Edge of the Enforcer

Chapter Eighteen

“I love you so much.” Over the past few hours, through the end of the meeting, to the dinner with everyone gradually relaxing, to showering and getting ready for the dungeon, deVries had held those words close.

After locking the cabin, he joined Lindsey on the path. The moonlight shone on her face—and didn’t come close to the glow she radiated.

Fuck, he’d never felt this way about anyone before, and he could almost be grateful to his ex-wife for leaving him. For letting him be free to discover how different love felt if trust was there. If the caring went both ways.

When Lindsey smiled at him, he bent to take another kiss before setting off with her down the path.

Jake’s two-story cabin was well back into the forest behind the lodge. Jake had mentioned that he’d planned to build closer, but he and Kallie had opted for privacy instead.

On the covered porch, deVries tapped on the door.

Kallie opened the door, already dressed in a corset and short red skirt. “Hey, guys. Right on time.” She took their coats and hung them in the entry closet. “So…the rules are pretty much the same as at Dark Haven. The dungeon safeword is red.” She stepped around the massive cat sitting beside the basement door.

“Wow,” Lindsey said. “If people don’t obey the rules, the cat gets them, right?”

DeVries eyed the beast warily. The damn thing looked almost like a bobcat.

“Absolutely. Mufasa has no pity, trust me.” Grinning, Kallie led the way down the flight of stairs. “Jake and Logan are the dungeon monitors—whichever of them isn’t busy at the time.”

The staircase opened up into a basement dungeon, where Nine Inch Nails was playing on the sound system. Was rather nice that the Hunt brothers preferred the old BDSM classics.

Jake had done some good work on the place. The walls were constructed of stone with matching pillars running down the center of the room. The iron wall sconces held candle-shaped lights, and a fire burned in a river-rock fireplace so the lighting was pleasantly ominous.

St. Andrew’s crosses stood at either end of the floor. The low exposed beams boasted heavy bolts with conveniently placed chains. The rest of the equipment included a leather-covered spanking bench and a bondage table.

“It’s exactly the way I’d think a real dungeon would be,” Lindsey whispered, stepping closer to him. “Scary.”

Fuck, she was cute. He slid an arm around her shoulders and whispered, “It’s going to get scarier, pet.”

Her eyes rounded.

Oh yeah, this would be a good night. He intended to drive her out of her head and give her a break from worrying.

Across the room, Jake laid out implements beside the spanking horse while Logan talked to Virgil Masterson, Simon, and Rona.

“Where are Summer and Becca?” Lindsey asked, looking around for the rest of the submissives.

“They’re taking care of Ansel upstairs. Becca will be down soon, and I’ll trade places with Summer later.” Kallie wrinkled her nose at Masterson.

“Damn right you will, little bit,” Masterson said.

DeVries kept his mouth straight with an effort. Since Masterson considered Kallie like a sister, he refused to stay in the same room when Jake was doing a scene with her. Good decision. It’d suck if the linebacker-size cop flattened Jake for making his little sis cry. Might be fun to watch, though. Both men were over six feet, in mountain-country shape, both ex-military. Be a hell of a match.

Over in a corner, Dixon was studying a human-size birdcage. DeVries gave Lindsey a nudge in that direction. “Can you keep Dixon company while I talk to the others for a minute?”

“But—”

At his frown, she quieted immediately. He kept his gaze on her, silently reminding her the evening had begun. The reins were in his hands. “Your task is to follow directions. To hear only my voice,” he told her softly. “Everything else is my job.”

Her gaze dropped, and a flush warmed her cheeks. Even better, the tenseness eased from her face as she gave control over to him.

Watching her relax to his will set up a fire inside him. They hadn’t been in a dungeon since getting back together. This’d test if their new dynamic would work. Damned if he wasn’t going to bust balls to see it did.

“Before you talk to Dixon, strip down.” He pointed to shelves in a corner of the room. “Leave only your thong on.”

Her expression held her protest; she’d be the only person baring so much. Too bad. If he liked seeing her exposed—and he fucking well did—she’d be naked. And after reliving all the crap her husband had put her through, she needed the reinforcement he found her pussy and tits as gorgeous as they were.

“Yes, Sir.” Reluctance in every step, she obeyed.

He smiled. Odd how adorable a submissive was when she complied despite her own inclinations.

Once in the corner, she tugged off her boots and unstrapped the sheathed knife he’d given her. He hadn’t realized she was wearing it, but…hell, he liked her armed, even though it pissed him off that anything, ever, should make her afraid.

When she removed her shirt and bra and glanced at him, he let his enjoyment show. Her hair was tied back, so he had a good view of her round, high, very sweet breasts.

Face flushed, she frowned at him, but after glancing at his crotch, the corners of her lips tipped up. Someday she’d accept how much the sight of her turned him on.

Joining the other men and Rona, he asked Logan, “Is this it for the crew tonight?”

“Yep. We’d expected Ware with a play partner. A pity he ended up having to work.”

Simon added, “The other two Dark Haven couples were unwilling to risk the storm. Last newscast said the blizzard has shifted, and it’ll hit us tomorrow.”

Hearing, Jake looked over his shoulder. “New snow will be fun. If you’re up for it, I’ll take you cross-country skiing after the winds die down.”

