Conquering Jude (20 page)

Micah rolled over onto his side to face Jude and locked eyes with him. He held out his hand for the cloth, but Olivia shook her head. “He has to get used to it. It’s my right as his Mistress to care for him.”

Jude bit down hard on his inner cheek until he tasted blood.

“Mistress, he’s in sub-drop.”

He barely heard Olivia’s reply. “I know.” She sat down on the edge of the table, and with a bit of help from Micah, rearranged Jude so his head was on her lap. “Are you all right,
mal-chick?”

The smile crossing Micah’s face was nearly blinding. “Oh, yes Mistress. Seeing you claim him was the most erotic thing I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness.”

“Good. Help me tend him – and bring him back down?”

“Of course, Mistress.”

Jude’s emotions continued to ebb in a slow downward spiral as they quickly cleaned him up. A warm blanket was wrapped around him while Olivia and Micah both whispered nonsensical words of praise.

“There’s always a chance you could, but you didn’t. Instead you made me scream with pleasure.” Her face flushed. “Something Micah can tell you rarely happens.”

“Very rarely. Only twice have I ever made Mistress scream.” Micah rubbed his shoulder. “So I should be jealous, because both times you’ve pleasured Mistress she’s screamed her ever-loving head off. It seems both of you lose control at the end.”

Wonder sang in his veins and hope returned.
Maybe I didn’t fuck this up.
“Really?”

“Oh yes, pet.” She brushed a kiss over his forehead before yawning. “Better?”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Good. I’m tired but hungry. I say we order pizza, watch
CSI: Miami
and then go to bed – together.” She gave both of them a stern look. “And I will not hear any objections. Understand?”

Both men answered in chorus. “Yes, Mistress!”

Chapter Thirteen

Kneeling next to Olivia’s leather chair, Jude wondered if his happiness was visible to all. This was their first time back at the club since Olivia had been attacked. It’d been almost a week since Mistress had claimed him so thoroughly, he didn’t know if he’s be able to leave her even if she demanded it. Even though it’d gone against all of his protective instincts, he’d finally relented when Olivia had presented reasonable arguments about her safety at the club. She needed to feel the familiar camaraderie that came from being surrounded by other Doms and their subs. So when she’d offered to take him along as her first argument, and the last being the upgraded security Jackson had completed, he’d relented. Not that all of the upgrades were working smoothly.
She went off the deep end about that fucked up new security door system. I can’t believe Carlos has been dealing with such a defective system for the past week.

Resting his head on against his Mistress’s thigh, he watched Caelan stare moodily at the snifter of scotch in his hand. Across the room, Gabriel was lounging on the sofa a few feet away with Sara cuddled on his lap. For the past hour, the three dominants had been talking about mundane things – or at least to his security-conscious mind, they had been. He jerked out of his thoughts when Caelan mentioned his younger sister, Kalinda.
Evidently he found her. Damn he didn’t let any grass grow under his feet. I just gave him the address this morning.

“I just don’t get it, Olivia. How the hell could her need to submit be gone? It wasn’t even two months ago she was threatening to come here to find a new Dom!”

Jude could understand the man’s frustration with the situation.
Sure, I think I understand Kalinda’s feelings – Dom fucked up by pushing her away, but he wants her back and it’s Josh’s dumb ass luck she found out Dom was staying at his condo.
If there were two Doms who loved their sub more than Joshuah Redding and Dominic LaFontane he didn’t know them, but Kalinda was being extraordinarily stubborn.

A soft sigh escaped his throat as Olivia’s fingers slid through his hair before she spoke. “So what happened two months ago aside from Dominic having his first shoulder surgery to cause the change? I saw Josh in the main room whipping one of the newbies as I walked through. I’d have thought he’d be on Kalinda’s doorstep already?”

Caelan took a swallow of his drink. “Hell if I know. One moment, she’s all hell bent on finding a Master who would appreciate her submission, then the next she’s shutting herself off from everyone. Christ her moods have been so mercurial for the past two months, I’m starting to think she has permanent PMS.”

