THE next day, Caera woke in Saul’s arms. Between her thighs sat an ache of epic proportions. The depth and strength of Mac’s thrusts had been compounded when Saul felt compelled to reclaim her, just as hard, just as deep, and twice as long.
She’d expected him to be angry, for some of his jealousy to show through his movements, but he’d been attentive and gentle until the passion in his blood drove him faster, made his thrusts wild and strong.
For a moment, she thought back to her lonely life before she’d met him. A sparsely furnished apartment with only the basic necessities she needed. Her books. The view outside her window, the brick wall of the building next door. The odd venture outside to the store, the local coffee shop.
The coffee shop. Where this journey all began. Without Jennifer and James’ interference—Caera’s best friend and her fiancé, who happened to be one of Saul’s best friends—she knew she wouldn’t have survived this long. The night terrors had been killing her. Her refusal to sleep had been driving her insane.
Without Saul, she would have taken her life, unable to find a way out of the vicious cycle by herself. Died unkissed, a virgin, a waste of a life. She’d have missed out on so much, never made memories that even now gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” Saul murmured, his arm tightening around her midsection as he sighed. “Yesterday should have tired you out.”
But she wasn’t tired. She had energy crackling in her veins. She could run a marathon, bench press a boulder, dance the day away until the moon rose high. Or, she thought wickedly as Saul’s morning erection throbbed against her tender bottom, something infinitely more fun and energetic.
She reached back and grasped him, enjoying the feel of his soft skin and the thick, solid shaft it covered. His hips jerked forward, pushing his cock through the constricting ring of her fingers. Delighted he was willing to play the game, Caera tightened the ring.
“Fuck,” he hissed and bit down lightly on her shoulder. “This is almost as good as fucking that tight ass of yours.”
His words brought back the memory of him doing just that. Her body purred with remembrance. The anxiety rooted in her chest when his cock pressed against her, the sharp pain as he breached her. Then the way that anxiety, that pain shifted into something so beautifully euphoric…she wanted that again.
“You can,” she moaned as he rocked again, the sleek head of his erection smearing precum along her grip. “You can do that.”
Saul grunted, his hand sliding up her body to cup her breast. It kneaded softly, plumping soft flesh until her nipple popped into his palm. He gripped it then, that tiny nub, twisting and pinching in a way that echoed in the center of her pussy. “Do you think I won’t?”
Caera knew how to rev his engine. She wiggled until her upper body leaned away from him, pushing her derrière into him. His moan sounded like supplication. With a shaking hand, she slipped two fingers into her pussy, gathering the evidence of her lust. On a deep breath, she moved her hand behind her and used her slippery fingers to coat her anus.
Saul trapped her hand where it was. “Use your fingers.”
“W-what?”
“That’s ‘W-what, Sir’,” he growled in her ear and then licked it.
Oh, boy. Master Saul had come out to play. The game turned serious in an instant; she was no longer a woman teasing her lover, she was a submissive in the safety of her Dom’s control.
“What, Sir?” she repeatedly quietly.
“If you want me to take your gorgeous little ass,” he murmured silkily, nibbling down the side of her neck, “then use your fingers to get it ready for me.”
That turn of events was definitely unexpected. Hesitation lasted only a few seconds before she pushed a fingertip against that place she’d never touched. She met a wall of solid resistance.
“Relax. Give and take. Like this.” His broad finger replaced hers, circling the ring of muscle. He pushed in, retreated. Pushed in, retreated. Pushed in and slid deep. “Just like that.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Nerve endings flickered to life as he waggled his finger inside her and stroked oh so many sensitive areas. “I need you to take me, Sir. I need you inside me.”
“You’re supposed to be resting,” he said, and then he shifted away from her, leaving her bereft and horny. “I want you on your back, hands to the headboard.”
Her body reacted immediately, turning over onto her back, hands over her head, and her legs spread. She watched him saunter, so damned sexy in all his naked glory, over to a chest of drawers.
He turned with a pair of restraints in hand, and his dark eyes dropped to her pussy. “The things I’m going to do to you, Caera. You haven’t got a clue what I want to do with you.”
Anything. Everything. The words were on her tongue.
He came back toward the bed, his cock curving slightly up toward his navel. She always wondered how she managed to take him, every inch of him, when she saw his erection at full mast. She had an urge to suck on the bright red crown, to draw his cum from his balls until she satisfied them both.
But he kneeled between her open legs, leaning forward to clasp padded cuffs around her wrists and fastening them on a short chain to the headboard. When he sat back, he stroked a finger lightly over the wet seam of her pussy. “Well, shit. We bruised you, baby.”
