by Raven Dark
“Thank you, nurse.” She wished she could look in on him one last time, hating the mixture of love for him and anger for his closed-mindedness. Reluctantly, she squeezed Helen’s arm and the woman smiled warmly.
“Let me know if anything changes, Helen. And thanks.”
“Anytime, sweetie.”
Ella went to the front of the hospital, outside where she could use her cell. Fingers trembling with the adrenaline of the day’s events, she called Shayla to report Dad’s condition and the doctor’s orders.
“No wonder he got upset again. What did you do, Ella?”
“Noth—“ Ella stopped herself from snapping at her and closed her eyes. Nothing good would come from getting into a yelling match. “Just leave him alone for a while, all right?”
“Sure. You coming home? Or are you running off with Rock again?”
“Goodbye, Shayla.” She hung up before her sister could say more. Then she called Rock.
He picked up on the third ring, his voice throaty with sleep. “Whoever this is, it better be good. It’s six AM.”
God, he even sounded sexy in the morning. Ella closed her eyes, throat tightening. “Rock, it’s me.”
“Annabella? What’s the matter? Are you all right?”
A heart attack. My fault. Her eyes stung. “Rock…I. I’m at the hospital. I need to see you.”
She heard movement on his end. “I’m on my way, sweetheart.”
* * * * *
Less than twenty minutes later, Rock pulled up at the visiting entrance of Clayton-Moss General and cut the throttle on his bike. He’d broken every speed limit cutting across town, unable to think of anything besides getting to Annabella.
She’d said she was at the hospital. He stalked to the sliding glass doors at the entrance, thoughts whirling. Was she hurt? Had something happened to her?
Memories threatened to engulf him as he made his way at a half run down the hall toward the front desk. How many times had he been here as a teen, treated for broken bones after one of his dad’s rages? How many times had he stood in these halls while his mother told disbelieving doctors she’d run into a door or fell down the stairs? Fuck, he hated this place.
A nurse directed him to the cardiac ward and his heart sped up. What would Annabella be doing in the cardiac ward?
When he got off the elevator on the right floor, a ragged looking Annabella stood up from a chair by the wall, face too pale, eyes red, hair half coming out of that infernal bun.
“Rock…” Her voice trembled and broke. Rushing to him, she covered her mouth and her eyes watered. He pulled her into his arms.
She buried her head in his chest and clutched his shirt. He rubbed her back, his chest constricting for her.
“What happened? Are you all right?”
“It’s Dad.” She sniffed. “Heart attack…”
He sighed into her hair, holding her close. “Is he okay?”
“I’m sorry I called so late. I know we weren’t supposed to…We weren’t supposed to see each other until the end of the week but…”
“Hey.” He tipped her face up and stroked her cheeks, wiping the tears away. “Never mind that. I told you to call me if you needed anything.” He rubbed her arms and a huge breath shuddered from her. “What can I do?”
She looked up at him. The pain in her gaze, unfathomable in its depth, softened a part of him he didn’t know could be softened.
“I just want to be with you, okay? I just need you.”
“Of course, sweetheart. Come here.”
Outside the hospital again, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to his bike, not caring who saw them or how ridiculous they looked. His woman needed him.
CHAPTER 7: A MATTER OF CONTROL
As soon as Rock had taken Annabella into his suite and shut the door, he took her hand, leading her to the couch. He didn’t sit down, but drew her close. She shivered, and he didn’t blame her. All the way over here, the early morning wind had whipped into her while on his bike.
He rubbed her arms until the shivering stopped. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”
She exhaled a breath and gave a shaky laugh. “Some Domme I make, huh?” Her face was too pale, eyes still red, and her hands shook. “Needing to be carried away by the big Dom and crying into a man’s shirt.”
“Hey.” When she didn’t look at him, he tilted her face up, chin between his thumb and finger. “Look at me, girl. None of that with me, remember?” She nodded, but the gesture lacked conviction. “When we’re together like this, what are you?”
