My Wicked Devil (Club Wicked) (12 page)

Not just Bryan.

He stopped before they reached the main foyer and opened the door to a small, elegantly appointed sitting room. A white marble fireplace dominated the far side of the room, and a pretty lounge area with comfortable cream and gold furniture used up the majority of the space in the center. The air held the faint scent of lilacs, and she spied a giant vase full of the flowers on an elegant table near the window.

“Would sitting or lying down be more comfortable?”

“Really. You don’t have to make all this fuss over me.”

He gave her an exasperated look. “Answer the question.”

“Couch, please.”

After making sure she was comfortable, arranging pillows around her, and bringing her a blanket, he stood over her with a foreboding expression darkening his face. “Stay here. If you move one inch, I’ll let every Master at Wicked take a turn paddling your arse.”

She swallowed hard, not liking the idea of any Dom but Bryan touching her. She trusted him to not hurt her beyond what she could endure, but the thought of strangers hitting her made her ill. “Yes, my lord.”

He nodded and tucked the blanket more securely around her. Picking up a remote from the table situated between the couch and chairs, he pressed a button, and the gas fireplace across from her flickered to life. He gave her one last warning look and left.

As she curled into the soft cushions, she stared at the flames and tried to get her rambling thoughts under control. She felt so used up, like she’d run twenty miles, then done a thousand jumping jacks. The nerves in her spine twitched, and she tried to shift to a more comfortable position. It was funny how the pain Bryan gave her could feel good, while the pain of her injuries just fucking hurt.

She was so tired of hurting.

Well then, why did she keep doing stupid shit? Things she knew pushed the limits of her endurance and health, but challenges she couldn’t say no to. Her teachers at the stuntman school had warned her time and time again about taking too-big risks, about pushing her body too hard. She’d laughed it off, feeling young and invincible. Besides, her fearlessness had gotten her coveted acting roles her fellow stuntwomen would have killed for. If she’d been careful, she would be just another chick wearing a wig and taking the fall for someone else. But was that feeling of invincibility she chased after her drug of choice? Was she blind to what her relentless pursuit of the next dangerous high had done to her life?

Was that what she was doing here with Bryan? Chasing another adrenaline high? Trying to compartmentalize her feelings and emotions, she examined her actions during her time with him. Sure, when she’d first stumbled across the idea of retraining her body to handle pain, it had seemed like going to an experienced sadist had been the best idea. Like going to any professional when she needed help. But she hadn’t known what it would be like to do a scene with a Dom. No, not just a Dom, with Bryan.

A man she knew nothing about.

His touch was painful magic, a pleasure so deep and soul altering that she felt like his stamp would be on her forever. After two times together, without sex, she already felt as if she was under his thrall. His disappointment in her had cut to the bone, almost as deep as her ex-boyfriend leaving after she’d tried so hard to give him what he wanted. A knot twisted in her stomach as she wondered how long Bryan would hold out before he wanted to have true sex with her. Her vagina clenched at the thought, not with desire but with fear. The cramps she got from penetration were terrible, the closest thing to labor pains a woman could have without actually having a baby. She couldn’t imagine how Bryan could possibly help her overcome them.

Shifting so she could see the door when it opened, she tried to calm herself, but the little spider of panic was beginning to spin a web in her mind. Bryan’s dungeon had been so big, so vast, there was no way she was the first woman to be there. And he was sinfully hot. When he got tired of her inability to put out, she had no doubt there would be throngs of submissives waiting to do what she couldn’t. Beautiful, skinny women who could fulfill his every need. Not fat redheads with more issues than Carter has pills. A mental image of Bryan fucking some nameless female in his dungeon made her heart clench.

Disquieted by the thought of Bryan, a man she barely knew, having that much control over her emotionally, she debated sneaking out of his house before he got back. That way she could nip this stupid emotional bond in the bud and find some Dom who wouldn’t tempt her to want things she couldn’t have. Some Master who would teach her how to manage her body and then they would both be on their separate ways. Then she could find some normal, safe guy and get married and have 2.5 kids while living in the suburbs. Not a dark, dangerous, and utterly captivating lord she could easily become lost in.

