Stray (15 page)

The pain she was feeling was temporary. There was no way either of us could keep her off her back unless we changed positions. And I wasn’t done with her yet.

She tasted just as wonderful as I’d imagined. Tangy and sweet all at once. Remembering what Dylan had done with his mouth, I flicked my tongue over Marnie’s clit, wrapping my arms around her hips to keep her from thrusting. It was a lot harder than Dylan had made it look. But then again, he did have more experience than I did.

Keeping one arm on her hips, I used the other to push her as close to orgasm as I could. I slipped two fingers inside, moaning when my clit ached for attention. She was tight, her body hugging my fingers as if this were the first time she’d ever had sex.

Marnie lifted her hips from the bed and tangled her hands in my hair, pulling at it, her nails clawing at my scalp. But I didn’t care. Not so long as she fucked my fingers.
Just. Like. That.

My body tensed when I felt the first tremors of her orgasm, her body contracting around my fingers. I used the same even strokes Dylan had used on me, ignoring the ache in my shoulder, knowing I’d be the one to give her the first orgasm of the night.

Her breath caught. Her body froze. She let out a sound of frustration, then relaxed, but her orgasm didn’t come. I gave Dylan a questioning glance.

“She won’t go unless you tell her to,” he said, nodding to my hand.

Fuck.
I’d completely forgotten about being her Master. Forgotten I was the one in control. I licked my lips, keeping my strokes as even as they had been before.

I’m so sorry.
“You want to come, don’t you, Marnie?” I asked, breathing in her scent.

“Yes…” she moaned. Her body shuddered. “Y-yes, Master.”

“You’re close, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Master.” Her words were clearer now, but the ends were slurred.

I knew I was going to lose her if I didn’t let her come. It was a powerful feeling, having that much control over someone else. And while I would’ve loved to keep edging her forever, my arm was starting to shake.

Knowing she was close, I started to lick at her clit, circling around the head where it was more sensitive. Marnie’s body jerked from one side to the other. She clamped her legs shut. Opened them. Writhed in what someone else might have mistaken as pain.

I glanced at her toes, which were curled. She gasped for breath. Didn't breathe at all. She didn’t move. I kept on stroking her, past the first tremors of a new orgasm, drawing it out of her.

And just when she seemed about to burst, I said the one word I knew she wanted to hear. The word she needed to hear. “Come.”

Chapter Fifteen

By the end of the night, Dylan and I had given her as many orgasms as he’d given me back when we’d first slept together. And, like me, her first orgasm had been almost as if a dam had broken. We couldn’t have stopped her even if we’d wanted to.

When we finally got into Dylan’s bed, I was so sore I didn’t care if my last orgasm had happened earlier this morning or not. And as far as I was concerned, it didn’t matter whose bed we were sleeping in. None of us moved.

Sandwiched between us, Marnie smiled and kissed me on the lips. “I love you.”

Dylan and I exchanged glances. He shrugged.

I said the only thing I could. “Love you too, hon.” I kissed her on the forehead, and she closed her eyes.

Things had just got a lot more complicated.

* * * *

The days that followed had not been nearly as awkward as I’d expected. Marnie and I had still spent our afternoons together. We’d still talked over peppermint tea. And neither one of us had mentioned what had happened a few nights ago. I wondered if she was thinking about it just as much as I was. If she was, she was doing a great job at hiding it.

Sitting on the couch in the living room, we both held on to our mugs as if they could save us from the suffocating silence. I cleared my throat. Marnie shifted in her seat. Gazed at me. Blushed. Averted her eyes.
You remember what I did to you, don’t you, my pet?

I clicked my tongue. Sipped my tea. The silence continued. I stared down at my tea. At my reflection on its surface. Eyes that wanted me to do more than look at her.
Just a kiss.
One kiss couldn’t hurt. Steeling myself, I set my mug on the coffee table but jumped when I heard a car door slam outside.

Marnie and I exchanged glances. “Are we expecting anyone?”

Dylan hadn’t said anything before he’d left this morning, so I figured that maybe it was someone Marnie had called over.

She shook her head. “It’s just supposed to be us today.”

