My Liege of Dark Haven (11 page)

“I… It wasn’t play. Sir. It—”
Don’t yell. Please don’t yell at me.

“Xavier, I gave her the marks, but not during a scene.” Simon strolled over and sent her a reassuring smile. “She wanted to know how some impact toys felt, so before Rona and I started to play, I gave Abby a light, medium, and hard strike from a flogger, a signal whip, and a crop. Nothing else.” His eyes narrowed. “You asked me to answer her questions. I apologize if I overstepped.”

Xavier didn’t release her. His hand closed over her nape, just above her collar, as he traced one tender spot with his other hand. A tremor shook her. “She marks nicely, doesn’t she?”

“Almost too easily.”

His anger had dissipated, and she relaxed. As his finger skimmed slowly over each stripe, the sensation was…more erotic than anything she’d ever felt.

He released her. “No apologies needed, Simon. Answering questions is what a Dom does. Although I daresay you knew I meant verbal answers, not physical ones.” The look he gave the other man could have frozen fire.

“Would you prefer I not answer her questions—physically—again?”

Abby tensed. Why didn’t Simon stop? He’d explained to Xavier. This felt as if he was…almost pushing him.

Xavier gave him an unreadable look. “Exactly so. Verbal only.” He nodded at the stairs. “Rona is waiting for you.”

“And my lass has a temper.” Simon smiled at Abby. “Find me anytime you have more questions you need answered.”

Oh, like that would happen. Was Simon
trying
to start a fight? She glanced at Xavier’s face, and her insides clenched. Dixon had been right. Upsetting him wasn’t something she ever wanted to do.

How could she fix this? And why did his anger make her IQ drop lower than her age? “I’m sorry I upset you, my liege.” She stared at her fingers.

He gave an exasperated sigh and used a finger under her chin to tilt her face up. “Like many Doms, Simon manipulates events to get the outcome he wants. You did nothing wrong, pet.”

His smile rearranged her emotions, putting them in order. Her muscles eased. “Thank you, sir.”

“Have you got a thong or underwear on under that skirt?”

She stared. “Excuse me?” His lack of response was weighted with annoyance. “Yes, sir.”

“No underwear beneath other clothing. Understood?”

Well, wasn’t he just the autocrat? “Yes, sir.”

He pulled her to her feet. “Remove it.”

She got three steps toward the restroom.

“Here, Abby. Off. Now.”

Her attempt at a frown died under his black gaze. With a silent sigh, she reached under her skirt and slipped her panties off.

He removed an item from his leather bag. “Wear this instead.”

Pantie briefs made of tight rubber. She tugged them on. Not comfortable, especially with the hard lump over her crotch. She gave him a suspicious look.

“Yes, that’s a vibrator. Your task is to keep count of the times the vibe turns on.” A smile played at the corners of his mouth. “But no matter how much it
turns you on
, you may not come.”

Have an orgasm here? In front of everyone? “No problem, sir.”

“I’m pleased you have such excellent control.” The dryness of his voice made her recall how she’d climaxed last week. In front of everyone.

Her cheeks heated.

He leaned down and gave her a slow, drugging kiss that turned her on far more than any vibrator ever could. “I’ll find you in a bit.”

Chapter Eight

In the next hour Xavier dealt with a hysterical slave and then a quarrel about music selections on the dance floor.

After that he broke up an altercation between two Doms over a submissive. Even worse, the sub had incited the fight. The young men were still learning about D/s, so instead of coming down on them, he told them to discuss how a submissive had jerked their chains rather than the opposite.

He removed the sub from the equation. Harmonie certainly didn’t live up to her name. She’d caused problems before, and his tolerance had ended. He had a staff member escort her to the main floor, where he kept an area roped off for public punishment.

Mitchell, a stocky Dom from Australia, stripped her, and then Xavier used the controls to lower the wooden pony to knee level. As the narrow board swung from heavy chains attached to a low rafter, the short woman moved to straddle it.

Xavier raised the pony up. When the board reached Harmonie’s groin, Mitchell clipped her wrist cuffs to a horizontal chain running between the heavier front and back ones, giving her a way to balance herself.

Xavier winched the pony up slowly, until the brunette went up on tiptoes to get her pubes off the board.

