Obsession: Darkness Falls

by Ivory Quinn

  “You actually cooked? You? Not the housekeeper?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised.” He sounded affronted. “I’m not entirely useless in the kitchen.”

  “I never thought you were.” She fibbed brightly. “That’s a lovely surprise to come home to. Thank you.”

  “You might want to try it before you thank me.” He said drily, poking fun at her disbelief. They sat down to plates of pasta with spinach and seafood in cream sauce, and it was actually delicious, even if the pasta was a little overcooked. By the time they got around to clearing up and loading the dishwasher, Noelle was much happier and more relaxed.

  “We can go to the playroom.” She said quietly, closing the door of the washer. “I’m ready.”

  “Are you sure?” He eyed the empty bottle of wine they’d shared over dinner. “Aren’t you tired?”

  “I’m feeling much better.” She smiled and stepped in towards him for a hug. “You wouldn’t have asked if you didn’t want to go in, so we’ll go.”

  “Okay.” He kissed the top of her head and released her. “Go and do what you need to do and I’ll meet you in there in ten minutes.”

  When she entered the playroom, he was repositioning the padded horse underneath a set of pulleys on the ceiling. Nervously, she eyed all the neat coils of rope lined up on the horse.

  “That looks like it’s going to get complicated.” She admitted.

  “It is.” He pulled a lever that dropped the box back to the floor, retracting the wheels. “Take your clothes off and come here.” She did as he asked, folding her clothes and leaving them in the customary place, atop the drawers. They’d gone back to classical music today and, as he began looping the rope around her, she let herself drift away in the sensation and the sound.

  Thoroughly securing her torso, with the knots at her back, he made her lie face down on the horse and began working on her legs, binding them so she was open and exposed to him. She struggled against the ropes a little when he pulled against the winch and she rose clear off the horse.

  “Settle down, Kitten.” He snapped. “You don’t want me to drop you.”

  “Sorry, it just felt weird.” She regained her sense of equilibrium, even though she was swinging gently from side to side.

  “Is it uncomfortable anywhere?” He tested the ropes, pulling and releasing them with deft fingers. “Is your weight distributed evenly?”

  “I feel fine.” A hand landed across her backside and she flinched. “I feel fine, Master.” She whispered.

  “That’s better.” Finished testing, he moved back behind her as she watched him in the mirrors. Facing dead on, she couldn’t see all of him, but when his head lowered between her legs, she had a split second to tense before his tongue drove hot into her core.

  “Oh my God!” She quivered in the ropes, using her hands to steady herself on the horse beneath her. He took her to the edge and then stood up, meeting her gaze in the mirror.

  “Tell me you want me, Kitten.” His voice was hoarse and she swallowed.

  “I want you Master.”

  “Well...good things come to those who wait.” He winked at her shocked face in the mirror, and then simply walked out.

  “Not again!” Noelle let her head hang down. Whose stupid idea was it to come in here again? Oh yeah, hers. Idiot.

  The first three times he came back, she bit her lip and refused to give him the satisfaction of begging, but she was confused. He hadn’t given her anything to beg for. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She didn’t know why she was being teased so mercilessly.

  On the fourth occasion, he got her all fired up and then came round to watch her face as she struggled against the ropes. “This isn’t fair, Master!” She snapped. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m trying to make you understand how you make me feel.” He shrugged, leaning back against the mirror.

  “I don’t tease you like this!” She protested.

  “Not sexually maybe, but you’re still pushing me away, Kitten. You’ll tell me you love me, but you won’t admit you’ve moved in. You get mad at me when I ask you to marry me.” He shook his head. “Here you are, this amazing woman just parading around in front of me, and you won’t let me take a firm hold of you.”

  “But that’s crazy!” She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Nobody gets married that quickly.”

  He pushed away from the mirror and came towards her, sliding a hand beneath her chin to caress her breasts. “What part of our relationship would you class as normal?” He asked reasonably, rolling a nipple between expert fingers. “I want you, Kitten. All of you. Forever.”

