Essential Master (Doms of Napa Valley) (23 page)

“So the concussion was a true accident?
Isn’t that why they dropped the charges against you?”

“Yes.”

Mr. Charleston smiled down at her.
"Good, but let’s go back a second. Can you tell the jury what led up to
you releasing him?"

"Yes.” She turned to address the jury.
“Everything had gone fine up ‘til that point. I'd gone over his safewords and
limits. About fifteen minutes into the flogging, he pleaded for more, he wanted
it harder than what I'd been giving him. I was preparing to start again when
Allison took his plea as an invitation to bring out a silver tipped flogger. I
tried to take away the flogger from her...one of his limits was no bloodletting
and sure as hell the flogger would've split him wide open. This is what I got
for my trouble." She held her hands up to the jury so they could see the
scars on the backs and palms of her hands. "But I not only ended up
getting cut up in the process, but she hit me in the temple with the handle of
it, stunning me. By the time David had safeworded and I'd managed to get my
wits about me, his back was in ribbons. This time I managed to disarm her, and
then the Dungeon Monitors arrived and stepped in."

"So this was a scene that spiraled out
of control because of the defendant. That was when the club security got
involved?"

"Yes, Sir, and was part of the reason
she was black-listed from the club. After the club's checkered past under the
old management, the new owners were fanatics about safety and limits. They
hauled her out of there on the spot, but not before she managed to attack me
again as I was trying to free David." Needing to see her Master, to draw
moral support from him, she glanced in his direction as Mr. Charleston shifted.
Her lover was gone. Her heart began to pound, but she forced herself to focus
on the prosecutor. Hopefully Nicky was out with Zeb.

"I see. So in the end, it was the
defendant's actions that caused the majority of the harm to the
submissive?"

"Yes, Sir. Which is probably one of
the reasons, aside from the fact David didn’t want to press charges, that I was
released. In the end however, I felt responsible for not being able to
anticipate her actions, so I paid for David's medical bills and made sure
Allison Teelen couldn’t step foot inside of another BDSM club in
California."

"Which is why the witnesses heard you
say it was all your fault, despite the fact it was Allison, who both ignored
safety procedures, and subsequently injured the young man."

"Yes, Sir. Even though I couldn't
predict what Allison was going to do, David placed his trust in my hands during
our scene. I was supposed to keep him safe, and I failed."

* * *
*

Walking out of the courtroom, Steph felt
like she was a million years old. Every part of her felt raw and exposed. She'd
thought with Nicky's help that she'd put what happened with David behind her,
but it still hurt. Logically she knew there was nothing she could've done to
prevent it. She hadn't even been aware Allison had the lethal flogger in her
toy bag. She'd smuggled it into the club against the rules. Nor had she
expected Allison to interrupt her birthday fun. David had been a gift to her,
not Allison. But it no longer mattered because Allison had succeeded in what
she'd set out to do. She'd driven Zeb away. Her Sexy was probably already
halfway back to Ethan and Davis's house.

"There you are, Ma'am." A pair of
warm arms wrapped around her waist.

Hearing Zeb's voice was like an illusion,
one she was afraid to believe was real. "Sexy?"

"I'm sorry you had to go through that.
If I could've done it for you, I would've." He pressed his face against
the back of her neck, his lips nuzzling her skin.

"You...I..." She tried to make
sense of it all. Why was he still here? He should've been disgusted by her, and
refused to let her even come within in ten feet of him.

"Don't." Zeb whispered. "I
don't want to hear whatever garbage about how I shouldn't be with you come from
your pretty little mouth."

"But you left...you both left."
Tears poured over her cheeks as Nicky stepped in front of her, effectively
sandwiching her between them.

"I had to. If I’d been in there one
second longer, I'd have tried to kill Allison for the hell she was putting you
through." Zeb kissed the back of her neck. "You're my Ma'am, I knew
no matter what they said, you'd never do anything like what her lawyer was
accusing you of."

"And I came out here to check on
him." Nicky cupped her cheek. "I explained what happened and if I
hadn't pulled the Dom card on him, he'd have gone back in and ripped her a new
asshole. So no more tears. We're not going anywhere other than home, where I
think it's time for Zeb and me to make you forget this miserable day."

