The Plume: The Second Anthology (3 page)

He unbound her so quickly that she knew he’d
used a special knot. He flipped her over onto her stomach, tugging
her toward him so that her feet were on the floor. He bound her
waist to the lip of the box, then secured her bound wrists to the
other end of the box again.

“Ass in the air,” he growled. “While I give
you what you deserve.”

She moaned at the sharp crack of the leather
paddle against her ass. It stung as it always did at first, but
within half a dozen blows, her skin was tingling in anticipation.
She found herself arching her back to lift her butt higher for him,
welcoming the blows, feeling her skin heat with the mingling of
pleasure and pain. She was panting against the gag, her fingers
clenched as he spanked her longer and harder than ever before.

Then came that blissful moment when pain and
pleasure merged. Joanna was floating in her bonds, weightless and
captive, and there was nowhere else she wanted to be.

An eternity later, Mike lifted her feet,
hooking the heels of her boots into the d-rings where her ankles
had been bound before. She closed her eyes and shuddered as he
stepped away, not able to imagine what he had planned. She heard
his jeans fall to the floor, then gasped when he spanked her with
an open hand. Her thighs were heated as well as her butt, then she
felt his gloved hands on her ass as he opened her wide.

“Spanked red,” he said with satisfaction and
Joanna shivered.

Mike drove into her in one long stroke, a
move that made her groan at the thick strength of him inside her.
She arched her back again, rubbing herself against him, then felt
the French tickler on his penis collide with her clitoris.

She trembled at the contact.

Mike chuckled and rolled his hips, tormenting
her with that hard nub.

He bracketed her waist with his hands and
thrust more deeply, making her cry into the gag in pleasure. He
cupped her breasts in his hands and leaned over her. “You can come
after I do, slave,” he whispered, his voice dark with threat. “Not
before.”

Joanna didn’t dare to other than he
commanded.

Although when he moved within her and the
French tickler tormented her, she didn’t have a lot of choice. She
struggled against her bonds and moaned into her gag, the rubbing of
the French tickler driving her to distraction.

“What will I do with my bad, bad slave?” Mike
murmured and she knew he was deliberately driving her to
disobedience. “Will I ever let her go? Or will I keep her locked in
this dungeon forever?”

Joanna groaned and shivered.

“Maybe I should marry her,” Mike whispered.
“Truss up my bride and keep her by my side forever.”

At that suggestion, Joanna lost it
completely. She came in a torrent, her orgasm going on for an
eternity. She heard Mike roar as he came inside her and felt his
grip tighten on her waist as he filled her.

Moments later, Mike leaned over Joanna and
plucked the gag from her mouth, casting it on the floor. She was
still trembling, her sex feeling thick and hot and wet. His hands
closed over her breasts again and Joanna leaned her cheek on the
leather, closing his eyes. “So, you like that idea?” he asked
softly, pressing a kiss to the back of her shoulder.

“It sounds like heaven,” Joanna agreed. “Just
the two of us, forever.”

“Then you’d better pick a date,
sweetheart.”

Joanna blinked as Mike straightened.
“Really?”

“Really.” He unbound her quickly and she sat
up to stretch. She saw immediately that there was to be no reprieve
from pleasure.

Mike was holding a hood made of white satin,
one that had a thick gag. It would both cover her ears and commit
her to silence, securing that gag firmly in place. He grinned at
her surprise. “But first, you can be my favorite maid, the quiet
one. The one I have to tie down and take repeatedly.” He shrugged,
his eyes shining. “The one I can’t resist.”

“Just the gag?”

“For now. I want to spank her and take her
wherever I find her, without worrying about the neighbors.”

“I thought you would command me to
silence.”

Mike stepped forward, handing her the hood
and kissing her quickly. “But you’ve been bad already today, little
maid. You need to be punished, and trained some more.”

Joanna’s heart skipped at the devilry in his
gaze. “Yes, Mike.”

