Bound to be Tested: Emergence, Book 3 (3 page)

And damn her body for following his directives and her mind for turning to mush at the sound of his voice.

Lori did not lift her gaze to Jude. She knew if she looked into the depths of his dark eyes right then she would lose herself. She closed her eyes briefly and sucked her finger into her mouth, careful to clean herself of Margaret’s essence.

Salty and sweet at the same time, just as she knew her sub would be.

Jude reached forward and ran his finger along the intricate weave of ropes crisscrossing Margaret’s back. “You did a great job with this. It was a pleasure watching the process. An art form in itself.”

He’d watched her? How long had he been there?

Lori sucked in a breath and stood tall again. She needed to get the upper hand in this before Margaret slipped into subspace under the directives of the wrong Dom. Ignoring Jude, she headed for her bag and swapped the flogger for a paddle.

She knew it would make him pause. For one, it was new. She’d ordered the smooth wooden paddle with the heart-shape cutout herself. For another thing, Jude had always wanted to use a paddle on Lori and she’d never consented. Afraid of the damage he could do with the flat surface, she’d balked at the idea every time he brought it up.

I’ve changed
, she thought, lifting her head high as she gracefully waltzed back to her sub.
You don’t know everything about me
.

In the two years since she’d last seen him, she’d been through a lot. He’d never know the hurt he’d caused. The devastation she’d endured. For a time she’d turned to harsher Doms in an attempt to feel half as much as Jude had wrought from her small frame. No one had ever come close.

Starting with gentle swats, she paddled Margaret’s cheeks, one at a time at first and then both together as she built up speed and pressure.

When she lowered to hit her thighs, Jude interjected again. “Not yet, baby. Stay on her ass. She’s still building into it.”

Lori paused. She leaned over Margaret’s frame to whisper, “You okay, pet?”

Margaret nodded subtly. “Yes, Mistress.”

“I know you’re turned on. I can smell it. You’re shivering. Do you enjoy Jude’s directives?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

For the briefest moment, Lori held still, worrying about the dynamic she’d enjoyed with her sub for a year. Could Jude waltz in here and fuck that up in half an hour?

Lori could feel all the eyes in the club on her. Her decision here was crucial. And her body was fighting a losing battle against the deep tone she was conditioned to recognize as her Master. What could it hurt to finish out the scene, allowing Jude to give his input? It would help Lori save face in the eyes of the other club members, keep things peaceful and perhaps even feed a need Lori kept hidden deep inside her.

She lifted the glossy wood to her pet’s cheeks again, trying to shake off the uneasy sensation. “Focus on me, pet. I’m in charge of you.”

Margaret tipped her head into Lori’s in a gesture of acknowledgement.

“Slow down the speed, but increase the intensity,” Jude ordered. “You’re pausing too long.”

Margaret moaned again.

Damn Jude for knowing what Lori’s sub needed better than herself.

He leaned into Lori’s ear and whispered, “Push a finger into her pussy, but don’t linger. Don’t let her come yet.”

Throwing in the towel, Lori reached between Margaret’s thighs with her free hand and pressed into Margaret’s heat unerringly. She twisted her pointer both directions before removing the digit. She would have repeated the action, loving the way her sub bucked and squirmed at the intrusion, but just as she was about to stroke her folds again, Jude grabbed Lori’s wrist and drew it up to her face. “Suck it, baby. Lick it clean.”

Their eyes met as Lori did his bidding, parting her lips and licking them before she sucked the finger into her mouth.

Jude didn’t release her wrist until she finished. “Now go for the clit. Flick it until she writhes, but don’t let her come yet.”

Lori held his gaze as she obeyed his order. She didn’t need to look to locate Margaret’s swollen nub. She was more familiar with her sub’s body than she’d ever been with Jude’s. She could work her way around Margaret’s lithe frame blindfolded with her hands tied behind her back. Not that she had. After all, she was the Domme in this relationship. But she made a point of learning every inch of her sub’s body so she would know the reaction she could elicit with a touch or a caress.

Lori pushed the hood back to unveil Margaret’s clit with two fingers and expertly flicked her middle finger over the protrusion for several seconds.

