McKenzie, Cooper - Taming Blaze [Club Esoteria 8] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

Chapter 2

Though it was difficult to keep from answering when her friends arrived and questioned her, Blaze bit the inside of her lip and remained still and silent. She kept her head down but lifted her eyes and looked around, though could not see much.

She kept her breathing slow and deep, fighting down the panic that began to build as the minutes ticked by with nerve-wracking slowness. She tried to focus on the positive, that she was here and surrounded by people who, like her, needed kink in their lives to be happy. With each exhale, she pushed out the negative thoughts that she was not worthy of being here. She was worthy of finding a man who could see past the act she put on for the world to see the scarred heart of a woman abused. A man who could teach her about the gentler side of loving, one that did not include tears and pain.

She was so lost in her thoughts that it took a moment to realize two Doms now stood in front of her and that the other
uncollared
subs had disappeared.

“Blaze? Are you sleeping?” Master T sounded amused rather than angry.

“No, Sir. Just thinking.”

Without moving her head, she looked up their bodies as far as she could. Both men were wearing boots—one cowboy boots, the other serious hiking boots—with soft-looking, faded blue jeans.

“Stand up, sub. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Keeping her eyes on the toes of their boots, Blaze stood as gracefully as she could, considering her left foot had gone to sleep. Once on her feet, she fought to keep her head tilted, her hands by her sides, and her shoulders relaxed.

“Look at me,” the other man said, his voice soft and low.

When she hesitated, two fingers came up under her chin and lifted her head until she was looking into his face.

She had just a few seconds to check out his body before meeting a pair of the gentlest brown eyes she had ever seen. And what she saw of his body impressed her. He wore loose-fitting blue jeans with an off-white button-up shirt. His body was fit, with narrow hips, a flat belly, and broad shoulders.

After a few seconds of looking into those eyes, she dropped her gaze to his nose, which was straight and perfect, to his mouth with narrow lips that reminded her of her father’s. Her father, whose so-called love had been shared through the back of a hand or a barrage of hateful words. Her gaze dropped further to his throat, and then the
V
at the opening of his shirt.

She flinched in surprise when his fingers tapped at her chin.

“Look in my eyes,” he said, his words soft and gentle, yet at the same time commanding in a way she had never experienced before.

Immediately she raised her gaze again to brown eyes that were not critical, but assessing as they looked into hers.

“Blaze, having talked to the Doms you have
scened
with over the past weeks, I have concluded you are confused about the reasons Mistress Jenna and I started Club Esoteria. A sex club is not for punishing yourself, but to spend time having fun with others who enjoy the same kinks as you do.”

“Yes, Sir, I understand that,” she murmured without looking away from the brown eyes that seemed to be reading her soul.

“You have not been having fun, little
subbie
. You have been using the club to hurt yourself for one reason or another that only you know. And that worries me. Tonight you face a choice. You can walk out right now, and I’ll cancel your membership, or you can spend the evening with Master Z learning to find the emotional release you seek in a different manner. Which will it be?”

* * * *

Before she had dropped her eyes, Andy had read pain in them, the soul-deep kind that people masked and suffered with instead of facing and dealing with. When she returned her gaze to his, he saw she tried to blank her expression, but read an interest and curiosity as to what he might have to offer.

That is, until Taurus laid out her choices for the evening. Then her grass-green eyes widened with horror. Obviously, she feared something, but what?

She blinked again slowly, and her expression went totally blank. It was as if she were trying to work something out without him knowing her thoughts. She was good, but from what he had already learned about this little sub, he knew she was trying to find a way to circumvent her choices.

“May I speak, Sir?” she asked after taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly in an obvious attempt to remain calm.

Her voice was soft and appropriately submissive, though her eyes sparked with an intense green fire that was anything but. All at once, Andy wondered if she was really as submissive as she had led others to believe.

“Yes, kitten, you may,” Andy answered before Taurus could.

He could not help the smile when her eyes widened again, this time in surprise. He guessed no one had ever given her a nickname before. But in his gut, he knew kitten fit her. From what Jackson and then Taurus had told him, Blaze Richards protected herself with bravado and
snark
.

He watched her as she rolled her lips over her teeth. Instead of commenting on the name, she swallowed hard and took a deep breath instead.

Good, she was able to control herself. Could that be the problem? She was so much in control that she had a hard time letting go?

“Is Master Z a member of the club? I’ve never seen him here before.” Though she continued to stare into his eyes, she directed her question to Taurus.

“He’s been a member for several months now, but you have never been here on the same night. He has agreed that…for tonight…you will not leave the main room. Any other questions?”

“No, Sir.”

“Very good. Now, what are you going to do?”

