by Dakota Trace
“Ms. Johnston!” Samuel rushed through the double hung doors and skidded to a halt before her, his eyes frantic. “Oh my god. Why did my mom do that?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask you, young man.” She gave him her best disgruntled teacher look. “What exactly did you tell your mother I did, which justified her coming here to punch me in the face?”
Chapter Eighteen
Can I come over? - Sabella
Ethan was just getting ready to go down to the club when he got the text. Pausing next to the rear entry, he pulled out his phone. Using the Qwerty keyboard, he typed a reply. Of course.
Are you at home or the club?
He typed back a quick reply, surprised when moments later there was a knock on the outer door. His brows rose as he opened the door and saw Sabella standing with her back to him, staring down at the club. “Sabella?”
She turned to face him, her mascara smeared, her eyes blood-shot and swollen, and a blossoming bruise on her cheek. And if he wasn’t mistaken there was a cut in the center of it. His little sub looked like she’d gone a round with Muhammad Ali.
“I’m sorry I wouldn’t normally come here unannounced but…”
Keeping his calm was a challenge, but Ethan managed. Pulling her inside, he shut the door behind her. “What happened, little one?”
Her face crumbled, and he nearly panicked when she swayed dangerously on her feet. Concerned, he swept her up in his arms as silent tears rolled over her cheeks. Holding her close, he pivoted and headed towards the living room when she stopped him with a single phrase. “No, training room…” Her breath rattled. “Please…I need...”
His heart jumped as he realized what she was asking. Something overwhelming had happened, and she was looking for the release she’d get by giving over to him.
“Okay, little one. We’ll go to the training room.” Moving smoothly down the hall, he managed to enter the room and give a soft order to the woman in his arms. Sabella flicked on the lights as he shouldered the door closed behind them. Unsure of what was actually wrong, he slowly set her on her feet. When he released her, he held his breath as she slowly stripped out of her clothing until she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties. As she stumbled towards the woodstove, he shadowed her movements, knowing she needed the normalcy of their scene routine. He almost stopped her as she lit the incense on top of it, her fingers trembling. She fumbled with the match and it fell harmlessly to the hardwood floor, extinguishing on its way down.
She bent as if to retrieve it, nearly smacking her head on the stove. “No, leave it.” His command had her halting as she swayed on her feet. Concerned about her falling, he gave the order for her to go to her knees. Standing close enough to catch her if she fell, he hovered as she eased down into nadu position, her thighs wide spread, shoulders back and her eyes lowered. However, her breathing was more erratic than he’d like. Stripping off his shirt, he tossed it on the floor uncaring if it wrinkled, before curling his body around hers. When he first pulled her into his arms, she stayed stiff, her posture making it difficult to regulate their breathing. “Relax, Sabella. I have you. You’re safe in my arms. Whatever it is, let it go. It can’t touch you here.”
As if his words flipped a switch, she whimpered and her body lost its rigidness. Her back molded to his chest as she hiccupped.
“That’s it. Match my breath. You know how. In, out. In. Out. Rhythmic breathing.” He kept a soft flow of words surrounding her as she started and stopped several times in her efforts to do what he asked.
The slamming of the back door and the call of his name reached his ears, but he ignored it as he worked to help her. He knew Davis had probably come looking for him because he’d been running late. His final appointment of the day had run over, before he’d even gotten Sabella’s text.
“Hey Ethan, do you know anything about the cab waiting outside? The driver gave me the rudest gesture when I asked him to move it, because he’s blocking the entrance to the drive leading down to the club.” Davis’s footsteps came closer before pausing in front of the training room. Ethan ignored the creak of the door as he opened it. “Did you hear me? There’s some cab driver demanding payment and won’t move until he gets it.…” Davis’s voice trailed off as he took in what Ethan was sure was quite a scene, with Sabella’s clothing scattered across the floor along with his shirt, coupled with the soft sobs his little sub couldn’t seem to control.
