Chapter Eleven
Tamsyn
Like a baby bird, she opened her mouth for the chocolate drops Merrick continued to offer, her tastebuds going crazy for the small treats. She’d never had chocolate before coming here; such delightful things were not for the womenfolk or the underlings.
Firmly nestled on Merrick’s lap, his erection poking her tender butt, she sucked on the drops in silence as the group of people around her laughed and interacted with each other on equal ground, men and women alike.
She still couldn’t get her head around how things worked here. On one hand, it was similar to the community—women being subservient to men, obeying subtle commands, displaying respect in an appropriate manner—and on the other, there were strong, dominant women demanding the same from submissive men.
Not only that, she’d seen women controlling women, men commandeering other men, and right here in front of her eyes, there was one set of two men with a woman between them, while Mack and Sierra waited for their husband, Liam, to join them.
Crazy wasn’t the word; her mind was on the verge of imploding for the second time in a very short period. Her brain was full of so much new information, new experiences, she didn’t really know how to process all of it.
Walking into the dungeon, as Evander called it, had opened her eyes wide . At the time, when her separation anxiety kicked in at top volume, screeching for Merrick, she hadn’t given any thought as to where he was or what he was doing; she’d only known that she needed to be near him again for the horrible, fearful sensations to leave her alone.
The other Doms had quibbled over how wise it was to take her to him, but Elias stepped up to the plate and took control effortlessly, understanding she wasn’t being a brat , but genuinely needed Merrick.
Still, despite their warnings, she hadn’t been prepared to witness him holding court over his empire, the physical embodiment of a god on earth, wielding that chain link flogger as though he’d been born with it in his hand. Sweat glistening on his chest, trailing down to the waistband of his pants in rivulets, sheening his back and upper arms.
His face had been so serious, his dark eyes unreadable from above, but his concentration was so fierce, as though he was mentally commanding the flogger exactly where to land, directing each chain link to strike precisely where he desired.
She wasn’t ashamed to admit she wanted to run from him every bit as much as she needed to run to him. A pinnacle moment, she supposed, when she realized the man she loved was more powerful than she imagined, that he belonged here.
The question was, did she?
“Mind if we join you?”
Tamsyn’s head lifted at the sound of the blond Dom’s voice. Pressing deeper into Merrick’s chest, she dropped her gaze and swore she was going to drown in a sea of blatant dominance before the night was over.
“By all means,” Elias replied, “please do.”
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one disconcerted by the new arrivals—Tabitha hugged Grit’s arm around her waist and glowered at her brother. Tamsyn recognized the signs of dysfunctional family ties and wondered what happened between them, especially when Jasper sent his sister a resigned glance.
“Relax, little owl. Their problems aren’t yours,” Merrick whispered in her ear. When she peeked up at him, he grinned at her. “Don’t forget I can read you. As soon as you heard his voice, you stiffened up, and now you’re trembling.”
Anarchy was already chatting animatedly with the other women, her energy infusing into the group. How did the darkness inside her husband not suck all that life from her?
“They make me nervous,” Tamsyn whispered back.
“They? Jasper and Anarchy?”
She shook her head, not daring to say their names in case she summoned their attention. Elias and Jasper were two halves of the same side of a sadistic coin—Elias with his black hair shot through with silver, his blue eyes dark and intense; Jasper with his stark white hair and eyes like frosted blue glass, intimidating and predatory.
Merrick’s chuckle reverberated through her. “The first time I sat down with a group of Doms, I felt like an imposter, completely out of my league. Didn’t know how the hell I was supposed to fit in with these men who exuded control and power from their pores like pheromones. I learned they were just men with the same kinks and instinctive desires as me, but there’s an added edge to sadists that catapults them to the forefront of the brain.”
The moment he said sadists , Tamsyn felt two pairs of eyes zoom in on her.
“Survival instinct,” Elias commented with a touch of amusement in his voice. “A smart person identifies the threat and runs far, far away from it.”
Jasper laughed and tugged on Anarchy’s ponytail. “Hear that, kitten? Smart people run away from the sadist who wants to beat on their ass.”
Big brown eyes turned in his direction; his wife smirked at him. “Guess that makes me the sadist then, seeing as how I wasn’t the one running, Sir.”
“Never going to forgive me for that, are you?”
She stroked his cheek. “Married you, didn’t I? Not to mention, I keep bearing you demonic children intent on global domination. If that’s not forgiveness, I don’t know what is, Sir.”
“Hmmm. You may have a point.” Twisting her ponytail around his hand until her head craned back, Jasper savaged her mouth thoroughly, kissing the breath from her lungs.
Feeling herself get wet, Tamsyn diverted her attention to the table before she started squirming. Of course, she was too late to fool Merrick—his hand slid between the folds of the blanket, down over her mound to fondle her clit lazily.
