Nobody's Hero
Page 1
Nobody’s Hero
Third in the Rescue Me Series
by
Kallypso Masters
Copyright 2011, Kallypso Masters
Smashwords Edition
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Edited by Jeri Smith, www.booksmithediting.com
Line edited by Jacy Mackin and Rosie Moewe
Cover art by Linda Lynn
This book contains content that is not suitable for readers 17 and under.
Thank you for downloading this e-book. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author, Kallypso Masters, at kallypsomasters@gmail.com.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (See http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/ for more information about intellectual property rights.)
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons—living or dead—or places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Some of the BDSM techniques portrayed in this book, including rope suspension, require a great amount of skill and should not be attempted without proper training.
To discover more about the books in this series by Kallypso Masters, follow her “Ahh, Kallypso…the stories you tell” blog at http://kallypsomasters.blogspot.com. Or send a friend request to Kallypso Masters on Facebook. She also has a Facebook Kallypso Masters Author Page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kallypso-Masters-Author/260576087323803. You can also follow her on Twitter as @kallypsomasters.
Dedication
To the people who volunteer to help me with edits, beta reading, expertise, and research, you help me achieve the attention to detail that makes these characters so strong in everyone's minds. I appreciate your time and dedication (even when I am always weeks behind and rushing you!)
To my husband—thanks for nurturing me during my writing marathons.
To Master Adam, for not pulling a Master Marc stunt.
Acknowledgements
As always, there are so many people to thank, and my apologies to any I leave out.
First, I’d like to thank my editor, Jeri Smith, of Booksmith Editing. My writing continues to improve and I grow as a writer with your explanations, suggestions, and corrections. Most of all, your unflappable belief in my abilities and potential.
Linda Lynn, the cover artist for all of my books to date, for your patience and knowledge. And for collaring Karla on this cover.
To my line editors, Jacy Mackin and Rosie Moewe, thanks for pulling those all-nighters with me and for the attention to detail you bring to the table. We are an awesome team—the Three Master-teers!
For the many, many hours of reading e-mails and scenes and offering suggestions and ideas, thanks to “Toymaker” and his beloved submissive “Eirocawakening” from FetLife. You've helped this neophyte learn, always with patience and enthusiasm. Toymaker, I do believe you will keep me torturing poor Karla and some of my other submissives for years to come with your innovations and diabolical ideas.
My incredible crew of beta readers: Fiona Campbell, Ashlee Davidson, Kristin Harris, Kellie Hunter, Rosie Moewe, Kelly Mueller, and Kathy Treadway. I’m always amazed at how each of you finds something monumentally wrong—but it’s never the same thing. Reading your comments often send me in new directions or just help me add another layer to make the story even more complex in its character and plot development.
Thanks to my fans and readers, affectionately known as the Masters Brats, for falling in love (as I have) with Masters Adam, Marc, and Damián, and for encouraging them (with your bratty behavior) to make regular visits on Facebook to keep you in line. (But you know Master Adam’s fond of deprivation when you get too bratty, so don't get too bratty or he won’t come to visit. But Karla's going to show him that bratty can be fun, too.)
To my Romance Writers of America chapter, the Kentucky Romance Writers, and to my fellow solely independent authors, Sondra Allen Carr and Donna MacDonald, for all of your advice and support as we try to revolutionize the publishing industry one book at a time.
I discovered in the writing of this book that my Facebook friends restore my energy levels, which is why I spend more time there than most writers do on deadline. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) You build up my adrenaline, help me find the answers to a character’s most puzzling questions (like what body wash/soap Master Adam uses and what he’d call his underwear, when he wears any!).
Many Facebook friends have added in big and small ways to the plot and character development of this book. Some that I made a note of before Facebook buried them on my profile wall are: Jennifer P. for providing the perfect setting for the final scene; Patricia Wheeler for help with my questions about Marines needed for the last chapter (and thanks for your service!); Lindsay Klug for self-defense moves; Rosie Moewe and Joanne MacGregor for research videos on self-defense and rope bondage; Sherri Hayes for your brainstorming help, because you always seem to know what Master Adam would do; Kelly Timm for help with facts about my fictionalized version of Eden Gardens in Solano Beach; Fiona Campbell, Maria Nespolo, Stacey Price, and everyone who helped me fill “the box” of special memories in this story; and for all who gave me suggestions for public and private BDSM collars (Susan F., Crystal H., Evita’s Reads, Gail M., Joanne M., Tamara M., Suzanne O., D.F. Starr, and Beth W.). I need to get better at remember or recording who provided which pieces of information so I can acknowledge all of you next time, but rest assured you are appreciated, even if not named here. (All errors are mine, of course.)
Thanks to Fiona Campbell for her medical expertise and for keeping 50-year-old Master Adam (with his fondness for rough sex) from going at Karla like a teenager before he was fully healed from his wounds.
