Trace & Tori [The ShadowDance Club 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Alex and Zach had marveled at how quickly she had transposed a department that had given them nothing but trouble into the one area they never had to tend to. She’d help set up on-site child care for her coworkers with Alex and Zach’s help and their absenteeism rate had fallen to virtually nothing. Cort knew she was living in a small guest cottage at the back of the ranch, and he often saw her outside playing with her young daughter.

When he felt her begin to settle, Cort moved so that he could speak to her face-to-face. “Sally, we need to discuss what happened here tonight. Are you up to helping me understand how this came about?” Cort knew he’d have to tread carefully because of his personal interest in her. He certainly didn’t want to make her ashamed of her actions or fearful of his response. When she nodded her assent he continued. “All right, thank you for that. Now, during his ravings to Alex and Zach, Master Jacobs mentioned you’d turned him down before, what made you agree to a scene with him tonight?”

Sally took several deep breaths before she looked directly into his eyes and answered in a shaky voice. “He told me you ordered it, that because I hadn’t agreed to be with him before, he had taken it to you, and as the trainer for The Club’s submissives, you had told him he should tell me I was to allow it as a punishment for being so picky.” Cort stared at her totally speechless. He could only sit in stunned silence and watch as tears ran down her cheeks in steady rivulets.

When he didn’t respond immediately, she continued, “I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me, so I agreed even though I was so scared of him I could hardly breathe. I love ShadowDance, and I didn’t want to do anything that might threaten my good standing here.” The sorrow he saw in her eyes nearly broke his heart, and for a few seconds all he could do was pull her into his tight embrace and try to get his emotions settled. The last thing she needed was the out-of-control response that kept threatening to erupt.

Several minutes later, he’d finally regained enough control to speak in what he hoped was his normal, controlled Dom/Trainer voice. “Never, ever would I make such a decision. He did not speak to me about you or your refusal to scene with him, and if he had I would have come to you immediately to hear your side. I want you to know that you…and only you make the decisions about what happens to you at ShadowDance. Safe, sane, and consensual are not trite words we give lip service to, they are the guiding tenants of everything that occurs in this club. Those words are in place to protect you, sweetness.”

He pulled her close and tried to slow his breathing so she didn’t pick up on the rage coursing through his blood. He swore that if the man wasn’t out of The Club by the time he got to Alex and Zach’s office, he’d take his sorry ass apart piece by piece. How dare he lie to Sally using him as a reason to hurt her. Cort was literally seeing red before he was able to get himself calmed down. He reached for his cell phone and speed dialed Zach, wanting to relay the information as quickly as possible without the possibility of Sally having to face the jackass who has brutalized her.

After he’d given Zach the information, his bosses reminded him that they had asked him to take the rest of the night off and attend to Sally. They told him that they had reserved a private room and it had been fully stocked with everything they felt he might need for her aftercare. Cort turned to Sally. “Sweetness, did you hear what Master Zach had to say?” Knowing that she had likely heard Zach’s deep baritone voice through the receiver, he wasn’t surprised at her nod. He ran his thumb over her lower lip in a gentle caress and looked deeply into her eyes before he went on. “I want you, Sally. Not as a trainee, but as a submissive woman. I want you to know that if you agree to go to that room with me tonight, it won’t be only for aftercare. Do you understand?” When she nodded slowly, he said, “Sally, that isn’t good enough. I need to hear you say the words.”

“Yes, Sir, I understand, and I want you, too.” Her voice was quiet, but there was no hesitancy in it, and Cort was on his feet before she’d even finished her answer. He cradled her against his chest and was striding down the hall to the private room Zach had directed him to with the determined look and motions of a man intent on staking a long-overdue claim. He felt Sally bury her face against his neck and breathe in his scent and heard her sigh in contentment and wondered how everything could have seemed so terribly wrong a half hour ago and now things felt so very right.

As soon as he’d made his way into the Queen Anne private room he set Sally on her feet and kissed her. Cort’s plan to take his sweet time and savor her sweet body was nearly short-circuited by the blistering kiss they shared. When he felt her body melt against his, he considered just making love her for the rest of the night, but knowing how she responded to being dominated was just too sweet to resist.

