To Love and Trust (Boundaries) (9 page)

So when had the atmosphere changed? She ran the evening’s events through her mind again and suddenly she knew exactly when it had changed. It had been the moment Dominique’s name had been mentioned. Adam had been uptight and snappy for the rest of the night, and when she remembered his foul mood after the woman had left the office yesterday, she knew she was right.

What was it Dominique had done to piss Adam off so much? What had Josh meant when he’d asked Adam if he’d ‘sorted her out’? And, if they were meant to be business partners, why had she kissed him yesterday as if they were on intimate terms?
And
, why wouldn’t Adam talk about her?

Rachel’s unease was beginning to tighten its grip, feeling more like despair now. She liked Adam so much and was finally beginning to feel the first fledgling levels of trust, but how could she trust him when there was clearly something going on with this woman, especially as he flatly refused to talk to her about it?

She eventually drifted off to sleep, only to be plagued by dreams of a latex-clad panther pulling Adam away from her with its teeth, before turning on her and attacking her with its razor sharp claws.

* * * *

When she woke in the morning, she felt groggy and grumpy and really didn’t want to go in and face Adam at work.

She considered throwing a sickie, but knew Adam would see straight through her and she’d be in even more trouble. That was the problem with having a Dom as your boss. And anyway, if she didn’t go into work because she was meant to be ill, she could hardly go with him to the club tonight. Even with her imminent punishment, she didn’t want to miss a night at Boundaries with Adam.

* * * *

In the end, the day had passed surprisingly quickly. Adam had been out at meetings for most of it and had left plenty of work to keep her occupied. By seven o’clock she was home again and was soon soaking in the bath preparing her body so it would be perfect for him. Every bit of body hair was shaved off, her skin exfoliated then smothered in luxurious body lotion until it was velvety soft and her hair washed and conditioned so it shone like gold satin.

If she had competition for Adam, she would bloody well give Dominique a run for her money. The insecurities of the previous night had now been replaced with a steely determination to fight for her man—if the confident Domme thought she’d just roll over and let her take Adam away from her, she was in for a rude awakening.

By the time Rob pulled up outside her flat to pick her up, she was ready—both physically and mentally—to go to Adam and allow him to conquer her completely. Whatever punishment he had planned for her, she would take it with dignity, and she would give him something that Dominique could never compete with—her complete submission.

Adam greeted her in reception when she arrived and pulled her into the small office. “Hello, sweet thing,” he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard on the lips. Even that small token of possession had the power to weaken her knees and the first heady stirrings of delicious surrender fluttered deep in her belly.

“I’ve got a present for you.” Adam reached behind the desk and produced a small box. He handed it to her and spoke in his deep Dom voice. “Put this on and wait on your knees for me to return.”

“Yes, Sir.” His words took away the remaining strength in her legs. Tonight was going to be a good night, she could feel it already.

She quickly took the tiny outfit out of the box and held it up, trying to work out which end was which. She smiled. It was the cutest little black leather dress in the shape of a baby-doll negligee, which was so short that it would only cover half of her bare arse. There was nothing else for her to wear, no knickers or even shoes.

Two minutes later, she was changed and kneeling facing the door, waiting for Adam to return. He hadn’t said how he wanted her to kneel so she took the first position he had taught her. She sat back on her heels, opened her knees and arched her back so her breasts stuck out, then waited as heated anticipation buzzed through her veins.

Her gaze was lowered so she didn’t see him come in, but she heard the door click and his footsteps approach. Her heartbeat quickened in response.

“Very nice, good girl.”

The words caressed her and tiny goose bumps jumped to attention on the surface of her skin. He was standing over her now, only his black leather trousers and boots visible forcing the feeling of submission to deepen further still.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled it gently back until she was looking up into his face. “Who do you belong to, Rachel?” His voice was so deep now, so in control…almost dangerous.

“You, Sir. I belong to you.”

“You will obey me tonight without hesitation or question.” The command carried no room for negotiation and heat pooled in the deepest part of her as the meaning sank in.

“Yes, Sir.” Her head was beginning to spin now as the pulsing need in her pussy became stronger with every word.

