Iron Cross: The Dartmouth Cobras #6 (3 page)

“Oh, I think she does.” Chicklet put her hand on Ford’s arm before he could walk by, probably to “save” Akira. He glared at her. She arched a brow and waited for him to calm down. Once he did, she continued. “This is hard for her, but she insisted on being involved in both your training. She’s a big girl, but she needs you to remind her why Cort is doing this.” Chicklet withdrew her hand and smiled at Ford when she felt him shiver. “For you. And I think seeing this is harder on you than her.”

“He doesn’t get off on pain.” Ford rubbed a hand over his face, then held it up and laughed. “Don’t bother. I know that makes me sound like his sub, but I’m used to us looking out for each other. Trying to prevent anyone hurting either of us. But this isn’t the same. Cort needs to be in control. Hi
m submitting, even to learn how to do this right, seems wrong.”

“How is that a submissive statement, Ford? Doms are protective
, and they know what the people who belong to them need. Your kinks have you all over the fucking place. You went through the exact same thing.”

“I enjoyed it.”

“And you would have done it even if you hadn’t to be a good master.” Chicklet patted the young man’s smooth cheek.
He
was a bit more her type, all wiry strength with a mouth she’d love to smack just for fun. “The offer’s still out there. I’m not a sadist, but I can hurt you.”

“Thanks, but
…” Ford frowned, shaking his head as he rubbed his hands on his black jeans. “Wouldn’t be the same. I don’t…feel anyone else now that I’m with Cort and Akira. Don’t
need
anyone else.”

“
You, mister, confuse the hell out of me. By the end of the night, Cort will have you in chains while he practices everything Sloan’s taught him and his mentor stands watch.” She ran her tongue over her teeth, honestly baffled. And having no problem explaining why. “I’d call you a switch, but you’re not. You’ll give up a bit of control to enjoy the pain, but the submission itself does nothing for you.”

“Trying to read me, Mistress?” The lazy smile on Ford’s lips only proved her
point. A sub would try to show her how wrong she was. A switch might argue, try to pull on a dominant front. Unless they were comfortable with straddling the fence. Ford played close to the fence, but the need for control was obvious. Obvious in the way he owned that the right kind of pain got him off.

“Why bother? If I can’t play with you, it’s a waste of time.” She heard the soft ding that sounded behind the bar when the front door opened.
The most beautiful woman in the world, one who made even the sexiest model on the runway a pale comparison in Chicklet’s eyes, came in with timid steps. Her long, dark brown hair fell over one shoulder as she looked around the bar, stopping at the threshold and going no farther. Her midnight blue eyes were huge, her hands fisted at the hem of her nearly transparent, but virginal white slave dress. A mockery of rags in the finest silk, gliding over her ample curves like water.

Laura.
Chicklet forgot Ford and moved toward her girl. The perfect mix of strength and complete submission. Years ago, when Chicklet had met her in a BDSM club in Chicago, Laura had been doing her best to submit to one fumbling Dom after another. She’d come out as a lesbian in her teens, then retreated into the closet after her mother kicked her out. She was a Kentucky girl, but you would never know that listening to her because whatever accent she’d had was gone. She’d been fostered with a family who’d moved to Nova Scotia. She had dual citizenship and went back to the States often. But never back home. She hadn’t been to Kentucky since she was thirteen.

Chicklet walked straight up to Laura and cupped the smaller wom
an’s cheeks in her hands. Laura’s eyes were bloodshot, red-rimmed from crying. Chicklet wanted to be a gentle, caring Mistress for her, but she’d tried that before and failed miserably. Laura needed to be controlled completely. Things couldn’t be easy, or they weren’t “real.” If Laura even sensed Chicklet was denying herself, she’d hide. And Chicklet couldn’t let Laura hide.

“You look beautiful, pet.” Chicklet pressed a soft kiss to Laura’s glossy lips, teasing them with the tip of her tongue to
savor the strawberry flavored lip gloss Laura wore for her. A hint of vanilla from Laura’s perfume made Chicklet’s mouth water. She drew a long, black nail down the center of Laura’s chest, pleased to see the sadness fade from Laura’s eyes. Not completely, but her girl was slipping into the peaceful submissive mind-set she craved. Satisfied that the night would go well from here on, Chicklet took a step back. “Go fix us each a tea. We’ll chat a little while I work the bar, then I’ll bring you to the medical room.”

