Out of the Storm (20 page)

Kent could see the question surprised Tobi as much as it had both he and Kyle.  “No, I haven’t.  I’ve been stalling because I just didn’t want to answer all of his questions and deal with his condescending comments.”  Kent watched as realization washed over her expression and it went from confused to disbelief to mortification in just seconds.  “Oh my God, please tell me my brother isn’t involved in this.  He knew Gracie and I were friends, but I can’t imagine him hurting her.  I know that sounds naïve but it’s not what you think.  Richard is a pansy-ass.  He wouldn’t know how to be physically intimidating.  He is accustomed to being verbally abusive, that’s a given, but I can’t see him trying to choke Gracie.” 

“Is it possible he might be working with Chris Feldman?”  Kent felt Tobi’s entire body stiffen and her respiration rate was steadily increasing.  He was actually concerned she was going to have a panic attack and for several seconds she just seemed to be trying to pull her thoughts together. 

“I don’t know.  I suppose it’s possible.  They met once that I know of and they seemed to get on all right, but I attributed that to the fact they are both ruthlessly ambitious.  I suppose I assumed that meant they understood each other.”  They all watched as Tobi seemed to center herself again.  And this time when she looked up there was a fire in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.  Jax had stepped into the hall and was leaning against the doorframe listening intently as Tobi continued, “Why are you asking me these questions?  And don’t even think about lying to me, Micah.  I know you are a Dom and we’re at the club, but we’re friends and I hope we have enough respect for one another that you won’t insult my intelligence by trying to deceive me.  If my brother or Chris is either one responsible for the harm to Gracie…well, I’m going to need help with a couple of things.” 

Kyle turned her face to his and asked, “What will you need help with, kitten?” 

“I’ll need an alibi and help hiding the bodies.” Kent saw Kyles’s grin a split second before all four of them burst out laughing. 

Jax was the first one to regain control and speak, “Damn—I like her.  You two ass jacks did good.  Sweet cheeks, if you need an accomplice don’t you hesitate to call me.” 

Chapter Seventeen

Tobi felt a little better after speaking with Gracie and getting her sweet friend settled in the guesthouse that she had been using.  Gracie had explained to Jax how she’d been accosted in front of her building as she was returning from work.  The man had grabbed her from behind and demanded to know where Tobi was staying and what she’d told the police about the fire. He had mentioned hurting Tobi’s sister-in-law, but hadn’t mentioned her brother and that had seemed odd to everyone but Tobi. 

Tobi had quickly explained that anyone who knew her very well knew she preferred her sister-in-law, Stacey, to her brother, Richard.  Tobi also pointed out that if Chris or Richard wanted to threaten her, hurting Gracie or Stacey would be exactly what they would use. 

Jax had stayed with Gracie when Kyle and Kent finally pulled Tobi from the small cabin.  Gracie had been curled up in the large man’s lap sleeping peacefully.  As they walked along the lighted path back to the club Tobi started to get nervous, knowing that her day of reckoning was coming quickly.  She was torn between wanting to stay quiet in hopes it all blew over and apologizing again.  Deciding the ostrich theory had the most merit, Tobi kept still and sent up several prayers to saints she’d never prayed to before.  She hoped they might take pity on her since they wouldn’t have heard all her lame excuses before. 

“Kitten, I can practically hear the wheels in your head spinning.  What are you thinking about?”  Kyle had stopped at one of the small alcoves in the gardens behind the club and turned to face her. 

Oh brother, you are in so deep, Tobi.  How could you get yourself in such a batch of pickle fudge anyway?  Your mouth, that’s how.  Hell it’s always your mouth.  Boy oh boy, you can’t lie for shit either and why would you even bother because they both have that damned built in b/s detector.  Well frack a feathered flamingo. 

As soon as she looked up into their smiling faces she knew she’d been speaking out loud.  “Well fuck me.  I just never learn.”  She knew her cursing had probably just thrown gas on the fire but really, she didn’t think she could get in much deeper so it didn’t seem to matter at this point. 