“You’re on.” DeVries checked Lindsey. Had the Texan ever skied? He’d enjoy sharing with her. “You’re keeping the lodge open this winter?” The Hunt brothers normally closed Serenity to spend winters in the tropics.

“We didn’t want to take Ansel away from home his first year or two,” Logan said.

“Gives Kallie and me more time to play with him—and start our own.” Jake smiled. “And I can join her winter tours. Been a while since I went ice fishing.”

DeVries glanced at Kallie. Amazing someone so tiny worked as a wilderness guide.

Jake’s gaze settled on his wife, and his expression turned stern. “Tonight we’re going to discuss you making all-male bookings without arranging to have me along.” He dropped a flogger next to the cane.

“Jake,” she said, taking a step back. “This is my job and—”

“Good plan, Hunt, but don’t beat on her too hard. She has to feed the stock tomorrow.” Catching a glare from both Dom and sub, Masterson smirked. “Yep, I’m out of here.” The cop ruffled his cousin’s hair and headed up the stairs.

Kallie’s hands were on her hips as she confronted her husband. “I don’t know why you—”

Jake put his palm over her mouth and calmly accepted the gag Logan handed him. “Gonna be a long night, isn’t it? For you, at least, sprite.”

Amused at the muffled cursing, deVries joined Lindsey and Dixon.

As a concession to the rustic atmosphere, Dixon had foregone his normal flashy fetwear and instead wore a red flannel shirt tied at the waist, red latex shorts, and matching Velcro wrist cuffs. “Sir,” he said with a dip of his head.

“That’s more polite than when you called me a ‘fucking asshole.’” The worry that appeared on the young man’s face was satisfying. Good start to a scene. “I’m in the mood to beat on you. You up for it?”

“Yes, Sir!” Dixon bounced on his toes.

DeVries studied him. The boy was moving easily. Expression open. Since they’d scened together before, negotiation was a snap. “Anything new I should know? Sore spots, triggers, places to avoid? Additional needs or requests?”

“Nothing new, Sir.”

“Strip.” He pointed to a spot beneath two dangling chains. “Both of you, kneel there.”

Anticipation was rising inside him. His plan was simple: dominate the two of them, inflict pain on the boy, tease his own little subbie, hand the boy over, play with his woman.

His cock went rigid as he tugged Lindsey to her feet and ran his fingers through her silken dark hair. After kissing her velvety lips, he molded her against him for a sheer erotic rush.

As he fastened wrist cuffs on her, he stroked her arms. Sturdy wrists—for a woman; compared to his thick bones, hers seemed incredibly fragile. The white scars on each arm pissed him the hell off. Ricks was a dead man.

No. He pushed away the thought. Tonight was for now. Nothing else. He crouched and buckled the ankle cuffs on her legs before nuzzling her soft stomach. She wore a light floral fragrance that didn’t overpower the scent of her delicate musky arousal.

“Where do you want me to kneel?” The eagerness in Lindsey’s eyes had increased with the addition of ankle cuffs. Recently, he’d discovered having her legs restrained flipped a nice little switch in her.

He smiled slowly. “Get in the cage.”

“What?” The oval birdcage was constructed of black rebar rather than wire and hung freely from a ceiling chain. “In there?”

“Oh yeah. In you go.” He braced the birdcage as she reluctantly climbed inside the hip-high door. After she had knelt on the doughnut-holed leather pad, facing him, he said, “Arms up.”

He hooked her cuffs together and clipped them to the cage top. “Spread your knees, pretty bird. And get comfortable. You’re gonna be here for a while.” He closed the door. Didn’t lock it or chain it shut.

Designed for BDSM play, the frame had clamps attached to accommodate the two-foot-long steel stakes waiting in a container. He inserted a stake through a clamp and inward until the dull point touched her upper back, then secured it. He set another stake to press on the other side of her back. Now she couldn’t move backward in the cage.

Two more stakes grazed each ass cheek. Her eyes widened when he slid the next thick stake in to dimple the outside of her right breast. He did the same on the left. “I recommend you don’t do much wiggling, right?”

She shook her head.

“You’ve never seen a birdcage before?” He angled two more stakes to the insides of her thighs, ensuring her knees stayed apart.

“N-no.”

He stepped back and studied her. Lips still swollen from earlier, cheeks slightly flushed, arms over her head so her breasts were lifted, showing the tight, jutting peaks. The dim light of the dungeon was enough to see how wet her thong already was.

Made him want to yank her out and take her immediately.

Soon. And by then he’d have her squirming mindlessly. Yeah.

“You start getting muscle cramps or get scared, you sing out, pet.” To extract her from the cage, he’d have to flip the quick-releases of the four stakes in front and remove them. More stakes were in the container, but this was plenty until he knew how she’d react. Some submissives loved this kind of immobilization. Some got terrified.

That wouldn’t be good. Problem was that with impact play, his focus needed to be completely on the bottom, so he might not catch it right away if Lindsey started to panic.

He walked over to Logan, who stood in the center of the room. “You monitoring now?”

Logan nodded.

“I’m going to flog Dixon with Lindsey in the cage. It’s her first time there and being restrained with stakes. Could use some eyes on her while I’m occupied.”

“You’re splitting your attention?” Logan studied the two submissives and the area. The birdcage was within a few feet of the dangling chains. “I’ll have Simon monitor the rest of the room so I can stick close.”

