Command (Changing Roles Book 1) Read online

His lower lip twitched. “She hasn’t violated any safety issues.” He pointed to the Monitor in the room. “And she has a Dungeon Monitor with her.”

  A deep rumble of frustration tumbled from my throat. “Not yet she hasn’t.” It was only a matter of time.

  She paced around Bryce, reaching out a hand to grace him with the taste of her fingers. The cadence of her voice sang a constant rhythm, promising more torment to come.

  Bryce tugged in deep breaths, sobbing. “Mistress, please…”

  She trailed her fingers over his forehead. “Why are you so weak tonight?”

  I shook my head, clearing it from the hypnotic fog her words created. Bryce wasn’t weak; just look at the way she’d worked him over. His body was a mass of purplish bruises and raised welts, but even now he begged for more. She lured with her siren voice, commanding him to accept more.

  Bryce’s body trembled under her touch. “I can take it. Let me prove my worth to you.” He lifted his head and glanced down his body, taking in the welts decorating his flesh. “I will please you, Mistress. I’ll give you my pain.” Tension curled around the edges of his eyes.

  I knew Bryce, professionally, personally, and within the scene. I’d witnessed some of his most intense scenes, yet I’d never once heard the fear that now clung to his words.

  “Hmm…” She trailed her nails over his chest, tracing the angry red lines.

  Bryce’s breathing hitched. His tone had been one of desperation, not desire.

  Her whip arm reared back and flicked forward. The tip scored the top of Bryce’s cock, just below the glans. His back arched off the table with an ear-piercing wail, wrists and ankles jerking in their restraints.

  The man in black took a step forward, hesitated, then retreated when Bryce failed to speak his safe word.

  “Holy shit,” said Kevin. “Did she just—”

  “Yeah, she whipped his cock.” Sympathy pain radiated up my dick. What was it with her fascination with whipping men’s cocks? I was going to have to break her of that before I let her anywhere near mine.

  Kevin cupped his groin.

  I felt the need to protect my dick too. I was caught between respect for her ability to aim and land such a precise strike and the need to charge in there and yank the whip out of her hand.

  It took thousands of hours of practice to learn such fine control. I should know. I taught the courses at Stripes and had only granted a few members privileges in the club. She must spend hours every week in constant practice to maintain such skill.

  She struck two more times, moving down the length of Bryce’s cock in precise strikes. Bryce screamed with each lash. And Kate… I didn’t have words for it. She fed on Bryce’s pain. A true succubus, the woman practically glowed, for lack of a better word.

  I glanced at Kevin. “Scary shit.”

  He merely nodded, his eyes intent on Bryce.

  The man in black took a step forward. “Safe-word check, Mistress.”

  She turned to Bryce. “Do you need to safe-word?” Her tone indicated a “yes” implied the worst possible failure.

  Bryce’s head swung side-to-side in an emphatic “no,” but no words could be heard.

  “Mistress, I must have an answer from your submissive.”

  She grabbed Bryce’s curly hair and bent down to his ear. “Your safe word! Say it now. What is it?”

  “Red, Mistress,” he sobbed. “But I don’t wish to yield.”

  “I’m going to give you a moment…” She stroked his head. “If you choose to continue, you’ll get three more strikes to that fabulous cock. Then I’m going to place needles where I’ve struck you.”

  Bryce’s body heaved.

  She released his hair, and his head sagged back onto the rack.

  My stomach clenched. I couldn’t imagine the pain she inflicted. Where was the tenderness? The union of two souls coming together? Where was the harmony, the beauty?

  This…this was brutal. Cold. Distant. I didn’t like it one bit.

  Had I been mad to think she could be submissive? She was fire and ice. Hot as hell. But also implacable. Frozen solid. God help me, but I ached to warm her soul and mold her into something beautiful.

  Her hand reached back, and her arm snapped forward. As the tip of the whip exceeded the speed of sound, the air crackled like a gun going off. Bryce’s strangled cry followed.

  “Holy fuck!” Kevin stepped forward. His palm pressed to the one-way glass.

  The man in black cleared his throat. “Mistress?”

  Kate held her throw.

  Bryce writhed on the table.

