Taken (Dark Grove Plantation)

Ella grinned evilly as she brought the crop down hard on Holly’s pert ass.
  The curvy little sub cried out at the blow, but Ella knew by the way that she arched ba
c
k into her that she was enjoying herself.
  She glanced at Holly’s Dom, a silent question in her ey
es.  Holden held up two fingers, a small smirk on his face as he watched Ella dominate his sub.
  She
nodded at him in understanding
and laid two more blows across Holly’s
s
ensitive thighs in quick succession.
  This time the sub nearly screamed at the intensity.  But Ella could tell by her glassy eyes that she had entered subspace, pushed over the edge by the pain.

Holden was at her side, murmur
ing in her ear, kissing her throat
.  Then he bit down on the delicate skin where her neck met her shoulder.  At the same time, he t
o
uched his fingers to her clit, pinching hard.  Holly moaned as she came, tugging at the chains that held her suspended as she writhed at the intensity of her orgasm.
  As she came down off her high, gasping, Ella gently ran her fingernails over the sub’s abused ass, making her shudder pleasurably.

Ella helped Holden release Holly
from her bonds, and then he carried her to one of the couches at the corner of the room, holding her tightly to his chest.
  Ella could tell from the way that he looked at her that he was utterly smitten, and she felt a pang in her chest, longing for that connection with her own man.

But not a Dom,
she thought firmly. 
Certainly not a Dom.

Ella was infamous at Dark Grove Plantation
, the opulent BDSM club located just outside of Charleston,
for the way that she reduced men – and women
,
for that matter – to simpering messes.  She was good at what she did. 
Very good.
  And she relished their submission.

She enjoyed her high-powered job as a lawyer, but it was also high-stress.  Men were always underestimating her in the courtroom, and it gave her immense satisfaction to smack them down, to win.  And she found great relief from the indignation that she felt at their initial derision by playing
kinky games
with men who revered her.
  The disparity between condescending men and worshipful ones seemed to provide the balance she needed to feel like an equal.  Not to mention that being a Domme gave her the confidence she needed to be a successful lawyer.
  She won in the playroom and in the c
o
urtroom.

But unfortunately, she ha
d never found that she was romant
ically attracted to any of her subs.  Something about ho
w they were
subordinate to her made her feel uneasy entering into a relationship.

Suppressing a sigh, Ella turned her eyes away from Holden and Holly, heading for the bar.  She could use a drink. 

Not because I’m upset,
she told herself. 
I’m just thirsty after that workout.

She checked to see if her fri
end Gwen
was working the bar tonight.  The pretty blonde was always nice to her, and
she had even let Ella Dom
her a few times.  Unfortunately, she was nowhere in sight.  It would have been nice to have someone to talk to.

She ordered a rum and coke and then stationed herself in a dark corner, trying her best not to look sulky.  She should be focusing on the crowd, picking out her next conquest.  But she just wasn’t up for it.  Instead, she found herself fussing with her short
,
faux-
leather skirt
and matching bra; adjusting them
gave her an excuse to do something else.

“Hey there, little one.”
  Ella tried not to jump at the sound of his voice, so sexy with its Southern twang.

Crap. 
The last person she wanted to talk to right now was Brandon, especially when she was off her game.

She glared up at him.  “I’ve told you not to call me that,” she snapped.

“What would you prefer?”  He asked, the corners of his mouth curling upward in amusement.

“
‘
Mistress’ would suit you nicely,” she retorted, lifting her chin to give him an imperious stare.

He laughed softly, his hazel eyes dancing.  “I think I’ll stick to my preferred moniker, but thanks anyway.”

Ella threw up her hands in exasperation, rolling her eyes at him.

His
s
trong arms were around her instantly, his palms pressed against the wall on either side of her, trapping her.
  “I don’t permit people to roll their eyes at me,” he said softl
y, a dangerous edge to his voice.

Ella couldn’t stop her eyes from widening.  The nerve of him!  But she couldn’t deny her attraction to him, and it was only heightened by his close proximity.  His eyes had shifted from genial brown to an intense, dark green now, offsetting his curly black hair that she secretly wanted to run her hands through.
 
And his scent…
  She wanted to drink it in.  He smelled of amber and musk and darkness.  Looking up into his eyes, she had to resist the urge to swallow hard.

“When will you admit that you want me, little one?”  He
asked,
his voice low and rough.

Ella shook her head vigorously.  “Never,” she whispered.

“You’ll never admit it, or you’ll never want me?”  He asked with a sly smile.

