Desired Page 24

  Kenzie easily sideswiped any further questioning by turning to Ella and asking, “Did that dipshit husband of yours go home?”

  Ella smiled. Kenzie had such a bold way about her. Where Presley was sweet and Cora was sassy, Kenzie was just straight to the point. She actually liked that about Kenzie, and respected it. “From what I hear, he’s back in Savannah.”

  Three days ago, she’d received a call from Rory’s friend Sean. He’d told her that Rory had come home. Also that after a stern warning from Sean, Rory had indicated that he planned to move on with his life.

  And that was that.

  She never received a take care of yourself from Sean. Just curt, to the point good riddance. Ella didn’t give a flying flip anymore. She had met some of the most fantastic people, the ladies with her now.

  “Thank god for that,” Cora said, raising her wineglass. “Out with the old. In with the new and kinky.”

  “Precisely,” Ella agreed.

  But her mind kept spinning back to the same thing she couldn’t stop thinking about. And looking into the faces of Presley and Cora, she suffered that hot pang of jealousy. She wanted what they had. She wanted Kyler to take her to higher pleasures until she forgot her hangover.

  Only problem?

  How to get him to agree?

  “So …” Ella said, tucking her legs under her. “Speaking of kinky fun, I could use some advice.”

  Kenzie bounced in her seat. “Kinky advice. I like.”

  Cora rolled her eyes at Kenzie, then said to Ella, “Of course, we’re here for you. Believe me, we need girl time like this. The men can drown us in testosterone.”

  Presley smiled, patting Ella’s legs. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes and no,” Ella admitted, trying to wrap her head around her messy thoughts. “Since you know about what happened with Rory—”

  “The asshole,” Kenzie interjected.

  Ella grinned. “Well, let me ask this. Before I came to Club Sin, did Kyler play roughly with women?”

  Cora’s brows rose. “Of course.”

  “Figured as much,” Ella replied, a frown pulling at her mouth. “From what you’ve seen of us, he seems to be gentler with me?”

  “Big-time,” Kenzie replied.

  “See, and that’s the problem.” Ella huffed.

  Presley’s brows pinched together, and her voice softened. “Because he won’t do that with you?”

  “Exactly,” Ella replied.

  “He’s just worried about you,” Cora said, her long hair trailing over her shoulder. “It speaks to the depth of his feelings for you that he’s been so gentle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that way with anyone.”

  Of course, hearing that made Ella feel good. All the same, it was exactly what she didn’t want. Now with the floodgates open, and without the worry of being judged, she spoke the truth. “I want him to get over it—to stop treating me like I’m a victim.”

  Kenzie’s eyes widened over the rim of her wineglass. “You want him to get over the fact that you’ve been abused?” At Ella’s nod, she added with a grimace, “That would make him a shitty Dom. And Club Sin isn’t about that. The Masters pride themselves on caring for the submissives.”

  Coming from the woman who purposely annoys the Masters. Maybe Kenzie needed to take her own advice, but who was Ella to tell her that? She sighed and then admitted, “I understand that, I do. But at some point, he needs to stop treating me like I’m fragile.”

  “Are you fragile?” Cora asked.

  “No,” Ella replied without pause.

  Cora shook her head, her mouth pressing into a firm line. “You answered me way too fast, which is probably why he’s refusing to take you deep into a scene.” She picked up her wineglass. “You cannot have gone through what you did without having scars.”

  “I do have a scar.” The reminder would never leave her, and she ran her finger over the side of her face, feeling the rough skin. “But I want to move on. Hell, I have moved on. It was ten freaking months ago.”

  Presley gathered Ella’s hand in hers. “You’re asking Kyler to do the unthinkable when it comes to Dom behavior. He needs to make sure you’re okay first. And of course he’s going to be hesitant in regard to using force.”

  “Yes, I get that,” Ella grumbled, scanning the women’s faces. “But how do I make him okay with it all?”

  Cora finally said, “You need to be okay with it yourself.”

  “I am.”

  “Are you?” Cora retorted.

  Ella stared at her, feeling the world narrow. She didn’t know what Cora did for a living, but she had suspicions. Cora was too drawn in. Asking too many personal questions. Too focused. “Are you a therapist?”

