Feeling as if the world was closing in around him, he tried to placate the woman. “Please don’t fight because of me.” Holding his hands up, he backed away. “I’m not worth it.”
Steph froze and stared at him. “Whoa, we’re not fighting. Calm down, babe.” The endearment rolled off her tongue, but felt like a spear stabbing him in the back. Allison had called him ‘babe’ in the same cajoling tone before she turned ugly and abusive.
“I gotta go.” He turned and fled back up the path. He didn’t get more than half a dozen steps when a strong arm wrapped around his waist, halting his flight. He instinctively kicked back at his attacker. But no matter how much he struggled, the arm remained firm. Eventually the soothing tones of Nicholaus’s voice penetrated his fear.
“Shhh, it’s all right. You need to relax. We’re not going to hurt you.”
“Let me go…please.” Tears threatened to run down his face. How had he thought he was ready for this? All he wanted was the safety of his bedroom, where no one could hurt him.
“I will when I know you’ll walk calmly back up the path. With this uneven ground and with your still unsteady knee, I don’t want you to re-injure it because you’re running from us. Our intention was never to scare you, Zeb.”
He took deep gasping breaths, his heart still racing, but what Nicholaus was saying made sense. He was just starting to be able to move along with some mobility. He didn’t want to backslide. “I promise I’ll walk.”
A low rumble against the top of Zebadiah’s head, was the only indication Nicholaus had heard him. Then Stephanie appeared in his line of vision, her face impassive. He started to struggle again. She had the same look Allison had the last they’d scened…
“Stop, Zebadiah.” The firm command in her voice had him freezing, barely breathing, fear waiting to consume him once more. “That’s good. Now…can you tell me what I did to make you panic?”
Zeb’s eyes widened in surprise. Of all the things she could have said, that was the one he hadn’t expected and made him want to explain “I…she called me that…”
Steph’s gaze softened, her fingers brushing his cheek. The caress startled him. He jerked back. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one who’s sorry. I inadvertently triggered something painful inside you. So the word ‘babe’ is off limits. So tell me, sexy, what do I call you?”
His cheeks flushed at her backhanded compliment. “I’m not sexy. Cute maybe.”
She cocked her head, looking down at him. Another first for him. He’d never been with a woman taller than him. Men yeah…hell, he was only five-seven so lots of men were taller than him, but his last mistress had only been five-four and the one before her had been even shorter. “I don’t know. What you do you think, Nicky? ‘Sexy’ fits, wouldn’t you agree?”
“True, it does. But I don’t know if I can call him sexy, Steph. You could and no one would be the wiser.” He nuzzled the top of Zebadiah’s head. “While there’s no doubt about it, he’s definitely sexy, somehow I have a feeling coming from me, it’d be uncomfortable. I think I’ll call him il mio colibrì instead.”
“Or you could call me Zeb,” Zebadiah offered. He wasn’t sure what the man had said, but the possessive tone in Nicholaus’s voice had him weakening at the knees.
“No. I do believe I like it. My little hummingbird. Il mio colibrì.” His hand covered Zebadiah’s rapidly pounding heart. “Even his heart races like a hummingbird.” He pressed a kiss to the top of Zebadiah’s head before slowly releasing him.
“It fits. But I’m still gonna call him Sexy.” Steph hooked her arm through his. “Now why don’t we go back down and feed the ducks before they take off with the sack and all?”
At first Zebadiah just stood there, his brain trying to catch up with what had just happened. He’d panicked and tried to run, and now Steph and Nicholaus wanted to feed ducks with him? “Ah…yeah…I guess so.” He allowed her to guide him back to his previous spot. He took the bag with trembling hands and held it as Nicholaus and Steph threw handfuls out into the water. It wasn’t long before the ducks surrounded all three of them.
* * * *
“Damn, that was close.” Bella stood in front of Ethan, at the window facing the small duck pond behind their home. “I thought for a second he was going to run away from them. Are you sure they’re the right ones for him, Master?” She looked over her shoulder at him.
