Wanting It All (The Passion Series Book 1) (26 page)

But if she’s honest with herself, her biggest fear is just seeing this change in Lukus and knowing this is a big part of who he is.  While he’d been flirtatious and even tender with her at dinner, looking at him now reminds her he is a Dominant, through and through.  She’s a fool if she thinks he’s going to just walk away from this part of his life like Markus did for Bri.  The realization fills her with a sense of loss… loss for something she’d never really had, but had glimpsed for just a few short minutes at dinner.

‘He’s a Dom… and you’re not a submissive.  This is never going to work and you’re a fool to ever think it could.’

She notices Lukus avoids looking her way as he takes control of the scene.  “Brianna and Rachel, strip…
now
.” 

Bri and Tiffany exchange a quick glance before Brianna slowly slips the soft robe from her body, letting it pool at her feet.  Standing behind her friend, Tiffany gets her first glimpse at the welts across her butt and legs where she’d been caned.  Even now, hours later, the stripes are clearly visible.  Tiff’s heart lurches at the mere thought of surviving something like a caning and her eyes involuntarily seek out Lukus’.  She’s surprised to find him watching her carefully, taking in her reaction.  If he’s upset by the anger he must see dancing in her eyes, he hides it well.

“The show is about to start.  I need you girls to go down with Derek.  Brianna, he’s going to prepare you for your punishment center stage tonight.”

“Oh, God.  Please, not that Sir.  Can’t you punish me backstage?”

“No and you know better than to even ask me.  Go.  I need to talk to Tiffany for a few minutes.  I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Derek reaches out a hand to pull his wife to her feet, leaving her robe behind on the floor.  “Come on you naughty girls.  Let’s get you downstairs.” 

Only as they’re walking away does Tiffany see the thick, cherry red stripes left on Rachel’s ass and legs.  When the others are on the elevator, she looks back to see Lukus watching her again.  She’s about to blow.  “I can’t believe this is what you do for a living, Lukus.  Seriously.  How many nights a week do you do this?  How many women have you punished over your lifetime?  And how many of them ended up here fixing you spaghetti just like I did?  What a fucking fool I was.  I actually forgot for a while what you do for kicks on a Saturday night.  Well, I’m never going….”

Lukus has had enough.  He closes the gap between them quickly and grabs her to him, clamping his hand over her mouth to shush her. “Enough.  Settle down, baby.”

Tiffany fights free of his hand, but isn’t strong enough to get away from his grasp.  “Don’t you dare ‘baby’ me.  I can’t believe you.”

“Listen.  I haven’t lied to you.  Like it or not, this is part of who I am.  I have a job to do tonight.  I’m going to walk you down to your car now and you’re going to drive home and stay there until Brianna calls you.  Do you hear me?”

Tiffany thinks she must have heard him wrong.  “What?  You actually think for one minute I’d ever willing leave Brianna here to be terrorized by you and Derek again?  There’s no way.  It’s bad enough Markus has deserted her, leaving her here to go through all of this alone after knowing the hell she’s been through in the past at the hands of Jake.  He’s such a chicken shit.  He should be here taking care of his wife on his own instead of wimping out on his duties as her husband.”

Lukus takes a deep breath.  “I don’t disagree with you on that count, but the fact remains that tonight is a club event and you are not a member of the club.”  Releasing her from his embrace, he keeps a grip on her upper arm, as he starts to shuffle them along towards the elevator.  “You need to go home now, Tiffany.  I don’t want you here tonight.” 

Tiffany sees an almost pained look that crosses his face and for a brief moment, she catches a glimpse of the tender Lukus she’d had so much fun bantering with earlier.  He’s such a complicated man.

They are almost to the elevator when Tiffany tries to break away.  “I mean it.  I’m not leaving.  You can drag my ass down to my car and even put me in it, but you can’t make me drive away Lukus.  I’m going to just sit out in the alley until Brianna is ready to leave.  I’m not leaving my best friend behind.”

