Behind her, deVries nodded. “Not bad at all, little Piper.”
Piper looked at the door again. “Sir Ethan went out there. Shouldn’t someone…”
DeVries shook his head. “Nope.”
Before she could go after her Dom, Ethan came back in, strolling across the room, perceptive gaze on Piper. Despite the menace rolling off him in a heart-stopping wave, Piper flung herself at him.
His arms closed around her, and she could feel his cheek rub on the top of her head. “My Piper,” he murmured.
“Worth, do we need to call the asshole an ambulance?” Simon asked, his arm around Rona.
“No.” Sir Ethan chuckled. “He got into a taxi. Quite hastily, I might say.”
Rona made an exasperated sound. “You barbarians. I’ll get more towels.”
Pulling back, Piper turned to look at Sir Ethan’s hands. His knuckles were scraped and bleeding. “What did you do?”
“Sweetheart, I was content with the beating you gave him, until you told us how you were treated. I needed…” He sighed. “Well, I do hope you don’t mind.”
Hearing the barely diffused fury in his oh-so-calm voice, she burrowed back into his arms. “I hope he doesn’t bleed all over the cab seat.”
Sir Ethan laughed, and some of the tension left his body.
“I knew you’d had a rough time, but that was worse than I thought.” He rubbed his chin in her hair, then stepped back to look at her. “I doubt I’d have the courage to trust another Dom. You are magnificent, Ms. Delaney.”
Tears blurred her vision and spilled down her cheek.
Hand under her chin, he wiped them away gently. Her Dom. He could have pushed her to one side and taken Serna down without raising a sweat. Instead, he’d stood beside her in silent support as she’d had her say. Cheered her on without words.
He was everything Serna was not. The Dom she’d dreamed about, made up fantasies about.
She tipped her head up to him. “I love you.”
The kiss she received was far, far better than any fantasy.
Epilogue
Look at her. Smiling slightly, Ethan gave Piper’s shoulder a gentle push and watched her rotate in the suspension. The lights of the dungeon danced over her bare skin as well as the black rope forming an intricate design over her naked body.
Perfect.
Ethan had used a chain dangling from the blimp in the Dark Haven’s dungeon as part of his rigging. Piper was suspended on her left side, her left leg bent with her calf to the back of her thigh in a frog tie, and her left wrist tied to the ankle. Her right leg was straight and angled upward from her body, opening her pussy for his convenience. Another rope kept her right arm extended toward that leg.
At his usual pace, he had created his art on the canvas of her skin, meticulously lining up his knots, slowly drawing the rope over and around her body. The rough black rope against her smooth pale skin was beautiful. As he’d worked, her nipples had turned to hard peaks, and her skin had flushed a lovely pink. While building the chest harness, he’d caressed her breasts, even as the ropes slowly squeezed them into tightly drawn globes.
Muscle by muscle, she’d relaxed and grown increasingly aroused. By the time he’d reached her crotch to add a knot over her clitoris—the proverbial happy knot—her pussy was wet and glistening.
When he’d lifted her into the air, her body had stiffened for only a second before she’d relaxed into the rope’s embrace. Because she trusted him. The knowledge warmed his heart.
Stopping her rotation, he adjusted her arm minutely and checked her fingers for warmth. “Do you have any tingling or numb areas, Piper?”
“No, Sir.” Her voice was a bare whisper, relaxed yet husky with arousal.
Because he’d deliberately chosen to make this a very erotic session.
“Are you uncomfortable—too uncomfortable?” Rope suspension wasn’t completely pain free…but that could add to the pleasure. The bite of the rope, the pressure…
“No, Sir. I’m good.”
He’d stayed close to her while tying the knots, leaning his body against hers. Now, he stood with his chest against her back and put his arm under her head so he could whisper in her ear. “Yes, you are. You’re a very good subbie.”
The back of the dungeon was fairly quiet. The sounds of a whip cracking, moaning, slapping, groaning were distant. And he hadn’t heard them at all when he’d been working.
