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All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Dakota Trace
Taming Kalinda © February 2011 Dakota Trace
eXcessica publishing
A Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved
Taming Kalinda
By Dakota Trace
Prologue
Kalinda Doherty was dragged out of a deep sleep by the muffed sound of a woman moaning. Jerking upright in her bed, she tried to orient herself. It was her first weekend in her new apartment. She originally planned to move in the following week, but with her doting mother driving her nuts, she’d decided to move sooner. With Caelan gone on a trip, she was sure he wouldn’t mind, especially if he didn’t have to lug her stuff up the stairs.
She was the luckiest sister in the world. When she’d decided to attend Illinois Institute of Technology to get her degree in Architecture, her older brother, Caelan, had converted the upstairs level of his home into a separate apartment for her, claiming he didn’t want her living in Bronzeville - even if it would’ve been in the IIT dorms - by herself. Instead he’d proposed she move in with him plus he would provide her with a car to get back and forth.
Sitting with the sheet pooled around her waist, she tried to identify what had woken her. True, her brother’s home in Evanston was in a nice area, but it was a far cry from the sleepy antiquing town of Galena, where her mother now resided. When she couldn’t hear anything, she laid back down after attributing it to her over active imagination. She was just drifting back to sleep when another muffled scream sounding like a woman crying out for help had her scrambling out of her bed.
Running a shaky hand through her hair, she shoved her feet into her old worn bunny slippers before rushing out of the room. Stumbling down the darkened staircase separating her apartment from her brother’s she cried out when she missed a step twisting her ankle. The pain was tremendous but her urgent need to help the woman drove her on. Now that she was down stairs, she could hear the sounds of pleading a bit better. They were still muffled but the volume was much louder as if they were coming from the bowels of Caelan’s home. Limping the last few feet to her brother’s door, she found the spare key to his apartment on her key ring and jammed it into the lock. She was glad she remembered to grab her keys because she knew the stabbing pain in her ankle wouldn’t have allowed her to go back upstairs.
Gritting her teeth against the agony radiating up her calf, she used the wall and furniture for support while she hobbled across the hardwood floors of Caelan’s living room. Following the sounds of the escalating cries, her only objective was helping the woman. She had no idea what she was going to do when she found her, but she had to do something to help.
She was breathing hard after using the double hand rails to make it down to the cool interior of the basement. Stopping a moment to catch her breath, she could see a narrow rectangle of light at the end of the short hall. Trying to keep her weight off her bad leg, she slowly negotiated her way to the door. Hanging onto the partially opened doorway, she closed her eyes against the nausea threatening to overwhelm her. Releasing a soft sob, she forced the agony from her mind when the sound of flesh being struck followed by a feminine cry had her eyes opening.
In the center of the well-lit room, she could make out the partial view of a woman who was strapped face first to a tall wooden X with her back bare, wearing nothing more than a thin thong and several stripes of reddened flesh. With her view blocked by two men standing close to the woman with their backs to the door, she fought with herself. Should she call the police? The throbbing in her ankle told her there was no way she could make it back up the stairs to the phone. But how can I just leave her there?
Nibbling on her lip, she was looking around the room for something she could possibly use to stop the men, when the brunet turned toward her. Stumbling back when recognition washed over her, she shook her head. She just couldn’t relate her loving brother to this man. He wore nothing more than a pair of dark leather pants while he conversed with the other man. The stark desire on his face had her feeling like an interloper. This was not a situation she was comfortable in. Moving further back into the hallway, she was tempted to flee but couldn’t. Not only was the pain holding her prisoner, her concern for the woman was still lingering. She couldn’t help but wonder about Caelan’s involvement. While his personality was bit chauvinistic when it came to taking care of the women in his life, he was unfailingly gentle. Seeing him with a restrained woman who was obviously being whipped just didn’t add up.
“Better…” Hearing his Irish brogue had her inching forward against her will. “You gave her the firm stroke she wanted. Just remember - never around her kidney area. You could cause serious damage there with even a flogger.”
How could the girl want this?
Evidently she wasn’t the only one questioning it because the other man voiced her very thoughts.
“Damn Caelan, are you sure this is what she wants? Those welts have to sting like a bitch!”
Kalinda’s breath came faster when she figured out who the other man was. Between the unique shade of his hair - a dark gold, and his slight English accent it could only be Joshuah Redding. She’d met him last summer when her friend Nisey had been hired to work at one of his shops. He was the owner of several custom tailoring and embroidery shops in the Near North area. She’d had a crush on him ever since. What the hell was he doing here?
“Ask her, Josh.” Caelan’s voice was firm.
Josh seemed to take a moment to process Caelan’s order before complying. “What level are you at, slave?”
“Green, Sir.” The woman’s voice was ragged. “Please…Sir…I need more.”
