The Plume: The First Anthology (22 page)

So she moaned in supplication. She undulated, trying to show her repentance with her body. She shivered and she shuddered and she fought the orgasm he was skillfully building with ever fiber of her being.

She hoped it would be enough.

She began to understand that it would not be. He washed her with bold hands, asserting his ownership as he watched her, sliding his fingers and thumbs into her body with confidence. He washed her breasts with firm strokes, massaging them and squeezing the nipples. Even though his erection pushed against her hip, Joanna saw the determination in his eyes.

It was when he stepped away, leaving her simmering and suspended, that she realized he hadn’t taken a single picture of her like this.

“Dress her,” he commanded the staff. He caught the woman who had brought the gauze by the nape, turning her before himself with an admiring smile. He bent his head and kissed that woman, who happily returned his embrace.

Without another glance at Joanna, he lifted that woman’s hands to a matching hook on the other side of the shower. She grasped the hook holding herself there, then cried out as he eased his cock into her.

He fucked her, thoroughly and languidly, right before Joanna’s eyes. He took that woman in the same pose that Joanna was bound to hold, ignoring Joanna and her need. He made that woman come three times before he pounded himself into her and permitted his own release.

He showered and left without a backward glance.

Punishment it was going to be.

* * *

The masked attendants corseted Joanna, locking her into a black satin corset that cupped her breasts as if offering them as snacks. Joanna was shocked by the constraint of the corset, knotted so tightly around her that she could barely breathe. She was tipped backward and black fishnet stockings slipped over her legs. There were garters on the corset and multiple hands secured the stocking tops.

Black laced boots were pushed on to her feet, their stiletto heels arching her feet even higher than the shoes she had worn that first night. They rose to the middle of her calves, sleek and black and soft. The boots were laced tightly before Joanna was urged to her feet, and she saw that there were ankle restraints built into them. They were buckled around her ankles securely. There were stainless d-loops at the backs, the shiny silver in marked contrast to the black leather.

Long black velvet gloves were pushed on to her hands, urged over her elbows and smoothed to her upper arms. They were tight, too, the velvet woven with elastic to ensure a smooth fit. Wide wrist restraints were buckled over the gloves, their shiny hardware gleaming in contrast.

Again, there was a d-loop on each one.

One woman smiled at her, before producing four double-ended clasps. She handed them to Joanna, her expression knowing.

She was to help with her own binding. Of course.

Joanna took the four clasps. She clipped one to each of the four d-rings, thereby offering anyone the opportunity to harness her anywhere. They jingled a little when she moved, inviting abduction.

Her nipples were rouged, the lipstick worked into the areoles with such purpose that Joanna caught her breath. Her lips were reddened and her hair tied back in a ponytail. When they led her to the mirror, she couldn’t believe the sight of herself. Her hands were tugged behind her back and the wrist restraints clipped together. Joanna felt that she was repeating her original arrival at the club, except that this time she was corseted.

When they brought the leash that led to a pair of small silver clasps, Joanna didn’t know what to make of it. One woman pinched her left nipple, rolling it between her finger and thumb. She bent and suckled it, working it to a turgid peak then locking one of the clasps around it. Joanna gasped out loud and had her butt slapped for that. She watched in astonishment when her other nipple was similarly trapped, her mouth working as she struggled to keep silent.

The chains jingled as the lead was played out. The woman on the other end of the leash gave it a minute tug, one that sent a piercing shock through Joanna’s nipples and nearly took her to her knees.

The women smiled at each other, enjoying Joanna’s surprise.

The Master appeared then, carrying a black velvet domino mask and a silk scarf. He was dressed much as he had been the night she’d surrendered to him, in dark jeans and a dark T-shirt, one that emphasized the power of his built. He also wore a black leather hood again and heavy gloves. He walked around her, assessing the view, as Joanna stood and quivered.

“Graduation night,” he said, his tone so dangerous that Joanna shivered. “But first a test of everything you’ve learned.”

He put the domino over her head and Joanna liked the feel of the wide elastic. For a moment, she was surprised by how constrained her view was, then she glimpsed that black silk scarf. The Master knotted it over the mask, just as the Countess had done weeks before, consigning Joanna to darkness.

