by Anya Summers
Will's huge hand pulled away, and Kat bit her lip to keep from crying out in disappointment at the thought he wasn't going to give her what she so desperately needed. And then his hand thwacked against her rear, the sound reverberating in the space. She groaned, her head falling back as pleasure more intense than anything she'd experienced with Will so far battered her system. She mewled and moaned. He held nothing back and reddened her ass. Kat was nearly mindless and had entered a new dimension of exquisite ecstasy.
She only wished it were real and not simulated but she'd take it in whatever form she could get it from him. He smacked her ass again, and this one set her body off.
"Ohhh," she screamed as waves of pleasure bombarded her system. Kat trembled and quaked at the lacerating tremors as her orgasm blasted through her body.
Her body was limp and delirious from her climax as Will unhooked her cuffs from the suspension bar. When she would have melted into the floorboards, he swept her up in his arms and carted her over to the nearby spanking bench. No sooner was Kat in position on her hands and knees than Will's erection penetrated her sheath. Already on the precipice of desire, she moaned and keened as he rode her with a fury inside him. She felt every bit of him; the slap of his balls against her clit, the way his shaft slid along all her nerve endings as he slammed inside her clasping heat.
It didn't feel like a virtual world. It felt all too real.
Will pounded his length inside her, pistoning his hips and shuttling his shaft in deep, penetrating thrusts. Kat was so aroused, she seemed to be on a never ending wave of orgasmic bliss as he thrust like a tempest had taken up residence. Will slammed home and she shattered.
"Ahhh," she keened, her pussy clenching as spasms swamped her system. Will strained and shouted, his cock juddered in her clenching folds as he came. He rocked his hips, stroking his shaft inside her until the last flutters subsided before he withdrew.
"End session," he said, and the world around her went black.
If she weren't in this pleasurable haze, she might have panicked. As it was, she reclined in the leather chair, slowly returning to earth. Will undid her restraints on the chair and removed the goggles from her head. He had already removed his suit. The sight of his naked form made her smile. She'd never tire of looking at his hot rod body. He hoisted her out of the chair and she wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder as he carried her from the room.
Will transported her to his hot tub room. It was situated on the top floor of his home, in the far corner. It overlooked the beach and the Pacific ocean beyond. The room itself was all gray stone tile, keeping in line with the castle theme of his home. The hot tub was surrounded by a platform of enclosed tiles. He placed her on the ledge facing him and stripped her out of the body suit.
Once he had her suit off, Will climbed into the hot tub first before he helped her into the startlingly warm water. She sighed at the swirling hot water jets. He cradled her to his chest and reclined with her in his arms. Kat couldn't think of a better way to end her day than snug inside his arms. She loved being with him, feeling him surround her this way. It made her feel protected and cherished. She loved—him. So this was love. It rocked her core and her world changed. What if he never loved her back? Could she live with it and continue with the status quo?
"So what did you think of the virtual game?" He kissed her temple. His hands massaging her back were about to make her melt into a gooey, blissful heap at his feet.
"Wow! I loved it. I'm so impressed. I've never experienced anything like it. It's really almost as good as the real thing. When can we do that again?" She stroked a hand over his chest, marveling over her newly discovered feelings, absorbing his strength. He'd become her rock.
Will kissed her forehead again with a smile on his lips. "Anytime you want, kitty cat. Anytime."
She yawned against him, closing her eyes, more content with her life than she'd been in an age. "Maybe next time, you could spank me outside of the virtual reality."
Will's tranquil body stiffened underneath her. "What do you mean?"
Kat tipped her face up and said, "I loved having you discipline me in the game. I was hoping that you could do it in the real world."
The warmth, the congenial bliss that had been surrounding him flipped like a light switch and his face shuttered into a hard mask. "That's not going to happen."
She clutched at his chest, her heart stuttering and skipping a beat. She didn't understand. "Why not? You loved it every bit as much as I did. I could tell that you did. I don't understand, is it me? Am I doing something wrong?"
She was beside herself, feeling deflated and uncertain. Why didn't he want to touch her that way? If only he would explain it.
"Just drop it." He tried to deflect.
Something about the way he was treating her got her back up, and she was like a dog with a bone. "I will not. Will," she traced his clenched jaw with her fingers, "I need you to be honest with me. You're holding yourself back. I can feel it. I don't know if you just don't really want me, or if you don't want a true Dom and sub relationship with me. If there's a reason you don't want to be my Dom in every sense of the word, I think I have a right to know why."
Will had gone rigid underneath her and any of the warmth from the evening had evaporated. Kat felt the dissidence between them as he closed himself off from her further. He shifted her onto the bench and off his lap. Water sluiced off his body as he stood and exited the hot tub.
"Whenever you are finished, I will take you home," he said and left the room.
Kat covered her mouth to hide the sob. How had the night gone so horribly awry? From the highest glimpse of heaven into the pits of hell.
Did Will just break off their relationship?
Chapter Ten
Will held his whip, his grip firm, confident in his control. Sonya's skin reddened under the lash with every stroke. His cock twitched, stiff inside his leathers at the sensual interplay between him and his sub. He couldn't wait to sink his cock inside her dripping pussy.
