Passion's Hope (The Doms of Passion Lake Book 3) (28 page)

By the time they left the Toy Emporium, Charlie had a dozen new dresses, some fashionable, new low-heeled sandals and some colorful jewelry—bracelets, necklaces, and earrings—that went with everything else Nik and Jay had bought for her. Plus, there was that mysterious box they kept teasing her with but wouldn’t let her open. Or even touch.

“Where do you want to go for lunch?” Jay asked as he slid into the driver’s seat of the Humvee.

“Well, let’s see…” She put her finger to her chin. “Why don’t we go to the Icebox Bar and Grill? I hear their burgers are to die for.”

Jay just grinned. “Home it is, then.”

Home.
She liked the sound of that.

Have you lost your mind? Whatever happened to the woman who had sworn off men? The woman who was determined to stand on her own two feet and not be beholden to anyone? The woman—

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m still here. It’s only for a month. I promised I would give them a month to let them try to earn my trust. That doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen. Not by a long shot. I’m just…playing along until I can get enough money together to move on. You just wait. When the month is over, I’m walkin’ outta here, free as a bird.

For some reason, Charlie’s lunch tasted more like sawdust than a succulent burger.

* * * *

The door jerked open with a loud click, startling the driver.

A large man, dressed in a nondescript black track suit with a black hoodie covering his head, got into the luxurious Porsche gt3 and slammed the door shut. As the driver started to turn his head toward him, he raised his left arm and levered the business end of a black HK45 against the driver’s temple.

“Don’t look at me,” he ordered in a low, menacing voice. “Keep your eyes straight ahead. If you turn your head toward me even once while I’m in your car, I will kill you where you sit. Are we clear?”

The driver lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. “We’re clear.”

“Put your hands back on the wheel and keep them there, where I can see them.” The newcomer took an electronic bug detector out of his pocket and ran it up and down the man’s arms and legs.

“You told me not to wear a wire,” the driver said testily. “So I’m not wearing a wire.”

“Yeah, well you’ll forgive me if I don’t just take your word for it,” the big man snarled. He ran the device over and under the dashboard. “I also told you to drive an inconspicuous car, you asshole. So what do you show up in? A goddamn
white
Porsche that literally screams ‘Look at me’!” Evidently satisfied that the car wasn’t bugged, he returned it to his pocket.

“Where’s your car? I didn’t see you approach,” the driver began.

“Well I sure as fuck saw
you!
But enough of this shit. You told my colleague you wanted me to kill someone for you and unless you’ve changed your mind, that’s why I’m here.”

“I haven’t changed my mind. I want her dead.”

“Fine. My fee is two hundred fifty thousand dollars, a hundred and fifty now, one hundred when the job is done.” He handed the driver a business card and a cell phone. “I’ve already accessed your account on this phone—”

“Fuck! How did you—”The driver started to turn his head only to find the gun barrel jammed painfully into his cheek, forcing him to turn back.

“Ah-ah-ah. What’d I just tell you? Don’t. Look. At. Me. Now, authorize your bank to transfer the first installment to the number on that card and press send.” He watched as the other man punched in the numbers and completed the transaction. Then he yanked the phone back and shoved it in his pocket. “You can keep the card. Those numbers are now meaningless. The money’s already been transferred to another, untraceable account. Now, give me the target’s name and location. I’ll let you know when the job is done.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll forgive me if I don’t just take your word for it,” the driver said sourly, throwing this detestable man’s own words back in his face. “I’ll need proof—irrefutable proof that she’s dead. Only then will you get the rest of your money.”

“Fine. I’ll send photos.”

“You’ll
bring
photos. And they damned well better be the real thing. I have software that can detect anything that’s photo shopped, so don’t fuck with me.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll be the real thing. You’ll get them as soon as I get the rest of my money. Now, quit wasting my time. Name and location.”

“Charlotte Fielding. My private investigator tracked her to the Passion Lake Lodge. I don’t know if she works there or is a guest there. Passion Lake is a small town west of here in the foothills. If you’ll let me move my hand I have a photo of her in my shirt pocket.”

He held out his hand and the driver handed him a photo of a beautiful woman with long, black hair. Without even looking at it, he stowed it in a pocket and opened the door. With the gun still touching the driver’s cheek, he backed out of the car.

“As soon as the door closes, drive off and don’t look back.”

“How will I get in touch with you?”

“You won’t. I’ll contact you. Now get the fuck outta here.” He slammed the door.