Kyle was shaking his head and chuckling.  “Honest to God, I understand our dads’ frustration now.  You are a handful, kitten.  And it’s sure easy to see why mom likes you.  Christ she’s called every day—at least once—to make sure Kent and I aren’t screwing this up.”  Tobi felt her jaw fall open and had to make a conscious effort to close her mouth so she didn’t look like a fool. 

“Your mom calls and checks on me?  Why?  I mean…well, she seems like a perfectly nice woman, but we barely know each other.  We've only spent a little time together.  I can’t imagine she could really care about me.  Why would she care about me?  After all, that doesn’t really make any sense does it?  If you think—”

“Kitten, stop stalling and answer my question.”  Kyle’s question has suddenly become a demand and he was right, she had been stalling.  But it had gotten to be harder to think up things to say than it would be to just blurt out the truth so she was actually kind of relieved. 

She took a deep breath and outlined the stone she was standing on with her bare toe before finally looking up.  “Well, I was deciding if the ostrich theory or begging for forgiveness was the best plan.” 

This time Kent chuckled.  “Brother, remind me to thank our dads for not strangling our mom.”  He stepped forward and kissed Tobi on the forehead.  “Love, the sooner you figure out that you aren’t in charge when it comes to what happens in the club, the easier your life is going to be.  Outside of sex, the club, and play, we’ll all be equal partners.  But we’ll pull rank on you every single time you try to top from the bottom, sweetness.”  Tobi was pretty sure that was an exaggeration, but she was equally convinced now wasn’t the time to point it out.

They’d explained topping from the bottom to her earlier in the week and she hadn’t really ever figured it would apply to her, but now it was crystal clear that was exactly what she had been trying to do.  By attempting to figure out the best way to
control
the situation, she was indeed trying to take charge. 

“Kitten, I can tell by the look on your face that you’ve just had an ‘aha’ moment.”  Kyle’s voice gave away the fact he wasn’t angry with her and she let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding.  “Now, even though we had something else entirely planned for you in the main room in a few minutes, we now have to address the issue of your misbehavior earlier this evening.  Unfortunately you decided to act out in front of several of the club’s strictest members and I don’t doubt for a minute they are up there waiting to see if we are going to follow through and punish you in a way they will find suitable.” 

It was dim in the area where they were standing, but Tobi didn’t have any trouble interpreting the expression on Kyle and Kent’s’ faces.  She’d backed them into a corner and they were now stuck in a classic lose-lose situation.  Suddenly her trepidation shifted from worry about what they would do to her to feeling horrible for letting them down.  “I’m really sorry I’ve put you in this situation.  I didn’t think about the consequences for you or myself.  I’ve let you both down and that is the part that bothers me the most.  Do whatever you need to do to save face with your members and I’ll just accept it with as much grace and dignity as I can.”  She didn’t even realize she’d dropped her gaze to the ground until Kent used his fingers to lift her chin. 

He studied her face for several minutes before nodding to his brother.  “Let’s get this done.  I don’t like it hanging over any of our heads.”  When they reached the back door of the club Kent stopped her when she was a step above him and turned her so they were almost eye to eye.  “Tobi, do you trust us?” 

“Yes, Sir.  I trust you both.”  She had tried to sound strong but she knew her words had sounded shaky, but at least they’d been completely sincere. 

“That’s all we’re asking for.  Trust us, no matter what you see or hear when we go into the club keep your head down and don’t respond to anyone but one of your Masters, clear?”  When she nodded, he pulled her forward and kissed her hard.  Tobi assumed she’d pushed his control to the very edge and he was setting the tone for what was to come, but the longer he kissed her the more she decided it had been about something else entirely.  He was trying to tell her how important she was and he was trying to drive the message in before they stepped through the door and everything changed.

Kyle pulled her close and kissed her with the same fervor, but there was a bit more desperation in his.  Her eyes filled with tears and when Kyle felt them against his cheek he pulled back and raised a brown in question.  “Kitten?” 

“I just want to get this over with because then maybe you can forgive me for messing up so badly or at least I can start trying to regain the ground I’ve lost with you this evening.” 

He smiled and kissed her tear-streaked cheeks and then pulled her along behind him, “Come on.  The sooner this is over the happier we will all be.”