Lukus looks like he’s about to blow. “Fuck.  You’re an infuriating woman, do you know that Tiffany… Shit, I don’t even know your last name.”

“Why the hell do you care what my last name is?”

“Humor me.”

“No.”

“Fuck it.  I’m a private investigator.  I can get everything from your shoe size to your first grade teacher from a damn computer with a lot less hassle than you’re giving me right now, little girl.  Come on.  You’re going home.”

When she starts to slap his hands away, the Dom has had enough.  He yanks her to him so their faces are only inches apart.  His green eyes are almost black with anger.  An involuntary shiver shakes Tiffany, but she refuses to look away from him.  As their standoff continues, Tiffany sees a new resolve washing over his handsome face.  “So… you’ve decided you want to stay to see what happens to Brianna.  You won’t leave without her, is that it?”

“You can force me out of the building, but I’m not leaving without her, Lukus.”

“It’s not safe for you out in the alley.”

“Then let me stay up here.”

Lukus looks conflicted and Tiffany suspects her defiance is pushing him harder than anyone has ever pushed before.  She’s not backing down.  Finally, he makes up his mind.  “Fine, but I’m telling you here and now that you’re asking for this.  I warned you.  I want you to leave.  If you don’t like what you end up seeing tonight? Well that’s on you.  Do you hear me?”  When Tiff doesn’t answer fast enough, he actually shakes her.  “Do you?”

“Yes, Lukus. You’re off the hook.  It’s on me.”

He doesn’t look very placated.  His scolding tone of voice confirms.  “Stand right here and don’t you dare move a muscle.  Can you do that or are you going to argue with me on this too?”

Tiffany can’t stop the small smile.  “Yes. I think I can manage.”

Lukus disappears into his bedroom and comes out just a minute or two later carrying a small duffle bag over his shoulder.  He looks like he’s heading out to the gym.  When he gets near, he surprises her by reaching out to grab her hand, entwining their fingers.  She’s stunned at the simple intimacy of his touch and almost forgets to start walking along with him towards the elevator.  Only now does it really dawn on her what she’s just talked herself into.

As the elevator doors close and they’re headed downstairs, she voices her worry.  “Oh, God.  Please don’t tell me you’re going to put me in the audience to watch this.  Please, let me stay upstairs… or I’ll wait for you in your office.  You can’t expect me to watch this.”

“I warned you.  You made your choice.  I can’t trust you to stay up there or in the office.  I need to know where you’re going to be tonight and if I can’t know you’re safe at your house, then I’m going to park you in a different place where I know without a doubt you’ll stay safe… and quiet… and out of the way.”

Tiffany doesn’t have time to evaluate this new information because they’ve stopped on the second floor.  The elevator doors open to a very dark and narrow hallway.  She’s only been on the first and seventh floors up until now.  This floor is dark and scary and she worries he may be planning on locking her in a dungeon.  The farther down the long hallway they get, the slower she walks and the more he has to drag her along behind him by their still linked hands.

Finally, the hallway widens and they start to pass a series of closed doors with numbers on them.  The doors count down from six and when they arrive at the door labeled with a one, there’s a circular staircase winding down to the ground floor.  Tiffany curiously follows Lukus down the stairs and is surprised when she finds herself in what looks like the lobby of an old-fashioned grand theater.  She takes in the curtain-draped walls and marble floors. She can hear loud music playing from the other side of the security door.

Lukus stops just before the door and turns to her.  “Last chance, Tiff.  It’s not too late.  I can walk you to your car.”

Tiffany is actually tempted this time.  She really doesn’t want to watch her best friend go through a punishment like a caning, belting or God forbid, another punishment enema.  She pushes her fear down, knowing she can’t leave Bri here alone.  “I’m staying, Lukus.”

“Suit yourself.  I warned you.”