“Pay for the cab, please. I’ll reimburse you later.” Sabella’s breathing grew more erratic as she seemed to finally realize Davis was in the room with them. “Did I tell you stop, Sabella? Match my breath. Kokyo-ho, remember?” The harsh reminder seemed to focus her, even as Davis slipped out of the room much quieter than he’d entered it. Thank God, his friend was understanding. As she settled down again, her breathing a bit less erratic but still not calm, he decided it was time to move onto the next step. “What’s your safeword?”
“Dobby, Sir.” Her head turned a bit, her breath teasing his collarbone.
“Good. And to slow?”
“Matsu, Sir.”
“Good girl. I expect you to use them.” While he wasn’t planning on a scene with her, not with her in this state, he asked the ritualistic questions more as comfort than anything else. She needed the routine, the ritual, the closeness to balance out whatever had caused this, and he wasn’t one to deny a submissive in her current state. “In, out. That’s right, little one. When I breathe in, you breathe in, when I exhale, you exhale.” By slow degrees she finally managed to synchronize her breathing to his. As she sank deeper into his arms, he knew it was time. Keeping his voice gentle, he began to ask about her day. What she’d had for breakfast, what time she’d left for the art center.
“Only had time for blueberry yogurt. I overslept this morning.” Her words had a dreamy quality.
“And why did you oversleep, Sabella?” He kept his tone soft but firm.
“You, Sir. I had dreams about you…I didn’t hear the alarm.”
An interesting tidbit but not what he was after, so he’d filed it away for later and moved onto the next question. “So you had a yogurt and went to work. How was your first class?”
She tensed up, but relaxed when he dragged his palms down her arms. “Shh, it can’t hurt you. How was your first class?”
She sighed. “Normal. Busy. Hectic with eight year olds, who were making snowflake ornaments for their families’ Christmas trees. Little Jaelyn managed to spill the silver glitter all over the floor, and half of the class tracked through it before I could clean it up, the little heathens.”
“Little heathens for sure.” He brushed his lips over her ear. “So what did you do after the little one’s made the mess?”
She leaned her head in the hollow of his throat. “Prep period. I got the supplies ready for the next group. Made a few phone calls to one of the local galleries to see if I could arrange a showing of the kids’ work.”
He pressed a kiss to her hair. “And did you manage it to convince the gallery?”
She gave an almost dream-like nod. “Yes, Sir.”
“That’s wonderful. The kids will enjoy having their art displayed.” Keeping his legs bracketed around her, he tightened his arms slightly.
“So what happened this afternoon, Sabella? What sent you scurrying into my arms?”
A low cry built in her throat and she began to struggle.
“You’re safe. I won’t let anything hurt you. It’s just words. Tell me, get them off your chest, and you take their power away.” He kept a firm tone but knew she needed it.
“Mrs. Croshaw. She hit me. She wanted to do more but Kaleb stopped her. Then she accused me of molesting her son.”
Ethan’s blood froze. Sabella was the last person who’d ever hurt a child. “Why did she accuse you of this?”
“She found a drawing Samuel had done. Of me.”
He continued to stroke his hands over her forearms. “Why would that concern her? Kids draw pictures
of their teachers all the time.”
She sighed roughly. “But not nude ones.” Her eyes opened and she looked up at him, her gaze pleading. “Please say you believe me. I’ve never once taken my clothing off in front of students. I don’t know how he…”
“Shhh, I know you wouldn’t.” He gave her a firm look. “And I didn’t tell you could break form, Sabella.”
“Sorry, Sir.” Her head moved back into its original position.
“So this young man, Samuel, drew a picture of you naked, and his mother came unglued about it? How old is Samuel?”
“Fifteen, Sir.” Her breath rasped a bit but settled back into the same rhythm as his.
“Ah, a prime age for young libidos to go into overdrive.”
“Yes,” she sighed. “I tried to explain that to the mother, but she punched me again.”
He wanted to growl, to go out and find the woman who dared to touch his submissive. “Where was Kaleb?”
