Breaking Free

Chapter Three

“Well…” How in the world was she supposed to answer that? Beth frowned.

Master Nolan took her hand and held it despite her efforts to pull away. “Big men? Gentle men? Doms or vanilla?”

“Beth, you’re here!” Attired in a tight blue latex dress, Jessica trotted up and leaned over the back of the couch. “I’m glad you made it. Do you want-”

Master Nolan didn’t even look up. “Jessica. Go away.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Jessica said brightly without moving. “I haven’t seen Beth, and I wanted to talk to her for-”

“Silence.” Master Nolan’s face turned cold. Mean. Eyes widening, Jessica took a quick step back.

He lifted his hand, and a trainee hurried over. “Sir?”

“Fetch Master Z immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” The sub ran. Beth would be running too if the Dom looked at her like that.

Master Z must have been at the bar for he appeared within a minute. “Is there a problem?”

“Your sub interrupted, spoke to my sub without permission, and ignored my order to leave.” Master Nolan’s ruthless gaze flicked over Jessica, returned to Master Z. “Deal with her.”

Master Z’s jaw tightened as he heard the offenses. He hadn’t even looked at Jessica. Now he asked Master Nolan, “Do you wish to participate?”

Master Nolan snorted. “I have enough on my plate.”

“She was just worried about me,” Beth said. She couldn’t let Jessica be hurt for trying to help. “That’s not fair that-”

Master Nolan’s gaze settled on her like black fire. “Be silent.”

Her tongue froze in her mouth.

“Please send for Jessica later so she can apologize properly,” Z said to Master Nolan. Z’s gaze when it settled on Jessica was enough to chill Beth inside and out.

Face pale, Jessica took a step back. “Sir, I didn’t-”

Z shook his head, and Jessica closed her mouth, biting her lip until it turned white. After locking her cuffs together, he pulled her away, heading toward the stockade. His voice trailed back, “Since you enjoy annoying Doms so much, I think we’ll let the Doms show their appreciation.”

Beth touched Master Nolan’s wrist and dared to say, “Sir, she was just trying to help me.”

His cheek creased as if he almost smiled. “I know. And I wouldn’t have pursued the matter if she’d left when ordered. But she’s not only loyal but also foolish.” He put a finger under the glass she held, lifted it toward her mouth. “Finish that before it’s undrinkable.”

She drank it down, and a slight buzz hummed through her veins. Cullen made strong drinks.

“Tell me about the men you’ve been with.”

“You are so tenacious.” She huffed in exasperation, shocked when he laughed rather than slapping her to the ground.

He’d actually laughed. God, he looked different when the coldness disappeared. The sun lines around his eyes crinkled, a crease appeared in his cheek, and he was… Her world shifted sideways, leaving her dizzy. She could not be attracted to him.

“How long were you in the lifestyle before you met the asshole?”

“Not very long.” She tried to remember something that seemed a lifetime ago. “A month or two?”

“So you’d been with a Dom before you met the asshole?”

“Two.” He made a give me more motion with his fingers, so she continued. “The last one had been a Dom for maybe a couple years, and he was nice. He took good care of me.”

“You got off every time?”

“About half.” Kyler had seemed so much more dangerous, so thrilling in comparison to sweet Andy. And the sex with Kyler had been wonderful at first.

“Tell me about the other one.”

Her lips curved. “He enjoyed teaching new subs, and he was very strict. No backtalk, only ‘Yes, Sir.’” Her smile grew at the thought of him. “I think I tested every limit he set, kind of like Jessica does.”

“And what did he do for punishment? Are any of those scars from him?”

“No, he never did anything to break the skin.” The thought would have appalled Master Chris. “Spanking, paddles. A flogger or cane once in a while. He embarrassed me once, and that was horrible.” She winced inside at the memory, and then added, “But I’ve done so much since then that I don’t embarrass easily.”

“That’s good to know,” he said. After setting his beer down, he lifted her onto his lap as if she didn’t weigh a pound. With unyielding hands, he leaned her back until her head rested on the arm of the couch, her body across his thighs, and her legs on the seat cushions. Her bustier flopped open, leaving her breasts pointing up in the air. After licking his finger, he ran it around her nipple.

