Surreal (Divine Trilogy #3) (23 page)

Master’s announcement didn’t surprise Catherine. She’d been letting her mounting task list get the better of her—she knew this. The last place her thoughts should be while scening with Master was on entrée selections for the wedding menu or reviewing the dental codes she was learning at work.
What was fluoride again, 1204 or 1206?

“Ouch!” Her nipple exploded with heat, compliments of the crop in Master’s hand, which she’d failed to notice before.

“Where were you just now?”

She looked down and mumbled, “Not here, Master.”

“Precisely,” he scolded.

“Your girl is sorry.” Catherine lowered herself, bending at the waist to kiss the top of his bare foot. She remained bowed, offering herself and awaiting His instruction.

“I’m going to give you the chance to prove that. Get up and get to the shackles.”

She rose and hurried over to where the hoist and rig system resided. For the next few minutes, the submissive kept her eyes closed and enjoyed His strong hands on her body. With great care, he fastened cuffs to her wrists and ankles, another wider one wrapped around her waist before he attached the harness rigging to her bindings. Catherine squirmed with the realization that she wasn’t going to be allowed to close her legs when he placed a spreader bar to the ankle cuffs. Her arms were pulled behind her back and the links on the cuffs were clipped to their waiting counterparts on her thong strap.

Master guided her back down onto her knees then took a step back. He unzipped his jeans, working his thick cock free of its denim prison, and came close again to tap the hard flesh against her lips. “Suck me, slut. You’re going to swallow a serving of protein, for your health, and to see to my needs. And then, well, my pet, we’ll see . . .” His words became garbled when his length disappeared into the warm depths of her throat as she opened and he slid in.

Locked behind his back, his hands mimicked hers while she worked his cock until tears escaped the corners of her eyes. While sheer willpower kept his hands in place, hers were cuffed, making her do all the work with her mouth.

Skilled and determined, Catherine soon sucked Master’s orgasm from him, gagging and swallowing around him. He slipped from her mouth, a dribble of come spilling on her lip, and she rested back on her heels, eyes lowered while she caught her breath. It was then that she noticed their newest toy—a wand—was plugged into one of the numerous floor outlets in the room.

The submissive also knew the toy as her “guaranteed O-stick.” Pure magic, she melted under its intense vibrations anytime Master used it on her. Spread legs. Wand.
Oh, yeah, I’m in trouble.

Catherine must’ve made a noise because Master let out an evil chuckle and reached between her legs to pinch her clit. It happened too fast, was over too soon, and she just managed a strangled plea for “More.”

“Oh, you’re going to get more, slut. So much more you’ll be begging me to stop. And I won’t . . . unless, of course, you safeword. Now, up you go.” He helped her get to her feet and freed her hands from the thong. Master re-clipped them to another spreader bar that hung down from above, stretching her into an X.

Soft clicks and whirs sounded while the hoist came to life. She began to lift up onto her toes, and a few moments later, swing freely in the air.

Master’s hands remained on her, steadying and guiding her body into the position he wanted before panic could take root in her mind. Like the other flashback-inducing activities they’d tackled together, this one—bound suspension—had been an act of patience and love on his part until she’d grown comfortable with it. With his reassuring touch came soothing words of praise. Whispers of “Good girl,” “I’ve got you,” and “Almost set,” eased her sense of well-being.

Once he brought her to a stop, Catherine was upside down. She doubted it was a coincidence that her mouth was level with his crotch, or that her pussy was displayed at the perfect height for him to play with at his leisure.

Squatting down after digging something from his pocket, Master kissed her. Distracting her with his mouth, he fingered her nipples, twisting them until she cried out against his mouth and quickly clamping them. Through her glazed vision, she noted his hand wrapping around the wand before he stood.

She grinned, and then stopped almost as fast. The look on His face wasn’t a happy one.

“Color, Catherine?”

“Green, Master.”

The toy came to life. For a few seconds, a high frequency buzz filled the room, but it was soon replaced by a wanton groan falling her lips when he pressed the head against her fleshy mons—so very close to her swelling clitoris yet not quite there—and held it. Pressing his hips forward, his reawakening cock bumped her lips, and she obediently parted them.

When she began to suck around his length, he rewarded her by moving the vibrator along her pussy. It felt amazing, and her mouth fell open, releasing him. At the cessation of activity on Master’s cock, he took the toy away.