  There was no blood, but three angry welts decorated the underside of Bryce’s cock with a fourth fast forming. Each mark spaced evenly from the tip down the shaft.

  Bryce struggled against his bonds, crying his distress. “No.” His voice choked on his sobs. “Ruin me!”

  She took a step back and glanced at her room Monitor. He nodded, indicating acceptance of the sub’s request. Her arm drew back, and another strike landed.

  Bryce’s lungs emitted a primal scream.

  She coiled her whip and set it aside. While Bryce struggled through the pain, she pulled the metal tray with its needles and barbells over to the table. Sitting beside Bryce, she worked with quick efficiency, slipping on surgical gloves and grabbing a long needle between her delicate fingers.

  “Shit, Kevin, get your ass in there.”

  “I can’t interfere until he safe-words out. You know the rules as well as I do. You helped me write them.” Kevin bit his lower lip, and for a man who cut on flesh for a living, his face had drained of all color.

  I felt the same kind of sick to my stomach, watching what was going on in there. But no way was I barging in. That’s why I’d brought him, to draw her fire.

  She grabbed Bryce’s cock with her free hand. He thrashed, bucking when her hand touched his skin. She stroked him, rubbing orange antiseptic solution over his dick. Her hand moved up and down, her fingers tracing the welts. She leaned over, examining the underside of his cock, pinched some skin, then shoved the large needle through the tissue there.

  Bryce’s mouth fell open in a mindless scream.

  She thrust a second needle through the underside of his cock. Her eyes glinted with a feral emotion. As she inserted the third, Bryce’s lips moved, mouthing a single word over and over again.

  I grabbed Kevin’s shoulder and pointed. “His mouth!”

  Kevin peered through the one-way glass. “Fuck me.”

  Another needle pierced Bryce’s cock.

  Without a word, Kevin walked to the door and yanked it open. “Mistress Kate.” His voice came low and commanding. “Step away. Now.”

  The perfect picture of composure, she stood and pulled off the rubber gloves. “I have consent.” She gestured to the man in black standing in the corner. “You have no right to interrupt.”

  “I won’t repeat myself,” said Kevin. “Step into the hall now.” He gestured for her to precede him out of the room, then turned to the Dungeon Monitor. “Watch over him.”

  The man in black nodded. “Yes, Master Kevin.”

  She walked into the hallway and stopped short when she caught sight of me. Her hands curled into fists. “You fucking bastard.”

  Kevin shut the door, leaving Bryce alone with the man in black who came to stand by his side.

  “Mistress Kate,” said Kevin, “your sub is incapable of safe-wording. You must stop.”

  She ignored Kevin. She turned to me, and her gaze bore right into my soul, flashing with venomous fire.

  I took a step toward her, pointing to the glass, ready to take her on. “Shit, Kate. Your sub is so fucking gone, his mind isn’t working. He’s chanting ‘red’ over and over again.”

  “No, he’s not.” Her eye twitched.

  Did she just lie, or had she really missed it? Either way, it was a dangerous mistake.

  “He worships the ground you walk on. And you’ve lost your footing. You’re done here.”
>
  She ignored my proclamation, moved right over it, like I had no authority over her. “What the hell are you doing here, Jake Davenport?”

  My shoulder blades drew together. God, I hated when she used my full name. So demeaning, and she knew it. She used it as a verbal put-down, but I wasn’t going to let her get the better of me.

  “You have no business running this type of scene, not after what you’ve been through today.” I looked to Kevin for backup.

  He stood there, hands clasped behind his back, saying nothing. Bastard was no help. What was he waiting for?

  She took a step toward me, and for the love of God, I took a step back. Bad move. “What are you implying?” Her left eyebrow lifted in challenge. “If you’re going to make accusations, then you’d better have something to base them on.”

  Damn her.

  I advanced on her, correcting my previous mistake. No way was I going to back away from a fight. “You’re not safe.”

  “I’m always safe…Jake Davenport.” She poked my chest with her finger.