Kalinda was surprised at the desperate need she heard in the woman’s voice. This wasn’t the brutal assault she’d first thought. She’d run downstairs, in the process spraining her ankle, to not find a woman being abused but a woman enjoying what was obviously a consensual BDSM scene. Sinking back against the wall, she closed her eyes. God, I've got to quit being so damn impulsive. She tentatively put her weight on her ankle. The resulting pain had black spots dancing before her eyes. Fuck, there is no way I can make it back upstairs without them knowing. Embarrassment flushed her checks at the thought. I’m stuck here until they finish, so I can have one of them call me an ambulance.
Holding herself still, she tried to ignore her surroundings. The sounds of flesh being struck, the begging pleas from the woman should’ve been a turn-off but they weren’t. Kalinda had read everything she could get her hands on about BDSM. She even knew enough to recognize what ‘levels’ were but she had never actually experienced a true scene before. She’d wanted too but hadn’t found a man she could trust that much. The closest she’d come was the time her last boy-friend had gotten rough during sex and hit her ass. He’d immediately begged her forgiveness and ruined the moment. The climax that had been within her reach - her first with a man - had slipped away.
Now she was stuck in the hallway with her ultimate fantasy going on mere feet away. When the cries suddenly stopped, she assumed they were finished and pushed off the wall. She realized her mistake when she glanced in the room. The woman was still restrained. The trembling of the woman’s splayed legs and her fast breathing told Kalinda this scene was far from finished. Like a deer caught in headlights, she couldn’t look away, especially when Josh moved closer to the woman.
“Let’s see how badly you need it, slave.”
Almost as if he
realized she couldn’t see, her brother who had been standing closer
to the woman stepped aside, giving Kalinda a clear view. The
glistening fluid on the woman’s inner thighs told of the woman’s
ecstatic pleasure. She watched as Josh shoved aside the crotch of the
restrained woman’s thong then thrust his fingers inside
the
moaning slave. Kalinda’s heart raced. When his fingers withdrew she
could see the sticky cream of the other woman’s arousal on them.
She nearly gave away her hidden presence with a moan when Josh stuck
them in his mouth and cleaned them off. Oh
my God, that should be illegal.
“Damn, Caelan, I do believe she was telling the truth. She definitely is a horny little slut.” Josh’s voice was full of amusement and a touch of satisfaction as if he were pleased he’d brought the woman to such a high level of arousal.
Caelan chuckled and the slave began to plead again.
“Please, Sir…please!” She tugged against the leather restraints.
When Josh backed away from the woman Kalinda could tell he’d turned serious. His moment of revelry with Caelan was over. He was once more focused on the woman. “As you wish.”
Anticipation filled Kalinda when he stepped back to resume his position behind the woman. The fluid arc of his arm as it drew back and the resulting thwacking sound from what she assumed was a flogger had her breath catching hard in her throat. Her nipples beaded under her sleep shirt as her softly exhaled moan joined the harsher moan of the other woman. Clinging to the door, Kalinda’s world narrowed down until the only thing that mattered was the scene playing out before her. Her desire climbed steadily as Josh gave the woman stroke after stroke on her upper back and ass. The woman seemed to writhe against the wooden X even harder the faster the blows fell. Kalinda longed to feel the burn of the flogger against her own skin.
Standing in the shadows, Kalinda tried to fight her need masturbate. I can’t do this here. If Caelan turns he’ll see me. When a particularly hard blow had the slave fighting against the bonds holding her, Kalinda’s self–control broke. She shoved her hand under the sleep shorts she was wearing to bury two of her fingers inside of her aching pussy. Watching the fiery path of the flogger draw broader strokes across the slave’s reddened skin, Kalinda wanted to be her. Oh God what does it feel like? I want to be the one giving up my body to Josh. The idea had her panting as she rubbed her thumb over her clit. She’d give anything to be the one under Josh’s flogger right now. She wanted to feel the helplessness of being restrained - to feel the erotic bite of the flogger and know that Josh was the one controlling it - that she had no other course but to accept what he gave. She bit down hard on her lower lip to keep the plea from spilling from her mouth.
With the pain of her ankle now forgotten, she leaned hard against the door to free her other hand. It immediately went to her cloth covered nipples. She alternated pinching them as she drew closer to the edge. Sweat beaded on her forehead and between her breasts. She was so close - just a few more strokes and she’d come.
“Please, Sir…I want to… no, I need to…come!”
The cry of the slave while she arched her body towards the downward swings of the flogger nearly pushed Kalinda over the edge.