Breaking their kiss, Colt stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. Giving Sally his best Dom expression he said, “I want to remind you, my sweet sub, if we continue, you are
mine
. Are you prepared for everything that means?”

Cort watched as Sally’s eyes dilated until there was little more than a small ring of color surrounding pupils opened wide by desire. When she slowly nodded her head and quietly said, “Yes, Sir” he found he let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding.

“Very good, my sweet. Have you ever used the Fucking Throne, Sally?” He heard her breath hitch and watched the base of her neck and saw her pulse kick up.
Aha, I’d say you are turned on by the idea even though I already know the answer to my question. You are in for a real treat, sweet subbie.
As she answered, he was slowly leading her toward the large chair in the corner that would remind the casual observer of a typical Queen Anne chair, but this one had a few interesting “modifications” that made it a real treat for a sub.

Cort watched Sally closely as began securing her to the chair all the while explaining how the chair worked. He was thrilled to see how her breathing had become so shallow she was nearly panting and he hadn’t even finished strapping her in yet. Once she was secured and wouldn’t be able to see behind her, he moved in to place and slid aside the hidden seat panel which bared her pussy to his touch. Finding her more than ready he quickly sheathed a dildo and moved it in to place. Taking the remote control device with him he stepped in front of Sally and slowly loosened his leathers so that his cock was bobbing in front of her. He smiled when she licked her lips.

“Like what you see, little subbie?” Cort nearly laughed out loud when her eyes never left his cock as she nodded her head. “Sally, I asked you a question. Let’s not start our time together with me being forced to paddle your sweet ass.”

“Y-yes, Sir. I like what I see.” Cort loved the breathy way she’d answered. Next time he’d make her actually look at his eyes when she answered, but he was enjoying her perusal to much right now to make an issue of it. With Sally’s focus centered on his cock he was able to start the small motor that pushed the dildo into her dripping passage without her having a chance to tense up. When she gasped he chuckled. He stepped forward on to the small foot pads on either side of the chair bringing his cock directly in front of her sweet lips.

“Okay, sweet girl, you know what to do. But I’m warning you now, I have been waiting so long to feel your luscious lips wrapped around my aching cock that I may not last long.” He laughed softly when he saw her straining against the straps holding her tightly to the chair, her pink tongue flicking out just reaching the outer ridge of his engorged cock head.

Cort knew Sally had to feel like he was spinning her closer and closer to the epicenter of a huge storm because she was clearly edging toward sub-space. He’d no sooner gotten the words, “Open up, baby” and pushed his raging cock against her lips than she would have felt the machine speed up. As soon as she tightened her lips around him and tried to exercise a bit of control, he slowed the machine and said, “I know what you’re trying to do, you know? And I won’t let you top from the bottom. You know better than that my sweet little sub. Now, unless you want me to light up that beautiful ass of yours, you’ll play by the rules. If you come before I give you permission I’ll move the machine back a few inches and change out the dildo so that it’s not nearly as pleasant an experience for you.”

Cort nearly laughed out loud at her instant response. She refocused her attention to giving him a mind-bending blow job and when he sped up, then tilted the angle of the machine fucking her sweet pussy he could smell her arousal. When she groaned around him, he knew he was too far gone. Sliding the control to the fastest setting, he managed to bark out the command to “Come for me!” The words had to have still been bouncing around the room when Cort saw Sally stiffen and when she screamed her release he felt as if someone had detonated an electrical charge in his balls. His cum pulsed in long streams down Sally’s welcoming throat.

When he finally felt stable enough to stand without clutching the chair behind Sally’s head he moved back and knelt in front of her and kissed her hoping his lips could convey the thanks his voice wasn’t recovered enough to say. Thank heaven he’d remembered to hit the “kill” switch right away so he didn’t need to worry that she was still being penetrated when they were both gasping for air and trying to recover. When he was finally able to move he quickly unfastened her from the chair and carried her to the bed.

