Beyond 10 Nights (5 page)

“I want to leave,” Leah managed to
mumble through lips that were suddenly parched. She didn’t like the way the
people were staring at them, and the thought of being put on display was making
her stomach roil uncomfortably. Her hand tightened even further on his,
becoming a grip that would have been almost painful to most other people, and
she tried to pull back, wanting to leave.

She hadn’t used his title; that
above everything else let him know just how afraid she was. “Leah, we are going
to walk over to that couch and sit down,” he motioned with his eyes to the
couch he was talking about, “and you are going to calm down, that’s an order.”
He knew what she needed just then better than she did, and his tone was brusque
as he sought to break through her panic.

His caveman persona did the trick,
she relaxed enough to take a deep breath and let him lead her over to the
couch, where he sat and pointed to the floor in front of him. Startled she
lifted her eyes to his and waited for him to explain what it was he wanted.

“Kneel there for me.” He kept his
voice firm, wanting her to feel under his control. He knew that for her to make
it through her first night in the dungeon as his she needed a firm hand.

Awkwardly, she knelt in the spot he
had pointed to. Resting her hands on her thighs she attempted to keep her back
straight, like he had taught her. Lowering her eyes, she concentrated on her
breathing, which at that moment she was having a hard time keeping even. The
sounds that came to her from around the dungeon, ranging from pain to ecstasy,
found their way through her mental turmoil, despite her efforts to tune them
out.

He caressed the top of her head as
he watched the scenes before him. He had planned to scene with her that night,
but at that moment he wasn’t sure she was ready for it. The thought of her sexy
body on the cross as he showed her the pleasures of being flogged had his cock
twitching, and he knew if she didn't relax soon it was going to be a long night
for him.

As his eyes wandered around the
dungeon they came to the stairs, they widened as he saw an old friend from his
childhood and college days reach the foot of the stairs and stop just inside
the dungeon. They had discovered the lifestyle together as a diversion from
their studies, but it had been years since they had talked, and it was a
surprise to see his friend there.

Smiling when his friend noticed him,
Rhett motioned him over with his free hand. As his friend approached he got to
his feet, reaching out to shake his hand when he reached the couch.

“Damn good to see you, Rhett. What’s
it been, ten years?”

“Good to see you too, Alex,” Rhett
responded to his friend’s smile with a broad one of his own. “It must be at
least that. A phone call would have been nice! Or did you just decide to drop
in and surprise me?” Chuckling at the memories of their early days together in
the lifestyle, and the sessions they’d shared, he motioned for his friend to
join him on the couch.

“I would have called but had no idea
I would actually be free to come tonight. I managed to get some business
finished up early and figured now was the best opportunity I was going to get
to stop by and catch up.” Alex said, still smiling as he shook his thick mane
of blond hair. “You know how it is, businesses to buy, places to go. I’ve
barely had time to breathe these last few years, but I finally have things the
way I want them.”

Leah kept her eyes lowered as the
two men talked, wishing she could leave the dungeon and go back to the safety
of Rhett’s bedroom, or his study. It was one thing to be in the dungeon with
Rhett when it was just the two of them, but all the people around her were
making her nervous and she felt out of place, especially with his friend there.

“I’ve been keeping up with how
you’ve been getting on,” Rhett said, paying no attention to Leah, “and I have
to say, I’m extremely impressed.” The two of them had been inseparable during
their teenage years, not to mention all through college. He remembered that
every idiotic thing he had done in his youth had been a result of his
friendship with Alex. “So are you back in Chicago for a while?”

“Permanently,” Alex told his friend.
“I’ve moved back.  I see you’ve managed to keep things going in my
absence,” he observed as his eyes wandered around the dungeon, another smile
playing about his lips.

“Don’t tell me you finally acquired
it!” Rhett remembered clearly that Alex had vowed not to return to Chicago to live
until the day he gained control of the advertising firm he had worked for
straight out of college.

“Damn straight I did, and the first
thing I did was fire that self-righteous son-of-a-bitch."  The
self-righteous son-of-a-bitch in question was the man who had hired him, and
then fired him after discovering Alex had slept with his wife. It hadn’t
mattered that Alex didn't know the lady in question was his boss’s wife, or
that his boss hadn’t known his wife was a submissive.

Not only had he been fired, but he
had been humiliated, and his ex-boss had made it impossible for him to get a
job in the area, forcing him to leave the city. Because of that experience he
had had no qualms whatsoever with buying the company simply so he could get rid
of the man who had fired him.

“I assume since you said you’ve
moved back, that you’re going to run the company yourself?” He could only
imagine the satisfaction his friend had felt when firing the man who had made
life so difficult.

“I am.” Grinning broadly Alex stretched
one long arm over the back of the couch. “I’ve got one of my agents looking for
a new property, I’ll be glad to get out of the hotel, I hate staying in those
places for any length of time.”

“I have plenty of room here; why
don't you stay with me until you find something you want.” Rhett had no problem
with Alex living with him, they’d lived together for years in college; he
figured it would give them an opportunity to catch up properly as well.

“If you’re sure it’s no
inconvenience I’ll take you up on that. Damn sure beats living out of a hotel
for the next month.”

“None whatsoever, it will be great
having you here.” Movement, as Leah shifted to try and avoid discomfort,
reminded Rhett that she was there. “Alex, this is Leah.” Reaching his hand down
to her chin, he lifted her face so he could give her a smile.

Alex knew he hadn’t seen his friend
in many years, but he couldn’t remember Rhett ever introducing a submissive in
any way other than to call her his pet or slave. “Nice to meet you.” He nodded
his head in greeting before turning to look at Rhett, confusion in his eyes.