Oh God, yes! Beg for it, you bitch. Kalinda would’ve been appalled at her own thoughts if lust hadn’t clouded her mind. Gone was the good girl who did what her mother expected, while in her place was the horny submissive woman she longed to be. Rubbing her clit faster, Kalinda’s blood was pounding in her ears. She tensed as she felt the approach of her orgasm when Josh’s voice reached her.
“Don’t you dare come! A good slave knows she has to wait until her Master gives permission.” His voice was tight with restrained desire, and if he hadn’t had his back to her, Kalinda would’ve sworn Josh was speaking to her. Giving her nipple a brutal twist, she allowed herself to fall into the fantasy.
“Please, Sir!” Kalinda wasn’t sure if the words had come from her mouth or the slave’s as her body trembled on the edge of gut wrenching pleasure.
“No! Do not come.”
Her climax stalled at his command. A low whimper escaped her when her thumb eased its pressure on her clit. She could almost feel the thuds of the flogger landing against her willing flesh. She didn’t recognize the woman she was now, but only knew she had the desire to obey - she no longer controlled her body - Sir did.
Unaware of the moans, pants and gasps coming from her throat, she hovered on the edge of nirvana. It never occurred to her that one of the men had finally felt her presence. She nearly sobbed in relief when Sir finally gave his long-awaited permission.
“Now come for me, slave.”
She choked as his command released a wave of violent pleasure which battered her body. The bone-jarring sensation weakened Kalinda’s knees. She fell towards the floor never hearing the muttered curse her brother uttered as he caught her. As the pleasure finally eased, pain from her forgotten ankle rushed in. A low moan of agony slipped past her lips before she blacked out.
* * * *
“Come on Brat, wake up. Don’t do this to me.” Hearing her brother’s thick Irish brogue, she tried to focus on Caelan and not the agonizing throbbing of her ankle. Taking a few deep breaths, she was finally able to focus on him. A flush filled her face when his worried face filled her vision. Fuck, I stepped in it this time. Not only did I spy on something I never should’ve, I masturbated until I came. Her moan of embarrassment turned to one of pure agony when a pair of hands gently prodded her ankle.
“Damn, she’s gonna need an ambulance, Caelan. Go call them, I’ll stay with her.”
Even through the red haze of pain, she latched onto the soothing voice. Sir. He was here - he’d make sure she’d be okay.
She was vaguely aware of her brother leaving. When a hand cupped her chin, she looked up into a pair of the most beautiful midnight blue eyes. Immediately her haze filling her from her orgasm and the resulting fall cleared. Licking her lips, she said the first thing that came to her mind. “Let me up.” She pushed his hands away from her body.
He immediately pushed her back down. “Don’t. Stay put, I don’t want you making your ankle worse. It’s swollen as a grapefruit. You’re not to move until the paramedics get here.”
She crossed her arms over her still beaded nipples. “Then don’t you think that you should go take care of your friend.” She glanced towards the wooden cross only to see that it was now empty.
“Already been taken care of - she’ll be fine.”
When the left side of his mouth quirked her heart started racing.
“But not as fine as you’re going to be when it happens the first time for you.”
Her eyes widened as panic filled her. He couldn’t know that I came with her. His attention was on her - not me. Even as she reassured herself, the knowing look in his eyes had her mouth going dry. “What do you mean?”
“Any woman who can ignore the pain of an obviously badly injured ankle while still having one hell of an orgasm from just watching me flog another woman, is going to be a spitfire the first time she’s under the whip. In fact that’s what I’m going to call you.”
“I didn’t…” She flushed and tried to divert her gaze from his.
“Liar.” Josh shoved his hand between her thighs. She jerked when his fingers brushed over her clit as he felt her wetness through the thin cloth. She groaned when she realized she’d just given him a sure sign of how sensitive her clit was.
“Both wet and highly sensitive yet you’re trying to say you didn’t come. I’m not buying it. You climaxed.” He brushed his thumb over her clit again. When she gasped he smiled, obviously savoring her reaction to his touch. “The next time it happens, I’ll be experiencing it firsthand.”
“Yeah right.” Trying to hide behind false bravado had little effect when he pinched her clit through her sleep shorts, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through her.
“That’s not just a promise, spitfire, it’s a guarantee.”
The desire in his eyes had her catching her breath. Fuck I can’t do this. Not only is he Caelan’s friend, he’s way out of my league.
Before she could voice her protest at his audacity, Calean re-entered the room with an ice pack and something for her pain. Even as she lowered her eyes from Josh’s intense gaze only one thought filled her mind, I came from simply watching him flog another woman. Not only did it turn him on, he’s ready to pursue this. I’m so fucking screwed.
