Crave (2 page)

Time passed by quickly and before Linnet realized it, two hours had passed. Her throat was parched from talking and schmoozing.  She sauntered up to the bar. Bernie was missing, in his place was Roxy wiping a half dozen glasses.

“Hey, Roxy. Can I get a bottled water?”

“Sure.” The buxom brunette grinned and slid the beverage toward her. “Is Master Gage here yet?”

“Haven’t seen him come in, but he should be here soon.”

“Great.”

“Where’s Bernie?” Linnet uncapped the water and took a long sip. The refreshing water a relief after talking to so many new people.

The barmaid wiped down the counter and straightened some napkins. “He’s at lunch. Should be back soon, I think.”

“Good.”

“Hey there, beautiful.” A masculine voice curled around her, and Linnet jumped.

She turned to the speaker, surprised to find the blond man from earlier standing behind her. Linnet met his gaze, but the direct perusal of her body made her squirm.

“Hi.”

“Are you playing tonight?” He reached out and touched her hair, and she stepped back, her ass hitting one of the bar stools in her startled movement to break contact.

“I’m waiting for my Dom, Sir. Master Gage is on his way.” Linnet gave him a small smile and lowered her eyes to the floor.

If she waited long enough he’d go away.

His fingers traced the side of her face, and he forced her chin up. Her eyes flew up in surprise. “Sir?”

“I require a sub for this evening, and as your Dom has not yet arrived, I’ll be happy to take his place for the evening.”

“I…”

“Is that how you do things at your club? Ask a sub to play knowing she’s taken?” Roxy interjected, her tone hostile.

Linnet swallowed, nervous. She was supposed to make the new people feel welcome, and she didn’t want to insult him. Normally she didn’t partake in any other sessions unless Master Gage was with her. They’d had such a nice morning. He’d coaxed her out of her mad with a wonderful kitchen interlude, and now she was here.

“It’s okay, Roxy.”

“No it isn’t. There are rules if he bothered to read them.” Roxy pointed to a plaque on the wall stating the rules of consent and safety posted in each room for everyone’s wellbeing. Crave had a good reputation, and making sure the rules were spelled out and enforced was one of the only reasons Linnet was comfortable here without Master Gage. The staff was like family and looked out for her. But this guy… maybe Bernie was right.

“This is a private conversation, barkeep. I suggest you mind your own affairs.” He glanced at Roxy then down at Linnet, meeting her eyes as she glanced up in surprise at his tone. “Well? I asked you a question, sub?”

“I’d rather not, Sir.” Linnet slid her gaze back to the floor but not without noticing the newcomer’s handsome, if not icy demeanor.

“Subs don’t get to say no, girl. I want you to give me a tour of the specialty suites. Can you do that? Is that so difficult?”

“No… No, Sir.”

“You don’t have to go, Linnet. You have a choice.”

She offered Roxy a small smile. “I don’t want to let Master Gage down if he’s depending on me. I won’t be long, okay?”

“I don’t like it.” Roxy narrowed her eyes, and her lips thinned.

“Lead on, and I shall follow.” He swept out his arm and indicated Linnet should precede him.

Nervous, Linnet glanced back at Roxy and placed her water bottle on the bar. “Please tell Master Gage where I am when he gets here.”

“I will,” came the clipped response.

Linnet garnered her strength and led the Dom down the long dark hallway toward the specialty suites, hoping Master Gage would arrive soon.

***

Gage stepped inside the doors of Crave and let his pent up frustration melt away. He’d been longing to get to Linnet, but work had kept him much later than he would have liked. He moved into the locker room, removed his work clothes and donned his leathers. Gage slipped on his boots and made his way onto the floor. Most of the regulars were already out there talking it up with several unfamiliar faces.

He glanced around at the newcomers and remembered Justin had said something about that. He recognized a few of them in passing from munches around town but without vetting them, he hadn’t supported the decision to allow them entrance. In fact, he was going to make it a point to speak to the club’s owner tonight. The safety of every person in the club was their responsibility as Dominants, and he’d be damned if something were to happen to anyone in their care just to save a few bucks on the time it took to check every single one of them out.