“That’s enough,” Jude admonished. “I like the looks of her like this. She puts on a good show.” He glanced around at the eerily silent audience. “They like it too.” He ran a finger down Margaret’s back. “Like a gazelle, she’s lithe and lean and long. Give them more of a show. If you end it now, they’ll be deflated, and your sub will too.”

It was the first time he’d acknowledged Margaret as Lori’s submissive. She felt a moment of strength gathering at the admission as she pulled her hand from between her pet’s legs and sucked her juices once again.

“Step back around to her front. I enjoyed watching you suck her tits, although the event was short-lived.”

Lori righted herself. She prayed she was the only one around who noticed how wobbly her legs felt. She was clay in Jude’s molding hands. One pinch here or a tuck there and she bended to his bidding.

Rounding Margaret was slow. When Lori arrived at the front, she bent at the waist to fondle her sub’s nipples.

“No. Kneel in front of her. Put your head at her level.”

Lori paused a moment before slowly lowering herself to the ground. She didn’t kneel when she was topping. Ever. This was out of her comfort zone. Hell, she even landed on the mat with her legs spread, a position her body automatically assumed under the voice it knew as its Master.

“Gorgeous.” She had no idea if he referred to her, Margaret, or the both of them as a unit. “Stroke her tits first, avoiding the nipples. You know how arousing that can be.”

Lori lifted both hands to her sub and circled her breasts in a spiral pattern, each circumference growing smaller until she reached the tips.

“Look how firm her nipples are, baby. You did that to her. Flick your tongue over them.”

Lori leaned in closer and licked one nipple and then the other. Her pet swayed forward at the contact, her head lifting out of Lori’s path.

“So pretty. Her pink buds are a shade lighter than yours, the areolas smaller in diameter, but equally as attractive.”

What was he trying to prove? That he knew her better than she knew herself? To whom? Everyone in the room?

So many questions scrambled around in her head. She couldn’t concentrate on one long enough to discern an answer.

“I bet you can make her come with your mouth.”

No shit, Jude. I’ve done it many times. How else do you think I usually make her come?

Jude stepped closer. He kneeled beside Lori and chuckled. “On her tits, baby. On her tits.” He stroked a finger down Lori’s cheek and chucked her under the chin. When he danced that finger tenderly down her neck and into the V of her breasts, she glanced lower.

God. She was a vision. Not the one she’d left the house intending to explore. No. She was acting like a wayward sub herself. On her knees with her legs spread, leaning forward enough to accommodate Margaret’s chest, her ass stuck out, and her chest bulged from the top of her bustier. Her nipples were covered, but barely.

“Suck one in, baby,” he whispered, his voice lower, hoarse with his need. “I love the way your cheeks hollow when you suck…” He let that last word hang, the implication easy to understand.

When he stroked that damn finger across the swell of her breast, up around her neck and then used it to press her head inward, she complied. She wrapped her lips around the pink nipple closest to Jude and sucked several inches of Margaret’s globe into her mouth.

Margaret bucked hard, but Lori saw Jude steady her with a hand to her back, holding her for Lori to feast on. “She’s not going anywhere, baby. Go ahead. I know you like nipples.”

Yeah, his
. Damn him.

Rarely had she been permitted to feast on him, but when he’d given her the green light, she’d loved to flick and suckle his disks. She’d loved the way they reacted to her touch, reaching toward her, pleading for more attention.

But Jude was a controlled man. In his domineering ways, he didn’t like to lose any brain cells allowing Lori to torment him often.

“So sexy, baby. Circle her nipple with your tongue. Flick it over the center… That’s it. You like that, don’t you?”

She didn’t want to know to whom he was referring.

“Nip the tip with your teeth. Gently, not so hard that she comes yet.” He set his full hand on the back of Lori’s head now and stroked her hair, tangling his fingers into the locks and guiding her subtly. “That’s enough. Switch to the other breast, baby.”

Lori’s pussy dampened more every time he called her that endearing name. How many other women had he addressed in that tone since kicking her to the curb?

“Spread your lips. Suck more of her into your mouth… Yes, like that. So good.” It occurred to her the one thing he didn’t do was join. The only touches he’d applied to Margaret had been to admire her artwork or hold her steady. Nothing sexual or punitive.