Chapter One
Two years later
Staring out of the plane window, Kalinda shifted in her seat. She was finally going home. Whether it would be to stay or not was yet to be determined. She missed Caelan and Nisey like hell, but with frequent trips home and visits from them she was surviving. Los Angeles was a big city - there was tons of stuff to keep her busy but it still wasn’t Chicago. She didn’t want to admit it but she’d left her heart in Chicago two years ago when she’d left Joshuah Redding behind at his insistence. Not that he’d given her much choice. His insistence at taking the internship so she could explore her sexuality had hurt. She hadn’t wanted another Dom to teach her anything - she’d wanted him. It had been nothing more than an excuse he used to get me out of his life after I failed to please him sexually. Otherwise he wouldn’t have told me that after the first and only time we fucked.
“You need to quit thinking about him, chérie.” Dominic’s soft Cajun accent drew her from her morbid thoughts as the plane got ready to taxi down the runway. She took comfort in the reassuring presence when he held her hand as the plane started to move.
“I know, Dominic, but it’s easier said than done.”
The familiar spark of attraction flared between them when he pressed her hand against his lips. Her breath caught in her throat when he nibbled on the tender flesh of the inside of her wrist. Streaks of pleasure and pain as he nipped at her skin had her closing her eyes. Dominic LaFontane had come into her life when she needed a strong man the most. Add to that his constant praise of her ability to please him and he was perfect.
When she had arrived in L.A. two years ago, she’d been nothing more than a wounded, heart-broken woman. One who didn’t understand why the man to whom she’d given her ultimate submission had turned her loose. Then she’d met Dominic on her first day of her internship with one of the prominent architectural firms. All it had taken was one look into his dark chocolate colored eyes for her to know she’d found a kindred soul. The familiar pain she saw in her own eyes every morning was reflected in his. He’d been hurt just as she had.
A few months later after a few drinks - all right more than a few if she wanted to be honest, Dominic had carried her out of a fetish club after seeing her hanging limply from a Saint Andrews cross barely conscious. He’d taken her home before telling her firmly that he would tolerate no more of her antics. She wasn’t going to willing endanger her body just because her heart was broken…
Sitting on her couch, she tried to fathom why the man in front of her cared whether or not she lived. She ignored the pain of her torn back while wishing she could slide into the welcoming darkness of unconsciousness. She’d gone to Gilded Lily in hopes of driving the feel of Josh’s touch out of her memory. Surely one Dom was the same as another.
She’d paid the manger of the club all the spending money Caelan had sent her. She’d wanted someone - anyone - to cane her while she was bound. She hadn’t realized at the time that the Dom would ignore the agreed upon safe word. Evidently Safe, Sane, and Consensual wasn’t practiced by the members of the Gilded Lily. All she could remember is the numbing pain before the familiar face of her brother’s friend filled her tear-filled vision. He’d took her down from the cross before walking out of the club without regards to the vehement protests of the Dom who she’d paid.
“Do you have a death wish, Kalinda?” Raking his hand through his short dark hair, Dominic paced back and forth across the small living room of her efficiency apartment.
She barely was able to mumble a “No” before she slipped back towards the welcome darkness of unconsciousness.
“Oh no, you don’t! You’re going to talk to me this time. This has got to stop or you’re going to end up dead. I’ll be damned if I have to explain to your brother why the hell you self-destructed while I did nothing to stop it.”
She cried out in fresh agony as he jerked her off the couch. The cuts and welts on her back throbbed when he dragged her down the short hall to her bathroom. Efficiently he began to strip her despite her slapping hands.
“Stop.” Her sobs seemed to have little effect on him.
He growled and gave her a ‘not so gentle’ shake. “No! This is gonna stop. If you need a Dom look no further. I’ll dominate you before I’ll let you continue on this destructive path.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and wobbled on her feet. “No.” Stumbling away from him, she turned on the water as hot as she could stand it. Standing under its pounding spray she whimpered as the hot water touched the cuts and welts on her back. When she finally couldn’t stand the pain anymore, she shut the water off, and stood trembling on the cold porcelain while Dominic carefully wrapped her in a towel. Cradling her in his arms, he’d walked out of her bathroom to carry her to her small twin bed. Laying her down on her stomach across the towels he’d covered her bed with, he sat down next to her hip. Reaching for the bottle of witch hazel, he opened it.
“This discussion isn’t over, chérie. Rest tonight. We’ll deal with this in the morning.” Taking the soft cotton handkerchief out of his pocket, he folded it in fourths before dumping a generous amount of the fluid on it. Setting the bottle back on the small nightstand next to her bed, he began to gently dab at the various cuts and welts the riding crop had left on her pale skin…
“You’re doing it again, Kalinda. Don’t make me have to spank you again, chérie.”