Piper was sliding further into rope space, the place where only his voice, only his touch reached her. Even when a woman’s voice rose in a wail, she didn’t react.
He simply watched, treasuring the moment.
And then the time had come to torture his little submissive a bit.
* * *
Piper’s mind seemed to be floating in clouds even as her body lay horizontally, swaying in the suspension. Around her chest, waist, legs, and arms, rope bound her so snugly that it felt as if Sir Ethan had wrapped her in warmth and safety. When he’d pulled on the rigging, the floor dropped away beneath her, and she’d left the earth behind. Yet the sense of being protected hadn’t disappeared—it had deepened.
Now, he stood in front of her, and his hands stroked her bare skin, teasing her, enticing her into arousal. The ropes compressed her breasts, making them swell, and his fingers on her nipples pinched and rolled in erotically painful caresses. His gaze was on her face, holding her eyes as he played with her helpless body.
She sucked in a breath as excitement thrilled through her. She couldn’t do anything except squirm.
His eyes crinkled. Then he tugged on the rope that ran between her legs—the one that had a big knot right over her clit—and a sharp lash of pleasure burst outward. Her clit was swollen, throbbing and urgent, and she moaned.
His smile flashed in his tanned face.
In the back of her mind, she knew she should be wary of a smile like that—a Dom’s smile of ownership. Of seeing his submissive open and helpless.
But the ropes held her in safety and trust.
The knot over her pussy loosened slightly, and he positioned something soft and squishy directly over her clit before tightening everything again. A vibrator turned on, tingling over and around the sensitive nub of nerves.
Oh God. Her lips formed the word evil, but no sound escaped her.
His smile only deepened before he set her to rotating in the suspension.
As the wicked vibrator worked on her.
Her head hung down, and she could see the room slowly turning before her eyes closed. A shudder ran through her as her body roused, as her breasts swelled in the constricting ropes. Pressure grew inside her as her clit engorged and hardened.
“You’re so beautiful when you’re aroused.” Sir Ethan’s accented voice murmured in her ear. His arm was under her head, and his chest was against her back, warming her and holding her still.
His other arm reached over her waist, his fingers slipping past the vibrator and up inside her, wakening her nerves, inside as well as outside.
As the sensations swamped her, she tried to move. Nothing gave. Her right arm was over her right side, suspended by a rope. Her right leg was up in the air, her left bent in half.
He could do whatever he wanted to her—and the knowledge sent a shuddering heat through her. Need pulsed in her core as the pressure gathered.
His hand pulled back, and he added another wicked, clever finger, stretching her around his thick knuckles. “I’m not going to fuck you, poppet.”
He rubbed his chin over her neck, his beard stubble sending a fresh stream of sensations down her spine. His fingers thrust in and out. “But you are going to come for me. In fact, you’re going to beg to come.”
Beg? Never. Even as she tried to shake her head, he pressed in deeper. God, she was so close, so very close. She wouldn’t need to beg at all.
The vibrator slowed, eased to a faint tingle. His fingers stopped moving, but remained, thick and hard inside her…a physical symbol of his authority, markin
g his control over her body.
Like a tide going out, the need to come receded, leaving an ache behind.
Holding her still, he nibbled on her ear lobe. Kissed her neck and shoulder. Leisurely enjoying her…without withdrawing his fingers. The so-intimate hold made her shake inside.
Then he revved up the vibrator so it went harder, up and up in a hard jagged cycle, then slowing, pausing, and revving again. Right. Over. Her. Clit.
His fingers were circling and thrusting, drowning out any other sensations. She moaned as everything inside her coiled like a spring. Her muscles clenched around him as she hovered on the precipice.
He stopped.
The plea that came to her lips was halted by a shudder. No, she’d never beg. She couldn’t.
“I have your body in my rope,” he murmured. “Now trust me enough to give me this, too. I want to hear you whimper and ask me to let you come.”
He kissed her cheek, and she turned her head so he could take her lips, wanting to give him that. Wanting to give him more. The realization held no fear. She could yield to him and be safe. Always be safe.