“Appreciate it.”

Problem solved.

He glanced at Lindsey, pleased to see the tenseness of her body. For the time she’d be watching, the stakes would serve as a constant reminder she was still under his control. Would give her small amounts of pain—which he’d enjoy—especially once he upped the stimulus for her to move.

He joined Dixon. “Now you, boy.” Fisting the bottom’s pretty blond hair, deVries yanked him to his feet. The boy gave a tantalizing yelp. “Arms up.”

After lowering the chains secured to the rafter beams, deVries used panic snaps to secure Dixon’s wrist cuffs to the chains. He considered adding a spreader-bar for his legs, but…nah, he was in the mood to watch some dancing feet. This setup looked good.

He stepped back and assessed Dixon. Too cocky.

Fuck that shit. DeVries blindfolded the boy’s eyes.

Dixon’s muscles tensed, but he took a calming breath and relaxed.

Good control, deVries thought…and waited.

As nothing happened and the seconds ticked by, Dixon started to tense up again.

Much better. How far could he wind the submissive up? DeVries leaned forward and growled in his ear, “Got all of your body to use for my target, boy. Best you hope I don’t flog those fat balls of yours to ribbons.”

Swallowing, Dixon edged his legs together, hiding his vulnerable parts; yet, as if dissociated from fear, his dick strained upward.

Very nice. This boy wasn’t the type of masochist who found any and all pain enjoyable. No, Dixon felt actual pain at first and had to endure the discomfort to reach his goal of subspace. Was a hell of a lot of fun to push this kind of masochist up the brutally painful slope to pleasure. “Your safeword still the same, boy?”

“Frank-N-Furter.”

“Might be amusing to hear you squeal that.” DeVries ran his hands down the leanly muscled arms, over narrow shoulders, down his back. Sensitizing his skin. “Party safeword is red. Use one or the other if you need it.”

“Yes, Sir.”

DeVries stepped over to the birdcage. Lindsey hadn’t moved. None of the stakes were digging into her skin too far. He studied her face. Her head was right here with him, nothing else on her mind. Perfect. Fitting his arm through the bars, he laid his palm along Lindsey’s cheek. “All right?”

Her eyes were the melting chocolate color of the fudge she’d made. Fucking sweet. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” He jerked his chin at Logan, who was leaning against a stone pillar, gaze on them. “I get that you’re not one to want to interrupt a scene, so Logan is there if you need him. He’ll stay till I’m with you.”

The relaxation of the muscles in her neck and around her mouth told him she’d worried. “Thank you, Zander.”

Good. On second thought, damned if he wanted her too relaxed. He ran his knuckles over her firm little breasts and rolled her nipples between his fingers, increasing the pressure until she started making pleasing squeaks and squirming uncontrollably. Her movements pushed her into the stakes, reminding her of their presence. Reminding her she was trapped for his pleasure.

He could actually see her grow wetter. Fuck, he loved the way she responded.

Nonetheless, her turn was over. “Hang tight, babe. Next time I’ll pick on that pretty pussy of yours.”

Her instinctive movement drove her knees into the stakes, and the luscious helpless sound she made kicked up his own hunger. Oh yeah. He wanted more of that.

As he returned to Dixon, the fire of need simmered under his skin. “I got an itch to hear you yell, boy,” he said. “First I’ll give you a bit of a warm-up so I can draw this out until you’re sweating.” He started in.

The sound of the flogger striking skin—no matter how lightly—increased his pulse and steadied his focus. Pinken that patch of skin. Avoid there. Make the sides match. Study the results.

Dixon’s muscles were relaxed, breathing steady.

Gradually, deVries found a good rhythm. He snorted, realizing Dixon’s ass was swaying to Combichrist’s “Get Your Body Beat.”

After a while, he moved to a heavier flogger. Added some caning for variety.

“Brace yourself, boy,” he said. And he finished—for the moment—with three much harder throws with no break between.

The sheer force rocked Dixon forward each time. Hands fisted, neck bowed, Dixon breathed through the pain. His forehead and shoulders were damp with sweat, but the change in his expression, the glow, said he was moving into subspace. Nice. Very nice.

“Don’t move now, boy. You stay still.”

Dixon received the instructions with a submissive shiver.

While the boy finished processing the pain, deVries went over to the birdcage. “Pretty little canary. Gonna listen to you sing next.”

Lindsey’s gaze was fixed on him like a bird watching a cat approach. While he’d flogged Dixon, her breathing had increased, her cheeks had flushed. She was getting nice and toasty with excitement.

“How are you doing, babe? Can you last longer?”

Her chin came up. “I’m fine, Sir.”

Well, hell, a submissive shouldn’t say that to a sadist. Might as well shout nah-nah, ni-nah-nah, right? “Good to know.”

He didn’t intend to draw out Dixon’s scene—he had other plans for the boy in mind—so he might as well fuck Lindsey’s head up a bit now. He pinched her pretty nipples back to a dark red and stopped before she got too squirmy. “You’re going to need to remember to stay still.”

“Sure. Sir.”

“Good for you.” He smiled into her eyes and saw worry appear. She knew him well.

His favorite wand was in his toy bag. He added the nubby attachment. Plugged into the wall, the device fit through the space under the birdcage door. He clamped the wand in position so it barely…barely vibrated the thong covering Lindsey’s pussy.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you don’t get bored, baby.”

