“Is it allergies?”
He looked thoughtful. “No.”
“Cameron showed me this trick for headaches,” I said. “You squeeze between the thumb and index finger really hard…like this.” I lifted his hand to show him. “It’s acupressure. Works on me every time.”
He smiled thoughtfully. “You’re close to Cameron?”
“Yes, but he won’t take me on as his sub.”
“You’re too fragile for him.”
“I’m not.” I narrowed my eyes. “Anyway, if that’s true why did he send me to you?”
“Because he knows I’ll be your perfect master.”
“So you’re not as harsh as him?”
“We are considered equals.”
“What do you know about me?”
“You mean, who is this girl when she’s not offering herself to the house of Hillenbrand?”
I stared up at him.
“I know enough,” he said.
“You know I’m a waitress?”
“That you were accepted to study at Harvard. Yes, I know this.”
“De Sade told you all about me?”
“He did.” Danton lowered his voice as though others could hear. “What he failed to tell me was how young you are and how inexperienced.”
“Not that inexperienced.”
His body stiffened against mine and he held me tighter. “We need to find you some clothes.”
Danton led me through the house along sprawling hallways that made me feel like we were in a maze, proving how large the place actually was. He guided me into a bedroom and told me that it had once belonged to his sister. We found a few abandoned clothes hanging in her wardrobe.
He let me choose what I wanted to wear, so I picked out white pants and a loose-fitting blouse with puffy sleeves. Happily, his sister’s flip-flops were also a perfect fit. I felt so very bohemian.
Danton approved. He’d looked relaxed as he’d helped me dress.
Yes, this was what he liked, I realized. He enjoyed bathing, dressing, and quite possibly feeding his sub, and I went with it, letting him nurture me like I’d never been cared for before.
This was not how I’d imagined my first evening at the house. I felt so comfortable and completely pampered…and so loved.
The rest of the evening was spent preparing the house. Both of us pulling dust sheets off all the beautiful furniture, opening windows to air the rooms, and I’d been left for a while on my own to explore. I counted at least five bedrooms.
One of them led to a locked door at the very top of the house. I leaned down to peer through the keyhole, but couldn’t make anything out.
I continued to explore and soon found the kitchen. It was all white tile and old-fashioned appliances, and yet this decades-old style gave the room a welcoming feel. There was no pretentiousness here, only vintage touches that added to the coziness.
The lack of food proved this place really had been abandoned for quite a while. I found a few bottles of water and finished off one of them - though Danton had told me it was safe to drink from the tap.
Afterward, I stood on the bedroom balcony staring out at the remarkable view. I could smell the scent of jasmine on the breeze.
Danton wrapped his arms around my waist, and I jumped a little, not having heard him approach.
“Where did you go?” I asked.
“I called Cameron.”
I turned around in his arms and stared up at him. “Why?”
“I wanted him to know you’re safe.”
“Was he angry?”
“No.” He gave me the sweetest smile.
I studied his face, trying to see what he was thinking.
Danton held my gaze. “If at any time you want him to come and get you, I can arrange that.”
“Why would I want that?”
He looked thoughtful. “You might get homesick?”
No, that was not it. There was something in the way he’d broken my gaze, a moment of doubt in his eyes.
“We should drive into town,” he said, quickly changing the subject. “We need to shop. We need to cook.”
“Will you visit me in America? When all this is over?”
He hesitated and I took that as his answer.
Danton was right, of course. We were a temporary item and something told me that leaving here was going to be challenging for me when the time came.
“I found a room at the top of the house,” I said. “Why’s it locked?”
“It’s a storeroom for antique books. That kind of thing. Nothing of any importance.”
“I like antiques.”
“And don’t go into the garden yet. I want to be the one to show it to you.”
“Okay. I can do that. Where’s your family?”
“My parents moved to Paris to be closer to their friends. This place was too isolated for them.” He walked away from me and gripped the edge of the railing. He paused, looking a little pale.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, moving closer to him. He’d driven all night and all I’d thought about was me.
“We’ll have dinner in town.” He perked up. “Tomorrow, after you’ve rested, we’ll start your training.” He put an arm around my shoulders. “I want us to get to the place where you know me. You feel safe with me. Where you’ll do anything I ask of you.”
“Do you think the men back at the house will try to find me?”
“They might.” He lips curved into a smile. “Aren’t you tired?”
“I slept on the flight over.” And then it hit me. “I don’t even know where we are.”
“Le Harve. Come let me show you the town.”
We made our way to the front of the house and climbed back into his black Lamborghini. We drove into the pretty village and I was mesmerized by the historical architecture, the foreign looking cars and the quaint stores.
We parked outside a food market and headed on in, holding hands.
“What do you do for a living?” I asked. “I mean really?”
“I once dabbled in music.”
“You were in a band?”
He laughed. “Kind of. Hours wasted when I should have been living.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’m making up for it now.”
