Empowered [Sexual Magic 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

“Oh, my God,” Gabriel whispered, dropping the whip. “What have I done?”

“It was my fault, Noah,” Madelyn said.

“I know,” he said with a growl. “Keep your head down and be still. I’m not done here.”

“What is taking so long?” she demanded.

Noah smacked her butt. “It’s only been a couple of minutes.”

Madelyn shook her head. “Two minutes is longer than normal.” She thought about it for a second and realized he was probably so rattled by the accident that he couldn’t properly concentrate.

“Zip it, Maddie. Let me work here.”

His curt tone told her she was right. She rolled to her side and glared at him. “You still blame him.”

Noah’s gaze flashed just as angrily as hers. “Hell yes.” Then his gaze fell away and she sucked in a deep breath and sat all the way up.

“Lie down,” he said.

“Hush,” she soothed, cupping his shoulder. “I think it is yourself you blame instead,
non
?”

He sank onto the bed beside her, head bowed. His fingers twisted the washcloth, mangling it into a tight rope.

Madelyn’s heart ached for him. Without a doubt, her strong Dom was remembering the disaster that was Krista. She lifted his chin and scooted closer.

“I’m fine, Noah. It’s a scratch, nothing more. Stop torturing yourself.”

His green eyes deepened with sorrow and regret. “I swore I’d never allow you to be hurt again.”

“
Chéri
, you can’t prevent it. This is the nature of our existence.” She swayed into him, nudging him with her elbow, and gave him an impish grin. “Besides, I like it.”

He shoved off the bed, raked his fingers through his hair, and stood there, staring out the window, back stiff. “Don’t make a joke, Madelyn. Not about this.”

Her anger unfurled, and she rose stiffly, reaching for and sliding into her satin dressing gown. “I am an adult, Noah. I choose this life. I live this role. Being Dom does
not
give you the right to limit me. You agreed to this long ago.”

A tremor ran over him and her heart melted. She hated to see him in such anguish.
Will he never forgive himself?

The silence stretched into taut discomfort, and Madelyn sighed. “You are the most stubborn
cochon
. I don’t know why I put up with you.”

He turned slowly and she was vastly relieved to find some of the haunted look gone from his eyes. “Did you just call me a pig?”

She scrunched her nose and shrugged. “Perhaps. English is not my first language,
chéri
.”

“Uh-huh.” He stepped closer, and she suppressed her own shiver of anticipation.

How does he make just two paces seem so erotically threatening?

Noah cupped her chin, caressing her bottom lip with his thumb. “I will
always
look out for you, Madelyn, even when you do not wish it. However, I also know your boundaries and needs are greater than I can always accommodate. I only ask for you to use caution and common sense.”

She gripped his wrist, nuzzling against him. “I do,
mon coeur.
What happened a few minutes ago was a fluke and nothing more.

“He did not wish to hurt me, he wished to explore his own tastes. Have you forgotten so soon what it’s like to be a new Dom? To be led into the experiences and differences of wielding power for pleasure? He knows nothing of this lifestyle, Noah.”

“He’s an ass.”

She lifted a brow and tipped her head. “Why do you say that?”

“He’s arrogant,” he said on a low growl.

She laughed. “So are you. Perhaps this is why you dislike him. He reminds you of yourself.”

Noah jerked away and jammed his hands on his hips. “I don’t dislike him. He’s just too damn sure of himself. Like you said, he’s too new for such egotism.”

Madelyn smothered a smile. “Whatever you say, Sir.”

“That’s more like it.”

She fiddled with the belt to her robe. “Noah.” She faltered, tugging her lip between her teeth.

The remaining darkness drained from him, and concern once more flitted across his face. He stroked her cheek. “What is it, Madelyn?”

“I know you won’t believe me, but he’s very vulnerable. Wait,” she cried when he opened his mouth on a certain smart-ass response. “I see it in him. He’s so at loose ends right now, adrift in confusion. This is something new for him, and he does not know how to respond.”