Jude looked over his shoulder in concern when Olivia nearly choked on the water she was drinking. “Did you say she’s been moody?”

He arched an eyebrow, silently asking her if she was okay. She gave him a reassuring smile. Assured she was fine, he returned his head to her thigh. He closed his eyes and let the conversation wash over him.

“As all hell! I wish I knew what was going on in her head. She’s never acted this way in the past - even when she left for L.A.”

There was a pause before his Mistress answered, as if she were thinking. “I don’t know if this means anything or not, but she came to suspend her membership about two months ago. She told me, due to medical reasons it wouldn’t be safe for her to play before long.”

Caelan’s outburst wasn’t unexpected. “Dammit! She was sick this morning when I found her. Fuck! I should’ve asked her what was going on instead of jumping on her about avoiding Josh and Dominic.”

Concern washed over Jude. He’d found Kalinda to be a very healthy and outgoing woman despite being a submissive.
She’s suspended her membership on the grounds of pending health reasons…and Caelan just said she was sick this morning?
He remembered the early days of Kathleen’s pregnancy…of her being sick
and
moody.
Fuck, is she pregnant? It would make sense. Caelan claims she’s moody, she’s refusing another Dom, and by temporarily withdrawing from her membership, she won’t chance running into either Dom or Josh.

Gabriel chose that moment to enter the conversation. “Quit beating yourself up, Caelan. You’re not a mind reader. I’m sure if she had something life-threatening she’d have told you.”

“Of course,
pet
.” Her tone was gentle.

Sitting up a bit straighter on his knees, he took a deep breath – unsure of the exact protocol for addressing the other Doms when he was in submissive mode. “I’m sorry to intrude on this conversation, but from what I’m hearing - are you sure she’s not pregnant?” When the sharp inhalations filled the room and shocked looks crossed the men’s faces, he lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Mistress.”

Olivia tipped his head up. “Nonsense,
pet
. Why would you draw such a conclusion?”

He gave a sigh. “You stated she withdrew for medical conditions that would be affecting her in the near future, while Master Caelan has stated she’s been moody. Added to the fact she’s avoiding Masters Josh and Dominic, but is refusing to find another Master leads me to think she may be pregnant and doesn’t want them to find out.”

Caelan gripped the arms of his chair. “Son of a bitch, I bet she is! It’d make sense.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news but who’s going to be the one to break it to Josh and Dominic? They deserve to know.” Gabriel squeezed Sara. “I’d want to know right away if I were in their shoes. If she is...she has to be at least three to four months along.”

“She’s pregnant?” The deadly furious British voice from the door had everyone who was sitting in the room turning to look at the man standing there. Josh’s eyes were hard while his nostrils flared. At his side his hands were clenched.

“Josh, think about this. Don’t go off half-cocked.” As always Olivia was aware of the danger of an out-of-control Dom in her club.

But Jude could see Olivia’s plea fell on deaf ears. Josh’s face reddened with anger. He only could imagine what the man was feeling. The idea of his sub being pregnant and hiding from him would have to be infuriating.

Josh strode into the room to plant his feet in front of Caelan. “Where the hell is she, Doherty?”

Caelan gave a frustrated look at the man. It was obvious Caelan was torn between protecting his sister and doing the right thing – telling the man where to find his possibly pregnant sub. Jude was proven correct when Caelan finally spoke.

“What are you planning to do, Josh? I’m not going to willingly endanger my sister.”

From the side, Jude could see Josh was ready to cold cock Caelan. “I’m gonna bring the stubborn little bitch home where she belongs. I’m done playing her game, Caelan. She belongs to Dom and me.”

But instead of telling Josh what he wanted to know, Caelan asked another question. “What if she can’t offer you her submission any longer, Josh? Do you still want her?”