Andy did not realize he held his breath until the little blonde filled her own lungs before nodding. “I’ll stay, Sir.”

“Very well. I’ll leave you to it.” Taurus walked away, leaving them still staring into each other’s eyes.

Breaking eye contact, Andy looked around the club. They needed a quiet corner to get acquainted and maybe play a bit. His palms were itching with the need to see her wrapped in his ropes.

Seeing an unoccupied area in the back corner, tucked away behind a short wall and some plants, he nodded. Turning back to the petite blonde, he held out his hand, palm up. Then he waited patiently until she placed her hand in his.

“Good girl, kitten,” he murmured as he wrapped his fingers around hers. Angling his head toward the back corner, he said, “For now, we are going over there to talk.”

“Yes, Sir,” she murmured as she followed.

When they reached the bar, he stopped and asked for two bottles of water from Jackson. “Good luck,” the bartender said with a smile.

Andy was not sure which of them his best friend was addressing, but knew they both might need it before the night was over.

* * * *

Blaze followed quietly, wondering what she had gotten herself into. Because she had been coming to the club so long, she and the Doms she had
scened
with in the past rarely spoke, beyond them giving her instructions on how they wanted her positioned. But this man was different.

Though not a huge man, he still towered over her, but then everyone towered over her five foot two inches. Master Z also radiated a dominant confidence she could just about feel. The air around him seemed to pulsate with power. For the first time since starting to hang out at Club Esoteria, Blaze found herself aroused just by the touch of the man’s cool hand holding hers.

“Do you have any problems being bound?” he asked once they reached the back corner of the room with a small couch and chair and table half-hidden by a short wall and a bushy tree.

“No, Sir.”

He nodded then dropped her hand. “Although your panties are cute and sexy, take them off.”

Though tempted to question why she needed to be naked while they talked, something about Master Z made her feel safe and that she could trust him without knowing him. Besides, there were people within screaming distance if need be, though she did not think she would be calling for help anytime soon.

She pushed the boy shorts down her legs, stepped out of them, and bent to pick them up. Folding them neatly, she offered them to the man who watched with an unreadable expression.

He took them without a word then pointed to the floor. Blaze knelt and assumed the slave position. The wetness on her pussy lips surprised her as she spread her knees and laid her hands palms up on her thighs.

“You will answer my questions truthfully and directly,” he said, settling on the couch in front of her. “And until I say otherwise, you will look at me and not the floor.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Lifting her head, her gaze caught on the sizeable bulge pressing at his zipper. Her pussy clenched, and more of her juices escaped, spreading up between her lips to coat her clit as well. Her nipples beaded behind the thin camisole, and she found herself breathing harder.

“Have you ever come while someone is beating on you?” he asked, his voice low and gentle and yet filled with a power that sent rippling tremors through her.

“No, Sir.”

“Have you ever had an orgasm inside the walls of this building?” he asked as he unzipped the bag he had been carrying.

Blaze swallowed hard before answering softly. “No, Sir.”

“Is that because you’re punishing yourself or because you have a hard time losing control?”

He pulled out a long coil of soft-looking red rope and set it in his lap.

Blaze thought about the question and mentally shrugged. “I don’t know. Sir,” she added when he sent her a sharp look.

“When was the last time you had an orgasm?” he asked, as if he was asking about the weather.

“This morning, Sir,” she answered, thinking back to the small but powerful lipstick vibrator that had become her favorite toy.

Master Z smiled at her answer. “And the last time a man gave you an orgasm?”

Though she had expected the question, Blaze froze as the truth blasted through her brain. She sucked in a sharp breath as tears filled her eyes.

A cool palm cupping her cheek brought back to the present. “Kitten?”

She had to swallow hard before she lifted her gaze to his and lied. “It’s been a long time, Sir.”

The truth was that she had never felt an orgasm at a man’s hand. Even the ones she forced on herself did little to untie the knots that seemed directly related to her lack of a sex life.

He studied her expression before he smiled down at her while the fingertips of one hand traced random patterns over her cheek and down her neck to her collarbone. His other hand rubbed over the front of his jeans, pulling her eyes back to his erection, which seemed to have grown even larger.

“Kitten, before this night is over, you will come at least once by my hand. And, if you’re very lucky, maybe even several times.”

Blaze snorted a laugh, her snarky disbelieving side breaking for a moment. “Yeah, right.”

“Ah, so the little kitten is skeptical. Well, I guess it’s time to prove my point,” Master Z said. With that, he stood and uncoiled the red rope, snapping its considerable length before running the entire length through his fingers, smoothing the kinks out of it.

Blaze turned to watch as he doubled the rope and then took hold of the center.