As if he’d heard her, his kiss went deeper, his tongue taking possession, sweeping her thoughts away.
And when the vibrator started and stopped again, she surrendered…everything. “Please, Sir. Please may I come?”
“Sweetheart.” His eyes were so very blue, his smile a reward that filled her full to overflowing. “Yes, poppet. Come for me now. Give me your orgasm.”
His fingers plunged in, deeper, harder, and the vibrator surged, driving her up and up as the incredible sensations rolled over her. Her core clenched around the hard fingers inside her, and the waves began, sending exquisite pleasure rushing through her. Even as her body bucked, as her entire world dissolved around her, her Dom held her in safety.
A while later, she realized she was sitting on the floor. A rope loosened and slid across her stomach followed by the slow stroke of a callused hand. Sir Ethan’s lips brushed her bare shoulder as another rope eased and dropped onto the floor.
“Sir?”
“Back with me?” Hands cupped her face, lifting her head. His intense eyes met hers, like a fiery jolt before he kissed her.
The air went hazy again, like a warm fog closing in.
“Now, now, pet, stay with me here.” His hands rubbed her upper arms.
“Sorry, sorry. I don’t know…” Her thoughts crawled.
“You’re rope drunk, sweetheart, and quite adorable with it.”
Oh, that was okay then. As her eyes closed, she could hear him packing up his bag, fixing things. Her need to help disappeared in the clouds.
A blanket came around her shoulders, and he lifted her. Floating…
When she opened her eyes again, she realized she was curled up in Sir Ethan’s lap, and there were people talking around her.
She lifted her head. They were in one of the sitting areas with three other couples: Stan and Dix, Lindsey and deVries, Angel and her Master, Malik, who Piper had finally met a couple of weeks ago. The Doms sat in the chairs with their partners at their feet.
“There you are.” Sir Ethan sat her up and handed her a bottle of water, steadying her hand as she lifted it to her lips. After the first swallow, she drank eagerly.
His arm braced her from behind as she turned and scowled at him.
Innocence radiated from him…and his lips quirked. “That’s a terrifying frown, poppet.”
“I cannot believe you made me beg. Beg.”
“And a very pretty job you made of it, sweetheart.”
She’d actually begged him. To come. Yet she didn’t feel diminished. Not when it was Sir Ethan. Still… She raised her chin. “Never again. Not for that, not for anything.”
“Not for essentials like food or water, no,” he said mildly before his unyielding blue eyes met hers. “However, you may count on begging to come—or not to come—quite often in the future.”
His expression held a Dom’s utter confidence, and the melting sensation in her core was messing with her resolve. She’d begged him for an orgasm, had surrendered—and her trust hadn’t been misplaced. The bond between them had grown stronger.
“You two look pretty tight,” Dix observed with satisfaction before his eyes widened with horror. “You’re not moving out are you, Pips? I just got you trained to offer desserts at regular intervals.”
Piper huffed a laugh because Sir Ethan had asked that question last night. “Maybe. Probably. Sorry, Dix.”
Pouting, Dix curled his fingers in his iridescent blue chest harness. “Was it something I said?”
How could she possibly resist such an opening? She heaved a sad sigh. “Not…exactly.”
“Wait, what?” Dix sat up, resting his arm on Stan’s thigh. “I said something wrong? What?”
“Not exactly said. You’re just too…loud. At certain times.”
Lindsey snickered. “During sexy times?”
Sputtering, Dixon looked indignant. “You’re being pissy because we sent you running back to your own place where Sir Ethan lurked in wait. Right? Right?”
“Lurked?” Her Dom had the sexiest laugh in all the history of mankind.
“It was just a little noise.” Dix held his thumb and finger an inch apart.
“A little noise?” Piper shook her head. “Dixon, I’ve never heard howling like that in my life.”
“Yeah, well…” Dixon scowled at Stan who was laughing his head off. “If I didn’t make enough noise to send you home, he said he’d tighten all the clamps. In all the places.”
DeVries gave Stan a respectful nod. “Great threat.”