Her hands fisted as the vibrations registered. She was already aroused, and it took only a few seconds before she wanted more. Her hips tried to move forward…and were stopped by the stakes. When she persisted despite the undoubted discomfort, he tsk-tsked and withdrew the vibrator far enough so she couldn’t quite touch it. So she wouldn’t be able to get off.

Her glare made him laugh.

As he returned to Dixon, he could hear the hum of the wand and her low moan. Nice.

He grabbed Dixon’s hair and yanked his head back. “You sleeping there?”

The boy gasped. “No, Sir!”

“Good. Maybe you need some noise to keep you lively.” He’d brought one of his single-tails—a medium-length one. Stepping back, he picked it up and gave it a quick snap.

As the crack echoed in the room, Dixon straightened so quickly his spine almost shattered.

“Got a problem with whips, boy?” Nothing had been on his limits list at Dark Haven.

“No, Sir.” When deVries didn’t respond, Dixon swallowed and added, “They make me…nervous.”

“Shows you’re not stupid.” The harsh sting would center the bottom’s attention after the small break and steer him into the mind space where he needed to be. Afterward a hard flogging should take him up and over.

He flicked the tail over the young man’s ass, his shoulders, down to his ass, and grinned when the bottom’s feet started moving, his ass twisting, trying to avoid the startling burn.

“Good luck with that.” He settled into an even rhythm, knowing it was counterbalanced by the erratic nature of the stinging impacts.

As the whipping continued, Dixon’s shoulders relaxed, his hands opened. Heading into subspace.

DeVries checked Lindsey. Her face was flushed. The wand had done the job, and her muscles were taut with the need to get off. She was sweating, her face showing she’d reached her limit of frustration.

He met Logan’s eyes, looked at Lindsey, and made a cutting motion. Pull the plug.

Logan nodded.

DeVries walked forward, grasped Dixon’s chin, and lifted. “You holding up, boy?”

The simple touch and question made Dixon’s mouth curve up sluggishly. Oh yeah, he was nicely into la-la land. “Sir,” he breathed. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good boy.” As deVries returned to his work, he heard the hum of the wand die and the whine of Lindsey’s response.

Crack. Crack. Crack. Dixon’s back displayed a gratifying pattern of thin red lines. No blood.

Time for the flogger. A medium weight, deVries decided, with enough sting to remind the boy of the whip, enough weight to be thuddy, not so heavy as to break open the stripes.

Smiling, he moved into a nice figure-eight pattern, melding in the music, his heartbeat, Dixon’s swaying with the slap, slap, slap of the flogger. He was sweating, enjoying the weight, the sounds of the blows, the sucking of air as the bottom processed each blow. Nothing felt like swinging a flogger.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Stanfeld. Right on time as agreed.

DeVries flicked the strands, pulling back enough that only the tips struck Dixon, giving him a new sensation.

Stanfeld seemed like a decent guy. Honorable. Honest. And Simon considered him a damn good Dom. Xavier and Simon had been concerned about the crappy Doms Dixon kept choosing. Tonight, deVries figured on handing the boy over to someone who was all Dom.

DeVries paused and jerked his chin up at Stanfeld.

Arms crossed, the agent had taken a position near the wall to watch. Stanfeld smiled slightly…and nodded.

IN THE BIRDCAGE, Lindsey couldn’t take her gaze off Zander. “Fuck, I love you too,” he’d said. Over the past few hours, those words had run through her mind like an ever-spinning carousel of joy. After hearing of the burglary of her duplex and realizing Ricks and Parnell had found her, she’d hit rock bottom. Yet, this evening, she was ready to soar upward and dance like a happy star in the night sky.

“Fuck, I love you too.” Zander never said things he didn’t mean. His devastating bluntness did have a benefit. He loves me.

And I really, really love him.

Maybe a little less right now, though. Damn Enforcer. After the vibrator, her clit was so engorged and throbbed so intensely she wanted to scream. Trying to shift her weight, she only succeeded in making the birdcage rock. His stakes—like giant needles on steroids—poked her bottom and her back and her poor breasts.

The way Zander had reduced Dixon to a glassy-eyed, subspaced body seriously turned her on. Every time Dix hissed with pain, Zander’s focus grew more intent, as if he was drinking in the sounds her friend made. If Dixon tried to shift his weight to avoid a blow, the next hit of the flogger would thwart him.

She couldn’t help seeing poor Dixon had an impossibly hard erection. He was suffering as badly as she was.

Again Zander walked around in front of Dixon to study him. “Yep, you’re done.” He flicked the flogger at the young man’s genitals.

The yelp Dixon made was terrifying.

God, how could he pick on a person’s privates—especially when all swollen up? Lindsey squirmed in sympathy. “Friggin’ sadist.”

Obviously hearing her, Logan gave an amused snort.

Zander gripped Dixon’s jaw and removed his blindfold. “Look at me, pup.”

Dixon’s eyes opened and focused. “Yessir.”

“You’re about at your limit—but I could play with the flogger and whip for another hour.” Zander’s lips curved when Dixon strained to inch back. “We can continue…or I can hand you off to a Dominant who’ll take the scene in a different direction. Simon vouches for him, by the way.” He looked to the right.

