“He was given the Nobel Peace Prize?” I said wistfully.
“No, Mia, they prosecuted him for homosexuality, and as part of his treatment administered female hormones, which was essentially chemical castration.” He shrugged. “Prison terrified Turing, so he chose the alternate prescribed treatment. He suffered a terrible ordeal.”
“That’s horrible.” My thoughts scattered. “But I don’t understand.”
“You’ve understood greater than most.”
“After all he did?”
“Had Turing been around today, he would have been celebrated,” said Cameron. “Though we still have a long way to go. Being gay is perfectly normal. Society is realizing that. Societies preconceived ideas are more open than ever to the truth that normal isn’t just what you and I deem it to be.”
“So many of your clients here are gay?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you?”
He beamed at me. “If I was, I’d be in my element here.”
“But your relationship with Richard is so…”
“We’re exceptionally comfortable with each other.”
“It’s a bit like how close I am with Bailey.”
“Exactly. Supporting Bailey when she came out was an extraordinary gift.”
“She’s my best friend. I love her.”
I didn’t want to talk about Bailey right now. The last thing I needed was to be reminded I wasn’t going to be seeing my best friend for a while. Apparently I was forbidden to call anyone while I was here. The thought of it made my fingers twitch for my phone that was back in Malibu.
“You’re delightfully bi-curious, Mia,” said Cameron. “This we can work with.”
I blushed wildly. It was more of a fascination with what the dominatrixes got up to with their clients than wanting to engage in any sexual shenanigans. Cameron had found me bent over on Scarlet’s spanking bench, so his imagination must have run wild with what was going on in her office. I still had so much more to learn.
Initially, Richard had gone all out with my BDSM education, giving me numerous reading materials. Thanks to him, I’d read some pretty interesting books. One of them being ‘The Story of O’ by French writer Anne Desclos, under the pen name Pauline Reage. She’d written her novel in 1954 about a fashion photographer seduced into the world of BDSM. I’d found it both arousing and disturbing at the same time, mainly because of the extent of her sexual torture. Seriously, this book had anal stretching in it and no way was I going to allow anyone to do that to me. No fucking way.
“You’ve gone very quiet,” said Cameron.
“You’re okay with me crossing out those things for my hard limits?” I said, making sure he’d made a note of them.
“Let’s discuss the details later.”
My heart took off at an alarming rate. “Are you going to be training anyone else while we’re here?”
“No.”
I swallowed hard, trying to feign I wasn’t having a panic attack.
“As the director,” he said, shaking me from my freaking out, “it’s my responsibility to ensure our clients’ needs are fulfilled. Here, we specialize in healing and acceptance.”
“I want to be part of that.”
“You’ll be at the center of it. There will be times when you will be called upon to assist with my clients.”
“I would very much like that.”
“After much consideration, I have decided to take you on as my new secretary. This will ensure we continue to work closely together. I require a willing, open-minded assistant who is also my submissive, who trusts me.”
“What about my job at Enthrall?”
“It’s not going anywhere.”
My thoughts spiraled with the kind of things Cameron had in mind, yet I knew he wouldn’t push me too far, not on my first day anyway.
My mind screeched to a halt. “You’ll hire a new secretary at Enthrall?”
The thought of a newbie hanging around Richard sent a wave of panic.
“You’re merely switching places with Lady Penny.”
It was too late to not show my relief.
“You’re going to be a good fit,” he said. “I saw your potential for what we do here during your interactions with Monsieur Trouville. Or rather how he reported he felt after interacting with you.”
“Monsieur Trouville is one of your patients?”
“Yes. Though we refer to them as clients. They either stay here or have sessions at Enthrall.”
“I helped him?”
“You did. Trouville had a remarkable breakthrough after interacting with you at Enthrall.”
“Breakthrough?”
“Yes. I can’t say too much as his case is confidential.”
“But I didn’t do anything.” I blushed. “In fact, I kind of lied to him. I let him believe I had those Venus balls in.”
“You made him feel normal, Mia. Which of course he is.”
That made me wonder what his fetish was.
“He’s desperately fond of you,” said Cameron. “When you improve a man’s life, you improve his work, and Trouville’s work is highly important.”
“What does he do?”
“Monsieur Trouville is one of the world’s most preeminent astrophysicists,” said Cameron. “Trouville’s findings on the study of black holes is remarkable. He continues to awe the astrophysics community. He has an interesting theory on black hole behavior, believing they swallow the occasional star in order to protect them.”
I stared through the window again, skyward. “It’s a bit like what you do here.” I turned to face him. “You take us under your protection for a while. Until you’re ready to let us go.”
Cameron closed his eyes and his expression shifted to unreadable. “It’s time.”
Trying to still my shaking hands, I followed him out.
When he slammed the car door behind me, I jumped. Never had I been so nervous yet never so exhilarated. My heart thundered like a thousand starlings scrambling for freedom.
“Frightened?” asked Cameron.
My expression held nothing back.