Her face heated. What was he thinking? Indignation rolled through her. Scenes belonged in the roped-off areas. In those locations, her mind was steeled for being in public, and her body prepared. But sitting here in the middle of the bar being treated like a toy doll? No, this was just wrong. Her hand came up to push him away, and he looked at her, waiting for her to do just that. She set her arm carefully back at her side.

“Good girl.” His voice warmed. He ran his big hand across her breasts and down her stomach in long, slow strokes as if petting a cat. “So, with the strict Dom, how often did you climax with him?”

“Every time. Sometimes even when I didn’t expect to.” She sighed. The happy memories felt so distant, glowing somewhere on the horizon, nowhere she’d ever be again.

“And with the bastard, how did you fare, orgasm-wise, with him?”

Somehow it was getting easier to talk with him, maybe because of his lack of reaction to whatever she said. Just that intense attention. His hand caressed her breasts. “At first, really good. And later, not at all.”

“As the pain got worse.”

“Yeah.” She breathed in and dared to ask, “So what happens tonight?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” he murmured. “I had a long day, and it feels good to get off my feet. I like having you stretched across me, offering me your breasts. And your mouth.” He bent to take her lips, harder than he had last week, taking possession, demanding her tongue back. He drew the kiss out, nibbling on her lips, before plunging back into her mouth. No hurry, no urgency. Just firm lips against hers, the plunge of his tongue, the slight scrape of his beard shadow.

Her body warmed as his scent engulfed her, soap and leather and a hint of masculine musk. His hands moved over her breasts slowly, massaging, circling the nipples. Then he took a peak between his fingers and sent jolts of pain/pleasure through her.

By the time he drew back, her breathing was ragged, and her hands were clamped onto his rock-hard biceps.

He glanced down at her pleated PVC skirt. “Nice skirt.” His hand ran up her leg, under the skirt. When he discovered the bikini briefs she wore, his brows drew together. “Lift your hips up.”

She did, and he yanked the briefs down to her knees. “Lift your legs.”

Acutely conscious of where they were, she raised her feet so he could slide the briefs off. She started to lower her legs.

“Leave your knees bent. And, Beth, don’t wear underwear to the club again. Am I clear?” The implacable gaze returned to her face.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Any time I am not clear in my instructions, you are permitted to ask.”

She nodded and then froze when he flipped up her PVC skirt to expose her completely. She felt like a piano; his left hand playing with her breasts, and his right… His right hand moved up her leg and settled against her pussy.

“Sir, this isn’t a scene area,” she told him as if he didn’t know. This just wasn’t right. She glanced around to see if anyone-

“Keep your eyes on me, sub,” he said, pinching her nipple, and hot desire ran through her as if her breasts and clit were connected by high-voltage wiring. Lower down, her nerves flared to life as his sure fingers slid through her folds. When had she become wet?

His fingers circled her clit, never touching, and the nub began to throb. This was too much like last week. How did he do this to her?

With his left hand under her back, he lifted her, bringing her breasts up to his mouth. His right hand rubbed gently over the hood of her clit as his hot, wet mouth sucked her nipple. She trembled as hot need flared like lightning inside her, turning her insides molten.

His finger grazed over her clit, once, twice, and her core constricted.

He went back to stroking her folds. Oh, God, she needed more. Her mound tilted up into his hand. “Very nice, sugar,” he murmured. When she managed to focus on his face, he was smiling.

“Open your legs farther.”

She didn’t want to, really didn’t want to. Her fear had disappeared, oddly enough, but lying across his lap felt wrong. Too intimate. Scene play was more focused and less personal, at least when she had her way. The Dom would be standing and doing stuff. She shouldn’t be sprawled half-nude on a Dom’s body.

“Beth.” He drawled with a faint southern accent, the warning clear.

She moved one leg. An inch.

As his brows drew together, her foot crept to the very edge of the couch cushion. And as the movement opened her slick folds under his hand, he pushed his finger into her, hard and fast.

“Aaah!” The nerves inside her flared to life for the first time in years. Shocked, she arched her back, and he bent his head to take her nipple in his mouth as if she’d offered her breasts to him. He bit gently on the tip.

