Текст книги "The Exhibitionist"

Автор книги: Tara Sue Me

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Epilogue

ABBY

Two months later

I looked out the kitchen window to where our friends had gathered together on our patio. Jeff and Dena’s ultrasound earlier in the week had shown them that they were having a girl. To say they were excited was an understatement. I decided the news called for celebration and invited everyone over.

Nathaniel came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, just thinking about how fortunate we are to have so many good friends.”

“We certainly are.”

I turned around to face him and looped my arms around his neck. “Think they’d miss us if we didn’t go back outside?”

“Probably. You came inside to get the food for everyone.”

I punched his chest. “Spoilsport.”

He laughed and leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Let me help you carry this out and later tonight I’ll make it up to you.”

“Deal,” I said.

We carried trays of sandwiches, fruit, and cheese outside. Our guests already had drinks and were spread out around the backyard. Everyone who loved Jeff and Dena had shown up. Daniel and Julie were talking with the couple in question. The four of them stood near the garden, and once Daniel saw us, he waved and they all headed our way.

“Food looks great,” he said.

“Dig in,” I said. “There’s plenty here and more inside if this runs out.”

I set the trays down on the table and started passing out plates.

Dena rubbed her belly. “Good because the baby’s hungry.” Jeff came up behind her and kissed her head. She leaned back against him.

“Everything’s so peaceful here,” Jeff said. “This is an outstanding property. You’re going to love it here.”

“We already do,” I agreed. “I love coming out here and just enjoying the stillness.”

That stillness was suddenly broken by a sharp cry.

“Oh my God. Snake!” Lynne pointed toward a large oak tree about twenty feet from where we were.

We all looked in that direction. I couldn’t see a snake, but I certainly saw something. But from where I was, it appeared more like a ball. A ball that was twisting and turning and fighting with something.

Dena gasped. “It’s a kitten! It has a kitten!”

As soon as she said it, I saw the frightened eyes surrounded by matted fur. My hand flew to my mouth.

“It just fell from the tree,” Lynne said. “Has the snake killed it?”

“Not yet, but probably very close.” Cole had been talking with Kelly, but he walked toward Nathaniel. “I’ll get it. Do you have a shovel?”

Nathaniel nodded. “Come with me.”

As the two men ran toward the garage, we all watched, helpless.

“I hope it’s not too late,” Dena whispered.

I thought as long as the snake was writhing around the way it was, the kitten was probably still putting up a fight. As long as the snake didn’t stop, there was still breath left in the cat.

Cole appeared, shovel in hand, and headed toward the snake. Nathaniel was right beside him, also holding a shovel. They approached the fight, planning what they are going to do.

“I’ll go for the head,” Nathaniel said. “You try to get the kitten.”

The two men worked in unison, on opposite sides of the snake, not talking much, but moving together in a way that almost looked choreographed.

“If I get a clear shot, I’m going for it.” Nathaniel’s shovel hovered near the snake’s head.

I held my breath. Odds were good the kitten wasn’t going to make it. By now we could see that the snake was tightly wrapped around it. Even if it was still living, which seem impossible, there was no telling how long it’d been without oxygen.

“Almost. Almost.” Nathaniel shifted his weight. “Now!”

He attacked the snake and within seconds, Cole attempted to grab the kitten.

“Got it!” Cole finally said. “Still alive.”

“Thank goodness,” Lynne said.

“He’s really shaken up.” Cole came toward us, kitten in hands, while Nathaniel disposed of the snake.

“I would think so,” I said. “Being attacked by a snake. Do you need anything?”

“No, he’s still running on an adrenaline high, trying to get away from me. Poor thing’s going to crash later.” Cole tried unsuccessfully to get the kitten to calm down. “I hate to put him down. He’ll run off and we’ll never see him again. He needs first aid, someone to love, and a bath.”

“Good luck giving a cat a bath,” Dena said.

“Hand him to me.”

Everyone turned to where Sasha stood across the patio from Cole. She’d been so quiet all afternoon, I’d forgotten she was there.

She crossed the patio to Cole and held out her hands. “Give him to me.”

Cole was fumbling, trying to keep the kitten from falling. “I thank you for your offer to help, little one, but this cat’s feisty.” He raised an eyebrow. Her bulky jeans and slouchy shirt couldn’t hide the too-thin frame and the dark shadows around her eyes. “With all due respect—”

“I said give him to me,” Sasha repeated in a firm voice. I didn’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t know Sasha could be that forceful. She motioned with her hands again.