  “Is it that obvious?” Cora laughed. “I’m actually a social worker for teens. But I’ve dealt with teen abuse situations. It’s not something you can simply forget.”

  Ella took a big gulp of the dry red wine, wishing they’d be more on her side. She wanted to find a way back from this hell, not continue to live stuck in the past. With all eyes focused on her, she lowered her glass. “I know I can’t ignore the abuse. But why on earth is it so important to sit and talk about it all the time? What he needs to know is that I’ve accepted it and moved on with my life. I mean, it was nearly a year ago. Isn’t it time for everyone to let it go?”

  Presley smiled gently and pointed to her heart. “He needs to know you’re okay in here.”

  Cora added, “And while the abuse happened nearly a year ago, Rory was just here, right in your face. Kyler needs to know that what he’s doing is helping, not hurting.”

  Kenzie said, “Yep. And it’s what you’re doing right now that’s stopping him. Sure, you know Rory was a dick. Sure, you kicked him out of your life. Which makes you awesome and strong, Ella. But you downplay the effect it had on you.”

  Ella swallowed, regretting that she’d started this conversation. First, she wasn’t nearly drunk enough. Second, she figured they would side with her, not dig up emotions that she didn’t want to face.

  Cora rose from her seat and came to sit on the coffee table in front of Ella. She placed a hand on Ella’s thigh. “Let me ask this: When you first saw the stitches on your face, what did you think?”

  Staring into Cora’s eyes and trusting her intentions, Ella drew herself back to that time in the hospital. When she went into the bathroom and looked at what Rory had done to her. Her throat tightened. “I felt heartbroken.”

  Cora’s gaze softened, as did her voice. “Have you ever told Kyler that?”

  She looked from to Cora to Kenzie to Presley, feeling a weight in her chest lift—one she hadn’t known had been there. No one here would judge her. They all weren’t looking to her with pity, but with love.

  Maybe she hadn’t shared what she felt then, because no one cared to listen. No one actually asked that question—and within that knowledge, a cold part of her soul warmed. “I guess I haven’t been sharing that with him.” She realized, in this moment, how long it’d been since someone had asked her how she felt. There was no telling her how she should feel, or telling her she needed to get over something, they all simply cared what she went through.

  Love …

  Kenzie gave a firm nod, tipping her wineglass at Ella. “Want a red ass, then start sharing, sweet cheeks!”

  Cora chuckled at Kenzie, then added more softly to Ella, “Doms need vulnerability. It’s what makes them a Dom. Just as you crave to experience a deeper level in a scene, he craves your heart. How can Kyler be the Dom you want him to be if you’re not emotionally vulnerable to him? If you won’t allow him to get close?”

  “True,” Ella admitted with a sigh. “I never looked at it that way. I thought he just wanted to know what happened, not that it was about how I feel.”

  Presley asked, “So, are you ready to bare it all with him?”

  Ella pondered, but she didn’t need too long. In the friendship of these women, she’d realized how much she’d shut down. H
ow much she hadn’t depended on others with the one thing she protected the most—her heart.

  Possibly because until now no one deserved to see that side of her. But things were different—things were safe. A lot of people loved her—without judgment and without the worry of being hurt again. “I’m ready.”

  “Great.” Kenzie smirked sassily. “Because I have a brilliant idea to make that conversation happen and to prove to your big, tough Dom you’re more ready than he thinks you are.”

  Cora frowned. “Now, Kenzie, let’s not get her in trouble.”

  “Quiet.” Kenzie pointed with a glare containing little heat. “We all know that Kyler won’t take a flogger to her, especially since her ex showed up here acting like some man escaping from the nuthouse. You know as well as I do that he won’t forget that image anytime soon.” She rubbed her hands together, her eyes lit with an inner glow. “And it just so happens I have one helluva idea.”

  Tension led Kyler to the dungeon after his shift. The hard rock music set an atmosphere that matched his mood. While he’d heard from Maggie that Rory had returned to Savannah, his mind spun with thoughts of Ella.