The man stilled. “Even if she won’t submit to us, we want her.”

Caelan seemed to think for a moment before coming to a conclusion “All right. I’ll tell you where she is - on the condition she calls me in the morning.”

Even though he knew it had to irk Josh, the man agreed. “Done.”

Caelan gave a nod before taking the familiar paper out of his wallet Jude had written Kalinda’s address on. He handed it to Josh. Jude wasn’t surprised when the other man strode out of the room without a good-bye.
God I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that anger. Damn Kalinda, I hope you’re indeed pregnant or I have a feeling you’re not going to be sitting comfortably for awhile.

* * * *

It was nearly two hours later before Jude and Olivia were finally alone. After Josh had stormed out of the club, the other men had lingered, all voicing their opinions and speculations about what was going to happen when Josh finally caught up with Kalinda. To Caelan’s horror, Gabriel had commented that in his opinion, Kalinda was going to have an extremely red ass and probably wouldn’t be able to sit for several days.

Personally, Jude didn’t think it would go that far. The man was so in love with his sub, he’d sent her off to L.A. for two years to get experience and had even accepted Dominic’s offer to share the spunky brunette. He wasn’t going to blow it by doing something that would drive Kalinda away in her emotional state.
No, I figure she’s probably going to be so sated from physical pleasure, she won’t ever think about leaving them again.

Leaning back in the chair, Jude scanned the files on the small laptop he’d asked Jackson to drop off at the club. Although it surprised Jude at first, he was grateful when Mistress informed him he’d been on his knees long enough. He could sit in the chair, but he was to remain there until told otherwise. With Olivia and Jude’s presence at the club,
Jackson had run to the office to catch up on some much needed paperwork.

So now he was sitting in one of the plush chairs adjacent to Olivia’s desk using a small stand to work on a security bid for one of the local lumber warehouses. Across from him, Olivia was working on her own paperwork, the pen in her hand scratching against papers as she signed off on liquor orders, considered applications and approved memberships. She was humming a soft tune. Once again he was curious about it. He’d love to hear her sing the haunting melody, but Micah had told him not to ask, because Mistress wouldn’t sing for anyone.
I bet she has a beautiful voice.

The humming stopped. “Pet, did Jackson ever get the background report on Charles Stanton?” She hadn’t bothered to look up.

Jude straightened. “I’m not sure, Mistress. Let me check. The last time I spoke with Jackson, he told me he was waiting on the Equifax report to come back.” Accessing the remote network, Jude checked for the status on the needed report. “I remember reading the man has no criminal record and has been divorced twice, but as far as financials, we’re still waiting on the damn report.”
Ah hell, that’s not good.
A red flag earmarked the requested report. Clicking on it, he scowled at the resulting message:
No financial information exists on this individual. Highly suspect Identity Theft.

“Well, I wouldn’t go offering him a membership, Mistress. Equifax can’t find any financials on him. They are suspecting Identity Theft.”

She frowned and tapped the pen she held on her chin. “Because they can’t find any information?”

Jude nodded. “Usually the only way that occurs is if you’ve never worked before. For an eighteen year old – no big deal…but a supposedly twice-divorced thirty-eight year old man?” He gave a brief shake of his head. “Nope. Either he’s been living in a sanctuary, or he’s lying about who he is. Either way, there’s something fishy about him. Whether or not he’d cause trouble in the club? Who’s to say - but where he’s getting the money to pay the dues – more than likely it’s either dirty money or he’s being paid under the table for something. And considering your rates? I’d say it’s the latter.”

She stared thoughtfully. “Good to know. I’ll have Jackson revoke his temporary membership.” She was just reaching for the phone when Raymond, her second shift bartender, rushed into the room. His normally slicked back into a ponytail hair was mussed, his shirt was ripped, and there was a trail of blood coming from one of the tears. Jumping up, Jude immediately pushed the table away from him – not waiting for Olivia’s permission – he caught the man before he fell.