Lone Survivor (Crescent City Kings Book 1)

by Anya Summers

  He ushered her inside, the leather seat smooth beneath her legs. The vehicle carried a hint of his spicy, seductive scent. And there was still nary a blip reaction from her hormones.

  “Are you ready for tonight? Have any questions you need me to answer?” he asked, driving through the city streets with an authoritative confidence she wished she had a tenth of with her own driving skills. While she might be back behind the wheel, she definitely was not a confident driver anymore.

  “Yes. I think so. No sex, right? Just a scene with a flogger.” She twisted in her seat to look at him. This was the right choice. Even as her heart whimpered in agony, Sadie knew she needed to move on and have her damn act together. If not for herself, then for Grace. Ram didn’t want her. And she wasn’t going to think about the number of calls from him she had ignored.

  She couldn’t go back there. Not when she loved him, and he wanted the whole distance thing.

  “Just the flogging, unless you decide you want more. I wouldn’t say no to more. And I can promise, if you would happen to decide that you would like to add sex to the menu tonight when we finish with your flogging, I would make you come so many times, you would forget your own name.”

  Sadie knew without a doubt that he not only meant what he said, but would deliver as promised. “Just the flogging… for now. Thank you for being patient with me.”

  “It’s no problem, for the reward of waiting will be that much sweeter. How are you and Grace getting along?”

  “We’re a work in progress. But I think we will get there. It’s been a little like a baptism by fire into parenthood.”

  “Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll get there. Plus, you have all of us at the club there to support you,” Dante said as he swiped his keycard at the entrance to the private garage. They waited a minute while the garage door lifted to allow the vehicle in.

  Once he had parked, Dante escorted her up in the elevator.

  “Tell me again why I couldn’t drive myself, Sir?” she asked.

  “Because I plan to put you into subspace and you should not drive home that way. Your choices are to either stay in one of the extra bedrooms for the night, or for me to ferry you here and back. With Grace, I figured you wouldn’t want to spend the night.”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t stay overnight.”

  “Which makes this the easiest route. Relax. Tonight, I want you to focus on the pleasure of the scene and nothing more,” Dante said before ushering her out of the elevator and into the club.

  Through the hidden speakers, a heavy metal number with loads of guitar and bass was thumping away. It was already crowded tonight. If it weren’t for the palm against her lower back, Sadie would have turned right around. But Dante seemed to have a sixth sense and kept pressure on her back, propelling her deeper into the lair. He drew her over to the bar. “Want a Bellini, or something else?”

  “Ah, maybe just the champagne. Thank you, Sir.”

  “I want you to sit here,” he patted the stool, “while Quinten gets your drink. I’m going to go make sure our scene area is ready.”

  Sadie carefully slid onto the barstool. The skirt was so short that, if she weren’t careful, she would end up flashing everyone her naughty bits. Then again, in a short while, she was going to be flashing her hoo-ha to every person in the audience.

  While she waited for Dante to return, Quinten set a flute with champagne on the bar beside her.

  “Here you go, kitten. You sure you know what you’re doing?” Quinten asked with an inquisitive scowl. She wasn’t certain why he would be angry with her.

  “Thank you. And yes, Sir, I do.” She wasn’t backing down. She needed this to feel whole, to fight back her PTSD, and because she craved it like a junkie did their next hit.

  “Uh-huh. We’ll see,” Quinten replied with a disappointed shake of his head.

  A shiver went down her spine as she picked up her drink and took a few long sips. I’m resorting to liquid courage, so sue me. But the tingling didn’t stop. Sadie whipped her head around but had no idea where the feeling was coming from. It had to be an adrenaline rush because of the scene she was about to do.

  Dante sauntered through the crowd like a fallen angel ready to lead her into temptation. While he had been gone, he had removed the black fitted tee that had outlined his pecs and hung loose over his abs, and was now bare chested, wearing nothing but form-fitting, low-slung leather pants, with his prominent victory lines and a dark happy trail disappearing below the waistband. All Sadie knew was that she should feel something other than appreciation for an alpha in his prime.

