by Cara Adams
Othniel Thomas, the purchasing officer for The Dom’s Dungeon and a wolf himself, didn’t hesitate or ask any questions, simply reading the list back to him and saying, “No problem. Everything will be in room twenty-one for you at seven on Wednesday.”
Excellent. All he had to do now was some final tweaking on the scene itself.
Chapter Eight
Violet had loved their minivacation in New York. Sure, it’d been stressful for poor Raff, who had to tidy up his old life. But it’d also been freeing as now he was ready to step wholeheartedly into his new life. Likely the two-year gap between the old and the new had given him time to heal and adjust as well.
Her own new life was going well. The house renovations were well on the way to being finished and the house looked even more amazing than she’d expected. She’d insisted on having a staircase banister that a person could slide down and jump off at the end. It might not be as staid as a traditional banister, but after her experience water-sliding down the stairs, she could see the staircase as a scene of fun as well as function. She’d also already jumped on the banister and slid down it a couple of times, but only slowly and carefully. When the house was finished she’d give it a good polish so she could go fast.
Princess and Pedro were enjoying their new fields and had a real bounce in their steps now. She knew they accepted her and Raff as their family and were happy on the farm. That, in turn, made her happy, although riding them each day made her even happier.
Right now, she needed to think about what would happen when the house was finished. It wouldn’t be long and then Darcy wouldn’t be on her doorstep, day in day out. She wasn’t prepared to lose these men. The three of them belonged together and she knew they both knew it as well. But Darcy had this Dom hang-up that he had to make all the decisions and choose the right time for everything. That was fine by Violet, but only if he got a move on and did something. She’d be forced to take matters into her own hands if he didn’t say something before the building work was completed. She wasn’t going to be a demure shy wallflower sitting at home and waiting for her man to come knocking on her door.
Darcy had mentioned role-playing and Raff’s game, so she wasn’t surprised when she found them walking up the stairs to the party rooms at The Dom’s Dungeon instead of down into the dungeons. Of course, she was a little disappointed not to have the use of the dungeon equipment, but she was more than ready to play whatever game Darcy had planned.
Then, when he opened the door and she saw that it was a dungeon after all, a large dungeon, Violet shivered with lust. Her nipples hardened, her cream dripped from her pussy, and her mouth went dry with excitement. Hot damn! Both the dungeon and the role-playing. That’s better than I imagined.
Darcy pointed to three tiny, black-curtained cubicles. “You will put your costumes on over there. Violet in the first one, Raff in the middle, and then me. The game begins the moment you step out of the cubicle. It’s the same as if you stepped out of the elevator into a new time period in Raff’s game. I will be coordinating the dangers. It’s up to you both how you deal with them. You’ll never know if I am being Darcy, on your team, or stage managing the problem.”
Violet looked around the room carefully. It was mostly open space. It was a full-sized conference room, made to hold perhaps one hundred people, so it was plenty large enough for them to run and hide in. The floor was black stone and the walls were gray, made to look as if they were stone as well. The ceiling was painted black so she had no way of knowing what tricks were up there. Maybe eyebolts for chains, or beams for ropes. Or even something to do with Raff’s game. She wondered what time period Darcy had chosen. Would it be the future? An era that involved science and technology? Or something from the past like the Civil War? She had no way of telling. No, wait, her costume would give her a clue.
Violet hurried over to the tiny cubicle, stepped inside, and closed the curtain. The booth had just one wooden chair in it and on the chair was a tiny scrap of leather. It was a dress. But it would only cover her breasts, belly, and ass, not much else. It also gave her no clue as to the era the game was going to be set in. She could be a hooker in almost any era wearing such a garment. There was no footwear. Was she supposed to leave her shoes on or go barefoot?
Violet stripped out of her clothing and wiggled into the tight leather dress. Then she had to take it off again and remove her bra. Clearly there wasn’t room inside it for her breasts and her bra as well. Her panties would probably show when she moved but that was too bad. She was leaving them on. About her shoes, though, she wasn’t so sure. Finally she took them off. The floor was stone, or possible some kind of tile that looked like stone. It wasn’t as if she was going to step on a thorn and hurt herself if she was barefoot.
Violet’s body was sizzling with excitement. She pulled back the curtain and stepped out of her change room. The room was dark. Not black, more a deep purple. She looked all around but couldn’t see Darcy or Raff. Violet took several steps forward and the purple became lighter. Okay, she was meant to explore and discover her new world. Trying to look in every direction at once, Violet walked farther into the room and saw green grass and a low hill ahead of her. Happily she hurried toward the grass and the hill, but they were only projected illusions of course. A loud roar startled her and she spun around to find a dinosaur right behind her, its jaws wide open. Instinctively Violet sprinted away from it, her heart pounding.
It was as if she wasn’t in a room any more. There were no walls, just an endless vista of trees, plants, and grass wherever she looked. Fortunately the dinosaur seemed to have disappeared along with the walls.
Violet headed toward some really pretty red flowers, only to skid to a stop as a huge snake lashed at her from between the branches of the plant. Once again she whirled away, her heart pounding.
