Breaking Free

Chapter Fourteen

Standing in his kitchen, Nolan stared at the little sub and managed to keep the growl out of his voice. “You’re what?”

“I’m moving back into my apartment.” Beth took a step back, then crossed her arms and raised her chin.

The signs that she was getting back to normal pleased him, but she sure as hell didn’t have to go this far to prove she was feeling better. It had only been a couple of weeks. Reasonable. Be reasonable. “Why the hell would you want to go back there?” He winced at the snap in his voice.

She bit her lip, then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

He held her close and rested his cheek on the top of her head, remembering how she’d hugged Cullen. Did he look that bad? “Okay, sugar, tell me why.”

Her arms tightened. “I need to know that I can live on my own. I-I love being here with you, and I don’t want to go, but I have to.”

“Gutsy rabbit.” He could understand the need. He’d grown up in a family that firmly believed in the “face your fears” technique. But how did a man deal with the need to stand in front of a little rabbit and protect her from those fears?

“Not all that gutsy. It’s just, well, if I stay with you because I’m scared to be alone, well…that isn’t much of a relationship.”

She had a point. He wanted to ask her what kind of a relationship she thought they had, but didn’t. After meeting her sick fuck of a husband, he wasn’t about to put any pressure on her. When she was ready to let him know how she felt, she’d tell him. Although it felt like he might be old and gray before that happened.

He rubbed his cheek in her soft hair and inhaled her strawberry fragrance. He’d have to get her to plant a bed of strawberries so he could mash them against… “You know, I have a lot of kinky things I still want to do to you. You gonna be available?”

She giggled, a husky chuckling sound that lifted his mood. “You’re the Master. All you have to do is tell me to be, right?”

Wasn’t it a shame it didn’t really work like that. His power over her lasted only as long as they both wanted it to, and no longer. “Well then.” He could feel the healing scabs under her shirt and could feel how tense her muscles were. Going back to a place she’d been attacked couldn’t be easy. Maybe he’d just help her over the first hurdle. “I have a craving to see how loud I can make you scream in a tiny apartment. You have an apartment I can use tonight, sugar?”

Under his fingers, the long muscles of her back slowly loosened. “You know, I just happen to have one available.” She rubbed her forehead against his shoulder and whispered, “Thank you, Master.”

Nolan glanced at the cage in the corner. The male sub looked miserable but in no real physical distress. He strolled past and down to the next station where a Dom was securing his sub in the stockade. Tears already ran down her cheeks although the cane at the Dom’s feet hadn’t been used yet. She’d probably be a screamer.

Nolan stopped to scan the crowd around the door and the bar. No Beth yet. Where the hell was she?

A lesbian couple with the sub in saloon girl garb and the Domme in a very risqué sheriff’s outfit walked past, and Nolan eyed the sheriff’s bare legs appreciatively. Old West Night at the Shadowlands was one of his favorite themes; he was Texan, after all.

He shoved his Stetson back and slowed to check the whipping post that Z had brought out just for tonight. Using a whip in the main room meant roping off extra space to keep from nailing spectators by accident. Dressed in outlaw black, Sam had Deborah tied to the post. Nolan stopped to enjoy for a minute. The old sadist was a real master with that black snake whip of his. Deborah was already up on tiptoes and well on her way to subspace.

Nolan scanned the room again. No Beth. He’d planned to pick her up, but she’d called to say she was running late, and Z had asked him to monitor the main room. Well, if she got cold feet, he’d just have to go out to her apartment and fetch her. That fucking apartment.

She’d been living there for a week now and damned if he didn’t miss her more than he thought possible. He’d joined her for her first two nights there, and then had let her go it alone. Sure, he still saw her every day, joining her for supper or lunch, occasionally tossing her onto that miniature apartment bed and fucking her senseless. But he wanted her back in his home, padding around in one of his shirts that dwarfed her, arguing with him about how strong a pot of coffee should be, draping that trim little body over him while they watched the evening news. Her laughter…her teasing…her enthusiasm… When she’d moved out, his house had turned as gloomy as if winter had arrived.

He wanted her back.

Did she want to come back? She wasn’t sharing how she felt. Gratitude, sure, she didn’t have a problem telling him all about that.

But what she felt for him was a hell of a lot more than mere gratitude. He knew that. Did she?

Or was the little rabbit just having trouble getting the words out? Talking about her feelings still came hard to her. Of course, it was a Dom’s duty to help little subs past mental blocks like that.

