Iron Dominance (20 page)

“Besides, I’m taking great care not to let anyone really know what is happening here. Right now, it’s me and you and whatever I decide to do to you.”

The heartbeat under his forearm sped up.

“No ropes, remember?”

A challenge. Definitely time to see where the line was drawn. If she yielded, good. If not, he’d know where he stood. He closed his eyes to better appreciate the fresh scent of her hair. He’d be sorry when this ended. Sexual liaisons never lasted, not in his experience.

“It’s time to take your education a little further, my dear.”

He insinuated another finger around the string of pearls between her legs and felt her sharp intake of breath as he nudged her clit. The pearls slipped in her juices as his fingers thrust in and out.

“Theo. Not here!” She choked out the words. Her muscles twitched. He knew she strained not to curve her back and subtly increased the rhythm.

“Oh, yes. Here.” At last, she arched into his palm. “Your lips need kissing.” So swollen, so begging for a kiss, a pretty red. A bead of sweat trickled down her temple. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth between his teeth, caressing with his tongue. His cock twitched as a little groan escaped her, vibrating from her throat. “Now this,” he murmured. His free hand dipped into a pocket, then sought out her wrist. Before she could resist, he put a loop of thin rope around it.

“No. I don’t think so.” She pulled her mouth away. Frowning, she shook her head. “No.”

He released her except for the end of the rope, took his fingers from inside her, the liquid suction from her vaginal muscles dragging at them. A quiet “oh” escaped her.

Then, shivering, she got as far from him as she could inside the cabin of the landship, until only the short section of rope connected them—wrist to hand.

Her face was red-tinged, her eyes wild and widened. Blonde strands draped her face, like the bars of a cage with her an animal looking out.

“Give me your other wrist, Claire.”

“No,” she said through gritted teeth.

He stopped. The signals from her body said terror. He didn’t want that. Yet she’d not said her safe word.

* * *

Claire strained away. The loop tightened on her wrist, scraping her skin. She wasn’t thinking straight and knew it. Rope, the idea of it wrapping her up tight, sent shrieks of panic along her nerves.

“Do you trust me?” Theo asked, those gray eyes weighing her up.

Did she? “Yes. But—”

He sighed. “But not with this. You’re too frightened. Say your safe word. You need to remember that.”

“Kokino,” she muttered, knowing she was as angry at herself as at him.
Stupid, stupid word
. “I’m taking this off.”

“No. Let me. Come here.” He snapped his fingers.

The command went to her legs before her mind, and she took two steps.

“Good.”

The praise calmed her and let her call up her mantras. Breathe slow, assess the situation, then act. Only she faltered at the first step. How could she slow her breaths when she stood next to him? His warm hands slipped the rope loose. His calluses brushed her skin—those of a man of force and action. She couldn’t get enough of being handled by him, and shuddered at the rekindling of sensations. She hated denying him—yet rope…no, not that.

“You’ve liked everything else we’ve done together, yes?”

She nodded.

“Then, if you trust me, turn around, Claire.” He kissed the top of her head.

She turned, felt him fuss with the bustle.

“An experiment. This isn’t rope, so I expect you to be utterly still.” He growled that and nipped her shoulder through the dress, making her gasp. Swiftly, he captured her wrists and pulled them behind her. She resisted the urge to rip them away. Not rope. Last time, at the river, the reward had been rapturous. Cloth wrapped around her wrists, tying them together. He must have untied the bow at the bustle and was using the ribbon. Not rope.
Not
rope.

“Now, that looks lovely. And you’re not panicking.” He came round to the front, clicked his tongue. “You have a rope phobia. Which means, presumably, I can tie you up with anything else. There’s something about seeing a woman bound and helpless.”

Claire found her chest heaving. Helpless. The word itself had a wicked ring to it. About the only thing that wrenched at her was not being able to touch Theo or make him touch her. Her nipples hardened and throbbed.

“Is this punishment?” She looked at him through her lashes.

“Ah, yes.” He grinned, gripped her chin, kissed her once, hard. “Punishment. Almost forgot.”