Lukus turns and puts in a six-digit code that opens the door, allowing entry to the main floor of The Punishment Pit.  Tiffany had been preparing herself to see Doms and naked submissives waiting for the show to start.  Brianna had described the scene to Tiff when they talked earlier so she was pretty sure she knew what to expect.  Her eyes seek out Lukus’ with surprise.  “Where is everybody?  I thought you said the show was about to begin.”

He grins.  “Let’s just say we’re going to have a private show tonight.  You’ll be the only audience member in attendance.”

He doesn’t give her a chance to question him.  He’s walking towards the comfortable seating areas closer to center stage.  Lukus looks around as if he’s trying to decide something before dragging over a specific chair from a neighboring sitting arrangement.  It has to be the most uncomfortable looking chair in the house.  It looks to be a simple side chair from a dining room set, but with a cushioned seat.  He steers Tiffany to sit down.  Then he kneels at her feet and opens the gym bag. 

She can’t help but let out a protesting yelp when she sees the items he starts to pull from the bag.  She’s smart enough to keep her mouth closed as she watches him attaching the wide leather ankle cuffs to each of her legs.  He produces a length of rope and uses it to secure her legs to either side of the chair.  By the time he’s done, her lower half is immobilized, her legs splayed wide open. 

She’s grateful he left her dress on, but feels a rush of embarrassment when she realizes even she can smell the her lingering arousal.  She sees the small smile cross Lukus’ handsome face and she’s pretty sure he can smell it too.  

Lukus moves to her arms next.  Tiffany forces herself to remain calm and quiet, reminding herself she’d chosen this.  Okay, maybe not exactly this, but even if she’d known he was going to tie her down, it still wouldn’t have made her want to leave Bri behind alone.  It only takes him a minute to put on the wrist cuffs and then pull her arms behind the chair where he ties her wrists to the ropes securing her ankles.   She’s now completely immobile.

“Are you comfortable enough?  The ropes aren’t cutting into you, are they?”

She’s grateful for his concern.  “No, they’re fine.  I’m wishing I’d gone to the bathroom before we came down, but I can hold it.”

“Okay, I’ll be back after the show ends.  I have one more thing to add to your ensemble and I know you’re not going to like it, but it’s necessary.  You can cuss me out later if you still want to.”

Before Tiff can even guess what he’s talking about, he reaches into the gym bag and pulls out what at first glance looks like a red bouncy ball.  It only takes a split second to realize it has straps attached and he intends to gag her with this huge ball-gag.  Their eyes meet and she sees regret in his eyes.  He reaches out as she opens her mouth to protest to shove the red ball into her mouth.   Tiff is furious and her anger grows when she realizes just how big the damn thing is.  It starts to feel uncomfortable almost immediately and she’s grateful it at least has a little give so she can bite down.

“I’m sorry about how big this is, Tiff.  I know it’s too big for you as a beginner, but I didn’t have any others upstairs.  I’ll look backstage and if I have time, I’ll bring a smaller one out.  I know this doesn’t make sense to you, but I can’t have you interfering with Brianna’s punishment tonight.  I warned you.  I know you’re not going to like what you’re going to see and I just can’t have her being able to hear you out here, baby.”

She wants to scream at him to stop calling her baby, but it only comes out as a jumbled gurgle behind the gag.  She can already feel drool pooling in her mouth and knows it’s only a matter of time before it tries to escape to run down her chin.  Lukus stands and steps back, taking a minute to admire his handy-work.  The look on his face is a strange mix of predator and protector, battling with each other.   It looks like the protector wins out when he steps forward to stroke her cheek gently, cupping it tenderly while he leans down to place a kiss on her forehead.  His lips remain there for several long seconds before he pulls away.  “Be a good girl now, baby.  I’ll be back for you after the show.”

Tiff has to watch him as he turns and heads up the stairs center stage.  He finds the split where the stage curtains meet and with a last quick glance her way, disappears behind the curtain, leaving her alone with her thoughts in the expansive theater. 

‘You just wait Lukus Mitchell.  I’m
so
going to get even with you for this.  I’ll teach you.  Not every woman wants to be treated like a damn submissive.’