He placed his hand on the back of her neck, the weight of it and the resolve in his grip reassuring Joanna. “It’s your wish come true,” he murmured, his heat at her back as he urged her forward. “Your arrival at the Plume.”

* * *

Private Room Eleven was warm, the fire crackling on the hearth. It was Rex’s favorite room, the one that looked as like a library transported from an English manor house. An antique couch upholstered in striped burgundy satin stood on one side of the fireplace, a trio of chairs opposite. There was a large padded ottoman before the fire, one that could be used as a table or a chair. All of the furniture was heavier than it appeared and all of it had stainless loops tastefully hidden beneath its edges and corners.

There were literally a hundred ways a slave could be posed and rendered helpless in this room, and Rex had tried them all.

It was no coincidence that he’d chosen this room for tonight.

The lighting was low and golden. He had an array of ropes and ribbons and harnesses displayed at the ready. There was wine on the bar and a few glasses, ice in the bucket, and chocolate sauce if anyone felt so inclined. The room was soundproofed, a quiet lilt of background music the only sound. He chose the patter of rain to add to the sound effect and smiled at how the room seemed even more cozy.

Convinced that everything was perfect and just in time, Rex swept open the door. The other thing he liked about Private Room 11 was that it had an anteroom with a large flat screen television. Just as he had dictated, a selection of the photographs he’d taken of Joanna bound were exhibited there in a slide show. He smiled in recollection as a shot of her trussed helpless with rope in a hotel room appeared.

Athena watched him with a knowing smile, then nodded at her transfixed captive.

Mike was shackled in red leather restraints, his hands locked behind his back. He securely gagged in a red leather bridle. The red looked magnificent against his tan. He was the surfer dude taken captive on the beach, enslaved to milady’s pleasure.

But his gaze was locked on the television screen, his eyes wide. His erection was enormous, although Rex guessed it was going to get bigger. He flicked an astonished look at Rex.

“That’s only a small sample,” Rex informed him and Mike’s cock pumped upward.

Athena gave it a swat that wasn’t entirely playful. “He’s all yours,” she said to Rex. She made a mock pout. “Sorry, I can’t stay to play.”

Athena never dealt well with competition. She’d wanted Mike back ever since he’d left the Plume and Rex knew she was disappointed that she hadn’t been able to completely captivate him. The way his gaze locked on the images of Joanna said it all.

Rex put a fingertip under her chin and gave her a gentle kiss. “You should stay,” he said. “It might cheer you up.” He knew his surprise would do so, but Athena shook her head.

“Not tonight.” She glanced at Mike again, then back at Rex, disappointment lighting her eyes for a moment. She smiled then and spread her hands. Her emerald taffeta skirts rustled as she crossed the room to leave. She paused at the door back to the bar, as if she’d say something, then shook her head and left.

The door clicked shut behind her. Mike turned to Rex and made a sound of indignation, one that was muffled by his gag. He scowled, looking as reckless and daredevil as ever.

“Yes, I lied to you,” Rex admitted. “Trust me, though.”

Mike snorted.

Rex grasped the loop on Mike’s shackles and guided him into the library. He pushed Mike into one armchair, then locked his ankle restraints to the front legs of the chair. He unfastened the wrist restraints from each other, then locked each one to one arm of the chair.

Mike arched a brow.

“Show time,” Rex whispered. He crossed the room and opened a closet door, revealing Joanna. She was corseted, blindfolded and securely shackled to the wall inside the closet. In fact, the closet was outfitted for precisely this purpose, the hiding of bound slaves.

Rex smiled as he urged Joanna into the middle of the. Mike’s eyes nearly fell out of his head. Rex touched a fingertip to his own lips in silent warning, but Mike’s eyes were wild.

He had always been reckless and unpredictable.

Rex couldn’t wait to see what he would do.

Rex sat Joanna on the leather-clad ottoman. He locked her ankle restraints to the two corners of the ottoman closest to Mike, displaying her to his old friend. He coaxed her to the lip of the seat, making her lean forward while he bound her arms behind her back. He knew that Mike had a perfect view of her breasts. The firelight played over her skin, painting her in a thousand shades of gold.