With a longing whimper, she snapped her lips closed and resumed her ministrations. The delicious vibration returned. Catherine increased the tempo of her sucking, and in return, he teased the wand over her sex. She soon became lightheaded and paused for breath.

Contact was broken again, but she could her feel her clit continue to pulse like it would pull the toy back if it only had hands. “Please . . .”

Cool air tickled her hot flesh when he shifted the fabric of her thong to the side and pried her labia apart. “Suck me, Catherine, and you may come when you like.” Something in the way he said it made her believe it wasn’t going to be that easy.

His cock pressed forward again, her mouth clamped down on him, and shock waves overtook her when he positioned the wand against the underside of her exposed clit. Highly sensitive, her orgasm started to crest and once again, the submissive forgot her task.

Just when she would’ve come, the toy was taken away, and he slapped her breast. The action jostled her adorned nipple hard enough for the clamp to shift so that it dangled from her peak. She stared down at the biting item with wide eyes, then screamed around his cock when he smacked her breast a second time to knock the clamp clean off. A wonderful, searing fire shot into her freed nipple when the blood rushed back into it, purple giving way to darkened rose-colored flesh.

“Again, slut. Suck me and come—if you can.”

Around they went.

Master maneuvered her about, not leaving her upside down for more than a few minutes at a time. Each position he chose allowed him to fuck her face and throat, and, of course, tease her pussy into a throbbing mound of need.

So many times the submissive found herself on the verge of release, just to have it snatched away because her mutinous body got lost in its own pleasure. Having her throat filled with His cock, the constant pressure and vibration on her groin, and the lingering pain in her nipples—he’d knocked the other clamp free at some point, too—was all encompassing and intoxicating.

I’m sex drunk.
The thought made her start giggling, and in a flood, Master was suddenly coming down her throat.

The intensity of the orgasm forced from her while she swallowed his spunk and he ground the wand against her pussy sucked the air from her lungs. Tiny sparks of white light flitted across her vision, and she exploded in the heat. Her heartbeat thundered in her skull. Cool air rushed into her lungs, and the buzzing in her ears lessened when Master turned her upright.

Catherine was only half-aware, and still giggling, while he removed her bindings and guided her to the armchair. There were items sat atop the end table next to the chair, but she couldn’t be bothered to try and identify them. More titters escaped her. She was tingling all over and effervescent—downright bubbly.

Master’s fingers dug into her arms. “Down, pet, let’s get you stable before you fall over.”

Her legs folded beneath her, her bottom met the cold hardwood floor, and she sobered a bit. The hushed whisper of fabric shifting met her ears, and his shirt landed on the floor beside her. She sighed with contentment when he slid into the chair behind her, placing his feet near her hips and leaning her back into his hold.

Craving Master’s touch, Catherine let her body mold against his while placing her trust in him to support her. Her body buzzed under his whispered affections and barely-there touches. With each hushed compliment, she felt her resolve weakening, all fight leaving.
Why was she so stressed again?

Drowsy, dopey, and somehow still burning with the need between her thighs, Catherine was unprepared when a plastic clothespin bit into the flesh over her lower ribs, and she gasped. She pushed the air out and sucked in fresh as a second and a third pin were attached to her with lightning-quick precision.

“Did you enjoy your orgasm, slut? Answer freely for the rest of the night, please.”

“Aye, Master. This girl did, thank you.”

“You worked hard for it. You deserved the reward.” More clothespins found their way onto the opposite side of her torso, pinching her skin. The clamps weren’t secure, more like he was placing them so they held a tiny amount of skin in a painful bite on purpose. “Is this comfortable?” he asked and flicked his finger over one of the pins so that it wavered, pulling at her skin. It was just beneath her right breast, where loose flesh had been lacking.

She hissed. “Not really, Master.”

“Shame. If you’d been eating and fleshier, the pins could’ve had something more substantial to hold onto and you might be enjoying this instead. But you chose sloth through nonchalance, and that does not deserve a reward. Such detrimental behavior must be corrected . . . with punishment, if necessary.”

Catherine literally felt the color drain out of her. He was going to use pain to punish her. Master had never done that before—meaning
this was serious
. The severity of her infraction crashed down on her and shame tightened her chest worse than the clothespins digging into her clammy skin.

He continued to fasten pins to her—inner arms, hips, across the top of her pussy, and even her breasts got a circle of them around her nipples—all areas that had become thinner, but none of it hurt. Not the way she now hurt on the inside. She’d disappointed the man who, to her, meant everything.

