In His Cuffs (18 page)

By slow measures, she uncurled her fingers and looked at him. “Thank you, Sir.”

This woman was tough, all right. “They won’t seem as bad in a while.” Until he yanked on them. By then, he hoped she was so far gone in her delirium that she would be able to ignore the pain in favour of its crashing arousal.

With his foot, he slid an exercise mat towards her. “Kneel and present your ass for my plug.”

“Of course, Mr Tomlinson,” she whispered.

Her movements were beautiful as she stepped onto the mat and knelt. After a glance at him, she lowered herself the rest of the way to the floor, her ass high in the air. He noticed she didn’t flatten her breasts. He’d see to that in a minute. “Reach back and spread your ass cheeks for me, Maggie.” That forced her to adjust her position a bit, and she yelped.

He kept her waiting while he lubed the piece. He drizzled the excess liquid into the crack between her ass cheeks before teasing her tightest entrance with the blunt end of the plug. “I love doing this to you,” he said. “Stretching you. That’s it, bear down.”

She relaxed her muscles and he inserted the piece a bit more before pulling it out.

“I’ve never had a glass plug before.”

“What do you think?”

“It doesn’t give,” she said around a grunt as he proceeded to push it back in.

“Not like silicone,” he agreed. “Neither does stainless, but this is bigger than the one I used on you at the Den since I intend to fuck you up your ass later.”

She shuddered and released her grip on her butt cheeks.

“Compose yourself at once,” he snapped.

“
Aww.
God! Sorry, Mr Tomlinson.”

“Better,” he said when she was back in position. Then showing no mercy, deciding to get it over with, he shoved it the rest of the way in with a gentle but firm glide.

She panted and yelped.

“It’s in. Feel free to stop the dramatics.” Avoiding her hands, he gave her right buttock a sharp smack to reinforce his words.

He stood and walked around her, admiring the way she looked with her ass in the air, a plug protruding from her anus. Her body was all feminine curves and beauty. “When you’re ready, please take your place at the wall.”

Her motions were exaggeratedly slow as she stood. The plug and the clamps hampered her movements. That her interest in BDSM matched his was the stuff of fantasies. After Sandy, he’d given up the hope of finding someone who would complement him in bed as well as out of it.

He attached her cuffs to the hooks, spreading her body wide. “Would you like a gag or would you rather scream the house down?”

“Those are big words, Mr Tomlinson.”

“I’ll back them up.” He’d heard the teasing note in her retort. Interesting that he already recognised the difference in her tone when something was bothering her and when she was goading him to give her everything she wanted. “Lower your head and open your mouth.”

She drew her eyebrows together but did as she was told. He picked up the chain that dangled between her clamps and placed it between her teeth. “Don’t let go.”

Her eyes were wide. Every movement would drag on the chain. He hoped it would be an experience she’d never forget. “How are you doing, sub?” he asked, tucking wayward strands of her hair behind her ears.

She murmured something, turning her cheek against his hand for comfort.

He stepped away from her, and she tracked him with her gaze. In that position, she was hobbled and gagged and about to endure something he was willing to bet she’d never dealt with before.

David picked up his flogger and approached her. “Let go of that chain at any time to signal that the scene is too much.”

In his cuffs, she formed a circle with her thumb and index finger, indicating everything was okay. “I’ll start slow.”

With a back-and-forth flicking motion, he flogged her belly and pelvis, shifting his stance so he could catch her already-swollen labia.

She moaned and pulled against the restraints, but she didn’t release the chain, and she kept her hand curled in the same position.

He fell into a rhythm as he went up and down her lower torso. She closed her eyes in total surrender. He continued with the same motions, using more or less the same amount of pressure, letting her know what to expect. This was about nothing other than her pleasure.

Then, wanting to strike her breasts with more force and not worry about touching her face, he transferred the multi-strand whip to his left hand. “Let it go,” he told her, reaching for the chain.

She did and said, “Thank you.”

“Your manners are exquisite.” He resumed the beating with more vigour, searing her breasts and jostling the clamps to the point she whimpered from the pain.