Cole must not have known she could be that forceful, either. His eyes grew wide with shock and he nearly lost his grip on the wiggling creature in his arms. “Sasha,” he said in a low voice.

But Sasha was determined and without waiting for him to offer or agree, she simply reached for the kitten and took him. Gathering the frightened animal tight to her chest, she dropped her face into his fur and whispered things I couldn’t make out.

Cole didn’t move from where he stood, though I wasn’t sure if it was because he was still in shock over her actions or if he wanted to be close in case she needed him.

After a few minutes she lifted her head and Cole laughed. “Bloody hell, he’s purring.”

Sasha only beamed in response as Cole reached out and stroked the kitten’s dirty fur. “How did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” she confessed. “I just saw him struggling and then he was free, but he didn’t know it. I think it’s because you’re a bit intimidating, Sir. And I thought to myself, ‘I know exactly how that kitten feels,’ and I just had to hold him and tell him. I had to let him know he was safe and everything was going to be all right.”

“Damn,” Nathaniel whispered so they couldn’t hear. “I didn’t know she could speak that many sentences at one time.”

“You and the kitten are kindred spirits, little one. That was good thinking,” Cole said, and locked eyes with Sasha. The look that passed between them was so intense that for a second I couldn’t breathe and my skin prickled with gooseflesh.

“Wow, I’ve never heard him call anyone ‘little one’ before,” Daniel said. “Wonder what that means.”

“Nothing,” Julie whispered. “It means nothing. He called her that the first time he met her. Right before you whipped Peter.”

We’d been whispering so Cole and Sasha wouldn’t hear, but watching them, I thought we could have been yelling and they wouldn’t have paid us any attention. They were speaking softly, the kitten held between them. Then Sasha suddenly looked our way.

“He’s a stray, right?” she asked, looking between me and Nathaniel. “He’s not yours?”

“No,” Nathaniel confirmed. “We only have our dog, Apollo.”

“I can keep him?” She was no longer the determined woman who’d confronted Cole, but once more tentative and unsure. “I’d like to have someone to care for.”

“I know the feeling,” Cole mumbled behind her.

“Of course,” Nathaniel said, and then smiled. “We just won’t tell the kids. Elizabeth would love a kitten, but we can’t have one with Apollo around. He’s too old and set in his ways.”

“Thank you,” she said, and dipped her head into the kitten’s fur again.

“I think,” Nathaniel said in a soft voice so Cole and Sasha couldn’t hear, a slow smile covering his face, “I’ve just decided who I’ll recommend to have retrain Sasha.”

Julie and I spoke at the same time.

“Oh, hell no.”

“That might be the worst idea you’ve ever had.”

But Jeff was nodding and Daniel’s head was tilted in thought.

I looked once more to the couple bonding over the bundle of fur. The tentative submissive who’d stood up to someone intimidating in order to calm a kitten. And the man I knew to be ruthless who’d looked on her with kindness and a hint of something more.

“He’ll break her,” I whispered.

Nathaniel shook his head. “She’ll heal them both.”

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She was going to have to book an extended session with her therapist.

Sasha Blake closed her eyes and tried to take deep cleansing breaths like she’d been told to do when the familiar panic started to take over. But the sharp claws of fear and dread grabbed onto her chest and the simple act of inhaling took more strength than necessary.

“Sasha?” Nathaniel asked. “Are you okay?”

She cracked one eye open. The Dominant in charge of running the meeting looked at her with concern. She focused on him and did her best to ignore everything and everyone else.

“Yes, Master West,” she said. “I’m fine.”

Fine. Her pat reply to everything. She was fine. Work was fine. Her back was fine. And being told the Partners in Play senior members had decided she could rejoin the BDSM group after a retraining with Cole Johnson?

Abso-freaking-fine.

She was sitting in a small room off to the side of Daniel Covington’s playroom, where group meetings were held. Only the senior members were present, which meant there were only about ten people sitting around the oval table at the moment.

The side of her face tingled as if someone was staring at her and she slipped her hands under her thighs to keep from rubbing the spot. She used more discipline than what should be necessary to keep her gaze directed on Nathaniel and not to let it wander just a touch to the right where he sat.

Items numbered one through five hundred twelve to discuss with her therapist: Cole Johnson.