Cuddling her close he kissed the tip of her nose and then each of her eyes as she closed them letting sleep pull her under. Even though he knew she had fallen asleep he whispered, “You are mine, you know. I’ve wasted enough time, and even if your heart isn’t there yet, your body already recognizes its master.” Pulling her tighter into his embrace he slid in to a contented sleep holding the woman who had just claimed him, heart and soul.

* * * *

Trace had made several calls and was horrified at the results of the background check his friends had run on Gary George and case reports relating to Victoria Paulson. Tori had made dozens of police reports concerning stalking and violence, but had received little more than lip service responses and often not even that much. Her dog had been killed, her car damaged several times and ultimately destroyed, her home burglarized and all her belongings destroyed more than once. She had changed her mobile phone number several times and finally just abandoned it in favor of throw-away models that were basically only good for placing emergency calls. She had finally been asked to resign from her position at the law firm because Officer George had harassed her coworkers to the point none of them felt safe. But perhaps worst of all, the sweet woman sleeping so peacefully in his bed had lost all but one of her friends because they’d been too afraid to be near her, fearing they or their families would also be targeted. The injustice of it was almost more than Trace would comprehend.

Mitch Grayson was the computer guru for ShadowDance, and he’d been able to access Tori’s medical records as well as all the police reports despite the fact they’d been buried deep. Doctor’s records showed signs of extreme stress and indicated she would be a prime candidate for PTSD. Mitch was a former Special Forces soldier and had given Trace a brief rundown of symptoms to watch for and suggestions for ways to alleviate the stress the symptoms might be causing her. After Alex, Zach, and Dylan had disconnected from the conference call, Mitch had asked him directly, “Are you interested in her, Trace? Because if you are, I’m going to secure most of this information because I want it to be for your eyes only. There is a lot I didn’t mention in the call with everyone else because I wanted to talk with you first.”

Trace wasn’t surprised by Mitch’s observation. The man was an empath and often heard the thoughts of other people, but still his consideration was welcome. Trace explained his instant connection to Tori and asked that Mitch follow through with suppressing the information and asked that he also give a heads-up to his wife, Rissa, that he’d be bringing Tori around to dinner and would appreciate if she and the other women would make Tori feel as welcome as possible. Mitch assured him that Rissa would be happy to help and he’d make sure Katarina and Jenna also knew so they could focus on welcoming Tori to their makeshift family.

After ending his calls, Trace poured himself a small glass of scotch and sat watching the last flames flicker in the fireplace. He was lost in thought about how to best help Tori when her scream pierced the silence. He was sprinting down the hall when he heard what sounded like someone falling to the floor. As he entered the room he nearly panicked when he didn’t see Tori on the bed. He had left the bedside lamp on so she wouldn’t wake up in a dark room, and in its soft glow he caught movement in the corner of the room. Moving to squat in front of her cowering form, he reached out to her, and she screamed and tried to bat his hands away. “No! No! Please! I’m begging you, don’t touch me! I can’t believe you killed her! Why? Why?” She started to cover her face only to curl further in a ball, wrapping her arms over her head as if protecting herself from an unseen attacker.

Trace moved back a foot or so and spoke to her in soft tones. “Tori, wake up, princess, it’s me, Trace. You are safe now, please wake up. Come on back to me, sweetheart.” Her gasping breaths and sobbing were tearing him apart. “Come on, Tori, wake up and look at me.” He’d used his Dom voice and had heard the quick hitch in her breathing.

Tori slowly moved her arms away from her head and looked up with wide-eyed fear, and Trace swore to himself that he wanted nothing more than to make sure that look of terror never filled her beautiful dark eyes again. “That’s it, princess, look at my face. It’s Trace and you are safe with me. When you know who I am, reach out for my hand. I don’t want to frighten you further by reaching for you.” This was one of the things Mitch had just told him to use when dealing with a PTSD victim, and he would make a point to thank his friend for his insight and guidance because the shift in her body language was almost immediate after he’d spoken the words to her.