Dark Citadel (8 page)

The phone had been ringing as she walked in the door. Buck, calling to check that she got home safely. He’d apologized again before hanging up. She frowned. Sometime in the next day or so, she’d have to decide if she wanted to see him again. Her first few dates with him had been fun, so maybe she was being oversensitive about his behavior Masters of the Shadowlands: Dark Citadel

41

at the club. He’d probably been nervous, and some people became hypercritical when stressed.

Then again, he hadn’t been stressed last week. She giggled, remembering how he’d instructed her on the proper way to fold hand towels. Talk about nitpicky. Perhaps this would be a good time to call it quits.

She took a sip of tea. The chamomile scent drifted up from the cup and mingled with the fragrance of her roses. Her tiny tiered fountain gurgled pleasantly, the water glinting in the moonlight. A breeze rustled through the bushes and flowers, lifting the muggy heat.

As she rocked the swing, the soft pajamas chafed her breasts, her nipples so tender the thin cotton fabric felt like sandpaper. Her thoughts drifted back to the club. How could she ever process all her impressions?

That BDSM stuff had put her into a constant state of arousal, and everything Master Dan had done only increased it. From holding her arms down and kissing her, to the helplessness of having her hands cuffed together, to being pinned in the chair with his fingers—his
fingers
—inside her. That memory made her entire private area ache and dampen.

He’d called that area her
pussy
. Since starting to teach high school, she’d heard the oddly descriptive term a time or two, but it certainly never appeared in any biology textbook

She set the swing to rocking again. Although his fingers, his mouth—heck, everything he’d done had been stimulating—the huge difference had come from feeling helpless, from having no control.

She’d never been so excited in her life. Had never had an orgasm like that…ever.

And God, she wanted to do it all over again.

But she wouldn’t have Master Dan with her next time. The thought made her stomach twist, so she sipped more tea. He had been…overwhelming. She couldn’t get him out of her mind, how his face had looked when he’d touched her. The way he’d watched her so intently. How he’d pushed her, controlled her.

Jessica said there were other experienced Doms. Would she feel the same with one of them? Would they have the same deep laugh, firm hands…? She sighed, remembering the hard, clean line of his jaw, the corded muscles in his neck. Would they have those?

No, probably not. But she’d discovered something about herself tonight. The way her body reacted to domination was what she’d been looking for all her life. Master Dan’s control had filled a need inside her. Scary as the thought of returning to the club alone might be, she wasn’t going to stop now.

42 Cherise Sinclair

Chapter Seven

The warm tropical breeze lifted Kari’s hair as she hurried up to the Shadowlands on Wednesday evening. She scowled at the setting sun. She was late. The stupid car had overheated, forcing her to drive slower. She really needed to get it to the repair shop.

She’d always hated being tardy, but it was far, far worse tonight. Her stomach churned, like she’d eaten worms for lunch instead of her usual tuna sandwich. And she probably should have eaten supper instead of changing clothes fifteen times; she still had not found anything appropriate.

What if everyone was here already? This was just so not like her, going someplace alone. At least Buck had accompanied her on Monday, even if that hadn’t lasted long.

She grinned briefly.

Her smile faded as she remembered who had taken his place. And how unhappily the evening had ended.

But if she didn’t attend this class, she’d feel like a coward, like Master Dan had driven her away. She wiped her damp hands on her dress and raised her chin. To heck with Sir anyway; she’d darned well have fun with someone else.

The tall oak doors were open. Sucking in a breath, she walked inside. Behind the desk, the big guard rose, and a smile lightened his battered face. “Welcome back, Miss Kari.”

“Thank you, Ben.”

He flipped through the file box on the desk, found her name, made a check on the card. “Give me your shoes and socks; then you can go right in.” He pointed to the door on the far wall, not the one that led to Master Z’s office. Apparently she didn’t have to go through the screening process again.

Masters of the Shadowlands: Dark Citadel

43

After setting her blue-striped sneakers and pink socks on his desk, she looked at the door and hesitated. Last chance to escape. Her feet didn’t want to move. After a minute, she glanced at the guard.

His brows drew together, making him look just plain mean. “Did you have trouble here last time?” he growled. “Something I should know about?”

