Saving Micah (Sequel to Conquering Jude) (9 page)

“Mistress’s office is this way.” As they climbed the stairs, Sampson kept up a running conversation. “I’ve heard much about you from your submissive, Micah. Am I correct in assuming this is your other submissive, Jude?”

They paused at the top of the steps as Sampson drew a key from his pocket. “You’re quite chatty for a submissive.”

Sampson gave her a sheepish grin. “As Mistress constantly tells me. I’ve receive numerous
punishments
for my wayward tongue. Perhaps one day the lesson will sink in.”

The emphasis the other man put on the word punishment assured Jude that the man enjoyed the punishments vastly.
Not that I’m not unfamiliar with the idea.
He too had pushed his Mistress at times just to feel the lash of her flogger against his ass. His dick twitched at the idea of his favorite toy and the last time she’d used it on him before they’d left.

With the way that Sampson’s fair cheeks reddened, Jude bet the other man had the same issue he did every time he stepped across the threshold.

“Like what?” she asked as they followed the slave down the hall.

“Like whether or not the security staff is doing its job, Mistress Olivia.”

Olivia groaned. “Don’t remind me, Sampson. Pet sometimes forgets he’s supposed to be the submissive one when he enters the club and Carlos isn’t at the door. I keep explaining even Carlos needs his days off, but he swears he doesn’t trust anyone else the way he does Carlos.”

“I don’t, Mistress. Remember protector first and foremost.” Jude stopped several feet back from the closed door at the end of the hall.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Sampson looked at Olivia innocently.

When Sampson got Olivia’s patented Domme stare, he immediately looked down. “I’ll let Mistress know you’re here.” It didn’t surprise Jude when the behemoth of a man dropped to his knees in front of the door after knocking.

Moments later the door swung open to reveal a petite red-head with her hair gently waving around her oval face with the setting sun outlining her lush figure through the flowing sundress she wore. She looked like an angel. Jude blinked. After becoming accustomed to Olivia’s dark clothing and leather, he had a hard time believing that the woman was a Domme. That was until she opened her mouth.

“Finally! Mistress Olivia, I have a bone to pick with you. What the hell were you thinking of siccing Caelan Doherty on me? The man is the biggest pain the ass I’ve ever had - aside from my Sampson here.” She fondly stroked her sub’s hair.

It surprised him when Olivia actually blushed. But as usual his Mistress did what she normally did when she was out of her depth. She blustered her way through it. “Better your ass than mine. The man was driving me bonkers at the hospital checking in every hour to ask what he could do. He even threatened to call Mum if I didn’t let him help.” Olivia shrugged apologetically. “I had to give him something to do or he’d have shown up down here with Mum and her Master in tow. But if you think he’s an ass on the phone, try dealing with him in person. He damned near broke down my door last year after I got attacked. The damned man takes his big brother responsibilities seriously no matter how many times I tell him that I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.”

Brigit smiled knowingly then gave Olivia a one-armed hug before snapping her fingers. Sampson rose to his feet gracefully. “Well, we can’t fight ‘familia’, so all’s forgiven. Come in. Sampson, why don’t you take Jude down to the kitchen and get refreshments?”

“Mistress?” Jude folded his arms over his chest. He wasn’t going to be left out of this. It was his fucking job to protect not only Olivia but Micah.

“Go, pet.” Her expression never changed under his silent refusal. “Let us Dommes have our small talk. We won’t discuss anything of importance until you return.”

Jude relaxed. She wasn’t going to try to cut him out. “Thank you, Mistress.” He turned towards Sampson as their Mistresses entered the office. “So what caused your mother to hang you with the name Sampson. Were you this huge at birth?”

Sampson’s lips quirked before he headed back down the hall. “Nope. Mistress gave me the name.”

“So what gives?” Jude asked, trailing after him.

* * * *

“He’ll never find out you know,” Brigit told Olivia as their subs disappeared from sight. Olivia settled into one of the chairs in the seating area of the office as Brigit turned down the soft music coming from the sound system next to her desk. Watching from across the way, she found her attention divided between the other Domme and spectacular setting sun.

“You have a beautiful view,” Olivia told Brigit when she joined her. “And what won’t he find out?”

“That’s why I choose this room for my office. I love to sit here with Sampson and watch the sun set before we open for business.”

Olivia understood. She too cherished her stolen moments with Jude in the quiet club before the sometimes hectic pace of the unique activities took over. “And the other?” she asked as the other woman looked lost in thought.

Brigit’s face lit up. “Oh that. He’ll never figure out why I named him Sampson. My sub is the ultimate mystery man. In fact, he’s so closed-mouthed there’s a running bet at the club about what I did to tame him, since no one knows how I got past the big guy’s defenses. But my Sampson is a closed book to everyone but me. So far there have been at least two dozen attempts in the past ten years but he won’t spill. He just smiles and shakes his head when they guess.”

Olivia shook her head and groaned. “Whatever you do, don’t tell Jude about the bet. The man loves a mystery. He’ll dig until he gets the answer or drives me nuts in the process.”

“Hmmm…the thought is tempting.” Brigit sat down on the settee across from Olivia. Rearranging her skirts, she settled against the padded arm and back. She looked much like a queen surveying her kingdom. So much so, Olivia found it quite uncomfortable, but pushed it aside. She could deal with all of it if it meant she got to take Jude and Micah home with her at the end of the day.

“Please resist the temptation – I’ve done nothing to warrant that kind of torment.”

Brigit chuckled and opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted moments later by a familiar knock on the office door. She stirred but yelled instead. “Get your ass in here, Sampson.” She turned to Olivia. “I’ve told him a thousand times he doesn’t have to wait in the hall like a servant.”

