by P Nelson
Elizabeth nodded. The woman was a scary mind reader. Calla’s half-smile turned into a full smile.
“I’m a professional, remember.” Her smile dimmed. “I do make mistakes, though.” Elizabeth grabbed her pad and wrote out a few words and held them out to Calla.
“Thank you for not blaming me, but it’s still my fault. I don’t know how Jerry got past all my tests. In fairness, Dillon knew something was off and had already warned me about him. Having met you and knowing how much playing at The Cage meant to you. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
Elizabeth shrugged in response and tried to smile. The action made the stitches in her cheek pull tight, and she winced.
“All right, here we go.” Calla turned to face her whole body to Elizabeth. “Eric needs to feel like he’s taking care of you. He feels immensely guilty for not being there when you needed him, and it’s going to take him a while to calm his over-protectiveness down. He will try and pull away from the kink if he thinks that’s what you need. So, you need to show him your badass kinky self.” She smiled at the end.
Elizabeth touched her cheek under her scar. Tears welled in her eyes, and Calla frowned at her.
“You think because you have a scar he won’t want you?” Calla shook her head. “That was Jerry, Elizabeth.” She thought for a minute before she spoke next. “There was a time when Eric thought he needed the perfect sub, one who knew all the rules and was painfully correct in the lifestyle. These past few weeks have proven that he needs someone who challenges him, makes him laugh.”
Pointing at herself, Elizabeth tried to make her face look quizzical.
“Yes, you, Elizabeth.” Calla placed a hand on her forearm. “He needs you as much as you need him. You’re going to have to fight hard for what you want, but I truly believe the two of you are going to get through this.”
The door opened, and Delaney came in carrying wine glasses. “I’ve brought drinks. Let’s talk crap about the Doms.” Elizabeth took her glass and started to plan how she was going to prove to Eric she wasn’t made of glass.
Chapter 17
“It’s been six weeks, Calla.” Elizabeth knew she sounded like a whiny bitch, but at this point she didn’t care. “I’ve tried everything, and now I’m all out of ideas.”
“You mean Delaney and you are all out of ideas.” Calla’s voice came over the phone, and Elizabeth indulged in a guilty smile because her friend couldn’t see her.
“The point is, I’m fully healed. I can speak, the cut on my cheek is all closed up, and still there isn’t a nipple clamp or a flogger in sight!” Elizabeth let the worry and frustration she had been feeling over the past few weeks infuse her tone. “Tell me what to do.”
Elizabeth was desperate. Eric and she had been living together in the house since the night Jerry had attacked her. He had insisted she stay with him until she healed completely, and now they had found a rhythm that Elizabeth knew didn’t happen between two people every day. She was looking for work, but he kept insisting there was no rush, and the extra time had given her some perspective. Maybe being an administrative assistant wasn’t what she wanted. After some discussion, he had encouraged her to go back to school. Eric wanted to pay, and she refused to let him help. They still had a few things to work out, but the biggest one was the BDSM. He refused to do anything even slightly kinky with her.
“I can’t tell you what to do, Elizabeth. I’m a therapist,” Calla sighed into the phone. “You two are having sex still, right?”
“Yes, lots of vanilla sex,” Elizabeth answered with a hint of embarrassment. Not because she was talking to Calla about her sex life, that’s the reason Elizabeth called her. Elizabeth knew that before she had tasted submission, she would have been more than happy with Eric’s brand of vanilla sex. Unfortunately, Elizabeth now knew how much better the sex was when she submitted to him. She craved the power exchange. Her submission was simmering under the surface of her psyche and needed an outlet.
“Good. There’s no need to worry about sexual attraction between the two of you.” Calla paused for a second. “What do you think you should do?”
“At first, all I thought was he needed time, but it’s been over a month. I’ve tried to entice him into situations where it’s obvious I want some kink. I’ve even tried to plan scenes with him. He keeps putting me off with excuses about how I’m not ready.” Elizabeth huffed out, “I’m ready, dammit.”