The driver started the Porsche and drove off. When he looked in his rear view mirror, the man he’d just hired to kill Charlotte Fielding was nowhere to be seen.

* * * *

“Charlotte, I want you to stand, feet shoulder width apart, hands behind your back gripping opposite elbows, head up, eyes straight ahead.”

Mouth dry, heart hammering in her chest, Charlie assumed the position. She was naked. Nik and Jay were both wearing jeans and no shirts. Both men were circling slowly around her, periodically reaching out to touch her—her breast, her belly, her ass.

“This is called the “Present” position,” Nik explained, tracing the tip of his index finger around one well-defined areola, watching in satisfaction as her nipple peaked, making her swallow. Hard.

“Whenever I tell you to Present, that is the signal that a scene is about to start. Do you remember your safe words?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“And they are…” he prompted when she didn’t elaborate.

“Oh, Green for when everything is fine, yellow for if I’m feeling overwhelmed or need you to slow down, and red for if I need you to stop.”

“Good girl.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out something that clinked metallically as they shifted in his hand. She couldn’t see them because her chin was lifted and her eyes were focused on the wall opposite her, as per his instructions. He held them up. They looked like two tweezers. Except they weren’t like any tweezers she had ever seen before They each had rubber tips and a little wheel in the center for adjusting the bite. Hanging from each was a fairly long tube-like appendage. They were linked by a silver chain.

Holy fuck!

“Do you know what these are, little sub?” Nik asked.

“Yes, Daddy.”

“So, you know where they’re going,” he smiled.

“Yes Daddy. On my nipples.”

“Did Bradford clamp your nipples?”

Charlie bit her lip. “Yes. They hurt. Especially when he yanked them off.”

“These will not hurt. They will caress your beautiful nipples and stimulate them both with the downward pull of their weight as well as a gentle vibration.”

She felt his hands on her breasts, felt the rubber tips of the clamps close around her nipples, already tight and aching with need. She felt him tightening first one, then the other clamp, until she sucked in her breath at the sharp bite of pain. That’s when Nik not only stopped tightening them, he loosened them a quarter turn. Letting her release her breath in a whoosh of relief. Until he flicked them with his index finger, back and forth, sending electricity sizzling through her, pulling another gasp from her lungs. He turned on the vibrators to a low setting. Charlie’s shoulders hunched forward. Just in time she prevented herself from letting go of her elbows and lifting her hands to cover her breasts. But she couldn’t prevent the whimper that escaped her lips.

Nik frowned. “Does that hurt, little one?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I feel like lightning is shooting out of my nipples. And my fingers. Toes, too. It—”she bit her lip. “It feels good.”

Nik chuckled. “Thank you, little one. That is our goal, here. Now, this afternoon is all about trust. You will have to trust us for everything. If the thought disturbs you, say yellow or red right now and we will try to assuage your fears. But we are not going to tell you beforehand what we’re going to do. You have to trust that we will not harm you in any way. Can you do that,
myshka
?”

She was trembling, every cell in her body buzzing with an electrical current, as if she were standing in the center of a lightning bolt. The heat from their bodies mingled with their earthy, masculine scents, immersing her in a heady mixture of anticipation, arousal, and fear. She took a calming breath.

“Yes, Daddy, I can do that.”

“Good girl. Hold out your hand.”

She did and Jay draped a black silk scarf over her palm. It was so fragile, it felt like smoke flowing over her skin.

“Do you know what this is for?” Jay asked, stroking his fingertip up her breast, lifting her nipple, ripping a breathless little cry from her lungs.

“I—”It could be for anything. Tying her wrists, tying her elbows together behind her back, binding her breasts. But she knew it wasn’t for any of those things. “I—”She couldn’t stop shivering.

“It’s a blindfold, sweet thing. We’re going to cover your eyes.” He watched her carefully, noting the sudden flush in her cheeks and across her upper chest, the goose bumps rippling up and down her arms.

“Where are you, baby girl?” he asked, fully expecting her to say red. After all, she had put a zero next to “blindfolds” on the list. That didn’t make it a hard limit, but it was pretty damn close. And she was struggling with that.

“Um…” Her gaze flew up, locking onto his as if seeking reassurance.

And he gave it to her in the form of a smile and a wink.

“Green,” she finally said.

Jay bent to press a kiss to her forehead. “That’s my brave girl,” he said, his voice thick with some emotion she couldn’t identify. He walked around behind her and placed the scarf over her eyes, tying it securely behind her head. “This is not to frighten you,” Jay whispered into her ear. “It’s not to humiliate you. It’s to help you focus on all the sensations your body will be feeling. It will heighten the pleasure we are about to give you.”