Noah’s brow furrowed. “Is that why you think he ran?”

“Yes. He did not mean to injure me, and when he did, it scared him greatly. We must find him and show him
neither
of us is angry.” She sighed again. “More than that, we must show him we understand and convince him to play again.”

Noah looked like he wanted to argue, but after a moment, he nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But this time no freaking hard discipline implements.”

Before he could get all righteous and self-accusing again, Madelyn agreed. “I am going to take a shower.”

“Wait,” he said, clasping her arm. “Take your robe off. I’m not quite done with the wound. It’s not fully healed.”

She tried to peer over her shoulder but couldn’t see the gash properly. “Really? It doesn’t hurt.”

He snorted. “Of course it doesn’t hurt. That’s part of the problem, remember?”

She winked. “Fine, but hurry up. I want to track him down. Maybe I’ll skip the shower, and we can leave sooner.”

Noah’s hands roamed warmly over her back, and she shivered and arched beneath him, a low purr emanating from her throat. She may not feel pain, but she sure as hell always experienced pleasure when stroked this way.

“No, go ahead. We should give him some time to cool down, anyway.”

Madelyn wiggled, directing his palm to a spot low on her back. “What if he’s getting into trouble?”

“Jeez, woman, enough with the worry. He’s been on the island for three days already. I think if he was going to find trouble, he would have by now.”

“Hm, you are correct, I suppose.”

“I am.” Noah cupped her butt and squeezed, then slapped lightly. “You’re fixed. Now go on, shower up.”

As she slid the silken cover-up back on, something, French intuition inherited from her grandmother perhaps, urged her to dress and find Gabriel right now. “Noah, maybe we should—”

“No, little one, go relax in the shower. He’s fine.” Noah grimaced. “I need the time to reflect and compose myself as well.”

“What? You seem calm enough to me now.”

He shrugged. “Appearances are deceiving, Madelyn.” He glared at nothing. “Krista is proof positive of that statement. The woman is gorgeous with a body that doesn’t quit and legs a man would gladly quit breathing to feel wrapped around him. And her mouth. For all the vile she spews, it’s perfect for sucking cock.”

Ire roused in her again, and she tugged open her robe, then slid it off her shoulders, standing proudly bare before him. “Funny, you do not sound like a man who hates her.”

Lust flared in his eyes as his gaze roamed over her body. “Just because she has the soul of the devil doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the beauty she has on the outside.”

“Then what composing must you do?”

“I still want to kick his ass, Madelyn,” he snapped. “He hurt you, sliced you open.”

“
Mon Dieu
, let it go already.”

“I’m trying, I promise. But it’s going to take a little time.” Again he looked at her, his green eyes turning warm with sensual desire. “We could burn some of that time up with a little private session.”

She was
very
tempted. But Gabriel called to her, and the longer she stayed, the more urgent the call became. “Rain check,
chéri
, when we are both concentrating only on each other.”

“As always, your cooler head prevails.”

“Good. I won’t be long. Be ready to leave when I come out.”

His brow show skyward and she giggled. “Brat.”

“I know. I’ll pay for that later,
non?
”

Noah crossed his arms and shook his head. “Nope.”

“
Merde
.”

His warm chuckle chased her into the bathroom, and she closed the door, leaned against the cool panel, and exhaled a grateful breath. Hopefully her teasing would help sort his mood out.

She started the shower, inhaling the misting steam as it billowed into the room. Noah had always been protective, but since the incident with Krista, he’d become smothering at times. Despite their cases since then, he’d rarely let up. Or perhaps, because of them. The people they’d helped in the intervening years were nice enough if a bit regular. Just your normal subs and Doms.

She giggled at the thought.
Normal
and
BDSM
were usually never used in the same context.

Gabriel
.

His name flittered through her mind, and she gasped, insides reeling as though dealt a physical blow.

She lathered her skin, rinsed, and stepped from the shower. A quick, mostly useless rubdown and she opened the door.