He handed her the hood and Joanna put it on,
knowing he liked when she bound herself for him. He checked the
fastenings, tightening them a little more. He arched a brow and she
tried to cry out, but there was no sound. She screamed then, but
there was only a small muffled sound.

She was powerless. It thrilled her.

Mike caught his breath. “That sound drives me
wild, you know.” He smiled at her and framed her head in his hands.
She could smell the heat of him and see his erection. “You drive me
wild, actually. You really want to get married?”

Joanna nodded, liking the hope in his eyes,
and Mike smiled with satisfaction. “Then the real training can
begin. On your feet and turn around. Let me see whether that ass is
red enough.”

Joanna turned before him in the dungeon,
letting him study her, feeling like the most desired woman in the
world.

And their vacation had only just begun.

* * *

Louise watched the Jeep drive out of the
underground parking lot and smiled. Fortunately for her plans,
there weren’t very many gorgeous black men driving red Jeeps in
this town, let alone living in this building. She waited until Rex
had driven a bit down the block, then eased her borrowed car onto
the road in pursuit.

He drove with the same purpose he’d bound her
helpless. He was direct. Louise like that. He took a straight
course across the city, heading toward the old warehouses down near
the docks.

What was he doing here? Did he keep a slave
down here in a hidden location?

Louise left more distance between them, not
wanting Rex to see that he was being followed. He turned down a
road beside a warehouse that was larger than its neighbours and
Louise drove straight past, hoping he didn’t suspect anything.

She drove around the block and returned to
the road where Rex had turned.

There was no sign of the red Jeep.

There hadn’t been time for him to drive
elsewhere, and Louise was sure she would have seen him when she’d
gone around the block. This road was long and straight, the one
building running all along the left side of it.

It was a huge building.

Now Louise noticed that it was in much better
shape than the other buildings around it. It must have been six
stories high, and unlike its fellows, its windows weren’t just all
intact but they were blackened.

On the roadway Rex had taken, there were
several doors, like those that typically secured shipping docks.
Louise drove around again, then decided that Rex must be in that
building.

She had a feeling why that might be.

Louise parked the car behind a dumpster,
giving herself a view of those loading dock doors. She turned off
the engine then hunkered down low to watch the building unobserved.
She pulled her slouchy hat down over her forehead and turned up her
collar, disguising herself as well as possible.

She’d outfitted herself perfectly for a spy
mission in dark non-descript clothing. And she had a pair of
binoculars. Louise pulled them out of her bag and studied the
building with care. When she spotted the high tech security system
on those loading dock gates, Louise smiled.

She’d found the hidden location of the
Plume.

Now all she had to do was get inside.

* * *

Tess came out of the women’s locker room at
the Plume, depressed yet again that she was leaving. She was
surprised to find Tex waiting in the hall, as tanned and gorgeous
as ever. He was wearing jeans under his chaps this time, although
his chest was still bare, and he still had his Stetson on. He must
have come from the stables. He stood with his arms folded across
his chest and his lips drawn into a tight line. He was almost
frowning and Tess wanted to ease the line between his brows away
with her fingertip.

Her heart clenched at the sight of him
because Tex was the real reason she’d miss the Plume this time.

His expression changed at the sight of her
and he straightened. “You’re going, then?” he asked, obviously
hoping that she wouldn’t. That made Tess smile.

“I have to work.” She made a face, then
reached up to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be thinking about you.”

He caught her shoulders in his hands, his
grip firm and sure. “Are you coming back?”

“Yes.” Tess smiled at his relief. She didn’t
mind it at all when men showed their feelings so clearly. In fact,
that was one thing she liked about Tex. He didn’t play emotional
games or try to be cool. He wanted her and he showed it.

“How long will you be gone?”

“I have a two week tour this time.”

His grip tightened on her shoulders and she
wished she didn’t have to leave for another half an hour. “What do
you do, anyway?”

“Stewardess. This time, I’m going to Tokyo,
then Melbourne, Bombay, Vienna, London and home.” She wrinkled her
nose. “Layovers everywhere because we time out. It’s a good crew
though. We’ve been picking our routes together for about a
year.”

