by Dakota Trace
The sound of Dominic’s Cajun drawl in her ear was distant as she stared at Josh in shock. How the hell had he found out?
“Just who the hell are you calling, Spitfire?” His demand had her eyes widening.
She stumbled over her own tongue before Dominic’s name came out in a croak. His face smoothed out before he gently tried to take the phone from her nerveless fingers. “Give me the phone, sweetheart. I’ll talk to him.”
The concern on his face was her undoing. She burst into grief-filled tears.
* * * *
Pressing his cell closer to his ear, Dominic’s heart nearly beat its way out of his chest.
“Kalinda!” He could hear her sobbing mixed with the murmur of a male voice. He thought it might be Josh’s voice, but with the distance the voice was from the phone, he couldn’t be certain. It had him foaming at the mouth thinking that his little sub was crying.
“Damnit! Somebody pick up the fucking phone and talk to me!” His demand bellowed over the connection. He tightly gripped his phone until he heard the phone being picked up then answered.
“Dom, its Josh.”
The other man’s tense voice sent a bit of relief through Dominic. At least with the other man there, he knew that Kalinda would be safe. He’d asked Josh to keep an eye on her, very discretely of course, before he’d left for his trip back to L.A. Something was going on. His unit had been the only one trashed. The police thought it was a personal attack. While he wasn’t certain of the exact reason he’d been signaled out, he had a good idea but until he got to the bottom of this, he wanted his little subbie protected.
“What’s going on, Josh? Why is Kalinda crying?”
He could hear Josh soothing Kalinda in the background. “Delayed reaction I think. Fuck, I didn’t do a very good job protecting her, Dom. Somebody hit the house this evening before I got there. They broke into Caelan’s place through the front bay window. He’s pissed by the way. The cops milling about taking prints and stuff told me that the occupants had been taken to the Evanston Hospital. That’s the only reason I knew where to find Kalinda and Nisey.”
“Hospital! Tell me she’s all right!” Dominic surged off the hotel bed he’d been sitting on.
“Calm down. She’s fine. A few stitches above her eye followed by a nice hot soak in Caelan’s Jacuzzi tub should do the trick.”
Dominic sagged with relief before asking what had happened to Nisey.
“They think she’s got two cracked ribs and a split lip. They are waiting for her x-rays to come back before discharging her. Or at least that was what Caelan told me, when he called my cell on my way to the hospital.”
In the background, he realized everything had gone silent. Kalinda wasn’t crying anymore. In his experience that wasn’t good. It meant she was internalizing while probably blaming herself for the attack.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw it was just after eight PM. The probabilities of him getting a flight back out to Chicago tonight were slim to non-existent. Josh was going to have to do what he couldn’t do.
“Josh, has she stopped crying?”
“Yes.”
Taking a deep breath, he ordered the other man to give her the phone. Steeling himself against allowing his emotions to get the better of him, he prepared himself for the sound of her voice.
“M…Mas…ter…”
“Tell me what happened.”
“Three men broke in…and they…they hurt…Nisey.” Her voice cracked before she continued. “I’m…sorry…Master. I was supposed to look after her.” The muffled sobs started once more.
“Listen to me, slave. The men broke into the house. You had no way of knowing they would do that. Was the alarm on?”
“Yes, Master. I turned it on after we got back.” Her voice was meek.
“Then you did everything you could’ve done, slave. You are not at fault for something you couldn’t control, you are not responsible, do you understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
Even as she said the words, he knew that she didn’t believe him. Keeping his voice firm, he did the hardest thing he could remember doing since they’d gotten past her stupidity at the Gilded Lily. “You don’t believe me do you, Kalinda?”
“I…” she started to protest.
“And because of that, you are going to submit to Sir’s flogger until you do.”
“Please…Master!” Her plea was frantic but he held firm. It was for her own good.
“Are you protesting your punishment, slave?”
He could almost see her head lowering to hide the pout on her face.
“No, Master.”
“Good. Now give the phone back to Sir.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose while he waited for the other Dom to come on. He realized there was a slim chance he might lose Kalinda to the other man by doing this, but her welfare had to come first. He’d seen the raw emotion in Josh’s eyes the morning before he left. He knew without any doubt that the other man loved his sub just as much as he did himself. Josh would put Kalinda’s welfare before his own.
He heard Josh’s voice telling Kalinda to sit back down before Josh’s voice filled his ear.
“Yeah?”
“Listen to me carefully, Joshuah Redding. You’re going to have to do what I’m not there to do. You cannot let her backslide. Do you understand? She’s blaming herself for Nisey being attacked.”
“Why the hell is she doing that?” The shock in the other man’s voice wasn’t surprising.
“I’m not sure. Anytime, she thinks she’s screwed up or did something she shouldn’t have, she does it. If you don’t nip this in the bud, she’s going to internalize it and then end up doing something foolish.”
“So what do you want me to do? Stay with her?”
“Yes and you’re going to have to be stronger than her. You’re going to have to give her the punishment she’s seeking.”
“Excuse me?”
Dominic began pacing. “It’s complicated and we don’t have time to hash it out right now. Just look at it this way - if you don’t give her the punishment she thinks she deserves, she’ll try to find another who will.”