The thought is barely complete when she feels the throbbing in her pussy returning.  Clearly her private parts haven’t got the memo that they aren’t supposed to like this kind of treatment. 

‘Yep.  I’m more screwed now than ever.’

Tiffany spends her first few minutes alone trying to calm her ragged nerves and get a handle on her conflicted emotions. She’s furious with Lukus for tying her down and forcing her to witness her best friend’s humiliating punishment.  She’s angry with Brianna for cheating on Markus with that asshole Jake and putting herself in danger yet again.   She’s disgusted with Markus and his inability to be man enough to come deal with his wife himself.  She’s terrified of what she’s going to be forced to watch tonight.  And yet a small part of her is almost excited to see Lukus in all of his Dom glory.  That excitement, in turn, leads her to her strongest emotion of all - self-loathing.

‘I can’t believe how easily I fell for him.  I actually had an orgasm in his kitchen, for Christ’s sake.  Have you no pride, Tiffany?’ 

Tiffany wants to scream at him to come release her from her bindings.  She wants to stay furious at him for tying her up and gagging her.  This wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal.  Only after several panicked minutes does she realize she has to let go of the anger, knowing it’s futile to waste her energy. 

‘Lukus won’t let me go.  Not until he’s good and ready.  And he’s definitely not ready.’

Tiff closes her eyes, letting the techno beat of the dance music pump through her veins.  She recalls how Brianna described the liberation that comes from being restrained, or from surrendering to punishment.  At the time, Tiffany didn’t really connect with what her friend was saying.  But now, despite her, or maybe because of her precarious position, Tiffany feels her own submissive feelings stirring. 

She focuses on how helpless she feels and within a few short minutes of inner reflection, she finds she’s made the tricky journey from confident woman to submissive.  It scares her how easily she’s allowing the feeling of surrender to settle in.  She feels unexpectedly more alive, more aware of every nuance of her body - the stretch of her immobilized muscles, the throbbing of her pussy as it remembers Lukus’ touch, the ache of her wide-open mouth. The latter makes her think of how wonderful it would be if Lukus would come replace the ball-gag with that oversized cock she’s been admiring through his jeans.   

Maybe it’s because of what she’s been exposed to over the last few hours, but she doesn’t just want to give Lukus a simple blowjob.  No.  She wants him to face-fuck her, to use her helpless mouth as repayment for the orgasm he’s already given her.  She knows something revolutionary has changed in her when she even recognizes she actually
wants
him to come in her mouth and force her to swallow every last drop of his warm cum.  She’s traditionally been a no-swallow kind of girl.  Yet here tonight she finds she wants anything and everything that sexy man can dish out.

Tiff isn’t sure how long she waits there, splayed open and tied immobile to the chair, but it’s long enough for the drool to begin spilling out on both sides of the oversized red gag in her mouth.  She should be embarrassed at the loss of such a simple body function, but it only enhances her feeling of surrender.  Her limbs are now stiff and her bladder beginning to feel the pressure.  She wishes Lukus would check on her.

She’s nearly about to doze off when she hears a commotion on the other side of the curtains.  The lights where Tiffany is located suddenly go out, throwing the entire club into complete darkness.  It only lasts a few seconds before new music starts pumping louder, signaling the start of the show.  Within a minute, the curtains begin to open slowly, revealing the dimly lit secrets held behind them.   

Tiffany had tried to prepare herself mentally for what she would see, but it’s quickly clear she’d failed miserably.  Nothing could have prepared her for this.

Brianna is naked, center stage.  Her arms are stretched high above her head and spread wide apart, secured by leather wrist cuffs to two hooks hanging down from the rafters. From the angle her friend is facing, Tiffany knows she’ll be able to see every expression that crosses her face during punishment. She suspects Lukus staged it this way on purpose.

