Topping the Alpha: Trident Security Series (16 page)

As Mistress China left the two of them alone, Jake felt Nick’s shoulders relax. He didn’t blame him for being stressed out over everything, but a Dom knew how to relieve that anxiety. Stepping in front of his sub, Jake blocked his view of the rest of the club and waited until their eyes met. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know they care about both of us, but this has nothing to do with them. I didn’t expect that from Dev.”

“Devil Dog is just worried about you. And rightfully so.” He ignored Nick’s frown. “Any experienced Dom worries about a new submissive, whether it’s a family member, friend, or someone they’ve never met. This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, and we’ve all seen people become Doms or subs for the wrong reasons. We’ve also seen subs leave the lifestyle because of a bad encounter with an inexperienced or callous Dom. Questioning a new submissive is very common, Nick. Top it off with the fact they are your brothers, I would be more concerned if they didn’t question your decision. All right?”

Nick nodded as the last of the tension eased from his body. “Yeah. I’m good. And you’re right.”

He couldn’t help the smirk which spread across his face. “Of course I am.” Nick smiled as he intended. Glancing over his shoulder, Jake spotted the next person he needed to talk to. Turning back to his sub, he instructed, “Go downstairs and see if there’s a room available. If there is, tell whoever’s on dungeon duty that you’re with me, then wait for me in the room. Strip down to your briefs and present before I get there.”

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Nick dipped his head once. “Yes, Sir.”

Damn, he loved hearing that from him
. As his submissive walked toward the stairs, Jake took a moment to watch him. Nick’s jeans hugged his ass like a glove and emphasized his cut waist. A snug T-shirt enhanced the broad shoulders and muscular upper arms. That body should come with an explosives warning.
Boom.

When Nick disappeared from his sight, Jake headed toward the other end of the bar where Dr. Roxanne London, a pediatrician, and her wife/submissive, Kayla, were having a glass of wine. They were friends of Kristen’s and had joined the private club almost a year ago. Roxy was experienced with the bullwhip and was on her way to being approved as a Whip Master at the club, along with two other Doms. Every new Dominant member had to take classes at The Covenant before being cleared to play. The first class covered general play such as spankings, ball-gags, basic restraints, and such, while the rest of the classes included the more dangerous types of play—whips, canes, wax-play, and Shibari rope bondage, among other more skilled activities.

“Good evening, ladies.” After they returned his greeting, he addressed Roxy. “Mistress, I have a favor to ask. Normally I would request a moment alone, but since your subbie already knows about my new submissive, I have no problem with her staying.”

Mistress Roxy’s eyebrow went up as she eyed Kayla then Jake. “I didn’t know you had taken up with a new sub, Jake. Someone we know?”

He grinned at Kayla. “You want to tell her?”

The five-foot-two blonde was a complete contrast to her seven inches taller, red-haired Domme, but they were a perfect complement to each other. Kayla giggled as she fingered her leather and silver collar. “It seems Master Nick is actually a submissive, Mistress. And I’m very happy for you both, Master Jake. I assume he told you about the conversation he had with Kristen, Kate, and I, and I hope we helped him make the right decision. He had a lot of questions and we tried to be neutral with our answers, so we didn’t influence him one way or the other. We wanted him to make up his own mind. Did he do the research we suggested?”

“Yes, but he still has a lot to learn,” he turned back to Roxy, “which is why I need to ask you a favor.”

“Shoot.”

Jake crossed his arms. “He’s observed the other Whip Masters here before and wants to experience the bullwhip. Carl is away on vacation and China is on the schedule tonight. If Nick wasn’t a SEAL and hadn’t gone through the SERE training, I wouldn’t have agreed to it at this point. But I told him the only way I would do it was if I had another experienced Dom in the room observing his reactions.”

Cocking her head, Roxy narrowed her eyes. “I’m not familiar with that training. What is it?”

