Hold Me Close (8 page)

For as long as he could remember, he’d wanted to keep his private life as simple as possible, but when it came to her, fate seemed to have other ideas. Bonnie was a sweet girl and he’d seen that long before she asked for his help. As much as he should have turned her away back then, part of him wanted to know just once what it would be like to taste something that sweet. Someone should have warned him how addictive that would be.

Addictive and completely out of his realm.

His life until a few years ago had been a series of fuck ups and trouble seemed to find him no matter which way he turned. From an abusive asshole of a father who liked to blame everyone in his path for his shitty life, to a mother who finally hit the road for good when she realized her son at the age of thirteen could neither protect her nor take the beatings in her place. Not that he hadn’t tried.
 

Dex’s only choice had been to leave the house every day before his old man woke up and not return until after he’d passed out late at night. That had given him a lot of time to wander and find more trouble. He’d turned to street fighting as an outlet for his rage and never looked back.

So why the hell was he brooding over the past now? Dex backed away from the window before he allowed more of the old feelings of anger to resurface. He’d given up long ago on blaming everyone for his life and thanks to some hard work and a lot of ass kickings he’d turned things around. Quite by accident he’d discovered his talent as an artist when he’d gotten his first tattoo and after a few years of working as an apprentice he scraped together enough fight money to open his first shop in one of the worst alleys in the city. Fortunately by then he’d earned quite a rep in illegal fighting so that criminals and thugs came to him for ink work or advice instead of trying to rob his shop. Thus his mini empire began.

From there, the business built until he met Sterling, his business partner.

Dex scrubbed his face and forced his thoughts to the present. This wasn’t some idiotic rags to riches story he was living and he had no business in a place like this. He did well financially, but no amount of money scrubbed away the white trash background. He had no idea what Gabe was trying to prove by sending him here, but he wanted out. Dex slammed out of his fancy schmancy accommodations and headed in the direction of this supposedly awesome dungeon. No matter how upscale they’d gone, he was bound to feel more comfortable with a whip in his hand and a sub at his feet. Then maybe he could put the ghost of Bonnie out of his head.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time and halted. It was only six o’clock. He had at least two hours before the group gathered in the dungeon. Dex glanced at the stone steps leading into the castle and the path leading back to his cottage.
 

He really wasn’t in the mood to talk to strangers, but he also didn’t want to sit around doing nothing. If he was home, he’d be sketching out tattoos and getting ready to do some ink. Well, maybe he didn’t have any tattoo duties here, but he could get a jump on some drawings.

With a new plan, he headed back into his temporary digs, dug through his bag for the sketch pad and pens he always carried and pulled a desk from a nearby wall, placing it in front of the floor to ceiling glass wall so that he faced the volatile ocean.

It still wasn’t raining, but the gusting winds and white-capped waves slamming against the island rocks gave him plenty of inspiration. With the sun long gone it wasn’t easy to keep track of the time, but Dex didn’t care. He scribbled furiously on the paper, sketching an Asian inspired concept that included large cresting waves with soft curves and the darker angular shoots of water that looked almost dragon like. After the outline was complete he began filling in the different shaded areas, knowing this would make a stellar black and white tattoo. When the initial design was out of his head and onto the paper, he decided it still needed something.

He stared out the window and watched the still brewing storm. Wind whipped through the perfectly landscaped trees and petals from the nearby cherry blossoms swirled through the air, attaching to the glass in front of him before being blown away. In an attack of new inspiration he began working the wind torn flowers into his tattoo. As he worked, thoughts of Bonnie resurfaced and he imagined working his design into her gorgeous unspoiled skin. She was literally an artist’s dream with flawless ivory skin untouched by the sun.

He’d have her naked on his table while he worked. He wanted to show her how something like a tattoo could also be turned into a sensual experience. Like any other pain, under the right circumstances and the right frame of mind, there was nothing to fear from a needle when arousal became a part of it.

With the outlines completed, he tossed the black pencil to the side in favor of a pink one. The rest of the tattoo looked perfect in various shades of black, grey and white, but these flowers needed that extra punch.
 

The more he drew, the more he thought of Bonnie as his muse. The design had turned out large enough to complete a half sleeve and he imagined it perfect on her upper arm. That way every time he tied her to the cross, he’d see it and remember how thoughts of her had calmed his mind.

Almost complete, he rubbed his face and glanced out the window. As the evening progressed the light had disappeared and it took his eyes several seconds to adjust enough to see into the darkness. The winds still blew strong and the water churned but this time there was something different out there.
 

Dex rose from the desk and moved next to the glass for a better look. There was a woman walking along the boardwalk he’d noticed earlier that connected all the structures on this side of the island. Her dark hair whipped around her head, hiding her face and the loose white robe she wore covered her body from neck to toe.
 

She stopped almost directly in front of his window, turned toward the ocean and slid the terry cloth robe from her shoulders and dropped it to the ground.

His eyes widened.

Underneath she was completely naked and gloriously beautiful. Acres of pale skin even the lack of moonlight couldn’t hide. The woman had curves upon curves that gave a man like him the confidence she wouldn’t break when he fucked her so hard neither of them would walk the next day.
 

Fascinated and unable to turn away, Dex watched her gracefully lower herself to the ground with her legs folded under her. Glimpses of breasts as she moved indicated they were as generous as the rest of her, making it easy for him to imagine nipples as sensitive as her clit. He loved soft women that filled his hands. Her smooth and graceful moves indicated she might be trained in submission. Maybe she was one of the attendees for this weekend’s retreat he would participate in.
 