“I don’t care.” Something about restraints fried her sensual nervous system.
He bent and kissed her, lips soft as he touched where the bruises must have been. He parted her with his fingers, bathed her with his tongue until her hips rose off the bed in a silent plea. Liquid slipped down between her cheeks, and he used it to penetrate her ass again.
Caera strained toward him, needing what only he could give her. Her hands balled into fists. “Sir, please. Please.”
He grabbed her legs and sent her heart into overdrive. Sweat dewed her skin when he tilted her pelvis and lined his cock against her. The first inch of him broke past the ring of muscle. Caera heard the plaintive cry, tried to understand where it came from.
Then Saul’s grip changed, shifted her until her thighs ran up his torso and hung over his shoulders by the knees. He rose onto his knees, altered the entire angle at which they joined, and used it to his advantage.
A scream choked off when he drove down into her on a powerful, drawn-out jerk of his pelvis. Her knees clamped hard on either side of his head. This was what she wanted. A rough branding to tell everyone she belonged to him.
“Tell me what you want,” he ordered in his Dom voice.
“To belong to you, Sir. To be your fantasy, your muse, your waking dream.” He pulled out, hammered back inside her, and turned her voice into a keening moan. “To make you happy, make you proud, make you mine.”
The grin he flashed her reduced her to mush. “Excellent answer, baby. Mine is the operative word.” He gripped her hips, anchored her. “Tell me if this hurts.”
He hurt her in ways she could only just grasp. He pleasured her in ways she would never understand. The two twined together in an orgy of raw nerves, vicious orgasms, and his name, always his name, ripped from her on a desperate scream.
*
Caera was a masochist.
Saul studied her face in the minutes after his release gouged a hole out of him and saw what he’d missed before. He hadn’t been gentle with her, had taken her roughly, on the edge of beastly. Not once had she said her safe word, asked him to slow down, to be gentle, or told him he hurt her even though he knew he had.
She’d taken him and begged him for more. Harder. Faster. More, more, more. She’d spurred him into a wicked frenzy and his Dom had thrown back his head and roared his acceptance of the demands.
He leaned forward to release her hands and she blinked up at him through half-lidded, sleepy eyes. The green shone like emeralds in firelight, full of flame and sparks. Feeling tender, he brushed her lips with his and felt them curve in a smile. “No more sex for at least a week.”
A frown marred her brow and she pouted. “Aw.”
“Even the best submissive needs a break now and then when her Dom fucks her hard enough to bruise. I don’t want to damage you, baby.” Bracing himself, he eased back and let his half-erect cock slip free. “To the shower, sweetheart.”
“I’m going to be single-handedly responsible for the country’s water shortage,” Caera griped, throwing her arm over her eyes.
“Shouldn’t be so damned fuckable, then,” he retorted, smiling at her. “Now get yourself up and in the shower before we end up with a sticky mess all over the sheets.”
“Oh.” The arm dropped and a blush erupted over her face. She obviously hadn’t thought of the result of their actions but then, that wasn’t for her to worry about. “Would Sir help me out here?”
As her Dom, it was his duty to think of the consequences, and he had the perfect way to deal with this little problem. “Use your feet to push your hips up, keep them tilted toward the ceiling.” He slipped off the bed and turned to slide one arm beneath her bent knees and the other under her shoulders. He lifted her effortlessly, keeping her ass tilted higher than her head, and swept her off to the bathroom as she squealed and giggled. “Problem solved.”
“A sub could get used to this, Sir,” she purred as he set her down in the shower. She winced and glanced down between her legs, and her blush from only a minute ago seemed pale in comparison to the one that lit up her skin now. “Oh dear.”
His cock, barely recovered from their previous encounter, came back to life in a millisecond as his cum trickled slowly from the apex of her thighs and down her leg. He gritted his teeth, willing himself not to take her again.
Saul slammed his hand on the shower controls and water blasted from all sides. Cold water. His body tightened at the initial sensation and then adjusted. Caera, however, squeaked and tried valiantly to avoid the jets hitting her from every angle.
They warmed up quickly as the water temperature rose. He cleaned her thoroughly, lathering and rinsing, checking her body for even the slightest injury. He found the faintest of red marks around her wrists. Her pussy was swollen and bruised around the lips, her inner flesh mirroring the outer.
Not surprising, he thought to himself, considering the size of Mac and the size of him. She had taken a battering twice within a matter of hours.
“Bend over for me, gorgeous,” he coaxed, using his hands to urge her forward. He crouched behind her, parted her cheeks, and inspected her ass with the assessing eye of the Dom.
