Beyond 10 Nights (6 page)

Her bra was removed just as quickly,
and her hands moved immediately to cover herself. Although he found the way she
did that adorable, he wasn’t about to let her defy him.

Moving her closer to the cross, he
grasped one of her slender wrists, lifted it, and secured it to the dangling
fur lined cuff. The other wrist was encased just as securely, leaving her unable
to cover herself. The soft whimper that escaped her lips gave him pause and he
lowered his head to her ear. “Trust, Leah,” he whispered.

She had never felt so exposed, not
even when he had taken her on the desk in the office in Mexico in front of all
his colleagues. She had been aroused before he started that game, and she knew
that was the difference then. She wasn’t turned on at all, she was just
downright terrified. Struggling against the cuffs, she whimpered again.

“She’s a beautiful slave, Rhett.”
Alex smiled as the petite woman struggled helplessly in her bonds.

“Yes she is.” Rhett agreed proudly
as he stood with his friend, the two of them admiring the sight of his
beautiful Leah. Her flawless back arched to and fro as she tested her bonds and
his body responded to the sight. He knew he was pulling her out of her comfort
zone, once again, by not standing close to her, but it would heighten the
sensations more if she felt alone, so to speak, for a few moments.

“Walk with me to my toy closet.” Rhett
spoke to Alex, but lifted his voice so that Leah could hear him.

He was leaving her alone, she
thought in panic. All the people around her would know she was alone, and
trapped on the cross. She couldn’t breathe.  Panic filled every inch of
her body as she focused on drawing in air and releasing it. She tugged
frantically on the chains that held her cuffs. She wanted out of there; it
wasn’t part of the deal.

From across the room Rhett watched
for a few moments as Leah struggled. He then opened his toy closet and took out
a butter-soft leather flogger with long, thick strands. With the flogger in
hand, he took his time returning to the cross.

The room had come to a virtual
standstill by then, as almost everyone in it watched either him or Leah, and he
found himself beset by an unfamiliar concern about his performance. It wasn’t
that he didn’t know how to wield the flogger expertly, he did, but it was his
woman on the cross and her experience under him that night would most likely
shape everything she expected of him when they were together in the dungeon.

Shaking his head at his own
thoughts, he walked back to Leah and grasped her chin firmly in his hand so he
could kiss her quickly. “You do this because you trust me,” he told her in a
commanding tone.

The kiss was more like an act of
possession, her racing mind thought. He had branded her with his body, and now
he wanted to do the same with this act he planned. Tensing her body she waited
for the pain, her breath held in anticipation of it.

He could see just how tightly wound
she was, and knew just what was going through her mind. He was determined that
her expectations would not be met however; she would not feel the pain he knew
she thought was coming. With the skill of years of experience, he lifted the flogged
and flicked it forward, allowing the leather strands to graze her skin. It was
enough for her to know she had been touched, but that was all.

At the first touch of the leather
against her back, the breath Leah had been holding escaped her. The pain she
had been expecting didn’t come, in fact the touch of the flogger was not even
as bad as being spanked, and with that knowledge she relaxed, allowing herself
to breath.

Alex chuckled softly at the sound of
her sigh and crossed his large arms over his chest. She undoubtedly was new to
the dungeon if she had never known the touch of the flogger. It was one of the
most sensual toys a master possessed, in his opinion, and the most versatile.
It could be used to almost tickle the submissive, or to bring pain, if the
Master was skilled enough.

As Leah relaxed, so did Rhett’s
worries and his natural instincts took over. She was the orchestra, and he the
conductor, allowing the flogger’s strands to find her flesh again and again,
with increasing intensity as he made her body move to his direction. She danced
so beautifully for him, he thought, and a smile of appreciation found his face.

Whatever she had been expecting, it
certainly wasn’t this incredible pleasure he was giving her. The pressure of
the flogger against her back was not in the least painful, it was strangely
almost gentle and caressing. As it landed again and again, she found herself
aching for the next kiss of those sweet leather strands.

Her earlier fear was gone, and with
its disappearance she found herself left on a strange high that had her aching
for more. It was the oddest sensation, but she arched into each fall of the
leather, eager to feel it again. The sounds escaping her lips were unknown to
her; she was too lost in a world of pure sensation to hear them.

Rhett knew what she was feeling, and
continued the dance, watching carefully as her soft moans rose to a crescendo.
The Master in him couldn’t wait until she reached the peak and so the dance of
the flogger continued, building in intensity.

Her body ached for an unknown
sensation she was reaching toward, and when it came she lost herself in the
utter bliss of the moment. It was like floating out of her own body, she
thought as she gave herself over to it utterly and allowed the world to slip away
from her in that brief instant. She never wanted it to end; the ecstasy was
unlike anything Rhett had shown her before then.

Lowering the flogger, Rhett walked
forward and carefully removed the cuffs from her wrists. Gently he lifted her
into his arms and carried her back to the couch, where he sat, her limp form in
his lap as he whispered words of endearment and stroked her hair gently. He was
so proud of her for allowing him to show her another side of his world, and for
handling it so well.

Minutes, or perhaps hours later,
Leah wasn’t sure, time had lost all meaning to her, she came to herself and
looked up into his face. “Thank you, Sir.” The words were the smallest of
whispers as she stared into the depths of his eyes.

“Thank you, sweet girl.” Lowering
his lips to hers, he kissed her softly. She had gifted him with her trust, the
most precious thing she had to offer in his opinion, and the bond he already
felt with her was intensified by that gift.

Without knowing why, tears fell from
her eyes, and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. The feeling of
euphoria was leaving her, and its departure left her empty and uncertain.