He popped the row of tiny cloth buttons on the bodice and opened it, exposing her breasts. Leaning down, he pushed aside the pearl strands and sucked on one nipple until the throbbing intensified, then the other, sending burning jolts to her groin. Something metal gripped one nipple and then the other, like tiny teeth closing about them. Wires trailed cold down between her breasts.

After her cowardice in the face of rope, a little bit of metal wasn’t making her back away. She hissed through closed teeth. Pain spiked, then faded, and pleasure faded in, faded out.

“That’s not so bad. Rather nice really.” She managed a half grimace, half smile.

Theo knelt and lifted her dress. “I knew you were the woman for me. But…I haven’t finished yet.” He kissed her inner thigh.

He reached up under her dress and the corset and pulled the strand down over her stomach, fastened something over her clit, then some small device against her skin of her belly.

She watched him intently. Whatever was he up to? Each of her nipples poked out the center of an areola-sized cogwheel.

Frowning, she went to move…only her wrists were still bound behind her back. A wave shifted in her, connecting
everywhere
in the most pleasant way. Between her legs dampened.

“Let’s test this. It should be fully charged.” Theo looked up at her. “Ready?”

She eyed him back dubiously. Hands bound, her breasts bare, and some weird contraption wired to her. If she lit up like a chandelier, he’d find out what she could do with her hands and a skinning knife. Or maybe she’d just zap
him
with something.

“Sure.”

He let her dress folds fall from where he’d bunched them to her waist and stood. With one hand at the small of her back, the other higher up, he kissed her, bent her backward in an arc.

Well, now, this she could do. She trusted him not to let her fall and let him have his naughty way with her. Surrendering seemed to be something that got easier with practice.

Then…the little cogwheels shifted and bit; the dress fabric and the pearls, caught between Theo’s body and hers, rubbed against her clit and bare nipples. Something whirred at her waist…and lightning seized her, a buzzing in little bursts at her breasts and groin that zapped her straight into a mini-inferno of pain and pleasure.

“Mmmh!” she gasped, eyes wide open, and let out a small whine. The landship walls were spinning. “Ah.” The inferno died away. Theo made sure she stood balanced and let her go. “What…was that?”

The aftermath left her body humming. If her clit could have talked, it would have begged for more. Excruciating and ecstatic all bundled into one. She couldn’t walk around with
this
on.

“Voltaic energy. A small dose. Each time you move it will generate more energy. You’ll get used to it. I tested it on myself, and I do believe Henry has outdone himself this time. It’s a little random, so you can’t quite tell when it’ll happen.” Smiling, he rubbed at his chin, then held up a finger and circled it. “Turn. I’ll untie you.”

“Henry? That Henry?” Crazy, maniac Henry? “Untie me then. I’ll take this thing off.” She turned to let him undo the knots.

“Take it off, Claire, and I’ll make you walk about with your hands tied.” He reached around and set his fingers to doing up the little buttons on her bodice.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

Hungrily, she watched his mouth—those lips just inches away. Go up on her tiptoes, and she could…
No
. Her body wanted him, but after this, no, she’d not clutch at him. Maybe he expected her to. This silly contraption and the corset had her body so high with sensation, floating might be easier than walking.

His mouth was set in a hard line even if his eyes hinted at merriment. She bit her lip.
Right
. Every time she moved, it charged up? She could stand it. If having orgasms was punishment, she’d choose it any time over that paddle. Still—

“Better keep Henry away from me if you want him to live.”

“Was that a joke?” Theo chuckled. “It was?”

She tried fixing him with a hard glare, but…it
was
a joke, and she didn’t make jokes. Not out loud. A smile sneaked onto her lips. “I’ll get my revenge on you both. You just wait.”

He leaned in, murmured in her ear. “I like this new feistiness, but don’t get your hopes up. You have no idea how inventive Henry and I can be.”

She shivered, peeked sideways at him.
This could be bad, in a very exciting, sexy, sort of way.

On the way to the firing range, the device discharged twice. Each time leaving her body a little more limp, her muscles and sexual parts tingling. Heck, as far as she could tell, the thing had even made her fingertips throb with pleasure. As long as she didn’t come in front of anyone…

At the firing range, Dankyo was instructing four house guards in the art of long-range shooting.