“Stand up, sweetheart.” Rhett knew
her knees were probably getting tired and sore since she wasn’t yet used to
kneeling for long periods of time. “Leah has agreed to be my wife,” he told his
friend.

Leah stood, grateful for the
opportunity; her legs trembling as the blood flow slowly returned to normal.
Once on her feet she found herself able to get a better look at her fiancé’s
friend. In her previous position she hadn’t been able to do much more than see
his legs.  Embarrassed to find herself thinking that he was quite
something to look at, she quickly lowered her gaze. “Nice to meet you, um,
Sir?” She turned to Rhett, hoping that calling his friend Sir had been the
right thing for to do.

Seeing the question in her face
Rhett remembered how new she was to his world and smiled encouragingly. “Yes,
sweetheart, when we’re in the dungeon you call every Master, Sir, and every
Mistress, Ma’am.”

“I take it she is very new to our
world?” Alex knew there was a story in the situation before him; his friend was
engaged to someone who appeared to be a complete novice in their world. The
story was almost certainly an intriguing one, and he looked forward to hearing
about it when the two of them were alone.

Running his eyes over the petite
figure standing before the two of them, he saw what had attracted his friend.
Leah was gorgeous, as close to physical perfection as it was possible for a
person to be. He could only imagine that her personality was equally perfect if
she had somehow claimed Rhett’s heart.

The feel of his eyes on her body
made Leah turn to Alex, but the look on his face made her quickly turn back to
Rhett. She didn’t like the way she was being eyed so boldly, especially since
his expression suggested he was at a restaurant looking at a dish he very much
wanted to sample.

“You would probably kick my ass if I
told you how new.” Pulling Leah down into his lap Rhett wrapped his arm around
her waist, holding her to him possessively.

Burying her face in Rhett’s chest
Leah felt her face burn. There was something decidedly humbling about being
talked about as though she wasn’t there. All she wanted to do was go upstairs
and be alone with her man, she didn’t like being the focus of the conversation,
especially when she was there to hear it, but wasn’t a part of it.

Alex had never seen his friend act
in such a manner. He supposed it could simply be that his friend had changed
since the last time he saw him, but he didn’t think so. He couldn’t wait to get
the story from him; the way he was holding on to his girl suggested that Rhett
was exceedingly possessive of her, not only that but there was something about
his demeanor that spoke of deep feelings.

"We obviously have a lot to
catch up on,” Alex remarked, giving Leah a significant look. “But that can
wait. Do I get to watch the Master at work tonight?” He asked after running his
gaze around the dungeon at the various couples enjoying themselves there. “It
has been ten years.”

Leah tensed in Rhett’s lap at Alex’s
words, she wanted to sink into the ground and become invisible at that moment.
She hoped that Rhett would say he was too tired to play, or give some other
reason for them not to participate, and she held her breath in nervous anticipation
of his response. It was one thing to kneel at his feet in front of so many
people, she could just about cope with that, but to play in front of them? She
honestly didn’t think she was ready for that.

“I would like to break my sweet Leah
in; this is her first night in public.” His arm tightened around her waist
briefly before he removed his hand.

“How fortunate for me that I came
tonight then.” Standing, Alex waited expectantly.

Chuckling Rhett stood too, with Leah
in his arms, and allowed her to slowly slide down his body until she found her
feet. “It has been a while since I broke in a new submissive in public, I might
be rusty.”

Alex threw back his head and laughed
aloud, making his thick blond mane whip about, and causing several people
nearby to turn and stare for a moment before they returned their attention to
their partners. “I sincerely doubt you have lost your touch.”

Seeing the smile on Alex’s face,
Leah found herself struck by the urge to slap it away; his expression suggested
he was looking forward to seeing her dominated, and she didn’t like that. It
might be all fun and games to him, but she was nervous as hell, especially
since she was sure everyone there would want to watch how the Master of the
dungeon performed. Her legs began to tremble anew, and she looked up at Rhett,
a plea for a reprieve in her hazel eyes.

Lifting his hand to her beautiful
face, Rhett skimmed her soft skin with the back of it and smiled. “Just
remember who you’re here to serve, sweetheart,” he told her.

As if she needed more pressure put
on her, she thought as a fresh tremor moved through her body. “Yes, Sir,” she
managed to whisper; though her mouth was so dry she had no idea how the words
came out.

Giving a curt nod, he walked over to
the St. Andrews cross, certain that she would follow, even without instructions
from him. He wouldn’t make tonight too hard on her, he decided; teaching her
the pleasures of flogging would be enough for her first time in public.

How she made it to the cross without
her legs giving out beneath her, she had no idea. It certainly didn’t help that
Alex was following close behind her. She was a jumbled mass of nerves by the
time she reached the cross, where she stopped to await Rhett's command.

Lifting her chin, he lowered his
lips to hers and kissed her gently. “I promise you will feel no pain tonight,
sweetheart.” Normally he wouldn’t have given her such reassurance, he enjoyed
it when his submissive's had no idea what he intended. With Leah, things were
much more personal, and he wanted her to enjoy their time together so she would
be eager to scene with him again.

Biting her lip nervously, Leah
nodded, her dry mouth now making it all but impossible for her to speak. She’d
seen what the other Masters and Mistresses had done to their pets in the
dungeon and it terrified her, even with his reassurances that nothing would
happen to force her into using her safe words. For reasons she didn’t want to
linger on, the thought of having his friend watch while she did whatever it was
Rhett had planned made her all the more nervous.

Rhett’s fingers moved swiftly to the
buttons on her shirt, knowing that she was going to have issues with being
undressed so publicly. He gave her little time to think about it though as he
quickly undid her shirt and slid it from her shoulders. The startled look that
appeared on her face forced a smile to his lips.