“He was there. He pulled her off of me. I got suspended with pay until Kaleb can get to the bottom of this, but God as my witness, I’ve never seen or met any of the students outside of youth center. And there are cameras in every room. If I somehow seduced him, it’d be on tape - but it isn’t. He even tried to tell his mother nothing like this had ever happened, but she was so incensed, she refused to even listen to the truth. She wanted my blood and she got some of it. She threatened to go to the police.” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “What am I going to do if they arrest me, Sir?”
“Shhh, they have to have more than accusations and a drawing to arrest you. No one’s going to throw you in jail because of a boy’s over-active imagination. ” He continued to rub his palms over her arms.
“You think so, Sir?” She seemed to be clinging to his words like they were a life-line.
Brushing his lips over her ear, he murmured his agreement. “I know so. Now relax back against me. Let me take your mind off this nastiness for now. We’ll deal with it tomorrow and that’s an order.”
“Yes, Sir.” Her gentle submission made him ache. His poor little subbie. He’d protect her. It was his job.
* * * *
“How is she?” Davis asked Ethan several hours later, as he slid shut the heavy oak door to his bedroom. Ethan gestured for his friend to follow him to the kitchen. As they settled down at the table after he made himself a cup of his precious tea, he finally answered the question.
“Sleeping at the moment.” He tried not to think of the temptation she presented in her current state of undress in his room. But after the day she’d had, he’d willing give up his bed for her. The woman’s accusation had blindsided her. “Thanks for taking care of the cab. Let me know what I owe you.”
Davis brushed it off. “No worries. So what exactly happened? In all the times I’ve seen Bella, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as messed up.”
“A shit storm as Dad would say. She’s on paid leave from her job because some mother accused her of sexually molesting her fifteen year old son.” Ethan flicked back one of his dreads, before cupping his tea between his palms. “There’s no evidence other than some drawing the boy did. Even the son claims nothing had ever happened between him and his teacher.” He took a sip of the tea, savoring the slightly bitter taste of the brew. He met Davis’s eyes. “I believe her, Davis. I’ve seen her teach. She loves kids, she’d never hurt one.”
“Damn.” Davis leaned back in his chair. “Let me know if she needs legal representation. I’ll take her on.”
Ethan had never been more thankful in his life that his best friend in the world was an attorney. “Wow, and no questions asked?”
Davis rolled his eyes. “There’ll always be questions, dude. But I trust your judgment.” He tossed Ethan a grin. “Besides if Lauren can vouch for her, she has to be a good guy. You know it takes an Act of Congress to get the ‘good Lauren stamp of approval’. She’s a scary judge of character. Look how long it took you to get in her good graces.”
Ethan wadded up his napkin and tossed it at Davis. “After all the stories you told about me, I’m surprised you got in.”
Davis wiggled his eyebrows. “What can I say? The woman just loves me.”
“Loves to strangle you, you mean?” Ethan shot back. Davis’s laughter filled the kitchen and suddenly things didn’t seem as bleak as they had before. Ethan didn’t know what he’d do without his best friend. Davis always managed to put things in perspective for him.
Chapter Nineteen
Yawning, Sabella shifted against soft sheets, trying to figure out why she was so warm. In winter, despite the electric blanket on her bed, she was always cold. Moving closer to the heat source, she wrapped her arms over it, startled a bit when it growled softly. Her eyes flew open to see the expanse of lots and lots of skin the color of caramel laid over tight muscles in the soft lamplight bathing the bed. Two tiny chocolate nipples decorated well-defined pectorals. She was in bed with Ethan! The man who’d held her during her meltdown the night before.
“What the…” her soft words were met with a chuckle. She moved to scramble backward but froze at his command.
