Club Shadowlands

Chapter Eleven

Zachary found a fairly deserted corner and settled onto a couch with his shaken little sub in his lap. Club members walked past, occasionally nodding with a smile, none speaking. James gave him a grin and a thumbs-up.

Jessica still hadn’t spoken when he leaned back with her huddled against his chest.

“You were wonderful,” Zachary murmured, holding her firmly in his arms, letting her return to the world in her own time. “I’m very proud of you, little one.”

She was shivering, a continuous trembling through her whole body, and he wrapped the blanket tightly around her, settling her more comfortably against him. He rested his cheek on top of her head, content to relax with her. For a Dom, the intense focus required for a scene, especially with someone so new, was exhausting but exhilarating at the same time.

For a sub… Forced past her inhibitions, Jessica had given freely of her responses, holding nothing back. Yet for someone with her personality – modest, controlled, reserved – to be so abandoned in front of strangers would be a shock to her very system.

If she needed to spend the rest of the night just being held, then so be it.

As her trembling slowed, she could hear a slow thudding in her ear, more real than the music playing elsewhere. The fragrance of citrusy soap mixed with a man’s musky scent surrounded her, and she realized her cheek rested on skin and springy chest hair. There were arms around her.

She blinked, feeling snuggled and warm. Safe. A blanket covered her from toes to shoulders, hiding her from others. Her gaze lingered on the people walking past, people who glanced, but didn’t speak.

She just lay for a time, unable to get her thoughts to gather quickly enough to want to move. She was in her happy place, her little nephew would have said.

Sir – and it was Sir, she recognized his scent and his arms – didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. Eventually, she managed to pull in a deep breath and lift her head.

His hand stroked up and down her arm. “Welcome back, little one,” he murmured, his voice sending a funny quivering through her. She could feel his lips touch her hair.

She pushed herself up a little, turned so she could watch him, feeling like she was seeing him for the first time. He was so…male, so in control. He had lines at the corners of his eyes; his beard-shadowed jaw was strong, his face lean and hard. Black eyebrows quirked up now as she touched his chin. When his lips curved up into that faint smile of his, she ran her finger across his lower lip, noting the velvety softness overlaying the firm. Very much like him, so smooth on the surface, but unyielding – demanding – underneath.

“I don’t remember leaving that room.” Her voice was hoarse, a little raw, and she frowned. “I don’t remember a blanket.”

He lifted his hand from her shoulder to caress her face. “When a sub experiences something so intense, it’s not unusual for her to retreat inside, into her own head. We have blankets in all the rooms.”

“Oh.” Wow. But being held like this was wonderful. She let her mind drift back to what had happened, the helplessness, the sensations that had grown more and more overwhelming until she couldn’t stop herself from coming. She remembered Cullen’s hands, mouth on her. She shivered.

People watching.

She stiffened a little. “You told them how to handle a novice… How did you know I’d let you…?”

“I didn’t, pet.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “Both Daniel‘s and Melissa’s subs are new to public scening.”

“Oh.”

Lowering her head, she whispered into his shoulder, “I was so embarrassed.”

“I know.” His hand cradled the back of her head; his steady heartbeat under her ear was comforting. “I could tell. You were also excited by it.”

She stiffened. Surely not. All those eyes, staring at her, at her naked breasts, her… A shiver ran through her. Damn him for knowing. “A little, maybe.”

“Mmmhmm.”

“You let…let someone else touch me.” The shock of that still reverberated through her.

“I did. Why do you suppose I would allow that?”

What was this, a test? But she was too comfortable, too exhausted for outrage. Why did he? “To give me more…stimulation?”

“Good.” He kissed the top of her head. “That was one reason. But I might not have taken that method with a different sub. Why you?”

He had done that just for her? But… She froze as the answer came to her. “Because of the way I reacted at the playroom. The two men.”

“You were aroused at the idea then. And once you moved past being horrified, you were aroused by Cullen’s hands on you.”

Oh, God, she had been. “Doesn’t that bother you? To share?”

He huffed a laugh. “I find I am more possessive with you than normal. But what kind of a master would I be if I know you want to experience something, and I don’t make it happen?”

