To Command and Collar [Masters of the Shadowlands 6] (24 page)

On the thirty-two-foot catamaran, Kim sprawled on the forward trampoline with Gabi and Andrea. The cool spray sprinkled over her skin as the boat slid through the water with a swishing sound and an occasional snap of the sails. Lovely. So different from the motorized boats she’d grown up with. Clean and quiet.

She could even hear the murmur of the guys’ talking in the cockpit. She smiled, thinking of how they harassed each other in that weird guy fashion.
Watching Master R interact with his buddies was interesting. Sometimes when around other men, a guy would behave as if his girlfriend was unimportant, as if showing a woman affection would make him less macho.
But Master R stayed the same in public as in private. And his concern and affection for his friends was clear. Dammit, why did she have to like him so much?
I need to go home. Soon.
Gabi bumped shoulders with her. “You holding up all right?”
“Oh sure. I just want it over, you know?”
Andrea tipped her face up, and the sun glinted off her golden brown hair. “I bet.” A big woman with a full figure, her size was perfect for Cullen.
Kim smiled at her. “Thanks for the support at the Shadowlands the other night. It helped to know people were keeping an eye on things. On me.”
Andrea nudged her arm in the same way Gabi had. “No problem. Shadowlands subs watch out for each other. It took me a while to really get that.”
“No kidding.” Gabi sneered amiably at Andrea and then glanced at Kim. “When Ms. Callme-independent here actually asked Beth to help her with planting a garden, I thought the entire group would drop dead in shock.” Gabi tilted her head back, letting the breeze rumple her shaggy hair. “I’m glad Raoul invited us today. Marcus prosecuted a really nasty murder case, and it was bothering him. It’s good to get away.”
Kim smiled, enjoying how normal the day had been. Blue sky with puffy clouds, ocean mist, light conversation. The nightmares seemed to belong to someone else. She glanced up as the sails spilled air, and the boat slowed.
“We’re going to hang out here for lunch and swimming,” Cullen called.
“Good plan,” Andrea yelled back. “You two hungry? What comes first—food or swim?”
With the boat stopped, the sultry heat increased quickly. “Swim,” Kim decided. She stripped down to her two-piece pink suit and jumped off the back. Bubbles frothed around her, and the cool, silky ocean enfolded her.
A whoop sounded, and Andrea hit the water, creating a tidal wave.
Gabi jumped in on Kim’s other side. “That feels perfect.”
They played for a while, splashing and gossiping, sharing recipes and dom tales, television shows, and Tampa gossip.
“Aren’t the guys going to get in the water?” Kim asked finally.
“They’re male. The only thing men are fast at is sex.” Andrea grinned. “Want to try getting them in sooner?”

Half-listening as Marcus and Cullen discussed an arson case, Raoul sipped his iced tea and thought about Kimberly. He’d enjoyed seeing her relax, talking and laughing with the other two women. Unlike some of the submissives he’d brought on outings, she fit nicely with the others, adding to the pleasure of the day.

Raoul set his drink down and listened, hoping to hear her infectious giggle again. He heard only the men’s voices, the clanking of the lines and muted flap of sail, and the waves lapping at the boat. No women’s voices. Not even any splashing. He rose to check forward where the women had been sunning. No one. “Why is there no noise? Where are the women?”

Cullen paused in his story, then set down his soft drink. He peered over the starboard side and shook his head.
“What—” Marcus strode to the port side. “Nothing.”
A quiver of worry stabbed at Raoul. The area had no strong currents—and the subs would have shouted if they’d had problems.
I should have watched more closely
. “I’ll take this side.” Already shirtless, he balanced for a second and dived off.
Nothing.
Still no noise. No one could be that quiet in the water…unless they wanted to.
Ah
. He frowned at the boat, at waves too small to conceal a person. Surely they would not be so foolish… He swam forward and rounded the port hull.
The three women were silently hiding under the trampoline section. Kimberly’s hands were over her mouth to suppress her laughter.
He flattened his smile and frowned at them. “You are all in so much trouble.” With a yell, he summoned the other two doms.
Cullen swam around the side, saw them, and cursed. “Sneaky little pet, aren’t you?” He reached out and snagged Andrea.
She yelped and kicked, her foot connecting with Cullen’s gut. He sucked water, and she got loose, swimming past him.
As Marcus rounded the hull, Gabi fled.
Kimberly followed right in her wake, and Raoul chased after.
His little sub could swim—better than he could, in fact. He finally caught her, partly because she couldn’t stop laughing, and he enjoyed the sound too much to want it to end.