The board wasn’t sharp but was damn narrow, reminding him of his youth when he’d slipped while climbing over a fence. His crotch had slammed onto the one-inch board. His balls had felt as if they’d jammed in his throat, which probably explained his strangled wheezing.

As long as Harmonie stayed on her tiptoes, the pressure would be off her pussy. Xavier studied her weight and muscle tone. After about fifteen minutes, her calf muscles would give out, and her weight would come down on her crotch…on a narrow board. Riding the wooden pony served as a painful punishment, and one that rarely translated to erotic, especially with no other stimuli.

“Harmonie, you will remain here for half an hour, thinking about your behavior. If you’re silent, Mitchell will release you, and you can resume play.” Although her cunt would hurt enough that she’d probably go home. “If you make noise or use a safe word, you’ll be barred from the club for a month. Are your choices clear to you?”

“Yes, my liege,” she whispered.

He glanced at Mitchell. “Put the sign on her, please.”

“Be a pleasure.” Mitchell hung the wooden sign on her, BAD SUBMISSIVE, and took a seat at a nearby table. He’d monitor her condition and release her if needed.

Xavier shook his head. He doubted Harmonie would change her behavior. She was more concerned with getting attention and sex than about serving another.

In contrast, Abby had an instinctive desire to please. She’d been distressed at his anger. Attention made her uncomfortable.

After double-checking the punishment scene to ensure everything was safe, he headed down to the dungeon.

Hair tangled around her face, Abby sat near the center of the room. Elbows on one chair arm, she’d curled sideways so her bare breasts were covered by her arms. Nicely modest. Her big eyes were intent on a Mistress performing cock-ball torture.

Xavier’s own balls drew up in sympathy. Testicles weren’t meant to be flattened.

Taking a position in a corner of the room, he noticed Abby’s attention had shifted to a group of older leather men with their subs kneeling properly on the floor. Why would she watch them instead of the scene?

Well, she wouldn’t be observing anything soon. Xavier reached in his pocket and flicked the remote to a low setting.

As the pantie vibrator came on, she jumped. Within seconds her spine turned rigid, and her hips squirmed nicely. She looked around but didn’t spot him in the shadows.

Although she tried to resume watching the nearby scene, her weight shifted over and over. He’d broken her concentration. Excellent. He flipped the remote off.

She relaxed into the chair with a sigh.

Then he kicked the controls back on and upped the intensity a notch.

Face flushing, she surged to her feet. With a stiff-legged gait, she moved to the next scene and pretended to watch it. After a couple of minutes, sweat sheened her skin. Good enough. With a smile he turned the remote off and headed away to make his rounds.

Upstairs the bartender pointed him toward a member who’d been drinking and tried to take his sub into a theme room. Per club rules, alcohol was for after a scene, not before. The man hadn’t known the locked
I had a drink
bracelet contained a device similar to those used to prevent shoplifting. After speaking with Xavier, he and his submissive decided to dance instead.

Xavier checked on Harmonie. She was still able to rise onto tiptoes for a break. Sweating and squirming but silent, she displayed more determination than he’d expected.

Back downstairs Abigail had settled down to watch Angela’s scene with her submissive, Meggie. Nice choice, since the Mistress was an expert with wax play. Deep into subspace, Meggie sighed and moaned.

A shame to distract the little fluff, but… Xavier pulled out the remote. As the lights on the remote flickered according to the setting, he selected an alternating rhythm that went well with the music.

Abby jumped to her feet, walking fast as though she could escape. She stopped a minute later, and he saw her muscles tightening as she neared an orgasm.

He turned the vibrator off and watched to see what she’d do.

She lowered her head and hugged her waist in a self-comforting movement. Huddled in on herself, she appeared more shaken than aroused, and that certainly wasn’t the point of this exercise. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms over hers.

She stiffened, trying to pull away from him. Angry and upset. Rather than releasing her, he backed to a couch and pulled her down onto his lap.

“Abby, take a breath.” He added enough edge of command to see it done. “Now lift your middle toes on your left foot up. Down.”

As she concentrated on the movement, her ability to remain rigid failed, and she sagged against him.

“That’s a good girl.”