Lindsey followed his gaze. Whoa, the Homeland Security guy was in the dungeon. He wore black jeans and a black skintight body shirt that showed off a leanly muscular body. He was looking at Dixon in appreciation.

But she hadn’t had a chance to talk with him—not enough to decide if she trusted him with her friend. She frowned. Still, if Simon said Stan was okay…maybe it was all right.

Dixon blinked, stared at Stan, and blinked again. “I—I—I.”

Sneaky sadist, Lindsey thought. Dixon sure didn’t want that whip again. Since Zander had suggested the change in Doms, Dixon wouldn’t look as if he were chasing after man-candy. She glanced at the agent. The Dom was definitely a gay boy’s dream.

“Do you want Stanfeld to take over?” Zander asked.

Dixon’s expression held both desire and worry.

I so understand. Lindsey’d been in that position. The first scene or two with someone unknown was awfully scary.

“Boy,” Zander said in his grating voice. “Your play stays in here, nowhere else. Tex and I won’t leave before you do. And Logan will keep an eye on you as well.” He raised his eyebrows at the two Doms.

“Agreed,” Stan said.

Logan nodded.

“Okay.” Dixon went starry-eyed. Lindsey could understand why, since Stan was not only gay but also very, very dominant.

“All yours,” Zander said to the agent and moved his bag to the other side of the birdcage.

Stan stalked across the room and stopped in front of—

Zander’s body blocked her view. After opening the cage door, he curved his hand around her jaw. “You going to watch them or me?” Zander asked.

Oops. “Um, you, Sir.” She could barely hear them talking—going over limits, she thought.

“Yeah, what I figured.” He considered the blindfold he held and tossed it onto the bag. His gaze was level and serious. He was so close she could smell him—light musk and sweat, soap and leather. “They aren’t your concern now. Keep your eyes on me, babe, or I’ll be unhappy.”

Oh. At the thought of letting him down, she wanted to curl up like a repentant puppy. “I won’t disappoint you. I won’t.” Never. Ever.

The smile softened his hard features. “No, you won’t.”

His gaze on her face, he teased her breasts, pinching her nipples to attention and more, until she was squirming at the arousing pain.

As the stakes poked her, the added bites made her thoughts swirl like falling leaves before the approaching winter. It felt as if she’d been stirred up all night…because she had. “Zander, pleeeze.” Touch me, take me…hard.

“Feeling needy, are you?” As he gave an ominous laugh, he retracted the stakes, one by one. Nothing sharp was pressing on her skin any longer, and she took a relieved breath. Free!

He didn’t unfasten her wrists, though, and she tugged at the restraints in a silent reminder.

“’Bout time to torture those little tits of yours. See how sensitive they can get.”

Torture? Wait. Her jaw dropped. Her wrist cuffs were still clipped to the top of the cage—and prevented her from plastering herself on the opposite side from him.

When the corners of his mouth tipped up, she knew she’d reacted as he figured. And knowing didn’t help. Her skin felt so sensitive already, her nipples still ached from his pinching, and now…more? She barely kept from whimpering, and yet, seeing the merciless light in his gaze sent a dark hunger through her.

As he bent to his toy bag, she shifted position, rubbing her thighs together to ease the ache.

He noticed—of course—and his chin lifted slightly. Open.

God. It felt as if heat were streaming off her body as she parted her legs, opening to him.

Unhurriedly, he wrapped scratchy rope around her, above and under her breasts, creating a kind of harness. Soon the rope circled the base of each breast, squeezing and constricting the skin. By the time he stopped, her breasts felt too, too full, as if being pressed outward. Her already tender nipples filled with blood until every beat of her heart made them throb.

She was panting, unable to do anything. Her breasts had never felt like this—exquisitely sensitive to the point of pain.

“Nice.” His voice was sandpaper harsh, his gaze piercing as he firmly rolled the peaks.

Too much. Even as she gasped at the sharp, painful pleasure, uncontrollable need swept over her like a wind off the desert, turning the air scorching hot.

His callused fingers on her moved deliberately, wringing more from her, as his smoke-green eyes watched her intently. Pushing her. She whimpered.

“Yeah,” he rasped, “there’s the sound I like.”

The pull of his fingers sent a current of need arrowing straight to her core. And, as if he could follow the line of tension, he ground the heel of his hand against her mound and slid his finger inside her. Making a low helpless sound, she clenched around him, wiggling. Needing more.

“I’ll give you more.” The masculine threat sent shivers racing over her skin. He unclipped her wrist cuffs. “Ankles, please.”

Awkwardly, she maneuvered until she sat with her butt on the cushion. She could feel the slickness between her thighs as she extended her legs toward him. God, what was he going to do?

“Lie back.”

As she tipped backward, he guided her legs out the birdcage door until half her bottom was outside. She swallowed hard and stared up at the metal frame around her, feeling the cage swing slightly.

She could hear the music change to something softer. Darker. A sharp cry came from a woman down the room. Nearby, Stan was talking to Dixon, low and soft.

Zander’s powerful hands closed on her left leg, lifting up and out. He clipped the ankle cuff high on the outside of the birdcage before doing the right. Her bottom was so far through the door her legs were angled toward her head, elevated enough to tilt her ass upward. Blood rushed to her head—and her bound breasts swelled, erotically painful.