Bri’s ankle cuffs are anchored to hooks in the floor, spreading her legs wide.  Lukus has brought in what looks like a pommel horse, similar to those used in gymnastics, sans the handgrips.  He has it positioned in front of Brianna’s waist.  Her arms have been pulled forward on the ceiling enough so that she’s being forced to lean forward over the horse.  The position leaves her most private parts completely exposed, vulnerable and available for punishment.  Brianna is also blindfolded; she’ll be unable to see any of the punishments coming beforehand.

Only now does Tiffany truly understand why Lukus gagged her.  Without a doubt, she would be screaming at him right now to let Brianna go.  The indignant anger she’d been successfully suppressed now resurfaces with a vengeance.   

‘How dare he do this to Brianna?  How dare he do this to
me
?’

The music starts to get a bit softer, and Tiff hears Derek announcing the start of tonight’s show as he introduces Master Lukus Mitchell, Master of Masters.  Lukus bursts onto the stage, pumped up and looking ready for battle.  Tiffany has never seen him like this - wearing his Dom persona as if it were a well-tailored suit.  He looks so powerful, so beautifully dangerous.  A strong wave of dread washes over her. 

‘What the hell was I thinking?  This guy is hardcore.  He’s not the kind of guy who’s going to be interested in playing house with me out in the suburbs.  I need to get away from him the instant he lets me loose, even if I have to leave Brianna behind.’

Tiffany snaps her eyes closed, desperate to shut out the scene on stage.  She knows she has no choice but to somehow get through watching Lukus punish Brianna.  She only hopes she can make it through without getting turned on like she used to when watching punishments of strangers at the clubs she used to go to with Bri, or when reading about similar punishment scenes in the
Beauty
books. 

When several minutes pass and she hears nothing new, she finally opens her eyes to see Lukus standing near the front of the stage, staring at her.  He’d been waiting for her to open her eyes, as if he didn’t want her to miss a single minute of the upcoming torture.  She doesn’t try to hide her fury. He may have restrained her body, but Tiffany makes it clear by her expression that her mind is still her own.

‘Well fuck you, Lukus Mitchell.  You’ve pushed me too far.  I’m done swimming in your shark tank, buddy.’

If Lukus can detect her defiance, he's not rattled by it.
 He stands planted, staring at her - admiring her -
consuming
her.   Tiffany's heart races faster as his gaze draws her in against her will.  Just when the electric current peaks, Lukus breaks into his sexy smile - the smile she'd vowed to crawl over hot coals to see again. 

‘
Well fuck me.  I guess I can tread water for a bit longer.’

e

‘What is he waiting for?’

A shudder races through Brianna’s whole body from the convergence of fear, humiliation, guilt and excited anticipation. 

Brianna isn’t entirely sure what’s going on.  She’d spent thirty minutes back stage before finally being brought out front for the start of the show.  She should’ve been relieved when Derek had simply parked both women in Lukus’ office while he worked on the computer.  While Rachel had looked quite content to kneel there patiently silent by Derek’s feet, Brianna had wanted to crawl out of her skin.  With the promise of her impending punishment in front of the Saturday night crowd hanging over her head, there was little to do but imagine all the wicked things Lukus might be cooking up for tonight.   

She’d finally forced herself to calm down by reminding herself all that she had learned over the last twenty-four hours. Tonight feels totally different than last night.  One of the most important things she’s learned is that Lukus will never hurt her.  Not really.  In her reflection time at Derek’s feet, she’d finally submitted to the notion she’ll just have to trust him.

But she’d almost wavered when Lukus burst into the office in an obvious state of agitation.  She still has no clue what had gotten him so upset, but he’d been rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for something and then spent five minutes yelling at Derek for letting their stock of extra toys dwindle to an unacceptable selection. She had no clue what they were really referring to; she was just relieved that for once, he wasn’t pissed at her.  She had a pretty strong inclination, though, that Tiffany might have been at the heart of his foul mood this time. 

‘You go girl.  He deserves everything you can dish out.’