  Since the night where she tried her damnedest to push him away, nothing had been the same. And he knew why: She wanted things from him he couldn’t give her … not right now.

  Every time he thought of flogging her, all that flashed in his mind was her swan-diving into the table. Her scar was a constant reminder of the abuse. He couldn’t assume that emotionally she was past it all, without sharing it with him first.

  What kind of Dom would that make him?

  Not one he could live with.

  Every thought, every move he had made, had been centered on helping and healing her, while playing gently and having fun enough to help her live up to her challenge. Now she’d let him in, enough to know what happened, but it still wasn’t enough.

  Possess her soul.

  More than anything, he wanted that vulnerable part of her she didn’t offer to anyone else.

  How to get there?

  Frustrated to be stuck in his head, he moved quickly through the dungeon in search of Aidan and Dmitri. He leaned on his friends, more than once, and knew in this situation he needed some outside advice to be comfortable in his next steps.

  As a casual lover to Ella, he knew his way with her. Completely in love with her, he didn’t want to screw things up. He didn’t want to make mistakes. And he certainly didn’t want to have regrets about his decisions.

  He spotted Aidan, sitting with Dmitri near the spanking bench, so he made his way over to them. Both Doms looked to him with shit-eating grins. Kyler frowned. “What’s with you two?”

  Dmitri chuckled. “I’m thinking this evening is about to get interesting.”

  “Oh, yeah, why?” Kyler asked.

  Aidan gestured toward the spanking bench. “Take a look.”

  Kyler followed his gaze, and all his concerns vanished as his world narrowed on the scene in front of him. He stepped forward, ensuring he saw things right. Presley, dressed in black lace lingerie, knelt on the floor, holding a face in her hands. Then his gaze lifted to Cora, who wore a pink teddy, but that didn’t hold his focus long. The black paddle in Cora’s hand garnered his full attention as it hit a very red bottom.

  “What the fuck,” he bit off.

  Dmitri’s and Aidan’s chuckles sounded behind him as Kyler strode forward, watching that paddle land against Ella’s ass. One. Two. Three. Four. Then he was there, and before Cora got another hit, he growled, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Paddling her.” Cora smacked Ella’s ass with an incredibly hard hit. Ella moaned and Cora smiled. “She asked me to, and who am I to refuse such a delicious request?”

  “Her hard limits are no other Doms touching her,” Kyler said through clenched teeth.

  “Well, I’m not a Dom, am I?” Cora shrugged in her sassy way, her grin sparkling across her face. “And your rules don’t apply to me, do they? Sure, Ella might be in trouble, but what are you going to do about it?” Her eyes twinkled. “Paddle her, maybe spank her?”

  He looked to Ella lying over the spanking bench, and he groaned at her bright red ass. His cock twitched, regardless of his annoyance. Christ, that is a stunning sight. He turned to Cora. “You all are sneaky and are in serious trouble.”

  Cora shook her head with a proud smile. “Nope, not me. I got permission.”

  “Me, too,” Presley replied softly.

  Kyler glanced over his shoulder, glaring at his so-called friends. “Did you, now?”

  “Payback is a bitch, buddy,” Aidan called from the couch.

  Dmitri shook with laughter.

  Kyler narrowed his eyes, but hell, he should have expected to receive some payback. He also figured that Aidan and Dmitri had set up the scene for the women and gave them a plan. Meddling pricks. Maybe he deserved it. He’d poked his nose in their matters often enough, thinking he knew what was best for them, that Kyler mused to himself that he should have expected such an outcome. And, in regard to Club Sin, Ella didn’t belong to Kyler, even if he cared for her—she didn’t wear his collar that marked his ownership. If she had asked Cora for the scene, it was in her right to do so.

  Shedding his frustration, he turned to Ella and ran a hand across her hot bottom, feeling her hard shudder. “Tell me what happened tonight.”

  Ella stayed silent, simply moaning and breathing deeply. Not a surprise. Also, it told Kyler that they had been paddling her for some time. She was dropped into that hazy state of pleasure. While he suspected she knew he was there, since she squirmed beneath his hand and also relaxed, he doubted she’d have it in her to answer his questions.

