dakota_trace_his_christmas_gift_myrnas (4 page)

“I’m sorry, Master Alastar. It was my disbelief
speaking. I’d never accuse you of lying to me.” She held her breath while she
waited to see if he’d accept her apology.

For a long moment, she thought he was going to reject
her heartfelt apology when finally his mouth relaxed.

“Accepted.”

She ducked her head in relief. It was to be
short-lived.

“But the next time you call me a liar, slave, I will
bend you over and warm your delicious backside.” He lifted her chin to look
into her eyes. “Do you understand?” His grip was firm on her chin, not allowing
her to look away from his all knowing eyes.

“Yes, Master Alastar.” Her reply was barely audible,
but as close as their bodies were, she knew he’d heard it.

“Good.” He slowly released her face. “Now, for you to
observe in the main room, there are two options. You must wear the silver
inlaid cuffs all of our new trainees wear or have me in attendance. The choice
is up to you.”

She nibbled on her lip.
Was he rethinking his
decision to my earlier offer because Lord knows I don’t want to be mistaken for
a newbie!
Hope blossomed inside of her. “I’d love to have your…”

She was shocked when he held up a hand to stop her.
“Think carefully before you finish that sentence. If you ask for my escort,
I’ll assume you wish to take me up on my earlier offer.”

The hope which had begun to bloom withered away.
He’s
such a bastard when he doesn’t get what he wants.

“So what’s it going to be?” His voice was cool as if
her answer wouldn’t affect him one way or the other.

“I’ll take the cuffs.”

He nodded impassively as if her decision hadn’t
mattered. “Master Simon?”

Her eyes flew towards the other man. She’d totally
forgotten him once Amery had entered the room, and her disregard of a Master –
any Master scared her.

A faint tremble quivered within her when Amery took
the cuffs from Simon’s outstretched hand. She watched as he calmly locked the
fur lined silver cuffs around her wrists.

“There you are, slave.”

Her chest tightened as he slowly straightened. Any
familiarity she’d hoped to find in his expression was missing.
Where has my
friend gone to? Have I lost him?

As if he could read her mind, he gave a gruff
response. “I’ll always be here for you, Myrna.”

Relief flooded her. She nodded before standing to
leave. She was nearing the door when she felt his presence behind her. “We’ll
always be friends, but perhaps you’ll reconsider the status of friendship once
you remember what drew you to this lifestyle.”

She stiffened. “Why do you say that?”

“Because once you get the itch - you’ll want it
scratched. So you might want to reconsider my offer, slave.”

She closed her eyes in disbelief.
He’s such a
stubborn man. Never knows when to give up.
“Amery, please…”

He ignored her plea. “I will as soon as you give me
what I want.”

A soft moan built in her throat and she yanked open
the door. She had to get away from him before she did something as stupid as
fall at his feet and beg him to let her serve him.

Chapter Three

After following Myrna from the office, Amery leaned
against the bar with a bottle of water in one hand and watched as his brave
little Myrna took her first tentative steps back into their world. When she
approached the mahogany railing separating the bar area from the lower
play-area, his breath caught in his throat.
Would she do it?
Her
hesitant steps as she first started then stopped, before starting again was a
testament of how much she was struggling with her fear.
Come on,
m’gnogag,
you can do it. Just take a peek. I need you to remember how beautiful
submission can be.

As if she heard him, she took three quick steps to
reach the railing. Her hands wrapped around the polished wood until he was sure
she’d left imprints in its satiny surface. More than anything, he wanted to go
to her - to be the one to be at her side as she faced her past for the first
time; to be her rock. When she swayed slightly, he jerked. Setting down his
water bottle with a thud, he was getting ready to rescue her when the heavy
clap of a hand fell on his shoulder.

“Don’t. You’ve got to let her do it. This first step
has to be hers and hers alone.”

Glancing over his shoulder to see Simon, he was
tempted to shrug off the restraining hand and sweep in to rescue Myrna, but he
knew the other man was right.

