Understandably, the paint had the same effect on her that a mask might’ve had for others, releasing some of her fear and inhibitions. After slipping into the bathroom to add the final element of her costume, the damned bunny tail butt plug, she’d tried to ignore the undeniable urge to squirm as the plug shifted and the cottony tail tickled her ass and the tops of her thighs.
She’d gladly accepted his offer when he’d suggested walking her to the stairs. It was reassuring to take those first few steps with a companion, even if it was someone she hadn’t known for long. Ari was someone she could come to count as a friend.
He nodded. “Perfect. I hope you have fun tonight with that exceptionally territorial man of yours.”
“Make that men,” Josh said, his voice a rough, rumbly sound as he reached the landing with Lucas at his side. They both looked put out by the way Ari was stroking her hand.
It’s probably a good thing they didn’t see him fixing the smudge on my breast earlier.
Their gazes were heated as they traveled over her body, and a warm wave of sensation rippled on her skin as if they’d actually touched her, even though their hands were at their sides.
Shaking his head and looking slightly amused, Joseph clapped his hands as he climbed the stairs. “Ari, you’ve outdone yourself. They’re waiting for you in the blue suite in the north wing. Evidently you’ve got a couple more bunnies to paint on your roster this evening.”
Ari nodded at Josh and Lucas, saluted Joseph, and then grinned at Violet before hastening down the corridor in the opposite direction, humming the refrain to “You Can Leave Your Hat On.”
Joseph nodded as he looked her over, and she marveled again that his scrutiny didn’t affect her the way Josh’s and Lucas’s gazes did. She blamed her response to Ari on his proximity and the sheer naughtiness of having her “costume” painted on and decided to not worry about it anymore. Josh and Lucas obviously liked what they saw, going by the laser intensity of their perusal and the bulges growing behind the flies of their snug huntsman breeches.
“That’s the last time you’ll be left alone this evening,” Josh muttered as he joined her on the top step and tipped her chin up to kiss her with surprising gentleness.
“I’m glad,” she murmured before she lifted on her tiptoes to kiss him again. The little devil on her shoulder goaded her, and she eyed them in the green and black forest huntsman costumes they wore and then lightly rubbed her hip against Josh’s hardening erection. “And I plan to let all the other little forest animals know I’m the only bunny you two sexy hunters will be feasting on later.”
Lucas grinned and rubbed his abs. “I’m starved here, little bunny.” His hand slid down to his own erection for a quick squeeze.
Josh growled—again—and Violet flexed her hip, gave him one last little rub where it counted, and winked at him before she turned and began descending the stairs.
She didn’t know where the moxie came from, or how she managed it without hyperventilating and falling down the stairs, but she took each step slowly, swaying her ass and keeping her shoulders back. The men hurried down the stairs behind her, but she paid them no mind, enjoying the way the cool air wafted past her deliciously tight nipples and bobbing breasts as she continued down the steps.
The wide-eyed looks and squinting stares of the other attendees loitering in the corridor nearly gave her pause until she realized they weren’t staring at her in disgust. They were trying to figure out who she was. Judging by the tread of boots on the floor, Josh and Lucas were still right behind her, which made her even more aware of the bunny tail and the oversized plug in her ass, which shifted with each step, teasing her already jangling nerves…and turning her on even more, judging by the wetness dampening her inner thighs.
Lucas chuckled behind her, and she heard him whisper, “She’s even wearing the butt plug. There’s gonna be a riot.”
“Yeah,” Josh muttered. “I think we’ve created a monster.”
Adopting her most innocent, wide-eyed look, Violet stopped, pivoted on the balls of her bare feet, and blinked slowly at him, enjoying the role of temptress. “Me? I’m a harmless, fuzzy bunny.”
The angel on her shoulder nudged her, and she ignored the reminder she was still a novice and the bunny and huntsman metaphor was quite appropriate. If she wasn’t careful, she could get more than she bargained for. I can be a vixen if I want to…kind of.