Noah sat in front of the TV, remote in hand, but staring at a blank screen.

“You’re still rushing, darlin’,” he said without turning.

“I know,” she replied and dashed across the room. She yanked open a drawer and pulled out underwear, jeans, and a red T-shirt. “He calls to me, Noah. I don’t know why but we need to track him down. Now.”

The big man rose and set the remote on the lacquered coffee table. As she stepped into her clothes, she studied him. His tension seemed to have eased.

“Better, then?”

“Yeah.” Noah shoved his fingers into his pockets. “I’m sorry, love. I’ll try to reel it in. It’s just being here bugs me. Sets me on edge.”

She zipped her jeans and tugged the shirt over her head. “I know. Perhaps when we are done this time, we will ask Clarissa to keep us away.”

“Good idea.”

She smiled. “Ready?”

“I guess so.”

Slipping her arm through his, she snagged her purse from the closet doorknob. “Let’s go find him,
chéri
.”

* * * *

Noah led her from the hotel room and down the long corridor. He’d be damned if he would admit it out loud, but finding Gabriel had weighed heavily on his mind the entire time Madelyn was in the shower.

When he was alone and allowed logic to seep back into his brain, he knew he owed the other man an apology. And a real lesson in using whips, not just some by-the-pants overview. He would make sure no one, especially Madelyn, was around during the training, either. No sense tempting ill fate.

Again.

They rounded the curve into the elevator hallway, and he pressed the down button. A sharp blast like the tingle of an old-fashioned hand buzzer zipped up his arm, and he frowned.

Is there a short in the system?
He eyed the elevator warily as the chrome doors slid open.

“Noah?”

“Why don’t we take the stairs?”

She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re developing claustrophobia? Besides, we’re ten floors up. Come on.” She stepped into the car and placed her hand over the doors.

“Fine,” he muttered and followed her in. Nothing happened. The elevator was perfectly sound, mirrors and lights all perfectly in working order. He propped his shoulder on the back wall. “Let’s go.”

She gave him a questioning look, which he ignored.

The trip down was absolutely uneventful. Maybe his finger had been slick or something. The sensation had been a little jolt like when someone licked the end of a battery.

The rotunda housing the various elevators was abuzz with activity. People in all sorts of dress—and undress—bustled around. He nodded to the couple from the bar who’d given Gabriel his spanking show. She looked replete and her Dom smug.

All in a good day’s work.

“It’s likely he will not be in the bar,” Madelyn said. She moved to the glass doors that fronted the beach and pushed them open. “I think he would have left the hotel entirely.”

“Yeah. I suspect he’s at one of the other buildings.” Noah studied a large standing map like the ones which graced amusement parks and malls across the nation. He found the requisite “you are here” sticker and studied their location.

The property boasted eight separate venues, each spiraling away from the main hotel like the tentacles of an octopus.

Gabriel could be at any of them.

He traced the first dotted path with the blunt tip of his finger, ending at
Port Plunder
.

“No.”

The Cove
and
Big Richard’s Palace
also received negative shakes of his head.

Madelyn shifted impatiently beside him. “Pick one, please. We just need a starting point.”

“Give me a sec,” he ordered.

He looked at the roads leading from the back side of the hotel, following the red path with his eyes.
Amaranthine
. He tapped the coiled red whip indicating the island’s most limitless facility. Another tingle ran along his skin, and he sucked in a breath.

“There,” he said, stabbing at the whip. “He’s there.”

He looked down and caught Madelyn’s puzzled stare. “How do you know? You sound so certain.”

“I can’t explain it,” he said. He looked at his finger. No outward sign of the zap he’d just felt showed, but he knew without a doubt it was a connection to Gabriel. “I just know.”

“All right,
chéri.
”

As they threaded their way through the teeming throngs of people, Noah’s senses went further on edge, and he cupped her elbow, picking up the pace.

Madelyn was right. Time was of the essence.

Gabriel was in some kind of danger.