Oh, sheesh. Piper winced. Stan had a meaner streak than she’d realized.
“I love you, Pips, but”—Dixon cupped his loin cloth and contents—“I gotta protect my big boys here.”
“Oh, well, we mustn’t let the boys suffer.” Piper couldn’t subdue her giggles. “You sounded like a cat in heat. A humongous cat.”
“Pretty good, huh?”
“She was the prettiest pink when she showed up.” Sir Ethan nodded to Stan. “Thank you.”
Stan grinned. “My pleasure.”
“Since we’re talking about our apartments…we have an empty one.” Dixon’s face brightened. “Stan put his foot down, and Dickless Darrell done went home to Tex-ass.”
Stan choked.
Piper could feel Sir Ethan’s chest bounce as he smothered a laugh. The British were so polite.
She wasn’t. “Good riddance to him.”
“Definitely.” Lindsey grinned at Dix before turning to Piper. “Speaking of good riddance, did you know the guys have been keeping track of that pecker-headed Serna?”
The name hit Piper like a rock into her lake of happiness, a shock, but then the ripples spread out and disappeared into calm. Her counseling sessions over the last month were making headway. It didn’t hurt that when she came out of her therapist’s office, she’d find Ethan waiting for her.
God, she loved him. She tilted her face up, and yes, he was watching her. Making sure she was all right. She kissed him with every speck of love in her heart before turning back to Lindsey. “I didn’t know. What’s going on with him?”
“After Sir Ethan and Xavier called all the Kansas clubs, he got blacklisted.” Lindsey grinned.
DeVries grinned and pointed to Stan. “And then our buddy here sicced the Feds on Serna and his friends.”
“How did you do that?” Piper’s eyes widened.
Stan smiled slowly. “I might have mentioned to some Kansas colleagues that a Master practicing nonconsensual slavery probably had friends with the same bad habits.”
“Very good,” Sir Ethan murmured. “Did your colleagues discover anything?”
“Two Masters had unwilling slaves—young women like Piper who’d been misled. Another was trafficking in Russian slaves. One had a slave who was perfectly content.” Stan smiled at Piper and tilted his head toward Angel. “Not all slaves are there against th
eir will.”
“Some of us are far luckier in our Masters.” Angel laid her head on her Master’s thigh.
Malik ran his fingers through her hair, his gaze soft. “Some Masters know what a gift we’re given.”
Even as Piper sighed, she felt Sir Ethan’s arms tighten around her and his murmured, “Yes. We do.”
“Since you have Feds in the area”—Lindsay looked at Stan—“do you know if his slave, Gemma, is all right?”
Stan shook his head. “We had no reason to stay in touch with her. Sorry, girl.”
“I know how she is.” At the quizzical looks, Piper added, “I gave her my phone number in case she needed someone to talk to.”
“Of course you did.” Sir Ethan rubbed his cheek against hers. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”
As her heart sang, she tilted her head back for his kiss. How could her love keep growing, more and more and more?
When he released her, Piper grinned at the “awww” expression on Lindsey’s face. “Anyway,” Piper said, “Gemma returned to her parents who were horrified at what she’s been through. She’s in counseling, and her mom goes with her.”
“Her mother?” Dix shook his head. “A small-town mama? That would suck the big one.”
“It started off pretty uncomfortable, I guess. Gemma took my advice to pick a kink-friendly therapist. So when Mama was critical of Gemma’s bad choices, the counselor gave Mama some BDSM novels as her homework. Mom went from judgy to…” Piper giggled. “Well...Gemma spotted a paddle and nipple clamps in her parents’ bedroom last week, and she was still grossed out when she talked to me. It seems parents aren’t supposed to have sex—let alone kinky sex.”
Dix’s infectious laugh started everyone else off, and then they were all laughing.
“Gemma’s enrolled for the fall semester at their community college and is working part-time in her dad’s pharmacy.”
“Excellent,” Sir Ethan said. “That sounds like the perfect way to ease her back into her community and also help meet her need to serve.”
Piper rolled her eyes. “You are such a Dom.”
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