Based on conversations she’d had recently with Nathaniel, his wife, Abby, and her own best friend, Julie, and Julie’s Dominant, Daniel, she’d expected to be offered a retraining. She’d even looked forward to it: experiencing the thrill of letting someone else take over, rediscovering the peace that came when she knew her Dom would do anything to protect her and—she wasn’t even going to pretend otherwise—having earth-shattering orgasms.

It’d not once crossed her mind—not even in her wildest, craziest, never-gonna-happen-might-as-well-fantasize-about-it dreams—that the group would pick him.

Cole.

Sasha shivered just thinking his name. An alien spaceship must have transported her to an alternate universe because that was how hard it was to believe Cole was going to retrain her. He was an altogether intriguing man, one who had quickly captured her attention. But though he was usually laid-back and easygoing, talk among the group’s submissives pointed toward a hard and unyielding Dominant in the playroom.

She didn’t have to glance to Nathaniel’s right to know who she’d find watching her. She pictured him all too clearly in her head. Dark tousled hair, devilish blue-green eyes, and a body that seductively hinted at sexual pleasure with every carefully controlled move. And then he’d speak in that oh-so-smooth British accent.

Yes, she’d call her therapist tomorrow.

“Are you okay?”

Sasha jumped at the sound of her friend Dena’s whisper.

“I’m fine,” she said, repeating the same lie she’d told Nathaniel.

Dena narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “Hmm.”

But Sasha was stopped from saying anything further by Nathaniel dismissing the meeting. Perfect. If she moved quickly enough, she could probably be on her way without having to talk about anything.

Unfortunately, Dena was onto Sasha’s ploy and grabbed her arm before she could get away. “Not so fast. I want to talk. It’s been a long night for you. How do you feel about Master Johnson?”

Sasha’s body shook a bit. She had to leave before the panic came back. But Dena looked determined and she wouldn’t let her leave that easily.

“Conflicted.” Sasha took a deep breath. “He’s not who I imagined would be suggested.” She didn’t add that he was the very last person she imagined would be suggested. She narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute. You’re a senior group member. Did you know?”

“No, I excused myself when the topic came up for discussion. I knew I couldn’t be objective.”

“And Jeff?”

“Yes, I’m sure he knew.”

Sasha put her hand on her hip. She found it hard to believe Jeff, Dena’s husband, wouldn’t have told her, even if she’d excused herself from the discussion. Which made her wonder if Julie knew? After all, she lived with Daniel.

She turned to find the lady in question making a beeline toward her.

“I had a feeling that was going to happen,” Julie said. “Are you okay? If you don’t want Cole, I’ll—”

“Julie. Dena,” the smooth British accent she heard in her dreams said.

Sasha spun around and found Cole standing off to her side.

“Sasha.”

He spoke her name like a caress. Soft and gentle and tender but with an underlying strength that couldn’t be denied and with sensual promises woven in every vowel sound. She had an overwhelming desire to hear him say it again.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Damn it, this is why I should have left right when I stood up.

“Master Johnson,” Julie and Dena said in unison.

“Master West,” Cole said to Nathaniel, who stood a few feet away with his arm around Abby. “If I may, I’d like a word in private with Julie and Sasha.”

Nathaniel didn’t answer right away but eyed Sasha up and down, as if making sure she was okay. He frowned. Hell, did she look that bad?

“Fifteen minutes,” Nathaniel said. “You can use the kitchen. Master Covington?”

“I’ll come get Julie then,” Daniel said from his spot beside Abby.

Cole extended his arm. “After you, ladies.”

They made it into the kitchen without speaking. Cole pulled chairs out for both of them and then settled into his own. He smiled and Sasha found herself questioning the things she’d heard about him.

This was the badass Brit?

“Anyone care for a drink?” he asked. “I should have asked you before sitting down.”

“No, thank you, Sir,” Julie said.

“I’m fine, Sir,” Sasha quipped.

At her off-the-cuff reply, Cole narrowed his eyes and his smile faded away into a frown of displeasure. And in that moment, Sasha knew everything she’d heard about him was true.

Cole Johnson kept his gaze focused on Sasha long enough for her to understand he recognized her answer for what it was. He suspected she’d been fighting back a panic attack and was most likely anything but fine. Against his better judgment, he decided not to call her on it. This time.

He wondered what he’d gotten himself into.

When Nathaniel approached him about it, he’d agreed almost at once. In his mind he pictured Sasha as he’d first met her: a scared submissive dealing with the aftermath of a scene gone bad. He remembered catching her the night she almost fell and how she’d been warm and responsive in his arms. That is, until she’d realized where she was and used her safe word to get away from him.