God, he missed Linnet. The sweet smile and her big blue eyes captured his heart from the moment he laid eyes on her. Teaching her to awaken to his touch had been a gift they’d barely begun to explore together.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he thought of his little sub. Linnet was a handful sometimes, but that was one of the things he loved about her. He could hardly wait to get her on the spanking bench and watch her heart-shaped ass turn pink with his ministrations.

Gage approached the bar and gave Roxy a smile. “Hey there. How’s my second favorite girl?”

A frown marred the brunette beauty’s lips. “Worried. Did you send some guy here to spend time with Linnet until you arrived?”

“What? No.”

Bernie stalked behind the bar and gave a nod in Gage’s direction. “She’s not in any of the side rooms or the main floor.”

“I haven’t seen her since I got here.”

Roxy and Bernie gave each other a weighted look.

Frustration and concern clawed his insides. “What am I missing here? Where’s Linnet?”

The muscular black man searched the room with his gaze once more and turned back to Roxy with a shake of his head.

Roxy frowned. “There was a blond guy and he came up to Linnet when she was taking a break at the bar. He inserted himself into our conversation and wheedled her into thinking you wanted her to sub for him until you made it in.”

“I told her to keep the guests happy but not to…” Horror dawned on him. What had Justin done?

“She’s with an asshole who never should have been let in here in the first place.” Bernie growled.

“
Fuck
. We have to find her.”

“I have a pretty good idea where to start.” Roxy motioned her chin toward the dark hallway across the room, her eyes snapping fire.

The rockabilly bartender glared into the camera facing the bar and marched toward the phone on the wall. She picked up the receiver and punched a few numbers into the keypad. “It’s Roxy down at the bar. We have a situation. One of your
special guests
has gone off with Linnet. I need you to check the cameras for the themed suites.” She didn’t even wait for a response, hanging up the phone with an audible clunk. “He’ll check.”

Just then a scream rippled over the noisy din of the room as the overhead music paused and everyone froze.

“Linnet!”

***

All Linnet comprehended was pain. He’d tethered her to a St. Andrew’s cross, methodically flogging and whipping her naked body until all the sensation began to seep out of her. The pleasure she experienced under Master Gage was nowhere to be found in this experience. It was a desecration of trust. Of her physical body and her spirit.

Broken and bleeding, she prayed for someone to find her and make it end. He hadn’t asked for a safe word and when she inquired about it, he slapped her so hard her teeth rattled.

“That’s for being a brat. You need to learn some manners, girl.”

“Marshmallow,” she tried to speak her safe word as loud as she was able, but her tongue swelled from where she’d bitten it. The blood she’d swallowed made her nauseous, and she struggled not to vomit.

“What are you mumbling, sub? I told you to be quiet.” The sting of the lash ripped through her flesh, and another shriek tore through her lips.

This room was one of the first down the winding extension the club had added on, and it was her hope that someone would hear her cries. Cameras monitored the rooms at a central hub, but she had no way of knowing if anyone would see her and understand she was in trouble. Did the cameras have sound? She had no idea. Surely they would have seen her already when he’d violated her and she tried to fight him off.

God. Just let it be over.

He cracked the single tail whip at the tender skin behind her knees, his rage at her exclamations a palpable thing.

“I’m nowhere near done with you, bitch.” Something metal snicked open, and a new wave of fear descended over her. It was a dull realization, this awareness that she might die here. That unbeknownst to anyone, they’d taken a madman into their midst. How ironic. Just when she’d thought her life couldn’t be any more perfect and now she was thrust into the mouth of Hell. 

The sound of a door opening interrupted the muffled nothingness of subspace she’d begun sinking into. The thud of flesh hitting flesh and the clatter of something falling to the floor.

“You bastard. What are you doing?”

“Get her down!”

Hands reached for her, and the straps holding her suspended removed.

“God. Linnet.”

Gage.
He was here. She mewled and turned away. He’d let her be taken and broken. Now he was here to witness her shame. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks and despite her fear, she let him hold her.