Amery gritted his teeth while watching Myrna steady
herself. “It’s hard.”

“A wise man once told me that the hardest part of
caring for a submissive was allowing her to stand on her own two feet when
faced with adversity. All a Dom can do is be there to catch her if she
stumbles.” Simon gave his shoulder a squeeze. “You have to let her try to face
her demons.”

If he hadn’t been so worried about Myrna, Amery
would’ve laughed at Simon’s words. The scamp had no problem with tossing
Amery’s own words back in his face.

“Tell that wise man he’s full of shit.”

Simon’s laughter rolled over him while he continued
to squeeze the water bottle in his hand.

“Well I’ve thought that more than once, but he’s been
right too many times for me to disregard his advice.”

Amery jerked his gaze away from Myrna to focus on
Simon. Even as he worried about Myrna, a reluctant wave of pride washed over
him. Next to Caelan, Simon was his biggest success. Under Amery’s guidance, the
angry young man who’d been looking at violence as his only outlet had matured
into a well-trained and experienced Dom. He'd never been prouder than the day
Simon had finally tapped into the dark violence within, using it to give
ultimate pleasure. More than one sub had experienced the change firsthand under
Simon’s lash.

“I suppose there might be some truth in that – so why
am I fighting the urge to ignore my own advice?”

Simon slid onto the seat next to Amery. “Because this
isn’t some nameless sub you’re applying your advice to. This is Myrna – the sub
you’ve been waiting for as long as any of us can remember. All your good advice
or intentions have fallen by the wayside. Your objectivity, if you ever had any
with her, is gone.”

Amery glared at him.
Have I been that obvious?
“So
exactly what are you trying to say, Simon? That everyone knows how I feel about
her?”

Simon shook his head. “Only those few of us who
remember her from her time in the lifestyle back then.”

A throaty feminine voice filled Alastar’s ear. “So
who is it we’re remembering?”

Amery stiffened.
Ah, hell, there’s no way she can
be here – not that little tyrant. The last time I saw her was at Nisey’s
collaring ceremony. She can’t be here – fate isn’t that cruel!
Even as he
denied it, he knew Fate could be a really cruel bitch and wasn’t above sending
the bane of his existence to torment him.

“Myrna,” Simon the traitor, said helpfully.

“Where?” The eager sound which escaped the little
Domme had him wincing.

Amery groaned before turning to face Bozka “Olivia”
Metjka. She was perched on the seat on the opposite side of Simon. Her youthful
body was clad in the dark leathers cupping her slender legs, an indigo corset
which made her tiny waist seem smaller, and a pair of knee high black
high-heeled boots. With her dark hair braided away from her face and a
mischievous but dominant pout gracing her pink lips, Olivia was definitely a
force to be reckoned with. Deep in the pit of his stomach, Amery knew she was
here to cause him trouble. She wouldn’t be able to resist. He swore over half
of the silver hairs he possessed were courtesy of the little spitfire who’d
just made herself at home against the bar.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared for the worst.
“Olivia, don’t you dare…”

She met his eyes before giving him a glimmer of a
smile. “Don’t what? Do you honestly think I’m going to scare Myrna off?
Especially, after it’s taken this long for her to work up the nerve to enter a
club? I doubt she’d even be doing this if weren’t for Caelan bringing Nisey to
visit in just a few weeks. Despite that fact, I’m not sadistic enough to
jeopardize your long awaited chance to claim her.”

Shock rolled over Amery.
How the hell had she
found out?
He was still gaping at her when she pushed away from the bar.

“With that being said, I’m going to wander over and
say hi to her. She looks like she could use a little bit of feminine company,
especially considering the vultures circling her.”

Amery spun in his seat to see that in the few minutes
he’d been distracted by Olivia, indeed three of the younger Doms had moved
closer to Myrna. They were still a good ten feet away, but he knew it wouldn’t
be long and they’d approach her. A submissive never was alone long. He watched
as Olivia joined Myrna at the railing. His breath caught as he waited for an
adverse reaction.

