She blushed and her friends giggled. “Thank you. It seems someone forgot to give me the memo that it was little black dress night.”
“Well, you’re a refreshing ray of sunshine in this sea of perpetual black tonight.”
The other subs sighed at this bachelor Dom and his charming, smooth-talking ways. If they had been watching, they would have seen the other men roll their eyes. Jonas in heartthrob mode made the women melt. With his smooth, effortless James Bond delivery, he got them easily and every time.
Jonas seemed to be oblivious to the interaction surrounding him. With his focus entirely on Lexie he asked, “Do you have an interest in the lifestyle or the martial arts?”
Megan interrupted then, “Master Jonas is an eighth degree black belt grand master or something of the sort. Did I get it right Master J?”
Cap frowned and met Rick’s eyes; could the twins be any more obvious? He gave his subbie a little pinch on the behind. She yelped and looked at him over her shoulder as if to say, “What did I do?” He just shook his head in a not so subtle warning to behave.
Elena joined in next. “Aren’t you opening a studio soon?”.
“Yes to all your questions ladies. The studio actually opened a month ago and classes have filled up quickly. But let’s give Lexie a chance to answer my question. About your interest?”
“I’ve actually been doing Tae Chi since college. I also do some yoga. I enjoy the meditation and health benefits of both.” She blushed as she felt everyone’s eyes on her. She didn’t really want to broadcast her interest in the lifestyle just yet. Jonas recognized her reluctance and came to her rescue.
“I apologize for being so insensitive. May I suggest we move our conversation to that corner table over there where we will have more privacy?” Lexie immediately responded to his request that was actually more of a command and allowed him to guide her to the private table. He murmured an excuse to the rest of the group and signaled for a waitress to bring him a beer.
He seated her and then took the chair to her left, sliding in closer as he sat. “I forget that we have open nights sometimes, Lexie. You might just be curious although I think I can recognize a submissive when I see one. Am I correct?’
“I… um, I’ve never really thought…” she stammered, her tongue surprisingly tied around this handsome, dominant man. She lowered her gaze shyly. His watchful eyes were compelling but also disturbingly intense.
“And there it is, a very submissive response.” He took her hand in his much larger one and admired her clean short nails. The long acrylic red ones just didn’t do it for him. He smiled deeply as he realized he found this shy newbie very appealing. “Let’s talk about my project, shall we, and give those blushes time to die down?”
He chuckled when her face flamed a deeper red and she smiled self-consciously. She held her cheeks trying to cool the burn with the coolness from her drink. “I’m not usually so ditzy and shy.”
“I find your blushes very becoming but I really don’t mean to embarrass you. What do you know about the Japanese art of Shibari?”
Lexie’s jaw dropped open. Oh, my God. He was into rope bondage. How had the twins known that they had matching kinks? Lexie had never let on to Elena, Meg or Regan about her secret fantasies. “Uh, well… I’ve seen some pictures.”
“And what did you think?”
“I found them quite beautiful actually. Not the trashy porno ones but the really artistic ones with good photography, lighting and intricate ties.”
“Hm, a few pictures did you say?” His interest in her sparked. Was it possible she was more interested in bondage than she let on? He intended to explore the possibility further but first he needed to get to know her better.
Elena, Regan and Megan all shared secretive smiles as they watched the two hit it off. Dex shook his head and looked at the other Doms silently conveying a message. “What we have here gentlemen, is a trio of matchmaking submissives who are urgently in need of correction.” And do it was that after Elena’s firnal set, Dex and Rick escorted their cupid wannabes to the private areas for some much needed attention while Cap escorted a very uncomfortable Megan home.
Chapter Sixteen
Two weeks later Dex paced in front of his desk in his office at Rossi. “Son of a bitch!” He usually tried to keep his cursing to a minimum but needed to vent some of the fury churning in his gut. He had called Cap but he was out of the office. He now waited for Rick and Jonas to arrive. “Damn it to hell!” This curse was accompanied by the crash of a glass picture frame striking the far wall of his office.