Her face flushed and perspiration covered her body.

“You’ve got some beautiful marks,” he said. “You may not see them by Monday, but you’ll enjoy them for the rest of the night and, I’m guessing, all of tomorrow.” He hadn’t paused, and she hadn’t asked him to. Rather, she’d allowed her head to rest against the slats behind her.

Was Maggie nearing subspace again, and so fast?

Damn, her ability to shove aside everything else, but the moment astounded him. He understood how this could be cathartic to her, satisfying her in a way that exercise did for him. No wonder she looked forward to her outings at the Den. Subspace wasn’t a vague idea to her, it was a destination she headed for.

He kept her there for a while, criss-crossing her body and leaving behind vivid streaks of red. She allowed the restraints to take more of her weight as she leaned into the lashing. He spoke to her non-stop, and two minutes after her last verbal response, he eased off, lengthening the time between blows and softening the impact. “Stay where you are,” he told her. “I’ve got you.”

After tossing aside the flogger, he unfastened her ankles, then released her wrists. Her body sagged, and he caught her in his embrace, carrying her up the stairs to the living room. Still holding her, he sat on the couch. He debated what to do about her clamps before deciding to leave them in place. Soon they’d become uncomfortable enough for her to remove them herself.

Smoothing her hair and holding her tight, he matched her breathing. Then, when they were in synch, he led her into a shallower pattern.

She began to stir. He couldn’t make out her first words, but it didn’t matter. Before long, she reached for the clamps, but she lacked the fine motor skills to release the tips. He brushed aside her hands and removed both at the same time.

“Yowzer,” she said, punctuating the word with a short yelp.

“Welcome back.”

“You’re worse than an alarm clock,” she told him. “I’m hitting the snooze button.”

He grinned as she settled against him again.

She was quiet for so long, he began to wonder if she was asleep. A few minutes later she said, “That was spectacular.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. So did I. No real lingering pain from the beating?”

“Not at all. My body feels like it’s glowing,” she said. “This might sound odd, but I’m relaxed, and I’m invigorated at the same time.”

“Go on.”

“I don’t go there all the time, but I like to. You’re particularly skilled at what you do.” She looked at him. “I think I had my eyes closed during the flogging.”

“You did.”

“It’s strange.”

She stopped and started, explaining things in fragments, and he allowed her to talk at her own pace without interruption.

“Once I stop fighting, let my body accept it, everything seemed brighter. Not just light, but a blinding white. Sounds… They seem to be a million miles away. I hear you when you say my name. But otherwise… The real world has no distinction. I guess it’s like being in a swimming pool.” She was silent before adding. “Thank you for the experience.”

“Pleasing you matters to me, Maggie mine.”

She was quiet again for a long time, and he skimmed a thin red stripe that marred her shoulder.

“I think I should buy stock in a company that manufactures arnica.”

“I don’t mind skipping it.”

“Sorry. That’s not an option.”

“I want to keep a couple of marks so I can remember the experience.”

And get her through the time to the next scene? “We can talk about that. But I won’t have you walking around with painful bruises.”

“Spoilsport, Mr Tomlinson.”

“A Dom, Ms Carpenter. Your Dom.”

She exhaled a long-suffering sigh and protested, “Just because you have me in a collar—”

“And cuffs.”

“And cuffs,” she repeated.

“And in my house.”

“Are you done yet?” She pursed her lips. “None of that means you get to boss me around.”

“Yes. I’m afraid it does.”

She looked up and dug her hand into his hair. It was her first real, intimate gesture, and it meant something powerful to him. She trailed her fingers down his cheekbone and settled on his chin. “You’re insufferable, Sir.”

Insufferable enough, evidently, for her to move her hand lower to stroke his biceps.

“I’m glad,” she admitted.

He raised his eyebrows.

“There’s a certain comfort in that,” she said. “Which I wouldn’t admit if I hadn’t had that wonderful experience. If you bring it up again, I’ll deny I said it.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.”

“Keep that arm in flogging order for me, will you?”

“Your wish is my command, princess.”

“Do you need arnica for your wrist?”