Holding and warming her with his body heat, he waited until her color had returned. “You didn’t like the vibrator.” He made it a statement. “Why?”

“It was okay.”

“No. Think about your answer for a minute. Then make it an honest one—not one intended to pacify me.”

Startled, she looked up at him. After a pause, a dimple appeared in her cheek, reassuring him that her sense of humor had returned. She said, “In the BDSM books, I read about honesty and thought, of course you need to be truthful. I didn’t realize it was so difficult.”

For many submissives, emotional transparency was more painful than getting flogged. “Difficult for both Dom and sub.” Pleased with her, he ran his knuckles over her cheek. “I’ll go first and show you how.” He thought for a second. “I liked how you jumped, and how arousal lights up your skin and eyes. I enjoy having the power to do that right in my hand. Seeing you wiggle made me hard.”

“Oh my,” she said under her breath, and he chuckled at her appalled tone. How long had it been since a submissive made him laugh?

“Your turn, Abigail.” He gave her a question to hang her answer on. “Did the vibrator hurt you?”

Her tiny sigh at his persistence made him smile again. “Um. No. But I didn’t like the jump or surprise. Or being aroused.”

What?
“You didn’t mind last week. What’s different tonight?” He thought he knew. Did she?

Silence. “Maybe because you were with me then. It felt…safer?”

And perhaps more intimate with my hands on you
. “Fair enough. You should know, though, I was always close and watching you whenever the vibrator was on.”

“Oh.” The last bit of tension drained out of her body.

Yes, he’d erred, damaging some of her trust in him. Regret weighted his shoulders. Not all scenes went as desired, but since the control belonged to him, the blame for failure was his as well.

He laid his cheek on her silky hair, inhaling the light fragrance. “I’m sorry, Abby. The remote wasn’t a good choice for you. I thought it would teach you to listen to your body without putting you on display. I never intended that you should feel abandoned.”

ABANDONED
. DIDN’T THAT make her sound like a five-year-old on her first day of kindergarten? Yet Abby knew he wasn’t wrong. She’d felt alone. But the way he held her close and rubbed his face in her hair was shrinking the hollow place inside her.

Discussing what had happened was oddly intimate. Unfamiliar. Sure, she’d had boyfriends, but even in bed, they preferred the
wasn’t that great sex
sort of discussion.

Unfortunately, with Xavier, the pendulum had swung too far in the other direction. His probing questions and intent study were intimidating.

“Well, pet, since remote play is out, I’ll have to do this up close and personal.” His chuckle had a wicked edge to it.

Arousal shot through her at the thought of receiving more personal attention, but she wasn’t here for that.
Yeah, explain to him that you’re just here for the research
. “Uh. There’s no need to worry about it. I mean—”

“It’s a Dominant’s prerogative to worry.” He ran a finger over her lips, and the simple touch started her on the upward path to arousal. “Since you’re right here in my lap—not far away—we might as well use this toy. I’d like to know if there’s anything else you dislike about it. No need to count, and you can come if you want.”

Before she could stop him, he’d flicked it on again. Her protest came out in a low “Nooo” as the vibrations hammered lightly against her clit. The sensitive ball of nerves, already teased, flared to life and tightened.

When a tiny moan escaped her, the laugh lines bracketing his mouth deepened. “What do you think of this vibrator? Sales reps for sex-toy companies are always asking me for feedback.”

Her clit hardened, thickened. A coil of pressure built inside her, and she tried to ignore it, even as her thoughts went foggy.

“You’re still fighting what you feel, pet. Perhaps my hands need to be on you.” His deep voice said words, and she heard them, but they didn’t make sense.

He slid his right hand under her skirt and skimmed it up her bare thigh.

“No. Don’t.” She struggled, pushing at his arm. He’d touch her in front of everyone?

“Abby, you did a scene with me last week.”

“I wasn’t thinking then.”

“Ah. Of course. But you know, I don’t want you to think.” To her relief he removed his hand—and captured her wrist. Then the other.

His left arm remained curved under her shoulders, and he pushed both her wrists into that hand, trapping her arms off to one side. “Lucky for you, I like holding down unwilling submissives.” To her horror, he picked up the remote, upped the setting on the vibe, then put his right hand back under her skirt.