Josh’s eyelids slid half shut as he gazed at her, warming her skin as if he’d actually touched her. “You’re anything but harmless. Much as I want to take you back upstairs and put a robe on you, I won’t. You needed this, baby girl. But it’s us who are at your mercy.” Her heart thumped at the truth she saw in his eyes. Lucas nodded and gave her a little grin.
His admission, sweet as it was, made her even bolder. “So the hunter has become the hunted? What’s the fun in that?”
Feeling cheeky, she turned and continued down the corridor, putting a sprightly little swish in her walk that made the bunny tail tickle the backs of her thighs.
Chapter Twelve
“Violet,” Joseph Hazelle called out as he strode after her and the two territorial men following her. “I forgot to give this to you earlier.”
She turned toward him, and he could see the mix of excitement and trepidation in her flushed cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. Good. He didn’t want her relaxed and feeling secure. Not just yet.
Her eyes widened a bit, and considering how they were made up, the effect made her appear even more harmless and innocent. And sexy. Perfect. She eyed the wreath and smiled. “Another one?”
He grinned as he placed the fragrant circlet of violets atop her blonde hair, taking care to not knock her jaunty little bunny ears askew. “You might as well be in full costume, sweetheart. I wouldn’t recognize you if I hadn’t seen you come out with Ari. I thought you’d like the violets.”
He felt the stares of others as they passed them in the hall. He’d known some of the fantasy weekend attendees for years, and he sensed their speculation as he adjusted her curls. It’d been a long time since he’d released his last fulltime submissive. Many of them knew his type of submissive, and outwardly, Violet fit the bill, although she was completely unversed in the world of Dominance and submission and he preferred experienced submissives.
Strangely, even though he’d contemplated it when he’d first met her, there was nothing but brotherly affection in his heart for Violet. The desire of a Dom to see a timid submissive taken care of. He’d been caring so long for the submissives who came to Hazelle House, introducing them to decent, honorable Doms, seeing to their safety, and helping them put a voice to their needs that he was beginning to feel more like a mother hen and less like a Dom.
What he wanted was so simple and yet was so hard to come by. Yes, he had exacting tastes, but he knew many Doms like himself all over the country—the world in fact—who were settled and happy with their submissives. BDSM clubs and other sex-positive organizations were teeming with them. And while it was true he spent most of his time overseeing his own club and event venue, his friends knew of his preferences. They’d tried, there was no doubt, but it’d been several years since he’d found a submissive he felt a deeper connection with. He was beginning to wonder if the perfect one for him was still out there.
Blonde. Mid-thirties. Strong submissive tendencies with a masochistic streak very much welcomed. Well-educated and cultured, with impeccable manners. Willing to be bound, gagged, spanked, whipped, and hungry for whatever else he wanted to do with her—to her—was all he wanted. Simple really.
Violet stroked the live floral wreath he’d ordered for her, and her smile pleased him. Surprising her gave him a sense of accomplishment, much the same way orchestrating the additional elements of her scene earlier that morning had.
“Thank you, Joseph. You’re so thoughtful.”
He patted her cheek affectionately. “Have fun at the feast. I’m glad you decided to wear your costume.”
&
nbsp; With a snort, she gave him a sassy look and had the guts to punch his arm—again—and said, “Wear? What’s to wear? My choices were a bunny tail and ears with body paints or…nothing.” She gestured dramatically at her lush, delightfully decorated body. “No one can doubt my sweet submissive compliance, now can they?”
He smiled at the hint of a teasing giggle in her voice and ignored how very non-submissive her tone was. High protocol wasn’t in effect on a fantasy weekend unless agreed privately between a Dom and sub, and she wasn’t his to command…or discipline. But her sassiness reminded him of a certain redhead he very much wanted to put over his knee, and the thought of how satisfying spanking the little technician would be tightened his gut…and heightened his loneliness.
The whole indoor-outdoor sound system had been down that morning. Since mood music was a necessary component of the weekend, he’d had no choice but to request an emergency service call. It was nobody’s business but his that Grogan Home Theater and Communications had sent his favorite little technician to do the work.