“After your next spanking, I might.” He upended her, tossing her over his lap.

“You wouldn’t!” She brought her hands back to protect her butt.

He swatted them aside, and before she could protest, he plucked the plug from her anus.

“That was diabolical.”

“That averted a pointless debate,” he countered. He eased her from his lap and went into the powder room. He brought back a washcloth and cleansed her before returning to the bathroom.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get over you doing that for me,” she confessed as he sat next to her and held her close again, mindful that she didn’t catch a chill now that her body was cooling.

“You said that as if you think you have any say in the matter.”

“Mr Tomlinson—”

“Master,” he corrected. “Master David.” In his arms, she froze. Time seemed to teeter on a precipice of disaster.

“I… Ah…”

He breathed out and the moment lurched forwards.

“You have no issue with using the title when you address Master Damien, or other Doms for that matter. I won’t demand it of you, but when you’re ready to show the courtesy, it will be well-received.”

“I’m not sure what to say. I mean no disrespect, but Mr Tomlinson seems unique and fitting.” She raised her palms as if beseeching him to understand. “It’s what I call you. To me, it is a term of respect. At the beginning…” She looked away. “Damn, I feel bad saying this… In the beginning, maybe it wasn’t. But it is now. When we’re alone, it’s…” She seemed to stumble for the word. “Different. I’m not making myself understood, but the distinction is clear in my mind.”

“I concede your point.”

“But it still matters to you?”

“I’ll give it some consideration.”

She scooted onto her knees and kissed him. Who knew this side of Maggie even existed? “I’m curious, with the way you want to be dominated, why aren’t you in a permanent BDSM relationship?”

“It’s complicated. All relationships are, right? I love my work, and since I joined the firm, a lot of my time has been taken up with that. Most men in my social circle are scandalised by any suggestion that I want to be hurt in any way. Doms… You can be a demanding bunch. I’m not sure I’m up for the constant battle. I want my kink in the bedroom, so I participate in a series of scenes that I keep confined to weekends. That works best for me.”

“The event I’d been watching you mark off on your desk calendar. That was the night at the Den?”

“I had today circled, too,” she said.

That pumped up his ego. A nice change from the way she usually deflated it. He thought about that calendar, with every detail of her life jotted in blue ink. “Is there a date circled for your next outing?”

“I put the ladies’ nights on there as soon as Gregorio sends the announcements,” she said. “Vanessa and I almost always go.”

The sensation of being knocked back a step was as unexpected as it was unwelcome. Did she have no regard for the fact he was human? “You won’t be attending.”

“Excuse me? That’s not part of our arrangement.”

“It is now.”

“Did your report cards in school have notes that you don’t play well with others?”

“Don’t tempt fate, Maggie,” he warned. No way was he turning her delectable ass over to another Dom for a beating. David wasn’t a possessive man, but from the moment he’d seen her as a submissive, he’d wanted her in his cuffs. “If I’m the one you’re turning to, I’ll make sure you want for nothing. Go out with your friends somewhere else.”

“I’m just looking for someone to spank me.”

“And you walked into my office and offered me the position.” He held her tighter. “Yield to me, Maggie mine.” For long moments, she kept herself stiff. “You don’t have to fight me on every issue.”

“I don’t want us to move too fast.”

“We’re not. We’re simply outlining where the boundaries are.”

Maggie remained where she was without pulling away, and that spoke volumes to him. That she continued to stay instead of choosing to go home when he suggested they light a fire in the outdoor pit as the sun set, spoke even louder.

“Sounds nice,” she said.

“I’ll get you one of my flannel shirts. And a refill on the wine?” He didn’t let his subs drink much, but over the course of the day, she’d hadn’t even consumed a full glass.

“No, thanks.”

He got her the shirt, and she rolled up the sleeves to her elbows. She only fastened the top button. Somehow, in his clothing, she looked smaller and more vulnerable. Something about Maggie made him want to wrap her up and protect her, fight her battles, see to her safety.

They went outside and she sat on a bench, knees pulled to her chest as she watched him place the wood and ignite it.

She scooted over and he sat next to her as the fire settled in.