In India weeks later, he had been surprised at how often he found his mind wandering back to the troubled woman with the expressive green eyes and a will of steel. And he couldn’t deny he’d been secretly pleased when he heard a rumor she was thinking about rejoining the group. He’d been a Dom long enough to understand the strength involved in going through a traumatic scene and returning once more to the community. He respected that strength. He also had a strong desire to control it.

He cleared his throat. “We only have fifteen minutes and I’m positive Daniel is keeping an eye on the time, so let’s chivvy this along.” He leaned back in the chair so he could watch both women. “It appears as if my reputation precedes me and you’re both, no doubt, wondering what the group was thinking with their recommendation.”

Humor flashed in Julie’s eyes along with something else, but she wasn’t saying anything. She hadn’t been all that shocked when he’d been named. Unlike Sasha, who at this moment stared at him like she’d dash out of the room if he said, “Boo.”

He drummed his fingertips on the table. There was a time to push a submissive—this was not one of those times. He needed to draw her to him, to gain her trust, make a connection.

“How’s the kitten?” he asked her.

Last weekend Nathaniel and Abby had a party for Jeff and Dena. While everyone was outside, a snake attacked a stray kitten. Cole and Nathaniel had rescued it, but afterward they couldn’t calm it down. Cole had held the wiggling mass of fur at a loss about what to do until Sasha simply took the frightened kitten from him and had the creature purring within seconds. It’d been that confidence she showed, the way she pushed aside her fear because her desire to help the kitten was more important, that had made him accept the group’s request to retrain her.

As he’d suspected, at the mention of her rescued kitten, Sasha’s face lost all traces of worry and fear and a tender smile took their place. “She’s doing great, Sir. Plays a lot, eats a lot, and sleeps in front of the refrigerator.”

He couldn’t hide his smile at her excitement over the little ball of fur. “I’m glad she found you. Sounds like the two of you have hit it off.”

She nodded. “I like having her around. I mean, I know she’s just a kitten, but it makes the apartment not so lonely.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Julie discreetly check the time. Daniel would be back soon.

Cole cleared his throat. “I can understand your surprise at the group’s recommendation, Sasha.” She opened her mouth like she was going to say something to the contrary, but he shook his head. “No need to hide your feelings. You were quite gobsmacked when Master West made his announcement.”

She pressed her lips together, and with that small move, he caught just a glimpse of the feisty submissive he’d heard she was before the Peter incident.

He leaned forward. “The simple truth is, I require a great deal from my sexual partners and you’re not prepared to meet those demands. That’s the main reason I was selected for you. Since I know your body is off limits, I’ll take my time getting your mind prepared to submit again.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“What’s the body’s most important sex organ?” he asked.

“The mind,” Sasha said.

“Right. And we hear it so frequently, the answer is often given without thought.” He watched her fingers inch forward on the table slightly. She pulled them back and repeated the motion several times until Julie stopped her with a hand. He continued. “So let’s take a moment to think about it. Sex starts in the mind. Submission starts in the mind. As a Dominant, I have to earn my place in your mind before I can earn the right to take you physically. Am I making sense?”

Her voice was calm when she replied, “Fuck the mind before you fuck the body?”

He held her gaze for a long moment until she lowered hers. “Yes, precisely. Which is why I won’t be fucking your body. Just your mind, Sasha.”

She let out her breath in a half-swallowed sigh and looked at the table. “I understand, Sir.”

He bit back his laugh. She might understand, but she wasn’t happy about it. “Any questions?”

Sasha shook her head.

“No, Sir,” Julie said. “Thank you for explaining.”

Daniel walked into the kitchen and stood in the shadows behind Julie.

“When I work with a new submissive,” Cole said, “I want to weave myself into her thoughts so that each movement she makes is made with me in mind. I want her to feel my presence when we’re apart as strongly as she does when we’re together. I’ll do it slowly, Sasha.” He allowed his gaze to wander over her body. She was a striking woman. “So methodically, you won’t notice. And no, I won’t fuck your body, but I believe you’ll find our mental play nearly as intimate, if not more so, than physical play.”

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TARA SUE ME

Abby King yearns to experience a world of pleasure beyond her simple life as a librarian—and the brilliant and handsome CEO Nathaniel West is the key to making her dark desires a reality. But as Abby falls deep into Nathaniel’s tantalizing world of power and passion, she fears his heart may be beyond her reach—and that her own might be beyond saving…