Keys jingled in the lock. I froze. Marnie craned her neck, clutching her mug so hard I was surprised it didn’t break. We both breathed a sigh of relief when Dylan walked in through the door, grocery bags on either of his arms.

Marnie was quick to greet him, taking the bags and transporting them to the kitchen. I stood when he stopped beside the couch and hugged me.

“Don’t you have to work late tonight?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise. We rarely got to spend our afternoons together. Even on the weekends, he was usually tied up on the phone until later in the afternoon. “We didn’t expect you home until nine. Everything okay?”

Dylan combed his fingers through my hair. “My sweet, little worrier. What have I told you about that?” He took my hand in his, guiding me down the hall. He stopped in front of the dungeon door. “Everything’s fine. Our workload was pretty light, and since I’ve been hitting it hard the last few weeks, they gave me the afternoon off.”

I eyed the door leading into the dungeon. “So, why are we standing in the hall?”

“Are you up for some time on the cross?”

My heart jumped at the thought of being flogged into oblivion. I hadn’t been flogged for a few days now, and after what he’d done with Marnie, I’d been aching to get back to it.

“Don’t you need time to set up?” I asked, smiling at Marnie when she looked in our direction.

“It already is,” Dylan said, opening the door. “I was planning to do this tonight anyway. But now that I’m home, we can take our time, which means more aftercare, should you require it.”

Aftercare for us translated to a lot of cuddling, tickling and a warm bath together. Things that any romantic would die for. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say his aftercare was almost as intimate as his flogging.

I smiled. “Lead the way.”

As promised, the dungeon was set up to fit my aftercare instead of Marnie’s. Everything was in the same place as it had been before. A clean, fitted sheet on the bed, blankets, water, a fuzzy robe, cream, and of course, a handful of condoms for if we got too excited. I wet my lips and took my place in front of Dylan. I bowed my head. I locked my hands behind my back.

Dylan paced in front of me, his silence causing my apprehension to go into overdrive. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t touch me, but I could still feel his gaze burning against my skin. This was the worst part about being a sub—knowing something was going to happen while at the same time, not knowing what that something was or which direction it’d come from.

I breathed in through my nose. Exhaled through my mouth.
In. Out. Inhale. Exhale.
My heart skipped a beat, and I cringed. Heart palpitations weren’t my thing. They made me nervous. Made me worry that something might be wrong. I ignored the skipped beats for now, tracking Dylan’s footsteps as he strode from one side to the other.

“From this point on, I’m your Master. Is that understood?” Dylan asked.

“Yes, Master.”

Another heartbeat.

“I want you to turn around and face the cross. Keep your eyes down.”

I did as he’d asked without any hesitation. I wanted him—
needed
him to touch me. To feel him against me. His flogger. His fingers. His lips. God, I wanted to taste those lips. And still, he didn’t move.

“Take everything off.”

I nodded, and while keeping my gaze on the carpeting, I removed the few bits of clothing I had on. Blouse, shorts and panties—all thrown into a heap on the floor.

There was a groan, then another growl behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I opened and closed my palms, trying to hold on to something that wasn’t there.

“You’ve done well with your training,” came Dylan’s voice, sounding deeper than before. “But there’s one thing we haven’t done.”

I swallowed. Froze.
Is he talking about another Dom—for me?

“I’ve waited until I felt you were ready. Until I knew you were mentally prepared. Do you trust me?”

I hated when he asked me that. “Yes, Master.”

“Are you scared?”

A little.
“No, Master.”

“Nervous?”

Yes. Yes. One thousand times, yes!
“Yes, Master.”

Something soft brushed up against the back of my legs. My knees wobbled. I struggled to keep my balance.

“I want you to shift for me. Can you do that?”

Fuck!
It was something I’d hoped he’d forgotten. After over a month of being together, we hadn’t spoken about my wolf skin, the crate Anthony had kept me in, the shock collar I’d worn or my abuse. It was a place I didn’t want return to. But at the same time, it was something I’d have to face. I just didn’t think I was ready yet.
I’m not ready.