  But she didn’t. Not even an expectant twinge.

  Sadie very much feared that Ram had broken her for other men. And she had no idea what to do about it.

  Yes, you do, you just don’t want to admit it. Just call him back.

  “Come on, kitten, our scene area is all prepped.” Dante held out a hand. Sadie could still say no if she wanted to. He wouldn’t be mad. If anything, he would be concerned, because that was Dante. He was a bit like a mother hen in the guise of a tough looking dude.

  But if she backed out now, she was being a chicken shit, and allowing fear to be her guide. She had done enough of that since her accident to last her a lifetime.

  Sadie swallowed the last bit of her drink, set the glass on the bar, and then put her hand in Dante’s. It was now or never. If she reneged and called it off tonight, she would keep coming up with excuses.

  Dante gave her a seductive smile filled with pride as his big hand closed around hers. He assisted her off the stool and led her through the crowd, where she spied Graham and Killian and Michael, too. Full house tonight to get to watch her scene.

  After tonight, it would be easier. At least, that was the lie she told herself.

  In the scene area, she stared at the St. Andrew’s Cross. She knew he was going to restrain her against the cross and then flog her behind.

  “All right, deep breaths for me, kitten. I want you to strip and go stand facing the cross.”

  She nodded, her heart in throat. “Yes, Sir.”

  Why was her heart about to beat its way out of her chest? She stepped out of her heels. Then it struck her. It was because, deep down, what she was doing with Dante felt like she was cheating on Ram. But how could that be? They weren’t together.

  Under Dante’s gaze, her fingers shook as she lowered the zipper on the dress and shrugged out of it. The material fell to a heap on the floor around her feet. Sadie was vividly aware that she was standing in a busy club in nothing but a black lace thong. Drawing up her courage, she gripped the sides of her panties and lowered them until they could easily fall to the floor. She stepped out of the heap, knelt and picked her clothing up, and laid it on the nearby chair.

  With a surreptitious glance at Dante, whose face bore a wicked, carnal gleam, she trod the short distance to the cross and faced it. At least this way, she couldn’t see the crowd and they were only treated to a direct view of her backside.

  “Stop!” a deep voice called out—a voice that visited her in her dreams, that made every single erogenous zone she possessed come alive.

  Sadie whirled back around, uncaring of her nude state, more shocked by his arrival. Ram prowled through the crowd that had parted like Moses had the Red Sea, and entered the scene area. Energy sizzled and spiked as he joined them.

  Ram glanced at Dante and said, “I will take her scene from here.”

  Sadie shook her head in denial. Why was he here? Did he want to torture her some more? “No. Ram, you shouldn’t be here.”

  Ram approached. Myriad emotions swirled in his gray gaze as he locked his eyes on her. And she had to admit, if only to herself, that Ram in a pair of low-slung jeans outshone all the other Doms in the club. He took her breath away.

  Ram reached her, finally. His hands cupped her face, drawing her gaze to his, forcing her to look at him. And she trembled at what she saw.

  Ram said. “Sadie, I’m your Dom. The only on
e who will flog your sweet ass and scene with you, is me. The only one who will fuck you, is me. You are my submissive and belong to me.”

  “But you said it was just an arrangement. You said—”

  “Screw what I said. I was wrong. So fucking wrong. And I know I hurt you. I can’t promise that I won’t be an idiot again, but I know I love you and that you are mine.”

  With her face held so tenderly in his hands, she couldn’t hide from him. Nor could she stop the swell of tears as they spilled over her lashes. “You love me?”

  A tender smile played over his lips. “I do. And I think it’s time I showed you, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” To whatever he wanted. If he loved her, she was all in. These last few days without him had been hell.

  Ram led her over to the cross and proceeded to bind her to it. Once she was secure, he whispered low in her ear, “Forgive me. There’s much we need to discuss. But first, I want to not only flog you, I want to claim and collar you as my sub before the club. Right here, right now, tonight. That way, there is no doubt about whom you belong to. What do you say?”