Because she hadn’t put enough importance on taking care of what meant everything to Him—
her
.

When he tipped the candle over her torso, letting hot wax spill down and coat her pinched skin, she welcomed it. Whimpering “sorry” over and over, Catherine kept her breasts thrust out in acceptance, but she couldn’t stop the salty rivers flowing down her cheeks. By the time he moved from behind her, taking up the crop when he passed, she was desperate to be exonerated. She knew once this was over, she’d be forgiven, with the expectation that her habits would be rectified.

Never would she show such disregard for her well-being again.

Drawing her wet lashes upward, the submissive fixed her eyes on her Master. He stood a few feet back, the riding crop held firmly in both hands before him. Catherine sucked in a jagged breath. “Do it, Master. Absolve your girl.”

His face was pained when he drew his arm back. “This is for you,
A rúnsearc
.”

Knowing with unwavering certainty that she was His beloved secured her inner peace. The submissive held his words around her heart while her body exploded with cathartic pain as he used the crop to knock every last clothespin free.

Later that night, in the warmth of their plush bed, Jayden pulled Erin even closer than normal. He’d not stopped touching her since they’d left the playroom. In the shower, reverent touches had guided his fingers to remove the wax and sweat from her body. After, she’d almost wept at the tenderness of his caress while he worked arnica cream into the numerous red marks that would likely still cover her come morning. In the silent darkness, his mouth sought hers even as his cock found purchase between her eager thighs. No words were spoken.

None were needed.

Their love was secure.

“Erin.”

A whispered breath tickled the shell of her ear, and she groaned. Jayden’s arm tightened over her waist, coaxing the sleepy woman back into her slumber.

“Erin, please.” A mangled grunt followed the cold touch upon her shoulder.

Erin opened her eyes, and Jayden sat up behind her with an alarmed, “What’s going on?” She reached for the lamp switch, yanking the sheet up to cover her bare breasts when the light flooded the room to reveal a sweaty, ashen-faced Natalie at their bedside. The clock read 3:18 a.m.

“I think we need Dr. Ellison. I’m so sorry—”

“Stop that before you get started, lass. You’re having a babe, there’s not a thing to be sorry for. Give Jayden and me a couple of minutes, and we’ll be on our way.”

Behind her, Jayden was already talking to Holly on the phone, his voice still slurred a bit by sleep.

“Okay, thank you. I—I’ll go wait by the door. My bag is—” Natalie’s words were cut off when she grabbed her abdomen and cussed through what had to be one hell of a contraction.

Erin glanced over her shoulder at Jayden in concern. Covering the phone, he mouthed at her to go. Not caring that she was bare-assed naked, Erin threw the covers back and hurried past the younger woman—who was leaning against the bed, hands gripping the duvet while she made funny noises and shapes with her mouth. Erin rushed to the closet and pulled on some panties, skipped a bra, then grabbed a pair of capris and an oversized T-shirt.

Jayden was still sitting in the bed, covers over his lap, when she came back out tugging the shirt down into place; Erin showing her bits to Natalie was cool, but Jayden wasn’t big on flashing his willy just for the sake of it. She needed to get Natty out of the room.

“Come on, sweetie. Let’s start making our way down.” Erin put her hands on Natalie’s arms to help her stand back up. When she was sure the girl was okay to move, she turned to Jayden, “See you downstairs in a few?”

He nodded, and Erin led Natalie away. Five minutes later, they were throwing open the front door and heading out into the cool early morning.

“Alright, lass. Let’s go have a babe!” Erin chirped when Jayden pulled around in the Towne Car.

Natalie’s skin took on a strange greenish hue right before she curled forward to throw up in one of the potted palms.

*~*~*

Jayden cringed while the car screeched to a stop harder than he’d intended. He really hoped his eyes were deceiving him, that the girl hadn’t just deposited copious amounts of stomach acid on his expensive tree.

With a frustrated huff, he climbed out and came around the car to help the girls get in. Taking in Natalie’s sweaty brow and pained expression, he at once felt remorse for his attitude. It was a fucking porch decoration—not a living, breathing human.

Make that two humans.
Oh, god.
The ground wavered in front of him, and out of nowhere Jayden felt nauseous. Soon, a tiny miniature person would be taking its first breath of fluid-free air. A crushing absolute certainty descended on him in that moment.

He wanted this with Erin
.

