Two Doms For Angel (9 page)

“Use the phone if you need
anything,” Damian said, closing the door quietly behind
him.

Zach eased her down onto
one of the thick floor pillows, and swiftly pulled a blanket over
her trembling body. He went down beside her and gathered her fully
into his lap.

Her hair was everywhere,
but her body was shaking so hard he was afraid to do anything but
hold her.

“I’ve got you, shhhh.” He
pulled the hair from her face, stroking her gently.

Soft sobs shook her
shoulders. Submissives didn’t always experience “sub drop” after a
scene, but the more intense the play, the more likely they were to
suffer from the sudden “drop” of adrenaline, endorphins and other
hormones that play released into their body. This period of gentle
aftercare was the best way to prevent or at least lessen the drop,
and it was a special time for both submissive and dominant. Zach
had been through it many times.

But somehow he knew this
was more. He let her cry, running his palms over her skin, roaming
her body. It was no longer sexual, it was reverent. Her submission
as the exhibition unfolded had been incredible. She gave herself to
Monroe and also to Zach without restraint. He began rocking her
slowly against the pillows.

He wasn’t sure how much
time passed but she continued to shake. He looked around the
semi-dark room and saw a small refrigerator tucked in the
cabinets.

“I’m only leaving you for a
moment; I want to get you some juice in case your blood sugar is
low.”

She didn’t respond but
curled into a ball as he got up and crossed the room. He grabbed a
bottle of orange juice and walked back over. Sitting beside her
once more, he grasped the hair at the back of her head and placed
the bottle to her lips.

“Drink.”

She managed a small sip,
and then another. Zach was patient and didn’t care about the juice
that ran from the corner of her mouth and down her chin.

“C-c-cold.”

“Okay, I’ll cover you with
another blanket and then start the water in the shower.”

“D-d-d-don’t leave m-me
alone.”

“Only to adjust the water
and then I’ll get in the shower with you. Hold on babe, I’m not
leaving you.”

The shower was a large
walk-in with a bench seat. He turned on the dual shower heads,
using hot water only, so the room would fill with steam. He took
off his pants, peeked out the door to check on Angel, and then
adjusted the temperature and turned off the light before returning
to his shivering sub.

“I’m carrying you to the
bathroom. Inside, it will be dark and I’ll remove your blindfold so
you can be more comfortable in the shower.”

“Cold,” was all that passed
her lips.

He removed the blankets and
lifted her. Now they were both completely naked, and her bare skin
against his was more erotic than ever. He backed into the shower so
he felt the temperature first. It was slightly cool but a gradual
increase in heat would be better for the still shaking woman. He
sat down on the bench and cuddled her in his lap.

He reached up and adjusted
the temperature; that he managed to do this without letting her
body slip from his lap actually brought a grin to his face. He
relaxed, and, as her shivering died away, he slid into a peaceful
tranquility, rocking her in his arms once more.

“Master said you will take
care of me.”

The words were so soft it
took a minute for them to register.

“I feel the choice should
be yours.”

“Please.”

“I would do anything for
Nathaniel but I’ll gladly watch over you just for the chance to
wash your hair.”

The giggle was what he
wanted. “I washed it before the scene.”

“I’m afraid if we don’t put
conditioner in it, the tangles will take hours to
unravel.”

“Yes, you are probably
right.”

The accent was slight but
something nudged his subconscious for a split second and then faded
with her next words.

“Do we have
conditioner?”

“If you’re okay in here,
I’ll check.”

“Yes.”

He placed her on her feet
and made sure she could stand on her own before leaving the shower.
He opened the bathroom door wide and soft light spilled in. He
found the conditioner in a basket of vanity items next to one of
the sinks, along with a comb. He opened the bottle and took a
sniff.

“Not as pleasing as the
strawberries I smelled in your hair earlier, but it’ll
do.”

Her back was to him as she
let the spray stream over her face. Her hands reached up and pushed
the hair from her eyes as she turned toward him.

The floor dropped from
under his feet.

Hooriya’s blue eyes, the eyes of his
dreams, stared directly into his.

Chapter Seventeen

Zach didn’t breathe. Every sensation of
her memory was clear on his face because a split second after he
realized who stood before him, she turned away with quivering
shoulders and cried quietly. He continued to stand staring at the
long graceful line of her back and ass. It was her: his fantasy.
But in the fantasy, she didn’t cry.

The breath he held escaped
his lips. The items in his hands fell to the counter and his legs
carried him back into the shower. His palms rested on the hair
covering her shoulders. Pulling back, he molded her body to the
front of his and drew in a deep breath, let it out, and then closed
his eyes.
Fuck
.

Grazing her ear with his lips, “Don’t
cry.”

His words released a torrent of gut
retching sobs and he held on, keeping her tightly wrapped in his
arms, the warm water cascading over them both. He offered comfort
but anger, apathy, longing, and just the unbelievable feeling that
this was a dream cascaded through his thoughts. Monroe knew.
Somehow, someway, he found Hooriya because of Zach.

And she was Monroe’s
slave.
Fuck, fuck
.

Zach didn’t know if he was physically
capable of killing Monroe but he would damn sure try. She was a
victim, vulnerable and emotionally scarred. How could she not
be?

The up and down motion of her shoulders
slowed and then the tense muscles in her back relaxed against him.
His arms loosened and came up, turning her around. Her eyes were
red but the deep blue crystals sparkled just as they had the night
he met her.