****

Kyle didn’t remember a time he’d been more reluctant to do something he knew was necessary and right.  He and Kent were caught in that proverbial spot between a rock and a hard place.  If they didn’t punish Tobi for her behavior they’d destroy the trust of every member of their club because the word would spread quickly to every member whether or not they were here tonight.  It was also important that Tobi knew their word was golden and something she could always depend on, and they had explained the rules to her a couple of times during the previous week so she knew her actions had consequences.  Sighing to himself as they stripped her and bound her to the St. Andrew’s cross, Kyle sent up a silent prayer they weren’t making a huge mistake. 

The small stage had a backdrop that was a series of faceted mirrored tiles and he caught the terrified look in her eyes as she watched the crowd gathering around them.  What she didn’t know was that most of the people watching were likely more curious because he and Kent never played in this room than they were about seeing her punishment.  The fact they had secured her in such a public location was going to attract a lot of attention even if the crowd didn’t all know what had happened earlier.  Stepping over to the cabinet where supplies were kept, he picked up the black silk scarf and stepped in front of her.  “Kitten, I’m going to blindfold you because you are going to get yourself in more trouble by meeting the gazes of those watching.  Close your eyes, baby.” 

After he’d tied the cloth over her eyes he saw her muscles relax fractionally and barely heard her whispered “thank you” before he stepped away.  He stepped back and kissed the end of her nose before moving up to the edge of the stage. 

“Some of you may have been witness to our sub’s misbehavior earlier this evening.  My brother and I intend to deal with that misbehavior now.  But before we do that, I’d like to remind you that everyone makes mistakes and I want you to know that Tobi’s only mistake was caring more about getting to her injured friend than about the consequences she is now facing for her behavior.”  Several Doms and subs had been listening with almost gleeful expressions and he was pleased to see several of those smiles dim at his explanation.

Kent had stepped in front of Tobi and placed his palm over her cheek.  “What is your safe word, Tobi?” 

“It’s red, Sir.” 

“And when are you supposed to use it?”  Kyle could hear the strain in Kent’s voice and knew they had to get this over with quickly for all their sakes. 

“If the pain is so unbearable that I can’t take it anymore or if I can’t take things emotionally any longer, Sir.”  Kyle heard the catch in her words and knew she was already starting to come apart so he needed to get her mind refocused quickly. 

The first swat with the paddle hadn’t been hard enough to really be painful, but it certainly would have surprised her and as her yelp confirmed.  “Don’t tense your muscles or it will just hurt more.”  Kyle was sure Kent’s words were lost on her and she certainly would have felt pain from the second swat.  Kyle had chosen a broad paddle to warm her up because it looked wicked but actually spread the impact over the entire surface so the pain was much lower than it looked or sounded like it would be. 

He continued swatting her until her ass cheeks were both bright red and hot to the touch.  Even though he knew by the shuddering of her shoulders that she was crying, she hadn’t made a sound after the first swat.  He hated how she was holding the emotion inside, and he was even more worried about
why
she was doing it.  Newbie subs often thought they were making their Dom proud if they held everything in when in fact the opposite was actually more accurate.  He wanted her to understand that grace and dignity during a punishment are about learning the lesson and accepting the punishment.  She didn’t have to be silent to learn, hell, she actually hadn’t even needed the paddling to learn because she had already known what she’d done wrong.  Her guilt wasn’t about her actions per se, but rather it stemmed from the fact she wanted to please them and knew she hadn’t.  It was that desire to please that was at the very heart of submission.  They had already witnessed her stoic response to a punishment and Kyle worried that not exploring the reaction was about to come back and bite them in the ass in a very big way. 

Kyle wished Tobi had more experience so she’d understand that Doms wanted subs to give them everything and that meant both the good and the bad.  Submission is about handing everything that you are over to a person you trust enough to catch you when you fall.  In his opinion, a Dom’s job is to coach and guide the sub so they can reach a place where they feel secure enough to be themselves.  That security is only attainable when the submissive knows clear to their soul there will be someone behind them no matter what.  Sure he and Kent knew plenty of Dominants who got off on the power they wielded over their submissive, but that wasn’t what it was about for them.