Laura’s eyes widened as she drew in a sharp breath
and pink rose high on her cheeks. She’d once told Chicklet she hated the medical room, that all the metal, the sterility of it, made her uncomfortable. After that, their play in that room had been mild. But they
had
continued to scene in there until Chicklet eased her sub past her discomfort.

It was now one of Laura’s favorite rooms.

A nod and Laura turned to fetch their tea. Then stopped and glanced back at Chicklet, fiddling with the hem of her dress again. “What about the boy?”

Chicklet frowned. She gave each of her subs
“special time,” playing with them separately often enough to meet their unique needs, but always on
her
terms. Why would Laura ask about Tyler now?

“My boy will join us.” The flicker of disappointment in Laura’s eyes disturbed Chicklet. She slid forward, invading her sweet little sub’s personal space and tipping her chin up with a nail. “I’ll forgive the question, pet, because you’ve clearly had a rough day. Which is why I will use him to make you come so hard you’ll scream yourself hoarse and won’t be able to speak properly for days. Tell me how much you love his mouth on you.”
Chicklet let out a low, cruel laugh when Laura wet her bottom lip with her tongue. She brought her fingers to Laura’s mouth. “When he kisses you.”

The tip of Laura’s tongue touched Chicklet’s fingertip. “Yes.”

“When he sucks these beautiful nipples.” Chicklet brushed her knuckles over Laura’s breasts, heat surging low as she enjoyed the feel of hardened tips pushing against the silk with no bra to restrain them. She slipped the same hand between Laura’s thighs, rubbing the silk against her bare mound. “When he fucks your hot pussy with his very talented tongue.”

“I do, Mistress.” Laura swallowed hard and her knees buckled. She
leaned heavily against Chicklet, shuddering as Chicklet continued stroking her until her juices soaked through the silk. “He’s
yours
and I love that you share him with me.”

“That’s my good girl.” Chicklet kissed Laura’s cheek and withdrew her hand. “Now go.”

Laura went, but having to repeat the command bothered Chicklet. They really had to talk before doing a scene. Whatever Laura had gone through today was bad enough to latch on to her emotions like a big, black leech even once she’d come to one of the few places where she usually let it all go. As Chicklet made her way to the bar, she considered letting someone else take her shift so she could bring Laura home. Where they could be together and set aside the D/s mentality.

Only, the times where Laura wanted to be out of the scene were becoming rare. She had to maintain so much control at work that giving it up was a relief. Which Chicklet
had been handling by increasing the power exchange from only a few scenes a week to nearly 24/7 now. But days like this were difficult. She wasn’t sure that she really helped Laura by letting her escape so completely into submission. It was a different way to hide. She would tell Chicklet everything, but only because her Mistress expected full disclosure.

They
had been friends once. Laura would laugh and tease Chicklet about getting her nails done only for play, but leaving them short and bare for everyday life. They’d go shopping and Laura would beg her to buy something pretty for when they went out for dinner. Chicklet didn’t do “pretty.” She loved her faded T-shirts and jeans. She dressed in leather pants and a leather corset at the club, but for Laura, she had a few dresses and strappy heels for their monthly date night.

Back at the bar,
Chicklet served several bottles of water and coffee to the subs ordering for their Doms. Laura brought her tea and went about tiding up the bar as Chicklet handled the drink inventory. When Chicklet finally had everything running smoothly she went to take a sip of her tea, then ran her hand up and down Laura’s back as her girl washed the stack of glasses behind the bar by hand. There was a dishwasher, but Laura preferred the old-fashioned way. Any kind of mundane service task grounded her, so Chicklet let it go.

But the
troubles of the day hooked into her sub’s heart would have to be extracted. And at very least bandaged before they could go any further. Chicklet rested her hip on the counter beside the sink and chose her next words very carefully. “Do you want to talk about it?”

