Taming Kalinda

by Dakota Trace

  His breathing came faster - he had to placate her. “I’m…s…sorry…”

  “You’re sorry what!”

  Tears burned at the back of his eyes. He wanted to believe it was from the pain her grip was causing, but suddenly he knew better. He’d pissed her off and evidently she had no problem with banning him. Breathing roughly, he tried to appease her righteous anger.

  “I’m sorry, Mistress.”

  Her eyes narrowed before she leaned closer. “Do you want to be kicked out of Olivia’s, Jude?”

  He shook his head. When her hand tightened once more, he was quick to verbalize his response. “No, Mistress.”

  “Then you have one choice. You’ll present yourself in two days hence to be punished for breaking the club rules.”

  “But, Olivia…” His heart raced as his eyes landed on the whip hanging from her sexy hip. Could he honestly allow her to use that whip on him?

  “It’s either that or you’ll never be allowed in here again - and once you’re banned from my club, our games stop. Now choose before I lose what little patience I have left.”

  Seeing the seriousness in her face, he knew he had no other choice but to submit. The alternate wasn’t even an option.

  “I’ll....I’ll be here, Mistress…what time...?”

  “Seven P.M. sharp.”

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  She released him with a jerk. He fell to his knees on the carpeted floor - unsure if it was from relief or fear. What the hell had he just committed to?

  “Now get the hell out of my sight!”

  He scrambled to his feet before obeying. He wasn’t going to press his luck further.

  * * * *

  Olivia trembled as her knees went weak when the door slammed closed behind Jude. Gabriel barely was able to catch her before she fell to the floor. Her emotions were in an upheaval. Anger warred with relief when Jude finally understood his error, only to be replaced by lust when she saw the submission in his eyes. She was in a Dom-drop and she was going to crash.

  “I’ve got you, Liv.” Gabriel cradled her against his chest before carrying her to her desk. Sinking into her chair, he rocked her. Tears welled in her eyes before spilling over her cheeks.

  Gone was the formidable Domme that ran Olivia’s and in her place was the vulnerable woman. “It’ll be fine, sweetheart.” Gabriel continued to rock her in his arms as she weathered the storm of her violent emotions. When she finally slumped against Gabriel, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed. She lifted her head slowly, wincing at the resulting pounding headache her crying had caused.

  “Here.” Gabriel pressed two small white tablets into her palm along with a cool glass of water.

  Taking the ibuprofen, she swallowed them with a long sip of water. She lowered her head back to his chest. “Thank you, Gabe.”

  “No problem, Liv. You would’ve done the same for me.” He stroked her hair. “Is Bryan okay?”

  She nodded. “Yes. He’ll be fine now. I told Carlos to stop by the kitchen to feed him after Bryan finished his shower, before taking him back to the hospital to be with Rai.”

  “I’m proud of you, kiddo. Not only did you take care of Bryan, you also held onto your control with Jude. I know he’s new to the scene but he still signed the damn contract. His blatant disobedience couldn’t be easy to deal with.”

  She sighed but shook her head. “It was too damn close. I almost lost it - perhaps I should let him go. If he can get to me this easily, perhaps a different Domme would be better.”

  “Like you’re going to let another Domme get her hands on him. If he didn’t get to you a little bit, he wouldn’t be as attractive to you in the first place. Take some advice from me! You, Olivia, are a Domme worthy of the name. You held onto your control when it would’ve been easier to lash out at Jude - to teach him a well deserved lesson. But you didn’t. You knew striking him in anger was wrong. You’ve come a long way in the last fifteen years. Master Alastar would be proud of you. I’m proud of you.” He pressed a gentle kiss of brotherly affection on the crown of her head.

  She couldn’t help but smile at the mention of the man who had not only taken Caelan under his wing, but had taken one look at the skinny goth-looking girl from Chechnya and decided to train her. Her mentoring by Master Alastar had begun a new way of life for her.

  “Thanks Gabe, you’re the best.” She pulled away from him slowly. “I’d better move. Your sub is gonna be jealous if she smells my perfume on you.”