He’d well and truly marked her, he noted. His Dom half straightened, smirked. Of course he had. He would mark and protect what was his, and this little sub was his, without question. His semen still seeped from her, the last traces washing away as he watched. But there were no traces of blood, no signs of damage other than redness and perhaps a slight taint of bruising.
“Nothing a touch of aloe vera gel won’t fix,” he assured her and kissed her ass cheek before straightening. He pulled her close, took a moment to simply savor the feel of her, sleek and naked in his arms, and ended the moment with a light tap on her rear. “Breakfast time, sweetheart.”
She turned and eyed him. “Pancakes?”
He couldn’t help it; he grabbed her face and kissed her with every ounce of passion he could muster. Not long back, any mention of food made her feel nauseous and turn a little green. “Anything you want, baby, you can have.”
Her lips pursed and then twitched with a smile. “Pancakes. With maple syrup and blueberries.”
“Your wish is my command.”
* * * *
There were four pairs of eyes on her as she ate. For the first time, her stomach welcomed sustenance without protest. Ravenous, Caera tucked into two, then four, then five pancakes. If she wasn’t careful, she thought with a smirk, she’d end up in a sugar coma.
She hadn’t been brave enough yet to lift her gaze from her plate to meet Mac’s or Tess’, but she sensed no underlying tension in the kitchen and conversation carried on as if it were any other morning.
The chair beside her pulled out and a body dropped into it. She slid her eyes across and found Tess leaning on the table, her face resting against her palm. She set her attention back onto her last pancake, cutting it with surgical precision.
“So?”
Caera chewed slowly, swallowed harder than necessary. “So?”
Now the tension racked up, creeping steadily like a feral cat on the prowl. The room went quiet and Caera’s hackles pricked. Holding her breath, she waited for Tess’ explosion about how Caera was a fiancé-fucking, man-stealing bitch whore who should be strung up by her toes.
“So, how was it?” Tess said in a mock-whisper.
And just like that, the tension vanished. Relieved, Caera relaxed and shoveled in another bite of pancake as she mulled over her first two-Dom scene.
“I mean, you really looked like you enjoyed it,” Tess continued, despite Dee’s hissed shush. “I can totally relate. Two men is just wicked, right? It feels like a dirty little secret to begin with, but once you run those memories through your head over and over again…”
“Tess.” Mac barked her name out and she snapped to attention. “That’s enough. Leave the girl be to eat her breakfast in peace.”
“Sorry, Sir.” The redhead became instantly apologetic.
“Please don’t tell her off.” The words fell free before Caera realized their intent. Her cutlery clattered to the plate. “She understands what I’m feeling. She’s been through it. The amazing sex and the…the aftermath. The good and the bad of it.”
“You can talk to me,” Saul interjected. “To any of us, Caera.”
“No, I can’t. Not the same way I can with Tess. Expressing what I feel in words is difficult for me, you know that. How can I express myself honestly if you take anything negative I say to heart and cut me off from exploring what caused that feeling in the first place?”
“Caera,” he sighed.
“No, please don’t pity me. You, Mac, and Dee are Dominants. I get that. I’m finally grasping the order of things, the structure and hierarchy. But you can be so protective, Saul. Even when it comes to you and me in a scene, you treat me preciously, which I love but at the same time, it drives me insane.” Caera closed her eyes and brought back the memories of last night. “Mac didn’t see me that way last night. He saw me as a submissive, one bound into a scene. And after, when it was me and you, you saw me through his eyes. You treated me like your submissive, not your lover. And I loved it.”
Mac’s lips twitched and his big arm snaked around Tess’ waist, pulling her out of the chair and nearer to him. “I think this is a discussion best left between you two.”
“No, it’s not. This is not just about me and Saul. It’s about family dynamics. It’s about each of us. Three Dominants holding sway over two submissives. Two submissives with the power to bring three Dominants to their knees.”
“What changed?” Saul asked quietly.
Caera flicked her gaze to his face and found him studying her with interest. She smiled softly and reached for his hand, relieved when his fingers wrapped around hers and squeezed. “Nothing and everything. I’m still the same person, still in love with the same man, and infatuated with her Dom.”
“But?”
“But. I made a choice yesterday to be with two men. The man I love and a man I respect. A choice I never imagined I’d make. I didn’t believe I’d ever be with one man, let alone two.” She turned her head and met Mac’s gaze. “When we started out on this road, Saul, you told me that the submissive has all the power. They can say no, stop, wait. The safe word system is there for a reason, right?”
Three powerful people nodded in agreement, and she suddenly became aware of the fact she had the attention of the room. She faltered slightly, unsure where she’d been going with her speech.