Kim grinned, feeling the way Master R crowded her as she climbed the ladder. Maybe because she’d knocked him back in the water last time? God, he was so going to kill her. Her sides ached from laughing as she joined the others.

The flat trampoline area between the catamaran hulls where Kim and the other women had lounged had grown crowded with the addition of pissed-off men.

Trying to stop giggling, Kim leaned on the railing and watched her master step from the ladder.
Oh my God, just look at him
. Water ran down the center of his chest between solid muscles that looked as if they’d been carved from cedar. His soaked shorts sagged on his hips, displaying his ridged abdomen. When he folded his arms, she couldn’t look away from the rockhard muscles of his biceps. The other men had great builds, but Master R looked like a god of war.

And, uh-oh, he looked as angry as one. When his dark eyes focused on her, her laughter died, and her mouth went dry.
“Kimberly. I am displeased.”
Her throat clogged at the thought that she might have really upset him, and she dropped to her knees on the mesh without thinking. Her head bowed. “I’m sorry, Master.”
Silence.
She glanced up through her lashes and saw laughter in his eyes. He wasn’t really mad, drown him. “It isn’t nice to lie. Master,” she muttered. What had happened to honesty?
A warm hand cupped her sea-cooled chin, and he lifted her face. “You’re right, gatita. I shouldn’t make you think I’m angry when I’m not.” His lips curved into a devilish smile. “I’d planned to say you were disobedient and punish you, but that would be wrong.”
Oh, good. She gave a sigh of relief.
“However, I still plan to punish you…just because I want to. I’m your master, and that’s all the reason I need.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re going to hurt me…for fun?”
“Most definitely.” He gripped her upper arms and pulled her to her feet.
Kim looked around, starting to realize what had happened—their little game had transformed easygoing men into doms, and the atmosphere of the simple boat outing had changed.
Cullen had already dragged Andrea back to the cockpit. She could hear the smack of his huge hand hitting bare flesh, and the sound was distracting. Erotic.
Marcus had pushed Gabi on her knees. Kim stared at him. This wasn’t the ever so polite Southerner she’d stayed with. His blue eyes were icy as he told Gabi her diversion had caused his beer to get warm, and that was simply unacceptable.
“Your beer got warm?” Scowling up at her dom, Gabi pushed her hair out of her eyes. “God, you’re uptight. Did the aliens maybe forget to remove your anal probe?”
“That does it.” He grabbed her hair and pushed her toward the cockpit.
Kim grinned. The pampered doms wanted a comfortable bench to sit on to punish their subs.
Still smiling, she looked at Master R. He was studying her with a speculative look in his eyes as if assessing how much she could take. She swallowed. “What are you going to do, Master?”
“Strip for me, please.”
Oh boy
. He might be enjoying himself, but his tone said she’d better watch her step. The first tiny flare of arousal sparked to life in her belly. She pulled off the top and stepped out of the skimpy bottom. When he put his hands behind his back, she knew what he wanted and assumed the inspect position he’d taught her. Legs apart, hands behind head, breasts elevated. Cold dribbles of water ran down her back from her tangled hair. The mesh was warm under her bare feet, the breeze cool on her damp body.
He walked around her slowly, his gaze warmer than the sun against her shoulders. “I prefer your nipples to be more colorful,” he said finally. “The water turned them blue.”
What kind of complaint was that?
He shook his head at her when she tried to say something. “Stay in position, sumisita.” He went into the salon and returned with the picnic basket and some cushions, which he tossed around the area. After rummaging in the basket, he pulled out…a packet of wooden skewers? Rubber bands? And a brown lunch sack.
What the heck?
He opened the packet, removing two of the skewers. She eyed them with a frown. They looked awfully pointy.
“You think they’re sharp?” he asked in a mild tone as he broke them in half, making them a few inches long. He lined up the pointed ends, wrapped his fingers around all four…and pressed them gently on her upper breast. “Are they sharp?” he asked, as if merely curious.
The sensation, just short of pain, took her breath. “Um. I guess.”
“Good.” He tapped them against her skin, lightly in a circle around her breasts, leaving marks like mouse prints behind. She stiffened at the tiny stinging—arousing—pains. Her nipples couldn’t get any tighter, and her clit poked out as if wanting attention as well.
Master R worked his way to the edge of her nipple, then ran his free hand between her legs. He slid his fingers easily through her wet folds and caressed her hard nub to urgency.
Her hips tilted forward as his middle finger penetrated her to the knuckle. Then the second knuckle.
