Subfrenzy (the Subfrenzied Series) (15 page)

“
Did I? How long were you in subspace?”

“
For a while, I think. How long did you have me there?”

“
An hour or so. I really like that you can take so much pain.”

I liked that he knew so much about submissive aftercare, the time a sub was soothed back to reality by their Dom. Quinn always checked for marks after a pain session, made sure I wasn't hungry or thirsty. He started to slowly massage my shoulders, helping me float on the pleasure I'd felt from pain.

“After a harder session like that, do you sub-drop? Do you get tired...depressed-?”

“
If I'm alone after, I get really tired and sleep. With you, I've wanted more pain, Sir.”

“
Those are good things to know.”

“
I didn't tell you the entire truth before,” I heard myself say. “If it's a really intense pain session, I can get a little depressed after. Sometimes. Waiting to take more pain seems intolerable... It's like sub frenzy. I've learned to control it.”

“
You can call me if that happens. You know that, right?”

Pride stopped strangling me. “
Yes. Thank you. It really doesn't happen very often.”

“
I'm sure it doesn't,” he grinned warmly. And then he sighed. “Before I forget and we leave, the club manager stopped by for you.”

“
I'm sorry he interrupted, Sir.” I hated that his eyes were cold, that I felt his dominance slipping away.

“
It's all right. That wasn't your fault.”

“
Do you want a water? I need to drink something. I'll find him after and take care of things now?”

“
You recover fast, too.”

“
Thank you, Sir.” I impulsively leaned up and kissed his cheek. “You're not thirsty?”

“
Not for water. What I really want is a cigarette. Meet me outside?”

“
I will, really soon.”

I
paid for a bottle of water, holding it against my face for the cold. It was warm in the club. I understood why Quinn wanted some air, and to smoke. It
had
been-

“
I could count that as your second interview. You passed, by the way.”

The realization had been there, but I hadn't grasped what it meant to me until I looked around the club. Samuel was still talking, there were Tops and club submissives engaged in pain-play around us, but the emptiness roared... gone when I moved and felt the marks Quinn left.
How I had submitted for him wasn't how I'd submit for a club Top.

“
Did you bring that guy
so I'd offer more?”

“
That guy?”
I stared at him, knowing that my eyes were angry. Traces of submission remained to keep me from saying what I wanted to say. …
nope.
“Did you see the type of floggers he was using when you interrupted?”

“
I asked your Dom if he wouldn't mind talking. He-”

“
He clearly did.”

“
Not that I saw.” Samuel grinned. “You 'switch' fast. I can offer you more, doing a session as both Domme and sub, and a bonus if you can inflict pain like you take it.”

“
... No thanks.”

“
Look, I'm sorry I interrupted you. The two of you. I asked if he minded, and-”

“
Yeah.... thank you, but-”

“
Wait, wait a minute.” I stared at his hand, not needing to meet his eyes before he moved it from my shoulder. “I really am sorry.”

“
No one was hurt.” I shrugged and let it go. He seemed sincere. Finally. “Working for you probably won't end well, I know that now. Don't you?”

“
We host, if you and your Dom ever want to do a public demonstration, solo-”

“
One day, maybe,” I nodded, wanting to be outside already.

“
You've still got my card?”

“
Yup.”

We shook hands and I breathed easier, making my way toward the Exit sign. When an
arm wrapped around my waist, I knew it was Quinn. All annoyance faded away as I melted into him. “Hi! You're done smoking, Sir?”

“
You were a little out-of-it before. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Did he offend you or say something-?”

“
Samuel apologizes for interrupting. All he wanted was to offer me a bonus for working at the club. I declined his offer entirely, so-”

“
There are perks, I guess, to-- Did you say you declined the-”

“
Yes. I won't be working here.” The press of bodies around us was stifling. “Air would be good. Do you still want a cigarette?”

“
And a drink. There's that bar across the street.”

“
Whatever pleases you, Sir.” I grinned, running my nails down his back. “A margarita could be really good. Something with fruit.”

“
I'm thinking rum. Whiskey. Something bracing. I want my head to clear a little.”