“Go on, sweetheart,” Dee murmured, smiling in encouragement.
“I had two Dominants in my body at the same time last night, and I liked it. Loved it,” she added with a warm blush. “It might make me a slut or a whore, whatever—”
“Twenty,” Mac interrupted with a scowl.
She frowned, blinked. “Twenty?”
“I promised you if I ever heard you call yourself a whore again, I’d punish you. So, twenty strokes of whatever you prefer, little one.”
Caera winced. “Yes, Sir. But I didn’t mean it in—”
“You don’t quite understand how you can have sex with multiple partners and enjoy it. That doesn’t make you a slut, a whore, or the village fucking bike.” The anger radiating from Mac spread until all three Dominants seemed to vibrate with the implied insult. “You’re blossoming, unlocking inhibitions. You’re becoming who you were born to be—a woman with free will and an open mind.”
Well, when he put it like that, she could hardly argue. She’d never thought of it in those terms, she just came to the conclusion she was on her way to being a nymphomaniac. It shamed her to think she’d lowered herself to a standard she didn’t deserve.
“Let the girl finish now that you’ve berated her,” Deanna huffed. She moved over to the coffee pot, checked the water level, and flicked it on. “I think she was on her way to an important self-discovery.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Caera laid her cheek on Saul’s hand. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Finish.” Saul pressed his lips to her hair. “If it’s something you were brave enough to stand up for before, finish it.”
“I kind of lost my place,” she said with a weak chuckle. “And the impetus to keep going.”
Saul grinned. “You had two virile, incomparable sex-god Doms inside you last night and you loved every moment.”
Laughter pattered around the room from all parties, and Caera let herself float on it. These were her people, her family, her partners in crime. They were her friends in a life she half thought she dreamed about.
“Yes, well, I had a moment of clarity while being pinned between said virile, incomparable sex-god Doms. At a very specific time.” Her pussy twitched in memory. “At that moment, I realized you were right. I had all the power and it was intoxicating. I made two powerful Doms orgasm.”
“You did indeed.” Smug satisfaction purred in Saul’s voice.
“I guess my point is, you don’t have to punish Tess for encouraging me to try new things. My own curiosity and trust in my Dom would take me there anyway.” She sighed deeply and gave Saul a pleading look. “You don’t have to treat me like glass during a scene. Be rough, manhandle me, be the Dom you are. I have a safe word, Saul. I can use it. Don’t restrict yourself for me.”
“If he’s not going to manhandle you after that,” Deanna said with a dirty laugh, “I have a playroom down the hall I’d be happy to introduce you to.”
Saul bared his teeth in a snarl.
“Don’t snarl at me, incomparable sex-god.” Dee snickered as the kettle clicked off. “You haven’t forgotten you owe me a night with your precious one, I trust?”
Caera blinked. “You what?”
“Deanna did a favor for me,” Saul ground out between clenched teeth. “She demanded a night with you in return.”
“I see.” Her stomach jittered. “You were going to tell me this…”
“When you were ready and willing and not before.”
China clinked as Dee fussed with coffee and sweeteners. Mugs were handed out around the table. “If I’m going to pierce you, Caera, I want a night to play.”
Now her clit throbbed. It still tingled as though the clamp surrounded it, those tiny legs digging deep. That sensation, all the time? Caera wondered if she’d go mad from it. “A promise is a promise, I guess. But seeing as I’ve been banned from sex for an entire week, I’m going to have to find something else to occupy my time.”
“A week?” Tess gasped in horror. “What the hell did you do to deserve that?”
Saul’s eyebrows lifted. “She needs time to recover. We were fairly brutal with her,” he said to Mac. “She’s bruised, she’s sore, and she’s not going to admit it if we keep having sex. So she’s having a week of celibacy. If I catch her with her hand anywhere near her pussy, she’ll be locked into one of Deanna’s snazzy chastity belts.”
“No way,” she whispered, mouth dropping open in shock. “They still exist? I thought they were supposed to be extinct, like museum relics, lost in the ages.”
Dee answered this time, wiping away tears of humor. “Still so much to learn, Caera. Chastity belts have been modernized over time. Some Dominants prefer to use the older versions, adds to a sub’s discomfort. Most of us have taken to the more advanced belts with added perks, such as butt plugs.”
Now her eyes popped out of her head. “That’s just torture!”
“Is it really?”
“How can it not be? Having something in there and not being able to, you know…” She shivered at the thought.
“Some of the belts have vibrating butt plugs,” Dee said with a wink.
“Sadists. You’re all sadists!”
“Only if asked nicely.” Dee took a sip of coffee and turned her dark eyes to Mac. “On the topic of sadists, Mac, that offer we made has been declined. Vehemently.”