“I think we’ll explore pain more today,” he said, his soft voice curling across her nerves. “You seem to be ready.”
Pain
. Her pussy clenched, and his finger was right there to tell. Dammit. The thought of pain terrified her…and turned her on at the same time.
And he knew. The little sharp sticks worked in toward her left breast and back out, not quite touching the areola. Teasing her. She could feel her breasts growing heavier, more swollen. Aching.
He tapped the sharp, sharp points right on top of her nipple.
The sudden bite of pain sent carnal electricity ripping from her sensitive peak straight to her clit.
When she tried to step back, he pushed his finger deeper in her pussy in an intimate anchoring. The sticks moved to her other breast. Oh God, knowing how it felt increased her anticipation. Her left nipple still stung as he circled her right breast.
Her clit throbbed wildly, and when the points jabbed ever so lightly into her right nipple, she almost came.
But not quite. Her whole body flamed with need. She whimpered when he pulled back, leaving her empty inside.
His firm lips curved into a smile. “I love the sounds you make, cariño.” He kissed her sweetly, then tugged on one nipple, mercilessly pulling it into a point.
Sweet kisses. Mean fingers
. Her brain spun.
He placed a skewer horizontally above and below the peak, pinching it between them. Her mouth dropped open as he put rubber bands on each end. Homemade nipple clamps.
Her nipple flattened as he increased the tension with the rubber bands, and the pain grew. “Mmm,” she protested, afraid to yell, “ow.”
“Breathe through the pain. One breath. Another.” He held her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Take the pain—for your master.”
For Master R. She sucked air in through her nose, her teeth gritted.
“Good gatita.” The tenderness in his voice increased her determination to endure.
The pain eased into a mild pinching sensation, but one that didn’t stop, keeping her constantly aware of the discomfort.
He did her other nipple the same way, watching her expectantly as her teeth ground together, before the bite let her catch her breath.
“Such a good sumisa.” Taking a step back, he surveyed his work. “Very nice. You may relax now.”
She put her hands down at her sides, hissing when the movement jostled her breasts.
“Hey, that’s a great look.” Cullen’s rough voice. He and Andrea had returned. His sub was stripped as bare as Kim. Andrea’s eyes went wide when she saw what Master R had done. She glanced warily at Cullen.
He grinned. “Those big nipples of yours will squash and look great.” As Andrea sputtered something in Spanish, he asked Raoul, “Got any more of them, buddy?”
Master R set the package and the bag of tiny rubber bands in Kim’s hands. “Take them to Master Cullen,” he said.
Kim crossed the trampoline and dropped the evil things into his big palm.
“Thanks, pet. Now go on back to Master Raoul.”
I’m not sure I want to
. Kim eyed the water. Escape again? No, he’d catch her and probably be truly upset. With a sigh, she returned and knelt in front of Master R.
The trampoline vibrated as Marcus returned, followed by a dutiful-looking Gabi. He pointed to his feet, and Gabi went to her knees.
Kim exchanged a rueful glance with her friend, feeling how things had changed. When they’d visited BDSM clubs together, the scenes had been just erotic fun.
Today was more. Under Master R’s teasing, Kim heard a serious note, the undeniable will of a master. Perhaps this was the difference between a dom who didn’t really know her and one who knew exactly where her limits lay…and intended to push them.
Feeling herself sway with more than the movement of the boat, she met his contemplative gaze.
“Raoul.” Marcus was studying Kim’s breasts, laughter in his sharp blue eyes. “Might I ask if you happen to have anything else interesting?”
“If I’d known the submissives would become so unruly, I’d have brought my toy bag. But there are a few more pervertables in the picnic basket.”
Marcus patted Gabi’s head. “Well, we just see what I can find, won’t we, sugar?” He stepped around her and lifted the lid.
Kim bit her lip, trying not to laugh as Gabi’s eyes started to spark.
Temper, temper, Gabrielle.
“Cullen, the man’s got rope.” Marcus tossed a handful of precut ropes and a pair of heavy scissors into the middle of the area and dug farther. “Ah, here we go.” He straightened, holding rubber bands and two plastic clamps, about three inches long with serrated edges.
Gabi’s eyes shot fire. “You are
not
putting those on me. You dumbass, those are for potato chip bags, not for breasts.”
“Hands behind your back.”
She looked at the set of his jaw, and her hands laced together behind her back.
“Very nice, sugar.”
With the first clamp, Gabi yelped, hissing as he wound a rubber band on the handle part to lessen the pressure.
Kim’s eyes narrowed when she realized the clamps had chunks chipped from the handles so the rubber bands wouldn’t slip. Master R had used them before, hadn’t he? She gave her master a scowl. Tricksy dom.
Grinning, he bent and whispered, “She’ll have a tantrum any minute now.”