Lori sucked. Margaret had the best tits she’d ever seen. Perfect round orbs that stood pert on her chest and demanded attention. She moaned around the globe as she fondled her sub with her lips.

“I’d almost forgotten that sound. You might be closer to orgasm than your pet here.”

She’d never admit to that, nor would she let herself get carried away enough to prove him right.

“Scoot forward a bit, baby. Reach beneath her and fondle her clit while you work her tits.” Jude pressed her head again, his hand having made itself at home on her scalp.

Lori walked her legs closer to Margaret and stroked a path down her sub’s belly with one hand until she reached Margaret’s clit. She pinched it between two fingers first, getting Margaret’s full attention, and then stroked the nub with her middle finger.

Margaret squirmed as much as the ropes would allow now. Lori knew Margaret was silently begging for release, fighting the urge to plead out loud.

“Now, baby.”

She knew what he meant. She knew him so well she wanted to kick herself.

Instead, she followed his orders as though he’d never left and he still owned her soul.

He will always own your soul
… She shook the thought from her dazed head and pressed her finger into Margaret’s clit at the same time she sucked hard on her nipple.

Margaret bucked hard, her orgasm forcing her body to stiffen and then revolt. It wouldn’t be enough. Lori knew this. If she didn’t provide Margaret with vaginal penetration, she would be left hanging no matter how many times she came.

Regardless of their relationship, one that hadn’t involved a man for the entire time they’d been committed to each other, both women liked the fullness of cock. Fake cock was just as good and sometimes better. Fingers would do in a bind, but leaving Margaret’s pussy empty would piss the woman off.

When the orgasm subsided, Lori released her nipple, trying to catch her breath. She was horny herself. She’d never been this horny in a scene. Usually she kept her head on straight. People had enough trouble believing in the legitimacy of a Domme. It only added to the rumor mill for a Domme to appear weak during a scene.

“Lower her arms now, baby. She’s been in that position long enough.” Jude stepped back.

Lori followed, her legs composed primarily of cooked noodles. Her heels suddenly seemed too high to support her. But she managed to circle Margaret and release her from the hook. “Straighten your back, pet.” She grabbed her shoulders and massaged the ache she knew would remain as a reminder of this scene for several days.

“She’s been bound long enough, baby.”

Damn that man and his commands one step ahead of Lori’s actions, as though she couldn’t make good decisions on her own. She directed a glare at him and then bent to the task of releasing her sub from the ropes.

Margaret shook, from the orgasm, from the intensity of the scene, and undoubtedly from the need to come again.

The rope unraveled much faster than it had been placed. In minutes Margaret was free. Lori stepped to her front, drew her arms to the center and rubbed the stiff muscles of her sub still kneeling on the floor.

Lori tucked Margaret’s head to her chest and settled it against the
V
of her breasts. Margaret heaved in a breath as though she hadn’t received enough oxygen for the entire scene. She tipped her head back, her eyes imploring Lori to explain what the hell had just happened.

With a subtle shake of her head, Lori told her not to question the situation right now. She had no idea what she might say in answer anyway. She needed time to think about what had happened.

Lori stood, helping Margaret to her feet. The club had grown noisy and the audience had dispersed. Only a few people still milled around the mat. Carlton had returned at some point. After the owner, Jason Garwood—the only father figure Lori had ever known—Carlton was the second in command here. Nothing happened inside Emergence he didn’t approve, direct or orchestrate.

Lori lifted her gaze to him now. She knew he was confused at best and fit to be tied without a doubt. Carlton, however, was staring at Margaret. He didn’t approach. To do so would have been a serious breach of both etiquette and policy. And there was already a lot of that going around tonight. But he did furrow his brow in worry, his hands twitching at his sides as he assured himself Margaret was indeed okay.

The man was thorough. She’d give him that. How long had he been watching?

Lori smiled, thankful she had a man like Carlton in the club. Where the hell had he been when Jude had first entered?

Speaking of Jude… Lori twisted from one side to the other. The man was nowhere in sight. She wrapped one arm around Margaret and eased her sub toward a row of couches. As she passed her bag, she grabbed the straps. Someone had placed her toys inside.