The way Laura’s spine stiffened screamed
“No!”, but she simply nodded. “Of course I do. It hurts to keep it in, and I…” Laura’s bottom lip trembled. “I’ve been waiting all night to see you. To tell you about what happened so you can make it go away.”

“Oh, baby.” Chicklet took a sudsy glass from Laura’s hands and set it aside. Pulled the small woman into her arms, feeling the tense muscles covered by a woman’s softness, every inch belonging to her, so precious, so desperate for her strength.
Chicklet wasn’t soft, and she was grateful for the hard body she’d worked for, one her subs could lean on like a rock when their own strength failed them. “I can’t make it go away. But I can help. Tell me.”

“She was
…the little girl was only eight years old. A neighbor called and told us they’d suspected that she was being abused by her father and her brothers. We went there so fast, but…” Laura’s sob ripped right into Chicklet’s chest. She didn’t want to imagine what her sweet girl had seen, but she would. She would so Laura knew she had someone who’d face the horror with her. But she didn’t speak because she sensed Laura had more to say. She held her breath as Laura continued. “They’d tucked her into bed. They let us in and the father…he asked us not to wake her. Hamilton let me go in first because I insisted. I didn’t want to scare her.”

Stroking Laura’s hair, Chicklet nodded. “I would have done the same.”

“Her lips were blue and there were bruises all around her mouth. I talked to her. She was so cold, wasn’t breathing and I knew she was…but I kept talking to her. I told her no one would ever hurt her again.” Laura pressed her eyes shut. Tears covered her cheeks. “No one will ever hurt her again.”

“No. They won’t.” Chicklet hugged Laura
as she sobbed, looking up when she caught someone approaching the bar. Dominik. His expression held concern as he mouthed “Do you need to go?”

Yes!
But, then again, no. Laura would panic if she suggested leaving. All her girl had to keep her moving forward was tonight. A chance to get away.

W
ith what she’d gone through, Chicklet would let her hide for a little. She’d earned it. And sinking into submissiveness would give Laura a safe place. A safe place where Chicklet stood guard, making sure her vulnerable girl could escape the harsh reality she was subjected to every single day.

Yes, she missed the times when they could be equals. But there was nothing more important than being the haven for the precious soul who’d placed herself in Chicklet’s hands.

She met Dominik’s eyes, smiled, and shook her head. Laura wouldn’t accept concern from another Dom, but she’d take him as another buffer if Chicklet let him near. He’d never been involved in their play, but other Doms had. Inviting Dominik into their scene was tempting, he was one of the most attentive Dominants here. And yet, there was no telling how far that kind of play would push Laura. She was so vulnerable she would accept anything just to say she’d done what she was told. Laura’s submissiveness ran deep and when she lost herself in it, any command would suffice.

That was where Chicklet came in. Where she set the boundaries and made sure her girl was protected and could let go without any fear.

“Can you take over the bar, Master Dominik?” Chicklet added the “Master” so Laura would know she was surrounded. And not in a bad way. In a way where the cushion of control was all around her, reinforcing that Laura could just let go.

Dominik took over, meeting Chicklet’s eyes and waiting for her nod before pulling Laura into his arms and kissing her forehead. Laura went stiff at first, but relaxed when Dominik brought his hand to the back of her neck.

“All your Mistress has to do is say the word.” His voice was gruff, and he gave Chicklet a tight smile over Laura’s shoulder, proving he would be there in whatever way she needed, no question. “And I will take you so far out of your head, you’ll know nothing but pleasure.”

Laura ducked her head, pressing her face against his chest. “Thank you, Sir. But my Mistress can do that for me alone.”

“I know she can.” Dominik chuckled and kissed Laura’s forehead again. “But a man can dream, can’t he?”

I love you, Dominik.
Chicklet shot a grateful smile at Dominik, then held out her hand for her girl to come to her. Feeling Laura leaning against her side as they headed to the theme rooms put everything into perspective. A cool rush of power flowed through her veins. Almost like the sensation she got before strapping on her pads and stepping on the ice to play goalie for her bar league. To most, there was nothing real on the line, but it was real to her. Her team depended on her and so did Laura.