“Stay still.” His voice was rough from sleep. The sensuous roll of his shoulders caught her attention as he snuggled closer. “It’s early. Too early to be up. Go back to sleep, Sabella.” He pressed her close, until her uninjured cheek was now resting against his bare sternum. Her eyes widened. Bare sternum? Doing a quick mental check of her own body, she gave a small sigh of relief to find she still wore her bra and panties. He hadn’t taken advantage of her emotional state the night before. Listening to his heart beating, she tried to drift off again, but her brain wouldn’t shut off as she examined what had happened at work the day before.
Why had the woman said I had a record? I’ve never as much as had any brush with the law. It irked her. She’d have to see about retaining the services of a lawyer, because she had a feeling this situation was going to become worse, particularly if the woman went to the police as she’d threatened. Closing her eyes, she wondered how soon she could possibly wiggle out of Ethan’s arms to contact an attorney without rousing her Dom’s anger.
It was amazing how quickly her view had changed after last night. The man holding her hadn’t done anything extraordinary. He’d merely given her the routine she’d needed. He’d shadowed her in the training room, even steadying her when she’d nearly fallen over. Then he’d gone through the ritual. Checked her safewords, held her tight while performing the kokyo-ho, which had turned out to be one of the best stress relievers she’d found. He hadn’t done anything sexual to her, hadn’t brought out any rope, but more importantly he hadn’t abandoned her when she’d been floundering.
“Anata no sensei ni kansha.” Whispering the respectful Japanese words of thanks he’d taught her during their second session, she wasn’t surprised when he replied in kind.
“Anata o kangei shi, amai ne.” His fingers toyed with her hair before finally stilling.
Listening to his breathing even out once more, she pushed the thoughts of the terror twins, her job and even the attack from her mind, as her body finally seemed to realize she was pressed skin to skin against the man she’d been dreaming about for the past month. Her libido stirred and she had to quash the urge to wiggle against him while reminding herself they weren’t lovers. That he’d only held her for comfort not sex. But it didn’t stop the needy flesh between her thighs from moistening, nor did it keep her nipples from tightening against the lace cups of her bra. She almost wished he had taken off what remained of her clothing. It would’ve been so much easier to tempt him into taking her. Damn his conditions. She logically knew all she had to do was ask him to make love to her and he would. Along with our short length of acquaintance there are so many reasons it wouldn’t be a good idea, but dang if my body cares.
She wasn’t sure how long she lay in his arms, her body aching for his, before he finally sighed and opened his eyes. “I can feel you thinking, Sabella.” His fingers slid thr
ough her hair before he tightened enough to pull her head back - the slight sting tweaking her desire. Lust filled his slumberous gaze. “Is there something you need to tell me?” Hoarse, his voice sent a surge of awareness through her body. She’d never actually seen his body up close and personal before. She’d heard it, felt it against her, but never witnessed with her own eyes.
“I…” She wasn’t sure what to say or do. Her body longed for more, but her brain kept screaming it was too soon. She didn’t want to rush into this, like she had with Louis. She didn’t want to walk away with regrets.
Rolling with her, his hips nestled between her thighs, he tucked her under him. Supporting his weight on his elbows, his hair fell forward, cocooning their faces. He kept his eyes locked on hers. “I’ve held you in my arms all night, tempted by every little sigh and shift you made, while fighting my need to soothe those pretty thighs open and wake you from the inside out.” A low rumble escaped him as she subconsciously lifted her hips to his at the idea of being awakened in such a way.
“Sir,…please…” She lifted her hands to his shoulders, her fingers hovered mere millimeters from his warm flesh.
“Christ, I want you, Sabella. More than you realize, but until you ask, I won’t take what you seem to want to give.” The tip of his nose brushed hers. “So do I put both of us out of our misery, or do I go take another cold shower and find my solitary release once again?”
Her lips parted on a gasp as the image of Ethan standing under the pounding water as he furiously stroked his cock until he sent creamy waves of seed against the tile filled her head. She loved watching a man masturbate, to see a wide calloused palm move up and down his length gave her an illicit thrill while giving her insights to his pleasure. And to do it in the shower while the water streamed over his tightly muscled body, only aroused her until she couldn’t stop the word from slipping free. “Shower…”