Thank you to my supportive, innovative, and kinky "Playroom" friends, for lifting me up, making me laugh, giving me delightful and informative inspiration into the BDSM lifestyle, and for providing me with an awesome social-networking fix every day! You’re the best!
Thanks, Jennifer Zeffer, Joanne Ioana T, and everyone who shares delightful Master Gibbs “Dom” quotes from NCIS on a regular basis. Most memorable of late was: “Somebody needed a safeword.” I hope the NCIS writers who keep toying with us will one day give us the scene we all crave—Master Gibbs in a romantic scene with a woman in restraints. (Surely there’s a dungeon or playroom in his basement somewhere!) I just wonder what all the "vanilla" (non-BDSM) viewers of NCIS think of these Master Gibbs-isms. (When asked what safeword meant, one said, “It’s probably a Marine codeword." Well, it is in MY books—especially this one!”)
And special thanks to everyone who came to my aid whenever I put out the call for help, including when I needed encouragement and support both for writing and for the situation with my sister and her cancer. To those who took the time to post a review (size does NOT matter—I love them all!) or rated my book at e-book sales sites, you cannot know how this helps getting a book to move up the bestseller lists. And thanks to those who sent me e-mails or private message saying how much you love the characters in my world, which just feeds the flames and keeps me going!
Author's Note
I am a perfectionist. No matter how many times I read one of my books, I will change something. This is my third book and I know from experience that over the next week or two, I will upload additional versions of the book. In fact, I've already announced on Facebook and my blog that there will be a new one by Dec. 31, 2011. So, I encourage
you to go back to where you bought the book and sync or download the newer one before doing any re-reads in the future.
Now, if this is the first of my books you've ever picked up, I need to state unequivocally that the books in this series are not stand-alone novels. We'll both be very frustrated (especially with this one in which a major dramatic event happened to this couple in the last book, Nobody's Angel, which leads us to the opening scene in this book. I urge you to learn more about five of the first main characters (and some secondary characters who may become main characters some day) by starting with the introduction and prequels to the series by reading Masters at Arms (Rescue Me #1—only 99 cents at this time). Then continue with Nobody’s Angel (Rescue Me #2, $2.99). The lives of the characters in the first four books of the series are very intertwined and will have recurring roles throughout the series (which I have plans to continue with at least four more books into 2013).
While Masters at Arms doesn’t have the Happily Ever After endings romance readers expect, it does provide extensive and heartbreaking stories about each of the Doms who own the Masters at Arms Club. (That’s Master Adam on the cover, by the way. You'll see him strike that pose on a regular basis.)
In my debut series, I strive to write emotional, sometimes gut-wrenching stories with both dramatic and humorous plots for a group of characters who are or will eventuallybecome involved in the kinky world of safe, sane, and consensual BDSM (bondage-discipline-domination-submission-sadism-masochism). But I don't write BDSM erotic romances. I write erotic romances in which the erotic scenes often involve BDSM. As one reader wrote to me recently, "I loved that the story was about the story and the characters first, and they happened to be into the lifestyle."
As the series progresses, the BDSM elements will get ramped up. (I am new to "the lifestyle," and learning more every day—well, in the fictional world at least.) In this book, you’ll find scenes with Shibari rope bondage, breast bondage and torture, anal play, orgasm torture (multiple forced orgasms), and other forms of BDSM play that are more advanced than those in Nobody's Angel, as well as creative sexual positions and locations for having sex. In the next book, Nobody’s Perfect, the main characters will be involved in much edgier play, including the inflicting and acceptance of severe pain (they're into the SM, or sado-masochism, part of BDSM). In Nobody’s Home (#6), you’ll learn about female Dominants and malesubs. (And was I ever surprised to learn how alpha male and hot malesubs can be! And Mistress Grant's is the more alpha, hot male yet, I think, so please don't get squeamish on me and skip that one. He's a kick-ass man who served in the Army and with Grant in Black Ops counterterrorism in Iraq.)
I also strive to write stories about realistic people and scenes, not fantasy Doms or the more "dark" or hardcore BDSM, erotica with dubious consent or non-consensual scenes. (I write very explicit, sensual, hot sex scenes that advance the story in some way. If you're one to skip over sex scenes, this series might be a frustrating read for you. This book is my very highest sexual/sensual heat level yet!)
Those who want to try things in this book, please find people in the lifestyle (real life, online, at fetish conventions, or in the enormous online BDSM community at fetlife.com) and do your homework. Master Adam has been in the lifestyle for thirty years. He would be very upset if anyone attempted to do a Shibari rope bondage scene, much less a rope suspension one, without training from a master or expert in the art of Shibari. My expert, "Toymaker" from the FetLife community, says these are not skills you can learn from watching videos. They require hands-on training, as you'll see Master Adam doing with other Doms throughout the series (including with "Baby Dom" Master Luke in this book). Improper use of the methods can be dangerous if done incorrectly, resulting in a sub's having nerve damage, broken bones, and even dying.