“Yes, Sabella. I’ve been a Dom for a long time. I used to train and then pair up damaged subs with new Doms, remember?” He smiled down at her. She was the love of his life, and he still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to move in with him.
She sighed. “Yes, the Temporary Master. Isn’t that what they called you?”
“Before I met you, yes.” He nuzzled her neck as they watched the couple flank their guest on either side, then guide Zebadiah to the water’s edge. “He’s got a long way to go, but he doesn’t stand a chance between those two. They won’t allow him to retreat behind the fear, like some Doms might.”
“I hope so. I’d love to meet the Zebadiah everyone else remembers.” Fresh back from her stint in New York, Sabella hadn’t had a chance to meet Zebadiah until shortly after he’d been hurt. In fact, her first night at the club had been the night he’d been attacked, and more than anything Ethan hoped she had a chance to experience the same submissive he remembered. Nicholaus and Steph were the key to releasing Zebadiah from his self-imposed cage.
“He’ll come around. They’ll be good for him.” Ethan straightened and released her when Davis stalked into the room, a scowl on his face.
“Now, what’s wrong?” he asked his friend. Of late Davis had been a pissy mood, and a good chunk of the time it had to do with Lauren, Sabella’s best friend, and the matchmaker of Napa Valley. “Did Lauren try to set you up again?” In the past month, she’d made ‘fake’ dates with him twice, and snuck away during the appetizer course and left him with some unsuspecting woman. The last time was such a disaster, it had Davis out for blood.
“No, the little minx is still avoiding me. I just was served with this.” He tossed a blue sheaf of stapled court documents on the coffee table before sinking onto the leather couch.
Ethan moved to join him, after motioning to Bella to fetch his partner a drink. From the slump of his shoulders and their nearly three decades of friendship, he had gotten pretty good at reading Davis. “So what is it?”
“It seems Allison’s lawyer is trying to get the charges dropped by saying Zebadiah is in breach of contract by pressing assault charges against her.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “What?”
Davis sighed. “Yeah. I have a meeting in front of Judge Kalicki tomorrow to determine if this contract has any merit.”
“What contract?” Bella asked as she joined them.
“The one Allison claims Zebadiah signed, giving her immunity from any civil or criminal charges if Zebadiah is hurt during consensual play.”
Bella gasped. “Will that stand in court? We both know he safeworded. There are video tapes of that right?”
“Just video, no audio.” Davis squeezed the bridge of his nose. “We installed the audio shortly after his attack because we realized how worthless the videos were without audio.”
“Well crap!” Bella propped one hip on the corner of the couch and handed Davis his drink. “Was there any witnesses to him safewording? Perhaps one of the dungeon monitors?”
Davis sighed. “I’m gonna have to call Toby and find out. He was one of the two DMs assigned to the room that night. He’d know what Zebadiah did or didn’t do.”
“What didn’t I do?” Zebadiah stood in the open door, with Nicholaus flanking one side while Steph stood on his other.
“Come in, Zeb, we need to talk to you about your case. Do you want them to leave?” Davis asked, gesturing to Nicholaus and Steph.
“I…” The torn look on his face was rather telling, but Nicholaus was obvious
ly more in tune with Zebadiah than Ethan realized.
“No worries, il mio colibrì. Steph and I have to get going. I have a book signing downtown in less than ninety minutes.” He brushed his lips over the crown of Zebadiah’s head. “Can we call later?”
“Of course.” A hesitant smile crossed Zebadiah’s face.
“Good. I look forward to it.” Nicholaus stepped back, allowing Steph to move in.
“Behave, Sexy.” Steph gave him a quick hug. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
A chuckle escaped Nicholaus. “Don’t tell him that, cara mia. There’s not much you wouldn’t do.”
“True.” She patted Zebadiah’s bottom before following her Master out of the room. Once the sound of the door opening and closing reached his ears, whatever frivolity had been in the room died.
“What is going on?” Zebadiah moved further into the great room.
“Well, we may have an issue. Sit down, Zeb.” Ethan brought him a bottle of sparkling water.
“What kinda of trouble?” Taking the bottle, he cradled it between his palms.