“SERE? It stands for Survival, Evade, Resistance, and Escape. Basically it’s the resistance part of the training which helped me make my decision. It’s how to survive and resist the enemy in case of capture.”

“In other words, torture.”

Jake nodded. “In a nutshell, yeah. We talked about it this afternoon as we went over his limit list. I covered the pros and cons with him, and I’m convinced I have his complete trust in this. My concern is that he won’t use his safe-word due to the training. It was intense and I don’t want him falling back into the don’t-give-up-your-secrets zone. I want him in subspace, not outer space.”

“Okay. I agree it’s a good idea to have an observer and I’ll be happy to help.” Pushing her nearly full glass of white wine toward the bartender, she asked, “Master Dennis, would you mind putting this on ice for me? I’ll be back later.” When the man waved his acknowledgment while filling someone else’s order, she turned back toward her sub. “Kayla, after you finish your wine, please wait for me in the submissives’ area.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Good luck, Master Jake.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks, Kayla. And I’m sorry I interrupted your evening with your Mistress.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Kayla grinned back at him. “No worries. It’s for a good cause and now I get to catch up on the in-house gossip.”

Roxy and Jake chatted on the way downstairs and across the pit. At the near end of the two hallways, which led to twelve private/theme rooms, stood one of the Dungeon Masters who held up a hand with five fingers to Jake. After thanking the man, Jake headed down the hallway to the left, stopping at room #5, and opened the door.
Fuck!
Every time he saw Nick in that flawless present position, his dick hardened in an instant. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of him. Now, if only he could get past his own demons, he might in fact have a shot at something long-term…something his friends were all starting to find…something good.

* * *

On his knees, head bent, one hand in the other behind his back, Nick’s breath hitched when he heard the door open. The thumping bass of the music from the main room pulsed throughout the air until the door was shut again, muffling the sound. A set of soft footsteps reached his ears and he knew it wasn’t Jake. Oh, he was in the room—Nick was certain of it because of the electricity he sensed in the air, causing goosebumps to appear on every inch of his skin—but there was someone else with him…most likely Mistress Roxy. He understood Jake’s reluctance to do their first whipping scene without an observer. The SERE training had strengthened Nick’s ability to take pain, however, the two situations were so different. One was pain for torture, and the way he understood his research and from what the girls had told him, the other was pain for pleasure. If he hadn’t become hard as fucking granite two nights ago when Jake had used the flogger to redden his ass, he may not have gotten the difference. But the pain, coupled with the burning of the ginger, had only increased his desire, and he’d had one of the most explosive orgasms ever. And God help him, he wanted to experience it again.

The footsteps approached and soon a pair of black, leather, knee-high boots with spiked heels entered his field of vision. He kept his head down, waiting for permission to look up. The protocol list scrolled through his mind and he prayed he didn’t do anything wrong. Tonight, he wanted to be everything Jake wanted in a submissive. He wanted to prove to both Jake and himself that he could do this.

“Look up, subbie.”

He’d been right—Mistress Roxy. Lifting his gaze to hers, he tried not show his anxiousness about the upcoming scene. “Yes, Mistress Roxy?”

Standing over him, dressed in a black, skin-tight cat-suit, the willowy redhead crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.
Damn
. When she was in full Domme mode, anyone would be crazy to fuck with her. The woman could be intimidating when she wanted to, which was in direct contrast to her gentle pediatrician demeanor. “You understand why I’m here tonight. While your Master whips you, I will be watching your reactions. If at any time I feel your safety is compromised, I will immediately stop the scene, whether you say your safe-word or not. After the scene stops and I’m satisfied with your condition, I will leave you to your Dom’s care. Understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I understand completely.”

She stared at him for almost a full minute, looking for something in his eyes or face. He tried to keep his expression blank. On the other side of the room, something large was moved and then the sound of metal indicated it was locked in place again, but his gaze remained on hers. At last, the Domme nodded and stepped away, as Jake came around and took her place. Reaching down, he cupped his sub’s chin. “You ready, Junior?”