  The intoxicating scent of leather and her natural perfume filled my world, and I couldn’t help but breathe her in. My cock swelled, just the distraction I didn’t need. She was my kryptonite. The woman could make a man’s knees buckle, but I wasn’t giving in so easily. Really bad timing for the needy bastard to get hard, but being so close had my head spinning from lack of oxygen. Or was that the blood draining to my cock?

  “Be very careful what you’re accusing me of,” she said. “My mind is just fine.”

  Kevin put his hands on each of our shoulders and pulled us apart. “Easy, you two.” He turned to Kate, putting himself between us, shoving me back a step. “Mistress Kate, Jake’s right about Bryce. He started mouthing ‘red’ the moment you inserted the needles. You missed it, and your Monitor couldn’t see it from where he was standing. For the safety of your sub, as well as yourself, your scene is over. Club rules.”

  She regarded Kevin, not saying a word. Finally she spoke. “I disagree, Master Kevin. I won’t progress with the piercings, but I can’t leave Bryce in this state. I need to end the scene.”

  Kevin rolled his lower lip between his teeth and took a breath. “That’s not possible. The scene is terminated.”

  She shook her head. “I won’t do the piercings, but leaving him like that is damaging to his mental state. I’m finishing the scene.”

  “Club rules—” began Kevin.

  “Fuck club rules. Bryce came into this with an expectation to face a longtime desire for a piercing. Since that’s just changed, I’m giving him an alternative. Something he’ll never forget.” She turned to me and gave me a look of challenge.

  “You’ll be censured by the Board,” said Kevin, resting his hand on her shoulder. “I have no choice… If you go back in there, there will be consequences.”

  She gave a shrug. “Whatever you think is reasonable, but I won’t leave him. He’s under my care.”

  I threw my hands in the air. “You’re not going to let her back in there, are you?” No way was I letting this happen.

  Kevin gave me a look that told me I’d lost this battle. “Bryce deserves some form of aftercare.”

  She pulled at the collar of my shirt. “Don’t ever fuck with one of my scenes again. What I do takes focus. Breaking my rhythm in the middle ruins the experience for my submissive. I’m not leaving him like that.”

  A faraway look overcame her. Her voice dropped to a whisper, and I barely heard her next words. “It can damage a person.”

  I gritted my teeth, wondering if something had happened to her during a scene. “If that experience is pure torture, I might agree with you. You know I’m right. If I ever catch you doing this again, I’ll yank your privileges to this club. I don’t care what your reputation is, or how they worship you around here. Don’t push me.”

  Her eyes narrowed. She leaned in close. “Jake…you know what I think?” Her breath caressed my cheek.

  “Yeah, darlin’?” I loved how her spine stiffened when I used that endearment. She could call me whatever the hell she wanted, and I’d call her darling. Hell, as long as she was thinking about me, I didn’t care.

  She dragged a finger across my chest, sending blood racing south. “I think you’re jealous it’s not you in there.”

  True, but not in the way she thought. If I were in there, she’d be the one strapped to the table, and right now, I’d be punishing her ass.

  I grabbed her upper arms. The fabric of my pants stretched tight. A ravenous hunger had me in its grasp. I hadn’t experienced chemistry like this with a woman in years.

  Leaning in, I pressed my lips to hers. I had no idea what I was doing, except I needed to shut her up and show her exactly how wrong she was about which one of us would be in charge.

  My lips clung to hers. My tongue swept the silky dip between her lips, seeking entrance to the waiting heat of her mouth, anticipating her surrender. I lifted her up and held her against me, needing to feel her body meld into mine like it had back at her office.

  I could have been kissing a two-by-four for all the heat she returned. Shit, my balls contracted, running for high ground as my dick deflated. Probably getting ready for the swift kick it knew was coming. Smart little fucker.

  Kevin cleared his throat.

  My fingers couldn’t unclamp fast enough. I put her down and stepped away, protecting my assets with a hand hovering over my groin.

  What the hell?

  The stare she gave me, fleeting as it was, made my head spin. A kick to the nuts, or a swift slap to the face, I deserved. The proper response to anger was something I understood. Instead she gripped her stomach, and her face drained of all color.

  Was she going to puke? Talk about a confidence anti-boost.

