Defensive Zone (The Dartmouth Cobras #2) (30 page)

There he was, speaking to an
older man as he opened a metal box. As the women, both naked,
approached he straightened. They dropped to their knees before him
within the rope barrier. Landon's expression darkened and one of
the women scrambled to her feet and ducked under the rope.

That
look.
Silver swallowed
and hugged herself. Oh yeah, he was definitely a Dom. Even
concealed behind the curious onlookers gathering on this side of
the ropes, she could feel his . . . presence. The only thing that
she could compare it to was when she'd gone camping with her
parents and her siblings—she couldn't have been more than six—and
Daddy had spotted a wolf close to their tent. Her brother and
Oriana went out to get a better look, but Silver had stayed in the
tent, simply peeking out, afraid to get too close, but needing to
see it. She knew she was safe, the wolf paused for a second before
disappearing into the woods, but she'd been aware of it on a primal
level.

As Silver watched, the woman
laid herself out on the table and let her husband and Landon strap
her down. Landon petted her bare stomach, whispering as he held up
something with a thick black handle and a thin glass tube. He
manipulated the handle and the tube glowed with an iridescent
purple light. Then he traced a circle over the area where his hand
had passed.

In a trance, Silver inched
closer until she could see the tiny white sparks hitting the
woman's flesh and hear the faint crackling of electricity. The
woman made sharp little cries as Landon drew the tip of the glass
up to her breasts, lifting it a little above one nipple so the tiny
white bolts snapped at it. He continued to tease her with the thin
tube, paused, then went to his box for a large glass orb. The
people around her
ohhed
and
ahhed
over the
beautiful, blue color of this one.

All Silver saw was the
glistening between the woman's thighs as she jutted her hips up and
grunted. Landon was using the orb along the woman's inner thighs
and she moved like she was getting fucked.

"Oh please! Please!" The woman
slammed her head on the table. "I want you!"

"Hush. Don't fight it." Landon
held the orb over her cunt. "You're close. Come for me. I want to
see you lose control."

The woman looked like she might,
but instead her eyes opened wide and she glared at her husband.
"Earl!"

The old man pulled out his
wallet. "How much will it cost? It should take you more than two
minutes. Like you said, she's close."

"We discussed this earlier. I
don't charge, and I don't fuck those I demonstrate for."

Around her, the crowd began
mumbling. She wasn't sure what they were saying. She was waiting
for the man to back down. Or for Landon to stop.

But his focus was on that cunt.
Who was completely ignoring him.

A light throb began in the base
of Silver's skull, gaining strength and wrapping around her throat
until she couldn't breathe.

Let Landon handle it.

"You told your husband you needed this. He
doesn't know how to give it to you, but I can teach him." Landon
waved the old man closer. "See the way her muscles clench. If you
trigger the right pressure points, you force her to open and close
in a way that simulates sex. It's even more intense with the
TENS."

"Earl!"

The old man shook his head and shoved a
handful of money at Landon. "Take it!"

"Oh!" The woman opened her mouth wide and
screamed. "Oh, fuck me! Fuck me!"

"He said no!"

Silver didn't know how she'd gotten past the
ropes, or why her hand was wrapped around Landon's wrist. All she
knew was when she looked up, she really wished she'd stayed
put.

Landon switched off the wand. "Kneel."

She dropped to her knees before her mind
could respond. Head bowed, she listened to Landon as he put his
tools away.

As he spoke to the couple. "I'm sorry the
scene was interrupted, but I was about to end it anyway. My terms
are not negotiable. You should find what you're looking for
elsewhere."

The woman cried and the old man grumbled, but
they both got out of their pretty fast. Now Silver could hear the
muttering from the crowd. They didn't like how Landon had been
disrespected either. Several soft voices seemed to commend her
interference, but harsher, stronger ones spoke over them. According
to them, she'd had no right to get involved.

Not that she didn't know that already.

"Stand up."