“
Are you okay?”             

“
Yeah, I'm good. How are you?”

“
I'm good, too.”              

He seemed preoccupied, his gestures automatic as he opened the first bar door for me.

“Thank you for all the pain you gave me. You use the whips really-” I wanted to sink down through the floor when I heard how quiet it was inside, traffic sounds kept out by the thick-paned glass windows
.

“
You're welcome.”

“
Do you think they heard us?” I whispered, opening the entry door that would take us into the bar.

“
Probably not. The club
was
a lot louder.”

But I saw
a few people turn to watch us after we walked past. He rested his arm on the back of my chair, sitting so no one could see me from the front. “I thought you were going to take the employment offer. What made you change your mind about
Rack's
?”

“
I don't want anyone else to leave marks or give me pain. I should have known it would bother you. I'm sorry if-”

“
It really didn't- I mean, it didn't
bother
me.”

“
Then, I'm sorry it took me so long to decide.”

The bartender took our drink orders. Alcohol didn't appeal anymore, I stuck with water. Quinn ordered a double of whiskey.

He sighed slowly, his gaze intense when I looked at him. “I don't want anyone else to give you pain. I'm glad you decided not to work there.”

“
So, um... Does that mean you're really my Dominant now?”

“
... I wasn't before?”

“
Of course, Sir.” I leaned against him for a moment. “I'm sorry.”

He laughed quietly. “Good answer, baby.
I want to give you more pain, but I really shouldn't tonight. We'll see. I want to see the damage when we get back.”

“
It hurt really good, no matter what it looks like, Sir.”

He
moved his hand to my thigh. I felt warm with submission, knowing he was resisting the urge to squeeze or pinch.              

“
I'm going to find the Men's Room. If you want anything to eat, have them prepare it to go.” I grinned, seeing the dark dominance in his eyes. “I'm going to punish you if you do more than get the bill for me.”

-
Chapter 12
-

~
Wait and Bleed ~

“
D
on't drink alone. I hear it's not healthy,” I heard a male voice say, from my left.

“
I've heard that, too, Abe,” a second man replied.

They
had been sitting toward the front of the bar when we entered. A narrow-chested, skinny man hung back nervously, a few steps away from his taller, tubby friend. Abe wasn't shy, inching closer and closer, forcing me to give him my attention. The logo on his baseball cap advertised for a strip club. I could see grimy fingerprints on the side. Tufts of graying, still partially blond hair stuck out around the cinch at the back.

Charming.

I
moved Quinn's double brandy back to where it had been. I didn't know how he could drink it, straight-faced. “Flattering as this is, I'm not-”

“
We're off to a great start.” Abe leered. “We both have drinks. You're not done with yours-”

“
I'm not here alone,” I replied, barely glancing at them.

“
Call me Abe.”

“
I'm really not here alone.”

“
Look, we're gonna talk for five minutes. If you don't like me by the time-”

I
zoned out, hoping Quinn would be back soon. He felt dangerous to me, the type that didn't ever hear the word 'no.'

“
Hey,” he tapped my shoulder. “You listenin' to me?”

“
No, because I don't like you. You should really go away.” I moved over a chair when he leaned on the back of mine.              

He
paused, his bloodshot, light blue eyes wide with surprise. But then I saw stupidity. I ducked away from his grasp and got into another chair. He sneered at me as I called for the bartender, coming out of the kitchen with clean glasses.

“
I'm so sorry,”
I pointed in Quinn's general direction
, off-balance because Abe was an asshole. “He has my wallet. Is it cool if I step outside for a smoke?”

“
Yeah, sure. No problem.”

“
One other thing?”

“
What's up?”

“
Those two guys over there have been bothering me. Can you see that they stay in here, just while I'm out there?”

“
Sure thing, hon.”

“
Thanks so much.”

I
breathed a sigh of relief once I was outside. The lighter Quinn gave me was still alive. When the wind blew, the front of my body went cold while everywhere the flogger hit felt warmer. I moved further away from the door while two new customers went inside. Glancing down at my cigarette, I smiled when I saw the red line on my wrist. It was a normal mark, left from the wrist restraint, and I knew it would fade far too quickly.