She looked divine, delicate and feminine. Rex toyed with the leash attached to her nipples, giving it a little tug. Joanna gasped and squirmed, arching her back and opening her mouth. Her shiver was absolutely delicious. Mike groaned and struggled, looking wild and frustrated.

Joanna started at the realization that there was someone else in the room.

“And now your final exam,” Rex murmured to Joanna. He let the leash fall against her hot sex, knowing the cold metal would jolt her. Then he slid his hands over her thighs, recognizing that his hold over her was nearly gone. She gasped, her lips so soft and sweet that he wanted to kiss her until he was out of breath.

“Yes, Master,” she said quietly.

Mike didn’t seem to be breathing, he was watching so intently.

“This room is soundproofed,” Rex informed her. “No one will hear you scream, but I will be displeased if you make a sound. Do you understand?”

Joanna nodded, then swallowed.

He ran his gloved fingertip over her mouth, caressing her, teasing Mike with the fact that he could touch her while Mike couldn’t. “You can answer me. Yes, Master or no, Master but nothing more.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I am going to share you, tonight.” Her lips parted in dismay, but he pressed his thumb over her mouth. Mike’s cock stood straight up. “It is not up to you. It will be done because I command it to be done.”

She shivered, the involuntary ripple sliding through her body from head to toe. “Yes, Master.”

He moved his thumb back and forth, loving the softness of her mouth beneath his touch. It was easy to remember the feel of it locked around him, milking him dry. “In a way, your graduation is a test.”

Joanna’s throat worked, the uncertainty troubling her. “Yes, Master.”

“You will now be taken three times in succession. After the third time, you will tell me who had you twice, me or my guest.”

She worried over the mention of his guest. Did she guess it was a man? He wanted to see her face when she realized who it was, but didn’t think he could bear it.

“Yes, Master.”

“If you are right, you graduate.” He paused, watching her reaction closely. There was a flush on her breasts, a sign of her agitation. “Each time you are wrong, we repeat the exercise. You’ll be taken three more times and asked the same question, until you get it right.”

Her mouth opened in outrage, making her look so vulnerable that he ached to possess her. Mike made a sound of frustration and she jumped, her head turning as she tried to determine his location.

Rex caught her shoulders in his hands. “My guest is here, ready for you. Watching you.”

She choked slightly, but her hips twitched.

“Beg me to share you in this game, Joanna.”

It took her a moment, a moment of such consternation that Rex became impossibly hard. She wanted to fight him. She wanted to protest and struggle. But he could smell that her sex was wet and hot. The idea excited her.

Mike was radiating heat and desire, ready to rip himself free of the chair. He’d never manage it, even if he tried and maybe he knew that. Or maybe he feared that if he defied Rex, Rex would simply make him watch as he took Joanna over and over again. It was a tantalizing thought, one that sent a hot rush through his body.

He’d chosen correctly, just as he always did.

He saw Joanna accept the futility of arguing. He saw her slide into that sweet place of acknowledgement where her body was simply an instrument for pleasure and pleasure could not be denied. Her voice even softened. Her lips trembled. “I beg you to share me in this game, Master. Please.”

Rex couldn’t resist any longer. He caught her head in his hands, holding her captive between his palms, and kissed her thoroughly. She trembled in his grip, so utterly compliant and sexy that he never wanted to let her go.

But she was lost to him already.

When he lifted his head, her cheeks were flushed and his cock was pulsing.

He ran his thumbs across her lips again, feeling masterful. “The most interesting thing-” he whispered to her “-will be discovering which one of us lies first.”

She gasped at that, unable to hide her shock.

“Who will prolong the game first? You or me?” Rex chuckled as her cheeks burned and her mouth worked. “There’s only one way to find out.”

* * *

Mike couldn’t believe it. Rex was going to make him watch as he took Joanna over and over again. She looked so gorgeous that Mike couldn’t stand it. He'd thought he was going to come into the air, watching that slideshow of images in the anteroom.