He smiled and tore the sides of her thong, ripping it right off. The coolness of air touched the hot flesh between her thighs. She was extremely wet.

And God, she wanted him inside her. But… A quiver of anxiety ran up her spine. Who knew what the Enforcer would do?

In answer, he leaned in and hooked her wrist cuffs to the frame behind her head. “I don’t want you interfering when I hurt you,” he said in such a level voice that he sounded reasonable until she took in the meaning.

“B-but, I’m not—”Not a masochist, remember? At his stare, she didn’t finish. Just bit her lip. The swinging of the birdcage seemed to make her helplessness even more apparent. She wasn’t even on the ground.

His hands ran down the backs of her legs, and she realized the cage put her bottom right at the height of a man’s groin. Good—she wanted him inside her.

“I think I should examine that gorgeous pussy of yours,” he said. He pushed a button on the control device hooked on the frame. The cage rose to the level of his chest.

Her eyes widened when his gaze settled between her legs. God, her pussy was right out there, totally on display. He ran his fingers down her mound, opened her labia, and just…looked at her.

“Zander…” A glance made her swallow and try again. “Master, don’t. Please.”

“Please is a great word—and I intend to please. Me, for sure. Maybe even you.” He pressed a rough finger inside her, his smoldering eyes on her as she sucked in a breath at the light scrape against sensitized nerves. One corner of his mouth tilted up. When he rubbed on a certain place, her hips jerked violently.

A dark hunger rose in her core.

“Guess you like this spot.”

He continued until she could feel the strands of an orgasm start to gather. Finally.

And he removed his hand.

Leaving her empty inside, he caressed her clit for a wonderful few seconds before tugging the hood up off it. She stiffened, realizing he was looking right at her pussy. Her face felt as if she were turning the color of a beet with embarrassment, even as need surged high and fast.

One finger of his other hand circled the nub of nerves, making her shake uncontrollably. “You’re gonna have to get used to this, babe,” he said. The considering look he gave her was disconcerting. “I’m a visual sort of guy—and I like looking at your cunt.”

Oh my God, did he really say that? She stared at him.

He watched his finger circle her clit, and his pitiless eyes stabbed at her again. “Before I fuck you, I’m going to have myself a cunt show. Watch you get puffy. And red. And hurting.”

Hurting? The look she gave him must have been horrified, because his dimple flashed with his amusement.

He slicked up her asshole with cold lube and picked up a…thing from his toy bag. The length of his hand, the flexible stick was constructed of glass balls that started about the size of a grape and increased in diameter. Without any hesitation, he pushed the first small one into her anus.

She felt the tiny stretch before her rim of muscles closed around the narrow part. But he kept going. The next ball was slightly bigger. Each one stretched her more until she was panting, feeling far too full inside. Her legs up over the sides of the cage prevented her from escaping the discomfort—and she didn’t want to disappoint him, so she panted and gasped.

“Next one’s really big,” he said.

Oh God, bigger would hurt…really hurt, past what she could take. She started to grit her teeth and hesitated. He’d been unhappy with her when she’d covered up her pain during the flogging. Had said he needed to trust her to be honest.

But where was the line between taking the pain to please a Dom and going too far? “Yellow,” she whispered.

“Now that’s a fucking good girl,” he said, his voice deeper than normal, approval warming her like a hot bath. “Saved yourself from a timeout in a corner.” The lines fanning out from the corners of his eyes deepened with amusement.

Damn Dom. He’d wanted her to speak up—and had deliberately pushed her into it. Her anger died under the sweet reassurance that he cared.

A sensual flame glowed in his eyes as he laid his hand between her legs, over her mound and pussy. Why did the casual caress seem even more intimate than what he’d already done? Maybe because he did it in the same way he’d squeeze her shoulder or tug on her hair, as if all parts of her were his to touch. The realization she wanted him to possess her burrowed into her heart along with the knowledge he’d do exactly that.

“Now I’m going to hurt you,” he said gravely.

What? She licked her lips and said carefully, “But-but you hurt Dixon already.”

“I kept it light…so I’d have enough energy for you too.”

A shiver shook her as he picked up a cane in his left hand and an eight-inch flogger with narrow rubber strands. So short. He tapped the cane along the backs of her thighs, lightly. When he reached her ass…Smack.

Ow! The stinging pain blasted up through her body, squeezed her center, and swelled her aching breasts. When he struck her other cheek, she realized the aching fullness from the balls increased her sensitivity. Each swat of the cane made her clench, made the burn worse, and yet she could feel the hunger filling her. She needed him inside her so, so badly. Her breathing changed to hard pants as she fought to stay still.

He slicked a finger around her clit, inserted it into her entrance, and her blood turned to fire, racing through her veins. “Ready for more, aren’t you?”

The tiny flogger rose and came straight down on her pussy.

“Shit!” At the brutal bliss, her entire body arced upward. Her hands fought the restraints.

“That’s it.” And he gripped her right thigh, flicked the strands to hit her labia from below, then struck her clit from above.

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

“Yeah, nice.” He leaned in and pinched her nipples cruelly, yet under his hot gaze the pain slid downward to her core, reverberating through her like the low ringing of a bell. Before she could process anything, he struck her buttocks with the cane and her labia with the flogger.