The sharp stab of need sizzled all the way to her pussy, and she tightened around his finger. When he sucked on her nipple, the pulling sensation squeezed something deep inside her.

He slid his finger in and out of her vagina, and his thumb angled to slip over her clit. The rhythmic sensation was impossible to ignore, coordinating with his sucking and biting on her nipple. Tension coiled inside her as her body swept out of her control. Her entire lower half burned. Every touch sent her higher and higher. She grabbed his arm, her fingernails digging into his wrist, needing something, anything to hold on to.

He paused, and little mews of need escaped her. He started again, driving into her forcefully, his thumb directly on her clit. Her thighs trembled as her muscles stiffened and held. Another fierce plunge, another stroke of his thumb over her clit and the room sheeted to white, a fireball of sensation exploding inside her. Pleasure sizzled through her nerves.

His thrusts didn’t stop. As her hips bucked, his left arm turned to a vise around her, holding her for his touch as he wrung every last spasm from her.

Damn, she was a gorgeous sight when she came, Nolan thought, his hand over her pussy, his finger still deep inside her. As her eyelids fluttered shut, her muscles went flaccid. He’d known she was tense, but not how extreme it had been until now when the stiffness flowed right out of her. He bent to lick her nipples, soothing the red marks his small bites had created. Each time his tongue touched her, her pussy twitched around his finger.

There was nothing as fulfilling as having a woman come apart in his arms, and this little sub had badly needed to get off. And more. Her scream of release had echoed with pain. He’d breached the barriers she’d erected to keep people out.

He hadn’t expected she’d trust him enough to let go. Not yet. But she was submissive, through and through, and dominance, not pain, was her key.

Sliding his finger from her body won him a low moan and blinking eyes. “Sir?”

Well, now that felt good; her unthinking acknowledgement of his mastery even before her brain turned back on. He flipped her little skirt down and gathered her up so her head rested against his chest. Her breath created a warm spot on his T-shirt.

Over the background noise in the club, he heard footsteps approach. Z stopped in front of the couch, a subbie blanket over his arm.

Nolan grinned and nodded, thinking that the Shadowlands owner should be called Father Z. Z tucked the blanket around Beth and left without saying a word.

She burrowed closer, her head fitting nicely in the hollow of his shoulder, and he caught the faint scent of strawberries and lemon. She was so light; he could hold her all night without a problem.

So he slid down on the couch, leaned his head back, and enjoyed the simple contentment of having a snuggly, satisfied sub in his arms.

She woke to the rumble of conversation around her, hearing men’s voices before she was quite awake. Where was she? A body shifted under her. A man’s arms were around her. She froze, her breath stopping as panic surged through her. Kyler. Memories flooded her mind, how he’d hold her lovingly after whipping her for hours.

With a thin wail, she pushed away from him, rolling off his legs, and landing on her butt on the floor. She scrambled backward, breath heaving, seeing only men’s legs around her. She’d woken to a nightmare.

“Stop.” A command.

Her muscles froze.

“Beth, look at me.”

Panting in terror, she looked up and into dark, dark eyes. Not pale blue ones. Master Nolan. Her arms almost collapsed as relief flooded through her. She licked her lips, tried to speak, and nothing came out.

He simply pointed to the floor beside his feet. His face showed no reaction or anger, as if subs panicked and fled from his arms every day.

Her bustier gaped open as she crawled back to him, the wooden floor hard and cold against her knees. She knelt next to his legs, keeping her eyes down. He must be furious. Her insides shook so violently that her stomach twisted, and she swallowed hard. Carefully she placed her trembling hands palms up on her thighs. She closed her eyes, tried to breathe, tried to remember where she was. Florida. The Shadowlands.

Master Nolan.

After a minute, he pressed her head against his solid thigh, letting her rest there. And he stroked her hair lightly. Little attentions, nothing special, the sort any Dom might give a sub to let her know he wasn’t upset, to let her know that he hadn’t forgotten her.

Nothing special, dammit. Yet the feel of his gentle hand on her hair made her eyes burn with tears.

She kept her eyes lowered, blinking fast, and the conversation continued around her. Master Z’s voice. The bartender, Cullen. Another Dom…maybe Master Dan? They were discussing upcoming activities. Theme nights. The Fourth of July. The Dom’s monthly meeting at the Palms Restaurant.

