Assumed Master (18 page)

"It hurts, Master," she whimpered,
scrunching her nose up and taking her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Breathe through it. Relax."

Julie closed her eyes and did as he
instructed. She breathed deeply through her nose and blew it out easily through
her mouth, willing her muscle to turn loose. When she let go, the plug slid
into place with a pop and the ache receded, replaced by the most intense,
urgent pleasure as the vibrator set the plug to jiggling inside her, touching
virgin nerves, setting them on fire with need.

"Oh, God, Master," she whispered,
pressing her hips up only to be reminded she was restrained and could go no
further. "Please…"

Dante simply chuckled over a moan and slapped
her exposed ass cheek which only served to drive Julie that much closer to another
ripping orgasm. When he took the end of the dildo and ran it in and out of her
a few times, it was her undoing and before she could ask permission, she flew
apart, screaming her release until she was breathless, a shaking, sweaty mass
of limp muscles and burning tissue.

She was still twitching when she opened her
eyes to see Dante raised up on his knees, his cock in hand, stroking himself at
a rapid pace over her slick, clutching pussy and Blake’s open mouth. He grabbed
her calf with his free hand and postured, his back running rigid as he spurted
hot streams of cum across Blake’s waiting tongue and her pussy, marking them
both.

With nothing but the sound of their breathing
filling the air, Julie watched as Dante turned her loose and moved off Blake,
making room for him to escape from beneath him. After he removed the toys from
her and tossed them to the side, he tugged the ropes holding her legs and they
fell to her sides, tired and rubbery. He rolled to his back and wrapped his arm
around one of her legs as Blake scooted up and rested his head on her thigh.

A half hour later, they were all relatively
clean, lying in a tangled heap of tired bodies. For the first time, Julie was
in the middle. She faced Dante, resting her head on his chest with Blake curled
around her back, already snoring.

"I know I should have trusted you,"
she mumbled, rubbing Dante's pecs with her palm.

"Do you now?" he answered, stifling
a yawn.

"Yes. I didn’t realize until tonight
Mason controlled me sexually but not in my day to day affairs. He let me decide
a lot of things, probably some things I should have been told not to do. You
gave me choices tonight. You let me figure out my limits. It’s the same but
different somehow. I wasted a lot of time being afraid for no reason."

"We’ll see how you feel the first time I
push your boundaries," Dante said over a low laugh. "And, love,"
he said more seriously. "I will push them and I will tell you no."

Chapter Fifteen

"How’s it coming in there?" Dante
called from the bathroom.

"It’s coming, Master," Julie
answered, pulling a black stocking up over her knee and smoothing it out along
her thigh before securing it to her garter belt. "I’m sorry if I’m lagging."

"No worries," he said, his
reflection appearing in the full length mirror Julie stood in front of, one
foot on the ottoman as she snapped the last clasp in place. "No pressure. How
are you feeling about tonight?"

"I’m okay so far." Smiling at him,
she put her foot back on the floor and turned into him. "I think it was a
good idea to get out of town to do this. Try some new things, meet new people.
How do I look, Master?" Julie asked, spinning for him.

Dante let go of a low whistle. "Very nice
indeed, love. Can’t wait to rip it all back off you."

Julie couldn’t believe how fast the week had
flown by. It was already Friday and Allen’s party would be starting in about an
hour. She had to admit was a daunting
prospect
even
though she was excited about it. She knew she was ready. Dante had been more
than patient with her all week, allowing her to test her limits, say so if she
was uncomfortable with anything, slowing down if necessary until she found
balance. And bless Allen. He’d been there, too, watching, coaching, and
stepping in with advice if he felt it necessary. As a result, Julie's eyes had
been opened to a whole new world of possibilities and although she still
thought of Mason often and still loved him, her love for Dante and Blake had
grown exponentially over the past few days and the hole in her heart was much
smaller.

Julie had come to see Dante was right about
one thing. Mason found her a broken woman, but strong nonetheless. Strong in
ways she never really acknowledged until now.

A wave of something akin to a bit of guilt
swept over her heart as she wondered if Mason would have approved of her new
found self. Dante must have sensed it.

"Hey, you sure you’re okay?" Dante
asked, running his hands up and down her almost bare back, her laces tangling
around his nimble fingers.

"Yes, Master," she answered, her
voice muffled against his chest. "I guess I'm a bit nervous. Feels almost
like first time jitters." A squeaky laugh floated out of her and her
throat clenched so tightly it hurt.

"If you’re not ready…"

"I need to do this, Master," Julie
assured him, pulling back and taking a deep breath. "I want to. I want to
be normal again. Well, our normal anyway. Are we normal? Is any of this normal…
"
She put her fingertips to her temples and rubbed, shaking
her head.
"Rambling.
You know how I am. Jesus H…maybe
I'm a little bit afraid."

"Look at me, Jules." He took her
chin between his fingers and lifted her face. "I won’t leave you to the
wolves, love. No one expects anything of you. You only have to say the word.
Orchid and it all stops and we come upstairs. Understand? It’s okay. Fear is a
good thing. Remember?"

"I know. I know." Taking a deep,
shaky breath, she reached out and squeezed his other hand. "Thank you."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

As he leaned in to kiss her, Julie warmed to
his touch. If nothing else, this week sealed the fact she was living proof it
was possible to love more than one person in a lifetime, at a time. And Blake
was correct when he explained to her that no two loves were quite the same.

"Need help with your laces?" he
asked, pulling back and touching their foreheads.

"Of course she does," Blake piped up
from the doorway. "She’s not an acrobat, after all. How would she lace
herself up?"

"I used to be an acrobat," Julie
argued, moving out of Dante’s arms.
"Long ago and far
away.
When my knees didn’t creak and crack and my wrists didn’t ache
from hours of working on texts."