Callie clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing between her husbands when Anarchy moaned. “Kiss, kiss, kiss!”
“This pussy is drenched, little owl,” Merrick murmured. “Would it like to come?”
Oh yes, yes, it would. But not here, not in front of all these people and the two men who could turn her arousal off faster than flicking a switch.
Of course, that message didn’t reach her body in time to stop her hips lifting into his touch, urging his fingertips to keep doing exactly what they were.
“She blushes beautifully, Merrick.” Elias’s mouth curved when her eyes landed on him and she knew he knew precisely what Merrick was doing to her beneath the blanket. “Did you have fun?”
“Don’t toy with her when I’m pissed at you, Elias. What the hell possessed you to bring her to the dungeon when I was fucking working?” Despite his rising anger, his touch remained slow and gentle. “She’s barely seen any of the club, let alone there. I haven’t exposed her to what goes on here because I wanted to introduce her to the lifestyle cautiously. You forced my hand, Eli, and I don’t like it when my control is compromised.”
Tamsyn’s heart shot into her throat and lodged there, strangling her, as the other man leaned back against the padded bench seat. There was a flash of amusement over his face, but in his eyes… the blue glinted with confrontation—more, the anticipation of conflict.
“She was left under our supervision, Merrick. I take that responsibility seriously. Would you have preferred I took her home to fret and stew in her own panic until you returned?”
“I would have preferred ,” Merrick growled back, “for you to use common sense and your fucking smart brain before taking her into the most hardcore—”
When Elias’s eyes narrowed, Tamsyn almost threw up.
“Merk. Merk, don’t.” Shaking her head frantically, she tried to twist on his lap but his thumb and index finger clamped down on her clit. The pain was sharp, shooting down her legs and back up again to arrow between her legs. “It was my f-fault. I p-panicked and I-I needed you. Elias was just t-trying to h-help.”
“Darlin’, don’t get in the middle of this. He crossed a line and he knows it.”
Conversation around the group dwindled to curiosity-laden silence, broken only by Anarchy’s whispered, “Oooh, I love it when the big bulls lock horns.”
Callie immediately muttered something like, “Daddy Eli’s hung like one, that’s for sure.” When Evander snorted, she smiled up at him. “Don’t forget you’re a Clydesdale, Daddy Vander. There’s no competition.”
The other women snickered, easing the tension caused by rampaging testosterone.
“She needed you, Merrick. Perhaps I crossed a line but it was necessary. Her tolerance for social interaction without you present isn’t sufficient to be left alone with the subs, as welcoming and friendly as they are.” Elias’s gaze was dark and serious. “Taking her home and trapping her there with a stranger didn’t seem prudent; neither did leaving her there on her own, given her previous adventures with Blake and the orgy.”
Heat emblazoned her cheeks as all eyes turned to her in question.
“You guys have orgies?” Anarchy demanded, then squeaked when her husband slid his hand over her mouth to silence her. Muffled words continued from behind his palm.
Merrick rolled Tamsyn’s clit absently, maintaining the sharp pressure on the little bud. “Didn’t think to page me? Send someone over to get me?”
She felt her stomach muscles contract, her core clenching hopelessly on the tampon. She wiggled, hating the emptiness, hating the Rejuvenation, hating not having him inside her. “I didn’t want to interrupt…” She couldn’t stop the low moan breaking into her sentence. “I… you were working.”
“My priority is you, little owl.”
Before Eli could respond, Evander cleared his throat. “We get that, Merrick. It’s no different than our feelings toward Callie. We’d drop everything for her in a heartbeat. Tamsyn had a panic attack and the quickest, easiest way to help her through it was to bring her to you. She calmed down, and you were able to finish the scene, satisfy the client, and reassure your sub without undue disruption to the evening.”
When Merrick growled, Evander lifted his hands up. “I’m not saying there wasn’t a risk involved in taking her to the dungeon, or in letting her watch you work. Yes, she might have panicked more, tried to run—all manner of negative outcomes were possible. The fact of the matter is, she had a support system around her which ultimately wasn’t needed.”
Her eyes went blind as her focus turned inward, latching on to the motion of Merrick’s fingers. She felt as though her clit was swelling under his ministrations, growing more sensitive with each twist and tug. Her head thunked back on his shoulder. “All is forgiven. Forgotten. Whatever. Please, please, please …”
“Now that is just lovely begging.” A tray of drinks slid onto one of the tables, then Liam slipped into the seat next to his husband and wife, leaning in to kiss Sierra soundly before slinging his arm around Mack’s shoulders. “What did I miss?”