Another jolt hit her. She bit her lip and screamed silently, holding herself stiff as that excruciating wave rolled through her. Pleasure. Pain. On the edge of orgasm, though not quite there. That little taste of pain kept it out of reach. She closed her eyes.

Opened them to find no one had noticed. Even Theo ignored her—occupied with talking to a guard about his weapon. Thank the Lord. Her pussy was so wet her pubic hair must be sodden. If she’d been alone, she would have put her hand down there. The ache subsided. She stood very still, careful not to set it off.

A breeze riffled her hair, drying the thin film of sweat on her cheek. She watched the men practicing in the prone position with the rifles spitting out shots at a slow pace. A puff of dust flew off the distant straw-backed targets whenever a projectile hit the mark.

She gnawed on her lip and resisted interfering.

At Theo’s suggestion, Dankyo sent the guards off on a training run.

Theo turned to her, put a hand to her back. “Come. We’re all going into the indoor range.”

She didn’t like the sound of this at all.

The indoor range was deserted. At ten, twenty, and fifty yards, there were circular targets. While Dankyo waited at the door—legs shoulder-width apart, hands by his sides, and a bland expression on his face, Theo led her along to the ten-yard line. She stepped slowly, trying not to set off the little engine.

Theo leaned back onto the wall and gathered her to him so she stood between his legs.

Something—the evenness of his brows, the line of his mouth, something told her bad news was coming. “Are you about to tell me something I don’t want to hear?”

“Yes. This is the true punishment.”

She narrowed her eyes.

He rearranged some hair above her eyes. “The paddle—that I meant. You do have to mend your ways.”

“I will—I mean I have.”

“Good, but there’s one other problem—you and Dankyo. Shh. Wait.” He put his finger across her lips. “He’s my second in command. You don’t respect or trust him, and he doesn’t trust you, though I know he has a very healthy respect for your skills.” He gripped her with his thighs.

“You are going to bend over and let him smack you once on your bottom.”

She felt blood pour into her cheeks and down her neck. “No!” She shot a look at Dankyo. “No! Never. The man hates me.”

“You are going to do it, because I know you, and I know him, and this will work.”

She shook her head, looking down. “No. Don’t ask this. Please.”

“Claire. Do you know what would have happened to
any
of the guards if they had done what you did? Struck a fellow guard, endangered others, disobeyed a direct order? You’d be whipped in public. Discharged from the house guard.”

“I’m not a house guard.” She looked imploringly at Theo.

“No. You’re not. You’re my mistress, and you’re a deadly weapon all rolled into one. And I love you for it. But I can’t have you here if you disrespect Dankyo. What is your answer?”

“I don’t know. This feels”—she swallowed—“sexual, not like discipline.”
“I can’t have you here?” No. Oh, hell, no
. This was an order, really. She couldn’t stay with Theo if she didn’t say yes.

“In a way. It’s a dominance thing. A little like with you and me.” He cupped her chin. “And I know Dankyo. This will settle you into the pecking order.”

“You think? What if he says no?”

“I doubt it. Let’s see.” He set her on her feet then walked to Dankyo.

She chewed her lip.
Did I say, yes? Oh, hell and heavens and frick. Dankyo is going to smack my bottom. Only once, though. Once…isn’t that bad. No underwear. Frick again.

The two of them strolled back to her. She could see in the way Dankyo looked at her that he’d said yes. No smugness there; that was good. Curiosity? She pulled herself up straighter, taller, and returned Dankyo’s appraisal.

Theo studied them both. “Let’s get this done. After this, I expect both of you to be civil to each other. I expect you, Claire, to respect Dankyo as my leading officer and head of security. And, Dankyo, I expect you to trust that Claire is who she says she is and can be trusted. Yes?”

Dankyo inclined his head. Theo looked at her, raised his eyebrows.

“Yes,” she said a tad hoarsely. Though, of course, a little voice spoke up.
You’re not that, though—not who you say you are.

“Turn around, dear. Put your hands on your knees.”

She shut her eyes once, opened them, then turned and bent over with her hands braced on her knees. When Theo gently folded up her dress and bared her bottom, she flinched. She had her knees tight together. There was nothing to see, just bottom. Dankyo wouldn’t get much joy from that, would he?