Too many sensations crashed in on her, transforming to dark, molten heat pooling in her pelvis. She clenched around the thing inside her, drowning in the monstrous need.

“Oh please.” Her fingers clamped on the cage bars. Don’t move, don’t move. But she couldn’t take more. Couldn’t. Everything hurt and pulsated with the strangest mixture of pleasure and pain and needs. “I want—”

“No, pet. This is about what you need,” he said, the iron in his tone merciless. The flogger hit her again, right between her legs.

Her whole body spasmed, surging toward the peak. Not reaching it, and as she slid backward, the cage itself seemed to sink. All she could feel were the sensations shivering over her skin, boiling inside her. She started to shake.

And his gaze was on her again, on her pussy. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” He traced a finger around her clit. “Slick and so red you’re almost glowing.”

With a hum of the winch, he lowered the birdcage to groin level. He opened his jeans, and his cock pressed against her entrance.

Her vagina felt too empty, and yet the anal balls were very big, and her mind wavered back and forth between fear and desire. Please, please, please. Her begging made no sound.

“Take me, babe.” His shaft pressed into her, slick and hot and so very thick. Her anus was already stuffed with the round objects, and he filled her far too full. “Fuck, you feel good.”

She wasn’t sure it was true in reverse. And yet as he forged deeper, the pleasure seemed to fill her until her body sang with it.

“All in. Look at me, Lindsey.”

Sweat dampened her temples as she managed to lift her heavy eyelids.

He studied her for a long moment, heart-squeezing tenderness and amusement—and lust—in his expression. “Yeah, you’re good.” He curved his fingers around her thighs, close to her pelvis, and pushed. As his cock slid out without his hips shifting, she realized he was standing still and moving the birdcage. With his gaze on her face, he yanked it toward him, impaling her.

The ferocious thrill arched her neck. Her breasts jiggled and ached with need. Her whole lower half felt as if it were overstuffed on the inside, swollen and throbbing on the outside.

She stared at him as he pushed the cage away, emptying her, brought it back and filled her. Over and over. Hard and ruthless and her body gloried in it. Her hips struggled to move. She yanked at her restraints, every thought gone except the ones of need churning her blood. The need to take more, to come, to—

And gradually, he withdrew all the way, stepped back—and the flogger came down on her clit. One. Two. Three. Not as hard as before, but relentless stings directly on the exquisitely sensitive ball of nerves.

“Nooooo.” Incredible pain and the most supreme pleasure whipped through her.

He didn’t stop. Whap, whap, whap, and the rocketing sensations kept soaring upward. It hurt, yet, a devastating pleasure crescendoed outward like an overload of electricity, sending every nerve into ecstasy until she couldn’t stay still.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”

She could barely hear his baritone rasp over the roaring in her head. He thrust into her rhythmically, his hold on her hips merciless. She loved it. Loved him. Loved being taken until she was mindless.

He slowed. “After all your complaining, you’d better get off one more time.”

Another? She’d die. “Uh-uh.” Her protest was hoarse. “Done. I’m done.”

“Sure you are, babe.” Although she heard the strain in his voice as he kept himself under control, his cock made lovely sweet circles and measured thrusts as if he could last for eternity.

She might never move again.

He stopped moving. “Look at me, Lindsey.” His soft tone was encased in iron.

Her eyes opened.

His expression was demanding, his face absolutely masculine as he watched her with the sternness of a master. “Time for more.”

As if she was completely under his control, her body quivered awake around the cock impaling her. The other thing in her ass was still there—and not comfortable when she moved.

He bent slightly forward into the birdcage, holding her thigh, keeping himself in her. His other hand reached toward where her breasts strained beneath the binding ropes.

“No!”

Ignoring her protest and wiggling, he kneaded the taut flesh.

The huge wave of heat was indescribable. She gasped—and then he pinched her engorged nipples.

“Oh my God.” The sensation wasn’t…quite…pain, more a pressure blooming deep inside her, like a purposeful rise of molten rock in a volcano.

He laughed as her world dropped away from her, as if she were engulfed in his control. His cock slowly slid in and out of her, deeper than before, driving her body into arousal again. Her clit wakened, sending bursts of need, need, need messages along her nerve endings.

“That’s it, babe. Better grab hold now.” The warning came none too soon. Even as he slid out of her, he pulled on the thing in her ass. One glass ball bumped out, and he thrust it back in—and his cock as well. Out. She felt the coldness as he added more lube, and the anal bead toy slid in through the ring of muscles, stimulating everything in the area. Out. In.

Her whole lower half had turned to an overloaded, rawly sensitive nerve, and each breath she took was a moan. The pressure coiled and coiled within her center. “I can’t,” she moaned, her fingers clasping the metal frame, searching for something to anchor her.

“Let go, Lindsey.” He squeezed her bottom gently as if to let her know he had her. “Now.” His cock slid out first and a second later, he yanked the anal beads out—all of them.

“Aaaaah!” Her back arched; her nails dug into her palms as her insides contracted, expanded, clenched harder. When his cock forced its way back inside her slick pussy, every nerve in her body lit up like a galaxy of sparklers, expanding outward until her skin tingled, her hair tingled, her toes tingled.

Oh my God, oh my God.

“Mmmhmm, baby. Beautiful.”