“Good girl. You know I have to punish you tonight, don’t you?”

Yes, she knew, and she would take it gracefully and make him proud. “Yes, Sir. I accept that.”

“Twice!”

“Twice, Sir?” A little twinge of alarm numbed her excitement for a moment.

“Once for showing disrespect toward your Dom, and for your unacceptable attitude toward punishment. And once for coming without permission.” His voice held no mercy.

She accepted that she would have to suffer the consequences of her actions. She hadn’t really taken him seriously when he’d threatened to punish her for coming on his lap the other day, and she certainly hadn’t thought he’d meant it when he’d told her off for trying to influence him to give her a spanking. Well, she knew differently now.

“What’s your safe word?”

“Red, Sir.”

“Good. Remember, Rachel, you can use your safe word if something becomes too much, but I must warn you, if I think you’re using it too loosely, there will be consequences. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.” Shit, the fact that he needed to remind her about her safe word wasn’t a good sign, and yet she could have sworn she’d just felt a trickle of moisture slide down her inner thigh.

“Good girl. Now, stand up and hold out your wrists.”

He buckled the leather cuffs onto her wrists and lifted each leg in turn so he could put the ankle cuffs on. Finally, she held up her hair so he could put the leather collar around her neck. Even though it was only a temporary collar to let other Doms know she was taken, the effect it had on her was nonetheless powerful.

Her remaining control drained out of her body, leaving her more pliable than a ragdoll cat. A surge of happiness shot through her as Adam attached a leash to her collar and walked her back out to reception and into the hot, steamy atmosphere of the club.

She couldn’t help smiling as they walked through the busy bar area. The raw, earthy smell of leather and sex filled her nostrils and the heavy, pounding music mixed perfectly with the drone of voices coming at her from all directions. She couldn’t wait to get upstairs so she could add the sound of leather hitting bare flesh and the subsequent screams to the now familiar sounds of the club.

They made their way to the reserved seating area where Adam then pushed her down gently onto the soft leather sofa. He reached over and fastened one wrist cuff and one ankle cuff to the hooks hidden in the sofa before leaning toward her. “I need to check in with a couple of the Dungeon Monitors,” he said, running a finger along her cheek. “I won’t be long. Amelia will keep you company.”

“Yes, Sir.” Oh good, she liked Amelia and hoped they’d get a little longer to chat today. Adam strode across the room to a table on the far side and talked to Amelia’s Dom, who looked no less scary than he had the last time she’d seen him. He nodded grimly and looked down to the floor. A second later, Amelia’s white hair emerged from the floor and she stood up, stretching her legs, which had obviously been kneeling for a while.

Amelia’s Dom marched her across the room toward Rachel’s table. Her eyes were downcast as she followed in perfect step behind him, and when they reached Rachel, she remained silent while ‘Sir’ pushed her firmly down onto the sofa and fastened her wrists to the hooks.

“You may speak,” he said, his voice sounding as gruff as his ragged face.

“Thank you, Sir.” Amelia grinned at him and turned to Rachel. “Hi, Rachel, I’d like to introduce you to Master Jack. Sir, this is Rachel, Adam’s new sub.”

Rachel was momentarily silenced by panic. What was the protocol for being introduced to someone else’s Dom? Should she make eye contact? She raised one eye slightly for a hint and luckily Master Jack must have noticed her hesitation because he actually smiled, his face changing from downright scary to almost approachable.

“You may look at me, but thank you for waiting for permission. I see Adam’s training you well. I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“Thank you, Sir. You too.” Even when he smiled, Master Jack looked terrifying. He was like a giant warrior ready for battle, and Rachel shuddered to think what it would be like being topped by him.

He turned his attention back to Amelia. “You have five minutes.” And without another word, he turned his back on them and walked off.

Rachel was glad—she wouldn’t have felt comfortable chatting with him there and knew that Amelia wouldn’t have spoken freely either.

“It’s good to see you,” said Amelia with a warm smile. The sparkle in her eyes showed that she meant it.

“Thanks. You too. How are you?”

Amelia giggled. “I’m
really
good. Master has promised me a scene with a single-tail whip later and I’m beside myself with excitement. I can actually feel my skin screaming already, isn’t that amazing?”