Kim smothered a laugh. When staying with the couple, she’d heard some pretty creative insults. Gabi’s voice did carry a ways.
Marcus put the second clamp on, and Gabi made a sound like a teakettle.
Smiling, he held her upper arms, keeping her from moving. After minute, he asked, “Better?”
Gabi glared. “If you want to add some variety to your sex life, why don’t you just use your other hand?”
Marcus barked a laugh. Pushing her legs apart, he cupped her pussy, then held his glistening palm up to show her. “You seem to like this kind of variety, darlin’.” He smiled as she turned red and sputtered, obviously searching for an insult potent enough.
Kim’s eyes stung with tears.
Master R turned her face toward him, frowning. “He won’t hurt her, chiquita. I promise. This is how they like to play.”
“It’s not that.” Kim blinked and smiled at him. “I’m so happy for her. I always wanted her to find someone who’d push her to be herself and not some perfect person like her parents wanted.”
“Sweet gatita.” Master R kissed the top of her head. He glanced at the other couple, snorted at another Gabi insult, then shot Kim a warning look. “Just in case you think to imitate your friend, I do not permit such disrespect.”
She already knew that. He gave her a lot of leeway, but she’d learned how far she could go with mouthing off. If she’d said what Gabi had, she’d have had her butt blistered, and that certainty actually felt reassuring, like when winds stop veering and blow straight and true. “Yes, Master.”
“Now, you will please me with your soft mouth, and if you do well, your punishment won’t be…too bad.”
“What’s my punishment, Master?”
The corners of his eyes crinkled, but he didn’t answer, just unzipped his shorts and took out his cock. The piercing glinted in the light. Oh God, she hadn’t done this since…since Lord Greville and… A shudder ran through her.
“Easy, gatita.” He held his hands out to her, and she put hers in his. He squeezed reassurance, then curled her fingers around his erection. Hotter than the sun with steel under the velvety skin.
She opened her mouth to take him in—and froze.
They’d tied her hands behind her back; that device had held her mouth open. Pushing into her throat, choking, no air.
“Kimberly.” A sharp tug on her hair reminded her of where she was. “Watch me, not the past.”
She pulled her thoughts together, thought through the fear the way Faith had taught her, knowing he would let her take as long as she needed. After a minute, she nodded.
Ready
. And reminded herself, This is Master R.
“Use your hands.”
She smiled, remembering the first time they’d made love, how he let her go as slow as she wanted as long as she kept advancing. So patient and calm. He might know her well, but she knew him too, and God, it really, really helped.
He made a noise in the back of his throat, a dom-style sound of encouragement and prodding.
Stop thinking
. “Yes, Master.” She slid her hands up and down his cock. It was so engorged that the skin was taut, the veins distended. Men’s equipment never seemed particularly attractive, but Master R was so devastatingly, potently male. She ran a finger around the head, touched the piercing, cupped his heavy balls, and felt the light hair tickle her palm. She nuzzled his groin and inhaled. His own masculine scent mingled with that of the ocean. Her muscles loosened.
“Now your tongue,” he murmured.
She leaned forward and ran her tongue up his length, getting him wet. He hummed his enjoyment, and warmth filled her. God, she loved that sound he’d make. She licked until his shaft was wet and she’d traced every vein. Then she looked up.
When he nodded permission, she took him into her mouth, trying to go deep as—
“No,
tesoro mío
.” He wrapped her hands around the base of his shaft, preventing her from taking him in fully. “If I wanted to fuck your throat, I’d remove the piercing first, at least until you have more experience. For today, play with what I’ve given you. And be careful—metal is unforgiving on teeth.”
Oooh
. She ran her tongue over her teeth.
Avoid the piercing, Kim
. He was still worried, she could tell, but actually, she’d daydreamed about having his cock in her mouth. She was ready.
Really
. She took him in carefully, making sure her teeth went past the piercing…and then
played
, as he’d instructed. Tracing her tongue around him, then sucking vigorously enough to get a low moan of approval.
She cupped his testicles with one hand, enjoying the weight and size. Mmm. And he’d probably smack her if she called him Master Bull.
Lifting her head, she took the top of his erection between her lips and teased the piercing with her tongue. By carefully tugging on the metal ball with her teeth, she won herself a growly groan.
His hand fisted in her hair, and she froze; when he didn’t do anything further, she continued. He grew harder, and she gloried in it.
“All right, little torturer.” Using her hair, he pulled gently her away. “Now for the punishment I promised you a while back.”
“What one?”
His evil grin wasn’t reassuring in the least. “Ass in the air, please.”