“Look—” I grabbed a shopping cart, jumped on the edge and wheeled down the aisle. “We can pretend we’re married.”
Danton laughed and came after me. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me off. I waited for him to berate me, but all he did was grin and shake his head. “We can be whatever you want us to be,” he said. “Just be happy. That’s all I ask of you.”
“I am happy here, Danton…truly happy.”
He kissed my forehead. “Cameron told me he knew me better than I knew myself. Now, I believe him.”
Chapter 11
France
NAKED AND ON my knees in my submissive’s pose, I waited for Danton.
He’d sat me here in the center of what looked like an old ballroom, beneath a long line of stunning chandeliers that reminded me of upside-down tulips - mesmerizing to look at.
The house was alive with sunlight. Everything here was breathtaking.
Staring up at the gold and sparkling crystals, I tried to imagine what it might have been like to grow up here. There was so much about Danton I wanted to know.
With the fall semester looming, I pushed all thoughts of my future away and slipped into the zone, rising on my knees to peer over the edge of the window frame and look out at that endless ocean.
I marveled at how Danton had made me feel at ease so quickly, and wondered how our first session would go now.
The door opened and he stood there bare-chested, the muscles of his sun-kissed torso rippling. He looked so handsome wearing a tight pair of leather pants.
He held a horsewhip in his left hand.
Steadily, he came forward, closing the gap between us, strolling confidently, a beautiful vision as the refracted lights from the chandeliers wavered over him.
&n
bsp; Danton had a glint of a smile in his eyes.
He placed the whip between my teeth and instructed me to crawl behind him.
On all fours I followed him out of the great hall and onward down a long hallway.
He let me stand when we reached a door that looked like it led outside. A blindfold was placed over my eyes. A set of headphones came down around my ears.
With my senses compromised, this was trust in its purest form.
He removed the whip from between my teeth and led me forward. From the drop in temperature I knew we’d stepped outside. Barefoot, I trod on what felt like grass, the softness a nice cushion beneath my soles.
After several minutes we stopped and there came the faint sound of another door opening, even with the headphones on I could tell the door was lighter on its hinges.
The binding of my wrists was quick and Danton did all this to me in silence. I sucked in breaths knowing the pain would come soon and bracing for it as he secured me with my arms above my head.
Classical music burst into my ears.
I smiled, hearing the disarming notes of a cello. I wished Danton could hear it and enjoy the music, too.
“It’s beautiful!” I called out louder than I needed to.
A whip struck my ass and silenced me.
He trailed his warm hand down along my spine and squeezed my bottom. I felt him stalking around me, tweaking my nipples as he prowled, and then cupping my sex with a firm hand. A jolt rushed through me when he ran a fingertip along my clit, flicking it slowly.
Spacing out, I savored the sensations as he teased me relentlessly. I felt the dampness between my thighs, his fingers slick against me, the perfect touch of a renaissance man.
A moan slipped from me when he ceased his play.
The whipping started light on my thighs, and he tapped between them until I rose on my tiptoes to avoid the delicious strikes that stung.
My whole body sang when he touched me.
He twisted his hand in my hair and brought me forward, crushing his lips to mine, his tongue darting into my mouth so tenderly and then devouring me with a passion I’d never experienced before, as though with this kiss he was revealing how he felt about me.
With my arms stretched up and wide, I was powerless to reach out and hold him to me.
And suddenly he ripped himself away.
A strike at my belly told me the session was well underway. At first the stinging of the whip was almost too much to bear, as though his kiss had weakened my resolve. But as my skin came alive and was warmed, I sunk into the rhythm.
Round and around he moved with his ceaseless torture, and I rested my head back and took everything he wanted to give - every pinch, every slap, and every unexpected thrust of a palm to nudge me into a better position.
When he set a pace of spanking my buttocks, I slipped further into subspace and rocked against his palm. Deeper and deeper I went, enjoying the sensation of his hand meeting my sensitized skin, which was surely bright red by now. When he fastened the clamps to my nipples I bit through the discomfort, and then almost came when they worked their magic of stimulating my areolas.
Danton’s dark machinations went on forever, or so it felt, and I hung forward in a state of happiness.
He rewarded my obedience.
Still blindfolded, I felt his mouth latch onto my sex, lapping hungrily, his hands cupping my butt and pulling me into him, his tongue darting into me.
In my mind’s eye, I knew he was bowing at my feet and it felt like a prelude to how my very own sub might worship me when the time came.
But right now I was still his submissive and I knew better than to climax without permission.
The blissful sensation ceased, and I moaned at this loss of pleasure.
Danton placed what felt like a leather strap around my waist, pulling it taut around my belly and nudging me forward. My legs rose off the ground as though I were flying. Danton slid between my thighs and thrust his cock deep inside me.
He stilled completely.
I wiggled to encourage him to move and a hard slap came down on my butt.