Now, at last, I am ready to turn Master Adam and Karla over to my many fans who came on board with them when I first started talking about them on Facebook in May. (Okay, sometimes I let Master Adam speak for himself there, too, which I think endeared him to you even more.) I know expectations are high for this book and initial responses are that I’ve exceeded those expectations and that this will be the best book I ever write. I certainly hope it's that good—but I do plan to get better and better with time, too! So I know how long some of you have been anticipating this couple’s story. (But no one has anticipated as long as Karla, who’s waited nine years for her Dom come true.) He will put her (and you) through the ringer—but we all know Karla will have him on his knees again, don’t we?
Thank you for purchasing this book! I hope to have you along for the ride a very long time!
By the Author
RESCUE ME series (not stand-alone books)
Available in e-book form at major outlets
Masters at Arms (Book #1, August 2011)
Nobody’s Angel (Book #2, September 2011)
Nobody’s Hero (Book #3, December 2011)
Revised, Tentative Schedule for
Upcoming Books in the RESCUE ME Series:
Nobody’s Perfect (Book #4)
April/May 2012
Damián & Savannah (Savi)’s story
Nobody’s Dream (Book #5)
July/August 2012
Luke’s story
Nobody’s Home (Book #6)
October/November 2012
Grant’s story
In Fall 2012, at least the first four books in the series will be available as trade paperbacks.
Special Permission
The “Karla Paxton” lyrics quoted and referenced in the Epilogue of this book (reprinted below, as well) are a stanza from an original poem by Kellie Kamryn (www.kelliekamryn.blogspot.com), a friend and fellow author of Kallypso Masters on Facebook. The author is grateful to Kellie and her publisher for allowing her to highlight Karla’s “songwriting talents” in this way!
I see you wet your lips
you know I can’t resist
just want a little taste
so, there’s no time to waste
You know I like it rough
I just can’t get enough
Not feelin’ no shame
when I’m screaming out your name!
Touch Me
(c) 2012 by Kellie Kamryn
From: Secrets and Desires of the Heart, by Kellie Kamryn
Reprinted with the permission of Romance Divine LLC
Available in 2012
Chapter One
“What the fuck are you doing in my bed?”
Karla smiled. He’d always been so careful not to drop the f-bomb around her before—although she’d certainly heard him say it enough times to everyone else, when he didn’t think she could hear. Were his walls coming down enough for him to see her as a adult for the first time since they’d met?
“I needed to be close to you. Do you remember what happened?”
As if just coming to his senses, he glanced up at the IV pole and took in his surroundings. “Where am I?”
“At the medical center in Denver. You were attacked by a cougar.”
Realization dawned and he cupped her cheek, searching her face. “Are you okay? It didn’t hurt you? You’ve got circles under your eyes. God, you’ve lost so much weight.”
Adam, Adam, Adam. Always thinking about everyone else.
She didn’t want to think how awful she must look. If she’d known he would wake up today, she’d have at least put on a little makeup and brushed her hair. She needed to reassure him before he got worried. “I’m fine, Adam. You got the cougar to chase after you and…” Her throat constricted as the image of Adam lying on the ground with the large cat ripping at his neck and back. She closed her eyes and lay her forehead on his chest, but the image was seared into her memory. “I was so scared, Adam,” she whispered.
He stroked the back of her head and she wished they could stay like this forever. Intimate. Sharing. Close. But she knew the walls wouldn’t stay down forever. She pressed her face against him, comforted by his heart beating agai
nst her cheek and the rising and falling of his chest.
His hand brushed a tendril of hair away from her face. “Thank God you weren’t hurt, Karla.”
“You saved my life. Again.” She stroked his neck, her head nestled in the crook of his shoulder, feeling as if she’d come home at last. Her hand traced a path down one of his pecs, which she’d ached to touch for so many years. She let her fingertip circle the hard nip.
Adam’s hand caught and stilled hers, his body tensing.
He pushed her away.
“You need to get out of this bed, Karla. Now.”
* * *
What the fuck was he doing touching Karla like that? When he’d felt her body stretched out against his, before the cobwebs had cleared, he’d thought perhaps he’d done something unforgivable—like taken advantage of an innocent girl. But wouldn’t he remember doing something like that?
His head pounded. Okay, one head pounded—the other throbbed, just as it had been doing whenever he was around Karla since the July day in his office when she’d come back into his life after almost nine years. Only now she was all grown up. If she didn’t get out of this bed soon, he was going to do something they’d both regret. He knew his resistance was low, but damn it, she felt so damned good lying against him.