“As expected.” He took the few short steps up towards the carved dark wooden door, turned the handle, and opened it. He gestured for me to go on ahead. Of course I’d walked through this door before, but never under these circumstances. Entering now meant relinquishing control. The unknown had never loomed so close.
My intuition screamed at me to get back in the car.
“After you,” he said.
Soft lighting came from dramatic inlaid ceiling sconces, showering the foyer with shards of white and emphasizing the central staircase sweeping up and heading off in opposite directions.
I took in the marble pattern, bold and uncompromising, as were the striking blood red velvet drapes behind us, easily complimenting the surrounding upholstery. A visual symphony of shape, texture, and color all ingeniously exuding Chrysalis’s power.
His power.
“You like me being frightened, don’t you?” I said, turning to Cameron.
“Yes,” he said darkly. “I do.”
CHAPTER 18
THE HARRINGTON SUITE was as I remembered it.
A lavish ballroom situated on the west side of the house and probably the biggest room of all. The last time I’d visited I’d naively sneaked in, hardly noticing the décor. I’d been too mesmerized by the erotic vision of a beautiful naked woman being taken hard on that long central table by two masked men, both of them half stripped out of their tuxedos.
I’d fought off my arousal long enough to get the hell out, only to be caught leaving the room, and ten minutes later presented to the director, like the trespasser I was. Lucky for me the director was Cameron. The shock that this renowned psychiatrist ran this place, as well as Enthrall, had never left me. A connoisseur of the dark arts, whatever that actually meant. I’d been told his erotic skills equaled his brilliance as a doctor, which was a heady combination.
It didn’t h
elp that he was standing a few feet away watching me, his hands casually tucked inside his pants pockets and that fierce intelligence reflected in those deep chestnut eyes.
We’d only just left the safety of the Lincoln and here was our first stop on our tour. This empty room was a regal reminder that they partied hard in the lap of luxury. Those memories brought with them an arousal, a thrill, those sensuous scenes replaying in my mind like a forbidden dream. I was now part of this world and my guide was the man who ruled this house.
“What do you remember?” he asked.
“There was a crowd,” I said. “People were watching.”
“What were they watching, Mia?”
Turning from him, I made my way farther in.
The high stucco ceiling and long sweeping drapes gave a palatial air, formidable even. Understandably, last time I’d not noticed the black and white photographs in heavy frames lining the walls, these dramatic renditions of men and woman dressed either in tuxedos for the men or the finest underwear, or a lack of it, for the women. All of them masked. Members caught in real life poses, all of them elite, rich. Otherworldly.
“Mia?” he said.
I pointed, cheeks flushing. “There was a woman on this table. Two men were making love to her.”
“They were fucking her.” He shrugged. “Semantics.”
“They were sharing her,” I whispered.
“Do you want to know the meaning of what you witnessed?”
This place had a way of silencing me. He had a way of silencing me.
“Ruth was being returned to her master after being trained,” he said, “by one of our senior dominants.”
I tried to make sense of his words. Ruth, that mysterious brunette with the grace of a dancer, had writhed in pleasure, spellbound by those capturing her, pleasuring her, and in front of all those people. Ruth’s eyes had met mine as though needing to share her experience.
Was he suggesting that I too would be taken by both Richard and him in this manner? The thought of it both terrified and thrilled me. My legs wobbled and I willed myself not to show any weakness.
He neared me and grasped my shoulders. “There’s a real risk you may become infatuated with me. Don’t. This is not about love. This is about surrender. Yours.”
This room was bigger than I remembered it. The vastness impersonal and lacking intimacy. In here you could be swallowed up and no one would notice.
Cameron lifted my chin. “I say this to prepare you.”
“I don’t see myself falling in love with you, if that helps,” I said. “I belong to…”
His eyes crinkled into a smile. “Correction. You now belong to me.”
I stared at the plush carpet and willed his intensity down a notch.
Cameron came closer and brushed his thumb over my mouth. “While you are in this house, don’t think of him again. Am I clear?”
“Yes,” I said, my heart wilting.
He grasped my arm and led me out of the room. “As my submissive, you will be granted certain privileges. You’ll be considered BDSM royalty. Do not take advantage of such a position.”
His intensity caused chills throughout my body, my psyche warning me this was it.
Outside, I glanced left and right down the sweeping hallway. Hardwood floors led off in either direction. The scent of fresh pinewood and incense filled the air. Cameron closed his eyes and I felt the shift in his demeanor.
Disquiet seeped into my bones.
He opened his eyes again and zeroed in on me like a predator. “Mia.”
“Yes?”
Cameron slammed me against the wall, using his body to hold me there. “Last time you came here,” he gripped my wrists, raising my hands above my head and holding them there, “I caught you trespassing. That time, I had no choice but to let you go. Deny you the punishment you deserved.”
Shadows dance over his striking features and I saw the truth in his eyes. That he held all the power.