  “This isn’t fair.” She tried to catch his hand to stop him distracting her, but he moved too fast. Her eyes followed him in the mirror as he moved back behind her. “I warned you, Gabriel. You can’t use sex as a weapon. You can’t force me into something I don’t want to do by driving me crazy. It’s not right.”

  “What are you going to do about it?” She jerked as he slid a testing finger into her, and made a soft sound of pleasure as he withdrew it and massaged her clit. “Kitten, I asked you a question.” He persisted mockingly, knowing he was raising the fire within her again. “What are you going to do about it?

  Drawing a deep breath, she tried to force herself to concentrate. “Gabriel, if you try and use sex to force the issue, I’m going to safe-word. You don’t leave me any choice. I won’t let you twist what we have like this.”

  “Then I guess I should give up, huh?” She barely had time to brace herself as he thrust into her, crying out as he stretched her unprepared body. It was disorientating, hanging so that she rocked back and forth as he powered into her. She tightened her hold on the horse, afraid she was going to get sea sick.

  When he’d found a relentless rhythm, he ran a hand over her rear and slipped his thumb into the crack, pressing cold gel into her tight hole. She shivered on the edge between pleasure and shame, as he worked one finger in and then two. When he added a third, she stopped watching and let her head hang down. Her skin was glowing with mingled shame and heat. It was good and it was wrong and she hated him for making her question herself, even as she loved him for doing it.

  When he stopped fucking her though, her head jerked up. What was he doing? The answer came seconds later, when he withdrew his fingers from her arse and began pushing his cock in instead.

  “Am I being punished?” She blurted out and he stilled.

  “No Kitten. You aren’t being punished.”

  “So why...why are you...” She swallowed.

  “Because I am Master in this room, Kitten, and you are mine. I may have let you speak freely just now, but I will take what I want.” He slid in another inch. “And this is what I want.”

  “Please don’t.” She couldn’t stop the words tumbling out and he stilled again.

  “Are you questioning my authority?”

  “I...no...I...”

  “For that, Kitten, the game has changed.” He eased back. “I’m not going to fuck you. You’re going to fuck me. Use your arms. Push yourself back onto my cock.” Her arms trembled. “Kitten...” His voice was a low, warning growl. “Do it.”

  “I can’t.” She was shaking all over now.

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Both.” She whispered.

  “Explain.” There was no comfort in his voice, no sympathy.

  “Because I don’t like it. And when it’s you doing it to me, I can justify it. I just can’t make myself do something I don’t enjoy. I have nothing to hide behind and I can’t willingly cause myself pain.”

  “I don’t know what’s worse, Kitten. The fact that you’re lying to me, or the fact that you’re lying to yourself.”

  “I’m not lying.”

  “You want this, Kitten. You come for me when I do it. If you don’t know you’re lying to yourself, that makes it even worse.” Strong hands grasped her hips and he pushed all the way into her, wrenching a cry of protest from her throat. “Will you defy me
on this?” He asked, his voice deceptively soft.

  “I’m not defying you. I just...I can’t.”

  “I will punish you, Kitten.” He warned.

  “Please...Master, don’t.”

  “There is no mercy in this room.” He said implacably. “Take over, or I will punish you.”

  “Then punish me.” She hung her head. “I can’t do it.”

  “So be it.” He set up the same hard rhythm as before, setting her swinging back and forth with the force of his thrusts. When the first stinging slap landed on her back, she jerked in the ropes, struggling against them. “You earned this.” He told her calmly. “Take a deep breath. Let it flow through you and accept what’s about to happen.” Another spank landed in a different place and she tried to breathe through it, even as the tears filled her eyes. When the third one landed, she cried out and then he pressed a vibrator to her clit.

  “No!” She fought wildly as he continued to spank her and her body betrayed her, helplessly riding the pleasure to the forgiveness of all else.

  “Come for me, Kitten.” Slap. “Give in to this.”

  “No!” Helplessly she writhed as he continued with his assault on her senses, feeling her body wind tighter and tighter.