“So when are you going to start having your play parties again, Nolan?” Cullen’s voice. “I’ve missed them.”

BDSM parties? At Sir’s house? As the implications of that registered, she stiffened.

And he could feel it. The hand that had been stroking her hair tilted her chin up. “Don’t worry, sugar. You’ll have fun.”

No question as to if she’d attend, just the simple assumption she’d bow to his will. He lifted his eyebrows and waited.

Here in Florida, she had never, ever done a scene anywhere but the public areas of the Shadowlands. Never dated. Never used the private rooms upstairs. Do a play session at someone’s home? She shivered. But others would be there, right? So it wouldn’t be too much different than doing a scene here in the club with others present. She wouldn’t be alone with a Dom. With him.

“Yes, Sir,” she said finally.

He nodded as if he’d known she’d comply, and yet his “brave heart” was like a splash of warmth.

But the room still felt cold, and the tremors inside her were working their way out.

His hand stilled on her hair. With a firm grip, he pulled her between his legs and wrapped the blanket around her, tucking it securely beneath her knees. His legs against her sides felt like hot iron bars.

A trainee sub appeared in response to some motion, and Sir said, “Bring me a hot chocolate.”

When the hot chocolate appeared, Master Nolan put it into Beth’s hand, waiting until he was sure she wouldn’t spill. She sipped, and warmth flowed through her, heating her inside as surely as his surrounding body heated her outside. She felt enclosed and safe between his legs with his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. She finished the cocoa and set her cup on the floor.

As the conversation flowed around her, she dared to rest her head against his leather-clad leg. When his hand stroked down her hair, the sigh she gave was of perfect contentment.

For this moment, this moment only, no fear intruded.

He stepped into the BDSM club in downtown Tampa, grimacing as the music of Velvet Acid Christ assaulted his ears. Two sluts, drenched in nauseating perfume, lined up behind him. As the fat one chattered away in a shrill voice, he could almost feel his favorite cane in his hands and how he’d whip it across her insipid face and split the thin tissue of her lips. Blood would splatter the wall and drip down onto the glossy pink latex corset she wore.

“Sir.”

He blinked, shook his head.

“Sir,” the doorman repeated, holding his hand out for the fee and shoving a clipboard forward. “Sign here, please.”

He scrawled his name, Kyler Stanton, taking his time so he could check the list. No Elizabeth Stanton. No Elizabeth at all. But he couldn’t assume she wasn’t inside.

She might be clever enough to use an assumed name. Anger coiled in his stomach, a growing monster biding its time before bursting free. He’d given her his name, one of respect and dignity. If she’d abandoned it as easily as she’d rejected his home-and him-her punishment would be quite severe.

Nolan had sent Beth home an hour before, her nerves obviously overloaded. She’d done better than he’d anticipated. Of course, she still didn’t trust him worth a damn. Taking a sip of beer, he twisted on the bar stool to watch the scene at the St. Andrew’s cross. A Domme was doing sensation play, running a feather up the inside of her sub’s legs. The poor guy was trembling, his shaft pointing straight up. If he got off now, his cum would probably hit the ceiling.

Nolan grinned. Mistress Anne would have locked that cock in some metal cage and added weights. Amazing what a difference there could be between Dommes.

And that brought his thoughts back to Beth and the Doms she’d known. He understood her wariness. After her experiences, she wouldn’t trust anyone easily, especially a Dom. He sighed. The edge of fear was where trust could be engendered, but if he tried to push her there, she’d flee. Catch-22.

That little sub was definitely a piece of work. He scratched his jaw. On a work site, cement trucks tended to empty unused dregs on the ground, sometimes right in the way of something else. So the crew had to shatter the heavy concrete mass and then dig it out. What tools could he use to break up the ugly mass of memories in Beth’s mind? It wasn’t going to be easy or quick.

Holding his beer, Nolan wandered through the room. This late at night, the club was quieter, although most of the stations were still occupied. At the stockade, a burly gay Dom in biker leathers paddled a willow-thin sub who groaned with every slow stroke.

