Re/Bound (Doms of the FBI Book 1) (5 page)

“I’m sorry to dump this on you, Theo. I didn’t intend this when I said I’d have breakfast with you.” A pathetic laugh fell from her lips. “Do you have any heavy bags you’d like to unload?”

No agent made it to thirty without some baggage, but he couldn’t share those stories with her yet. “Darcy, never apologize for answering my questions truthfully. For the record, I fully disagree with you.”

She didn’t say anything, but he could tell by the way she chewed her poor lip that weighty thoughts occupied her mind.

He answered the question she hadn’t asked. “Just by being here, you’re honoring his memory. You gave that incredible speech last night. You’re going to teach two sessions today, and you’re going to take part in the panel tomorrow. You are every bit as strong and courageous as Scott thought.”

At last she snorted and pushed away. She sat upright and straightened her shirt. “Any strength or courage I had last night came from you, and I’m seriously considering packing my bags and leaving right now.”

He pressed his lips together. Intelligent and stubborn as hell, the exact kind of woman who made him weak in the knees. “Darcy, I’m not the one who got up on that dais and had three hundred people eating out of my hand last night. I sat in the crowd and watched you work your magic. Maybe I helped you access your reserves, but you were the one who gave the speech.”

She sniffed and looked at the ceiling. She drew a ragged breath and dropped her gaze to the wall. “Maybe I used it all up. I can’t seem to find it right now. For God’s sake, Theo. I’m shaking, and I can’t seem to focus on anything.”

He leaned back on his hands, careful to not touch her at all. “If you want my help, all you have to do is ask.”

She turned, swiveling her whole body to face him. Her knee came up on the bed and pressed into his thigh. Warmth raced through him, just from that little bit of contact. “You would really flog me if I asked?”

“I didn’t bring a flogger with me. It didn’t seem like that kind of convention.”

She laughed at his stupid joke, and some of the tension left her shoulders. The gesture she made toward his midsection displayed the confidence she had possessed the night before. “You’re wearing a belt.”

He looked down and fingered the hard leather. The new belt hadn’t yet broken to fit his body. It wouldn’t yield much against her tender flesh. “How much of a Painslut are you?”

A blush crept up her neck and stained her cheeks. “I can come just from being flogged. But I’m not asking for that. I just need enough to calm my nerves.”

“How much is enough?”

She looked from his hand to his belt. When she worried her lip this time, she tortured the top one. “You don’t have a spanking glove. I don’t think your bare hand can quite give what I need.”

He made a mental note to get a leather spanking glove. She didn’t know it and he couldn’t say anything, but he would see her again after this weekend.

Malcolm stood. Blood rushed to his cock, and he struggled to stay soft. She looked up at him, shades of uncertainty darkening her eyes. “Stand in front of me.”

She rose, and he noted her unsteadiness.

He cupped the side of her head and caressed her brow and lip. Her gaze dropped, but she seemed to grow stronger before his eyes. “Safe words, Darcy. Red to stop, yellow to pause, green to continue.” He hadn’t used them before because they hadn’t done more than talk. Still he should have made them available to her from the moment she responded to him as a Dom. “Repeat them.”

“Red to stop, yellow to pause, green to continue.” From the ready way she repeated them, he knew they were familiar words..

“Well done. Kneel. Rest your ass on your heels, but keep your spine straight.”

She complied immediately, automatically dropping her gaze. Malcolm grinned. While he didn’t mind beginners, he definitely preferred experienced submissives.

“Ask your favor.”

She froze, and he let her have a moment to process. This scene would happen completely on her terms. He wouldn’t embellish it one bit.

“Sir, I would like you to flog me with your belt.”

No tremors shook her voice, and no uncertainty made her hesitate. This was the vast pool of strength she needed help accessing. Malcolm schooled his features so they did not betray how impressed he was with her. “Remove my belt.”

“Yes, Sir.” She undid the clasp and slid it from the loops.