This time a man’s hard chest stopped her movement and strong arms wrapped around her. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” whispered Raff.
“I’m glad you’re here. We only get three lives and I’ve already met a dinosaur and a snake.”
“I hope you’ll meet my snake later.” Raff turned her to face him, and she became aware his costume, also leather, was even briefer than hers, only covering a very interesting portion of his anatomy. Gently she cupped his erection and stroked it. “I’m surprised you even fit it all in there.”
“I expect it’ll burst out and get me killed sooner or later. At least it will if you keep doing that.”
His hand lifted the edge of her skirt up and slid inside her panties. Violet leaned closer into Raff and lifted her face for a kiss, just as a dinosaur flew over their heads, its claws almost touching Raff’s hair.
Once again Violet screamed and pulled on Raff’s arms to drag him to the ground as she dropped down out of its reach. But Raff grabbed her hand and sprinted for a tiny pond to her right. Of course, once again it was only an illusion but there seemed to be no danger here. Violet dipped a toe into the pond and the light waves rippled around her foot. Giggling, she stepped right into the water, watching the light reflect around her legs. Her body was seized and pulled under the water as the image of a huge octopus holding her in its arms covered her body. A bell rang and a voice said, “The octopus claims your life. You have two more lives.”
Violet struggled to her feet as the images faded. “It really seemed like I was going under the water then. Those holograms or whatever they are are spookily real. Were there octopuses in the time of the dinosaurs?”
“I don’t think so, but there definitely weren’t cell phones to Google it and find out.”
Violet laughed harder and then gasped as the snake wrapped its body around Raff. She ran forward and tried to pull on the image to free him but the bell rang again. “Two more lives have been lost.”
“Hot damn. How long does each session last, Raff? At this rate I’m not going to make it to the next level.”
Before he could answer a wolf raced toward her. His tail was held high and h
is jaws were open wide. Violet stared into his eyes almost mesmerized. Whereas before, she’d screamed and run, this time there was something about the wolf. It wasn’t an illusion. It was real. His eyes. His eyes were the answer. “Goddamn it, Darcy, are you trying to scare the shit out of me?”
The wolf skidded to a stop in front of her, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Violet realized Raff hadn’t run away either. He was still standing beside her. All around them the illusions played on. Hills forming and moving, flowers blooming and disappearing. A forest appeared in front of her, behind the wolf, but Violet remained still staring at him.
She was convinced her first impression was correct. Her naming him Darcy had been instinctive, but she knew she was correct. Her brain was working now and it was making the connections her instinct had jumped to. Those dark brown eyes were Darcy’s and the wolf’s dark brown fur was the exact color of his hair. He was bigger than she might have assumed. A lot bigger than even a big dog. Almost the size of a small pony. But it was him, She had no doubts whatsoever about that.
“Did you stage this whole scene just to see if I was frightened of you? And when did you tell Raff?” she asked, hurt that Raff had known his secret when she didn’t.
“He has never told me, but I knew the first time we met. I could smell it on him.”
The wolf disappeared and the scene faded away as the regular lights came back on. Then Darcy returned wearing very short leather boy shorts.
The mechanism to make the illusion must have been in Darcy’s cubicle. “Was it all done on a computer?” asked Violet.
“Yes. It’s a scenario The Dom’s Dungeon uses sometimes for parties.”
“It’s very realistic. That damn dinosaur scared me the first time. Although octopuses—”
“I think they do that on purpose. Include things that aren’t really part of the scene as talking points, tension breakers,” said Raff.
“Speaking about talking points, Darcy Nelson, you have some explaining to do. Why didn’t you tell me you were a wolf?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew all about them?”
* * * *
Darcy watched Violet’s expression change from annoyed to thoughtful. His challenge had worked. He’d always known she was damn smart, and once again she’d proven that to him.
Then she shook her head. “No, Darcy, that excuse won’t fly. I didn’t say anything about shape-shifters because it’s not my story to tell. You want me to say I kept quiet because shifters are secretive having been maltreated in the past by some ignorant folk. That’s true but it’s not the reason. The reason is because I’ve been reared to be polite and not stick my nose into other people’s business.”
“However, you’ve just admitted you know why I didn’t talk about it. No shifter ever forgets that the world can be a cruel and harsh place for anyone who isn’t considered normal.”
“Moving right along, why tell me today? Why now?”
“Because it’s time. I want us all to be together as a family, and I think that’s what you both want as well. But to do that, there can’t be secrets between us.”
He looked nervously from Violet to Raff, and back to Violet. He was reasonably sure that they wanted it, too, but until they actually said the words he didn’t know for sure. People’s ideas could change. Especially when confronted with a large wolf.
“About fucking time. I thought you’d never get around to suggesting we move in together.”
“You know, you’re one hell of a pushy woman.” Darcy frowned at Violet, but she was grinning from ear to ear and almost bouncing up and down with excitement. Raff looked pleased as well. But he still needed to clear the air further.
“Raff, what do you mean you could smell I was a wolf? Was I wearing the wrong deodorant or something?”