So…

Another scan of the room, and he found her. He grinned, pleasure filling him at the sight. Now that was an outfit. High-heeled black boots, black leather chaps, a shiny blue G-string. The fringe from a matching blue bustier danced over the creamy skin of her stomach and concealed the fading pink scar. Her hair was in two stubby braids.

Nolan glanced at his watch. His time had been up for a good ten minutes. Then again, Olivia never showed up on time. He spotted the Domme at the bar, caught her eye, and tapped his watch. She nodded and sauntered over to take the flashlight from him.

“No problems,” he told her.

“And you have things to do.” Smirking, she slapped his shoulder. “I saw your sub come in. She looks hot.”

He grinned and gave her a warning look at the same time. “Mine, Olivia. Hands off.”

“Oh, I already tried hands-on a month ago. She doesn’t walk on my side of the street… More’s the pity.”

Ben had liked her outfit, Beth told herself as she moved toward the bar. The thought didn’t help much. Her stomach still felt like she’d swallowed a mess of worms. Knowing her abuse was common knowledge made her feel more exposed than stripping her clothes off and walking around naked.

And yet, she’d missed being here, missed the driving music, the sound of sobbing and whips, sex and pain. The scent of leather and latex and perfume. And the costumes tonight… She grinned in delight. Even the most conservative of Doms-the ones who wore suits-had added cowboy hats. The majority of subs favored saloon girl outfits, some of which mixed oddly with spiked green hair and Goth makeup.

The appreciative glances coming her way bolstered her confidence as she searched for Nolan. Surely he’d be done with his dungeon monitor chores by now. Not in sight. Dodging around various groups of people, she made her way to the bar.

Cullen spotted her and abandoned whatever drink he was making. “Little Beth!” He leaned a muscular arm on the bar, and his warm gaze ran over her. “You look good, love. Wish I’d been there to lend Nolan a hand.”

She smiled at him, pleasure running through her. Another friend. “Thanks, Sir. Can you tell me where Master Nolan is?”

“Turning over his DM duties to the compulsively late Olivia.” He tilted his head. “Want a drink? And this time tell me what you’d really like. I bet it’s not a screwdriver.”

“Irish whiskey. Bushmill’s single malt if you have it.”

He roared a laugh. “Pint-sized sub takes her liquor straight, hold the water. Coming right up, pet.”

After he set her drink in front of her, she sipped it slowly, enjoying the smooth burn.

“Hi.” A man in black latex jeans and a long-sleeved latex jacket slid onto the bar stool beside her. “I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new?”

“Not exactly.”

A hand closed on her bare arm. She almost jerked away before she recognized the grip. Nolan.

“Now here’s a cute little western girl,” he said softly. His dark eyes heated as his gaze ran over her, lingering on her G-string. “Well worth the wait.”

She felt her insides melt at just the sound of his deep voice and the look in his eyes. She touched his cheek with her fingertips. After all the Doms she’d had, only this master could make her feel like an eager puppy, wanting simply to please him.

Cullen walked over and set a Corona on the bar. Nolan started to pick it up but frowned and picked up her glass instead. He sniffed it. His eyebrows rose. “Well, you’re just full of surprises, sugar.”

“She’s hard-core, buddy,” Cullen said, grinning. “So do I get a bar decoration tonight?”

Beth stiffened. God, no.

“Nope,” Nolan drawled. “I’ve got other things in mind. While you’re here, give me some ice, would you?”

Cullen nodded and moved away. A few seconds later, a glass of ice slid down the well-polished bar.

Nolan looked at the man who’d tried to start a conversation with her. “I’m Nolan. You new here?”

“I’ve only belonged a couple of weeks.” They shook hands. “I’m William.”

Sir rested his hip on the barstool, pulling Beth back until she could feel his big erection against her bottom. Her body flared to life at the feel of him, at the memory of what he felt like inside her. They’d made love almost constantly when she’d lived with him, and she’d missed it. As she leaned back, his arm wrapped around her, keeping her tight against him.

“So are you enjoying yourself?” Nolan asked the Dom as he plucked an ice cube from the glass with his free hand. He ran it casually down Beth’s neck and across the top edge of the bustier, making her nipples peak, before playing in the fringe over her stomach.

“Ah.” The Dom’s eyes were glued to the ice moving over Beth’s body.

She’d have laughed, only her mouth had gone dry. She started to move only to realize Nolan’s embrace trapped her right arm against her side, and his hand gripped her left wrist in an immovable grip. The ice traveled lower and paused above her G-string long enough for freezing water to trickle over her mound. She jerked as the cold hit her hot flesh.