Nik placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward the door. “Come,
myshka.
”

“Wait. Where are we going?” Charlie took a faltering step, then stopped, not sure she could walk with her hands behind her back, blindfolded. What if she fell? What if she—Panic bloomed in her chest, robbing her of her breath.

“Breathe, Babygirl.” He said the words together as if it were all one word. As if it were…a name.

“Babygirl,” she repeated softly. “I like that. It sounds like a name.”

“Then that is the name I will call you.” She could hear the smile in Jay’s voice. “Keep moving forward, sweet thing.”

She shuffled forward, then stopped, biting her lip, struggling to stifle the sobs that threatened to overwhelm her. “Why is this so hard?”

“Because your ability to trust has been stolen from you,” Jay replied, his voice gentle. “And we’re trying to give it back. So take all the time you need, Babygirl. We have all the time in the world. If you need to talk about it, just say yellow. If you need to stop completely, say red.”

Jay and Nik began rubbing their hands up and down her arms in a soothing gesture, while she struggled with the decision confronting her. Did she trust these men not to hurt her? Not to degrade or humiliate her? Did she trust them enough to submit to them? To give her power over to them, allowing them to keep her safe and give her pleasure? Every instinct within her told her she could. But still she hesitated, because there was still that one little niggling voice in her brain telling her that they could be as deceitful and cruel as Perry Bradford. They were men, after all, and no man was to be trusted.

Nik’s hand under her chin turned her head slightly, lifting her face to his. The touch of his lips against hers was ethereal, light as a butterfly’s kiss, yet she could feel the intensity of the sexual energy pouring off of both him and Jay. Sexual energy that wrapped around her, filling her with a hunger she could no longer ignore. And a need she could no longer deny.

“Do you wish to use your safe word,
myshka
?” he asked.

She took a deep breath, held it at the bottom of her lungs then released it slowly. She drew herself up to her full height, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “No, Daddy,” she said, her voice firm and clear. “I’m ready to go wherever you choose to lead me.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

She could hear the breath whoosh from both Nik and Jay’s lungs, but she missed the look of profound relief they exchanged over her head. She had just taken a gigantic leap forward.

“Thank you, Charlotte,” Nik said, his voice a rumbling growl, like the purr of a tiger. That’s exactly what he was, she thought suddenly. Not a grizzly bear, but a tiger. A stalking, prowling, slinking tiger. Predatory. Dangerous. And she was the mouse between his paws. “You have no idea how much that means to us.”

“Come on, Babygirl,” Jay murmured, taking her arm and walking her forward slowly. “You’re gonna like what we have planned.”

They led her through the living room, through the kitchen, and down the short hallway leading to the back door. But instead of going out the back door, they opened a door to the right. Jay maneuvered himself in front of her. “Okay, Babygirl, we’re going to go down some steps. Here are the hand rails.” They took her hands and placed them on the wooden rails, not letting go until she’d gripped them firmly. Even then, they didn’t release her completely. Jay preceded her down the steps, Nik followed, both of them watching her carefully as she descended.

Halfway expecting her feet to meet the cold, concrete of a basement floor, she was pleasantly surprised at the cool, smooth hardwood she did encounter. “Where—”

“You’ll find out soon enough, little one,” Nik said. “Trust, remember?”

She smiled.
Oh, yeah. That.

They led her across a large space. She figured they were probably beneath the upstairs living/dining area, heading toward the master bedroom area. Charlie heard some electronic beeps, which meant wherever they were taking her, it was heavily secured.
What the—

They led her forward, and this time she
did
step onto cold concrete. She heard the door close behind them with a heavy thud just before they stopped. A sudden shiver ran down her spine. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from asking where they were. She would find out when they wanted her to. And that was part of the psychology of being blindfolded. She shivered again, but not with cold. With the thrill of anticipation, she let them guide her forward, toward what, she didn’t know. But she was dying to find out. And she had a feeling she was going to come out on the other side of this experience changed in fundamental ways. Ways she couldn’t even begin to imagine. Her sense of anticipation was beginning to curdle into a sense of uncertainty laced with dread.

Sensing her hesitation, Nik bent his head toward her. “Where are you,
myshka
?”

“Ummm. Is there a color between green and yellow?” she asked, only half joking.

Jay chuckled. “Yes. Puce.”

“Then that’s where I am. Puce.”

“Do you need to talk things over?” Nik asked, watching her carefully, gauging her breathing, her posture, the jerkiness of her movements.