“I—” I lowered to the ground, crouching in front of him. “I don’t think I’m—”

“You are ready. This is the last bit of training you have left.” Dylan’s voice was calm, coming from my right, outside my peripheral vision. “Up until now, I’ve been easy on you. I’ve given you more time than I thought you’d need. You’ve already been flogged by an experienced Dom and even had fun with a sub of your own. But Anthony didn’t use either of those things against you. Not as much as you being a wolf.”

I didn’t want to shift. I couldn’t shift. I was sure I’d forgotten how.

“Alyssa, look at me.”

Keeping my head bowed, I turned to face him, lifting my eyes just enough to look at his feet. Silver paws had taken their place. Surprised to find Dylan had shifted without me, I inspected him further, meeting him eye to eye.

He was a stunningly beautiful grey wolf, his silver pelt darkening on his back and the top of his tail. His fur was immaculate, perfectly groomed. There wasn’t a scratch on him. I cowered. Backed away.

Dylan wagged his tail and perked his ears. “Does my being a wolf make you nervous?”

“No, Master.” I took another step back.

“Then why do you cower?”

“Because…my skin isn’t as pretty as yours, Master.”

“Alyssa, I’ve already seen your scars. I won’t be turned away by your wolf skin.”

“But what about how you reacted when you first saw—”

“I only reacted that way because you hadn’t told me about them first. Alyssa, when you told me Anthony abused you, I didn’t realise how severe the abuse actually was. But I know now. I’m better prepared.” He took another step towards me, advancing when I didn’t move. He nuzzled under my chin before licking my cheek. “I need you to shift for me. Can you do that?”

“I…” I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come.

Dylan backed away, bowed his head and shifted into his human form, completely naked. “What if we shifted together?”

He made it look so simple. As if it were painless. In fact, he didn’t seem to be in pain at all! His joints hadn’t cracked. His skin had barely rippled between one form and the other. But it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t painless. It was excruciating!
To me, that is.

“Do you remember what I told you when you first came to me?” Dylan caressed my face. “That I’d only push you if I knew you could handle it. I told you we’d push boundaries and that they might push back, but the longer you give in to your fear of what Anthony did to you, the longer it’s going to take to get past this.”

“You make it sound so easy…”

Dylan didn’t correct me when I didn’t call him Master. He didn’t hit me. Didn’t yell. Instead, he took me in his arms and kissed at the scars on my neck while tracing the ones on my back with his fingers.

“What Anthony did to you wasn’t right by any means, but I know you’re stronger than this. All I’m asking is for you to shift. Take back the control he stole from you.” He placed a hand on one of my shoulders. “Have I ever hurt you?”

“No, Master.”

“Have I ever made you do anything you couldn’t handle?”

I looked back over all the challenges we’d faced since our meeting over a month ago. He’d tied me to a table. Shaved me. Flogged me. Had Marnie watch me strip. Let me watch her do the same. Had the three of us play together. All of those things had made me nervous, but I’d done them anyway. I’d done them because my Master had asked me to. And in the end, I’d enjoyed every single one of them.

All that was holding me back was my apprehension. I’d faced it before, and I could do it again. “No, Master.” I finally said, leaning my head against his chest.

“Good girl.” His touch left me as he went to crouch a few feet in front of me. “We’re going to shift at the same time, okay?”

I bobbed my head, falling down onto all fours.

“We’ll breathe together, and when I tell you to shift, you need to do it. Okay?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Inhale.”

I drew in a deep breath.

“Exhale.”

I let it out, releasing the tension in my chest.

“Inhale.”

I breathed in the smell of cigarette smoke and aftershave.

“Exhale.”

I followed his lead. A ripple ran up and down my spine. We inhaled one final time, his eyes on me, as fierce as they’d ever been before.

“Shift.”

And just like when he’d controlled my orgasms, my body shuddered, buckled. Time stopped. My bones changed shape, but they didn’t break. The shift wasn’t painful. It didn’t hurt at all. I released the breath I’d been holding and shook all over.

Dylan’s muzzle parted in a wolfish grin, his perked ears and overall posture showing his pride and confidence. “Doing okay?”