“Christ Dex, what has you all riled up?” Rick spoke from the doorway as Jonas moved into his office and took in the broken class covering the wooden credenza and hardwood floor.
“I got a love note from our stalker and a blackmail package today.”
Rick understood his friend’s anger now and he stepped into the office and closed the door. Jonas flopped down on one of the leather chairs in front of his deck and cursed, “I’m really getting tired of this shit.”
“Yeah, and you only know about the emails.”
Rick heard the thinly veiled rage in his friend’s voice. “What’s in the package, Dex?”
Dex told his friends about the hand-delivered package that had come without postage or a return address. It contained the photos Elena had warned him about. She’d told him they were graphic, but when he actually saw them he’d been beyond angry. Two men were manhandling his woman. While one restrained her, the other had a hand down her pants and was groping her breasts. Coupled with the threatening email, he was close to losing control.
“I’ll need the package to check for prints Dex,” Jonas said softly, knowing that his friend wouldn’t want sordid pictures of Elena common knowledge. “I have a friend in forensics at the department. I trust him to be discreet.”
“One of the men holding her was Luis Lopez, I can tell by the tattoo on his arm. The other is probably one of his kiss ass toadies, either Bobby or Eduardo. Looks like one of them is trying to grow a pair and follow in Luis’ corrupt footprints.” Dex handed Jonas the package and then resumed pacing. “Hell, she’s just starting to heal from all that happened. I don’t want this to get in the way of her progress.”
Jonas flipped through the pictures, frowning. If he didn’t know better, he would think the trio in the picture was into a heavy ménage. Her face was covered by her long dark brown hair. Elena’s was short, curly and black now and the girl in the picture had flawless skin, not a tat in sight.
“I have to ask, are you sure this is Elena?” Dex shot him an incredulous look as if to say, “Seriously?” “I told you, I had to ask. It’s just that these don’t look at all like her.”
“Those were taken over two years ago. She told me they forced themselves on her while a buddy took those pictures for blackmail purposes. They threatened to send them to me and imply she was cheating if she didn’t become their drug mule. They had others from a play party that they were going to send to her father. They were of us… well, needless to say the leather and skin exposed in those would have fried her papa’s retinas.”
“So, the man who she thought was her brother for twenty some years, raped and assaulted her, let his buddies put his hands on her, then blackmailed her and made her a drug mule. Holy Christ, Dex. No wonder she tried to-,” Rick abruptly bit back his last remark. Bringing up her suicide attempt in front of Jonas would have been a breach in trust.
Jonas was quickly adding up all the details. “That’s why she ran from you, turned to the drugs, changed her appearance, got the tattoos. She was off the rails, big time. Shit! I want to kill that son of a bitch all over again.”
“You and me both, buddy. But, I’ll settle for the other two bastards for now.” He handed Jonas a sheet of paper. “I also got this by email today. Just another shot to the gut, huh?”
Are you ready to pay up snake eater?
You’re tasty little song bird would make a fine down payment
>
On the debt you and your asshole friends owe me.
“This is the first time he’s been specific. Obviously Elena is the little song bird.” Jonas leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face in frustration, “Son of a bitch!”
“Do we have any leads at all?” Rick demanded. “If he knows about Elena, this asshole must also know about Regan and Megan as well.
“That’s a reasonable assumption, Chief. I have no leads at all. I was able to track all of the emails but he uses a network of relays. With a lot of work, BS and payola, I was able to trace them back to Internet café’s back east. All were sent from public computers in coffee shops that coincidentally have no security so I couldn’t match up the video with ISP’s and time stamps.”
“Bottom line then Jonas? Our women are sitting ducks for some revenge-seeking asshole.” Dex flopped down behind his desk. “I’ll need to ramp up the security at my place and put a man back on Elena.”
“We have no choice. Until he shows his hand, we’ll have to maintain defensive positions and lock the girls down.” Rick looked at Jonas. “What about you and Lexie? Is that serious? Do we need a man on her, too?”