  Sadie looked over her shoulder at him, feeling hope fill her. He truly wanted her, truly cared for her. “Yes, Sir. I’ve always been yours.”

  He lowered his forehead against hers, passion and love blaring in his eyes, competing with guilt and remorse. “Shit, I don’t deserve you. I swear to you here and now in front of witnesses, I will make up for every hurt I caused.”

  He took her lips, brushing his over hers before he deepened the kiss. Her entire body lit up like a fireworks display. Every single erogenous zone flared to life. Her pussy went damp. Every part of her being was attuned to this man. Her man. Her Dom. God, she loved him.

  He tore his mouth from hers, breathing heavily. “Give me everything, and I will take you where you need to go. Use your safeword if you need it.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  And then the tips of leather grazed across her shoulder blades and down her spine. She sighed into the whispered caress, her body relaxing into his light touch. He caressed her bottom with the flogger and between her thighs, lulling her into a sweet, hypnotic state.

  Then the strips of leather whacked across her bottom. The pain stole her breath and she gasped. But Ram knew her, inside and out. He knew just how much force to apply to every swat of the flogger to send her into the stratosphere. It did not take long before she was moaning loudly and internally cursing her inability to writhe and gain more friction.

  Moisture from her groin dripped down her thighs.

  Ram set a brutal pace. Each blow fell with precision, making her butt burn. The agony transmuted into profound ecstasy.

  “Master, please,” she begged.

  The flogging ended, but then Ram crowded her back. Heat emanated off his large body. It warmed her. She just wished she could touch him. Then he was sliding cool metal around her neck.

  “You will wear this collar any time we are here at the club. It signifies that you are mine,” he said as he fastened it around her neck. It was a choker, that much she could tell, but she would have to look in the mirror later. What she needed now, was Ram, inside her.

  “Yes, Master, please…”

  He nipped her earlobe playfully, then ran his hands down her back to her bottom. He squeezed the abused globes, parted them, then smeared lubricant over her rosette before inserting a finger inside, thrusting deep and stretching her tissues.

  Oh god, it wasn’t her pussy he was going to fuck in front of everyone, but her ass. Sadie moaned as he added a second and third finger, working them into her channel until his fingers glided unimpeded.

  Then he removed his fingers and the distinct sound of a zipper lowering filled her ears. The rest of the club had dimmed. It was just them, like it had been more than once in his room. Ram pressed the head of his shaft against her back-channel entrance and held still.

  “Do you accept me as your Dom? Place your trust, your body, and your heart in my hands, and take me as I am?”

  “Yes, Ram. Oh please, Sir.” She was beyond the point of no return and needed him inside her.

  He emitted a guttural groan as he slid inside, his shaft gliding in deep until his full length was buried in her ass. She gasped at the exquisite sensations bombarding her being. Tears pricked her eyes.

  Ram gripped her hips and began shuttling his cock in and out of her back channel. Her eyes closed at the myriad sensations flooding her. He did not hold back, screwing her ass with hard, brutal thrusts that left her moaning and quaking.

  One of his hands snaked down between her legs and toyed with her clit, rubbing it in lazy, unhurried circles, all while pounding his cock in her ass. The man meant to drive her out of her damn mind.

  He turned downright animalistic. Ram hammered his cock in her ass. Sadie issued a low series of mewls as waves of pleasure barraged her system.

  “Come for me.” He nipped her earlobe, pinched her clit, and thrust balls-deep in her ass.

  “Sir,” she keened at the magnitude nine earthquake that hit her body as she went up in flames.

  The orgasm left her quaking as he plunged deep and followed her over the ledge. His own hoarse bellow surrounded them as hot jets of his cum filled her bottom. He thrust again and again, until he’d emptied every drop inside her, and then lowered his forehead against her shoulder, his deep breaths washing over her back.

  The sound of clapping and hooting erupted behind them.