Now that it rested in her hands, he wanted her to test the damn thing. “Fold it in half and hit your thigh with it one time.”

A sharp crack filled the air. He looked down to see what kind of mark it left, then rolled his eyes. He hadn’t undressed her yet. She had hit her thigh through the fabric of her skirt. Her lips pressed together in frustration.

“Pull your skirt out of the way and do it again.”

“Yes, Sir.” She didn’t hide the relief in her voice. A second crack resonated through the room. A tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth, and an angry red stripe crossed her thigh. “This will do nicely.”

Malcolm had never experienced a problem delivering punishment. He used a light hand with those who preferred a teasing or massaging stroke. Darcy, his little darling, wanted pain, and he would make sure she got enough to carry her through the day.

“How many would you like, Darcy?”

Her mouth opened and closed. “However many you prefer to give, Sir.”

He preferred to head to the store and purchase something with less bite. He preferred to take her to his apartment to use his own equipment. “Not this time. Tell me how many you need.”

That lip disappeared again. “Sir, can you do five and then see if I want five more?”

“I can do that. Put the belt on the bed, and remove your shirt.” Another time and place and he would have undressed her slowly, drawing out this first glimpse of her luscious body.

She complied quickly. He liked that she understood the erotic element wasn’t present. It meant she trusted him enough to not worry that he’d take advantage of her. Of course that didn’t erase the eroticism he derived from her submission or from the sight of her breasts encased in a lacy white bra.

He moved to stand behind her. He didn’t want to tempt himself too much. “Take off your bra.”

After she did, he moved her hair out of the way, draping it over one shoulder. He picked up the belt from where she had placed it on the bed, well aware she could see that movement. “”“”

He looked from her smooth, unmarked back to the belt in his hand.

“I don’t need to warm up for this little bit.”

Her declaration took him by surprise. She had behaved so well up until now. He cleared his throat.

“Sorry, Sir. You seem nervous. I know it’s our first time together, but I trust you.”

Malcolm closed his eyes as a wave of guilt rolled through him. She trusted him, and she had no idea she trusted a cover identity. He played these parts so well. For the first time, he had mixed emotions about what he was about to do. “Darcy, I won’t punish you more for insubordination under these circumstances, but don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t punish you at all. Punishments for Painsluts rarely involve pain.”

She shivered, the kind of reaction indicating anticipation. He closed his eyes. Fire and ice, this one. Hot and cold. God, he wanted a day with her at his mercy.

He slapped the belt against his pants. The dull sting bled through. He did this a few more times, testing the belt’s flexibility and give. Gooseflesh dotted her arms and shoulders. It traveled down her back, and she made a small sound of frustration. Ignoring her, he rolled up his sleeve and tested the belt against his forearm until he was comfortable with the amount of pressure and force he needed to use.

“Ready?”

“Yes, Sir.” Her voice quivered with eagerness.

He laid five stripes over her upper back, three under her left shoulder and two under the right. “What color, Darcy?”

“Green, Sir.”

Her answer had come too quickly. She seemed completely unaffected by that first round. “Five more?”

“Yes, if it pleases you, Sir.”

This wasn’t about pleasing him. He delivered five more, evening out the pink stripes on her back. He hadn’t yet hit her as hard as she had hit herself. “Darcy?”

“Green, Sir.”

“Five more?”

“Yes, if it pleases you, Sir.”

He picked up on the frustration in her answer. Since this was, as she pointed out, their first time doing this together, he had no idea what she could handle. That kind of intimate knowledge developed over time. Still, he had warmed up her back, even though she’d told him it wasn’t necessary. Safety measures like that weren’t her call. “Harder, softer, or the same?”

“Harder, please, Sir.”

The next one issued the same cracking thunder as her test hits had. She drew in a quiet gasp. “What color, Darcy?”

“Green. For the love of God, green. Please don’t stop, Sir. Oh please don’t stop.”