  He smiled. “Nonsense. She knew I was bringing Bryan to you tonight. In fact she promised to reward my unwavering loyalty to my friends by allowing me to fuck her ass with the new anal plug I bought her.”

  Olivia arched an eyebrow. Sara had been leery when Gabriel had brought home the massive plug a few weeks earlier. So leery that he’d come to her and Caelan because he was uncertain if he should ‘push’. She could understand his concern since it was the first time Sara had ever wavered on anything Gabriel had ever asked of her.

  “So why the hell are you still here? Take your ass home before she changes her mind.” Crawling out of his lap, she sank back down into her chair after he’d exited it. At the door, he paused. “Are you going to be okay, Liv?”

  “Yes! Now go before I’m tempted to repay your kindness by calling Sara to warn her you’re on your way home, so she has time to hide that monstrosity.”

  He bared his teeth at her. “Bitch, you’d do it.”

  She smirked at him before reaching for the phone. “In a heartbeat.” The smirk fell from her face after the door slammed behind him. She moved her hand from the phone before settling deeper in the chair with her head tipped back. A few moments later there was a frantic knock on her office door before one of the wait staff stuck her head into the room obviously in a panic.

  “Mistress Olivia!”

  Olivia surged out of her chair. “What’s wrong, Emily?” The new girl had been with her long enough to what kind of things to bring to her attention

  “One of the new Dom’s just ignored his sub’s safe-word. When Will tried to stop the scene, the Dom just decked him. I’d have gotten Carlos but…”

  “…he’s gone.” The wave of anger stimulated her as she grabbed the single tail off the desk. “Thank you for coming to get me - I’ll take care of it.”

  A Domme’s job was never done!

  * * * *

  Stretched out one end the futon, Dominic stared moodily at the television. The gentle weight of Kalinda’s head resting on his lap should’ve comforted him, but he was unsettled as hell. On the other end of the futon, Josh slouched comfortably while he rubbed Kalinda’s small feet absently. Without taking his eyes off the television, Josh broke the silence.

  “Want to talk about it?” Josh kept his voice low in deference to the woman sprawled out and sleeping soundly between them.

  “About what? I thought we discussed our plan quite thoroughly when we came back upstairs. I still have my doubts but between the two of us, she should be safe.”

  Instead of responding as Dominic had hoped, the other man clicked the television off before turning to face him.

  “I wasn’t talking about the security plan, or even our obvious disagreement on letting Kalinda help with this.”

  Dominic shifted a bit to toy with a lose strand of Kalinda’s hair. It was a delaying tactic and he had a feeling that Josh knew it.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Josh.”

  “Don’t give me that shit. Even I could feel you freeze her out at the hospital.”

  “You’ll have to admit it was a bit of a shock - to find out that she deliberately kept the threat from that so-called leader from both of us. Any Dom would’ve done the same. You and I both know not to punish a sub when angry.” Dominic dropped the strand of hair before making eye contact with the other man.

  Dominic knew that all hell was gonna break loose with the other man if he didn’t give him at least some basic answers. He didn’t have to go into
the fiasco with Simone, but he could at least reassure Josh that he wasn’t angry with Kalinda.

  “But one thing I noticed, Dom, is you’re calm now and you still haven’t punished her. Not at all, and that’s not what I would’ve expected from you.”

  Dominic rolled his shoulders. “I’m not angry with her. I never was, but I won’t punish her because of my own shortcomings.” He reached for the remote Josh had set on the back of the futon. Now that he’d told Josh that it wasn’t Kalinda’s fault, he was done with this discussion. Josh knew as much as he needed to know.

  “Don’t even begin to think that answer is enough, Fontane. You’ve told me from the beginning there was going to be honesty in this whole relationship or it wouldn’t work.”

  Dominic clenched his fist. “Between you and Kalinda. There has to be honesty between you two before we can move forward…”

  Josh stared at him before leaning forward until his face was inches away from Dominic’s. “That’s complete and utter bullshit - especially if you think that Kalinda and I are the only ones in this relationship that should be honest and therefore vulnerable. You expect to have a hand in bringing all three of us together...but remain untouched by the emotions we bring out in one another, don’t you?” Josh’s soft accusation had Dominic ready to kick the other man’s ass.