 When there was none, he turned back to bar. His
fingers clenched tightly around the half empty bottle of water. More than
anything he wanted to be the one standing next to Myrna – offering her his
protection as a Dom. It was all he could do to stay seated. He wrestled with
his need for her in contrast to what the responsible Dom in him was supposed to
do.
Dammit, I can’t. Not until she accepts what comes with my protection. I
won’t force her into a relationship with me, even though I know I could. After
what she’s been through, it has to be her choice. No Dom worth his salt ever
forces a sub into a relationship.

His hands trembled slightly as he opened the bottle
of water to take another swig while he tried to rein in his inner Dom.

* * * *

Trying to keep her breathing even, Myrna glanced down
at the play area without really focusing on anything. She could vaguely hear
the sounds of flesh being struck, the breathy pleas of the submissives and firm
commands of the Masters. What scared her was the fact it felt as if it were
coming from a distance. The sights and sounds were having no effect on her.
Panic flared bright and hot.
Am I doomed?
Why can’t I connect with
what’s going on down there? I want to at least remember what it was I found so
compelling about being dominated. Faced with this, all I feel is an
overwhelming need to run away.

Growing more agitated with her indecision, she was
just getting ready to fling herself away from the rail when a shadow fell
across her hands. Her attention was jerked away from her lack of response
towards what once would’ve sent her careening along the razor-sharp edge of
pleasure to the person standing at her side. She turned, fully prepared to
blast Amery into next week, only to find a slender woman in his place. Her eyes
narrowed thoughtfully as she tried to place the woman.

“If I were any other Domme, I would have you punished
for your direct look, sub.” The Domme crossed her arms over her chest before
leaning against the rail on her hip without taking her attention from the scene
going on below.

The combination of the woman’s stance and the
authority in her voice with its throaty rumble tugged on Myrna’s memory until
she finally placed the woman. She found her own voice and her response wasn’t
in the submissive tone she knew the woman would be expecting.

“That threat might have worked if I hadn’t wiped your
snotty nose, Bozka.”

The brunette head slowly turned to stare at her. If
Myrna had been any other submissive she would’ve fallen to her knees and begged
for the woman’s forgiveness. The frosty look in the Domme’s eyes did little to
faze her though.

“You
do
believe in living dangerously don’t you,
malý matka
?”

A warm fuzzy contentment washed away the cold dread
she’d been feeling since she’d entered the club at Olivia’s endearment.
Little
mother
. She hadn’t heard that phrase in years. It did what no amount of
coaxing on Amery’s part or building pressure from Caelan’s upcoming visit could
do: it relaxed her.

“It’s never dangerous,
holčička,
when
one loves you as I do.” Without hesitation Myrna lifted her hand to the woman,
touching her cheek. It was hard to believe the grown woman in front of her had
been like a daughter to her: her
holčička – her little girl.
The training Amery had given Olivia had shaped the younger woman into a woman
Myrna barely recognized. She couldn’t have been more proud. The scared vagabond
she’d caught trying to pick her pocket was long gone.
If I didn’t know
better, I’d never relate that scamp to the confident woman standing next to me.

Her eyes misted when a rare smile crossed Olivia’s
sensual lips. “Very true. It’s good to see you
.
This has been a long
time coming.” She gestured to the play area below. “I thought I’d never see the
day you’d willingly enter a club again.”

Myrna shrugged. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Who?  Your son, or the man who’s been waiting for
you?” Olivia’s soft prompt had Myrna tensing. She honestly didn’t have an
answer to that question. She might be in denial but she had eyes in her head.
She’d seen the speculative looks Amery had given her for years. It was as if
he’d been merely biding his time, waiting for something – some small word,
gesture or clue Myrna was ready to once more rejoin his world – no, their
shared world. She had to be honest with herself. This dark sensual world had
once been hers despite her current fears.