Rachel laughed. “Yeah, really amazing. How the hell can you cope with that kind of pain?” She shuddered at the thought. The pain Adam had inflicted so far had felt incredible, but it hadn’t been severe enough to leave any lasting marks. Although that might be about to change after her punishments later.

Amelia shrugged. “I can’t explain it. He’s able to put me into deep subspace and after the first few lashes my mind just seems to go elsewhere. The only thing I’m aware of is the pain, but it’s not a bad feeling. It’s so incredible that I can’t find words to describe it. All I know is that the more he hits me, the more I want. Crazy, huh?”

“Not if it makes you feel good. I think I might experience more pain tonight than I’m used to.” Rachel shivered slightly as she thought about Adam’s dark promise of two punishments.

Amelia laughed. “Uh-oh, what have you done?”

Rachel pulled a face. “I’ve got two punishments due tonight. The first one is because, apparently, I’m not showing enough respect for my Dom and I also tried to goad him into spanking me.”

Amelia burst out laughing. “Bloody hell. Like I said last week, you’re either very stupid or very brave to wind Adam Stone up like that. What else did you do?”

“I came without permission.” She blushed at revealing such intimate information. She wasn’t used to being so open, even with other women, except maybe Mandy.

“Well, Rachel, all I can say is that you’re in for a very interesting and
stimulating
night. Adam is notorious for his punishments, especially orgasm-related ones.” Amelia winked at her and the small grip of anxiety Rachel was feeling tightened as both excitement and fear battled for dominance.

“Hello, little subs.” A sharp voice interrupted them and they both looked up to see Dominique towering over their table, looking down at them with a sneer of contempt on her perfectly made-up face. The latex was replaced with skin-tight leather tonight and a mean-looking whip was attached to her belt, giving her a dangerous and powerful presence.

“Dominique.” Amelia’s face didn’t hide her dislike for the Domme and their eyes locked in a hostile glare.

Rachel was shocked to see Amelia’s stance change from obedient submissive to formidable opponent and, to her surprise, it was actually Dominique who looked away first.

Dominique opened her mouth to say something, but didn’t get a chance to speak as Amelia said, “Oh look, Rachel,
your
Dom is back.”

Dominique turned around and when she saw Adam approaching their table, she narrowed her eyes at Rachel before turning around and striding off, leaving them briefly alone before Adam returned.

“Watch her, Rachel,” whispered Amelia. “She’s a sadistic bitch, a real nasty piece of work.”

But before Rachel had a chance to ask what she meant, Adam had reached their table. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, thank you, Sir.” Amelia made no mention of Dominique, and her submissive posture resurfaced as if on autocue.

“Thank you for your time, Amelia. Your Master is waiting.” Adam leaned over and unbuckled Amelia’s cuffs before stepping aside to allow her space to leave.

“Good luck with your punishments,” whispered Amelia with a wink as she slipped past Rachel.

“Thanks.” Rachel’s stomach clenched at the reminder and she looked up into Adam’s face for reassurance.

He seemed to notice her sudden apprehension and smiled at her, his eyes letting her know that she wouldn’t come to any harm.

At that moment, a Dungeon Monitor approached and asked to have a quick word with Adam. As the men talked in quiet voices, Rachel looked around the club until her eyes settled on Dominique. She was talking to a male sub who knelt at her feet, looking absolutely terrified.

She couldn’t see Dominique’s face, but she did see the sub’s when the Domme reached out and took his nipple between the sharp nails on her fingers. His face contorted in agony, tears welling in his eyes as he looked pleadingly up at her. Dominique said something else and the sub’s face fell, leaving him looking totally defeated and broken.

The sub’s cry of agony could be heard over the sound of the music as Dominique grabbed his hair and pulled his head roughly backward. Adam did that a lot to her, but never hard enough to really hurt her. This was hard. She wondered what the sub had done to incur such wrath.

Dominique then reached down, grabbed the poor bloke by the balls and twisted them in her claw-like hands. The wail of distress made Adam and the DM looked over briefly, but they clearly didn’t feel the need to intervene.