  “I never claimed I didn’t feel anything, Redding. Yes, I brought you and Kalinda back together. You need each other…”

  “And now that we’re finding our way back to each other, we don’t need you? Is that what you are trying to say? Is that what you’re trying to do with your coolness today? Were you trying to find a way out without hurting Kalinda?”

  A low growl rumbled out of Dominic’s chest as anger - hot fierce fury thawed the ice that had encompassed him since this morning. His anger this morning had been about someone using Kalinda to hurt him - it had been a cold anger, but now he was way beyond mere anger. He was furious! How dare Josh claim that he was looking for a way out!

  * * * *

  Josh studied the man casually. He wondered how much harder he was going to have to push Dominic before he finally came out from behind the wall where he’d been hiding all day. If he’d bothered to stop and think about it, it might have worried him that he was in tune with the other Dom in several ways that weren’t familiar. Instead he’d watched how Kalinda had reacted to Dom’s continued distance.

  If it had been a week ago he’d have allowed the other man to bury himself, so he could reap the spoils, but it wasn’t, as the situation they were in had shifted drastically. Unbelievably he didn’t want the other man to get lost. After feeling how good it felt for the three of them to be together, he didn’t want to go back to how it was before, primarily because he knew that Kalinda would choose Dominic over him. How couldn’t she after everything Dominic had done for her?

  His heart went out to their little sub as he watched her try to draw Dominic out of his funk. It seemed like emotionally the other man continued to distance himself despite her efforts, until Kalinda finally had given an aspirated sigh before admitting defeat. After supper she plopped down on the couch then stretched out with her head in Dominic’s lap as her way of beginning her own silent war. At first Dominic had seemed stunned that she’d dared to initiate physical contact without his permission, but she’d simply ignored the shocked expression on his face before turning her attention back to the TV.

  For a moment, he’d thought that Dominic was going to dump Kalinda on the floor, but after he’d shifted a couple times to get comfortable, he’d settled into his corner of the futon to watch television in silence. A few moments later Josh himself joined them before easing Kalinda’s shoes off. He’d slowly rubbed her feet, hoping to put her at ease, as they’d watched several programs of a popular forensic show. As the credits rolled once more, he noticed that Kalinda was asleep. Deciding it was his perfect opportunity Josh had broached the subject, knowing Dominic couldn’t run off without disturbing the sleeping Kalinda.

  “Well?”

  Dominic gave a rough sigh. “Well what?”

  “Are you looking for a way out? If so, just say so. I’ll take Kalinda off your hands in a heartbeat. I freely admit I made a huge mistake two years ago - one that I’m more than happy to correct now.”

  Josh decided right then and there - if looks could’ve killed he’d be dead. The other man looked ready to rip his head off. “You’re lucky she’s lying between us, Redding. I’d kick any man’s ass who tries to take her from me. I’ve done that and more to keep her after that debacle in L.A.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about that whole thing, but only after you explain why you’ve shut out not only Kalinda but me?” Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with another man. You do realize that there isn’t a homosexual bone in my body, right? How the hell did I end up in a relationship with another Dom, especially one who’s big enough and bad enough to kick my ass?”

  “Because it’s what she needs.” Dominic’s gritted words had a small smile tugging at his lips.

  “Then tell me what has you drawing back.”

  “It has no bearing on our relationship with Kalinda. It’s in the past and that’s where it’s gonna stay.” The curtness of his voice had Kalinda stirring fretfully in her sleep.

  “If you think that - then you’re a fool. If you keep your own council, she’s eventually going to think that it’s something she’s done. If you’re thinking of offering her your permanent collar, she needs to know everything that might affect how you deal with her.”

  Dominic’s eyes flashed at him in the dimly lit room. “You’re treading on thin ice, Redding. Have you bothered to tell her about the girl down in New Orleans that you offered your collar to?”