“First, trying to engineer scenes with your Dom is called topping from the bottom and is punished. So, if Eric has been paying attention, I’d watch out for your ass when the spankings come around. Second, have you ever wondered if Eric is the one who isn’t ready?” Calla asked softy.
Elizabeth felt the question hit her in the gut forcefully, and she had to sit down on the arm of the couch in the living room. She stared out the window at the ridiculously picturesque view of the ocean and let Calla’s words roll over her mind. What if it was Eric and not her who had the problem?
“I’m not saying he doesn’t have feelings for you. In fact, I think you’re the first sub he has had true feelings for in a very long time, even if he may argue with that prognosis.” Calla’s voice sounded tired, and Elizabeth wondered what her friend was dealing with along with Elizabeth’s problems. “The fact is what happened with Jerry is every Dom’s worst nightmare. The power exchange aside, part of what makes a good Dom is his innate drive to protect and provide for the needs of his sub. Right now, I would hazard a very educated guess that Eric feels like he failed you and perhaps that he had no right to demand your submission.”
Calla’s explanation shocked Elizabeth, but a part of her brain wondered if she was correct. Could all of this be from Eric’s guilt over what happened with Jerry? “There was nothing more he could possibly have done to protect me. You even said Jerry’s behaviour took an unpredictable turn into the psychotic so quickly no one could have guessed what was going to happen.”
“It’s true no one could have known what Jerry was capable of before his attack. Even I was taken in, and although I wasn’t sure about his ability to become a true Dom, I thought he was harmless enough.” Elizabeth could hear Calla swallowing a few times to clear her throat. She felt terrible for what had happened, but Elizabeth didn’t. If she hadn’t joined The Cage, Elizabeth would have been all alone in the world dealing with crazy Jerry. “I made a mistake that almost cost your life, Elizabeth. Think about how a Dom would feel about losing his sub because of a situation he felt he could have prevented.”
“I never thought of it that way,” Elizabeth admitted. She wondered now if Eric blamed himself for everything.
“So, you need to decide how you’re going to deal with it.” Calla’s tone turned stern. “You can come back to The Cage and find yourself another Dom, although technically you haven’t finished your training period. Or you can fight for Eric.”
“I don’t want a new Dom. I want my old one back,” Elizabeth replied right away.
“Good girl.” Calla praised. “So, you have to rebuild the relationship with your Dom. How are you going to accomplish this task?”
Elizabeth thought about it for a minute. “I need to show him I’m ready, and he needs to get back into a headspace where he remembers what it is to be a Dom,” she replied slowly.
“How are you going to make this happen?” Calla asked and Elizabeth could hear the smile in her voice.
“I’m going back to the club tonight.” Elizabeth’s answer sounded more like a question, and she put more emphasis on her next words. “I loved my time at The Cage, and I haven’t been in ages. I paid my membership, dammit.”
“Good girl. I’d watch the swearing. Doms can be particular about subs with dirty mouths not attached to their cocks.” Calla laughed at Elizabeth’s intake of breath at her lewdness. “Now, are you going to set up a scene?”
Elizabeth thought this over for a minute. “Yes, I am going to set up a public scene and invite Eric to come play with me.”
“It’
s a risky move, Elizabeth,” Calla warned. “He could reject you in public, and you haven’t played on the dungeon floor before. Hell, you’ve hardly been on the floor.”
“I know, but this feels right,” Elizabeth responded. “This is something I’ve worked hard to do. I’ve always wanted to be in the lifestyle, and I want to enjoy every second and every possible experience it has to offer.” Within reason, Elizabeth thought to herself. No need for anyone to draw blood.
“If you’re sure.” Calla wasn’t convinced. “It might be just as therapeutic to walk the dungeon floor and take in some scenes together.”
“No, I need to force him to see I’m healed. He needs to recognise his dominant nature again.” Elizabeth wasn’t sure where all this was coming from, but her heart was telling her that her brain was right. If Eric were broken, she would do anything to get the caring, sexy, and slightly sadistic Dom back. “I love him.” There was a long pause on the other end of the line.
“You’ll have to call Thea and pass whatever you have planned with her,” Calla instructed.