Oh heavens
. “No, not at all. Everyone was very nice.” Did putting cuffs on a woman fall into the nice category? “I’m just…” She sighed and confessed, “I’m working up my nerve. I’m not used to going places like this by myself, you know?”

“Gotcha.” Ben grinned at her. “You don’t have the look of a loner. Hang on just a sec.” He pressed a button on his desk.

“No, wait!”
Too late
.

“What?” The bartender’s voice barked out of the intercom.

“If Jessie’s in there, can you ask if she’d escort one of the newbie subs inside? She’s feelin’ a little lonely.”

A snort. “If she’s a sub, she won’t be lonely long.” A pause. “She’s on her way out.”

Kari felt like a kindergartner refusing to walk into school on the first day. “I would have—”

“Nah.” Ben sat back down at the desk. “Don’t worry. You’re not the first novice to get scared, won’t be the last.”

The inner door opened, and the woman who Kari had met on Monday trotted out, her blonde hair bouncing. “Hey, I was hoping you’d be back.”

Kari smiled, pleasure mingling with relief. “Thanks for rescuing me. I’m not sure why I froze.”

“Been there, done that.” Jessica grinned at the guard. “Right, Ben?”

He shook his head. “You were trouble from the beginning. Get a move on. I think she’s the last to arrive.”

“In that case, let’s get you in before Raoul gets all huffy.” Jessica pushed Kari through the doors and into the club room.

Trying not to be obvious, Kari looked around for Master Dan. His tall figure didn’t appear, and disappointment grew inside her, making her chest ache.

As they passed the bar, the bartender, Master Cullen, grinned at Kari. “Now if I’d known it was you, I’d have gone out myself to hold your hand.”

She gave him a tentative smile, unsure if he was joking or not.

At the end of the room, they found the class. Jessica patted her shoulder, whispered, “See you later,” and headed away.

“Well, everyone has returned for more. I’m pleased.” Master Raoul rested his hip on the back of the couch. “On Monday, we covered safe words, basic restraints, and safety issues. Now you’ve had a chance to practice, does anyone have questions?”

44 Cherise Sinclair

As the students shook their heads, Kari took the time to look them over. About half were obviously couples, standing beside each other, holding hands, mostly man-woman sets, with an occasional guy-guy or woman-woman. The singles divided fairly evenly between the two sexes.

“You came back.” A whisper behind her and she thrilled, thinking Sir had found her. She felt his breath on her neck and glanced over her shoulder. Buck. Oh joy. He stood too close, his thighs brushing against her bottom.

“Hi, Buck.” She hadn’t returned his message on her answering machine. She tried to edge away without being too blatant.

“I’ve missed seeing you,” he whispered. He ran his hand down her arm, then turned his attention to the instructor. She let out a relieved sigh.

Raoul went through the basics of domination and then talked a woman named Linda through a slave posture. Kari winced.
Slave
didn’t sound as harmless as
sub
, somehow. He explained the club dress code and about the “private play” rooms upstairs. The penalties for interrupting a scene. Cleaning the equipment.

And then he started on a tour of the room, explaining the furniture in each of the roped-off areas. He shackled one of the gay men to a big wooden X called a St.

Andrew’s cross. Then came a spanking bench, a bondage table, an exotic lacing table, a sawhorse, a whipping post, two cages in a corner, a spiderweb thing, a stockade. He used a different sub to demonstrate each piece of equipment.

“Kari, your turn,” he called, motioning to something called a bondage chair.

She swallowed and moved forward. At least he didn’t strip anyone, just demonstrated the various restraints and how each piece could be used. She seated herself on the chair. After Master Raoul fastened her ankles to the chair legs, her wrists to the chair arms, she realized the center of the seat was cut out, leaving just her buttocks perched on the edge. With legs shackled open, and the missing chair bottom, a naked person’s private parts would be on display. She shivered, relieved when the instructor unfastened her.

After two more pieces of equipment, Master Raoul said, “That’s it for the formal lesson. All the equipment down here is duplicated in various upstairs rooms if you prefer private play. Remember that gags are forbidden at this point in your classes.

DMs will be in the hallways upstairs and down here to answer questions or intervene if there’s a problem.”