Miss Carrigan had been out to Hazelle House as a sub-contractor for Grogan on previous service calls, and she’d impressed him with her problem-solving skills and work ethic. She’d fixed an issue another company had claimed couldn’t be fixed, so he’d stuck with Grogan from that point forward.
She’d always been out during the week when Hazelle House wasn’t “in use,” so having her there with all those fantasies in progress made him nervous. She didn’t seem all that bothered by the goings on she’d witnessed earlier. Although he didn’t expect to be addressed formally in casual settings, he was accustomed to a certain amount of deference, at least from visiting submissives, but she seemed to take delight in yanking his chain. Submissiveness from her would be hard won. And she’d asked him to use her first name. Bunny. Never would he have dreamed he’d be attracted to a woman named Bunny.
Speaking of bunnies… “Off you go, Violet. You have a feast to participate in,” he said as he nodded to Josh and Lucas. He’d enjoyed keeping them on edge all weekend as well. It wouldn’t do for them to think they’d have it easy the whole time they wooed their lovely woman. He’d made sure of it.
“What do you mean, ‘participate in’?” she asked as her men ushered her forward toward the large ballroom at the end of the walkway.
All he did was chuckle. Explaining would take all the fun out of it.
A high-pitched scream suddenly rent the air, followed by a series of loud thumps from upstairs.
“Joseph!”
The voice could belong to only one woman. A woman who had promised him she’d steer clear of the weekend festivities in order to get her job done—a woman with an incredibly poor sense of direction.
* * * *
Josh’s heart lurched as the scream echoed through the mansion. “Joseph, did that come from your dungeon?”
Anywhere else his question might’ve been met with laughter or shock, but Joseph really had a dungeon.
“No,” Joseph said as he took off at a run. “The second floor landing!”
“Help me—” The desperate cry was cut off by a whimper and another thump.
Curious at the commotion, guests ventured out of the ballroom as they reached the end of the corridor, which opened into a much wider space, including one of the staircases. They waded carefully through the growing crowd, and Joseph took the stairs two at a time. As he made the turn in the stairwell, he came to an abrupt halt.
“Conrad, stop,” Joseph ordered as he took the final two steps to the second floor landing, and Josh could see the struggling woman sprawled on the blue oriental carpet and the man who was trying to subdue her. Judging by his leather pants and the whip attached to his belt, he was right in the middle of a fantasy scene.
At Joseph’s command, the muscular Dom withdrew his hands, releasing the redhead. She turned her tousled head at the sound of Joseph’s voice and whimpered over the gag that had been thrust in her mouth.
Conrad was flushed and out of breath, and there was a hint of reproach in his voice as he glared at his host and said, “Joseph, this isn’t—”
While crouching down to assist the woman, Joseph looked up at the man. When their eyes met, Conrad stopped talking and hastily unbuckled the gag.
The redhead struggled to swallow and then whimpered. “Get the hell off of me, you creep. Joseph, please help me.” Struggling against the ties binding her wrists, she was red-faced and looked moments away from tears as she sniffled.
Conrad frowned. “I was waiting for a redhead with long hair for a capture scene. She never used the club safe word, damn it.”
Joseph made quick work of removing the restraints pinning her wrists behind her back. “Miss Carrigan, it seems you’re getting an up-close-and-personal introduction to my blue oriental carpet.”
The redhead swiped her abundant locks away from her flushed face and then glared up at him as she fought Conrad’s grip and tried to stand on her own. Joseph steadied her as she looked at their group with wide eyes. “I thought you were having the carpet cleaned or something. I opened the attic door and saw it and skirted the edges. I didn’t realize it wasn’t safe to be there.”
Conrad’s disgruntlement seemed to be draining away as he cut her off. “Joseph, she fit my specifications, and when I saw her outside my open door, I grabbed her. I trusted you to set this fantasy up so I didn’t ask for her safe word. I expected she knew the club safe word. Why didn’t you use it, Miss? I could’ve hurt you.”
The woman scoffed at him and said, “You mean with that long black whip? No! Really?”
