“Her safe word doesn’t mean shit to me if I don’t want it to. I can do wh—”
“Raise the crop near her again and you’ll be leaving in an ambulance.”
I couldn’t see who was talking because I was letting my hair form a curtain around my face as I tried to catch my breath. Plus, I was hoping to hide some of my shame by remaining as inconspicuous as possible. Yeah, my naked ass was still on display, but that was nothing in the grand scheme of things.
“You think you’re a big man?” Josh cackled. “Obviously not man enough if you’re resorting to playing with boys. What? Can’t get a woman to take it in the ass for you?”
Christ Almighty. Someone needed to shut Josh up before he said something—
A big, sturdy hand was suddenly on my shoulder and then my hair was being brushed back from my face as warm breath fanned my right cheek. Instinct had me turning my head the other way, not wanting this person to see those damned tears that had fallen.
“Let’s get you up from here.”
I racked my brain to tie the voice to the speaker. It wasn’t no-show Chad, so it had to be one of my two white knights. I was pretty sure it was the first guy, only his tone was much more controlled than before.
Hell, it could’ve been a third guy. I wasn’t sure.
Not that it mattered.
At this point, any good Samaritan would do.
Two
ADDISON
AS I GOT TO MY feet, I purposely kept my gaze down and my face screened by my hair. The last thing I wanted was to see the scornful looks being shot my way, so I avoided gazing at our audience, keeping my eyes raptly focused on the floor.
“Can you walk?” the deep, soothing voice asked.
Well, of course I could walk. It wasn’t like my legs were…
As soon as I was upright, my knees buckled and those warm hands were wrapping a blanket around me as they steadied me on my feet. The pain across my back and ass flashed bright and hot, making me light-headed.
Fine. Maybe I needed a minute or two to get my bearings.
“Thank you…for the blanket.” It helped to shield my nakedness, but not my shame.
“You’re more than welcome, precious,” he replied, pulling me in tight to his side.
Something in my chest squeezed at the sympathetic tone and his use of a pet name.
Thankfully, my tears had dried up, but if he kept that up, I feared they would be back with a vengeance. I wasn’t a crier and I generally had a pretty high threshold for pain. I seemed to have failed on both counts tonight.
“Fuck this shit,” Josh barked, his feet coming into my line of sight. “Look at me, Addy.”
Forcing my head up, I met the icy chill in his green eyes. I suddenly felt like an idiot, as though it was my fault Josh was an asshole.
“See what you did?” he spat. “You fucking ruined everything.”
The arm around my shoulder tightened, but I didn’t look over at my rescuer. I couldn’t. I damn sure didn’t want to see his pity.
“What the fuck’re you looking at?” Josh asked the man at my side.
He didn’t say a word, but then Josh’s attention drifted over my right shoulder.
“I won’t tell you again. You do not have permission to speak to my sub.” It was the voice of the second guy, the calmer one.
“You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do,” Josh declared.
“As a matter of fact—”
“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Josh snapped. “You can fucking have her. She’s a pathetic piece of shit who ain’t worth the time it takes to get her to come.”
Keeping my eyes pinned on Josh’s face, I saw the hatred reflected there. My heart was hollow from the hell he’d already put me through, so his words simply bounced off. As for making me orgasm, the man hadn’t achieved that task in months.
Josh sneered down at me, then back over my shoulder. “For that matter, you should probably think about giving her a job and a place to live, too.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “As of right now, she’s no longer my problem.”
He was dead serious.
His attention reverted to over my shoulder as he continued. “You’re in luck, though. She’s more than happy to suck dick and sleep on the porch just to have a place to live. So you won’t be giving up much.”
“Josh, please don’t do this.” I hated that I had to beg, but I had no other place to go. And the thought of living on the streets again… It terrified me.
“You heard me,” Josh roared. “I’m fucking done with your shit.”
“This needs to be moved upstairs.”
And then there were more.
Master Edge appeared, his eyes concerned as he glanced down at me briefly before turning his attention to Josh.
Just great. Like I needed anyone else to witness my true and utter humiliation.
For all intents and purposes, Master Edge was the resident Dom. He was the man who ran Dichotomy when Master Ramsey wasn’t in town, which was pretty much always since Master Ramsey spent most of his time at his club in Dallas. When he wasn’t in Hollywood making movies, that was.
“He was just leaving,” the man who’d intervened said. “Pup, please escort her to an aftercare room.”
“Of course, Mr. Parker,” the man with his arm around my shoulders agreed. “Come on, precious girl,” he said softly. “I want someone to look at those marks.”
I allowed him to urge me forward, my legs sturdier than before. “I’m fine,” I insisted, only I wasn’t fine.
Actually, I was so far from fine I didn’t even know how to spell it anymore.
A sudden haze clouded my vision and I realized I was on the verge of tears again. I forced them back and took a deep breath, praying it didn’t come out as a sob. I damn sure did not want to let these people see me cry.
I was led into one of the smaller aftercare rooms—some had beds, this one did not—and my white knight remained with me, his body warm at my side. I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid him, hoping he’d get me settled, then leave me alone. I was embarrassed. As far as I was concerned, I’d earned a little privacy.