Groaning softly, she sat up and looked down at the comforter enveloping her. Well, she really couldn’t drive like this, but maybe she could step out and call a cab or something. Yeah, she’d go back to the trophy room, get her stuff, and make it out before Bryan was any the wiser. She wasn’t sure how much time she had left before he got back, or that matter for how long he’d been gone.

Where had he gone? Maybe he was so disgusted with her that he would return with a couple of aspirin and send her on her way. Shit, she’d rather have that than the lecture she had a feeling was coming. Then again, would he lecture her if he didn’t care? No, that was grasping at straws. He’d lecture her because he probably got off on it, not because he was really worried. Or if he was worried, it was the concern someone would have for one of their pets when they got hurt. Not the worry of a man caring about his woman.

No, she didn’t have to sit here and listen to him yell at her like she was some child. He could kiss her big ass. She was a grown woman, and no man would make her feel like anything less.

After pulling the comforter around her, she slowly made her way to her feet. Little shards of broken glass had taken up residence in her hips, and she tried to tell herself she was fine and nothing would happen if she took a risk with her body for the sake of her pride.

For a grown woman, you sometimes sure act like a child, her mind whispered.

Ignoring her conscience, she started to walk toward the door, but before she’d taken two steps, it opened. While he was gone, Bryan had taken the time to put on a new button-down shirt, much to her disappointment. As he entered, a tall woman with blonde hair dressed in black slacks and a white classic silk shirt followed him. She had a giant black zippered case over her arm and an intense energy about her that went well with her bright blue eyes. Both the woman and Bryan gave Kira a quick head-to-toe inspection, and their mouths tightened in an almost identical line of disapproval.

Bryan closed the door quietly after himself. “Going somewhere? I believe I told you to stay put, Kira.”

Busted, she flushed and shook her head. “I was wondering where you went.” Trying to salvage her dignity, she tightened the comforter around her and lifted her chin. “May I ask who this is with you?”

The woman set the giant case down next to the chair near the door, then came forward with her hand extended. “My name is Jennifer Barnette. It’s nice to meet you, Kira.”

Extending her hand as much as she could while still maintaining her grip on the blanket, Kira shook the other woman’s hand. “Umm, nice to meet you as well.”

Jennifer smiled. “I’m a physical therapist who specializes in therapeutic sports massage and a friend of Bryan’s. He called and asked me to come look at your back and see if I could bring you some relief.”

Kira wasn’t sure if she should be pissed with him for assuming she’d be okay with some stranger working on her, or happy that he cared. She looked over Jennifer’s shoulder at Bryan and let out a low breath. “Thank you.”

He raised one eyebrow in a devilish way that managed to look arrogant and hot. “Thank you what?”

Feeling very uncomfortable, she glanced at Jennifer, then back at him. There was no way in hell she was calling him by anything other than his given name in front of a stranger. “Thank you,
Bryan
.” The emphasis she put on his name was kind of snotty, but instead of looking pissed, he grinned and winked.

That, man confused the shit out of her.

Jennifer laughed. “Before you earn yourself an ass beating, I’m also a Mistress at Wicked, so don’t worry about following your Master’s protocol in front of me.”

Sure she was going to die of embarrassment, she looked at the floor and muttered, “Thank you, my lord.”

He snorted. “You could at least pretend to be intimidated.”

“You could at least pretend to be humble.”

Jennifer laughed and moved across the room to her case, which Kira now recognized as a portable massage table. “Bryan, can you clear me a space please? Then we’ll get her fixed up enough so that you can take care of her sass.”

While Bryan moved the table and chairs around, Jennifer unfolded her table and put on a small waist apron with bottles of oil in the pockets. Kira stayed out of their way, more confused than ever. If Bryan had gone all lord and Master on her, she would have been able to shore up her emotional defenses. This nice, almost playful man was a side she hadn’t seen from him before.

“Bryan, help your girl up on the table. I’d like her on her stomach first.”

Clearing her throat, Kira tried to hide her flush as she said, “I’m nude.”

Jennifer smiled. “Darling, beneath our clothes we’re all nude. Now up on the table with you. No more dillydallying.”