Gritting his teeth and gripping the handle more firmly he snapped the whip, liking the way it coiled and bit at her willing flesh.
The scream she emitted curdled his blood, and he stared in dawning horror at the smear of red pouring from the gash in her back. He dropped the whip like it was a live snake, stumbling over to her, restrained against his dungeon wall.
The world tilted, his world spun as she wailed and fought against her bonds. What had he done? When he undid her restraints, he was expecting to see what he always did: Sonya's face screwed up in agony. But instead of Sonya's lion like eyes, it was Kat's lifeless, cornflower blue ones staring up at him in fear.
Will shot up in bed like a rocket. His sheets were soaked with sweat as he forced air into his lungs.
All week long, he grappled with the images of Kat as she came undone under his dominance, under his discipline. That scene in his virtual reality world had been the first time in more than a decade that he had properly disciplined a submissive. Kat had the finest ass, just made to be spanked. He had reveled in her pleasure under his hand, had reveled in taking the flogger to her ivory skin and watching it redden beneath his hands.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. What the hell was he going to do?
Ever since she had pleaded with him in the hot tub, he had been plagued by nightmares. He swiped his hand over his face again, trying like mad to wipe the horrid images from his brain. Will had hurt Kat last weekend—not physically of course, he'd cut off his hand before he ever laid a finger on her in a way that might cause her pain. It was his past misdeeds coming back to haunt him. He never should have touched her in the first place. He had no business being any sub's Dom.
It had been years since he'd dreamt of Sonya and that fateful night when things had gone too far. It had been an accident on his part. He'd never meant to hurt Sonya. But he had. And there wasn't a day that went by on which he didn't wish he could take it all back. The guilt ate at him
. Except there was no absolution for his crimes, nothing that would ever fully assuage his remorse, nor should there be. But this time, in his nightmares, Sonya's face had switched each time to Kat weeping and bleeding. Kat being lowered into a cold, unrelenting grave. He had woken up sweating, screaming her name all week.
It left him unsure how he should proceed with Kat. He'd already broken the vow he'd made in agony over Sonya's grave. What kind of man did that make him, what kind of Dom? He wasn't fit to be any sub's Dom.
He left his solitary bed and stood before the bay of windows with its view of the Pacific. He missed Kat. Fuck, he missed talking to her, missed having her sleep beside him each night, missed waking up with strands of her hair tangled against his chest, and missed watching the way her eyes glazed over with passion as she came.
Kat had infused life into this mausoleum of a house. It had once been his fortress of solitude but had now become his prison, with haunting reminders of her everywhere he went. She was smart and industrious, faced her problems head on. Kat made him laugh and made him burn. Having her once had not been enough. He feared he would never have enough of her sweet cries as she came or the feel of her surrounding him.
He'd hidden how relieved he'd been that she planned to stay in Los Angeles. It had made it easier on him because then he didn't have to ask her stay. It also meant he could continue holding his feelings inside so he didn't have to deal with what she made him feel—or what he wanted from her in the long run.
He never should have touched her. His heart ached at the thought. Will was convinced that he would break her. Ever since he'd dropped Kat off at her hotel last week after their fight, he had used work as an excuse not to contact her. He had lied and told himself it was better this way, a clean break for both of them. Until he'd found himself reaching for her in his sleep.
Fuck, he didn't know what he should do. Torn between what he knew was right, and what he wanted—and didn't know if he could live without.
The first rays of sunlight crested the horizon. Will was able to think best when his body was in motion. He changed into running shorts and shoes, heading out to the beach for a run. He still didn't know what he should do about Kat as his feet found their groove. His long legs ate up the beach as he hit that first mile. Seagulls circled and cawed around him, diving past him into the water for prey.
He knew what he wanted, what he craved from Kat: everything. He wanted it all with her, wanted to wake up and feel her beside him, wanted to fall asleep with her in the circle of his arms, and more importantly, he wanted to be the Dom she deserved, the one who would push her limits and her boundaries. He just didn't know if he had that in him anymore.
Will hadn't lied when he said he couldn't discipline her outside the virtual world. He wasn't sure he could control himself, that he had the ability to contain his physical dominance and not cause her harm.
He turned after a few miles and headed back toward his house. Could he risk it, risk her? In his heart, he knew the answer to that was no. As much as he wanted to be what she needed, he didn't think he had it in him anymore. Anytime she wanted discipline, he'd happily do it in the controlled environment of the virtual reality world.
He hadn't been honest with her about why he couldn't delve into that territory. Maybe it was time he explained it to her, he owed her that much, at the very least. And to be honest, he needed her back in his bed. He craved her, even just the chance to hold her.
His heart ached for her. He wasn't ready to admit his feelings, but they existed, and were almost a living, breathing entity they were so strong.
Dripping with sweat, he ran up the few stairs to his patio and entered his house. Yes, he'd been a distant ass when it came to Kat this past week. It was time he rectified it and ask her forgiveness.
Would she still want him, even without the discipline?