Plus, I wanted to be oblivious to everything and everyone. The fact that they’d seen me at my worst was enough. I wasn’t sure I could even look them in the eye.
“Can I get you anything?”
I shook my head, keeping my back to him and a death grip on the blanket.
I had no idea who my rescuer was, but I was sure, if I looked into his face, I would recognize him. I’d been a member of this club since they opened, as well as several others in the area. I wasn’t new to the scene, although Josh was. He’d insisted that this was his calling after he met me nine months ago. Not that I’d believed him, but since submission was something I needed in order to function, I’d given in. Probably a little too quickly.
The man’s warm hand was on my shoulder, and this time when he turned me, I didn’t fight him off, but I did keep my head down.
“What’s your name?” he asked, his finger curling under my chin, urging me to look at him.
I allowed him to guide me, and when I opened my eyes, I realized two things instantly.
First, he wasn’t a boy, as Josh had so snidely referred to him. Not by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I pegged him to be in his late thirties.
And secondly, my white knight…wasn’t white. He had flawless mocha-brown skin with the most intensely beautiful light brown eyes that appeared gold against his dark, perfectly symmetrical face. His eyebrows were thick slashes over his eyes, his nose was wide and damn near perfect. His lips… Oh, he had the sexiest lips I’d ever seen on a man.
I stopped ogling his mouth and lifted my gaze. My heart stuttered briefly from the intensity in his golden eyes. They were like sunbeams coming out of his face, and for the life of me, I couldn’t look away.
That sensual mouth curled up, making the corners of his eyes crinkle.
Right.
He had asked my
name.
“Addis—” Damn, I sounded like I’d gargled sand. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Addison Hayes.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Addison Hayes.”
I couldn’t seem to look away from him. He was beautiful and, yes, familiar.
“My name’s Ben,” he said by way of introduction.
“Benjamin Snowden.” Yeah. I knew who he was.
His smile widened and perfectly straight white teeth flashed back at me. “You can call me Master Snowden while we’re here in the club.”
Master?
That would’ve been easier to do had I not been privy to what had just gone down. Considering the other guy had called Ben his submissive…I was so freaking confused.
Plus, you know, there was the collar around his neck and all.
However, it wasn’t my place to contradict him, so I nodded, unsure what to say.
And then, the world started to close in on me. Pain flashed on my backside and I remembered everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes. Suddenly, those stupid tears were forming again. Before I could force them back, Master Snowden pulled me into his arms and I rested my face against his very smooth, very muscled, very bare chest while I held the blanket securely around me.
His big hand cradled the back of my head and the urge to sob was so great I almost gave in to it.
“It’s all right, precious. I won’t let him hurt you again.”
He obviously misunderstood what the problem was, but I didn’t bother to correct him.
I wasn’t worried about Josh. I’d known from the beginning that the guy could take me or leave me. It wasn’t like we were in love or anything. And based on the way things had gone down, no way was he going to stick around. He was an asshole of a different breed. I doubted there was a gentlemanly bone in his body.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, my throat tight. “Really.”
“I’m not leaving you alone.” His voice was soothing. “I’ll wait with you until we can get one of the medics in here.”
“I don’t need one,” I assured him, mumbling against his ridiculously nice chest. “Really. He didn’t break the skin.” At least I didn’t think he had.
There was a rough growl that emanated from deep within him and I found myself pulling back so I could look up into his face again. Beautiful—although suspicious—brown eyes peered down at me.
“Who is he to you?”
I sighed, dropping my head and letting Master Snowden’s heartbeat sound against my ear. “He was my boyfriend.”
Not to mention, my landlord and my employer.
Not anymore.
I was now single, homeless, and jobless. The former didn’t bother me in the least, but the latter were going to be a problem.
He tilted my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “Was?”
I nodded.
“Then I take it you won’t be needing this anymore.” He fingered the cheap collar around my neck. It was an actual dog collar that Josh had bought online, insisting I wear it while we were at the club. Well, he’d wanted me to wear it all the time, but I had refused. I’d also refused to allow him to put it on me.
“Nope. Won’t be needing it,” I agreed, but before I could reach for it, he did the honors.
The sound of the metal buckle hitting the metal trash can echoed in the small space. Oddly, it was a satisfying sound that made me feel lighter in the midst of this mess that had become my life.
Surprisingly, Master Snowden didn’t criticize me. I’d had plenty of that over the years. Mostly from foster parents and social workers, a few times from the people who ran the shelters I’d had to call home from time to time. When it came to BDSM, there were a lot of misconceptions and inaccurate assumptions. I’d never hidden my involvement in the scene, and no one seemed to understand my needs.
Not that I didn’t deserve some of their skepticism. My recent choices were certainly questionable. Example A: Josh Tudor. The biggest mistake I’d made since I’d decided not to go to college on another man’s dime.
Okay, maybe the whole bypassing higher education wasn’t really a mistake. Being a submissive was one thing. Being some man’s whore was something entirely different. And Walter had wanted me to be his whore, I knew. I may not have had anything to my name, but I had my limits. Sleeping with a man more than twice my age was certainly not something I was willing to do.