“Why do I have to call Thea?” Elizabeth really liked Detective Demopoulos, but she wasn’t sure what the Domme had to do with her plans for Eric. Calla’s laugh came through the phone.
“You don’t know?” she asked.
“Know what?” Elizabeth felt like she was the butt of some joke.
“Thea is the Domme in Residence at The Cage. She’s basically the boss of the Doms, and she has to approve any public scenes,” Calla said. “You’ll also need her sub-minions to book a public stage and get everything ready for you and Eric.
“I had no idea.” Elizabeth was at a loss for words as she thought of the very capable Thea Demopoulos. It kind of made sense, though. “Ok, I’m going to think up something sexy, but not too crazy and get Thea to approve it.”
“Good luck and I’ll see you tonight,” Calla said and Elizabeth made her own goodbyes. Biting her cheek, she went through all the hot fantasies she had been having about Eric these past weeks and tried to focus on just one of them. It was hard, but Elizabeth thought she had an idea that might bring him out of his self-imposed prison.
&
“It is with great regret and sorrow I have to announce the closure of The Supplicants of the Lord Church. We have been struck down by our enemies, but do not fear my followers. This is only the first battle in the war against the devil and his minions, who seek to pervert the sons and daughters to the path of evil! Our ministry may be silent, but we are always watching.”
“Some creepy shit,” Dillon exclaimed from behind one of the leather sofas in Flynn’s ridiculous office downtown. Eric completely agreed.
“Unfortunately, hitting them head-on has only given them the opportunity to go underground.” Flynn shut the lid on his laptop and sat back in his chair. “As soon as the lawsuits came down, they admitted liability and began shutting down The Supplicants of the Lord’s ministries the same day.” He shook his head and grabbed the crystal glass on his desk containing a scotch old enough to be someone’s grandpa. “For all intents and purposes, there’s no more church, there’s no one to sue, and there’s no one to hold accountable.” Eric watched his friend take a deep drink.
“What happens now?” Eric asked as he went back over to the opposite sofa and sat down in front of his own expensive glass of scotch. Disappointment and anger boiled in his gut. He wanted someone to pay for what had happened to Elizabeth. Even though Jerry was sitting in prison, it wouldn’t be for long and as much as Eric hated to admit it, Jerry wasn’t the problem. The assholes who had put him up to hurting Elizabeth were the real culprits, and they were getting away with it.
“The boys and I are still monitoring the website, but this is a dead feed. It’s pretty much just running up there on its own.” Linkin stood in front of the windows facing the harbour, arms crossed over his chest. “We are also monitoring anything that has to do with the known members of the church.” Eric nodded his head.
“So that’s why Thea isn’t here,” he thought out loud. She did everything in her power along with Detective Fraser to make sure Jerry got the maximum sentence for his crimes. She also put a lot of work on The Supplicants of the Lord’s case.”
“She needs plausible deniability. As far as she’s concerned, I have given up my suit against the church, happy to have the ministry dissolved.” Flynn’s tone was hard. “Whatever she knows of my personality and believes I might do are up for speculation.”
“Besides I’m happier with her not knowing how I get certain information.” Linkin looked like an avenging angel standing against the glass dressed all in black. Not for the first time since Elizabeth’s trouble started, Eric wondered what Linkin really did. He had a feeling there was a past there, and it involved secret agents and shit. “The bank accounts of the ministry have all been closed, but the money was deposited into Mr Esposito’s account the same day.”
“That’s the guy on the video?” Dillon asked.
“Yeah, that’s him,” Linkin confirmed.
“What do we know about him?” Flynn looked like a lion who very much wanted to play with his prey. “He’s going to be coming after me and The Cage. It’s all but said in his message.”
“At first glance, Mr Esposito is exactly what he claims to be. A man of the Lord, aiding his flock to the safety of heaven.” Linkin’s voice was sharp as if he were completing a debriefing for military professionals.
“And what did you find underneath his frock?” Dillon asked, having to bring the tone of the conversation down a couple of notches.