  “Give in to it, Kitten.” He pushed her further and further, pain and pleasure becoming an overwhelming mess in her mind. As her body convulsed in orgasm, she closed her eyes and began to fly.

  Chapter fifteen

  “What the fuck were you thinking?!” Noelle surfaced slowly as Jax roared into the room.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Gabriel sounded terrified.

  “You’ve beaten her right into subspace. You’re a fucking idiot. This is Noelle. Noelle! How could you? She’s a school teacher. Not one of your pathetic little pain sluts.” Arms slid around her. “Noelle honey?” Fingers feathered across her face and she smiled, instinctively leaning into the sensation. “Sweetie can you hear me?” She tried to say something, but her lips seemed to belong to someone else. “She’s too deep. I’m taking her to mine.” There was a jerk and Jax growled. “Don’t you fucking dare!” He snarled. “You did this to her.” The ground fell away and Noelle was flying again.

  The next time she surfaced, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.

  “Are you awake?” Jax sounded exhausted and she startled, realising she was lying cuddled up in his lap on a sofa she’d never seen before.

  “Where am I?” She blinked. “What happened?”

  “You’re at my house.” He explained slowly. “How lucid are you?”

  “Lucid?” She blinked. What the hell had happened? “I’m okay. Tired and confused, but okay.”

  “Then we need to get you in the bath, before you stiffen up and bruise. At least your words aren’t slurring any more. I’ll explain everything when we’re there.” She winced as he shifted her to the side, gasping as pain flared in her thighs. “I’m sorry.” He moved as gently as he could. “I’ll get you some aspirin too.”

  He returned five minutes later and roused her from her doze. “Thanks.” She accepted the tablets and glass he held out to her, painfully aware that she appeared to be naked underneath the blanket.

  “Don’t try and get up.” He easily lifted her, the cords in his neck standing out as he brought her up to his chest. “This is going to be slightly awkward, but I need to be with you. It’s too soon to let you bathe by yourself. I don’t want you to drown.”

  Certain she was misunderstanding him, she frowned. “You want to watch me bathe?”

  He blew out a laugh, setting her bouncing against his chest. “Believe me, I’d rather bathe with you under any circumstances other than these.” He pushed through into a bathroom filled with steam. “Let go of the blanket. You can trust me Noelle. I just want to do what’s right for you.”

  Uncertainly she hesitated, but the look in his eyes was genuine concern and she reluctantly released her grip on the blanket. With clinical detachment, he removed it from around her without jostling her too much and then lowered her into the warm water. She cried out as her skin flared in agony.

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t make it any cooler.” Distressed, he set her down in the bathtub. “It’ll ease off soon, just hang in there.” He scooped a hand under her leg and massaged her calf. “You’re going to be sore for a few days.” He warned, soothing the ache out of the muscle before he moved onto the other one.

  “What happened?” She ached everywhere, despite the magic his hands were working on her legs.

  “Gabriel got carried away. He pushed you into subspace.”

  “What’s subspace?” She stared at him as he tried to think of a way to explain it.

  “It’s pretty rare. It’s a transcendental state some submissives get into during a session. I don’t understand the exact mechanics of it, but from what I’ve read, the mix of pain and pleasure and fear floods the body with various chemicals and you end up totally stoned.”

  “Stoned?” She repeated incredulously. “I was stoned?”

  “Noelle, you’ve been out of it for almost four hours.” He gave her a rueful smile. “You talked a lot of gibberish.” Her face flamed with embarrassment and he looked away, giving her a chance to gather herself. “What’s the last thing you remember?” He moved on to her thighs and she closed her eyes, leaning back against the end of the tub.

  “I was flying.” She said softly. “I remember the pain, and then he made me come and I flew.”

  “That sounds like subspace alright.” He shook his head.

  “How do you know so much about this stuff?” She asked, opening her eyes again, and he flinched. “Are you into control too?”