With a tenderness he felt only with
her, Rhett slowly wiped away her tears before holding her tight against him.
“We’ll talk about this later tonight, sweetheart.” He knew it was a natural
reaction after such an intense period of arousal, but he was sure it confused
her and she needed time to come to grips with it.

Her energy depleted, all she could
do was nod against his chest, her eyes closed wearily. It felt as though she
had just run a marathon, which she found strange since Rhett had been the one
exerting himself. “Sir, I’m so tired,” she whispered softly, surprised at the
exhaustion she felt.

“I know you are, baby.” He grinned,
enjoying the softer side of her that expected him to take care of her. This was
why he loved being a Master, he thought, and if he had it his way, it was how
she would always be with him. “I think my girl has had all she can manage
tonight, Alex.” He laughed softly. “Would you like to do a favor for an old
friend?”

“It does seem as though you wore her
out quickly.” Alex joined in the laughter. “Let me guess, you want me to close
down the dungeon later?” He couldn’t blame Rhett, if he had a sub like Leah he
would want her all to himself too, he was sure.

“Thanks and yes, you can crash in
one of the guest bedrooms after you’re done if you’d like.” The smile on
Rhett’s face was one of anticipation, and he was sure Alex understood just what
he had planned.

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly,
Alex nodded. “Go, take care of your little pet, I’ll talk to you in the
morning.”

“I owe you one.” Standing, Rhett
carried Leah from the dungeon, holding her in his arms all the way up to his
bedroom.

Leah had no idea why she was so
physically fatigued, but she found she lacked the energy to do anything more
than rest in his arms until he laid her carefully on the bed. Her muscles felt
like jelly, and she remained still as she tried to understand the strange
sensations she had experienced.

Rhett undressed quickly and slid
into bed with her. “It’s called sub-space, sweetheart,” he told her, knowing
just what was going through her mind. “It’s not something you can explain, it’s
a feeling you have to experience.”

“Does it happen every time, Sir?”
Leah asked softly, turning on her side to look up into his eyes curiously.

“No, and it doesn’t happen to every
submissive. For those lucky enough to experience it, the body is so overwhelmed
by the pleasure pain scenario that it releases a massive rush of endorphins.
It’s akin to being a runner in a marathon.” He reached over and gently brushed
a strand of hair away from her eyes.

“So to feel that way again I would
either have to start preparing for a 10k run or let you bring me to that place
again?” At his nod and smile she giggled. “I think I’ll leave that up to you
then, Sir, I’ve never much fancied long distance running.” She was coming down
from her high and was already craving a repeat of it.

“Something tells me I might have
created a demon here.” Chuckling Rhett pulled her into his arms and held her
tight. He couldn’t help the wide grin that found his face; her enjoyment of the
scene stroked his ego considerably.

“I like seeing you smile, Sir.”
Lifting her head, she rested on her elbow as she looked up at his beautiful
smile. Raising her fingers, she allowed them to trace over the strong contours
of his gorgeous face.

He allowed her a few brief moments
for her gentle exploration and then grinned wickedly. “I do believe you’ve
caught your second wind, princess.”

Her eyes widened at his look, and
she wondered just what was going through that devious mind of his. “I feel
good.” She drew out the words slowly, not sure if she was going to like
whatever he was thinking of doing.

With a chuckle, Rhett slid off the
bed and pulled open a drawer in the bedside table. After moving so fast with
her the previous week, which he knew had been a colossal mistake, he decided to
have a little fun and tease her a little. Pulling out a set of fur lined ankle
and wrist cuffs, he dangled them teasingly in the air. “Since you’re fully
functional now, I have a few ideas.”

Nibbling on her lip, she felt the
urge to ask him just what he had in mind, but realized it wasn't a good idea.
“Do your worst, Sir.” She had no idea why she had challenged him, it hadn’t
been her intention, but the words popped out of her mouth before she could stop
them.

In response Rhett threw his head
back and laughed deeply. “Oh, sweetheart, you shouldn’t have said that.”
Controlling his mirth, he moved quickly to secure her, spread-eagled, to the
bed.

Topless, and utterly vulnerable to
him, Leah found herself thinking that he might be right. “I take it back, Sir.”
She wasn’t genuinely afraid, but since she had no idea what he was thinking of
doing to, or with, her it was a little unnerving.

“Let’s not, sweetheart, I look
forward to seeing how long it will take you to use your safe word tonight.” He
had no intention of torturing her, at least not in the way she was almost
certainly thinking. Pleasure, in his opinion, could be just as torturous as
pain, when done in the right manner.

Her heart raced as she followed him
with her eyes. She could see the wheels in his brain working, and knew that
this might be one of the worst times she’d opened her mouth inappropriately.

Smirking as he noted the way her
eyes remained on him as he walked around the bed he shook his head. “This will
never do.” Walking back over to the nightstand, he took out a red silk scarf
and moved to the head of the bed. “Lift your head, sweetheart.” He waited until
she had complied and then tied the scarf securely over her eyes, smiling at her
groan of dismay.

The inability to see made her
hearing more acute, though just then she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad
thing. The sound of things clanking around, things which she could only assume
were objects he planned to use on her, both thrilled and frightened her
simultaneously. The last time she had been blindfolded he had pierced her clit,
a memory she was unlikely to forget for some time to come.

Before coming home, he had purchased
some new toys, toys he was aching to test out on Leah, to see her reaction to
them. “Remember, if you don’t like anything tonight, just use your words;
yellow to slow things down, red to stop.”

“Yes, Sir,” Leah whispered
uncertainly. Being totally without sight and at his mercy was a little nerve
wracking, and she struggled to keep her breathing even.

He deliberately took his time
cleansing and then arranging the toys on the bedside table, knowing that the
extra time would heighten her senses. From the way her slight form was
trembling, he had achieved what he was after, and she was filled with
uncertainty and worry.