“Either.  Both
,” she said, getting flustered.  His closeness was throwing her off, his masculine scent
wreaking havoc
on her brain, making her think that she
did
want him.  But that was crazy
.  Brandon was a Dom through
and
through.  And Ella wasn’t interested in a man who wanted to undermine her.

She pressed her hands agai
nst his hard chest, resisting the urge to run her fingers over his sculpted body, to lightly sink her nails into his flesh…

Stop that! 
She ordered her
s
elf.

He didn’t budge a millimeter. Ella was unsettled, but she felt her body betray her, and her sex pulsed as she realized her predicament.  What was wrong with her?  She neede
d to get out of here, to go home
.

“Back off,” she hissed.  “Or I’ll make you.”

Brandon
just chuckled.  “You’re cute when you’re angry, you know,” he told her.  Then he cocked his head at her.  “But I have to ask: Just how are
you planning to get out of this
?”

His smug expression was enough to quell her lust for him.  She shot him an evil smile before shouting, “Red!”

Several people turned to look at them, their attention caught by the sight of Ella, the infamous Domme, shouting out a safe word.  She was slightly embarrassed that they had heard, but it was the only way that she knew to force Brandon away from her.

He growled, and his hands clenched to fists against the wall.  He stared down at her for a momen
t, his gre
en eyes stormy.  Then he pushe
d away from her.  Ella determinedly
held back her sigh of relief.

“Fine,” he snapped.  “You win. 
For now.”

Ella watched him as he stalked off, fe
e
ling an inexplicable pang of regret.  Was it because she felt bad for embarrassing him or because she missed his presence?

For god’s sake, stop thinking like that!

She downed the rest of her drink, hoping that a buzz would quell her nonsensical thoughts.  She didn’t want to run, but she couldn’t bear to stay at Dark Grove any longer tonight.  She told herself that it had nothing to do with Bra
ndo
n, that she was just tired after playing with Holly.  But a part of her told her that she was lying to herself.

Shut up! 
She told it firmly.

A week later, Brandon found himself back at Dark Grove.  He seemed to be drawn there every weekend now. 
Drawn by the allure of Ella, the gorgeous Domme who he longed to force to submit
to him
.
  She was the ultimate challenge, and
he had never been so turned on b
y the idea of dominating any woman.

He had tried playing with other submissives at the Plantation since he had first seen Ella, but none of them had been able to slake his desire, to quell his longing for the enchanting Domme.
  She called to him
like a Siren; he would have resisted her song if he could, but he seemed powerless to do so.
  She was undeniably gorgeous: lithe and fit
, with dark eyes that matched her long, silky hair.  But his attraction to her went beyond the purely physical
.

Last weekend had been a Hail-Mary as he attempted to force her inner submissive out from behind her tough exterior.  He could sense it, could smell it like a hound catches the scent of the fox.  And he had
become determined to pursue his quarry
, to hunt her down and take her.

But his attempt to trap her had backfired, and she had used her get-out-of-jail-free card to force him away.  He had never dreamed that she would resort to using a safe word, but apparently using dirty tricks wasn’t beneath her.

He couldn’t help grinning at the memory, though.  She was such a little spitfire.  It would make bending
her to his will all the more satisfying
.

As a landscaper, Brandon loved watching things grow, shaping and pruning them until they reached their full beauty.  He felt the
same way about women.  He savored
coaxing the submissive out of them, teaching them the pleasures of giving their will over to him.  In their bondage, they were freed completely, freed f
rom all thoughts and worries
.  His lust was ignited by watching a submissive blossom as she embraced that side of herself, reveled in it.  He loved to see the unadulterated joy that he brought them through his
temporary
control of their bodies and minds.

And he would do the same for Ella.  He could see her discontent in the stiffness of her shoulders, the tenseness he could detect in her bearing.  She needed that release, even if she didn’t know it.

Slow down there,
he warned himself. 
You haven’t even
so
much as lured her into a conversation yet, much less into your bed.

Somehow -
he didn’
t know how yet -
he
would
have her.

I’m enjoying this.  I am,
Ella told herself as she watched the red stripes appear on Charlie’s thighs as she caned him.

“Thank you, Mistres
s
!”  He cried out with ev
ery stroke, just as she had ord
e
re
d him to do.

She experienced a hint of that heady feeling she got from dominating someone, from taking complete control.  But something was wrong with her tonight.  She felt as though she was chasing the high, and the harder she tried to attain it, the more unattainable it became.

But she stayed in character; Charlie deserved that.  He was a good submissive, and she had been Domming him for a little over a year now.  They had even had a few private sessions at her house.  He was clearly infatuated with her, so she tried to keep him at arm’s length, careful not to show him any excessive affection beyond what her Domme
-
ly
duties dictated.