"And how are you going to do that?
Slip me a Roofy so I don't remember?"

"No..." Zeb licked the base of
her neck. "I think another round with the spanking bench will do the trick
fine...especially if we re-enact Sir's surprise."

A moan slipped past her lips at the vivid
reminder. "Okay...take me home."

Chapter
Twenty-Two

Zebadiah
stretched and covered his mouth with a yawn before slipping out from under the
rumpled sheets. He glanced down at his still sleeping Ma'am. The bags under her
eyes told of their long night of indulgence. He hated to wake her. She'd been
through the ringer yesterday. She needed time to recuperate, not only from the
stress of her testimony, but also from the demands both he and Sir had made on
her. Especially if her body felt anything like his. He was pleasantly sore but
nothing he couldn't handle. The hazy but pleasurable memories of the night
before teased at his brain, but first he needed to heed the call of nature.
With his eyes barely open, he made his way towards the bathroom connected to
Sir's and Ma'am's bedroom. He was in the open doorway before his brain
registered the fact the shower was running. Rubbing his eyes, he groaned as he
took in Sir's form while he rubbed a loofah across his wide chest.
Unbelievably, his dick stirred and every need he had to piss deserted him.

As if drawn by an unseen force, he crossed
the room, the cool tile against the soles of his feet barely registering.
Stopping just outside of the shower stall, he debated for a moment whether or
not to enter. As much as he wanted to join Nicky, he wasn't sure if entering
the shower was such a good idea. Over the past few days his need for more from
the man had increased. He wanted things he didn't think Nicky would ever allow.
Things that included exploring his Sir's ass, licking, fingering and even - he
gulped - fucking the man until he was bellowing with his pleasure. The ultimate
gift he could give him. But so far there had been no signs of his Sir wanting
more than what Zeb had given.

"If you're going to stand out there
all day, I'm going to be vastly disappointed, Zebadiah."

Zeb's breath caught as he looked up to see
Nicky, who had obviously gotten tired of waiting for him and had stuck his head
out of the shower. His dark hair, wet from the water, and scruffy jaw were
beyond sexy. Zeb could almost imagine how the stubble gracing his Sir's jaw
would feel against his own.

"You would be?" He forced himself
to concentrate of Nicky's words.

"Yes." Nicky offered his hand.
"Now get your tight ass in here. I need a second pair of hands to wash
up."

Between the command and Nicky's willingness
to share the shower, Zeb found his will weakening. He'd just keep his hands off
his Sir's ass and everything would be okay.

"Well, then I guess I'm your man,
Sir." Stepping into the shower, he took a deep breath as he was welcomed
into its humid embrace.

As soon as the curtain was jerked closed
behind him, Zeb found himself pulled up against his Sir's hard wet body. He
made a guttural sound deep in his throat when Sir's semi-erect cock pressed
against his lower stomach.

"Damn that feels good," Nicky
growled against the top of his head.

"The water, Sir?" He wrapped his
arms around Nicky's waist, snuggling closer to the larger man.

"No, you." Nicky ran a hand down
his spine, lingering at the top of his ass. "You feel so right. Just like
Steph does." He nuzzled the top of Zeb's head as the water continued to
rain down on them.

"I'm glad, Sir." Zeb couldn't
keep the emotions out of his voice. The easy acceptance he'd been craving for
so long was present in his Sir's voice and it shook Zeb to his core. He'd
fallen hard for the man, just like he'd known he would.

"You know though, I dragged you in
here for nefarious reasons." Nicky grew a bit harder against Zeb's
stomach. "I wanted to feel those little hands all over my body."

Zeb chuckled. "Didn't you get enough
of that last night, Sir?"
The night had been filled with
hours of hands caressing bodies. Lips finding intimate spots and the
pleasurable results as they explored without limits. Until all three of them
had fallen asleep in a tangled mass of limbs in the center of Nicky and Steph's
bed.

"I'll never get enough of feeling your
hands on me." Nicky rubbed the palm of his hand over one cheek of Zeb's
bottom. "Just like I hope you never get tired of feeling my hands on
you."

Zeb drew back with a shaky breath.
"Then I suppose I should get to washing, Sir."

"Among other things...?" Nicky
asked, with an arched brow.