“Allison is claiming you signed a contract with her absolving her from any consequences if you were injured during a scene.”
Zebadiah paled. “The only contract I’ve ever signed is the one outlining our limits and boundaries.” His brow furrowed “There might have been such a clause in there, but she was fellating me while I was trying to read it.” His cheeks flushed. “Shit, I really screwed up this time. Does that mean the charges won’t stick?”
Davis sighed. “I don’t know. Do you still have the contract?”
“Yeah, it’s in my lock box at the bank. I keep all my important papers there. My will, the contract…my nest egg. The money I had been saving up for my own bakery.” He dropped the bottle. “Dammit, she’s got access to the safe deposit box. She was the co-signer on it.” He began to hyperventilate.
“Don’t panic.” Ethan put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get a hold of the bank and see if she’s been in or not. She just recently made bail on the assault charges, maybe she hasn’t made it as far as the bank. Is it the same bank as the one where you have a checking account?”
He nodded. “My entire life is in there. My birth certificate, the title to the small piece of land my grandfather left me just outside of Napa.” He squeezed his eyes shut as he heard Ethan talking on the phone to the bank. “I’d planned on building a small coffee shop and bakery once I had enough money saved up…”
“Thank you, sir. We’ll be right in.” Ethan hung up the phone, and crouched down before Zebadiah. “She’s been in, but because of the restraining order you swore out against her and removing her from your checking account, it threw up some red flags at the bank. She wasn’t able to access it without direct permission from you. She left sixty minutes ago in a huff.”
Zebadiah’s shoulders slumped with relief. “I need to get a new safe deposit box.”
“Of course. Either that, or you can bring all of the contents here and we’ll put them in Davis’s safe. Your choice.” Ethan helped him to his feet. “But we need to do this now before the bank closes, or she has her high-priced attorney put a hold on it Davis can’t get around.”
“I’d like to keep everything here, if that’s okay. At least here I know she can’t access any of it.” Zebadiah shoved his hands into his pockets before following Ethan out to his car.
Chapter Three
Hanging his keys on a hook next to the door with trembling fingers, Nicholaus paused and waited for Steph to shut the door behind them before spinning and pinning her against its hard surface. Her startled ‘umph’ was swallowed by his mouth. The desire that had been riding him hard since they’d left Zebadiah’s presence burst free. He was aching for the man, but he had to remind himself they’d promised to wait. Then they would be rewarded for their patience. Logically he understood, but his body felt like it had undergone hours of foreplay. Delving deeper into the honeyed depths of his beautiful submissive’s mouth, he tugged hard on the waistband of her leggings. He had to get inside her before he lost his ever lovin’ mind.
A low whimper escaped her as his fingers slipped inside the lacy thong he’d given her. With little preliminaries, he shoved two fingers inside of her, checking her readiness. As always, she was damp with her desire. Not wet enough to take him yet, but he’d see to it she was. Ripping his mouth away from hers, he ordered her to strip as he reached for the slim hand-tooled Italian leather belt encircling his waist.
“Shit, Nicky.” She shoved her leggings and panties down to her knees, her lips swollen from his kiss. Her face was flushed and he could clearly see the hard points of her nipples through her peasant’s blouse as she unbuttoned it. As usual she wasn’t wearing a bra and the dark areolae were visible through the material. She was just as affected as he was.
He licked his lips, hungering to feel their pebbled tightness stab against his tongue. His natural desire for her piled on top of the lust Zebadiah had stirred in him earlier. He felt like he was ready to burst as the seams.
“You can’t wait ‘til we get to our bedroom?” She kicked free of the wadded cloth at her ankles.
“No. I can’t.” He grasped the edges of her blouse and jerked, shredding the material until her luscious breasts were exposed to his gaze.
“You bastard! That was one of my favorite tops.”
“I’ll buy you another one. Submit to me…please.” The plea in his voice wasn’t easy to overlook, but he didn’t think he could handle one of her reluctant sub games right at this moment. He was too close to the edge of his control.
