Submissive Beauty (31 page)

There was a quick zip and rustle of clothing, and before she could exhale, Thomas’ cock began pushing inside her.

“So damned wet. So damned perfect.”

“Thomas…Sir,” she wailed.

“Take me,” he demanded.

She moaned at the delicious, dark, slide of his cock filling her. Never in her life had she felt this complete. With her body burning from the inside out, David began to idly toy with her nipples. Every touch, every thrust, sent her senses into overload. Her breath caught in her throat.

“You’re ours. Never forget.” David’s warm breath bathed her skin.

Gabby’s resistance fractured. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her body began to convulse.

Oh. My. God.

Chapter Twenty

“Angel, over here.” Gabby waved over her best friend to the tiny table she’d chosen in the alcove. She had so much she wanted to share with her friend, and some of it not necessarily appropriate for public consumption. Luckily, their favorite outdoor cafe offered a few tables tucked away from the others for couples or whomever to have the extra privacy they might need.

This cafe was actually part of a twenty-four hour bakery here in the North Art district that she’d grown to love. Not too many places in town offered a place to come and chat with friends in the middle of the night, and it served the best pastries in the South. It was like experiencing a little taste of Paris every time she came in.

When they’d opened the cafe alongside the bakery, she and Angel had eagerly shown up on opening night to check it out and had ended up making it a long time favorite.

“I’m so sorry I’m late.” Angel kissed her cheek and squeezed her arm before she sat down in the seat across from hers. “You know how Jeff is sometimes.”

“I do. He may be a demanding Master who likes to keep you busy, but I think you love it.”

“Oh without a doubt.” Her friend smiled, but somehow the expression seemed tight, quite a bit off from her usual perky self.

“Is everything okay?”

“Of course, why do you ask?” Angel picked up her water and took several swallows before putting it down again.

“I don’t know. For a second there, you seemed different.”

“No, really, everything is great.”

Gabby shook off the strange feeling and picked up her menu. They had methodically gone through every dish offered in those first months and had quite a few favorites, but since they’d not been coming here as much as they used to, she’d become a creature of habit. Maybe she’d do something different today and order from the specials. Her world in the last couple of weeks had been completely turned upside down, although for the better.

“So what brings you to this neck of the woods? Aren’t you staying at Thomas’ house these days, what with Scott harassing you and all?”

Gabby nodded her head. “Yes, I’ve been at Thomas’ house every night, but I’ve started coming back to my house during the day for work. Plus I really miss my garden.” As much as she’d been curious about Sanctuary, it hadn’t taken long for her to remember why she loved working from home. Fortunately, she’d easily verified the discrepancies in Thomas’ books, and he’d immediately brought in an accounting team to take over the recordkeeping on a permanent basis. David’s firm had tracked down the missing accountant, and official charges were now pending. The efficiency with which Thomas worked made it hard for her to believe he’d really needed her services. She half believed he’d used it as an excuse to keep her close. Not that she’d minded. Things had a way of working out perfectly…

“What about Scott?”

“He’s gone.”

“‘Gone’ gone? How’d you manage that?”

The waiter stopped by, and Gabby waited to answer her friend. They both ordered the soup of the day with a house salad and fresh bread. The friendly waiter smiled, took the menus and assured them the wait would not be long.

Leaning close to Gabby so no one would overhear, she spoke softly. “Apparently, David’s firm had him investigated, and it seems he’d gotten bored while his new girlfriend was out of town. The next time he called, I challenged him on it, and he confessed. He apologized, and I let him have it for scaring me like that. Since then, I haven’t heard a word.”

“Just like that?”

“Yep, just like that.”

“What a putz. I really hope it’s for good this time.”

“God, you and me both. Although…”

“What? Are you hoping to get back with him? What about Thomas?”

Gabby rushed her hand to cover her mouth before she spewed water all over the table. “Oh God no! Nothing like that at all. Ever. Let’s just say that incident managed to change my relationship with Thomas and David tremendously.” She couldn’t suppress the silly grin she knew covered her face. She was in love and didn’t care who knew it.

“Oh, now, you’ve gone and done it. Spill. I want all the details.”

Gabby’s face flushed despite the cool breeze sweeping through the cafe. She had nothing to be embarrassed about, but still. Just thinking about it brought back vivid memories of the day in her kitchen. It had been the hardest thing she’d ever done and the most exhilarating. She doubted that would be the end of it. Thomas and David seemed eager to push her boundaries.

“Well, that day I found all those messages…”

“Yeah.”

“Well, little did I know that very evening Thomas and David had planned out a scene for me and would take place at my own house.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Yeah. Well, as you can imagine when I found myself blindfolded and in my own living room, I freaked. I was genuinely scared of Scott and what he might do if he was spying on me and found me naked between two men.”

“You were naked? This just gets better and better.”

Gabby shook her head. “You have no idea. I learned a few lessons that night, and they weren’t all fun and games.”

Angel leaned in. “Girl…”

“Yeah, just like we discussed, I didn’t tell Thomas or David about the calls from Scott, but when I went all crazy psycho girl on them in my house, I had to tell them, and they were hot. Hell, pissed is more like it. I’m still kind of surprised I wasn’t disciplined right then and there.”

“Me, too. Thomas is known for being pretty strict with his girls.”

Gabby paused. Girls. That didn’t sound right coming from Angel. She shook it off as a meaningless comment and continued.

“Well, long story short, the next twenty-four hours were a whirlwind of anger, fear and so much fucking I’m surprised I was able to get up and walk out of there.”