"Well, love, we all used to be acrobats.
Only some of us understand we’re not anymore." Dante motioned for her to
turn once she had the corset secured to her front so he could begin cinching
her up. "Isn’t that right, slave? Did you drink your joint juice this
morning?"

"Yes, Master, I did," Blake
answered, rolling his eyes. "Which black skirt are you wearing, pumpkin?"

"I thought about the suede," Julie
said, questioning her choice now that she saw the look on Blake’s face.
"But maybe the leather?"

"Definitely the leather," Dante
said, working the lacings tighter and tighter.

An hour later, Dante led Julie down the grand
staircase, followed closely by Blake. For a moment, Julie was taken back to a
time almost twenty years ago. The first time she attended a play party had been
at Allen’s.
The party where she met Mason.
She remembered
that dreadful dress Blake helped her pick out and how hot it was that July. The
humidity hung so thick for the entire month one would have thought they were in
London for it laying in the lowlands like fog at certain times of the day. As
she looked down at all the people mingling, people she didn’t know and was
relieved wouldn’t judge her for moving on, her throat grew dry and taut. Before
she let her nerves get the best of her, Mason’s voice drifted through her mind,
reminding her of a few important things.

"Dante
is safe. He won’t force you. You know that. I chose him for a reason.
 
You’re such a smart woman and so funny. You
deserve to be happy. You remember how to do this. Be safe, angel."

A shiver made its way up her spine and settled
at her nape setting the tiny hairs there on end. There was no way Mason was
talking to her now. Julie knew within reason she was reassuring herself of
those things, just as he would have if he were here. The fact that she told
herself those things in his voice was a bit unnerving. She made a mental note
not to do that anymore. It was spooky.

Taking a deep breath, she squeezed Dante’s
forearm, hoping he didn’t notice how damp her palm was which was about as likely
as the moon turning purple.

"Take another breath, love." He
tucked her fingertips in his palm and squeezed. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, Master," she answered,
doing as instructed, drawing a cleansing breath and counting to ten as they
stepped off the landing to the main floor, Blake a couple of steps behind
Dante. Before she had time to change her mind and run back upstairs, Dante led
them into the crowd.

"Good evening," Allen greeted in the
foyer with a crooked smile. "You look delicious, Julie."

"Thank you, Master Allen. It’s nice to be
back," Julie said, hanging on to Dante’s forearm for dear life. "It’s
a good feeling to feel pretty and wanted again."

Truth be told, this was the boys’ first party since
October. In essence, they were back as well. Carving out time for fun and games
was a trick in and of itself sometimes. With the boys turning seventeen it was
harder and harder to carve out time. Dante and Blake were as forthcoming and
honest as they thought appropriate for the twins’ age, but there were still
limits on how much they would allow them to be privy to or see. Once they were
eighteen, as many answers as they wanted would be afforded, but for now seeing
the trio in full party regalia was still taboo. It was then a disheartening
thought hit Julie fully in the gut. What if Gav was having a play party
all his own in Vermont
?

"What is it, love?" Dante asked
,
pulling her to the side and tilting her chin up to look in
her eyes. "Second thoughts now that we’re down here?"

"No, Master. I just had the most horrible
thought. What if Gavril is having as much sex this week as we are?" she
gushed. "What if the neighbor man’s right and I’m a freak and I rubbed off
on them and…"

"
Jules,
stop,"
Dante commanded. "Slow down and take a breath, woman."

Julie started to shake and Blake directed them
toward an alcove off the main room where Dante sat her on a bench then squatted
in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"Look at me," he said, when her eyes
darted everywhere but toward his he got a little more firm with her. "I
said, look at me.
Now."

Her head flew up and she concentrated on his
eyes, letting him draw her in. "I’m sorry, Master," she said, sucking
in air like it would all disappear if she didn’t.

"No, don’t be sorry, just listen to me.
We’ve done the best we can with the boys. Would anything have stopped you at
that age?"

Julie’s heart thumped as she shook her head. "No,
Master, but I wasn’t a very good kid. Our kids are good kids…"

"Exactly.
They’re great kids. They’ll do things we
don’t want them to, but they’re as equipped as they can possibly be. You did a
great job with Gav. He knows what to do when and if the time comes. You have to
trust in that and let it go." Dante ran his thumb over her quivering chin
then cupped her face. "And you’re not a freak. I think what a freak is, is
a matter of perception. I think the asshole next door’s a freak, he thinks
we’re freaks. Who’s right, who’s wrong? Does it matter? As long as we’re happy,
fuck what they think."

"I just remember how cruel the world can
be for kids. I don’t want to cause them any undue stress or hurt."

"
Jules,
love.
Those boys worship the ground you walk on. I’d venture to say they’d kick the
shit out of anyone that thought ill of you or tried to say anything bad. You’re
their mother."

"Okay…okay, it’ll be okay then.
Right?"
Julie took another deep breath and the uneasy
feeling in the pit of her stomach eased.

"Right.
And this is our last night of vacation. Let’s
enjoy it and not spend it worrying about all that shit back home. Okay?"

"Yes, Master. No more obsessing."

"Good," Dante said, standing and
pulling her back to her feet.

As they started walking around the ballroom
toward the French doors that led outside, although a part of her heart twisted
at the absence of Mason, something inside Julie felt as though she'd come home.
The sight of naked subs running through the rooms in what would be useless
attempts at outrunning their Doms, the smell of leather and latex, cologne and
sex, the sounds of whips coming down on heated flesh. All of it settled across
her as though a long lost friend had been rediscovered and a gentle, almost
nostalgic, happiness enveloped her, holding the heart ache and worry at bay.