“Ah, right. Yes, everyone is very friendly,” William said, his voice a little rougher.

“Good.”

As the ice melted, Beth held still, wondering what the man would do to embarrass her next. And why his actions turned her on so much. Dammit.

Seeming to have read her mind, he started unhooking her bustier one-handed. She tried to pull her wrist from his grip. “Don’t move, sub,” he snapped, and her body froze.

“Have you met some of the subs here?” Nolan asked the other Dom as his fingers continued to undo the hooks.

“Um. Yes. No. I guess not.” William shook his head, took a step back and, with visible effort, raised his eyes to Nolan’s face.

When Beth’s bustier fell open, Sir cupped her breasts. “You know, most of the unattached subs sit over there.” Nolan took one hand away to point to the nearby sitting area.

William turned to look, and his eyes widened. “Really? I thought they were already taken.”

“Nope. If a Dom leaves his sub over there, he’ll chain her, so there’s no question about her availability.”

“Damn. Now that’s good to know.” William gave the subs an assessing look, and she could see that he might be a decent Dom after all. He had that… She gasped as Nolan pinched her nipple, making both her breast and her clit throb.

“You have the prettiest breasts,” he murmured in her ear, his thumbs rubbing over the peaks. “And I brought decorations for them.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pair of nipple clamps, held them up in front of her. Tweezer-type like before, these had little bells at the end.

Oh, man. Quivers woke inside her in anticipation of the pain…in anticipation of the excitement.

He turned her around and attached one, watching her face as he moved the little ring up to tighten the clamp. As the pressure grew from stimulating to painful, he stopped and loosened it slightly. He did the other the same way.

“All right?” He studied her.

She wet her lips as the pressure in her nipples sent erotic messages to her clit, making her even wetter. And when he flicked one bell, making it tinkle, a surge of need shot through her.

“Definitely all right,” he murmured with a slow smile. He rang the other bell, one hand on her upper arm to keep her from moving away. “You know, I’d planned to play at the bondage table, but I just remembered this very interesting rope job I saw in the dungeon. On the sling.”

His thumb stroked her mouth, slid inside, and she sucked.

“I saw a great way to tie a sub, legs up and bent so”-he bent and whispered in her ear-“you’re very, very open to anything I want to do.”

A wave of heat ran through her, and she bit his finger.

With a chuckle, he moved his hand and put his arm around her waist. He said to William, “I’ve been considering getting a sling for my dungeon. Might as well test-drive one here.”

“Don’t waste your time,” said a man in an ugly voice.

Beth stiffened. The Dom she’d picked up last month when hoping to avoid Nolan stood beside William, sneering at her. “She looks pretty, but she’s frigid as an iceberg. And dry as the desert.”

As William gaped, Beth turned her face away, not wanting a confrontation. After all, the Dom was right; at least, that’s how she had been for him.

She felt Nolan’s arm flex then relax. “Really?” Nolan’s voice sounded like he’d eaten gravel for breakfast. “Interesting similes, I’d have to say. Now me… I found her hotter than the desert, and when all that ice melts, it leaves her really wet.” His arm around her waist firmed to keep her in place as he slid his free hand under her G-string and through the wetness there. She quivered, trying not to move. After holding up his glistening fingers, he put them in his mouth. “Mmm. Nothing like it.”

The Dom’s face reddened. Mouth set in a nasty line, he turned away and came face-to-face with Master Z.

Master Z’s eyes had the color and warmth of slate, and although his voice was soft, the anger in it cut like a blade. “Donald. I would like a word with you. Now.”

The Dom turned pale.

So did William. He gazed after the two men. “Whoa. I don’t know Z that well, but I’ve never seen him look like that.”

Nolan pulled Beth in front of him, her back against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head. “Being angry at a sub because a scene goes bad or you don’t get the response you want isn’t the mark of a good Dom. And insulting a woman for any reason is the mark of an asshole.”

William nodded. “I agree with you there.” He smiled at Beth, glanced at Nolan. “I’m going to grab one of the subs over there. It was nice meeting you two.”

“Have fun,” Nolan said, then squeezed Beth affectionately until the air hissed out of her lungs. “Come, little rabbit, I hear a sling calling your name.” He grabbed his toy bag from behind the bar and towed her behind him through the crowd to the back of the huge room and then down the hallway to the dungeon.

When they entered, most of the stations were in use. On the far left and right, subs hung from manacles embedded in the rock wall. Near the back, a Domme on the queen’s throne rested her feet on a beefy sub. The bondage table was empty. In center left, a male sub was suspended head-down, being whipped by his Dom. In the very center, a brunette sub stood on tiptoes straddling a pony board. From the way her legs were shaking, her legs would soon give out, and all her weight would press her pussy down on the edge of the board. Beth winced in sympathy.