Jayden burned with the urgent longing to spill his seed deep inside of her, leaving it to create that ultimate representation of their love. To see their child draw its first breath would be . . . he couldn’t even describe what it would mean.

“Jayden. Yoo-hoo . . .” Erin’s hand touched his forearm. “It’s not the time for daydreaming. We need to get Natalie over to Baylor. Now.”

Her voice was tinged with alarm, but it took him a few seconds to realize it. By then, Micah had come out of his apartment to see what the racket was. The next thing he knew, Jayden was in the backseat with the girls, Micah having relieved him of driving duties.

Sitting next to the girls, he felt helpless. Natalie’s usual bouncy curls had become limp with sweat, and she looked miserable. Beside her, Erin looked the picture of calm. He marveled over his fiancée’s grip on the situation while she gathered Natalie’s hair up into a messy ponytail and began rubbing the girl’s back with her free hand.

A contraction must have hit, because Natalie let out an ear-piercing scream that sent chills racing up his spine. Darting his eyes to Erin, he got what he needed when she lifted her emerald eyes to meet him—and smiled.

“Remember to breathe, Natty, just like we practiced in class.” Erin slipped into coach mode, transforming into the powerful woman he’d glimpsed back in April, when she’d held the crop.

Jayden relaxed, and soon enough Micah was dropping their small party off at the doors of Baylor University Medical Center. Once they’d gotten the girl admitted and were waiting for the nurse to take her back to labor and delivery, he grabbed Erin and kissed her.

“What was that for?” She giggled.

“Because you amaze me every fucking day, Erin. And you’re beautiful . . . so I couldn’t resist.” He hugged her to his chest after she asked if he was okay. “I’ve never seen a woman in labor firsthand, and it’s a bit alarming, honestly. But at the same time, realizing that in the next few hours there is going to be this new little person is making me want to get going on
our
baby plan.”

Her eyes misted over, and he worried that right then had been the wrong time to bring it up, but all around them activity buzzed. Before he could say anything else, her fingertips were slipping from his as she backed away from him, waiting to turn and follow the nurse to Natalie’s room until she’d reached the threshold. God, she was perfect, and he was oh, so lucky.

For the first few minutes after the doors closed, Jayden stood there with his hands in his pockets, unsure what to do. He had no idea how long this was supposed to take. Trying to be subtle, he looked around the waiting area for some kind of chart to offer an estimate. All he saw were pictures of babies and cross-section diagrams of pregnant bellies. On a whim, he pulled out his phone to call his mom and ask, but noticed the time. Four a.m. was way too early to call.

“Sir.”

Jayden turned around. In all the hustle of check-in, he’d forgotten about Micah.

“This could take a while. Do you want to sit or maybe go get some coffee?” Amusement twinkled in Micah’s blue eyes.

“Yeah, coffee sounds great. Let me tell the nurses’ station in case Erin comes looking for me.”

One of the nurses gave Jayden a beeper and told him they’d page if he was needed. Feeling better about leaving after that, he and Micah headed out to find coffee. They eventually located the cafeteria after getting lost twice. Damn hospital was like a labyrinth—he couldn’t fathom how sick and medicated people didn’t end up in supply closets while trying to navigate the place.

For the next couple of hours, they sipped on the less-than-stellar coffee while catching up. Shawn and Micah were working out well, and that pleased Jayden to no end. They were both good people and deserved happiness in their lives. Especially Micah. Jayden was proud of the man his young assistant was becoming and gave himself a mental pat on the back for getting Micah out of the boys’ home. An errant thought crossed his mind—before too long, Micah would be moving on, and it would be time to give a new kid a chance to make something of his life. However, for the first time in all the years he’d been helping out the orphans, he had to think about Erin and what it could mean bringing a stranger into the fold. Which led to him realizing he also had to think about Natalie and the baby she was about to deliver, since he was hoping they were going to stay on at the Villa. It was unconventional, but he had a family to think of now.
Maybe Natalie could take Micah’s place in a year or so, when the baby was older?

The ancient beeper went off, rattling on the table top and making Jayden jump and spill the coffee he’d just topped off for the fifth time. His heart started thundering in his chest with the unceremonious adrenaline dump into his system.

“Shit, Micah. I gotta go. I’ll call you—”

“Go, Mr. Masterson. I’m fine. Can you find your way back?”

Jayden was already retreating when Micah’s question gave him pause. He ran the maze of halls and turns through his head, and once confident he could do it, nodded and left. Wanting to run but satisfying himself with a vigorous walk, he reached the maternity ward and marched up to the counter. The nurse manning the station was on the phone and held up her finger, indicating it’d be just a minute.