She pulled his hand to her mouth. “I wasn’t thinking about him, Dom. I was thinking about the night you saved me.” She rested her head on his shoulder. While Dominic had never offered her his permanent collar, he was now the only man she trusted aside from her brother. Dominic’s understanding but firm hand when she’d shown up at his apartment to kneel for her needed punishment had given her peace. When it became too much, he had gotten through to her when nothing else had. While their relationship hadn’t started out as sexual in nature, about six months after he’d found her at the Gilded Lily, they’d become lovers.
A low sigh escaped him. “That’s nearly as bad. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you hanging from that cross. You’re never to endanger yourself that way again, Kalinda.”
“Of course not!” She tipped her head to stare over at him. “Next time I’ll take you with me.”
“Brat!” He pinched her side.
“So I’ve been told.” Letting her head rest on his shoulder, she took comfort in his presence. “Thank you for coming with me, Master.”
“I’d never let you face him alone, chérie.” He pressed his lips against the top of her head.
* * * *
Standing outside of Caelan’s door, Josh paced while he waited for his friend to answer. The door finally opened to reveal Caelan’s sub, and the best embroiderer that Josh employed, wearing nothing more than a short robe and her thin silver collar engraved with the Claddagh.
“Master Josh?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. The little imp knew why he was here.
“This isn’t funny, Nisey. Where’s Caelan? Since you won’t give me the information, I’ll get it from him.”
She simply giggled. “Ah, sorry about that, Master Josh. I’ve been bad, haven’t I?” When he scowled down at her, she giggled once more before stepping back. “Well don’t just stand there, come in. Máister is in his study.” With a flick of her dark red ponytail, she walked back down the hall.
Closing the door behind him, he followed. His frustration grew as he waited for Nisey to complete her formal greeting to Caelan. His foot tapped impatiently when she knelt at the door to Caelan’s home office. Although he couldn’t understand Caelan’s words, he could tell by the tone of his friend voice that he’d obvious interrupted their playtime. He had no sympathy for him though. If that damn Irish bastard would’ve at least picked up the phone, he wouldn’t have had to make a trip over to his house and Caelan could be dominating Nisey to his heart’s content without any interruptions.
He vaguely heard Nisey’s formal request as she let Caelan know he was waiting.
“Master Josh is here and wishes to speak to you.”
Josh heard the roll of casters before Caelan appeared in the open door. His white dress shirt was open to the waist while his dark hair had a mussed look to it, as if his sub had been running her fingers through it.
Caelan paused beside his sub after he placed his hand on her bowed head. “Go to the playroom and wait for me there, slave.”
“Yes, Máister.” Standing to leave, Caelan stopped her before she got out of ear shot.
“Nisey?”
She glanced over her shoulder and nibbled on her lower lip. “Yes, Máister.”
“Lose the robe. I want you bent over the spanking bench when I come down. I have some punishment to dole out to my impulsive slave.”
Nisey blushed before nodding. “Yes, Máister.”
Caelan watched until she disappeared down the hall before he turned back to Josh. “So why did you come all the way out here, Josh? Surely a phone call would’ve sufficed.”
“It would’ve - if you’d have picked up the damn phone,” Josh retorted as he followed Caelan into his office. Sitting down in the chair adjacent to Caelan’s desk, he waited for the other man to reply.
“Hmm, that’s odd, the phone never rang here.”
Josh’s faced flushed. “Are you calling me a liar?”
Caelan laughed. “Hell no!” Pulling his desk phone closer to him, he chuckled. “Naughty little slave.” He looked back up at Josh. “Seems like Nisey was being greedy, or didn’t want you to talk to me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “She turned the ringer off. Sorry about that. So what can I do for you?”
“Two things. One, tell me what flight your sister is coming in on and two, make sure you give naughty Nisey an extra stroke from me.”
“Really? Now why would I do that?”
Josh raked his hand through his already disheveled hair. “Because she’s being a brat and wouldn’t give me the information for your sister’s flight. If she had, I wouldn’t have had to drive out here. She keeps overstepping her boundaries, Caelan. I know you told her to give me the information after we spoke on the phone last week. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was trying to stop me from seeing Kalinda.”
Caelan pressed his fingers together before answering him. “That she may be, Josh. You tore up Kalinda pretty bad when you sent her out to LA and away from you. Nisey doesn’t take very well to the idea that her friend is still hurting.”
“God damn it! You know why I made her go. If I hadn’t she’d have been tied to my side and she was too young to be collared. Hell, she was only twenty-two. I couldn’t in good conscience do that to her. She deserved to explore the scene before coming back to me. The last thing I want to ever hear out of her mouth is that I deprived her of her chance to explore. You know once I collared her that would be it. She’d be mine. We both know I don’t share what I consider mine.”
Caelan nodded his understanding, before reaching for the yellow pad on his desk to rip off the top page. “This is the information for Kalinda’s flight.” He held the paper out to him. Josh nearly decked Caelan when he pulled it back as he reached to take it.