“What are you doing here? She’s mine for the night.” She cowered, her body a throbbing mass of nerves and hurt.

“Like Hell.” Gage’s arms cradled her, and she sunk into his embrace. “Justin, this is your doing. Clean it up.”

“Get this fucker out of my club. Now.”

“Should we call the cops?” A female voice interjected.

“Do you really want cops in here? Fuck, Roxy. That’s all we need.”

Linnet moaned as the movement of her body jarred her injuries.

“Linnet. Linnet, honey, can you hear me?”

She did, but she was so tired. Her face remained the only part of her that didn’t ache, and now all she wanted to do was sleep. Linnet curled her face into Gage’s chest and took in his clean scent. She let the memory of his kind and gentle touch carry her into dreams and away from the living nightmare that almost claimed her.

Linnet Adams scrutinized herself in the mirror of the Crave dressing room and tied the black lace mask over her face. She secured it with the ribbons until it nestled firmly where it would reside for the next four hours. Her claret red hair hung in messy ringlets, secured with a four-pronged bejeweled fork. So much sexier than her former brown color.

The black bustier and expensive leather pants hugged her body like a glove. Sturdy boots allowed her movement as she disciplined her submissive this evening. Her clients expected a Domme who could finesse any situation, and that’s what she gave them.

Tonight the main part of the club would be full of writers going through BDSM training with a rope tying segment by the club’s Shibari expert. The woman was a marvel. Last weekend she’d stopped to watch the petite Asian woman master the rope, all the while running the floor in bare feet. It just went to prove a girl had to have traction. Big heeled boots were good for show, but not much else. If you can’t work in them, why bother?

As Linnet, as a victim, she had left Crave seven years ago, but now Mistress L. walked its rooms with confidence and power. Any interactions with the front office, including her appointments, were scheduled via an online service, so she remained compliant. Her paperwork, including references, was registered with the office upstairs using her middle name, leaving no one the wiser.

“Mistress, your appointment is ready for you now.” A young female sub approached, as she applied the final coat of lipstick.

“Very well, Melanie. I’ll be out in a moment.”

The sub paused, a look of adoration on her face. “If you have any need of me, Mistress…”

Linnet smiled and this time let it reach her eyes. “Thank you. I will.” She walked out onto the floor and made her way toward the more private spanking bench toward the back of the club.  She was able to monitor the entrance unlike some of the other areas. One way in and one way out. 

Her boots sounded on the concrete floor, and she smiled as she entered the room. How tempting R. looked when he knelt in a submissive pose. Muscles rippling, his dark hair fell against the back of his neck. Just the right length to hold onto. Between his powerful thighs his cock jutted out at attention, a sure sign he was glad to see her. A perfect sub, he performed whatever task she assigned, be it chores off site or giving her pleasure with his very talented tongue.

As she approached him, the raw need in his gaze flashed up even as he tried to hide it. Last week she’d forced him to watch the Shibari exhibit, his cock locked in a chastity cage. Through it all he’d done as she asked, focusing only on what pleased her.

The week before that, she’d taken him to her house and had him clean it for an entire afternoon. Service was often the way subs proved themselves. It didn’t have to be overtly sexual. Nor did she always come across as the harsh disciplinarian. There was a balance.

He’d requested some additional time with her, and she found herself enjoying his company. When she left for her shift, she’d come home to an empty house with a pot roast simmering in the crock pot. House clean, the laundry folded, and he’d baked. Hell. He’d even fed her cat. But he wasn’t there, and that made the emptiness all the more hollow.

A flutter swung through Linnet’s lower body, something she hadn’t experienced in the five years she’d been training and working as a Domme. Feeling… now that was the most frightening thing of all. Was that why she’d put him in a cage last week? Probably. She had to reclaim her distance. He made her want. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for the submissives she worked with. It was her innermost pleasure to give them what they needed but R. was special. Different.

To come home finding his touches everywhere had left a mark inside of her. As a cop, she didn’t have much time for domestic things. Nor the inclination. But him… he would make the perfect wife. If you could call it that. Whatever it was, his brown eyes awakened something inside of her she thought was long buried in the past.