Farther down, at the lacing table, a Domme indulged in wax play with an older blonde whose breasts were covered with white streaks. The sound of the sub’s moans as she approached her peak almost killed Nolan. His cock had been throbbing like a sore tooth since he’d touched Beth’s wet pussy.

Nolan turned and went the other direction, finally taking a chair near the suspension station to watch Cullen play with Sally. The trainee sub was in her mid-twenties. With a golden tan, long, curly hair the same rich brown as her big eyes, and a very soft, full figure, the sub was a pleasure to fuck. A bit mouthy, too smart for her own good, but thoroughly submissive once a Dom got past the attitude.

Totally focused, the bartender worked a flogger up and down the pretty brunette with nice rhythmic strokes, alternating the pressure, sometimes hard, sometimes soft. As Sally’s cries changed, showing she couldn’t differentiate the pain from the pleasure, the flogging moved from her curvy ass and thighs to lighter erratic blows on her ample breasts and pussy. Her eyes glazed, her breasts and hips arching to meet the blows.

Before Sally could come, Cullen stepped back, nodded in satisfaction, and unfastened her, steadying the sub when her legs wobbled. A hip-high bench stood nearby-Cullen was always prepared-and now he laid Sally on her back with her head dangling off the top. Her ass jutted out over the other end. Cullen bent her legs up and strapped them against her waist. Top and bottom open and ready for use.

After glancing around, Cullen walked over to Nolan and tossed a condom in his lap. “Why don’t you come and play? Sally’s never had it from both ends, and she’s been a good little submissive all night…as good as she ever is. And you’ve been a good boy too; everyone in the place heard Beth scream as she got off. Nice job, but you’re probably ready to explode.”

That was the truth. Nolan picked up the condom and eyed Sally. She quivered as she craned her neck, trying to see where Cullen had gone. Her frustration was obviously growing by the second, and Nolan laughed. “Looks like we’d better get over there or she’ll come without us.”

“Be a nice change. I think she’s been faking it with some of the newer Doms.” Cullen frowned. “Maybe I’ll talk Z into giving a workshop on detecting fake orgasms.”

“That’d be interesting.” Nolan grinned, thinking about Z’s sub who really hated doing public scenes. “Jessica will hide under the bed if she hears you suggest that one.”

Cullen’s roar of laughter silenced the whole club for a second. Still chuckling, he motioned to Sally. “Let’s go play. If she fakes it, I get to beat her some more.”

Nolan snorted. “After the flogging you gave her, she’ll explode the minute we get in her.”

Cullen eyed the flushed sub. “Looks that way.” Unfastening his leathers, Cullen walked back to the bench. “Dibs on oral.”

“Works for me.” Moving to the foot of the bench, Nolan opened his leathers, getting a rush as his aching cock sprang free. A good Dom put a sub’s needs first, and Beth hadn’t been ready to be fucked.

This one was.

Her arms were strapped at her waist, her legs folded up and out of the way. Nolan nodded his approval of the restraints. He ran his hand over Sally’s pink-striped ass, making her moan. “Sally. What is your safe word?”

Her gaze settled on him, then his cock, and her eyes widened as she realized he was planning to take her. “Red, Master.”

“Use it if you need to, Sally,” Nolan instructed. “There will be two of us, so you might need it.”

Her eyes widened. Her breathing increased, her dusky nipples pebbling.

Cullen grinned at Nolan. “She likes it on the rough side.”

Nolan grunted a laugh. The way he felt, that wouldn’t be a problem. With a ruthless smile, he massaged her tender butt, tracing every welt the whipping had left while Cullen did the same with her breasts. It wasn’t long until her breathing turned ragged, and her hips tried to lift despite the straps. “Please, Masters, please,” she whimpered.

“Okay, love. Since you ask so nicely…” Cullen said and angled her head. He looked down her body at Nolan and nodded. Both men thrust into her at once, filling her mouth and her pussy. The sub arched upward, her vagina clamping on Nolan’s cock, spasming around it so violently he almost came right then. She screamed, the sound muffled by Cullen’s cock.

She was panting so fast that Cullen pulled out and waited, his hand around his cock. Nolan moved slowly in and out of her, enjoying the pulsing around his cock as her aftershocks slowly died.