He looked at each sub in turn, his expression serious. “Subs, no matter what safe word you agree on between your partner, the club safe word is red. If you shout that out, a DM will come to see if everything is all right. Remember, ‘safe, sane, and consensual’ are the operative words here. Got that, everyone?”

People nodded.

“Remember, you discuss what you will be doing first and reach an agreement.

Establish trust before you jump in. Class is dismissed. Pair up as you wish.” He Masters of the Shadowlands: Dark Citadel

45

frowned as he counted the single newbies. “Anyone left without a partner talk to me over at the bar.”

As he walked away, the singles began talking. One couple headed out, then another. Kari saw two men watching her, one with a cruel look in his eyes that made her stomach twist, and the other would probably run if she said boo. She thought about what Master Dan had done to her, tried to imagine letting either of the men do
anything
with her, and couldn’t.

“Kari, honey. How about we try using that spiderweb?” An easy smile on his face, Buck approached and set his hand on her shoulder.

Without thinking, she stepped back and shook her head. Her instinctive reaction reminded her of Master Dan asking how her body felt about something. Maybe she’d listen to her body for once. “I’m sorry, Buck. I don’t want to—”
Let you have any control
over me
.

That would be rude. Oh, she just wasn’t comfortable saying no to people or hurting their feelings. She glanced at the diminishing group of singles and realized she didn’t want to be with any of them. That solved her problem nicely. “I’m afraid I’m not staying for the practice part. But thank you for the offer.”

Nolan strolled into the club room and smiled at the underlying scent of sweat, fear, pain, and sex that Z’s fancy cleaning crew could never remove. Muscles he didn’t know had been tight started to loosen.

As he crossed to the bar, he checked out the changes. A few new pieces of equipment—a lacing table, a spiderweb. There’d probably be a few other things in the theme rooms. Z liked toys.

“Hey, Nolan, welcome home!” Rising from a bar stool, Raoul shook Nolan’s hand, a grin on his swarthy face. He glanced at Nolan’s gold-trimmed vest. “I see Z already tagged you for DM duty.”

“Nolan!” Cullen’s yell set his ears ringing as the bartender leaned across the bar to thump his shoulder. “Damn, dude, where have you been?”

Nolan thought on it for a minute. “Here and there. Mostly Baghdad.”

“No alcohol there, I bet.” Cullen slid a cold Corona over.

Nolan stared at it. Nobody else drank Corona around here. “That beer over a year old?”

“Nah. Z told me you were back. I stocked up,” Cullen said.

The welcome made Nolan’s chest tighten. “Thanks.”

“You still look like a nasty bastard,” Cullen commented, ignoring a couple of newbies signaling for his attention. “You’re gonna have the subs all scared and clamoring for your attention. How’s your pretty slave doing, by the way?”

“I uncollared Felicia before I deployed,” Nolan said. And although he’d missed her, he hadn’t realized how much of a strain being a master twenty-four/seven was 46 Cherise Sinclair

until she was gone. “So it’s been a while. I’m looking forward to playing again.” He sucked down half the brew, something else he’d missed. “Anything new?”

“Z has a sub now, a cutie. Grabbed her before she even made it through the door,”

Cullen said. “Hell, he had her before she even knew she was submissive, but she hooked him right back.”

“Z? Hooked?” Nolan set his beer down. “Seriously?”

“Looks like. Good match,” Raoul said. “I thought for a minute Dan was going to follow in his footsteps. He took on a beginner Monday, a sweet little sub, and looked pretty involved, but he chilled out again.”

“That the pretty sub Jessica was talking to? Kari?” Cullen asked.

“Yep.” Raoul nodded toward the group of beginners. “Little, round, really polite.”

“I like her.” Cullen scratched his cheek. “And Dan needs someone to kick him out of his rut. When Marion died, seems like she took him with her. The asshole hardly laughs anymore.” He studied the beginner class. “Yeah, she might be good for him.”

“Z must have thought so. He asked Dan to take her on.”

Nolan listened idly. Dan’d had a rough time there, losing his wife like that. It was time he came out of that dark shell. Turning, he checked out the class. The singles had dwindled until only a few remained. He identified the sub whom Raoul and Cullen had mentioned, watched a wannabe Dom brace her, try for her. She not only turned the guy down but left the group entirely, heading toward the bar. Very pretty, short, and curvy like he preferred.