  “No.” His bitter smile was twisted and self-deprecating. “I’m just a cog in the wheel of the dark side of the industry. I was so young back then. So hungry for the money and the fame.” He shook his head. “Gabriel’s always been a little wild with his women. When we were young it wasn’t so bad, but then he found a sub who got off on pain and, once he got a taste for it, he got out of control. There was an incident...” He trailed off with a shudder. “Anyway, word came from the record company. We took him in hand, or we lost everything. We couldn’t contain him, so we enabled him. I got into the fetish culture to source subs for him. I’d be blind not to pick up a few tips along the way.”

  “So he called you when I lost it?”

  “He panicked. He was only a step away from calling an ambulance.” He made a sound of disgust. “After all this time he still hasn’t learned. He should have recognised this for what it was.” Checking the flex of her legs, he turned the hot tap on to warm up the water and moved on to her arms. “He wouldn’t accept training to become a proper dom. He’s too damaged.”

  “Thank you. For coming to help me, I mean.” The words tasted bitter. She hated being helpless, but she meant it.

  “Don’t mention it. You’ll have to stay here for a few days. I can’t let you go home.”

  “Why?” Panic flooded her as she wondered if the press had got hold of the story.

  “Because you might well go into a subdrop and you need to be around someone if that happens.”

  “What’s a subdrop?” Feeling stupid for not knowing any of this stuff, she let him rotate her shoulder gently.

  “Again, I don’t know the mechanics of it, but sometimes when subs come down from subspace they crash real hard. It can manifest as anything. Full body shakes. Crying. Feelings of depression. Aches and pains.”

  “When will it happen?” She asked, wondering if she was already suffering the aches and pains.

  “The most I’ve heard was about four days after a session.” He admitted, turning the hot tap off again. “Can you call in sick on Monday?”

  “If I need to.” The reality of what had happened suddenly hit her. “I can’t believe I let him do this to me.”

  “Why didn’t you safe word?” His voice sounded husky, as though he was holding back emotion, and she shrugged, sending pain all across her shoulde
rs.

  “I don’t know. I get so confused. He’s so overwhelming and even though I knew I didn’t deserve to be punished, I didn’t feel like I had the right to stop him. We argued. I accused him of using sex as a weapon. He got angry and I was scared.”

  “I know it’s none of my business, but you need to get this under control Noelle.” He left her arms and looked her straight in the eye. “If you don’t, he’ll get carried away again.”

  “It is your business when you have to come and rescue me.” She hung her head in defeat. “I’m done Jax. I can’t go back to him after this. I’ll lose myself.”

  “Okay.” His voice held no judgement, no pity. It was just concern. “How are you feeling now?”

  “Like I got hit by a bus. What did he do to me?”

  “Part of it was the restraints; part of it was the spanking. He really went to town on you. The problem with subspace is that it massively decreases your sensitivity to pain. When you didn’t respond to his smacks, he ramped it up, not realising you were flying.”

  She shook her head slowly. “This is too much to take in right now.” She admitted. “I’m so tired. I don’t even know what to think.”

  “Then we’ll get you to bed. Do you think you can stand?”

  “I’m not sure.” She replied honestly. He pulled the plug, rose to his full height and reached down to help her up, steadying her as her abused muscles screamed in protest.

  “We okay?” He asked, ducking his chin to look into her eyes.

  “Peachy.” She gritted out through clenched teeth.

  “That’s my girl.” Amused, he grabbed a towel and briskly rubbed her down, trying not to put too much pressure on the reddest parts of her skin.

  “I can’t believe I’m naked in front of you. This is so embarrassing. God, I’m so sorry.” She felt afire with shame.

  “Hey, don’t be like that.” He threw the towel in the laundry basket. “If this were under happier circumstances, this would be the best day of my life.” Before she could protest, he lifted her warm, damp body out of the bath and carried her through to the bedroom. “If we were in a relationship, I’d make you sleep naked with me. Skin to skin contact is the best way to prevent subdrop. Since we’re not, I’m guessing you’d be more comfortable in a T-shirt?”