Center right-a full body, leather sling with embedded D-rings, suspended from a rafter by four chains. Beth had never used one before, and she eyed it with a mixture of anticipation and worry.

Nolan glanced at the observers scattered around the dungeon, then looked at her. “Sugar, kneel beside the sling.”

Her heart sped up, knowing he’d gone into full master mode. He watched her with an impassive face as she knelt, and her bustier flapped open. She knew better than to try to close it. She looked up, caught Master’s frown, so she parted her legs more and set her hands on her thighs. And sighed. Once upon a time, taking this position would blank her mind until she didn’t care what happened. But with Sir, she cared. Every sense was alive, and her body was on edge.

He cleaned the sling thoroughly although the last user undoubtedly had also. From his toy bag, he pulled out long silk ties and hemp rope. Her stomach twisted. He was planning to restrain her. He hadn’t done that since the day Kyler abducted her. His gaze fell on her. “Breathe, sugar.”

She pulled in a breath.

“Come here.”

She walked over to him.

“I want the G-string and chaps gone.”

Biting her lip, she stripped her lower half, setting everything next to his toy bag.

“And the bustier.”

She shrugged out of it. Hands around her waist, he lifted her onto the sling, and the cold leather chilled her bottom. She wrapped her hands around the chains as the sling rocked.

His eyes kindled, and a smile softened his harsh face. “You look very pretty there,” he murmured. “Like a wartime poster of a naked woman on a swing.” After tossing his hat onto his bag, he patted his pocket where Beth could see the outline of a pair of scissors. After folding the hemp rope in half, he wrapped her, below her breasts, over her shoulders, between and then above her breasts, pulling until the rope squeezed snugly without being painful. She looked down. The ropes formed the outline of a square bra with no cups, pressing her breasts out from her rib cage.

“Never experienced shibari before?” He flicked the bells on her nipple clamps, making her moan. “This fast little configuration is called shinju.”

As the sling rocked, she wrapped her hands around the chains, but he shook his head. “Lay back, Beth.”

Why did lying on her back feel more vulnerable than on her stomach? Yes, she’d much rather be on her stomach. Glancing at Master Nolan’s face, she saw no chance of being given a choice. She let herself sink back. The sling was surprisingly comfortable, almost like a hammock. She looked over at Sir, and her gaze was caught by the sight of her breasts, standing up like little mountains.

Gripping her hips, Sir moved her butt down to the edge of the sling. He tied one of the silk braided ropes across the top of her hips, over the top of her mound, pinning her bottom to the sling. Using more silky ropes, he lashed one ankle about two feet up the chain and did the same on the other side.

When he finished, she lay on her back with her ankles fastened high on each side, her knees bent and in the air. Hell, he’d turned this into a rocking gyn table. Only with her hips directly under her feet, she was way more exposed than any medical table.

From the murmurs of the people around the room, they appreciated Sir’s rope job much more than she did.

Not that he’d notice his audience. His attention was completely on her. Studying her expression, he ran his hand down the inside of her thigh, sending shivers through her. “I really like this position,” he said, a slight smile on his face, and the enjoyment in his eyes warmed her. His finger slid through her wet folds, and she inhaled sharply. “Look how open you are.”

He gave the sling a push, letting it rock while he walked over to the wall. The winch turned with a clacking sound, and the sling rose until she swung at chest height. Way too high for him to use his cock.

Her hands gripped the chains beside her shoulders. He hadn’t restrained her hands, she realized. Maybe if she didn’t move, he wouldn’t remember.

He walked around the sling to kiss her, taking it deeper, harder, forcing her response. By the time he pulled back, her fears had disappeared under the wave of heat. Smiling, he flicked the nipple clamps. The bells tinkled, tweaking her breasts, sending hot need burning from her breasts to her clit. Her fingers tightened on the chain, catching his attention, and she stiffened. Please, no restraints.

Pulling her hand free, he nipped her fingers before curling them back around the chain. “I’m not going to bind your arms, sugar. You’ll feel better knowing they’re free, but I don’t want your hands to move from the chains. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” she whispered, able to smile at him as relief surged through her.

“Good girl.” He strolled back down to the foot where the V between her legs was spread wide for everyone to see. Her nipples burned from the clamps, and now he stroked her legs, moving closer and closer to her pussy and to where her clit throbbed in cruel need.