“Give it to me.” Josh tried to keep his voice calm, but by the look on Caelan’s face he knew he’d failed.
“Are you sure you want to do this? She’s bringing a friend home with her.”
Josh narrowed his eyes. “Man or woman?”
“A man. I met him on a trip out there. He’s good for her.”
“So she picked up a boy-friend. Do you honestly think she’s going to be satisfied with a vanilla relationship after having experienced our lifestyle?” The memories of how Kalinda had burned in his arms had been preying on him since he’d found out she was coming home. He hadn’t been able to think of much else. Between the memories and new ideas of what he had planned for Kalinda to welcome her home had made him such a basket case at work, not only had his sister threatened to brain him, so had Nisey.
Caelan shook his head. “Vanilla is the last thing I’d call Dominic. He’s a member of the BDSM club I visit when I’m in L.A. He’s a Dom, Josh. In fact, he’s the one I asked about the internship for Kalinda. He put in a good word for her…”
A low growl emerged from Josh’s chest at his friend’s words. “You sent her out to L.A. to a known Dom?”
“What the hell are you mad about, Josh? Isn’t that the reason you wanted her to go?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t expecting you to set her up with one of your friends! I figured she’d observe and…”
“…come back to you for the actual experience?” Caelan shook his head in disbelief. “You’re deluded if you ever thought that would actually occur. Kalinda is too impulsive to ever just stand on the sidelines and you damn well know it.”
Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “I wanted to be the only one to show her everything she wanted to experience.”
“Then you shouldn’t have sent her away. I’m trying to be understanding and see your side of things, but I happen to know and like Dominic. He’s a wonderful…”
Josh slammed his fist against the edge of the desk. “I don’t want to hear about how great a Dom he is, Caelan!”
“Shut the fuck up and listen, you bastard.” Caelan rose from his desk to lean over it, his nostrils flaring with anger. Josh realized he may have actually pushed his friend too far. He kept silent until Caelan took a deep breath before he continued.
“Now as I was saying, he’s been a wonderful friend to me and ultimately Kalinda. He was there for her when you weren’t. He’s the friend who called me the night that my baby sister went off the deep end.”
Josh clenched his jaw and mentally counted to ten. He couldn’t help but hear the accusation in Caelan’s voice. Arguing with him wasn’t getting them anywhere. Releasing his breath he strove for calmness before replying. “What exactly are you accusing me of? You think I had anything to do with what she did or didn’t do out there? All I did was let her go.”
Caelan sank back down into his chair. “I thought I understood your reasoning when you let her go. Not to mention, I swore to you I’d never get involved or takes sides between you and her, but it was damned hard not to when I get a two in the morning call from the man I asked to keep an eye on her telling me that he found her at the Gilded Lily.”
Josh paled as he recognized the name. It was one of the most extreme clubs in L.A. They didn’t have set rules or safe words from what he’d heard. He’d specifically warned Kalinda to stay away from that particular club before she’d left. “Fuck! I told her not to go near that place.”
“Either my sister didn’t know what she was getting into or she did it to spite you. My guess would be the later.”
“Damn her!”
“It gets worse, Josh. Dominic found her tied to a St Andrew’s cross being caned. From what he told me, she had used her safe word but the man caning her refused to stop. She was barely conscious when he finally took her off the cross.”
Josh paled. “Jesus Christ! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because having you rush to her side would’ve only made it worse for her when you left again.”
Josh had a sinking feeling in his stomach. “If I’d had known, I wouldn’t have ever left her again. I didn’t want her to endanger her life, Caelan, you got to believe me…” He closed his eyes against the burn of tears. “Please tell me she recovered from it.”
“Yes, she recovered from the cuts and bruises…but that’s all. She’s changed. I just hope you’re not expecting to her to fall back in her previous role in your life. She went through pure hell trying to exorcize you out of her system. Whether she did or not, I don’t know. Although you and I are going to come to blows if it happens again, friendship or not.”
Josh stilled. “So what am I supposed to do? Forget her? Forget about the missing part of me? I’m telling you right now I can’t do it.”
Caelan nodded. “You really fucked up when you let her go, didn’t you? I can’t stop you from approaching her, but I going to ask that if she’s not willing to rebuild your relationship, you let her go - whether you want to or not.”
Clenching his jaw, Josh tried to subdue the urge to slug his best friend in the mouth. His friend knew how hard it had been for him to let Kalinda go in the first place and it went against the very fiber of his being to not reclaim her now that she was coming home. “She’s mine.”
“She was until you choose to let her go. You can’t expect for her to come to your side like a well-trained dog. It’s not going to happen. Despite your best intentions, she took it hard. If Dominic hadn’t been there, I don’t know where she would’ve ended up.”