“This is Mr Esposito’s most recent foray into manipulating unsuspecting members of the public.” The disgust in Linkin’s voice was easy to hear. “He has been the leader of several doomsday cults, where members were encouraged to sign all their worldly possessions over to Mr Esposito to have a clean slate with the Lord when the apocalypse happened. He has also been the head of several of these fanatical churches in the past. They always target pornographic sights, strip clubs, BDSM clubs, and the like. Most times the owners pay to have Mr Esposito’s band of do-gooders go away.”
“But Flynn was different,” Eric stated the obvious. “He wasn’t going to back down from someone threatening The Cage or the subs.”
“Not only was Flynn a fighter, but from what I can gather, Jerry took the harassment a few steps too far. From the emails I read in Jerry’s account, he was only supposed to scare Elizabeth.” Disgust laced Linkin’s voice.
“I didn’t see those emails.” Eric was suddenly alert. “Why weren’t they a part of the prosecution’s case?”
“Jerry deleted them from his email account, and I had to go looking for them.” Linkin made no apologies for hacking into Jerry’s account or people’s bank records for that matter. “They wouldn’t have been eligible in the case, and the prosecution would have to answer some serious questions about how they got them.”
“You can’t have anything coming back to you.” Eric nodded his head in understanding, but still felt frustrated. “This whole thing feels off. Why didn’t this asshole ask for his money?”
“I’m guessing Mr Esposito’s plan became unhinged as Jerry’s level of violence and civil disobedience escalated.” Pushing away from the windows, Linkin began pacing back and forth. “In all the other cases where Mr Esposito targeted their victims, the harassment went on for weeks before the whole thing suddenly ended. A quick look at the appropriate bank accounts revealed the reason why the church backed off.”
“At this point, there’s nothing more we can do in making The Supplicants of the Lord pay for their actions.” Flynn set his empty glass on the pristine glass and metal coffee table between the leather couches. “We can protect ourselves and our subs in the future. Linkin will send out a set of online rules to follow to make sure these assholes are not trying to monitor us in any way. We’re the voyeurs, not them. And we won’t take on any new members for the club, and I have asked Calla to shut down the community outreach progra
m.”
“She agreed to shut down her baby?” Surprise laced Dillon’s voice.
Flynn frowned at the porn star so hard Dillon should have burst into flames at the very least. “No, but I assure you the program will shut down until I deem it’s safe for her and you to work with potential Doms and subs again. It’s not safe. The community outreach program was where these assholes first contacted Jerry, and we have no idea how many others might have been infected with their shit.”
“Very eloquent,” Dillon sniped.
“I’m warning you.” Flynn became all alpha Dom, and suddenly, the temperature in the room went sub-zero. “If you encourage Calla to put her life at risk, you’ll regret it.”
“Jesus, Flynn.” Dillon shook his head. “No need to get all Dom on me.”
“Sometimes you need a reminder of who the big dogs are,” Flynn gruffly replied and sat back on the couch. “Anyway, the church was only one of the reasons we’re all here.” Eric frowned and looked around the room. Everyone turned to stare at him and the feeling of being trapped made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
“What’s going on, guys?” Eric asked as he sat up on the sofa ready to make a dash to the door, if necessary. He might take on any one of these guys solo or even in a pair. Ok, maybe not Linkin because the past few weeks revealed he was a scary-ass dude under all his socially inappropriate comments. Eric knew he would lose against all three at once.
“Precisely what we’d like to know,” Flynn returned.
“Why haven’t we seen your sweet sub’s naked ass getting her licks yet?” Linkin had stopped pacing and was now staring at Eric. “I was promised a good ass spanking, and I haven’t even seen her ass or pussy yet.”
“Linkin, remember what we talked about regarding other Doms’ subs?” Dillon reminded Linkin in a strangled voice.
Shrugging, Linkin went to stand in front of the large windows again. “I tell it like I see it. And I want to see some punishment for the shit she pulled the other night and disobeying an order that ended up getting her hurt. Ass and pussy for all eyes to see.” Linkin folded his arms in front of him; chin jutting out at a stubborn angle.