She took a deep breath. “No.” She shook her head. “I’m at green.”

“I’m proud of you,
myshka
.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head. Then he and Jay guided her forward, their hands pressing on her shoulders telling her when to stop.

“Spread your legs, sweet thing,” Jay ordered, watching her shuffle her feet outward. “More. More. That’s good, stay just like that.”

Her legs were spread so wide, she could feel the pull on her inner thigh muscles. She felt Jay’s hands on her left foot, Nik’s on her right, wrapping fleece-lines cuffs around her ankles. The instant the whimper fell from her lips, she wanted to call it back, but it was too late.

“Are you still at green, Babygirl?” Jay asked.

“Yes…um”…she cocked her head…“I call Nik Daddy. What should I call you? Since Master of the Universe is already taken,” she added cheekily.

Jay just chuckled. “Just call me Jay.”

Nik took her right arm, lifting it up and out, securing it with similar cuffs to the ones on her ankles. Jay did the same with her left arm. She figured she’d been secured to a bondage frame, similar to the one at Club Risqué. Whatever this room was, it obviously had BDSM apparatuses in it, making it…what? A Play Room? A dungeon?
Oh, my God! They have their own private sex club right here at the Passion Lake Lodge!
The thought sent a thrill lancing through her. Her belly rolled, sending hot cream gushing between her legs as lust thundered through her.

Jay nuzzled his nose against her ear, causing her to squirm and squeal in delight. “No need to ask if you’re still at green,” he murmured, tickling her skin with his breath and adding giggles to the squirming and squealing. “I can smell you. You are aroused by all this, aren’t you, little girl?”

“Yes,” she admitted.
More than you’ll ever know.

“Relax,
myshka
,” Nik said. “And concentrate on what you are feeling, okay?”

She sighed. “Okay, Daddy.”

“Starting right now, you are not permitted to speak,” Nik went on. “You can cry out and make all those wonderful little noises you make when you’re being pleasured, but the only thing you are allowed to say is what you think is touching you. You only get one guess per item. And if you get it wrong, you will get one swat on the ass. Am I clear?”

“You’re going to spank me?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes. But not to punish you. To show you that pain can be a vital part of pleasure. Not pain for pain’s sake. Not the horrendous pain inflicted on you by Bradford. Erotic pain. Pain that your extremely aroused body turns into more pleasure than you’ve ever dreamed possible. If that frightens you, use your safe word and we will stop this right here and spend the rest of the time just holding you so you’ll know how precious to us you are.”

Her uncertainty was visible in every line of her body. In every nuance that played across her expressive face. What was she doing? Standing here, naked and exposed, her nipples clamped? The vibrations, even at the lowest setting sent sparks of electricity zapping her clit like short-circuiting wires, leaving her so aroused, so needy, all she could think about was the orgasms she knew were eventually coming.

Could she really go through with this? Could she really give all her power to these two men? She had done it before and they hadn’t abused it. Far from it, in fact. They had pleasured her beyond her wildest imaginings. But she hadn’t been blindfolded those times. Nor had she been bound, like she was now. Her teeth grabbed her lower lip, gnawing on it like a dog gnaws on a bone.

What did she know about these men, really? So far they had treated her with kindness. They hadn’t said or done one thing to set off her alarm bells. But, then, neither had Perry Bradford. At least not for those first two weeks. His smoldering sensuality, his charm and charisma and unfailingly good manners had been carefully constructed and refined over the years, deliberately cultivated to swamp any woman’s inhibitions and turn off her danger radar. He’d certainly turned
hers
off. And once he’d hooked her, she had no choices. His entire persona was a myth. A façade to hide the monster he really was.

These men were different.
Their
smoldering sensuality was the real deal, the deepest part of who they were. Not a façade to hide behind. Or a costume to be slipped off and on as the situation warranted. And they always gave her choices. Even when it seemed she had none, she had one. Her safe word.

Without even realizing it, she relaxed.

“Good girl,” Nik said, his voice full of approval and pride. “That’s my very, very good girl.” His hand lifted to brush across her cheek, gently wiping away tears she hadn’t even realized she’d shed.

Nik and Jay stepped up to her and began stroking her skin with their hands. Up the outsides of her legs, back down, up the insides of her legs, back down, up again, across her belly, caressing her ass, around her ribs, over her breasts, up and down her back. Over and over and over until her skin was warm and tingling, every nerve ending wide awake and sensitized and clamoring for more.

The hands morphed into something so soft, so silky, and so sensual moving over her skin, she let out a gasp at the rapturous sensation.