He looked intense. “Now that you are mine, everything changes.” Cameron’s lips met mine, forcing them open, his kiss furious, his tongue battling for domination and finding it. This need within me was so powerful, so intense, I moaned into his mouth, slipping towards surrender. He was breaking down my defenses, the severity of his hold weakening me.
My thoughts spiraled out of control as memoires flooded in, distracting me from this, our first kiss at Chrysalis. Cameron had promised to get to my pain but there was only one way for him to do that. I’d have to tell him about what really happened that day, share the shame of what I’d done. I’d risk losing him forever and sabotage my chance of going back to Richard. When Cameron learned the truth, his wrath would turn from domination to hate.
I turned away. “No.”
“Life is a series of moments.” His tone was silky, refined. “Don’t be frightened of this one.”
By now, Richard was probably nestled at home with that young woman. An ache settled in my heart. My stomach twisted in knots. It had been so easy to surrender to Richard, his boyish charm, his gentleness.
This was different.
What was being offered by a world renowned dominant promised no end of pain. The kind I wasn’t ready for.
“I have to go home,” I said.
Cameron’s right hand gripped my wrists above my head and with his left he tugged at my dress. “Lift.”
Giddy with this adrenaline rush forging through my veins and causing me to shake uncontrollably, I obeyed, feeling his right hand trailing up the inside of my thigh.
“Shush,” he soothed, his fingers exploring.
Cameron’s hand came down hard on my pussy and I jotted with the shock, the pang of pleasure hit me right on my clit.
“This is your home now,” he said.
I gave a sharp nod and Cameron’s hand delivered another slap, sending astounding pleasure there and alighting my sex, sending me spiraling.
“And while you are here, you will obey me in all things.”
My moan echoed. “What if anyone sees?”
“Then they see. You arrived at my Beverly Hills home wearing stockings, Mia. When I distinctly remember giving you orders to the contrary.”
“And I’d do it again too,” I burst out.
His hand came down hard, shooting pleasure into my core. “Rebelling?” His slaps became short, sharp and resounding. “Be still.”
“No.”
“Then I’ll still you.” His fingers explored further, entering and circling, pressing my g-spot, suspending all my thoughts.
Not wanting this to end, I begged him with my eyes. Despite this urge to fight back and not give up my dreaded secret, his fingers owned me right now and he was luring me closer, finding a way to weaken my resolve.
His thumb flicked across my clit. “Who does this belong to?”
“Me.”
“Is that right?”
I clenched my teeth. “Yes.”
“What about your body?”
I turned my face away, letting that serve as my answer.
It was difficult to concentrate with those slow, heavy thrusts of his palm making me throb. Swooning with pleasure, my channel pulsing and aching for him, my head lolled to the side. His fingers were doing something masterful to my clit now and I lowered my gaze to see.
“Do you agree to obey me in all things?” he said.
“That depends.”
“On what exactly?”
“If I like what it is you’re ordering me to do.”
He let out a wolfish laugh. “It’s just a matter of time before I have you on a leash.”
“Never.”
Cameron continued with this devastating pace, his hand punishing me.
I moaned. “Can I come?”
“You’re not so impossible to train.”
“That proves you don’t know me.”
“I know you better than you know yourself, Mia.”
I shot him a look, trying to read the truth in his words. “Let me come.”<
br />
“Let’s be clear on something,” he whispered close to my ear. “If I’m going to make you come frequently, you will never hold back on me again? Am I clear?”
Heeding his words, I let go, leaning forward into the pleasure, allowing the climax to sweep over me, shuddering, wanting and needing to be held like this forever. Cameron continued his mastery, holding me at the height of climax as though he had the power to hold me there forever.
“Who do you belong to?” he asked.
A shiver ran through me.
As though sensing my need to fall from this dazzling precipice, he slowed his pace and led me down, guiding my recovering with expert circling, bringing me back into the now.
“This moment is not meant for you.” Cameron slammed his body against mine with a deadly grace. “You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, and until now I’ve had to give you up, until now.”
We were replaying that scene from the first time he’d caught me trespassing here. That time he’d resisted taking me against the wall. He’d merely held back on his passion and guided me out of the back of the house, amongst the partygoers, and delivered me to Richard.
But not tonight. Not now. This was our chance to replay that chemistry between us, trust where the seconds dared to take us. My desire to please Cameron overwhelmed me and my thoughts scrambled, trying to remember what I knew about him, about this place. I pushed against him, panicked by my imminent surrender.
Cameron stilled, his expression remaining taut, his frown deepening. “You dare to defy me?”
It didn’t make any sense. I’d surrendered to him back in his Beverly Hills home and been rewarded with astounding pleasure, yet here, now, I’d lost my will to submit.
“I belong to me.” I said it with the same volition with which he’d demanded I was his.
“Careful.”
I glared at him. Yes, I wanted to let go, but something deep within me refused to go there. My body wanted this, but my mind denied my release, this freedom, refusing to let him in. Refusing to let go. My past dictated each decision despite what I wanted.
He gripped my wrists. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Apparently you like to watch us burn?”
Enthrall Her Page 17