  But nothing mattered except the man at her back. He lifted his head, palmed her cheek and turned her face toward his, claiming her lips in a tender kiss that made her heart expand exponentially.

  Ram broke away. She opened her eyes and saw her future in his, one filled with more love than she could have ever dreamed of after so much bad had happened. Then he withdrew his shaft from her rear, and cleaned her between her thighs with a washcloth. Only then did he undo her restraints and place a warm blanket around her shoulders.

  When her legs gave out, he caught her, lifting her up against his chest, an arm beneath her knees, and carried her over to a nearby couch. He sat with her, not saying anything, just holding her as she came down from the scene.

  People stopped by and murmured congratulations. She knew that the collaring thing was important, but as she returned to this plane of existence, she was beginning to discover just how important.

  She shifted in his arms, looking up at him. He met her gaze. “I’m proud of you, babe. Tonight was a big step, and you faced it so bravely.”

  “Can we go home? I need to check on Grace, and let Marsha go home for the night.”

  “You might need these,” Dante said, putting her things beside them on the couch. He looked at Sadie with regret in his gaze.

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  “Anytime, kitten, anytime. Take good care of this one, or I promise you that Michael and I will snatch her up,” Dante threatened with a good-natured smirk.

  And Ram looked at her with so much love in his gaze—for her—that Sadie trembled. “Not to worry. I know the treasure I have, and I won’t be stupid enough to let her go again.”

  Sadie sighed. In the heat of the moment, everything had been perfect. But there was still so much they had to discuss. She hoped he meant every word of that statement.

  Chapter 30

  After relieving Marsha with a promise to see her at her office for a session the following week, Sadie said to Ram, “I’ll just be a minute. We need to talk.”

  Before he could say anything or draw her in, she headed into Grace’s bedroom. The unicorn nightlight shone bright in the darkened room. And on the bed, beneath the quilt, Grace lay on her back, with a pillow beneath her broken arm and one beneath her leg to hopefully keep her from rolling about. Her good arm clutched the stuffed teddy bear Sadie had first bought her. Some of her black hair covered her face. Sadie gently brushed it aside, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead.

  She’d not just fallen for the man. She’d fallen for Grace t
oo, from the first moment when she’d stared at Sadie with her big brown eyes, like her soul had recognized her and what she was going to mean to Sadie.

  Not wanting to disturb her and knowing she could no longer delay the inevitable conversation, Sadie rose from her seat on her bed and found Ram standing in the doorway. He silently walked over, pulled her against him, and whispered, “She’s beautiful. And you’re going to be a great mother to her.”

  Sadie’s heart filled. “We should let her sleep.”

  Ram nodded and steered her out of the room. Sadie closed the door most of the way, leaving it open with about three inches of room. And they walked into her bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Grace still wasn’t mobile on her own yet, so there was no worry that she would interrupt and see something she shouldn’t.

  “Ram, I…”

  He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. “Let me start. I’m sorry. I was wrong. So very wrong about you fostering Grace. You awe me with your determination to be there for her, and desire to heal yourself. I was caught up in the situation with Kelly wanting to move the kids to London and I sort of lost my head.”

  “Sort of?” she teased and rolled her eyes, her fingers tracing over the platinum choker that he’d dubbed as her collar. She never wanted to take it off.

  He tugged on her hair. “Brat. You know what I mean. And what I’m trying to ask you, is if you will forgive me. I meant what I said at the club. You’re my submissive, and I’m not looking to extend the arrangement.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Wait, what?”

  He cupped her chin, lifting her gaze up to his, and what she saw there was everything she’d ever wanted. Ram said, “I want a whole new one.”

  “And what are the parameters of this arrangement?” she asked, feeling her heart sink. It had all sounded so promising and too good to be true.

  “Well, first off, I’m thinking you’re going to have to marry me. I won’t be satisfied with anything less than forever. I love you, Sadie. I know my life is crazy with my kids coming to live with me, and it might be too soon for you with processing your grief over Henry. But I’m willing to wait and hold out, because forever won’t be long enough with you.”