I also had my pride.
Although it was a little bruised at the moment.
“Can you sit down?” Master Snowden asked.
I mentally took stock of my pain, then nodded. “I think so.”
He surprised me when he dragged over a chair, then took a seat in it before gently settling me onto his lap. For a brief moment, I considered pulling away, but his warm, hard body felt safe, and right then I needed to feel safe.
Master Snowden was extremely careful as he wrapped his arms around me, keeping the blanket securely in place.
“For the next few minutes, I want you to focus on breathing,” he instructed, his dark, rich voice soft, soothing. There was no accent that I could detect, and his words were clear and concise.
“Breathing?”
He chuckled softly. “Yes. Breathe. In and out. Without talking.”
I wasn’t sure if he knew what I needed or if it was a safe bet considering we were in a BDSM club, but I was grateful for his dominance.
While I relaxed against him, Master Snowden’s thumb traced circles over the blanket on my shoulder, his other hand resting on his thigh. I could tell he was careful not to touch me in a way I might deem inappropriate. It said a lot about his character. I’d been in plenty of clubs where Doms believed they had free rein to touch as they pleased.
“Close your eyes,” he insisted.
How he knew they were open was beyond me, but I did as he instructed. I relaxed, listening to his even breaths, letting the warmth of his body and the security of his arms knock back some of the disappointment from earlier.
Disappointment in Josh.
Disappointment in myself.
Hell, disappointment in life in general.
I managed to sync my breaths with Master Snowden’s and focused on that, clearing my mind as best I could.
It lasted until I heard the door open.
“How is she?”
I instantly recognized his voice as the man who had confronted Josh after Master Snowden had. Thanks to deductive reasoning, I didn’t even have to look at his face to know my second white knight was none other than Justin Parker.
Although, Master Snowden’s whole you can call me Master but I’m really a sub thing was still puzzling me.
“She says she doesn’t need medical attention,” Master Snowden replied.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Of course he would.
Master Parker was known for his iron-clad control and his inherent need to be the alpha Dom in the room. I’d been working and playing at Dichotomy long enough to know the club’s Masters. Maybe not personally, but I knew their qualities.
I met the ocean-blue eyes of my blond-haired savior. He was eyeing me speculatively, studying my face with an expression wrought with concern and more than a little challenge.
“I am really confused right now,” I announced, my eyes still locked with his.
“Is that so?” A devilish smirk curled the edges of his luscious mouth. “Well, while I check to ensure you don’t need medical attention, why don’t you enlighten us.” His tone was nothing short of a command, daring me to defy him.
I wanted to, simply because I was feeling a tad rebellious.
I couldn’t seem to look away from him, even when his gaze dropped and he lifted the edge of the blanket to peer at my left thigh. His hand caressed me softly, but not in a sexual manner.
“That one looks all right,” he said absently. “I want to see the other side.”
With Master Snowden’s help, I got to my feet, holding the blanket close. While I endure
d Master Parker’s assessment, I glanced over at the collar around Master Snowden’s neck.
“If you’re both Doms…” I frowned. “Why on earth are you wearing a collar?”
“Fashion statement,” Master Snowden quipped.
I rolled my eyes. “I highly doubt that.” Turning my attention to Master Parker, who was surveying one of the welts on the back of my thigh, I cleared my throat. “Pretty nice ass, huh? I do a lot of squats.”
It was a lie. I didn’t work out. In fact, I was on the skinny side with boobs that could hardly pass as boobs. However, my butt…it wasn’t all that bad.
Master Parker’s eyes slid up to meet mine and his smile was blinding. Sexy, mischievous.
Unimpressed.
“He didn’t break the skin,” Master Parker noted. “But I suspect you’ll have a few bruises come morning.” His finger traced a particularly sensitive spot and I hissed.
Two sets of eyes shot up to my face, but I pretended not to notice.
When Master Parker seemed satisfied with his perusal, the blanket was put back into place and he stood to his full height. He was so tall I was forced to crane my neck just to maintain eye contact.
“Your friend has been escorted off the premises,” he informed me, his tone lacking any real emotion. “He’s been forbidden to come back.”
Just lovely. I had no idea how I was going to patch things up with Josh this time.
“Sit,” Master Snowden ordered, reaching up and pulling me back down onto his lap.
I wanted to push away from him, but I refrained. Mostly because he smelled delicious and his arms felt ridiculously good when they were wrapped around me. I knew he was merely trying to be nice and I was still a little too stunned to fight him.
“Has my membership been revoked as well?” I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had.
Although I wasn’t a paying member of Dichotomy, I did have rights at the club. Since I personally couldn’t afford the astronomically exorbitant fee, I worked as a volunteer two days a week so I had permission to play here. It was through a very generous submissive training program that Master Ramsey had set up when he opened the doors to the public.
Master Parker’s blond eyebrows dipped low. “No. You’re not held accountable for his actions. However, I have signed you up to attend Master Ramsey’s monthly class.”
Their Rebellious Submissive (Office Intrigue Book 3) Page 2