Violet giggled and Raff smiled, but Raff answered seriously. “It’s just a skill I realized I had when I was traveling around. A lot of shape-shifters stay out of cities, so as I traveled through rural areas I guess I was more likely to meet up with them. Some people, usually men, just smell different from most people, and over time I understood they were shape-shifters. That’s why I knew it about you. I didn’t say anything because it was none of my business, as Violet so eloquently phrased it.”
Violet giggled again and Darcy glared at her. “When did you learn about shape-shifters?”
“I think I’ve always known. You’ve seen our family brunches. It’s always like that. My grandfather does business with several companies that are mostly shifters and a couple of werewolves are more or less family now. I think all the kids grow up understanding that shape-shifters are part of the family and we don’t talk about family business in public.”
“Violet, Raff, are you ready for us to be a family?”
“Hell, yes.”
“Yes, please. Violet, I love you so much. I always want to be with you. And, Darcy, thank you for giving me a job and supporting me through this time of transition.”
Darcy punched Raff on the arm. “If your new game takes off, maybe you’ll be the one supporting us all.”
“You’ll be able to furnish rooms for yourself in the house how you want them. Upstairs or downstairs, whatever suits you. I’m going to use that small room off the kitchen as my workroom for when I become a virtual assistant.”
Darcy stared at her. “I thought I made it plain that it’s not good for you to be home alone all day?”
“But I won’t be alone. You’ll be able to build yourself a storage barn for your equipment, with an office and whatever else you need, and then you and your crew will be in and out all day collecting things. From my new office at the back of the house, I’ll be able to see the trucks coming and going while I work, and I’ll be close to the horses as well.”
Raff laughed and Darcy shook his head. “Fucking hell you’re a pushy woman, Violet.”
“That’s not going to change. But you can spank my ass if you want to.”
And right now, that’s what he wanted to do. It was a shame to waste that tiny little dress.
He hurried back into his cubicle and turned the lighting up to the brightest setting and then flicked a few more switches. One brought some chains rattling down from the ceiling and another one opened up a hidden closet in the rear wall so the counter and drawers of toys appeared.
“Raff, why don’t you tie her up to the chains?” he said as he hurried to the rear of the room. It was amazing how much smaller it appeared once the lighting was up full. It wasn’t a small room at all, but with dim lighting and the holograms everywhere, reflecting off the walls as well as in the open part of the room, it’d seemed huge. Now it was revealed as a party room for maybe one hundred people. Spacious, but by no means unusually large.
Darcy took out the heaviest whip and cracked it through the air, making sure Violet turned around to watch him as he cracked it a second time. He wouldn’t be using such a heavy toy on her, but there was no reason for her to know that yet. His pushy, impatient woman could still be made to wait and ponder even if she didn’t realize what his techniques were at the time.
He handed Raff a blindfold to put on her, and then he went back and collected the items he would be using on her. A paddle and a much lighter whip for her ass.
“Raff, why don’t you remove her panties? She doesn’t need them anymore.”
He wiggled his fingers at Raff, knowing that the highly perceptive man would understand he should touch and tease her as he did it. Raff was an amazing partner. They understood each other so well, hardly even needing words most of the time. On the job he was always standing there to hold the end of a piece of lumber or to balance something they were working on, without being asked. Here in the dungeon he always seemed to know instinctively how far to go, how much to tempt and arouse Violet.
Yet in both arenas he allowed Darcy to be in control. Darcy’s Dom side needed that. He needed the knowledge that he was the one organizing and planning everything, that it was he who would arrange life so
that everyone else would be fulfilled and happy. Of course he got enormous pleasure from fucking Violet. But he also received a huge amount of joy from knowing his plans had resulted in other people’s pleasure. And Raff both understood and respected that.
Right now he was still almost in shock at how well his little scene, including the wolf, had played out. He’d had a sense that everything would be all right. He’d even had the feeling that perhaps Raff knew about him. But he’d had no certainty and had also thought that it might all be wishful thinking on his behalf. To know that Raff had already accepted him as a wolf, and that Violet’s family already included wolves and she knew this, was the most amazing affirmation he could ever have received. Finally they were able to bond forever. Nothing could separate them now even if Violet did intend him to move his business onto the farm and use that as an excuse for working from home.
If he was honest with himself, someone or other from his crew went back to base several times a day, and it was never at a set hour. It was when they needed something or had to replace something. In construction the unexpected was a way of life and it was much easier to just deal with things as they happened than to try to imagine every possible situation that might go wrong and cater for it. Besides, the spare gear was safer locked up in his warehouse than on the back of his truck. And likely it’d be even safer locked up in a barn on the farm where strangers driving unknown vehicles would be far more highly visible than in the warehouse district around town.
He stared over at the chains where Raff had kneeled at Violet’s feet.
* * * *
Love for Violet was almost overwhelming Raff. He’d been so incredibly lucky to find this woman, and then to meet up with Darcy. Working at the horse shelter had just been another job until he’d seen her befriending Pedro and Princess. They were lovely animals, deserving of a good home, but no one knew better than Raff that those characteristics weren’t enough to gain a horse a forever home.