  Presley said, “Cora paddled her, and I stayed by her face to watch over her.”

  Gazing over Ella, he appreciated that the girls hadn’t tied Ella down. This confirmed Dmitri and Aidan likely had a hand in ensuring Ella’s safety and mental well-being tonight. That eased the tightness in his chest. Leaving a hand on Ella’s back as she panted, he asked Presley, “Tell me, how did she handle the first swat?”

  Presley smiled. “She … well … moaned.”

  Kyler exhaled a long breath, sliding his hand over Ella’s bottom, embracing the warmth. So, my little submissive thinks she knows better than me, does she? While he partly agreed with Ella in the instance, knowing that he’d never have taken her into this scene so soon, he also recoiled that she hadn’t been paddled by his hand. “How about throughout, did she manage well?”

  Cora nodded. “She did.”

  Presley added, “I kept a good eye on her, but she”—her cheeks burned brightly, so classic Presley—“she seemed to enjoy it, and became more aroused as time went on.”

  “She sure did,” Cora said. “She’s right ready to be fucked.”

  Kyler groaned.

  Cora chuckled, grabbing his hand. Before he realized what she was doing, his hand was covered in Ella’s arousal. “Hmm,” Cora murmured with a smirk. “Seems I made her very aroused. Maybe I should keep going.”

  “No,” Kyler growled.

  Cora’s brows rose. “No?”

  He narrowed his eyes, even if he knew there was no heat behind it. Ella had trusted Presley and Cora to allow this, and that, begrudgingly, pleased him. She was depending on others. They must’ve talked about it all before. That meant Ella was sharing her feelings with others. “You’ve proved your point. Go away.”

  Cora bounced on her heels and handed him the paddle. “Gladly.”

  “Yes, Master Kyler.” Presley grinned.

  Kyler moved behind Ella, seeing the arousal on her pink folds exposed with her spread legs. His gaze drank in the sight of her. Then he saw reason, like a brick wall hitting him in the face.

  He ran his hand over her red bottom, knowing his hesitation had been caused by him. Ella had moved on. She’d showed him that now. She was ready. She knew what she wanted or didn’t want, but quite possibly he’d simply been too stuck on what had happ
ened to her.

  Maybe it was time for them both to let it go.

  Now he realized that perhaps he did see Ella as a little broken. Yet she’d been paddled to the point of her ass being bright red, and she was greatly turned on. With this view, he could hardly ignore the turning point for them. Nor couldn’t he deny how strong she was. How the one thing she’d fought for, she found.

  Ella had acted, controlling her desires.

  She hadn’t waited for him to come to terms with it all, she forced him to, because that’s what she wanted. While he was annoyed at their little show, he couldn’t help but be proud of her. Ella wasn’t waiting for new adventures, hoping they would happen; she sought them out.

  Before Cora and Presley left the spanking bench, he turned to them. “Thank you.”

  Presley smiled.

  Cora placed a hand on his arm. “I’m not the only one who deserves to be happy, you know. Always the good man, you are. The good friend. The perfect guy. But sometimes Doms have thick heads, and she’s ready for you to get past this.” Then she hugged him, taking him into a warm embrace. “Just be happy, Kyler. She wants you to be you.”

  He leaned away from her, staring into Cora’s eyes that spoke of their long and close friendship. He believed Ella had opened up to Cora, and nothing pleased him more. That talk apparently led Ella into this scene tonight, which wasn’t the best advice she’d received, but the fact that Ella was sharing her heart with others and trusted them made him elated.

  “You’re right.” He leaned away from her. “It is time for that, isn’t it?”

  Cora nodded, smacking his arm. “Don’t be a stubborn fool.” Then—just like that—she left the area.

  Kyler watched Presley drop onto Dmitri’s lap, and Cora settled in next to Aidan. His friends. Maybe he had been stubborn. Perhaps he’d been too caught up in it all. But when it came to Ella, he wanted to do everything just right.

  Though his little submissive had done what he never would: forced the situation to come to a head. He couldn’t ignore her arousal. He couldn’t ignore how much it turned him on to see her flaming-red ass cheeks, as she rested over the spanking bench. Nor could he ignore his needs.