At Landon's command, she scrambled awkwardly
to her feet, teetering on her heels. He would scold her that was
for sure. But she didn't expect what came next.

"You never interrupt a scene in this club.
Never." He curved his hand under her chin and her eyes went wide at
what she saw there. This wasn't her sweet friend Landon. His stare
was unforgiving and cold. "I don't appreciate you forcing me to
punish you. But I will."

Punish me? No! Not you!
Her eyes
teared and she shook her head. "Landon, please. Let someone else do
it!"

"You interrupted
my
scene. You
apparently didn't think I could manage it on my own." He pressed
his eyes shut and shook his head. "I think I've earned your
respect."

"You have!"
Fuckfuckfuck.
How had she
made such a mess of
everything
tonight? "But—if you—we
can't—"

"Punishment doesn't equal sex, pet." Landon's
eyes opened, stormy and distant. "I won't fuck you."

Her legs almost folded as he repeated Dean's
words. And that
endearment.
She didn't—she'd
never—
wanted Landon to fuck her. She wanted to keep what
they'd had. It was precious and this would ruin it.

"You can't stay here if you won't accept your
punishment." Landon stepped back, leaving her to hold herself up.
"Decide now."

Can't stay and what else?
Would they
ever get back to that place, where they could talk and laugh and
just hang out, if she refused? This was part of him. A part she had
to accept. And the punishment couldn't possibly be as bad as the
sheer disappointment in his eyes.

"I'll take it." She held her breath, but he
didn't say anything, simply stood there, looking down at her,
making her feel so small and helpless. Her words came out in a
rush. "Do it. Do it before Dean finds out."

Are you fucking brain dead?
She wanted
to take it back, but it was too late.

Landon reared up to his full height and
laughed. "Why? Do you think he could punish you worse than I will?"
His hands snaked out and he latched onto a handful of her hair,
dragging her against him as his lips curved into a viscous smile.
"When I'm done, you're going to wish it was him dealing with you.
Bend over as hold onto your ankles. Ten is standard."

When he released her, she bent automatically
into the position he demanded. Humiliating, but a spanking and it
would be over. Later they could talk, after he held her, all
wrapped up in a blanket, and became her friend again.

He must have sensed something, in her
posture, or in her shallow submission, because he growled. "And I
won't be using my hand."

Her legs quivered as he folded the bottom of
her dress up over her ass. He didn't touch her g-sting. From behind
the shield of her hair she watched his boots move away. Return.
Part to shoulder width.

"Count."

At the first slice, she almost choked on her
tongue. Fire cut a straight line across her upper thighs. Long and
thin, whatever he'd used rested against her. Disappeared.

Trembling, she whispered. "One."

Snap! Snap!

Raw searing pain. Her lips parted. The words
lodged in her throat.

Snap!

"Two, three, and four. Say it, pet."

"Please, please—" Hot tears spilled down her
cheeks. "I can't—it hurts!"

"Say it."

"Twothreefour!"

Snap!

Agony ignited and all the lashes seemed to
come together and split open. She sobbed and dropped to her knees.
"Landon—"

"Take a minute to compose yourself." Landon
came around to stand in front of her. "Then you may lean on the
table to make it easier."

Begging, crying, none of it reached him, so
she just sat there until the burning eased into a dull throb. His
gaze didn't shift from her face as she swiped away her tears and
dragged herself up on the table. Part of her wanted to scream at
him, to tell him it wasn't fair—and yet another part steeled
within, determined to show him she could do this.

To show him she could take whatever he dished
out.

Come on, buddy. Show me what you've got.

Her nails scratched groves into the table
padding. She threw her head back and inhaled deep.

"Five. Which means there's five left." She
smirked when his stony expression faltered. "What are you waiting
for,
Sir
?"

His lips drew into a thin line. "Careful,
Silver."

"Ah, yes. Manners." She rolled her eyes.
"Pretty please,
Sir.
Get it over with."