He’d done that for her? She felt his arms around her as she thought about it. How it had felt when Sir’s hands had been on her and another man’s mouth on her breasts. A disconcerting hint of arousal unfurled inside her. She’d liked having two men. Oh, she had. How many bewildering revelations about her was Sir going to uncover?

“Am I supposed to say thank you?” she grumbled.

“Eventually, I think you will,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Why Cullen?”

“You like him, pet. Having a true stranger touch you might have been too much to deal with afterward. At this point in time.”

And the unstated promise of more curled her toes and wiped out any words she could think to say.

“I was pleased you felt brave enough to volunteer, kitten. And I’m very pleased with you. You trusted me enough to let go, to take care of you; that is the building block for everything.” He kissed her so gently; she felt tears in her eyes. “It’s unusual for circumstances to toss a person into this so quickly. You’re a strong woman.”

She huffed out a breath. “I don’t feel very strong right now.”

“No. And that’s why we will simply sit here and watch the world go by for a time.”

“We’ve already been here quite a while,” she guessed, watching his eyes for confirmation. “Shouldn’t you be out and checking on things?”

He bundled her back against his chest, his voice a rumble in her ear. “You, pet, are more important than things.”

And he held her.

Eventually she sat up again. “I’m ready to move.”

“And so you shall.” He folded the blanket back from her shoulders.

Cool air brushed over her naked breasts, and she squeaked, covering herself. With a low laugh, he picked up her nightie and slid it over her head. After fastening her halter top behind her neck, he adjusted her breasts with sure hands, as if he had the right to touch her so easily.

“You’re blushing again.” He held a finger to her cheek, eyes narrowing. “After everything I did in the -”

She put her hand over his mouth, trying to silence him.

“My fingers were in more intimate places than your breasts,” he whispered, ignoring her hand. The jerk. “As was my mouth, my lips, and my tongue.”

The memory of the way she’d shattered the last time, under just his hands and mouth, sent warmth pooling back into her groin. “You are impossible.”

His lips curved under her fingers. “And you were very loud.”

Oh, God, she had been. She pressed her forehead into his shoulder, hiding her face. “How can I ever face anyone here again?” she moaned. “They saw -”

He took her shoulders, pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Kitten, many of the subs here have done a public scene.”

“That doesn’t help.” Every private place on her body had been on display.

“Up we go,” he said briskly, setting her on her feet. He tossed the blanket over the back of the couch. When she smoothed her too-short skirt down, she realized she wasn’t wearing anything at all underneath it.

“I think you deserve a drink, don’t you?” He tucked an arm around her as he strolled her to the bar. She really did love how he kept her so close to him, as if he was proud of her.

Cullen was there, and she froze, still a few feet from the bar. He’d touched her, sucked on her breasts. Sir’s arm urged her forward, but her feet wouldn’t move. She looked up at Sir, shook her head.

He sighed; his gaze met Cullen’s. Cullen had been watching them. Oh, God.

Sir tilted his head toward her, and she tried to back away, but the grip that had been so gentle was now a steel band around her waist.

Cullen came around the bar. She stared at the floor, blinked when his big boots appeared in her field of vision. “Jessica.”

She couldn’t move. His laugh boomed out. A callused hand caught her chin, forced her gaze up. “Don’t panic, love. Since you are Master Z’s sub, I can only touch you with his permission, and I can see that won’t be happening often at all. He only let me play because you needed the extra sensations to take you over the top.”

And because Sir knew that she was turned on by the thought of two men. Surely Cullen wouldn’t know that.

He grinned at her, a slash of white in a brawler’s face. “I thoroughly enjoyed touching you, pet, but you don’t need to run from me. Are we clear on that?”

She nodded, unsure why she’d been so frightened.

“If you’d permit, Z, I’d like a hug from your sub to know I’m forgiven and we’re all right again.” He stepped back.

Sir murmured, “Permitted,” and his restraining arm dropped away.

Cullen held his arms out. Waited. His eyes had that look that Sir’s got, the unspoken command.

Okay. She liked Cullen; he’d only been nice to her. And…okay. With a breath, she took the one step to him, felt his arms come around her, very different than Sir’s, but comforting just the same. He was so tall; her head only came to the center of his chest. He squeezed her once, let her go.

“There.” He tapped her cheek with a finger. “All better. Now, what can I get you to drink?”