Jonas considered this option. Things were very new with Lexie. They hadn’t even had their official first date yet. Maybe he needed to back off until the stalker was caught. But this had been going on for almost a year. He didn’t want to put her off indefinitely and lose his shot. He nodded in frustration. “It’s a good thing the new office in Los Angeles is raking in cash from all the new business. The steady flow of income from that business line will help cover all the personal security we’re running here at home.”
“Yeah, sounds like Cap, Eric and Lil T did a great job getting that office up and running.” Dex agreed and let out a tired sigh. “Where is Cap anyway? We need to bring him up to speed on this?”
Rick grinned, “Last time I saw him he was in pre-meltdown mode.” At their puzzled expressions he elaborated, “Megan called him en route to the hospital. She’s in labor and about two weeks early at that. I thought Cap was gonna lose his shit when he flew out of here about thirty minutes ago.” Rick looked at his watch and got up, heading for the door. “I better get a move on myself. I promised Regan I’d pick her up and take her over there. Knowing my woman she’s climbing the walls right about now.”
Chapter Seventeen
“She needs a C-section now, dammit. It’s been eight hours of this agony.” Tony practically roared at Megan’s doctor when she finally made her way to her room.
In the middle of a contraction Megan grabbed Tony’s hand and squeezed, hard. “Please Captain. Don’t make them call security again. If you get kicked out of here I’ll lose it. I need you, Tony.”
“No one’s getting kicked out. I happen to agree with you, Tony. I just got a report from the resident and gave orders to have you prepped. We’ll have those babies delivered within the next fifteen-twenty minutes.” She moved to Megan’s bedside and took her hand. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived Megan. My flight got in about an hour ago and I headed right over when I got the page. You’re two weeks early I believe.”
“Yeah, sorry but it couldn’t be helped as I’m sure you know.” Megan chuckled tiredly. “But I’m glad you’re here. I could really use some help with the big guy over there-,” Megan squeezed her hand as another contraction hit and she lost her ability to speak.
“Well, I’m here now and soon you’ll have two more big guys to contend with.”
“The twins… are boys then?” She asked the question between pants. Tony was busy wiping her brow with a damp cloth and mumbling something about cutting out the chitchat and getting down to the business at hand. Meg gave him a frown, which at any other moment would have earned her a half dozen or more swats with his favorite paddle, but today was an exception. She wanted to know about her babies. Megan’s doctor had made an educated guess after looking at the ultrasound but hadn’t given her a positive ID on both babies’ gender.
“I saw at least one little penis. The other baby was wrapped around its brother and we never could get a good shot at the important parts.” She laughed and squeezed her hand one last time before releasing her. “Daddy, come with me and I’ll show you were to scrub up. I’ll see you in the OR in a few minutes Meg.”
“OK Doc, but promise you’ll never use the words little and penis around me or my sons again.”
Her delighted laughter followed her out of the room. Tony turned back to Megan and bent to kiss her lips gently. “I love you, Angel. I’ll be back with you in just a few minutes.”
“OK, Captain. Can you send Regan in while you’re gone? I don’t want to be alone.”
He nodded as he hurried to follow the doctor. In the midst of another contraction Regan came flying in. She went to her sister’s bedside and held her hand as the pain peaked then eased off enough so she could speak.
“Tony said they’re getting ready for a C-section.” She looked at her red-faced, sweaty twin and frowned. “Hell Meg, after seeing you go through all this, adoption is looking better by the minute. I’m even having second thoughts about these fertility drugs. We already have a good chance of twins as it is, I can’t bear the thought of triplets, or worse.”
Megan laughed at her sister’s worried face. “After all you have gone through to get pregnant, I won’t hear one word of complaint from you if you have septuplets. If you do, I’ll personally kick your ass, Auntie Regan.”