He nodded and ran his hand up and down Tess’ arm. “Figured as much. Leave it to me, I’ll sort out paperwork and notifying the clubs. The terms of the offer were clear, Dee,” he said strictly when she opened her mouth. “It’s been declined, so penalties have to be paid. There won’t be another chance.”
She sighed, and Caera thought she saw a flicker of sadness in the dark depths. She kept her questions to herself, however, as she thought she’d stirred the waters past the safety limit when it came to challenging Doms.
“Caera, would you be comfortable returning to Crack the Whip?”
She jolted at Mac’s question. That, she had not expected. “Go back to the club? But didn’t…wasn’t Annabelle the one scaring away the staff? Saul said…didn’t you say it was Annabelle?” She looked at him desperately.
He nodded and squeezed her hand. “It was. She’s not going to be able to come near you, baby. Mac and Dee have made sure of that. But you still need a job and the socializing won’t do you any harm.”
Stating she’d nearly died there seemed overdramatic. She shifted restlessly in her seat. “Maybe I’d make a better maid for here? Work in the laundry room? I’m pretty handy when it comes to paperwork.”
Mac shook his head. “Go back to the Whip, even if it’s only for a few days. Give it a week and if you haven’t settled, we’ll find you something else. Who knows, without that psycho bitch snaking around, you might enjoy yourself.”
Caera seemed to remember something similar being said the first time, and look where that had gotten her. She caught Saul’s eye and sighed. He looked at her adoringly. No judgement, no pressure. Just his complete focus on her. How could she disappoint him by being a coward? Cowardice was no way to honor that level of devotion.
“All right. I’ll give it a week.”
“Good lass.” Mac beamed like a proud father and bent to kiss her cheek. The bristles on his face pricked her softly and were as red as his full head of hair. “I’ll move some schedules around for the beginning of next week, find you a couple girls you might connect with.”
“Thanks,” she murmured and ducked her head.
Everyone left then. Mac and Tess slipped out first, melded together at the hip, coffee mugs in hand and Mac’s free hand tucked down the back of Tess’ jeans. The outline of his big hand was clear against the denim hugging her tight ass.
“I’ve got some piercings to prepare for,” Dee said, throwing the last dregs of her drink down the sink and rinsing the mug. “Give me a shout if you want to watch, Caera. You might find it beneficial if you decide to get your own.”
“Not today, Dee.” Saul’s hand gripped her by the nape, massaged at the knots of muscles in her neck. “We have plans of our own.”
“Well, okay, then. Have fun with that.” One wink and she was gone.
And it was just the two of them.
“Are you angry?” Caera asked quietly.
His head cocked to one side, his dark eyes curious. “Why would I be angry?”
She sighed. “I turned what should have been a private conversation into a public one. That was wrong of me.”
He chuckled. “Baby, you said what you needed to say, and you were right. It’s not about just us, it’s about all of us as a functioning family. You made some good points.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t be any prouder. When Tess and Mac involved another person into their relationship, things got messed up. I was worried that would happen to us. But after last night…you’ve gone the other way. Your confidence has had a boost and you look like you could take on the world right now.”
“Don’t feel like I could,” she muttered and dropped her head into her free hand. “Feel as though I’ve been in the dungeon with a sadist for a week.”
“We need to find you something fun to do. I bet I could find someone to teach you knitting or embroidery. Or Mac has a big book of Sudoku kicking around in his office.”
She gave him her best glare and he just grinned at her. Her exasperated huff turned into a laugh when his eyebrows wiggled. “You’re not funny, Saul.”
“Oh, but I am. Nevertheless, I wasn’t joking about the fun. You’ve spent weeks learning the ropes of the trade; it’s intense, it takes its toll on the mind. I’ve put you through the wringer, baby, and you’ve taken it without complaint. So, now it’s my job to show you the fun side of it all. Agreed?”
Pleasure hummed through her like sugar in the blood. “Has what we’ve been doing not been fun?”
Fierce emotion sparked from his eyes. “This time with you has been the most exciting, the most enlightening period of my life. Fun doesn’t begin to describe my life with you. But I know that without you, everything would turn to shit in a heartbeat.”
The man knew how to hold her heart in his hand as well as he held her body when she was under his guidance. He might play with her, toy with her, use her at his will, but she knew the love running through his blood made what could have been exploitation into something more worthwhile.
It made them strong, bound tight with trust and respect.
“In that case, you should make sure you’re never without me.”
Saul whisked her up and out of her chair, wrapping himself around her as though letting go would kill him. “I’ll make damned sure of it.”