  “Linda has nothing to do with this, but if Kalinda asked I’d tell her about it. Unlike you, I’m not shutting her out. My past is an open book to her. All she has to do is ask.” Josh was ready to deck the other man. He didn’t like having his stupidity with Linda thrown up in his face. What he’d felt for Linda was a pale imitation of his feelings for Kalinda.

  Dominic gave him a mocking look. “Like you’re going to tell her that your first love turned you down, after you went through the trouble of setting up a collaring ceremony, to run off with a huge black Dom she’d been seeing on the side.”

  * * * *

  Kalinda felt tears well up in her eyes as she listened to the two men over her arguing with each other. They evidently weren’t pulling any punches. While she had a good idea of what issue Master was skirting around, she felt as if the wind had been driven out her at his mention of a previous sub who had turned ‘Sir’ down in favor of another man. Even though it shed some light on why ‘Sir’ hadn’t offered his collar to her two years ago, she couldn’t bear to hear them arguing. If this is what their relationship was going to consist of, then she wanted no part of it. She’d be better off alone than coming between the two Doms. It would be a dangerous place for her to be if they started giving conflicting orders in their “one ups-man-ship”.

  As their arguments continued to heat while they threw one insult after another until they were screaming at each other, she decided she’d had enough. There was only so much a slave could take from her Masters - even if she wasn’t collared by anyone.

  “Stop it, please, just stop it.” Sitting up, she pushed away from both men. Her words silenced the two men instantly. Standing on trembling legs, she didn’t bother to hide the tears streaking her cheeks. “Sir, if Master doesn’t want to talk about it, it’s his decision. Eventually he’ll tell me about Simone or he won’t. I won’t push him to relive that particular nightmare.”

  Narrowing her eyes when Master’s chest puffed out, she felt the sting of fresh tears. “And you, Master. I didn’t think you’d stoop as low as using something in Sir’s past to verbally wound. I thought you were different.”

  The look of smugness fled Dominic’s face. “Kalinda…”


  She shook her head. “No…I don’t want to hear it. If this is the way our relationship between you two is going to be, I don’t want any part of it. It’ll tear me apart if I become a bone of contention between you.” She clenched her hands before turning to leave the apartment. “I need some time alone to reevaluate my options.”

  Behind her she could hear the scrambling of the men as they vaulted off the futon.

  “Kalinda, you can’t leave…”

  “Chérie, think about this…the danger…”

  She stopped by the door before looking over her shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just going down to Caelan’s. I’ll be safe. I’m not stupid, especially after all the trouble that you’ve both gone through to make sure I’m safe. I need to talk to Nisey, and I don’t need company. Caelan will keep me safe.” She quietly shut the door behind her as a fresh wave of tears blurred her vision.

  * * * *

  Standing in the middle of the living room, Dominic stared at Josh who was clenching and unclenching his fists.

  “Is that the way you normally let her talk to you?”

  Dominic shook his head. “I don’t demand 24/7 submission, Josh. She knows she can speak her mind without fear of retaliation. It’s one of the founding principles of our relationship. Without it, it never would’ve lasted the first six months of our relationship. If I didn’t offer her more than a shoulder to cry on and a flogger to sting when she felt blue, it would’ve been over once I helped her though the pain of your rejection. But she knows not to talk to me with disrespect.”

  Josh began to pace the floor. “So what are you going to do about this outburst? Climb back behind that wall of yours? And who the hell is Simone?”

  Rubbing his fingers over his eyes, Dominic realized he had no other option now that Kalinda had let ‘the cat out of the bag’ so to speak.

  “Simone is my Linda. She decided that even though I’d offered her my collar, she didn’t want a Dom who put his family first. She walked out with Katrina bearing down on us, left my collar on my kitchen table after only wearing it for two weeks - with a note telling me how she couldn’t be my slave if I wouldn’t put her above my family. Katrina was coming and my mom and sister wouldn’t leave…I couldn’t go without them…it didn’t matter in the end though…they lived in St. Bernard Parrish.” He took a deep breath before continuing.