Waiting for him to take me felt like an eternity, my body shuddering as I forced myself to relax, my pussy squeezing his cock in encouragement.
Slowly at first, he began that long glide inside me and then withdrew all the way out. I bit my lip to prevent myself from going crazy and wiggling, trying to fuck him back. This was a test of my ability to let my master continue to lead.
It took all my will to surrender to him.
Finally I relaxed, and his steady pummeling sent me into an erotic trance, like an out of body experience that felt transcendent.
He leaned over and removed the clamps to play with my nipples, and I was so swept away I came, screaming during my orgasm, overwhelmed with bliss and barely hearing myself yell over the music. Out of control, I became a writhing mess as my body swayed back to take all of him in and devour all he had to give as I felt his wet heat shoot into me.
Panting, I felt too exhausted to move in my swing. I just hung there, savoring the sensations of his cock still buried deep inside me and his firm hand trailing along my back.
I moaned when he pulled out of me.
The music ceased and I felt the headphones slip off - yet my blindfold remained.
“Scarlet,” said Danton.
“Master.” I leaned forward wanting to rest my cheek against his chest.
His hand cupped my face. “Was that nice, my sweet sub?”
“Yes,” I said, sounding breathless.
“You respond well.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“Promise you’ll be honest with me.”
“Always.”
“I want to ask you a question.”
“Yes.”
“Why do you not value your life?”
I froze, a million thoughts racing through my brain.
Could Cameron have told him? Had they talked that long? Surely he’d not shared my most sacred secret…that dreadful, shameful secret.
My death wish.
“What do you mean?” I shook my head, trying to make the blindfold slip so I could see his face, read his meaning.
“Cameron accepted you into his club for one reason, Scarlet.”
“Because he knew I’d make a great submissive.”
“Because he saw you in the ER having your stomach pumped. That was before you trespassed into his club.”
My thoughts scattered as I realized what Cameron actually knew. “He’s lying.”
“Don’t. Not to me.”
“Have I not just proven I’m a good girl?”
“You can’t manipulate me, Scarlet. Now talk to me.”
“About?”
“Your suicide attempts?”
“That was a misunderstanding.”
And why the hell was he bringing that up now? It had nothing to do with anything.
“So, you’re not going to open up to me either?”
“Untie me.”
“No one knows you’re here.”
Panic welled inside my breast. “Cameron does.”
“He’s thousands of miles away.” His fingers wrapped around my throat. “I’m going to make it quick.”
“What are you doing? Danton!”
“Giving you what you want.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m Danton Belfort, the bringer of death. That’s why they sent you to me. So that you are put out of your misery.”
Shock chilled my bones.
His ironclad grip tightened around my throat. “It’s a pity. You’re such a pleasure to fuck.”
The air rushed out of me. I couldn’t think, couldn’t fight back. I was drowning in fear.
And I’d been so wrong.
All I wanted now was to live…
Chapter 12
France
HE LOOSENED HIS grip.
Relief flooded through me, and I took ragged breaths, trying to refill my lungs.<
br />
“Scarlet,” he said, his tone softening, “do you like the taste of death?”
“Please,” I gasped out.
His hand wrapped around my throat again.
“No, please, Danton! I want to live.”
“Admit that’s why you came to France. To kill yourself.”
“Take off my blindfold!”
His fingers tightened around my neck.
“I…admit it,” I stuttered. “I knew Cameron would try to stop me.”
He pulled his hand away. “Firstly, I would never hurt you. Deep down you know that. I need you to see the futility of suicide. It changes nothing. All it does is rid us, the ones left behind, of the ones we love. It rids you of an incredible life that’s waiting for you on the other side.”
“The other side of what?”
“Your pain.”
His answer was that simple.
I wiggled in my bindings, wanting to run from my shame. “I won’t do it again.”
And I meant it. I couldn’t do such a thing now, not after finding him…
“We’re not done,” he said sternly.
Danton was trespassing into my private world and no one had any right to dig around in my thoughts or dredge up these awful feelings.
“I know why you hate yourself,” he whispered.
Pain stabbed my heart. No one knows.
“This one small final step, Scarlet, let me take it with you.”
“What are you going to do?”
“It’s you who must determine why you came to France to die.”
“To rid myself of the pain,” I admitted. “It hurts so bad.”
“You never believed I’d be able to ease your pain, did you? Not really?”
I lowered my head, realizing he was trying to help me. “I’m worthless. No one wants me. I’m only here because you felt sorry for me.”
I’d been living in foster care all my life, going from one fucked up home to the next, never finding peace.
Until now.
“I love you, Scarlet Winters. And Cameron loves you, and De Sade loves you. You deserve this gift of life. Every breath of it.” He pulled me into a hug. “We need you to see what a gift life is. How can you throw away something so precious? We need you.”
“I’m not sure you do.”
“I know your father hurt you.”
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