A small smile played with her lips. “Yours, I’m yours.”
“Yours, who?” Distraught as she was, any other time he might let the formality go, but with how difficult it was for her to admit the role sometimes, he needed to hear her submission was complete.
“Sir. I’m yours, Sir.”
They’d kept the agreement simple. In private, he was Sir, in public or in venues where it was otherwise inappropriate, she’d call him Rock.
“Good. Now spill. Tell me everything.”
Ella paced the room to the window, and then came back. She told him everything, up to his arrival at the hospital. About her father’s reaction to their relationship and her hiring Rock, about her father’s heart attack and Shayla’s accusations that everything was Annabella’s fault. When she was finished, he pulled her into his lap and wrapped her in his arms. His heart grew painfully large for her and he couldn’t draw her close enough.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have hired you after all. Or maybe I just shouldn’t have told him now.”
“I’m sorry, girl. But your father’s heart attack wasn’t your fault and your sister had no right to be such a bitch.”
She lifted her head, brow raised. Much as he would have liked to chastise her for the Domme-ish look, it reassured him to see a flicker of her fortitude return.
“I’m not apologizing for speaking the truth about Shayla. You didn’t give your dad cancer and you can’t not tell him what’s going on with his company because you’re afraid of how he’ll react. You’re doing the right thing. You’re fighting for what’s right, what’s yours, and his.”
“And being with you? I know he hates you, and our lifestyle. I know the whole idea upsets him. But, I did all these things anyway. I pushed too much, too hard.”
Rock cradled her face in his hands. “Stop it.”
“But—”
Vibrating tickled her hip. Lifting up, she dug her phone out of her back pocket and flipped it open. “Shit, Shayla again. She’s called five times since we left the hospital.”
Rock scrunched his brows. “You two used to be so close. What happened?”
She set the phone down and sighed. “After the incident with Cord, I called Shayla to come and pick me up. At the time, I didn’t know telling her would cause a problem. I told her not to tell anyone, but that night she told Mom.”
Rock put his head back. “Shit.” He’d never liked Shayla. Her self absorbed attitude and fixation on popularity grated on him. But running to her mother…
“Mom wasn’t in the greatest health.” Ella fingered a loose thread on his shirt sleeve. “She died of heart failure a week later. Shayla always blamed it on my lifestyle.”
“I’m so sorry, my girl.” He tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “I wish I had been here for you.”
“No.” She lay her hand on his cheek. “You had to get out of this town. I’m so proud of you. I just feel like I should be with Dad now.”
“You can’t. Doctor’s orders.”
“I know, but—”
The phone vibrated again, bouncing a little on the glass. Ella reached for it and Rock took her hand.
“Don’t you dare.”
“But she—”
“No. Enough. I know you feel like she’s right. There’s a lot of stuff going on and it’s hard to just let go, but you need to. Let me take care of you. And no more blaming yourself for everything that goes
wrong in your family. You’ll drive yourself insane.”
A warm laugh bubbled from her. “Such a Dom.”
“I’m serious. This weekend you’re staying here, and while you are here, no more of this guilt stuff. I get that you’re upset about your dad’s condition. But his issues are his problem, your sister’s are hers. Leave them at your house. This is our time. Clear?”
“Yes, Sir.” She pulled his head down and rested his forehead against hers. “Will you help me?”
“Yes. Tell me what you need.”
She looked at a spot on the wall and her fists clenched his shirt. When she looked at him again, her jaw was tight. “I need to hurt someone. I need to feel like I’m in control again.”
“You need to hit someone, hit me. I can take it.”
“That’s not what I mean, Sir. I need to top. Sorry, I know you don’t share, and I can’t anyway. I can’t go to the club and risk Scalder somehow finding out.”
Rock pressed his lips together, thinking. A surprise, she liked giving pain when topping. When she subbed with him before, she’d only liked a hint of pain; biting, spanking, hair pulling. Was she a sadist only when she topped, or would she discover she craved true pain while bottoming too? What other ways had his Annabella changed?