“
Hey,” I grinned when the door opened, “I was waiting for you--- Not you. What the-”

“
Can I bum a smoke?” Abe asked, eying mine. And my chest. “What kind do ya have?”

“
The bartender really cares about his customers.” I threw what was left of my cigarette into the street.

“
Hang on'a minute,” he said, putting his hand above mine on the door to keep it closed.

“
Why won't you leave me alone?” I snapped from frustration and regretted it. He seemed happy that I was aggravated.

“
You've got better manners, I know you do.”

“
Where are yours?”

“
I know where you're comin' from, I was there earlier.” He leered at me and tried to learn in closer. “I saw what you were doing. It's a fuck-fest in there.”

“
The bouncers have standards. You're-” Abe grabbed my arm, moving more quickly than I thought he could, and pulled me toward him. My skin crawled. I felt my stomach turn. “What you want will never happen with me.” I twisted my arm and broke his hold.

H
e almost had me pinned against the wall. And I noticed a new, dangerous glint in his eyes. I hid behind the rush of aggression that drove panic back. Abe looked at the bar's door when I did. It was further away from me than it had been. A sudden burst of fear had me reach into the side pocket of my jacket. The lessons I'd learned in bad areas hadn't been forgotten. Feeling my knife's hilt helped me focus. He was taller, more than twice my weight, a leech who preyed on submission. That wasn't a good combination.

Abe didn't seem to realize I was studying him like prey.
I knew all that places it was safe to cut someone, and also where major arteries were. No stabbing, I reminded myself. Slicing, however? I could get away with that, provided he didn't bleed all over the sidewalk. Experience reminded me how long it had taken for that to happen.
              “Your last warning,” I said, making sure I spoke clearly. “Get away from me.” 

“
You teasing little slut-”

My
mind glazed over after I heard
slut
. Whatever he was saying, his eyes promised pain I'd never let him deliver. My hands were ice-cold and growing colder as I decided between fighting or making a break for it. But my body moved, deciding for me as he squared his shoulders. Survival-mode took over. I felt his intent before he used his strength against me.

“
You feel that?” I held his head against the wall, my forearm digging in and up against his Adam's apple.

The
sharp point of my knife pricked the left corner of his pubic bone, yet not hard enough to make him bleed. I felt the tension gather in his body and quickly let the knife slide against a more sensitive place. His arms froze where they were, slightly outspread from his sides. He wasn't going to get the weapon away from me, or move until I let him.

“
I'll stab you before you touch me, I promise.” 

“
You fucking bitch,” he growled. 

“
If you can move before I take your balls... try.”

My
hand shook, wanting to stab, then stab again. Before that became necessary, I wanted to let him go and get out of his grabbing range.
How, when I was afraid to look away?
Panic made me feel light-headed. Going for the door would let him grab me from behind. That was something I wanted to avoid more than stabbing him in the leg.

When
he abruptly let his arms drop, I jolted backwards and forced myself to keep moving. The knife was parallel to my arm, ready to slice skin if he tried to get his arms around me. I turned, the knife brought forward in an arc when he reached for me. Abe avoided the blade, and I ducked when he lunged, though not fast enough. He got a handful of my hair. Immediately falling to one knee, I lunged for waistband of his pants and dug the blade into the crease of his inner thigh. We both froze, staring at one another.

“
I'll do it. You'll bleed out.” He jerked my head back, which brought my hand over a few inches. “You'll never fuck again.”

He
brought both hands down between his legs. I had used the dull side of my knife, swiping it over his balls, not the sharp side. There wasn't any blood drawn, but I heard him yelp in pain. He swung his left fist outward as I started to stand up. The involuntary reactions I normally hated forced me backwards and down, blinded by fear as I braced for the hit. It was going to
hurt so
much--

Shock
left me unable to do anything except stare when he was wrenched backwards, hard enough that he fell. My blade clicked shut and was immediately hidden in my sleeve. It was Quinn, I took a moment to feel relieved. I had been ready to see the dark blue of a cop's uniform. Scrabbling backwards, trying to fight the numbness in my legs, I got my back against the wall to stay out of their way. Relief faded when I saw how cold his eyes had become.