“And if I don’t wanna? Something tells me your hard cock isn’t just because of me, or is it all those fawning women at the book signing?” She crossed her hands over her bare breasts, meeting his gaze head on.
He growled, jerking down his fly. He immediately sprung free of his slacks. “Like I’d ever fuck around with any of those groupies.” He hauled her up against him, rubbing his erection against her stomach. Leaning in until his nose touched hers, he narrowed his eyes. “For you, for him, what the hell does it matter? It’s your pussy I want to bury it in.”
She arched a brow at him. “So?”
He released her with grumble, wanting to punch something. Why did she have to be so contrary when he needed her? It normally turned him on, but after sitting through three hours of a book signing with a hard-on from hell while women flirted with him, he was desperate. Desperate enough to even take matters into his own hands. “Dammit, Stephanie. Either submit or safeword.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Fuck it. I’ll go jerk off.”
Evidently his frustration and desire must’ve finally registered with her. Her expression softened. “Whoa, calm down, tiger.” She placed her hands on his chest. “I didn’t realize you were so close to the edge. I wouldn’t have teased you if I’d known. Let me take care of you.” She ran her hands down his chest towards his groin.
Hissing, he caught her hand before he came from nothing more than the brush of her fingers against him. He’d never been so trigger happy before, not even when he first bedded her, and it pissed him off until he lashed out at her. “I’m the Master here, slave. Remember that. You touch me only when I say you can.”
She froze, tears welling in her eyes. Confusion filled her face. “Master?”
He cursed under his breath. He knew he was sending out mixed signals. He wanted to kick his own ass. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. Regret warred with his lust. Releasing her hand, he roughly shoved his cock back in his pants. “Forget it. I’m too close to the edge.” He turned and stomped down the hall towards his study. He needed to get a grip on himself before he did more than hurt her feelings.
* * * *
Standing in the hall, half undressed, wearing nothing but her shredded top, Stephanie narrowed her eyes as she watched Nicky retreat to his man-cave. How the hell had that just happened? She wanted to stomp after him and demand to know what the hell had crawled up he
r Master’s ass, but knew from experience, until he calmed down, approaching him would make things worse. And after his reprimand, something she was unused to, she wasn’t ready to lay herself open to another rebuff.
Gathering her clothing up off of the foyer floor, she dropped the wadded bundle into the laundry room off the kitchen. Thanking her lucky stars she’d put a load in the dryer before they’d left, she pulled out a pair of exercise shorts and a tank top. She didn’t want to beg for permission to enter his study to get to their bedroom because of the unique layout of their home. Slipping into the clothing, she tossed the shredded shirt into the garbage can before entering the kitchen. She made short work of preparing herself a cup of her favorite Irish Breakfast Tea.
Ignoring the tremor in her fingers as she carried it across the kitchen to slip out on to the back deck, she wandered down the stone path Nicky had helped her install. Reaching her favorite spot on their property, she sank into the glider swing. Sipping on the steaming cup, she pushed off with one foot, sending the glider into motion. She wasn’t sure what had happened in the hall with her Master, but she’d somehow managed to push one of his buttons. It didn’t happen very often but when it did, it usually found them like this... Nicky in his study and her on the glider in the backyard.
Both as a security guard and woman, she was realistic and knew her faults. She was what most considered a bratty sub, but her Master loved her despite it. While the little scenario they’d been playing out in the hall was a familiar one, Nicky’s reaction today wasn’t the same as it normally was. Any other time she’d find herself pinned to whatever near-by surface was handy, while her Master fucked her raw as she begged for more. “So what was different today?”
Even as she spoke the words her mind was whirling while she reviewed the events of the day. They’d come home exhausted the night before from Nicky’s ten day tour on the East Coast. Then he’d dragged her out of bed this morning to go and see Zebadiah. Not that she hadn’t been just as anxious. She’d mumbled something about going over early if Nicky could drag his carcass out of bed before their noon book signing. A soft smile flitted at her lips as she thought about her growly morning bear. Nicky wasn’t a morning person at all, so she’d been surprised when he’d had her out of bed, dressed, and fed by nine.
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