A smile pulled at his lips. “I might be willing to share if…”
“If what?”
“You get to top whomever you want, how you want, on one condition.”
She sat up, the first spark he’d seen that morning flickering in her eyes. “Which is?”
“I get to have you afterwards. How and when I want.”
“Ohh. I like that idea. And will you make me pay for being with another man, Rock?”
His cock jumped at her suggestion. “Oh, yeah.”
“But what about the club?”
“Well, we can’t go to the club, but what if I brought the scene here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I have this friend who works with me at the firm. He’s a sub. He’s into a bit of pain. I think he’d get a real kick out of Mistress E. If he’s okay with it, would you meet with him? See if you two want to scene?”
“Here?”
“Yeah.”
“Can we trust him to keep quiet?”
The worry in her eyes made him want to hurt Scalder. “Yes. Trust me.”
“Always.”
“Good.” He checked his watch. “It’s still early. I’ll call him in a couple of hours.”
* * * * *
His name was Holden. He wasn’t as gorgeous as Rock, but he was incredible nonetheless. The kind of guy who’d fit in perfectly on a movie set, all suit and tie and clean cut. Strong features, with striking black hair to his shoulders, just long enough to pull.
“Are all the guys at Simon and Simon as hot as you two?” She grinned at Rock.
Holden went redder than she thought a man could go. He chuckled. Rock laughed, a rich robust sound that made her stomach dance, but she didn’t miss the flash of jealousy and savage possession in his eyes. Her blood heated.
Rock sat on the couch listening while she asked Holden questions, he doing the same with her. What they were both into, what he wanted in a scene, what she wanted, both of their limits.
He was easy to talk to and he gave off an honest, forthright air that made it easy to see why Rock liked him.
An hour later, they’d moved to the bedroom and Ella had Holden undress. Rock pulled her aside. He slid his hand around her elbow, a subtle control, and his mouth brushed her ear.
“Remember our agreement, girl. With Holden, you’re in charge. But the more you fuck with my head here, the more I fuck you up later.”
Oh, God. The pure brutality in his words nearly made her knees fold under her with need. How could he be so damn hot? She slid out of his hold and winked at him.
“This is going to be fun.”
Rock released her, but she could feel the tension in him building.
Minutes later, Holden lay across Rock’s bed while Rock seated himself in a chair by the wall, facing the foot of the bed so he could watch.
“One more thing before we start, Holden.” Ella stood at Holden’s side, lifting two pairs of handcuffs Rock had leant her.
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Except when you have to in order to perform an act, no touching. Ever. Understand?”
Across the room, the chair creaked like Rock had leaned forward. She didn’t look away from her sub but she could feel Rock’s eyes on her. This boundary was new to him. Holden’s brows winged down, but he nodded.
“Speak, Holden. I need to hear you understand.”
“I understand, Mistress. I won’t touch you.”
“Good, but let’s make sure, shall we?” She gave him a sweet smile and cuffed his hands to the knobs at the ends of Rock’s headboard.
Bright eyes full of amusement, his gaze followed her every move around the bed. Lingering on the black lacy teddy that hugged her considerable breasts and shaped to the flange of her waist, the long sheer hose that covered her legs. The pumps that gave her added height. For an instant, his gaze lifted to her hair, to the tight bun that wound at the back of her head. A smile curled the edges of his slender mouth.
“Like what you see?” She bent over him, hands on the mattress once he was secure.
“Yes, Mistress. I like, a lot.”
“Which part?”
“All of it, but that bun gets me hot, Mistress. You look so sweet, but that makes you look strict.”
Ella looked over her shoulder at Rock. He loathed her hair up like this and she’d put it up on purpose. His having the scene here was another way for him to maintain control. She’d been unable to resist using a style he hated, a small act of defiance. The best part was knowing she’d pay for it later.