“And I’ve told you, Mistress, this is your domain, and I’ll treat you with the expected respect you deserve.” Sampson walked in carrying a huge silver tray loaded with an assortment of crackers, meats and cheeses. Behind him, Jude was holding a smaller tray with the largest pitcher of lemonade she’d ever seen.

“Smart assed slave,” Brigit muttered. “I think you need another talk with the crop.” Her voice was teasing but Olivia saw Sampson’s eyes light up with hope. “Not now though. Sit.”

“Yes, Mistress.” He set the tray of goodies on the low table in the center of the seating arrangement before folding his frame into the space between the settee and table. Jude followed suit, placing the tray of drinks before pressing his somewhat smaller frame between Olivia’s thighs. His head found its familiar spot touching just above her knee. She ran her fingers through his hair before resting her hand next to his head. She smiled when he pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist.

Across the way, Brigit was doing much the same as her sub settled in. She rumpled his hair affectionately. Now Olivia could see why the man’s hair was in such disarray. His Mistress simply couldn’t keep her hands off it. Olivia could see the attraction but she preferred her men to have short hair or none at all – thinking of Micah’s closed shaved head.

“Okay now that we’re all comfortable, let me tell you about what Sampson found out for us. The lines of information have been a bit sluggish but we think we’ve gotten a lead on the man who gave Micah’s attacker a guest pass for the club.”

Olivia could feel the alert attention fill Jude. She sighed. Her sub was now burying deep under the protector-mode. Sometimes being his Mistress tried her patience. Good thing she loved him.

Chapter Eight

“I still don’t see why I can’t go with Sampson on the stakeout.”

Olivia sighed before glancing over at Jude. He was slumped in the passenger seat of the rental car, with a pout on his face. They’d just finished their trip to the Winn-Dixie and they had a cooler full of food and several bags of nonperishable goodies for their efforts. Including a new tube of lube – she had flushed when Jude had winked at her before tossing it into the basket. But now the flirtatious sub she’d seen in the store had taken a back seat to a pouting one. So far, she managed to enforce her will about wanting him with her and Micah at the safe house – but it had taken a shitload of reasoning on both her and Brigit’s parts.

“I told you, pet, I need you with me and Micah.” She lifted a hand off the wheel and touched his arm. “I can’t do this without you. If we’re going to get him to come home to us, it’s going to take
both
of us to make it happen. After what happened, there’s sure to be issues. We already know how jumpy he is about letting you touch him.”

“Unless I distract him first, like I did when I helped him put on his shoes.” His grumble and dark look made her want to pull the rental over and love on him ‘til he was no longer such a growly bear. But she knew she couldn’t. They’d left Micah alone at the not so tender mercies of Jude’s ranger buddy for as long as she dared. She wouldn’t be surprised if she walked into the safe house to find either Micah tied to a chair or Ethan with his head bashed in. For whatever reason, the two men had gotten along about as well as oil and water.

But there was no other choice. I wasn’t going to leave Micah at the hospital while we visited
Bête à Bon Dieu and picked up supplies. Leaving him alone long enough to retrieve our stuff from the hotel was hard enough.
Now that he was back in her clutches, she didn’t want to chance him slipping away again – even if he was being a total dick. She’d – no, they would get through the protective shell he’d surrounded himself with – no matter what it took.

“Did you know he thinks we don’t love him?”

Jude’s statement nearly had her sending the rental into the ditch. “What the fuck?”

Jude nodded. “Yep, he thinks we only care about him as an occasional third and nothing else.” He ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he wanted to hit something.

“That
tupoy.
I’m going to warm his ass. Why the hell would he think that? Since I met you, it’s only been him and you. I didn’t even play with any other sub than him before you finally gave me your submission.”

He leaned his head back as he stared at her in shock. “Really? You didn’t play with anyone – what about Bryan Sterling?” he asked, referring to the sub whose scene he interrupted when he’d first starting courting his Mistress.

“That wasn’t play – it was punishment. Even my love for you and Micah won’t keep me from performing my duties as the owner and Head Domme at
Olivia’s
. It’s my responsibility. Now answer my question. Did he tell you why he thinks he’s so worthless?”

Jude sighed. “Yeah, he gave me some cockamamie story about how we let him go so easily it was obvious he didn’t matter.”

Fury washed over Olivia. The emotional highs and lows she’d experienced since finding out about Micah’s attack were consumed by the all-burning need to prove once and for all to her runaway sub that he was destined to be hers – and Jude’s. She was going to disabuse him of that notion immediately.

“We’ll see about that.” She gripped the steering wheel tightly- staring at the darkened highway – willing the miles separating them from Micah to disappear faster.

* * * *

Jude glanced over at Olivia after they pulled into the darkened driveway beside the safe house Ethan had found for them. He took a deep breath. This was is it. Either all hell was going to break loose, or Micah was going to be a good sub and soothe their Mistress’s ruffled feathers. Personally he hoped it was the later. Perhaps if they cleared the air, they could get around whatever wedge Micah was using to keep them at arm’s length.

Leaning over, he shut off the ignition before glancing around at their surroundings. Sitting back at least a half mile from the entrance access, the home looked like several of the others they’d passed. Two stories high, with an inordinate amount of tangle-vine creeping up its sides, it was perfect. It didn’t look as if it had been lived in for years. If it hadn’t been for the shiny black SUV and the tendril of smoke coming out of the chimney, he’d have assumed it was abandoned. He couldn’t tell much about the land in the dark, but he’d definitely explore tomorrow to make sure his loves were safe.