Urgency and a bit of passion replaced the frustration. He delivered four more using the same force. She made no louder noise than the quiet gasp she had issued after the first one, and she didn’t flinch once. Malcolm wondered if she truly loved the pain or if she felt she deserved punishment. His heart seized at the second thought.

He drew the curve of the belt along one of the welts. A low moan filled the silence. Damn, but she did like it hard. “What color, Darcy?”

“Gr—” She choked a bit. “I’m sorry, Sir. I’m overstepping the terms of my request. I feel peaceful and focused now.”

“You want me to stop now?” He had to make sure. Her voice came out clear, but it trembled a lot. Generally he sent subs into a place where their voices came out a little slurred. Whether or not a safe word had been given, he always stopped if the sub sounded tenuous. He preferred to err on the side of caution. Pain for the sake of pain didn’t arouse him, and Darcy’s request certainly seemed to fall into that category.

She scrunched the fabric of her skirt, and a small, self-deprecating laugh reached his ears. “No, but this is all I asked for.”

“Then I release you. Can I tend to your back?” Malcolm loved the intimacy of aftercare. Every time he cared for a submissive after a scene, he fell a little in love. Except for the five angry, red stripes, he hadn’t done more than pink her skin. Rubbing in lotion wasn’t necessary, but he wanted to do it anyway.

For the longest time, she didn’t move. Though he had moved behind her in an attempt to preserve her modesty, her lack of response worried him. She knelt with her bottom on her heels and her head slumped forward, just as she had during her flogging. Malcolm squatted in front of her and made a concerted effort to not ogle her breasts.

“Darcy? Look at me.” Though he had released her, he used his Dom voice anyway. She lifted her head and blinked at him uncomprehendingly. He wasn’t sure what had happened between his releasing her and now, but she had mentally checked out.

He tore the cover from the bed to access the softer blanket below. Housekeeping hadn’t been around to make the bed, so that blanket was easy to snatch away. He draped it around her shoulders, lifted her from the floor, and set her on the bed. He followed her down and enfolded her in his arms.

The front of the blanket was a bit loose, and the feel of her soft breasts against the thin material of his shirt made him shift to avoid pressing his erection into her hip. He stroked her hair and lower back, and he murmured praise and encouragement. Before too long, she sighed and snuggled into him.

__________

Darcy floated in a vast sea of peace. The unfamiliar scents and feelings conspired to keep her there. Like a lucid dream, she knew she wasn’t coherent, but the tranquility proved to be more than she could resist. Little by little, pieces of reality crept in to banish her from this place.

The solidity of a strong body engulfing hers, the intoxicating fragrance of clean male, and the low rumble of whispered assurances grew in her consciousness. Eventually she realized what had happened.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. The side of her face lay against his chest, and she made no move to break contact. “This hasn’t happened to me in years.”

The arm underneath her body wrapped around her shoulders. He held her gently and avoided touching the area where her skin was tender. His other arm draped over her waist and smoothed circles across her lower back. He didn’t alter his position, but he did kiss the top of her head.

“Subspace?”

“Delayed subspace. When I first began doing this, I discovered that sometimes certain positions and sensations could send me there unexpectedly. It freaked Scott out, and I learned to control it. It’s been so long. I didn’t even think this could happen to me anymore.”

She felt the tension drain from Theo. Well, almost all the tension. A glance down revealed an erection straining against the cotton of his pants. That explained why he didn’t press the length of his body against hers. He lay on his back with her firmly held to his side.

Slowly she slid until she lay on top of him. Lifting her head, she tried to read the emotion in his brown eyes. It proved impossible, but he had gone still, so she decided he must be nervous.

She braced her hands on the pillow beneath his head and brushed her lips over his. While she meant to thank him for helping her achieve such an important goal, she also felt a profound need to taste him. His mouth opened, inviting her deeper. She licked just inside his lower lip, and his breath caught. When she tangled her tongue with his, though, she harbored no illusions about who was in control.