It took some effort but Zeb kept a straight
face as he took the bottle of body wash from the shelf and squeezed a generous
amount of it in his palms.

"As my Sir desires."

* * * *

Nicholaus
took a deep breath as Zeb approached him with nothing more than a fist full of
suds. It'd been an impulse, but when he'd seen his
il mio colibrì
standing outside the shower curtain and chewing on his lower
lip, he couldn't resist and had dragged the man inside with him. He loved
playing under the water with his lovers. Now he just had to find out if Zeb
loved water play as much. The look in his little sub's eyes as Zeb placed his
lathered up hands against Nicky's chest was more potent. He knew in the pit of
his stomach there was no way he was going to let Zeb out of the shower before
he'd fucked him against the tiled wall.
But
that didn't mean I’m was in a hurry,
he thought with a groan as Zeb tweaked
both of his nipples before running his talented fingers down to Nicky's navel.
Nope, he was going to draw this moment out as long as possible, until they both
were satisfied.
Or we turn into prunes.

"There's no need to stop there,"
he whispered against Zeb's temple as Zeb's teased his navel with a fingertip.

"I won't, Sir." Zeb soothed
bubbles over Nicky's hip. He glanced up at Nicky, the water steaming around
them, dampening his face. "Not when there are so many spots to explore on
your sexy body." His lips parted. "Humor me, Sir?"

The request sent a surge of lust straight
to Nicky's groin. This is what he'd longed for when he'd asked Steph if she'd
be comfortable bringing a third into their relationship. He'd wanted to see,
hear, and feel - to absorb - a male's submission. To fill the part of his own
unique psyche that needed a male's touch. He loved Steph, he truly did, but he
loved Zeb just as much. They both completed him in different ways. Steph with
her devil may care, make me attitude before submitting, and Zeb with his easy
laid back attitude and his quieter but deeper submission.

"Of course, Zeb." He forced the
words past his suddenly tight throat.

"Thank you, Sir." Zeb's words
whispered across his sternum as he pressed a kiss against his damp skin.

When Zeb's hands drifted to clasp both of
his hips, Nicky hissed as Zeb tugged him closer, pressing his now erect cock
into the muscled length of Zeb's stomach. It was like rubbing up against
satin-covered steel. His little hummingbird was trim, fit from his long hours
of therapy and numerous katas he'd practiced with Ethan. Lost in a haze of
building lust, he reminded himself to thank Ethan later for making sure Zeb had
stayed physically fit, despite his confinement after his numerous surgeries.

"Turn, Sir." The request was
unexpected, but Nicky did as his sub asked, looking forward to the feel of
Zeb's hands on his back.

But when the touch came it wasn't his back
Zeb touched, it was his ass. Nothing major, just the slightest brush of Zeb's
fingers across his left butt cheek. Nicky stilled and waited to see what his
little daring submissive was up to. Would he touch again or move onto safe
territory? While they'd talked about the fact Nicky had wanted to fuck Zeb's
tight ass from the moment they'd seen him, Nicky hadn't gotten the gumption up
to spill to his submissive, that he hoped one day Zeb would be comfortable
enough to ask for the same in return. Nicky didn't bottom for just any male.
but one look at Zeb as he'd chewed out a Dom for securing a sub too tightly to
the pillory, and he'd gotten a sudden urge to not just submit to the slender
man, but to have Zeb unleash that intensity on his ass. To feel Zeb thrust
inside of him as they battled for control made Nicky hard as rock. He'd hoped
one day to guide his gentle submissive in that direction, but he'd never
dreamed it would come this soon. He'd thought perhaps after the trial was over,
and they'd placed the collar they'd commissioned for him around his neck, that
he would seduce the man into it, with a bit of help from Steph. He just hadn't
expected Zeb to expedite his seduction so soon.

"Go ahead, explore,
il mio colibrì.
" He kept his voice
soft, not wanting to startle the other man. "I love to be touched...even
there."

"Are you sure, Sir?" Zeb's voice
was raspy, but his fingers returned a bit more solidly this time.

"Of course I'm sure." He looked
over his shoulder at Zeb. His lover's gaze was focused on his ass, and he'd
tugged his lower lip into his mouth - a sure sign of Zeb liking what he saw.
"You like it when I touch your ass right?"

