“Mulher Desmazelada.”
“Wait, what? What does that mean? Say it again. I don’t understand.”
Christopher laughed. “It’s Portuguese. It basically means slut. And I told you, so don’t say I didn’t … Let’s see how good your memory is.”
The first contact against the back of her thighs was so crippling that Cate’s legs gave out and she couldn’t even scream. Her mind searched for the word, and she knew she’d never remember it. As the cane made contact again she screamed what she thought he’d said. Over and over she tried remembering what it was called. And each time she failed.
Chapter Ten
Torrance rested on his bed and stared at the pillow where Cate’s head used to lie. It’d been over three weeks since she’d left. He went through everything in a daze. He was sure she would have called by now, at least to say hello. But of course, whom was he kidding? She was probably living the high life with her MMA trainer guy. Hell, they could possibly already be in Brazil, seeing the sights together, and making love on the beach. Or whatever they did there.
Vibrations had him looking down at his phone. Doc had been texting him all day and now he was getting a bit tired of it. It was like false hope every time the damn thing went off. Come to the club. Pleeeeease.
Torrance rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath and texted back. Give me an hour. It took fifteen minutes for him to get out of bed. He wasn’t in the mood for loud music. He’d been to the club once since she’d left and it brought back so many memories of her that he could have sworn he’d seen her a hundred times that night. But it never was. It was always someone else with dark hair that looked absolutely nothing like his beautiful doll.
He forced himself from the bed and threw on a light blue button-up with some khaki pants. As he walked into the restroom to style his hair he caught the sight of the growth on his face. The light shadowing fit his mood lately. He’d gotten quite used to it.
The drive to the club was filled with only one song: Cate’s song. He knew every word by heart. It was pitiful, he knew. But he couldn’t help it. Wind whipped through the car and he pushed the accelerator as fast as possible. The Audi roared to life while he weaved in and out of traffic. As he parked, he took his time walking in.
Techno sounding music completely ruined his mood. He headed for their table and Doc slapped his shoulder. “Glad you came.” The others greeted him and he gave them a pathetic attempt of a smile. “Here, I ordered you a beer.” Doc pushed it over to him and he took a long drink. The coldness felt good, but he missed the scotch. It too reminded him of Cate.
The minutes dragged out and Torrance glanced around the club, seeing all the regulars, and a mix of kids on the dance floor. Strobe lights were in full effect and he watched them move to the motion of the music. His friends were deep in conversation and it wasn’t until someone stepped in his path that he looked up, annoyed. Christopher shook Doc’s hand. Torrance’s heart exploded. He looked at the woman hooked to a collar, and his mouth parted in shock.
Cate didn’t even look like the same person. She had to have been at least twenty pounds lighter. The black dress she wore came down to just above her knees and it hugged to her skinny body. She had to have weighed less than one hundred and thirty pounds. What had that guy been doing to her? Torrance felt his eyes lift to her face and she slowly looked at him. Her eyes were so full of pain that his breath turned ragged.
“Cate.” Torrance stood and Christopher immediately pushed her behind his back. Torrance ignored him and walked around trying to see her.
“Get the fuck away from my sub,” he said threateningly. “She doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. Do you, pet?”
“Tor!” She tried stepping around him, but he jerked the chain around her neck, hard.
“We were just on our way out. We have a plane to catch, tomorrow. Doc, it was good seeing you. Call me sometime. And get your boy in check.”
Christopher glared at him, and Torrance lunged for Cate. He grabbed her by the waist and ripped the chain from her master’s hand. Doc, Justin, and Benjamin put themselves between them. He turned to Cate. “Do you want to go back with your master? Talk to me, Cate. You don’t look happy. God, you look…” Torrance was sure he was going to be sick. “What did he do to you?”
She immediately burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck. Doc turned around and glanced back at them. His eyes got big as he looked toward their legs. He pointed and Torrance pulled her arms off and spun her around. He lifted up her dress a few inches and felt a rage like he’d never experienced before.
Christopher’s eyes glared at him and Torrance lost it. Before he knew what he was doing, he slammed her master on his back and started punching him in his face, repeatedly. Screams broke out and people ran around hectically, but he could only see one thing: The man who’d hurt his Cate. And that shit was intolerable.
These types of men were the ones who gave Doms a bad name, and Torrance was all too willing to give him a taste of his own medicine. “You fucking piece of shit. I trusted you to take her! I let her go, and this is what you do? She was mine! Is mine.” He gripped Christopher’s bloody face and made him look into his eyes. “If you ever come looking for her, I’ll fucking kill you. Do you understand me?” He pushed his hands against the guy’s face harder. “Answer me!”
The bouncers pulled him off, but he wasn’t anywhere near ready to stop. They dragged him toward the entrance as Cate ran beside them. When he got outside, he pulled her to his car. He wanted her away from that monster as soon as possible. Torrance took one look at the collar around her neck and unbuckled it, throwing it out of the window. He picked up his phone and called his building, alerting them that no one was allowed to come to his floor. Period.