Brianna could have kicked herself when she’d unwittingly walked into the kitchen earlier to catch her friends red handed in an intimate embrace.  They’d been facing away from her so she wasn’t completely sure what had transpired, but there’d been an undeniable electric current passing between the two of them all night during dinner.  She’d truly enjoyed watching the dynamic as the Master of Masters and reluctant sub felt each other out.

‘How awesome would that be if Lukus and Tiffany got together?’

She suspects they’re both going to resist the pull, thinking they’re from too different worlds, but Brianna knows enough about them both to know they’re perfect for each other.  If she ever digs herself out of this punishment hell she’s cast herself into, she’s going to do her best to play matchmaker.

The ache in her shoulders brings Brianna back to the here and now.  With each passing minute she becomes more confused.  When Lukus had announced it was time to go front-of-house, he’d helped pull her to her feet before escorting her out to center stage.  She’d been relieved the heavy curtains had been drawn, keeping the hungry audience at bay for at least a few more minutes. 

The dance music was playing even louder tonight than last night, making any real conversation in the club almost impossible.  It didn’t bother her as it gave her and Lukus a legitimate reason to remain silent while he went about the business of preparing her for her public punishment session.  She’d quickly realized how silly she’d been to hold out hope he might go easy on her tonight now that they felt more like friends. 

Lukus had methodically reattached her wrist and ankle cuffs first.  Then, like a true artist, had gone about his craft of immobilizing her in an almost artful and creative display of submission and vulnerability.  Her arms are pulled high, her legs spread wide as they were attached to rings in the floor.  She surely would have tipped over in the precarious position were it not for the pommel horse placed strategically in front of her, the top at perfect waist-height.

Only once he had the horse in place did Brianna realize the hooks her arms were attached to were part of a mechanically controlled system.  Lukus had used a remote control to move her arms forward a foot or so, just enough to force her feet uncomfortably onto her tippy toes and her tummy to lean across the horse.  While it felt good to let some of her weight be supported by the horse, Bri recognized immediately that she was in the most compromising position possible.  Her plugged ass and wet pussy were perfectly exposed, both now perfect targets for any implement in his extensive arsenal.  Her heavy breasts were now being pulled away from her body slightly by gravity, making them targets as well.

The blindfold had been harder to take.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Lukus had said. “But I think it’ll actually be easier on you tonight if you can’t see what’s coming next.”

Brianna had wanted to argue with him, but instead simply thanked him.  “Yes, Sir.  Thank you, Sir.”

He’d surprised her when he’d leaned in to brush her lips with his in a chaste kiss.

“Be a good girl tonight Brianna. You know you need to be punished for hurting Markus, but know I’ll never really hurt you.  Stay true to yourself and everything will be just fine.”

Then he’d left her alone with her thoughts and fears until she heard the announcement starting the show.

And here she is, waiting.  During last night’s show Lukus had addressed the audience at length.  Tonight, he’s barely done any talking at all.  Still, having only been here one night, she has no clue if this is normal.  She feels so vulnerable, splayed out like this for the audience, and she feels a sudden gratitude both for the blindfold and the music that’s blocking it all out. At least this way she has a small chance of forgetting there’s a roomful of spectators only feet away witnessing her humiliation and punishment. 

As much as she dreads the punishment, the waiting is actually worse.  She wants him to just get it over with.  She is somewhat relieved when she hears Lukus finally address the audience, reminding them he’s been charged with punishing his best friend’s wife for her infidelity.

“I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours punishing the little adulteress just like she deserved.  She’s had everything from whippings, beltings and canings, to punishment enemas and painful, personal exams.  Still, she’s refused to sign the papers granting her husband a divorce.  I have to tell you all that, against my better judgment, I’m beginning to admire her resolve to save her marriage.  Regardless, I have a job to do and that job is to continue to punish her for her unforgivable behavior.”

His sudden touch on her breast is surprising.  She’s been on pins and needles expecting pain so the gentle caress molding and squeezing first one and then the other breast catches Brianna completely off guard.