Zeb's eyes darted up. "Oh, yeah."

"Then it stands to reason, I'd like it
as well." Taking a huge risk, he stepped out on a limb. "Just do
whatever you like. I can guarantee I'll enjoy it just as much."

Heat flared in Zeb's eyes and Nicky hissed
as Zeb squeezed both globes of his ass with his hands. It sent a jolt of
pleasure to his cock as Zeb kneaded him. Nicky pushed back against his sub's
hands, a sure sign to Zeb he was enjoying what he was doing.

He got a low answering groan in return as
Zeb released him, only to trail a fingertip down his crease. Nerve endings
flared and it was all Nicky could do to not order Zeb to press his finger
deeper, to brush across his anus. Steph hadn't lied when she'd told Zeb he
loved anal play. It appealed to his darker side in a huge way. But he had to
remember this was Zeb. He couldn't order his lover to tease his ass the way he
did Steph. He had to wait ‘til the man's curiosity overcame his natural
submissiveness. It was hard, but he kept from begging when Zeb removed his
finger.

Then he felt Zeb's hands on the back of his
thighs, urging them slightly apart. Getting the silent message by the slight
press of Zeb's fingers against him, he indulged Zeb, parting his thighs. He
nearly jumped out of his skin when Zeb cupped his nuts. Zeb's gentle touch as
he cradled him sent more bursts of pleasure throughout his groin. The only
thing that would make it any better would be Zeb eating his ass out. Lashing
his tightly furled bud as Nicky rocked back and forth between his hand and
mouth. A spurt of pre-cum escaped Nicky at the delicious thought.
"Zeb...."

His lover's name came out a long moan as
Zeb pressed a kiss to one side of his ass followed by the slight raking of his
teeth.

"Damn, Sir, I love your ass. So
muscular and hard." He moved to the other side. "It makes me want to
take a bite out of it." He grazed Nicky's other asscheek with his teeth,
his tongue wet and lashing over the slight sting. "Nearly as much as I
want to take your cock down my throat."

"Aw fuck." Nicky swayed a bit as
Zeb's hand wrapped around the base of his cock and squeezed.

"Would you like that, Sir?" Zeb's
voice was husky. "To force your cock down my throat? To fuck my face,
while I jerk off?"

"God dammit, Zeb. You're
pushing..." Nicky braced his hands against the wet tile as the fantasy
jumped full-blown into his head. Holding Zeb's head as he thrust in and out of
his mouth. Seeing the love and submission in his man's eyes as he accepted
everything Nicky had to offer. Even the glimpses of Zeb's hand as it moved up
and down his own cock, in rhythm to Nicky's powerful thrusts. "Such a
naughty little sub."

"I'd let you, Sir," Zeb mumbled
against his hip as he wiggled around in front of Nicky, without lifting his
lips from Nicky's wet skin. "I love when my Master tugs on my hair and
forces me to accept his cock. It makes me hard."

He knew, without a doubt, if he allowed Zeb
to take him into his mouth, it wouldn't be long before he'd be demanding his
sub finger his ass. He was so addicted to blowjobs with anal play, he preferred
them to those without. Nicky could've resisted his submissive's lure, kept his
wits about him, so not to scare him with the demands he'd make if he felt Zeb's
lips around him, if he hadn't heard Zeb's whispered 'please'.

"Fuck." He gave in and threaded
his fingers through Zeb's hair. "Open,
il
mio colibrì.”
He bent his knees a bit to position himself, but nearly fell
as Zeb took the initiative and sucked him deep inside. "Ahhh, hell."
He couldn't control his hips. He began moving, working his cock in and out of
Zeb's willing mouth. Each thrust sent him deeper until he was touching the back
of Zeb's throat. He drew a deep breath, reminding himself not to choke his
little hummingbird, no matter how hot he was. All of that fell to the wayside
however, when Zeb dug his fingers into Nicky's hips as if begging for more. He
lost it.

"Take it, you little cock-whore. Suck
that prick ‘til I come." The words flew out of his mouth before he could
stop them, but from Zeb's growing moans around him, flicks of his tongue and
scrapes of his teeth, it was obvious they only excited his lover. Letting
himself go, Nicky continued to fuck, harsh sex words falling from his lips as
he let his lust rule.