The car started and he took off fast, heading back toward the heart of the city. “Cate.” He looked at her face and she immediately hugged herself around his arm. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have picked you up. I told you that.”
Sobs filled the car’s interior and he thought it the most heart-wrenching sound in the world.
For minutes she cried, and he let her. “I would have called if I had a way. My cell was destroyed, and he didn’t have a house phone. I once tried to use his phone, but he woke up and caught me. God, Tor, It was horrible. But I stuck it out and did my best. I was so good for him that I was able to convince him to take us out, tonight. I was hoping you would be here.”
He brought his hand up from the arm she was holding, and he held her head. “You’ll never have to worry about anything again. I’m sorry about what happened to you. I know that doesn’t mean shit. I should have stopped you from going. God, why didn’t I? I wanted to. So fucking badly. But I knew how much you wanted to go.”
Cate lifted her head and looked at him. “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted me to stay? I would have, in a heartbeat. I was hoping you’d say something. Anything.”
Torrance pulled into his parking garage and threw the car in park. “I didn’t know.” He shook his head. “Cate, I thought you wanted a master.”
“I did, Tor. I wanted you. Permanently.”
His fingers trailed the length of her face. She was still there, just different. The change was so drastic that he couldn’t get over the shock. “Cate, what happened to you, there?”
The fact that her head was down aggravated him. “Cate, look at me. I am not that piece of shit. From now on you’re not allowed to bow your head. You look into my face. Now tell me.”
“What do you want to know, Torrance? I practically lived in the gym from sunrise to sunset. I got pushed every day to go until I collapsed on the floor. Then I was given a choice. Continue or be punished. After the first time, I always continued to the best of my ability.”
He eased back the length of her dress until her black lace panties came into view. Bruises littered the skin, even in the front. Torrance closed his eyes. “Caned?”
“How did you know?”
“I’ve seen
it before.” He opened the door and Cate got out and met him behind the car. As they walked to the elevator, he held her close. “Did he do anything else to you?” The question made him sick to ask, but he needed to know.
She shook her head as they stepped onto the elevator. “It wasn’t about that with him. Sex wasn’t involved at all. To him I was dirty because of you. He made me wash like crazy. During my punishments he spoke in Portuguese. His favorite thing to call me was slut. He was all about trying to break me completely. But I didn’t break, Tor. I wouldn’t let him have that power. I planned, and I convinced him we needed a night out before we left for Brazil. And it worked.”
“You did good. I’m glad you made it to the club. Back to me.” They arrived at his entrance and Torrance didn’t let go of her until he had her sitting on the couch. He poured her a glass of scotch and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” Cate’s head went down, and she caught herself and brought it back up. She’d been the same way when he’d first met her. He knew it’d take a few weeks, but Torrance was sure he could bring her around again.
The scotch tasted so good as he looked at her. There were so many things he wanted to say, and yet, no one thing came to mind. He was thinking too much and he knew it. It was just hard to believe that his Cate was sitting right here, next to him again. He pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly. Hadn’t he wanted to do that for weeks now? “You’ll stay with me, right? I mean I don’t want you to go anywhere else. I want you here. With me.”
She placed the glass on the coffee table and threw her arms around him. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you.” She spun in his lap and straddled his hips. The brush of her lips had him kissing her deeply. The happiness he felt was indescribable. He just hated that it’d come a price. A bad Dom could ruin a sub forever. Could Cate come around to his lifestyle, again? He was hoping that she wasn’t through with it completely.
Torrance broke away from their kiss and searched her eyes. “Cate, I need you to be honest with me. When it comes to having a master again, are you against it completely, now?”
Her finger pressed against his lips. “I trust you.”
Those three words sent his heart racing. Torrance stood and carried her to the bedroom. As he pulled off her dress, he took in the bruises covering her legs, ass, and back. It made him sick. He laid her down and began kissing every single inch of her marred skin. “I’d never hurt you, you know that, right?”
“Yes.”
He paused and looked up. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear earlier. Tell me where you are.”
Cate smiled. “Under your roof.”
“That’s right. And who’s the master?”
“You are, Torrance.”
He leaned forward and ran his tongue over her lips. “And when I ask you a question, how do you address me?”
Cate’s eyebrow rose. “I don’t think I got asked to be your submissive, yet. I’m still waiting.”
A growl came from Torrance’s mouth and he laughed. “You can be stubborn when you want to be.” He sucked her nipple into his mouth and she moaned. “Cate, I would love it if you would be my sub.”
“For thirty days?” She looked at him innocently, and he shook his head.
“No, for a lot longer than that. We’ll have to see how things play out, but possibly forever. At least on my end.”
A smile crossed her face. “I like the sound of that…master.”
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The 30 Day Sub Page 8