He couldn’t stand still, shifting from one foot to the other and wiping his sweaty palms down the front of his jeans. The ridiculousness of the situation didn’t escape him. He was acting like he was about to be a first-time dad and it was Erin was beyond those doors. Fuck that . . . when,
if
, they were able to have one of their own, Jayden was going to be by her side for every second of it.

Right before he felt her, he sensed her. Her shorter form pressed into his back, hugging him tight. Erin let go, and he turned around. The exhaustion in her eyes worried him until his gaze dropped to her vibrant smile.

“How is she? Is the baby here? What—” Erin’s light laughter cut him off.

“Natalie is resting. They’ve taken the baby down to the nursery for cleanup and observation since his APGARs were a tad low. Oh, Jayden, he is so beautiful.” She kissed him and pulled back with a giggle that ended with a snort, “The wee lad has red tufts of hair. I guess Dominick wasn’t a natural blue head, after all.”

Jayden didn’t understand everything she’d just said, but her demeanor was a hundred percent positive so he smiled with her. “Can we see him?”

“Aye, we can.” She took his hand and led him through the mysterious doors, down a hall, and around a corner before they stopped in front of a large picture window. On the other side were rows of small cribs, most of which were empty, but there were a few with tiny bundles. “He’s right over there.”

Jayden followed her finger to find the crib holding Natalie’s son. One of the attending nursery workers noticed where Erin was pointing and went over to pick up the boy and bring him closer to the window. However, he was only half paying attention to them because he’d been distracted by the placard on the crib identifying the baby.

NAME: Matthew Aaron Brown

DOB: 2014 JUL 09

SEX: M

HT/WT: 21 in / 8 lbs 7 oz

Natalie had named her child after them, and he had no idea how to process the emotions the gesture was bringing to the surface. Honored didn’t even begin to cover it. He looked over to Erin, who was watching him, her own tears threatening to fall. There was no reason not to embrace her in that moment, so he did. Jayden put her in front of him so he could lean over and hold her from behind, their fingers clasped over her belly while the pair of them watched the yawning little boy on the other side of the glass.

~*~

Half asleep, Jayden rolled over to wrap around Erin, except she wasn’t there. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to see in the dark room. Her pillow was still indented, and her scent lingered. She hadn’t been gone long.

With an accepting sigh, he got up to pull on some pants. He was pretty sure he knew where he was going to find her. The same place she’d gone practically every night since Natty and Matthew had come home from the hospital two weeks prior. After a quick stop in the bathroom, Jayden made his way to the kitchen to fix some hot cocoa for the girls, then headed to Natalie’s room.

As he passed the den, Erin’s soft whispers stopped him. Peeking in, he watched her. The soft moonlight from the bay windows silhouetted her small frame in the over-sized glider chair. One leg was tucked beneath her, the other stretching to the floor where she used her foot to push off and create a gentle swaying motion. Her attention was on the blanketed bundle in her arms.

Though he didn’t understand the words, he recognized her Irish brogue and assumed she was singing a childhood lullaby to Matthew. Jayden soaked in the vision for a few more moments before approaching the pair. He couldn’t ignore what a great mother she would be, if given the chance.

Jayden leaned over to give her a kiss and hand her one of the hot cocoas. “Why are you in here, sweet girl?” he asked in a quiet tone so as not to wake Matthew. “Shouldn’t you be letting Natalie do the mom thing and bond with her little champ?”

She sipped the drink and gave him a tired smile. “I couldn’t sleep anyways, too excited about marrying you tomorrow. So I offered to take him and let her rest.”

“Erin, I know you adore him, I think he’s pretty awesome myself, but tomorrow is
your
big day. You should be resting. Besides, you’ve taken the night shift every night, it seems.” He nudged her leg, asking her to scoot over and make room so he could slide in next to her, then put his arms out to take the baby in exchange for the cocoa.

Bending forward, she tucked the edge of the blanket back from Matthew’s face. “But look at him, Jayden. I might not be sleeping, but there’s something so relaxing about just holding him.” She ran a finger down his cheek. “I know it’s probably not healthy, but I really am enjoying spending the time with him.”

“My concern is that we aren’t giving Natalie enough room to do what she needs to do. I don’t know what that is exactly. It just feels like she’s withdrawing more rather than getting involved with this whole mommy thing.”