“Sounds glamorous.”

Tess laughed. “It’s waitressing with a better
view.” She leaned against him, running her hands over his chest.
“I’ll be thinking about serving you better the whole time.”

Tex smiled reluctantly and Tess saw the
shadow in his eyes. “So, you know the other people on this crew
really well.”

Tess kissed him, knowing that her touch would
reassure him as much as anything she said. “Not nearly so well as I
know you. I know what they like to drink. I know what kind of
restaurants they like to try.” She shrugged. “We’re really just
co-workers, but we stick together in foreign cities because it’s
safer.”

Tex’s eyes narrowed. “What about Mark? Does
he know you’re leaving the Plume? Does he know how to find you out
there?”

“What about him? He knows that my contract is
up, but not anything about me in the real world.” Tess rummaged in
her bag and pulled out her cellphone. “Here. Look. Give me your
number and I’ll call you.”

Tex’s eyes lit. “Really?”

“Really. I’ll be thinking about you,
too.”

Tex looked up and down the corridor. “It’s
probably against the rules,” he murmured.

“Fuck rules,” Tess murmured and he grinned.
She added his number to her address list, then advised him not to
worry if she couldn’t call him regularly. “There’s not always a
good satellite link.”

Tex nodded understanding. Then he exhaled and
ran his hands up and down her arms, as if he wanted to memorize the
feel of her. “Take care of yourself.” He smiled ruefully. “I’m
already wishing you were back.”

“You have all those fillies to train down
there in the stables. You’ll be busy.”

“There’s only one filly I want now,” Tex
said, then bent and claimed her lips with his. The man had the most
luscious kiss on the planet. Tess wound her arms around his neck
and closed her eyes, determined to make this kiss one to
remember.

“Don’t go falling in love while I’m gone,”
she whispered and he kissed her again, reassuring her with his
touch this time.

By the time Tex was done, she found it a lot
harder to pick up her bag and leave.

Funny, she’d always wanted to go to Melbourne
and had persuaded her co-workers to choose this route. Now she
wanted to stay in the stables at the Plume and drive Tex wild. She
halted at the door, took one last look at him, then waved and
headed off to work.

The sooner she left, the sooner she’d be back
at the Plume.

With Tex.

* * *

Louise saw the cab pull up outside the
warehouse and peered over the dashboard of her car to watch. It was
an unlikely place for a cab to pick up a fare, so someone must have
called for it. A woman came out of the warehouse and turned back to
wave to someone inside. She had long chestnut hair and was dressed
casually, but with flair. Even from a distance, Louise could see
that she was pretty.

Louise started her car.

The other woman got into the cab, leaned
forward to give directions, and it pulled away from the curb.

Louise followed at a careful distance.

The cab went downtown, and once it was
immersed in traffic, Louise moved closer. The cab dropped the woman
off at an apartment building, fat flakes of snow tumbling from the
sky as she spoke to the driver.

The cab waited.

So did Louise. The woman returned about ten
minutes later with a small suitcase. It looked as if she’d changed
to a uniform of some kind, and her hair was wound into a bun. The
cab driver continued to a big hotel downtown, where the woman got
out and paid her fare. Louise parked her car as quickly as she
could and followed the woman into the hotel lobby.

She didn’t have to look far. The woman was
waiting at the stand for the airport limo, her toe tapping. It was
clear to Louise now that she wore a stewardess’s uniform and that
she was more than pretty. She was gorgeous. She looked repeatedly
at her watch, not noticing Louise at all.

She was carrying a big purse, a small
suitcase at her feet. Louise hoped she’d been lazy and forgotten to
close the zipper inside. She was tapping her phone, sending a text
message.

Was she calling back to the Plume?

Louise wanted that phone.

A group entered the hotel noisily then and
the woman looked up. “Hey!” she said. “I thought you guys were
already at the airport!” She put the phone into her bag, just
dropping it inside as she stepped forward to greet the rest of the
crew.