Nick didn’t hesitate at all. “Yes, Sir. More than ready.”

“Strip your shorts off, stand against the cross, and spread your arms and legs. Grab hold of the posts at the top.”

Following the orders, he dropped his briefs and then stood naked at the St. Andrew’s cross which had been pulled away from the wall. The large apparatus was common in the BDSM community, and while it was called a cross, in reality it resembled an ‘X’. The space behind it provided room for Mistress Roxy to observe without being in the way. Nick had no trouble being nude in front of her for several reasons—she had no interest in men, she was a physician, and he’d lost all modesty about being naked in front of anyone since enlisting in the Navy. As Jake began to shackle his ankles and wrists to the cross, Roxy took a position against the wall and watched intently. After each strap was secured, Jake ran a finger underneath the leather to make sure it wasn’t cutting off the circulation.

Once Nick was strapped spread eagle, Jake came around to the back, facing him. He stroked Nick’s hair and asked, “What’s your safe-word, Junior?”

“Red, Sir.”

“If you say it, you won’t be disappointing me at all. Understand?”

But he’d be disappointing himself if he tapped out. “Yes, Sir.”

A slow smirk spread across Jake’s face and he began to circle back around. “Then let the games begin. Do your best not to flinch.”

Nick swallowed hard. Holy fuck, he was really about to do this. He’d seen Master Carl and Mistress China in action before, so he knew they never broke the skin while whipping a sub. But it was like just before you jumped out of an airplane or when a roller-coaster crested the highest peak and was about to drop—it was that ‘oh, shit’ moment and you knew there was no backing out.

He wasn’t prepared for the crack of the whip, and while he tensed, he didn’t move an inch in any direction as he waited for the pain that didn’t come.
Crack.
Nothing.
Crack.
Again, nothing. Either Jake was warming up or he was playing a psychological game with him.

“Deep breath, Junior, and let it out slowly.”

Nick did as he was told and this time when he heard the snap of the whip, he felt where the tip licked his right ass cheek.
Holy shit! Big fucking difference between the flogger and the bullwhip.
Gritting his teeth, he inhaled through his nose and let it out through his mouth.

“Reach past the pain, Nick, and feel the heat.”

He wanted to snort at Jake’s words, but instead, tried to find the ‘zone’ like he’d been trained to do.

Crack.
This time his left cheek lit up and after the initial sting, he felt the burn that Jake was talking about. The next strike was just above his right scapula, followed quickly by one above the left one.

“Breathe, Nick.”

Taking a few breaths, he realized that his cock was getting hard. Jake slowly worked him over, never letting a spot be hit twice, and pausing after a mix of one to three strikes. Nick lost count as the pain morphed into something different…something more. He was sweating and breathing hard, but apparently Mistress Roxy didn’t see anything of concern which would cause her to stop the scene. All he could focus on was the repeating
crack
, pain, and heat. He started to float…how was that possible? How could his feet leave the ground? His head fell forward as his chest heaved.

“Nick, step back.”

Huh?
How was he supposed to step back when he was strapped to the cross? He lifted his heavy head and realized Jake had stopped and both Dominants had unstrapped him. “No. Don' wanna sssop.”
Why’s my speech slurred?
I sound drunk.

“We’re done. You’re in subspace. Enjoy it, but put one foot in front of the other.”

Done? How long had it been since they started?

Jake ducked under Nick’s arm and supported him as he led him over to the bed. Placing his submissive face down on the cool, clean sheets, the Dom murmured his thanks to Mistress Roxy, and then Nick heard the door open before shutting again. But everything sounded so far away, like in a tunnel. Everything looked blurry. The room seemed to be filled with thousands of bees, buzzing their heads off.

Jake rubbed his ankles and wrists. “You did great, baby. How do you feel?”