“Like hell! It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let that happen.”
Dominic sagged against the dresser when Josh’s sentiments echoed his own. “Dieu merci!”
“Tell me exactly what I need to do.”
“Take her down to Caelan’s playroom, tie her to the cross and use the red handled flogger in my bag. It’s the least of her favorites and it will leave nice welts without breaking the skin if you’re careful.”
“Understood! How many strokes?”
He sighed. “This is where it becomes a bit more difficult as you will have to use your own judgment. Depending on how badly she thinks she’s fucked up, she will push you hard to get you to dole out more punishment than warranted.”
“Fuck.” He could hear the frustration in the other man’s voice.
“Exactly. Nisey’s her best friend, and after she promised her brother to watch out after her, she’s thinking she royally fucked up. I’d start with thirty but don’t go over fifty. If she’s still clinging to the belief at thirty - give her the rest in five stroke increments until she’s centered again.”
“And if she’s not?”
“Then take her down and put her in bed with you.”
He could literally feel the tension through the phone. “You trust me that much?”
Dominic lowered his head. “I’m going to have to. This is about her and what she needs. More than likely after the flogging she’s going to need to be held. I trust you to hold her without taking advantage.”
Josh’s weary chuckle filled his ear. “You’re more trusting than I am, my friend. But even I’m not as crass as to ask for sex when a sub is hurting emotionally.”
“I never thought you would.” In the background, Dominic could hear another male voice and Josh confirmed it.
“I need to get off here, Dominic. The do
ctor is back and I need to talk to him.”
“Good. Let me know later what he said. I’m going to catch the next available flight back. It probably will be the Red-eye or the first one in the morning. Take care of our girl until I get there.”
“Will do.”
The click in his ear had him lowering the phone and staring at his reflection in the dresser mirror. He had just taken the biggest chance of his life. Mon Dieu, please let me be right, he thought as he reached for the phone book.
* * * *
After talking to both the doctor and Caelan once more, Josh drove Kalinda home. They’d left Nisey at the hospital since the doctor had wanted to keep her overnight for observation. Nisey’s x-rays had come back positive for a concussion along with the two suspected broken ribs. The doctor was being conservative, especially since Caelan was out of town. The doctor seemed to think that watching over two injured women was more than Josh could handle by himself. When Caelan had agreed, it made the burden of guilt Kalinda carried that much heavier. It seemed to her like her own brother didn’t trust her to be around Nisey even with Josh being present.
For a brief moment she thought about going to Olivia’s and smarting off to the older Domme. She knew that Olivia wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect, which usually resulted in her swiftly breaking out her crop. The only thing that was stopping her was the fact Dominic had given Josh permission to punish her.
Heading up the walk, she cringed when she saw the yellow police tape draped over her brother’s prized bay window. He was going to be pissed for more than one reason when he came home. She hadn’t seen the broken window when they’d taken her out of the house and into the ambulance. It was a glaring testament to the fact that they hadn’t even been safe in her brother’s home. The leader’s words, “tell LaFontane that his days as your Master are limited,” had her cringing. She hadn’t forgotten the threat in the midst of her own guilt. She’d have to call Dominic to tell him. She definitely wasn’t looking forward to that. He’d take the blame for the attack. How could he have prevented it when he was out of town? It was her fault that Nisey had been hurt. She should’ve followed her out of the kitchen.
When she headed towards Caelan’s apartment and ultimately his playroom where she expected to be punished, Josh stopped her.
“Go get your Master’s toy-bag.” Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll wait right here, but do not try my patience tonight, slave.”
“Yes, Sir,” She nodded before scrambling up the stairs to her apartment. Opening the closet door in her bedroom, she pulled out the duffel bag Dominic had left. Inside were the few toys he’d brought with them, a ball gag, three floggers, a crop, and several variously-sized dildos and butt plugs. The basic stuff that Dominic wouldn’t feel comfortable borrowing from Caelan’s impressive collection.
While she hadn’t paid much attention earlier to the conversation between the men, she knew her Dom. He would’ve given very explicit instructions on how to discipline her. Not that she didn’t deserve it: she did - the idea of Nisey hurting was more than reason enough.
She debated changing her clothing before decided against it. If Sir had wanted her to change he would’ve told her to. Holding the bag in one hand and her keys in the other, she locked the door behind her before she walked back down to where Josh was waiting with butterflies in her stomach.
She wordlessly handed the bag to him.
“Playroom, now.”
“Yes, Sir.” Opening the unlocked door to Caelan’s home, she took the most direct route to the playroom without even glancing towards the wreckage of the kitchen.
* * * *
Josh waited until he was sure that Kalinda had headed downstairs before he pulled out his cell phone. Hitting the redial button, he waited patiently for Dominic to pick up.
“Yeah?”
“It’s just me. We’re back at Caelan’s.” Josh kept his voice low. Glancing around at the mess in the kitchen including the blood on the chair and the floor, he drew a ragged breath. “Are you sure I need to do this right now? All I want is to hold her. If only you could see the lost look on her face, Dominic. She’s hurting. The last thing I want to do is punish her especially after seeing the evidence of the attack. Christ there’s broken glass, blood and overturned furniture. How do I punish her when it’s obvious that she did nothing wrong?.”