“
I’m sorry.”

Those beautiful eyes
dropped.

“
Why are you
sorry?”

“
Master should have told
you.”

“
Yes, Master should have,
but I’ll settle that with him. How did he find you?”

“
He saved me.” Her head
stayed down.

It was better this way; he sank into
those eyes, unable to think straight. “How did he save
you?”

“
They sent some of us home
to family but others, like me, had nowhere to go.”

“
What about your
family?”

“
I had no family who would
take me, so I was placed with one of the other women. We were given
identities, counseling, and assistance but everything was new to
us. Ifrah was not half-caste and it was difficult for her. She went
away.” Her voice grew quieter until the last words were difficult
for him to hear. “She left me alone.”

“
And?” Zach needed to know
how Monroe found her.

“
I had never been alone.
Master found me. I went to sleep. When I woke I was at his
home.”

Zach would kill him slowly, painfully.
He knew the bastard drugged her and Nathaniel Monroe needed to
die.

Zach opened his eyes, not even
realizing they had closed with the pain of his thoughts. Her
worried gaze was glued to his, breaking his heart
further.

“
I love him.” She said it
simply but with so much longing on her face. The love she felt was
there; pleading for understanding while she stared back at him, not
looking away this time. He couldn’t help but think of the look on
Monroe’s face when he told Zach he loved her. His need for violence
melted away.

His thoughts returned to exactly what
she was to Monroe and his shifting emotions snapped back to anger.
“He cares for his slave. Is that what you want?”

“
Yes. I will please my
master.”

“
I don’t think you know what
you want. It’s been little more than two years since I found you.”
Zach realized he was taking responsibility for rescuing her because
thoughts of her were the last thing he saw in his mind each night
before falling asleep. In his dreams she was always his.

“
Thank you for rescuing
me.”

“
I was doing my job but
Nathaniel has no right to you.” Now that sounded possessive as hell
even to his ears.

“
I owe my life to you
both.”

Hell, she and Monroe deserved each
other, but Zach was not becoming part of this dynamic. He couldn’t.
Monroe could find someone else to stay with her if he really had to
leave. Zach’s hand went to the water nozzle. “We’re getting out and
I’m…talking to Monroe.”

Her hand rose uncertainly to her
tangled mass of hair.

“
Well, fuck,” he muttered.
It would be quite a task to separate and smooth the snarled
strands, and he found himself longing to help her do it.

Her shoulders slumped with his words
and her eyes lowered.

“
Let me get the
conditioner,” he said, more gruffly than he intended, “and I’ll
take care of your hair.”

“
It will be fine,
sir.”

His hand went to the silky
water-covered skin of her chin, and raised her head until she
looked back at him. His tone was harsh.

“
You will not lie to me. I’m
here because of a lie by omission and I deserve your
honesty.”

“
Yes, sir. Please. I have
need of conditioner for my hair.”

Zach left the shower grabbing the items
off the counter.

“
Turn around.” He needed to
accomplish this quickly.

She complied without question and Zach
began the chore of unraveling the sodden mass of tangles. It seemed
like forever before his fingers ran uninhibited through the
strands, so heavy in his hands. He refused to acknowledge the
tightening in his balls and stirring of his cock while his fingers
continued to glide through the wet silk long after he should have
stopped. For a few moments, he forgot whom she belonged to and
enjoyed the sensual feel of wet hair sliding over his dick. He
imagined wrapping it around his wrist and bringing her mouth to his
balls to suck and lick before burying his cock deep in her throat.
He almost groaned out loud.

Nathan knew about his hair fetish and
probably laughed with glee over how he would react. He couldn’t
kill the man if she loved him but he could knock out a few
teeth.

“
Close your eyes.” He
directed the water to her hair and washed the conditioner away.
“Why the name Angel?”

“
Hooriya means
angel
in Arabic. Master
likes it.”

“
Yes, I imagine he
does.”

She flinched but offered no
reply.

He needed to keep his emotions under
wraps and stop with his snide tone. Grabbing a towel, he silently
dried her hair.

A long, hooded robe lay on the counter
in the outer room. Angel walked from the bathroom and gathered the
robe, placing it over her head and pulling the hood over her hair.
He dressed in the same clothes he’d worn earlier.

“
I’ll escort you to Monroe’s
suite, and then he and I will talk.” He could almost see the
tension pulsing in waves from her body but she didn’t say a
word.

Taking her hand, he opened the door
trying to decide what time it was. He knew it had to be at least
two hours since he took her to the private room.

Damian stood at the end of the hallway,
putting his hand out as Zach approached. “Monroe asked me to give
you this.”

Zach’s eyes narrowed, looking at the
folded piece of paper like it was poisonous snake. The lighting was
low but he could still make out the short message.

My friend,

I trust you with my life but
more importantly I trust you with hers.

I will be home soon and this
will work out.

N.

Chapter Eighteen

“
Is there something I can
do?” Damian didn’t try to hide the concern in his voice.

Zach gained control of his rage
quickly. “No. Angel and I will go straight to the suite. When did
he leave?” He felt Angel trying to release his grip but his fingers
tightened painfully. He wasn’t letting go.

“
He shared a few techniques
and answered questions for about thirty minutes.” Damian looked
back and forth between them. “He gathered his things, gave me the
note, and left. Is there a problem I need to know
about?”