Oh, my God!

“Fur,” she said, her voice filled with wonder at the luxurious feeling.

Four hands covered with it, rubbing, stroking, and caressing her skin, slow, fast, hard, and soft. She’d never experienced anything so erotic in her life. Every stroke elicited a low hum of pleasure. Every stroke sent moisture streaming out into her pussy, and currents of electricity zapping from her nipples to her clit. Heavenly soft fur stroked every inch of her skin, including her breasts, pussy, and ass, four hands moving in random patterns and various speeds, never touching her where she expected it. That conflict of sensations ratcheted up her arousal and lit her up like a light bulb, turning her low hum into a much louder, continual moan. Her hips bucked, her back arched, her body writhed, desperately seeking each new touch.

Then…nothing. Until a hand slid through her slit, ripping a warbling little cry from her throat.

“Jesus, baby girl, you’re so fuckin’ wet!” Jay exclaimed, dancing his fingers all around her folds.

Holy shit!
The breath shivered from her lungs. Her body writhed beneath his hand.

Something started alternately poking her, then scratching her lightly. Something around an inch wide, moving at random to different parts of her body. She bit her lip, bracing for the promised swat if she got it wrong. “Um…fork?”

The next sensation was a touch so light, so ethereal it was barely there. It tickled, making her giggle and squirm as it swooped and swirled over her skin, painting invisible patterns that nearly drove her insane with lust. By now her skin was so sensitive even her goose bumps had goose bumps. She swore she could feel the fine hairs on her body growing.

“Feather.” God, she needed them to fuck her. She needed to come so badly she felt like her skin was going to split.

The next sensation was long, rubbery strands slithering up her arms and back, dragging up her belly, up and around her areolae, dragging across her nipples, making them as hard as knots and throbbing with need.

“Um…rubber bands?”

A hard swat landed on her left ass cheek, making her cry out as heat and pain bloomed across her skin. Then the pain turned into mere heat, spreading from her buttocks through her folds, becoming something strangely akin to pleasure. The slap was followed by a finger swirling around her clit while two other fingers pumped in and out of her sheath, ratcheting up the pleasure a thousand-fold, making the breath shudder from her lungs.

A rough touch came next and Charlie’s guess of “sandpaper” was received with an answering swat on her right ass cheek.

Jesus fuck that hurt!
But again the pain was swallowed up by heat and manual manipulation that yielded nothing but pleasure.

Tiny prickling sensations combined with ephemeral little flutters like…butterfly wings. ”Insects?”

Swat!
This one was hard enough to buckle her knees.

“Owww!” She hung there in her restraints, tears welling in her eyes, trying to regain her footing. Trying to transmute the pain into pleasure. Her lower lip trembled as she fought her sobs.
You can end this. All you have to do is say your safe word and they’ll stop.

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
argued that other voice in her head.
That’s what they say. But how do you know they really mean it? How do you know they’ll actually do it?

One large, masculine hand rubbed and kneaded her ass cheeks, somehow pushing the heat from the surface more deeply into her flesh, where it felt…wonderful. A finger touched her clit, wrenching a shivery little cry from her throat. Her back arched and she bucked her hips forward, seeking more of the delicious feeling.

A blade scraping across her skin had her guessing, “Knife?”

Another swat.

There were other sensations, too, scratchy, prickly, rough and smooth, hard and soft, sometimes both at the same time on different parts of her body. Sensations that had her moaning, mewling, gasping, and hissing. But she couldn’t tell what was making them. The only guess that didn’t earn her a spank was “Brush.”

But even as they were causing her pain, every nerve ending in her body was clamoring for an orgasm. How could that be? How could two diametrically opposed sensations like pain and pleasure work together like that? Then something that felt like thousands of tiny hairs flicked back and forth across her belly button, then up her abs and all around her breasts, while something that felt like pins and needles—no, more like nails—stroked up her back, sending goose bumps rippling across her flesh like a field of wheat in the wind.

The conflicting sensations of soft and tickly on the one side and the clawing, almost-but-not-quite-painful scratching on the other was so overwhelmingly erotic, she suddenly found herself unable to breathe. Not because of pain or a panic attack, but from sheer ecstasy as pleasure consumed her over-stimulated body. Two fingers glided through her slit from behind, thrusting up into her vagina, in and out, while another finger began circling her clit. Her body tightened into a rigid bow, seeking the rapture she knew was coming. Sucking air into the bottom of her lungs, she hung there, poised on the edge of annihilation.