“And I’ll thank him for that when I meet him.” He rubbed his hand over his face before looking at Caelan once more. “Damn if I don’t know how to royally fuck my life up. I was trying to do the right thing. But all I know is that I’ve missed her like hell since she’s been gone. The prickly attitude she’s given me on her short trips homes hasn’t helped. All I’ve wanted to do is say screw it, then bend her over my knee before reclaiming what is mine without regards to her age.”
Caelan looked sympathetic. “I know this hasn’t been easy for either of you. If you weren’t such a hard-headed bastard, you wouldn’t be in this position now. You should’ve never forced her to go, and she should’ve knocked you upside the head for even suggesting it. You were perfect together. But it did happen and now I have a friend who still wants my baby sister and a sister who’s changed - but not for the better I’m afraid.”
Silence grew in the room as Josh struggled with how to respond. He knew he’d fucked up royally not even a week after she’d flown out to L.A., but he had stayed true to his own personal code despite the pain and void of her absence in his life.
“Here.”
Dragging his eyes to the outstretched piece of paper Caelan was holding in his hand.
“Take it.”
“You’re giving it to me? Even after what happened…” He couldn’t believe that Caelan was doing. If it had been Hillary, he’d have beaten the hell out of Caelan.
Caelan nodded. “But you’ve been warned. Don’t hurt her again. Try to give Dominic the respect he deserves, he’s earned it. He’s gone through hell with her and having you try to play top Dom won’t do anything more than piss him off. I won’t back you if you do and he decides to take his frustration out on your stubborn ass.”
Holding the paper in his hands like it was more precious than gold, he gave a weary chuckle. “I do believe you’d do that.” He sobered. “Has he collared her?”
Caelan gave his shoulder reassuring squeeze. “No permanent collar yet. But it’s not that he doesn’t want to. The last time he spoke to me about it, he said he wouldn’t give her a collar without making sure she was over you.”
His heart nearly burst through his chest at Caelan’s words. “So this is a test to see if she’s over me, so he can claim her?”
“You’re going to have to ask him that, Josh. If I were you I wouldn’t wait too long.”
* * * *
Closing the door behind his subdued friend, Caelan rubbed the back of his neck. Damn he hadn’t been looking forward to this conversation all day. While he’d had time to come to terms with Kalinda’s reckless actions in Los Angeles, he knew he was sending a dazed and off kilter Josh to pick her up from the airport. He hoped what he told his friend was enough to shock the other man out of the expectations he had concerning her. He knew his friend had expected that once Kalinda finally returned to Chicago for good, that she’d fall right back into place in Josh’s life.
Caelan wouldn’t have said anything, but he didn’t want to see his friend go up in flames anymore than he did his sister. He’d meant it when he’d said that they were perfect together, but he’d also seen Kalinda and Dominic together and they were perfect together in another all together different way. While Josh was intense - possessive even when it came to Kalinda, Dominic was strong and protective towards her. It was too bad she couldn’t have them both. They both loved her to a distraction, plus he knew both wanted to collar her, but he didn’t think that Josh would be able to share her with the other man. It was quite a shame since he had a feeling that Kalinda needed both of them to find her balance.
“Caelan?” Nisey’s soft voice had him looking up. He frowned when he saw the tears in her eyes. Holding his arms open, she rushed into them. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”
“You and me both, muirnín.” He pressed his head against hers as her slender arms wrapped around his waist.
“He had to know but it still sucks. It had to come from you.” Her words were muffled as she pressed her face against his hard chest.
“Better me than her. I don’t know what would’ve happened if she had been the one to tell him, or heaven forbid, if Dominic told him.” He gave her a gentle squeeze.
She groaned. “Dear Lord, we would’ve heard the explosion all the way over here.”
He chuckled before squeezing her silk covered bottom. “Speaking of coming explosions, weren’t you supposed to be naked in our playroom and bent over a very particular spanking bench?”
“Ummm…” He could hear her fumbling mentally for a good excuse as to why she wasn’t where he’d ordered her to be.
“…you only wanted to make sure I was okay. Is that why you’re not where I told you to be?” Keeping one arm wrapped around her, he rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. He knew her protective instincts towards him made her fret and worry over him and while he understood, he’d had to punish her more than once for being disobedient just because she’d known he was hurting. It was her way of giving him an outlet for his volatile emotions. While he loved her for it, he sometimes wished she wasn’t so perceptive.
“Yes, Máister.” She winked at him.
Giving a mock growl, he swatted her ass with the palm of his hand. “Get your ass downstairs where I told you be, slave. You just earned yourself another punishment.”
Her dark green eyes widened. “Yes, Máister.” She turned to leave but couldn’t resist asking. “Do I get to pick out the paddle?”
