, feigning insult, but he tugged her hips back to him when she tried to step away.

  “Just like you, pet, and you’re all mine.” Then he kissed her again, and she ran her fingers through his soft blond hair.

  Now she knew for sure. She wanted this, she wanted him. She wanted this life.