A long sigh filled his ear. “I know, but unfortunately that’s part of being her Dom, Josh. Punishing her even if you don’t think it’s warranted. It has to be done or she won’t put the attack behind her. She’ll dwell on it until she does something that endangers her safety.”
“Fuck! What exactly are we talking about here? Insubordination or worse?”
“Probably the later. She’ll probably sneak out to a club so she can approach the biggest, cruelest Dom she can find. Then she’ll beg him to punish her. Which is the lesser of two evils - you or I punishing her or a known Dom who doesn’t realize her background?”
“Damnit! How the hell did you deal with this? She was impulsive but not to the extent she’d endanger her life.”
“She hadn’t been hurt yet, Josh. I know you don’t like it but your rejection did more than sting her pride. She was lost for nearly the first six months she was in L.A., while she tried to find herself within the pain.”
“How many damn times do I have to tell everybody - I wasn’t rejecting her! I wanted her to get some experience before I offered her my collar!” He raked a hand through his short hair while he paced. Finally frustrated with himself more than Dominic he started cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.
A long suffering sigh came from the other end of the phone. “We really need to hash that out but it’s going to have to wait. She needs you to be the strong Dom that you are. Believe me - I know how difficult it is to go against your need to comfort. Get this out of the way and she’ll be fine. A bit quiet but she’ll forgive herself then move on. When I spoke with Caelan earlier, he told me he’s going to call her in the morning to assure her that he’s not angry at her. Tonight you’re going to have to take care of this, so in the morning she’ll believe him. While she’s this over-burdened with guilt, the words mean nothing.”
“Okay. I’ll do it but I won’t be happy about it.”
Dominic’s weary chuckle filled his ear. “I know. I wish I was there to do it for you. But look at it this way: it’ll be a learning experience for both of you.”
“Speaking of being here, did you have any luck with a flight out?” Taking the broom out of Caelan’s utility room, he started to sweep up the broken glass from in front of the door’s shattered window.
“Yeah, the day after tomorrow, I’ll be on the early bird flight. I’ve got to stick around for one last interview with Detective Anders.”
Josh kept the cell pressed to his ear, as he propped the broom on the table so he could right the tipped-over chairs. “Any luck with figuring out who broke into your storage unit?”
“No, not yet. The thieves were slick. They took out the cameras before cutting the lock off my unit. No prints or anything. Anders thinks that it was a personal attack on me.”
Josh’s blood ran cold. The idea that the attack on the girls was related to the break-in of Dominic’s storage hadn’t occurred to him. “Really? Are you in a habit of making enemies, LaFontane?”
“What Dom hasn’t? You know how brutal the BDSM world can be, Josh. As far as I know I haven’t pissed off any other Doms - aside from you. Do I have to worry that you came out here to trash my stuff?”
Josh couldn’t help but laugh at the mild accusation. “Not this guy. If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t go through the trouble or expense of having a storage unit over two thousand miles away vandalized. I simply tell you to your face.” Grabbing a roll of paper towels off the counter, Josh wiped up the blood on the seat of the chair. He had to steel himself against the idea of it being either Kalinda’s or Nisey’s blood.
The male chuckle carried through the phone “You kn
ow I do believe you’d do that.”
“You bet your ass I would.” Josh had to push aside the feeling of kindred friendship that the other man’s laughter stirred in him as he tossed the wadded-up bloodied towels into the garbage. Even though he liked Dominic as a man and a Dom, he had to remember that the younger man was his competition. It was becoming harder every day when Dominic would refer to Kalinda as their girl. There were no half-measures with him. He wanted Josh as part of his relationship and was more than willing to do the distance to see it happen.
“With that being said, I think our girl has waited downstairs in the playroom long enough. If you leave her to her own devices too long, she’ll have the flogger picked out and be trying to strap herself onto the cross.”
Josh nodded his understanding before realizing the other man couldn’t see him. “Of course she would. Impatient little witch.” He was just getting ready to end the call when Dominic’s voice came over the phone one last time.
“Do me a favor, Josh. Once you’ve finished punishing her tonight - reassure her that we both love her.”
Josh’s jaw dropped as the dial tone rang in his ear.
* * * *
Kneeling in the center of the playroom floor, Kalinda shifted. She was still wearing the jeans and t-shirt she’d worn to the hospital. The thick denim covering her legs gave some protection from the cold cement floor but very little. Beneath her thin t-shirt her nipples had budded in response to being in a playroom. Even though she knew she was here for her punishment rather than ‘playtime’, both men had trained her body well. Her pussy would cream each and every time she entered a room even remotely similar to a playroom or dungeon.
She briefly wondered where Josh was when she heard him on the stairs. Keeping her head lowered, she tried to steady her breathing. While she wasn’t sure about being under Josh’s flogger again without having things settled between them, she knew she would obey Dominic’s order. He always did what was best for her. It was her duty to accept his decision. Besides, having Josh punish her had nothing to do with pleasing him sexually. He’s merely helping Dominic out. Remember that and everything will be good.