A titter echoed from downstairs, followed by what sounded like the crack of a palm on flesh and a high-pitched squeak. Joseph beckoned the group away from the landing, and Violet, the soft-hearted one in the bunch, went to the other woman.
“Are you okay, honey? Bunny, right?”
The redhead squinted at her face and then blinked in surprise as she quickly scanned Violet’s body paint. “Yeah. Do I know you? You’re…oh man, this is surreal.”
Violet giggled and nodded. “We met briefly this morning, and yes, I’m a bunny, too. You had no idea you’d wandered into a scene, did you?”
“A scene? No, not until dickweed here grabbed me from behind,” she said as she gestured with her thumb at Conrad.
“Miss Carrigan—” Joseph began to say before she shook her head and held up her hand to him, cutting him off.
“Maybe that’s rude, but you weren’t the one getting carpet burns on your face a few seconds ago.” She lightly touched her chin and hissed. “Ow. I need to go get my first-aid kit from my truck.”
Concern flickered in his taciturn expression as Joseph said, “I have first aid supplies. Come with me.”
“No, it’s okay. My truck is right outside—”
Joseph wrapped a hand around her upper arm. “This was my fault, and I’ll see to your injury.” Miss Carrigan scoffed again and rolled her eyes, but he cut her off before she could speak. “In this you will obey me.”
Josh had a feeling any other submissive would’ve quailed by this point and been willing to do whatever he asked with no argument. Miss Carrigan didn’t look as if she had a submissive bone in her body as she eased her weight back onto her right foot and put her hand on her hip. Joseph towered over her by at least ten inches, if not more, but she tilted her scuffed little chin up at him, and her eyes never left his as she arched one of her dark eyebrows at him.
“Obey? That would imply you’re the one in control.”
Lucas nudged him with his elbow and whispered, “Redheads be crazy.”
Violet looked worried, but she nodded when Josh got her attention, and she came to stand beside him. His softhearted sweetie couldn’t resist defending the feisty little woman. “Joseph, I don’t think she understood—”
Josh gently squeezed her hand, knowing that nothing would help except Joseph having privacy with the woman, who, he had a feeling, meant something to the Dom. “Joseph, we’ll
see you downstairs if there’s nothing else you need?”
Joseph nodded in silent thanks, still holding on to Miss Carrigan’s arm. He turned to the other Dom just as another redhead joined the group, looking confused. Joseph nodded to her and then said, “Conrad, please accept my earnest apologies. Miss Carrigan isn’t a participant in this weekend’s events. Although she was warned to stay out of this corridor, because of privacy concerns, I didn’t elaborate as to why she shouldn’t be here. I’ll see your fantasy is rescheduled, and your registration fee returned to you. As soon as I’m finished here I’ll join you, and we can work out the details.”
The other redhead was obviously quick to grasp that there had been a mishap. At Joseph’s nod, she turned to Conrad, clasping her hands together. “May I serve you at the feast, Sir?”
Conrad smiled as he stroked her cheek and nodded. “No worries, Joseph. We can talk later.” He turned to lead the submissive down the stairs and then abruptly stopped. “I’m truly sorry if I scared you, Miss. I’m not usually a brute and hope I have the chance to make it up to you.”
Miss Carrigan still hadn’t broken eye contact with Joseph, whose face had taken on a slightly ruddy hue as he stared back at her, but she waved a hand at Conrad and said, “Sorry about calling you a dickweed. Where I come from, men who handle women like that intend them harm, not fun.”
“Understandable. See you down there, Joseph.”
Josh gestured toward the stairs with his chin, and Violet and Lucas followed him. He chuckled when Miss Carrigan glowered at Joseph as he escorted her farther into the hallway, muttering, “I can take care of myself, you…you…” Her words trailed off as they gave them their privacy.
Violet linked her fingers with his and then joined hands with Lucas, too, and whispered, “Miss Carrigan is some kind of technician, and she was here to work. She bounced back pretty quickly, but I think that Dom really scared her.”
Lumberjack Weekend [Divine Creek Ranch 21] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 13