With some effort, maneuvering, and lots of blushing, she made it up onto the table. Her back seized, and Jennifer instantly placed her hands on Kira’s lower spine. “Easy. Just relax.”

Bryan pulled up a chair so he sat at the head of the table. With a gentle touch, he gathered her hair and swept it over to the side. They began to touch her together, Jennifer soothing her muscles while Bryan ran his fingers through her hair. The scent of apples filled the air, mixed with cinnamon as Jennifer began to rub oil into Kira’s tailbone area. Ever so slowly, the tense muscles around her spine softened, and she let out a grateful sigh. “You know, it’s easy to forget how good feeling normal is.”

Jennifer traced a fingertip down a scar going over Kira’s hip. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman so beat up.”

Before Kira could answer, Bryan spoke. “Kira used to be an actress and one of the best stuntwomen in the world.”

“Wait… Is she Kira Harmony?” When Kira moved to look at Jennifer, the other woman gave her ass a brisk slap. “Stay still. Let your Master answer for you. The only thing you’re responsible for is laying here and enjoying.”

Grinning, Kira did as she was told. If there was any doubt in her mind that Jennifer was a Mistress, that imperious command erased it. Besides, Jennifer had moved on to her legs now and was doing something heavenly to her thigh muscles.

Bryan continued to stroke Kira’s hair, the touch soothing and slightly arousing. She couldn’t help but associate his touch with pleasures of a more carnal nature. “Yes. She got injured on set in a stunt gone wrong. A motorcycle accident.”

Kira tensed at the mention of the accident, memories gaining strength. The pain had been so intense, so all-consuming that she’d thought she would go mad as the emergency response crew worked to stabilize her. Before her accident, she’d never understood how someone could hurt so much that they couldn’t even form words, but now she knew all too well how an injury could be so agonizing that all she could do was moan and beg God to make the excruciating agony go away.

Bryan leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Love, if you don’t snap out of that bad memory, I’m going to ask Jennifer to give you an internal massage that will have you squirting all over the room.”

Kira coughed at the graphic image. “You need therapy.”

He laughed and kissed her cheek.

Jennifer began to work her fingertips around the back of Kira’s knee. “That must be what all this scarring is from. I’m guessing she broke her pelvis, maybe her tailbone as well, along with a couple ribs.” Briefly Jennifer stroked Kira’s left shoulder, tracing over the surgical scars. “This injury looks to be around the same time.”

It was actually rather nice to not have to go through what had happened that terrible day for the billionth time. She would have thought the memories would fade by now, but they remained bright and painful. She could almost feel the agony she’d endured on the ambulance ride to the hospital, her body shattered but her mind still all too aware.

“Shh,” Bryan whispered into her ear, his beard brushing her sensitive skin. “I told you, no bad thoughts. One more time and you’re going to get an anal massage as well. Did I mention Mistress Jennifer’s specialty is fisting? She knows how to make a woman’s muscles relax enough to take her whole hand. I’ve seen her fuck her submissive, Shy, with her fist. Trust me when I say you are not ready for that.”

Kira froze, her ass and pussy tightening until her back twinged.

Jennifer made a tsking sound. “Stop scaring the poor girl. Kira, I assure you, your ass is safe with me. Idiot men.”

“Sometimes I really wish you were a submissive so I could beat you.”

“Ditto.”

Bryan and Jennifer laughed, and the tension eased, allowing Kira to slowly drift back down again. Bryan resumed stroking her hair. She felt so utterly pampered, spoiled even. It had been so long since anyone had shown her so much affection. She was starved for it.

Jennifer switched topics to Wicked, and the two Doms began to talk about mutual friends, who was dating whom, what parties were coming up, and other mundane things that became extraordinary because of the subject. After following their conversation for a bit, Kira began to drift, lulled into relaxation by Bryan’s scent, his touch, his presence. On a primal level, she felt extremely safe around him, despite the fact he’d put her through some pretty harsh shit downstairs.

Harsh and wonderful. Oh my fucking God, had it been good. The memory sent a warm wave of lust through her, and if she wasn’t so relaxed, she would have tried to kiss Bryan, to let him know how much she appreciated his care. And that he’d decided to give her a second chance.