With a sigh, she relaxed back on the bench. She looked up at Master Cullen. “Thank-” He filled her mouth with his cock before she could finish and nodded at Nolan.

With long experience, Nolan timed his moves to Cullen’s, waiting until Cullen started to pull back, and then Nolan would thrust into the snug little pussy. One, then the other, just slowly enough that the nerves would barely recover before the next thrust. He could feel her pussy start to tighten.

“I love this bench,” Nolan said. “It’s just the right height.” He slid his fingers through her folds, making her jerk. After tugging on her swollen labia, he circled his fingers around her clit, just teasing until her hips strained to lift. Then he pushed her, rubbing harder, increasing the speed of his thrusts.

He grinned, watching her try to focus on serving Cullen as her arousal grew, and her climax approached. She finally gave up, breathing too hard to suck cock. She was very close to coming. Five, four, three, two… Nolan slammed deep into her, pinched her clit and held.

She climaxed powerfully, her shrill cries throttled by the cock in her mouth.

After jerking back, Cullen glared across the bench. “She bit me. Warn me before you set her off.”

Nolan chuckled. Sally reminded him of those firecrackers that would explode in quick snaps, one after the other. Nolan studied her flushed face. Wasn’t she a pretty sight? Maybe she should have one more since she’d been such a good girl. “You ready, sugar?”

She nodded and tipped her head back. Cullen pushed his cock back into her mouth, and Nolan saw her working it steadily, taking it deep.

Nolan gave her a little time to relax, then leaned forward, reangling his cock and watching her face as each of his thrusts hit a different place in her vagina. Suddenly her eyes dilated, and her pussy quivered. He nodded. Right there. He started hammering her with short, fast strokes, each one slamming into that place inside.

Her legs strained against the straps, the muscles in her thighs quivering. Her pussy clenched, her whole body going rigid. Nolan said to Cullen, “Consider yourself warned.”

The Dom snarled and pulled out just as Nolan set a finger down right on top of her overstimulated clit and pressed.

“Ah, ah, ah, aaaahhh.” Unmuffled this time, her screams rolled through the club. Her pussy rippled around Nolan’s cock as her hips made futile bucking jerks against the straps. As her climax lessened, the little sub’s whole body shuddered.

“You know, I really don’t get the impression she’s faking.” Nolan glanced at Cullen. “You get bit again?”

When Cullen growled, “You’re such an asshole,” the sub’s eyes widened. She tilted her head up, obviously terrified she’d nipped Cullen’s cock.

Cullen barked a laugh and tugged on her hair. “I pulled out, love. Now open up.” When she opened her mouth, he thrust into her again.

Nolan’s strokes were slow and easy as Cullen’s became stronger. Sally dropped her head back farther, letting him deep-throat her. A few more strokes and Cullen’s face grew flushed. He looked at Nolan. “Let’s do it.”

Nolan started thrusting in unison with Cullen, fast and deep. As the sub’s pussy constricted around him, his balls drew up. They were pounding into her so hard, she grunted with each thrust.

When Nolan stroked a finger right beside her clit, and Cullen pinched her nipples, the sub’s whole body went rigid, and she keened, the sound blurred by the thick cock in her mouth.

Nolan smothered his laugh at the sound of the sub’s wail. He knew she was close even without the telltale tightening around his cock. His cock was straining to release, the urge becoming all-consuming. Increasing the pressure, he stroked her clit in rhythm with his thrusts. Her high wails turned into shrieks as she went over.

As she convulsed around him, he gripped her hips, holding her so securely that his fingers dug into her soft flesh. He pumped into her with short, intense strokes and finally let himself come, his cock jerking so hard with the release that his vision blurred.

Across the bench, Cullen gave a bellow as he got off.

Nolan felt the sub’s legs still quivering in his grip. Her wails had diminished to moans of satisfaction. He slid in and out gently, enjoying the rippling aftershocks milking his cock. As he started to pull out, he glanced down at Sally’s clean-shaven pussy and thought of Beth’s soft folds, her slickness on his fingers.

How would it feel to bury himself in Beth’s pussy and see those red curls surround his cock like a glowing fire?