He shook his head. "This means nothing to
you, does it? You have no idea why what you did was wrong, and you
couldn't care less."

"That's not true. I know I pissed you
off."

"Pissed me off? No. What you did was
dangerous. Yes, I'm disappointed that you disrespected me, but your
utter disregard for the rules is so much worse." He laid a long,
thin black cane with a silver handle on the table in front of her.
"The pain you're in is
nothing
compared to what could have
happened to that woman if I'd made the wrong move when you barged
in. She could be in the hospital with serious burns and I could be
in jail, facing charges. But all you can think about is that I
might be mad at you."

Selfish. You're spoiled and selfish.
Not spoken out loud, but she imagined him saying it, like everyone
else did. And that hurt much worse than her abused ass.

"Maybe you're right." He turned away from
her. "Maybe someone else should do this."

She grabbed his wrist, then released it.
Doing that
again
wouldn't help matters. Her wet lashes clung
together as she blinked.

He waited, silently, for her to speak.

At a loss, she picked up the cane and held it
out to him. "I'm sorry. Don't give up on me. Please?"

"I should add another five for the
attitude."

For some reason, she got the impression he
wanted this over with as much, if not more than she did. Not that
it showed. He was a Dom and she deserved to be punished.

And she finally agreed.

Fuck, doing the right thing is going to
hurt.

"Another five, Sir. Please. Should I start at
one?"

"Yes."

Snap!

This time, she absorbed the pain and let it
blank out everything else. At least she could do this with some
dignity. "One."

After three more, dignity took a hike.

* * * *

Dean's nostrils flared as he escorted the
couple out of his bar. His fists clenched and unclenched as her
pitiful screams rose above the music and the equally loud cries of
ecstasy coming from every other station.

Chicklet patted his shoulder and tugged him
towards the bar. "I think you need a drink."

He shook his head, but didn't resist. "I
don't need a drink. I need to know what the fuck happened."

"I've already told you. And so has everyone
else."

A wretched sob almost undid him. He groaned
and slumped onto a stool. "She shouldn't be here."

"No, she shouldn't be here alone. Not when
she already has a Dom willing to teach her." Chicklet smacked the
bar to get the bartender's attention. "You are willing to teach
her, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. But she didn't want me
to."

"Ah, I see. So most subs get what they need,
but Miss Silver Delgado gets what she wants. Got it."

"What if I'm wrong?" He didn't want a beer,
but he accepted the one the bartender brought just to have
something to do with his hands. "What if she's not a sub?"

Chicklet shrugged and jerked her chin towards
the back of the room. "She handed him the cane. You tell me."

His eyes widened and he spun around on his
chair. Even from here he could see the bright red welts on Silver's
delicate flesh. His first instinct was to cross the room and beat
the shit out of Bower for hurting her, even though he had every
right to. He rose and let his Dom side take over as he approached
them, keeping in mind what Chicklet had said. He observed her
stance, the way she cringed every time the cane came down, but
never shifted or tried to escape it.

Bower could have restrained her for the
punishment, but he'd left her to accept it or not on her own.

And she was accepting it.

After the last strike, Silver bowed over the
table and sobbed. Bower lifted a hand over her, almost touching her
. . .

Then stepped back. His head snapped up and he
looked right at Dean.

Shit.
No goddamn warning, the man just
expected him to take over. As if Silver was Dean's sub. Dean's
responsibility.

No fucking problem. I've got her.

Long strides brought him to Silver's side. He
scooped her into his arms seconds before her legs gave out. Glaring
at Bower, he covered Silver's ear with one hand and spoke low. "If
you weren't willing to finish this, you shouldn't have touched
her."

"It wouldn't have been necessary if you
hadn't let her wonder around on her own." Bower hefted a large bag
on the table and began packing his equipment. "You might want to
invest in a collar and leash."

If Dean's arms hadn't been full with Silver's
trembling body, he would have crushed the younger man's face in
with his fist. "I read you wrong, boy. I thought you were her
friend."