Angel burst into a fit of giggles.

“What?” Gabby held up her hands. “What did I say?”

“It still sounds weird hearing you, Miss Prim and Proper when we met, say fucking.”

That familiar heat of a blush crept up Gabby’s neck, and she hid her face in her hands.

“No, don’t be embarrassed. It’s an important part of your training. It’s just new for me since we haven’t spent much time together lately.”

“I know, and I’m sorry about that. I’ve gotten a couple of really nice accounting contracts that have kept me scrambling during the day and let’s just say keeping up with two men is quite a job.”

“Well, in a few weeks, things will probably slow in that department, right?”

Gabby cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

Angel looked so intense, if Gabby didn’t know better, she’d think the grim line of her lips and clenching of her jaw were anger.

“Thomas. If things are going as well as you say they are then he’s almost done, and he’ll probably leave soon.”

Gabby’s head reeled. “Leave? Why would he do that? Where would he go?”

Angel covered her mouth with her fingers. “Uh...I…uh…never mind, I don’t know.”

Gabby reached across the table and grabbed her best friend’s hand, fear twisting in her gut with a powerful force. “Angel, what is it? What are you not telling me?”

Tears welled in the corners of Angel’s eyes. “Nothing…really…I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

“Angel, stop being sorry and tell me. You’re my best friend. You’ve seen me at my worst going through the divorce with Scott. I trust you completely.”

Angel nodded her head.

“Here you go, ladies. Your salads and fresh baked bread. Can I add some fresh ground pepper for you?” The waiter pulled a long pepper grinder from his side apron pocket and hovered it over Gabby’s bowl.

“No, thank you.” She forced the words past the lump forming in her throat.

“And you miss.” He moved to Angel’s bowl.

“Yes, please.” Angel watched him twist the knob several turns before holding her hand up for him to stop.

“Anything else I can get you ladies?”

“No.” The word rushed from Gabby’s mouth with more force than she’d intended, and the waiter threw her an odd look.

“Okay, let me know if you need anything.” He rushed away.

Angel had picked up the salad dressing container and began drizzling the oil over her greens. It took all of Gabby’s strength not to knock it from her hands and demand an answer.

“Mmm, this is delicious,” Angel moaned around her first forkful.

Gabby refused to touch her food, her appetite quickly dissipating. “Angel, enough. Tell me what’s going on, right now.”

Angel sighed and laid her fork on the linen napkin at her elbow. “Fine. But Gabby, I thought you knew.”

“Knew what?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“Stop stalling and spit it out already. It sounds like it’s something I need to know.”

“It’s about Thomas. He’s a trainer. I think I told you that. He likes to train subs.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that about him. So?”

“Gabby, that’s all he does. He trains them. He hasn’t kept a sub for himself in years. Every so often a prodigy, like you, comes along who he deems worthy of training. Something you should be grateful for because he is very particular.”

She so didn’t like where this was going.

“Once the girl is chosen, he finds another male Dom to work with him. To help train you. Someone he thinks you’ll mesh with and vice versa. Whenever you reach the point of being a successfully trained submissive, he backs out, leaving you and the other Dominant alone to cement the long-term relationship for yourself. It’s his thing. Matching up new submissives with the right Dom in order to avoid anyone getting hurt or worse on his watch. He’s known at Sanctuary as the Dominant matchmaker.”

Gabby shook her head. “What? No, no that can’t be right. We have a relationship. He never said anything about leaving not even when I told him I loved him.”

“Oh Gabby, you told him that you loved him?”

“Yes, he and David both. They love me.”

“Did they say they love you back?”

“Yeah…uh…I think so.” She tried to remember, but nausea had set in full force and she wanted to throw up. What had she gotten herself into? They’d put so much emphasis on trust, surely, they wouldn’t lie to her.

“You don’t remember?”

Gabby struggled with her memory. They’d been lying in bed after sex in the kitchen, the living room and the bathroom floor. In fact, she’d thought they were going to initiate every room in her house before they were done. They’d snuggled together in the middle of the bed with David facing her in the front and Thomas spooning her back. She hadn’t meant to say the words, but as her eyes had started to fall and the warmth and goodness surrounded her, she’d been unable to help herself. David had looked at her for a moment before pressing his lips to hers and said he loved her, too. But what about Thomas? He’d mumbled something at the back of her neck, but now she couldn’t remember what it was. Had she dreamt it? Moments later, she’d drifted off more alive and happy than she’d ever been in her life.

Being owned and loved and cared for had made the last week exquisite and one she’d never forget. Thomas enjoyed and needed pain on a level similar to hers, and David demanded her obedience in everything but was always quick to nurture her when she needed it. She’d come to believe it was the perfect combination, and there was a real possibility of something long term.

“Angel, this can’t be right.”

“I’m so sorry, Gabby. I never thought I would be the one to tell you.”

“I have to go see David now. He’ll tell me what’s going on.” She threw down her napkin and pushed back her chair.

“Gabby, wait. You can’t go anywhere in this frame of mind. You need to calm down.”

“I can go where I want and when I want, and right now, I want my Dom.”

Angel sat back in her chair. “I hope you’re referring to David because Thomas is going to break your heart.”

* * * *

Outside the restaurant Gabby rushed across the street to her car. She yanked on the door and nearly fell on her butt when it didn’t open. She fumbled with the keys for a few seconds before finally locating the right one amidst all the stupid store shopper cards. Why the hell did she need all this stuff? She just wanted to get in the fucking car.