They smiled at each other knowing soon they would be holding her newborn twins. Just then a pair of nurses came into the room and Regan stepped back to watch the flurry of activity as they prepped her for surgery. Megan was whisked away to the operating suite with a worried scrub-wearing Tony at her side. A few minutes later, the first of the twins was delivered.
“Tony and Megan, your son is a healthy 6 pounds 2 ounces.” The pediatrician announced this to the room as he worked on their screaming son. He was obviously not happy with the way his day had turned out and was making it known. “Just listen to the lungs on him.”
Tony stroked Megan’s sweat dampened hair as they looked at each other and smiled. “Our son. Doesn’t that sound wonderful, Captain?”
“Yes, Angel but what sounds even better is that he’s healthy.” He kissed her gently on the forehead.
“Here’s your other baby.” The doctor pulled the slick baby out of Megan’s belly and laid him in the awaiting warming towel. “Another boy, not quite as big but just as healthy.” She looked over the drape at Megan and Tony. “Twin boys, Megan.”
“Oh wow! I was hoping for a girl. Imagine the testosterone levels in our house fifteen years from now.” She thought about dealing with two miniature Tony’s as teenagers and muttered, “I’m so fucked!” She realized her lapse and looked up at her dominant husband. He was very intolerant of her cursing and her butt had felt the consequences of his displeasure often in their first year together, but when she met his eyes she saw nothing but delight.
Two nurses brought her sons over and she got to admire them briefly. She couldn’t hold them just yet and count fingers and toes due to the spinal anesthesia. Tony was still chuckling down at her when she shooed him away to follow them back to the nursery and check up on their boys. He whispered in her ear, “You get amnesty on the day you give me two perfect, healthy babies, my love.” He kissed her soundly and then got up to do as the new mother requested.
“Just one day, Captain? For two babies that hardly seems fair.” She grinned at his back; she loved their playful banter.
“You’re right, Angel. I’ll cut you some slack.” He called over his shoulder as he exited the OB surgical suite. “But next week, all bets are off.”
Megan smiled after him and then closed her eyes as she offered a silent prayer of thanks up to heaven. “Thank you, Lord for bringing that man into my life and giving me his two precious sons.”
Chapter Eighteen
It was Sunday and the only night of the week when The Club was closed.
It was the first opportunity that Dex and Elena had to spend a quiet evening at home. She was in the kitchen fixing her signature steak fajitas. Dressed comfortably in jeans and a T-shirt, she hummed to herself as she sipped her Corona. Just as she was searing the steak, Dex walked in dusting his shirt free of dust, debris and even a few cobwebs.
Elena laughed as she turned to him and signaled for him to bend down then brushed his hair clean. “Where on earth have you been? You’re covered in dirt and dust.”
“I was in the crawl space under the stairs in the garage. I was looking for this.” He held up a familiar diamond collar. “Some naughty slave removed it without permission.”
“Oh Master. I’ve missed wearing my collar.”
“I’ve missed seeing it on you, my beautiful slave. Turn around and I’ll put it back where it belongs.”
She turned obediently and as he hooked it and connected the safety latch, she caressed it fondly with possessive fingers. It was a beautiful collar that looked more like a jeweled choker than a slave collar and he had given it to her for everyday wear in public. The triple strand of diamonds was linked with three diamond-encrusted circles. It was exquisitely delicate and feminine and symbolized their D/s commitment. She loved wearing it and got tons of compliments on it from her vanilla friends who never suspected a thing.
“I’ll never take it off again, Master. I swear.” Her eyes glistened with tears as emotion welled up inside her. It had been so long, she had ached for him.
“You are forbidden to remove it without permission. I’ve thought about getting a locking clasp but I trust you not to disobey on this.” He turned her to face him and smiled as he looked at his collar once again clasped around her delicate throat. He traced it with his long fingers. “It sits perfectly below you filigree tat. I couldn’t have designed it better myself.” He smiled down into her beautiful face and assured her, “It shows how perfectly we match and that we belong together, little light.”
Little Light of Mine (Club Decadence) Page 15