Chapter Eleven
In the week since Will had all but tossed her out of his home and his life, Kat had steeled her resolve to forge ahead with the plans for her life. If he didn't want to be a part of that life, no matter how much it knocked the wind from her midsection, then that was his choice. It was up to Kat to determine the tenor for her life.
She hadn't sat by the phone waiting for him to call her. Quite the opposite, in fact. Her lease application had been approved for the commercial property. She'd met with an attorney and filed all the necessary paperwork for starting her company with the state of California.
She still hadn't told Nicolai of her decision yet, but she could only handle so many theatrics at one time. After the scene with her mother on the phone the previous night, it could wait. There was no one on the planet who could make her feel guilty like Grace Roberts. Their conversation had quickly devolved, with her mom in near hysterics, and Kat more resolute than ever that she needed the separation.
Kat had begun making lists of everything she was going to need for her dance studio, from contractors, to equipment, to lockers later on down the line. It made it easier to forget that her heart was still bleeding. She had a meeting with a real estate agent on Sunday morning to view homes in Burbank.
The Uber dropped her off at the curb near Dungeon Pleasures.
"Kitty cat, welcome back." The bodyguard, Vince, winked at her and opened the heavy black door.
"Thanks, Vince." She gave him a smile as she passed and entered the fray.
She didn't stop until she had entered the Lair. Ophelia and Tobias were sitting, cuddled together, on one of the leather couches in the center. At their smiles when they spotted her, warmth spread through Kat's chest. Even if Will didn't want her, these were her people now, too.
Ophelia stood up and Kat was shocked. "Look at you!"
Lia ran her hands over her belly, encased in black spandex, with a gregarious smile. "I know, right? It's hard to believe Lily's getting so big. And that I still have two and a half months to go before she's here."
Ophelia gave her a fierce hug. Kat could see how it would be, could envision spending a night with them at the club, meeting them for dinner at their place or hers. These were her kindred tribe that she felt like she had waited her entire life for. It made up for all the lonely years when all she had done was dance ballet.
"Sit," Kat said, releasing Lia to sit back in her spot beside Tobias on the couch. Tobias always looked to Kat like a reformed biker with his muscle tees, black leather pants, and magnetic gaze that made her feel like he could see straight through her armor to her core.
"Kat, good to see you." Tobias gave her an approving nod. Her barely there black leather dress did not leave much to the imagination but was also the height of BDSM wear. Having the Dungeon owner's approval made satisfaction spread in her chest.
"Master T." She bowed her head in a submissive gesture at the compliment.
"You're not leaving us until the end of February, right?" Tobias asked.
"Actually, about that… I have some news. I'm not leaving Los Angeles anytime in the near future." This was it. Would they like the fact that she was staying longer and would be a resident, not a guest?
"Really? Did the company extend your performance?" Tobias seemed relaxed in his casual pose but the look on his face spoke volumes. He had a million questions for her.
"No. And they don't know about my decision yet so please keep this between us, but I plan on leaving the company at the end of this tour."
"So what are you going to do? Is it Will that's keeping you here?" He drummed his fingers on the arm rest.
She should have expected the question. She had never said anything to either Tobias or Lia, so she had no idea how he knew, but that no longer mattered. There was nothing between her and Will anymore. Will had made damn sure of that. And even if it felt like her heart was shattering into a thousand pieces just thinking about him, she steeled her resolve to move forward without him in her life. She stared at Tobias and shook her head. "No, it has nothing to do with Will. I'm starting my own dance studio in Burbank."
"Get out, really
?" Lia exclaimed.
"Yep, I already leased the space next to the Do It Hardware Center."
Ophelia shrieked as she bounced back up and tossed her arms around her in a delighted hug. "I'm so excited that you plan to stay. So does this mean you are looking at living in Burbank too?"
"Possibly. It's the area I'd like to be in, so I don't have a long commute. I'm meeting with a realtor tomorrow."
Ophelia whooped and did a little shimmy.
Tobias studied Kat intently with a shuttered expression in what she always liked to term 'pensive Dom' mode. It was the 'I'm going to get to the bottom of this little tangle' expression but gave her no clear picture about how this news made him feel. Just once, she'd like a Dom to display an ounce of what the hell they were feeling. It made her uncomfortable, like she was being studied under a microscope.
"Oh my gosh, this means you can teach Lily ballet." And at that, Lia promptly burst into tears. "Sorry, hormones are making me weepy all the time." She dabbed at her eyes.
Kat rubbed her arm in comfort. "Don't worry about it. I'd be honored to teach her once she's old enough."
"You're sure about this?" Tobias questioned, still not showing whether he was pleased or not with the news.
"Yes, I am. In fact, I was going to ask you if you might know of some reliable contractors I could hire to remodel the interior of my studio, and if you knew anyone good with installing security systems."
"With regards to the security, I've got you covered. I can take a look at your space whenever you are ready and I will include the family discount for it. Although, let me check into contractors for you. I know a few that are reputable, but you need someone specialized for the type of contract work you want performed. Give me a few days, two at the most, and I'll have someone for you."
"Thank you, Tobias. I appreciate it so much."
"Excuse me. I'll be right back," Ophelia interrupted and stood.
"Problem, sweetness?" Tobias cast a concerned glance at Lia.