  I glanced at Kevin, who had retreated to the far wall. My wingman gave a less than helpful what-the-fuck shrug. The accompanying you’re-an-idiot headshake was no help either.

  Kate took my moment of distraction to dart back in the room, slamming the door with a solid thud. I’d never had a woman run so fast from me.

  Kevin chuckled. “What were you thinking?”

  “Shut up.” I turned, placed my palms on the one-way mirror, and leaned my forehead against the glass.

  She was supposed to kiss me back. In her office, when I held her in my arms, she had melted in my embrace. Heat had flared between us, an attraction too strong to ignore. No way had I read that wrong. And our kiss. I hadn’t mistaken that kiss, or the hint of surrender in her body.

  Now I had to watch while she laid her hands on another man. I wanted to break through the glass and yank her out of the room.

  What then?

  Drag her upstairs to my bed? Kicking and screaming, or worse, puking her guts out? No, that wasn’t the way. My fingers curled, squeaking as they dragged against the glass.

  She rubbed Bryce’s chest, working down to his belly. “I like my marks on your skin, Bryce. Do you?” Her voice cracked, stress showing.

  “Yes, Mistress, I do. It will be even more of an honor to wear your piercings.”

  She pulled out one of the needles.

  Bryce groaned as the metal dragged through his flesh.

  “You have suffered for me.” She removed the other needles. “But this is too much.”

  A strangled cry escaped his throat. “Please, don’t stop.”

  “That is for me to decide. Today is not the day.”

  He breathed out a ragged sigh. “I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough.”

  “You were stronger than I could ever hope for.” She dabbed his skin with gauze, removing the blood. She looked up and stared at the one-way glass. Her reflection would greet her, but she meant the look to scorch my heart.

  She went to speak with the man standing in the corner. He gave her something, and she returned to Bryce.

  “That you would give the gift of your pain pleases me. I’m going to give something rarely offered. Only a man of true strength earns this h
onor from the Mistress of Pain.” Her gaze lifted again to the glass.

  Oh, hell no. She wasn’t going to fuck him, was she? Mandy told me she never had sex with her submissives. I did not want to see this, but no way could I turn away.

  “Mistress?” A tremor of shock vibrated through Bryce’s voice.

  “Be silent,” she commanded.

  My hands fisted as she tore at a tiny packet and unrolled a condom over Bryce’s cock.

  “What did you do to make that woman hate you?” Kevin laughed at me.

  “She doesn’t hate me. She sees me as a threat.”

  “Maybe you should stop kissing her.” Kevin arched a brow. “She didn’t seem to like it very much.”

  “Guess I read her wrong.” Only I knew I hadn’t, but it seemed I had Kate’s signals all messed up.

  “That’s not like you.”

  I moved away from the window and turned with a frustrated growl. I couldn’t stand watching her with another man. I needed her.

  Kevin turned down the hall, heading to the elevators. “You need to come clean about Lizzy.”

  A hiss of breath escaped my clenched teeth. “What do you want me to say?”

  “If there’s any part of you that ever cared about Lizzy, you should start with the truth.”

  “It’s not like I dated the girl.”

  We fell into step together, and Kevin wrapped an arm around my shoulder, lending the support only a longtime friend, someone who’d become my brother, could give.

  “You say…Lizzy was a girl you mentored. You haven’t seen her lately, but you knew her. Keep it simple, but tell the cop.”

  My history with Lizzy was complicated. She’d been a rescue project both highly successful and one of my worst failures.

  My psycho father, BlackJack Davenport, had stolen her from underneath me to humiliate me. I was never quite sadistic enough for the prick, not like Josh. I’d never been good enough in my father’s eyes. When I found out what he was making Lizzy do, I had no choice but to steal her back and leave town.

  I had run off, licking my proverbial wounds, too weak to fight my father. I saved that girl twice, only to have her wind up dead.

  When Kate showed Lizzy’s picture around the club, I’d been interested because I hadn’t seen Lizzy for a few years. I wanted to find out whom she’d wound up with. I’d been surprised to hear she’d gone missing, and even more furious to find out she’d died. When Kevin had uncovered the video, my insides churned with guilt. Lizzy liked the edge, and the edge killed her.