“No!” He roared as she scurried away. Watching her disappear down the stairs, he shook his head and sighed with anticipation at the feel of the new flogger which had just arrived. It was time to break it in on her tempting little ass. He thanked the gods every day for his sister’s fateful late night call. Without it he’d have never found his perfect slave.
Chapter Two
The sound of the stewardess’s voice announcing it was time to fasten their seatbelts jolted Kalinda out of the light doze she had fallen into after they’d taken off. Beneath her cheek she could feel the warmth of Dominic’s shoulder. Other than Josh, he had one of the warmest bodies she’d ever experienced. What was it about her attraction to men that produced such massive amounts of body heat? It was one of the few ways Dominic reminded her of her former lover.
His arm which had been wrapped around her moved, and she instantly mourned its loss. Her shoulders felt cold and bereft with his warmth gone. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes before fumbling for her seatbelt. Glancing out of the plane’s window after securing the belt, she took in the familiar landscape surrounding O’Hare International Airport.
She turned away from the view and immediately noticed the damp spot where her head had been on Dominic’s shirt. “Oops, I got you wet again.” It was a common occurrence anytime she laid against him for any length of time. The memory of their damp skin pressed together during ‘aftercare’ had her breath catching in her throat. No matter how hard he employed the paddle, whip or flogger on her tender flesh, he always held her close after their inevitable fucking. It made her feel more than just another willing body, because she felt he actually cared about her as a person.
She looked up to see Dominic’s dark eyes darkening with remembered desire. “I love it when you get me wet, chérie.”
“Seat belt check.” The perky voice of the stewardess had her retort dying in her throat.
Kalinda looked up at the stunning blonde wearing the dark uniform of American Airlines. She knew from experience the stewardess was just doing her job, but she couldn’t help but blush at the underlying sexual current in their conversation, or the prominent bulge that the buckle of his seatbelt seemed to draw attention to. Also knowing he was remembering the same thing as she, made it impossible to watch when the stewardess slipped her fingers under the buckle to check for its fit.
“Good and tight.” The woman’s cloyingly sweet tone had Kalinda wincing. She glanced away. She didn’t think she could stand to watch the other woman fondle Dominic. A weak flare of panic consumed her, despite Dominic’s constant reassurances in the past. He’d never encouraged another woman in her presence despite the fact she did not wear his collar. She was hoping that if he decided he wanted to start a new life in Chicago, she would still be part of it.
“Well I’d hate to fall out if something happened.” Even though Dominic’s low Cajun drawl had her skin tingling with need as always, she knew being flirtatious was part of his charm. She’d seen him use it on both men and woman in L.A. It seemed like hardly anyone was immune to it. He could talk his way into any woman’s pants to satisfy the hard cock pressing against the tight crotch of his chinos.
“Relax, chérie. You can take care of it once we get home.” His knuckles brushed over her cheek bone before taking her hand to cover his obvious erection. She couldn’t help but gently squeeze him. She knew every inch of his body and exactly how he loved to be held. Even his enjoyment in exhibitionism held a special place in her heart. As long as it pleased him, she’d do it without question.
“Well, I never!” With a huff the stewardess moved further down the aisle at Dominic’s blatant lack of response to her obvious charms.
“I’m sure she hasn’t but you have, haven’t you, chérie?” Pressing his mouth against her ear, his tongue brushed over the inner whorls of her ear, leaving streaks of damp heat behind. Without thought, she squeezed him harder, loving the way his hips gave an involuntary buck towards her.
“Yes…” She fought to keep from moaning when he nipped the edge of her ear with his teeth. This was all part of his usual game. He loved to torment her in public, knowing she couldn’t do anything other than stroke him through his clothes. Her need to please him had been one of the founding blocks of their relationship. It had amazed her in the beginning. The familiar need to challenge him as she had Josh was surprisingly absent, however, in its place was the desire to submit to the man who’d rescued her. She knew a simple request was all that was needed for him to give her what she what she desired. He might make her wait for her pleasure as any true Dom would, but she didn’t have to challenge as she had to with Josh to get the same results. In return for his generosity, she’d felt the need to give him anything he wanted. Every thing within her power was his for the asking. Even arousing his body until he almost threatened to split the seams of his pants in front of the whole wide world, if that was what he wanted.
The sound of the wheels striking the tarmac had Dominic pushing her hand away from his cock then lifting her fingers to his lips. The brush of his well-trimmed mustache tickled. While his face was still composed, and to any other person he looked like any other passenger on the plane, the slight elevation of his breath and the solid outline of his erection told another story. He was vastly aroused but didn’t care who knew. It still amazed her how open he was about his sexuality. He could care less what others thought about it. He’d told her many times, “if they didn’t like what they saw, they shouldn’t look.”
* * * *