Holden didn’t ask questions, but he watched her, looking nervous.
Ella folded her arms, unable to keep the pleasure out of her voice. “Do you know what a zipper is, Holden?”
“Oh, shit. Yeah. I’ve seen one done, but I…I’ve never had it done to me.” His eyes closed, and for a moment she thought the notion might be more than he could handle. Until he looked at her and pure lust filled his eyes.
Ella picked up the bag she’d left on Rock’s dresser and set it gently on Holden’s bare stomach. His chest shook on a breath. She undid the string on the bag and pulled out the contents. Twenty wooden clothespins dangled, threaded on a string, knots to keep them spread an inch apart, the string threaded through a hole drilled in each. She stretched them out between her hands in front of his eyes.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“I’m leaving your feet untied, Holden. Do you know why?”
“No Mistress.”
She bent over him, speaking just loud enough for both him and Rock to hear. “By the time I’m done here, you’ll hate me. I had a horrible day, Holden. Horrible day. You’re going to want to scream. Kick, curse. You do that, I want it. Understand?”
“Holy shit. Rock, what have you gotten me into here?” But he gave a shaky chuckle. “I understand. Do your worst, Mistress.”
Ella set to work. One by one, she clipped pins to Holden’s chest in two lines, running from the top of his chest to his pelvis. She clipped just enough skin to pinch with each one, taking in his sharp hisses, his jolts as each new pin was added.
“None of these pins will leave permanent marks. It’ll hurt when they come off, but after a few hours, no one would ever know what I did to you.”
“Oh my god, Rock, she’s sexy as hell.”
She threw a glance at Rock, who grinned wickedly, then she flicked one of the pins and Holden hissed. “Jesus, that hurts, Mistress.”
“This one?” She pointed at the pin a few inches from his pelvis, then flicked it lightly until he grunted between his teeth.
“Ow, shit, yes. That one.” He writhed, making the other pins wiggle, which pinched his skin all along his chest, making him hiss and wriggle more.
<
br /> Once more, she looked at Rock. His dark brows rose and tension seemed to pour into his shoulders. He shifted in his seat. The bulge in his trousers grew huge and he cleared his throat.
Well, the thought of subbing didn’t get him off. Did knowing another man found his woman hot get to him, or was it the knowledge of what he could do to her when she was finished?
She winked at Holden and bent to add another pin. He lifted his head, his eyes widening as she clipped it slowly to the skin inches from his cock, which bounced, hard as a flagpole.
His teeth gnashed together on a growl and the cuffs on his fists clanked when he thrashed.
“You might not want to move so much, sweetie. It makes it worse.”
“Fu…fu…Christ.”
“Excuse me?” She arched her brow at him.
“Mistress.”
“Nice.” She gave his cock a long, hard stroke. He bowed his back, the pins wiggled, and his eyes watered. “You say it so nice.”
For the first time, looking down at him, she felt in control again. Since her dad’s heart attack and her argument with Shayla—no, since Scalder showed up in her office—she’d felt her world spiraling. But here, controlling what happened to Holden, the centeredness, the authority her world depended on, reasserted itself. Making her feel like herself again.
Carefully, she checked to make sure each of the pins was secure. Holden’s muscles tightened with anticipation that gave her such a high. The muscles in his arms bunched as if he was trying to force himself not to fight against the cuffs. His fists clenched and unclenched.
“You like this?” She flicked another pin and he bared his teeth. “Answer me, Holden.”
“That really, really hurts, Mistress.”
“But you like it?” Another flick.
“Ouch, fuck! Yes…Mistress.”
“See? So nice.” She patted his cheek. He jerked away and she chuckled. “What do you say to Mistress when she gives you something nice?”
Holden glared at her. A soft rumble sounded in the corner. Ella looked in time to see Rock rearranging himself, staring at the two of them like the rest of the world had disappeared. His jaw was so tight she wondered if his teeth might break. She turned her attention back to her sub.