“
Did he hurt you?”

“
I'm okay. You can let him--”

“
What
did you just say?” he leaned down and dragged Abe high up onto his knees, then up so he was standing.

Abe
shook his head helplessly, obviously not expecting Quinn to be so strong. He pointed at me, but I couldn't hear him. The bar door opening again caught my attention. I cringed back, ready to be trampled when the bartender and two servers rushed out. They ran outside to help fast enough, but all of them froze when they saw what was happening.

What
had been said to make Quinn so much angrier?
His fist pulled back, faster than I could follow. Abe's head snapped to the left and he landed back on the ground again. His bottom lip was split wide open. I stared, frozen and impressed, yet on a deeper level, I felt the slightest twinge of fear. He made it seem like Abe weighed nothing, and he didn't show any pain after the punch... That pain wasn't something I took well.

“
Go, break that up,” the bartender said to his servers.
“
I was busy for five minutes--!” He turned to me, sounding angry, until he realized that my rage far surpassed his anger. “Abe must've sneaked out... I told him to stay put.”

“
Did you even see him bothering me inside?”

“
I saw him and his friend approach you.” One of the servers said, hanging back.

“
You did?” I turned on him, feeling feral. “Why didn't
you
do something, then?”

“
I, uh, you moved, so- You there! Stay where you are!” The server quickly turned his attention to Abe's nervous friend, who had just come outside. 

“
So you say it again? You stupid
fuck
,
” Quinn snarled, maneuvered around so that his back was to us. He pulled Abe up so fast, I thought his feet would leave the ground.

“
Don't!!” I yelled, desperately wanting to avoid screaming his name. There was a lot of damage about to be done, and far too many witnesses. He immediately glanced over, freezing when he saw that we had an audience.

“
Can you let him go?” the bartender asked carefully.

Quinn looked
incredibly dangerous for a moment. He made eye-contact with me, making sure I was okay, and gently shoved Abe forward. I didn't feel any anger toward him anymore. I couldn't, after seeing him heavily fall onto his knees. He wasn't going anywhere. 

“
This is just
not
my night. You,” one of the servers nodded, being pointed at by the bartender, “stay here and watch those two.”

“
You gonna call the station?”

“
That's the plan.” He turned to us. “Mind coming inside to tell me what happened?”

“
Yeah, I do,” Quinn replied. “We're staying wherever they are, so I can keep an eye on them.”

“
We'll have a couple officers sent over and get everyone's statement. I'm sorry about this accident... I was only in the back for-”

“
You call this an
accident
? Do you have any idea what my lawyers could-”

“
Hey!” the bartender paled. “Wait, now. We don't need to-”

“
You
knew
the guy was a problem,” Quinn interrupted, pointing to him and his server. “With the cameras you have inside, I can have so many lawsuits filed, it'll-”

“
No, hey! I thought we agreed--” He looked lost, shaken, “Look, I'm really sorry about this. There's no need for lawsuits, lawyers-”

“
That's really what you think?” I felt fear curl in my stomach from his low, menacing tone. The bartender was suddenly really busy, making sure Abe and his friend were being watched. “You're okay? Are you sure?”

“
Yes, I'm fine.” I let him hug me and quickly whispered in his ear, “We should go before they call this in. …that wouldn't be good.”

“
While they're distracted.”

I
was still awed, distanced and worried, but once we disappeared around the block, I didn't feel waves of his aggression prickling over my skin anymore. He didn't release his anger through s/m. I finally understood, really understood, what he had meant. That level of anger would never be turned my way. I winced, remembering the sound of his fist hitting Abe's face. Those few seconds where I waited, desperately hoping that he wouldn't be stupid enough to hit Quinn back... I hadn't been afraid for Quinn.

“
How are you?” I asked, trying to get a look at his hand.

“
I should have thrown him into traffic for what he said.
Are
you okay?”

“
Yes, it's you I'm concerned about. Your hand's alright?”

“
I feel like you.” He grinned. “No pain.”