He admired the slope of her shoulders and the curve of her neck. She looked so much like Bonnie from this angle. He decided then and there she would be the one he chose to use for his demonstrations. His body tightened with need. Maybe Gabe had been right and the island would be the perfect place for him to exercise his demons.

Just then the wind kicked up and the brunette grabbed her hair and piled it on top of her head. Disappointment lanced through Dex when he spied the leather collar around her neck. There weren’t a lot of Doms who wanted to share their collared submissives with strangers. And he’d already been imagining a long hard night with the woman who obviously needed to be on her knees.

What a pity. He’d have to hold out hope that another woman like this one would be available to share a scene with him. He started to turn away when another gust of wind sent a smattering of cherry blossom leaves across the woman’s skin, leaving many of them stuck to her arm and shoulders.
 

He glanced down at his tattoo drawing and imagined this woman sporting his design. As a half sleeve on her left or right arm it would look incredible. The woman shifted sideways and attempted to swipe away some of the flower petals stuck to her skin. He had to resist the urge to go out there and help her. She plucked each one free and tossed them into the wind. When the last was removed, she lifted her hand and pushed the hair out of her face.

What the fuck?

Not possible.
 

He didn’t believe in coincidence or fate. No matter what the guy who delivered him and his bags to the cottage earlier said. This island had nothing to do with giving him what he needed. He was damned sure that rested squarely on Gabe’s shoulders. Matchmaking little fucker had no idea what he’d done.
 

Half-pissed and half-excited, Dex slammed out his front door and followed the wooden path to the beach. He’d spent the entire day trying to get Bonnie off his mind only to get sucker punched in the worst and best possible way. Now, he had a submissive to teach a thing or two too.

Chapter Seven

Bonnie stared into the darkness and soaked in the wildness of nature churning around her. She’d woken from her nap, refreshed but restless. No matter what she did, it was impossible to get Dex and what they’d done off her mind. She finally had sex and loved it. So much in fact that the irresistible pull to do it again warred with the part of her head that reminded her how fucked up she was.

Sick of fighting with herself she did what she always did when the world became too much. She got on her knees. What had started out as part of her basic submissive training with Jim had turned into a necessary part of her day. It calmed her mind to kneel and focus on nothing but her breathing and immediate surroundings. Which today happened to be the most amazing storm she’d ever witnessed.

The island had greeted her with bright sunshine and vivid colors earlier in the day and it had been nice. But it didn’t match the turmoil inside her like this storm did. She loved the change. Bonnie placed her palms face up on her knees and closed her eyes in order to center her thoughts. There was something especially freeing about being naked on an island beach in the middle of nowhere. She was alone and yet she wasn’t. She had no idea how many people resided in that big castle that loomed over the small island. And yet, here inside this sunken square of deck with her legs cushioned by the pristine sand, she was completely one hundred percent alone.

She took a deep breath through her nose, filling her lungs until they almost burned. Then she blew it out on a slow exhale. She’d have to ask her concierge if the island offered Yoga or any meditation type classes. She had a feeling she’d be working extra hard on this vacation to remain calm.

How could she when she could still feel Dex’s cock stretching her to the brink of pain. He was a lot larger than any of the toys she used. And warmer. Her sex squeezed at the memory and she cried out at the awful sensation of emptiness that accompanied it. The no sex thing had been her stupid rule and yet for months she wanted him to break it. But after Jim, she didn’t know what to do. They’d never had sex either. He said she needed to heal in her own time and he would determine when that would be. Then he’d gotten sick and it had been too late.

He had no problem granting her orgasms when he thought she deserved them, but they were delivered by hand while he restrained her. The man taught her so much about the lifestyle she loved, but he drove her damned near insane. Then she turned around and followed his lead by insisting her and Dex had to refrain.

Then she’d broken her rule. No, she didn’t just break her rule, she begged and pleaded and Dex finally gave her what she didn’t want to admit she needed. The feel of the man she’d fallen in love with deep inside her, fucking her so thoroughly he’d scrambled her brain.

Bonnie sighed.
Love
. What a stupid and childish emotion.

Yep, she needed a lot of meditation.

There was always the dungeon she could seek out for a respite. She’d read through the file the concierge left on her table. There were classes she could take, parties she could attend and it all but implied that if she wanted something more, like sex, she could have it.
 

The island gives you what you need. That's the mantra she kept hearing.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? I need my Master back.
 

Which one?
Her mind taunted her.

She opened her eyes and focused on the nearby surf. Her fingertips rubbed the collar still resting around her neck. If only it were real and not just a token during a scene.
 

“Are you thinking of me, my Bonnie sub, as you rub my collar?”

Bonnie’s heart jerked and her body scrambled to turn at the voice. Instead she awkwardly lost her balance and pitched sideways into the sand. Hard hands grabbed her arms and hauled her upright.
 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Bonnie turned on Dex with her hand over her heart. “Startle me? You scared the hell out of me. I thought I was alone.” He couldn’t be here. It wasn’t possible. They were hundreds of miles away from Purgatory.

“Yeah, me too. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the naked woman poised outside my window was none other than the devilish submissive who ran out on our scene.”

Bonnie winced. She’d expected his anger over her departure, but his voice held more. Disappointment maybe? Or worse, hurt?

No. She had to be wrong. Dex was an incredible Dom, but he was notorious for remaining detached no matter how deep a scene went. He’d happily give a sub what she needed as long as it had nothing to do with tangled emotions. And hers were all over the map running roughshod over her psyche. So why was he here?