Before she’d managed to stop gasping, before her heart rate had slackened, he gripped her hips and pistoned into her, fast and forceful, until he released in a series of hard jerks.

God, he was going to be the death of her. The heavy satisfaction had dissolved her bones. Under her, the cage rocked slightly. Maybe she’d simply lie right here for a millennium or so.

Still deep inside her, he caressed her hips and bottom as she gathered her senses and reacquired the art of breathing rather than gasping. When his fingers brushed over several tender, stinging areas, she flinched. Whoa, baby. He’d definitely tanned her hide—and more besides. Her asshole and other intimate places burned.

A second later, he slid out of her, leaving her insides doing tiny spasms of loss. “Don’t move for a second, Tex,” he said. A second later, he cut through the ropes binding her breasts.

She felt as if her whole body stilled in relief…until the blood started surging in and out, painfully equalizing. “Ow, ow, ow! You’re such a sadist,” she said, half under her breath—not softly enough.

“Got a good eye, babe.” He chuckled and, as if to confirm her belief, swatted her sore butt.

“Ouch!” She glared at him, making his lips curl up.

At length, the sadist released her restraints and helped her out of the cage as gently as if she were a baby. When Logan tossed over a blanket, he wrapped it around her and guided her to a place on the floor.

Her head was too heavy for her neck, all her muscles felt like overstretched rubber bands, and, without the wall at her back, she’d probably have fallen over.

Crouching in front of her, Zander gave her a thoughtful study and nodded. “You look better.”

Better. She snorted. Her hair and skin were damp with sweat, her face probably purple, and she still quivered with little aftershocks. “I’m sure.”

He caressed her cheek. “Relaxed, not worrying about things you can’t prevent, well pleasured. Yeah, better.”

Oh. She sighed. “Well, if your plan was to drive me out of my mind, it worked.”

His smile made her glow inside. Damn, she loved him.

“Now, tell me how you felt watching me with Dixon.”

Dixon. She turned her head, looking for her friend—Zander was right between her and the room.

The amusement in his gaze said it was deliberate. “Asked you a question, babe.”

How did I feel about watching? When she hesitated, he curled his hand around her nape, sending shivers down her spine at the heat of his hand—at the power of his grip. “I’ll ask again in a few days after you’ve had time to process everything. Give me your gut feelings now.”

“I—it was weird because he’s a friend. And he likes you—likes you.” His gaze never left her face as she searched for the right words. “But after a bit, friendship and attraction didn’t seem to matter. You weren’t interested in him sexually. All your focus was on taking him where you wanted him to go. And watching you…kind of…sucked me in.” She bit her lip.

His dimple appeared a second before he pulled her forward and kissed her. Sweet and powerful and possessive. “I love you, Tex,” he whispered.

Oh jeez. She rubbed her cheek on his and inhaled through her nose. “D-don’t be nice now. I’ll cry.”

He snorted. “Babe, when this shit is over, we’re going to talk about the future.” Before she could respond, he set a bottle of water in her hand. “Drink up. All of it.”

“Yes, Sir.” She took a sip, felt the upheaval in her emotions settle, leaving her feeling as if she’d sucked down a couple of shots of rum mixed with liquor of hope. She smiled at him. “And I love you too.”

“Good deal.” He rose, watched her take another drink, and went to clean up the equipment.

Letting out a long sigh, she sagged against the wall. Darned if every nerve in her body wasn’t still glowing with satiation. Mmmhmm, that was a nice time. And now, with Zander out of the way, she spotted Dixon off to one side, bending over.

Sometime while she and Zander had been busy, Stan had unchained Dixon and instead, hooked his wrist cuffs to a wide leather belt. He’d also put a play collar around Dixon’s neck. Clasping the collar, the Dom had bent him over and was inserting a well-lubed anal plug—not cruelly, not particularly gently either.

Lindsey’s newly tender asshole puckered in sympathy.

When Stan directed Dixon back upright, she saw her poor friend’s balls were wrapped in a leather harness with a testicle stretcher and divider and a cock ring as well. Looked painful as all get-out.

After inserting the anal plug, the Dom snapped a leash onto Dixon’s collar. He didn’t even look back at Dixon as he tugged him through the room.

Zander squatted down beside her, his gaze on the two men as well. “You’re frowning.”

“The agent doesn’t seem to be very nice.”

“Nice isn’t what Dixon needs.” Zander tugged her hair lightly. “The boy won’t submit without some work. Erotic control is a straightforward path there.”

“Stan isn’t even paying attention to him.”

Zander snorted. “You notice the mirrors?”

“Huh?” Lindsey blinked and looked around. Son of a gun, small mirrors were embedded in the rocks here and there…and she saw Stan was checking them without Dixon even realizing.

“The boy’s got a bad habit of using his pretty face to get his way. A Dom who wants more than a quick fuck won’t tolerate that kind of behavior.”

“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “And how many sneaky Dom-manipulative tricks have you used on me? What are my lessons?”

To her surprise, he didn’t shrug off the question. “We’re starting with the basics. Trust. Honesty. Transparency.” He ran his finger over her lower lip and added, “Remember, little Tex, a Dom’s got lessons too. You’re not the only one learning to trust.”

Oh. The sweep of sweetness took her by surprise. “God, I love you. I really, really do.”

“Well.” He tapped her nose. “For that, you get chocolate.”