A blunt fingertip stroked up and down her wet seam, never penetrating despite her hips shifting to encourage him. When it eased down between her cheeks, Merrick’s oversized hand easily covering her entire downtown area, to press against her tender back hole, her spine went stiff.
“Bulls locking horns and little subs getting fingered under the table,” Grit supplied with a suppressed laugh. “Merrick’s pissed at Eli for taking Tamsyn to the dungeon. Tamsyn’s forgiven everyone for everything in her need to come, and Evander’s being the voice of reason.”
“I leave you guys to your own devices for a couple hours and trouble ensues.” Shaking his head, gray eyes alive with humor, Liam stroked his knuckles over Sierra’s bearded cheek. “What about you, babygirl? What chaos have you been causing tonight?”
Tamsyn grimaced when Merrick’s fingertip breached her butt for the second time in only a couple of hours, pushing in to the first knuckle, then the next. Small sounds of distress constricted her throat, dying away into a moan when his thumbnail flicked over her clit.
“Daddy Mack was in charge of the nursery for an hour so Master Fordham could cover for Master Merrick. I got to work on one of my projects.” Sierra sounded incredibly pleased. “But then Mistress Ericka wanted to spend some time with Mistress Felicity, so she covered for Daddy, and we came here to wait for you.”
Elias ran a hand down his face, shooting a glance at Evander. “Why do we even bother posting shift schedules? Everyone just does what they want as it suits them.”
Affably, Evander lifted his shoulders, then accepted a shot glass as Anarchy took the initiative and began handing out Liam’s delivery. “Shift schedules were experimental, Eli. Serenity isn’t a nine-to-five business. Maybe it’s worth giving control of the schedules over to the Masters for a while—as long as all the stations are manned and clients are satisfied, what’s the harm?”
“Does that go for the security team too?” Grit demanded, grinning when Elias speared him with a dirty look. “Just joking, boss. We’ve got a good routine going on in the office. Don’t want to ruin it by shaking things up unnecessarily.”
“Same here,” Liam chimed in. “Jonah and I work well together.”
Why were they all talking about work and schedules when her butt was being invaded and an orgasm was creeping through her nervous system like a ninja? Did they not understand she was in turmoil here, torn between craving the climax and fearing the idea of coming in public, in front of all of them?
“Breathe, little owl. There’s nothing to be ashamed of; we’re with friends.”
It was okay for him, wasn’t it? It wasn’t his butt under attack, or his vulnerabilities on show for all to see. What if the noises she made when she came were ridiculous to other people, or her face contorted into something from a three a.m. horror movie?
To her dismay, he didn’t just stop at penetrating her butt. No, because he was a terrible, stubborn meanie, he rocked his finger in and out while his thumb manipulated her clit, forcing the pain from one and the pleasure from the other to merge and evolve.
“Merk,” she croaked.
“Come quietly, Tamsyn. Hell, come silently if you want. I don’t care if you shout and scream or just vibrate on my lap and tease my cock, but you are gonna come with my finger up your ass.” The words were dark and inarguable—whatever he commanded, she was bound to obey, because she trusted him. “And you’re gonna think about the next time we do this, when this gorgeous asshole stretches around two of my fingers, and the time after that when you take three, begging me to sink into this perfect, velvety ass and—”
She sank her teeth into her lip, feeling herself climb faster and faster toward the pinnacle. His voice, that powerful timbre, was akin to a pair of spurs digging into her sides, kicking her on when she spooked herself and dug her feet into the ground.
His tongue licked the inner curve of her ear, the sensation urging her hips down, pushing his finger deeper as he murmured the rest of his sentence, “—fuck it until all you feel is me inside you, my cum filling you up and dripping down your thighs. I want to fuck this ass so bad, darlin’. I’m gonna have it, again and again, until there’s so much of my cum inside you—”
Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oooh …
Tamsyn’s head snapped back as glorious bliss stabbed between her legs, clamping her inner muscles like a vice. Her butt tightened around his finger, heightening the sensations, forcing her spine to arch in an effort to relieve the overwhelming pleasure.
Her skin flushed hot, tingles racing beneath it as sweat sprang out on top.
Before the cry clawing its way up her throat found its voice, Merrick bent his head and kissed her, swallowing the sound with a hungry groan of his own. Kissed her until everything faded, leaving only the buzz of the orgasm as the centerpiece.
Kissed her while he carefully removed his finger and gave her sex a gentle pat, smearing wetness over his hand.
When he broke the seal of their lips, she stared at him, punch drunk.
Callie clapped her hands loudly. “That was so hot . Daddy Vander, can we do that?”
Evander winked at Tamsyn before rolling his lips in amusement. “Not tonight, sweetness, unless Daddy Elias wants to play.”
The clapping stopped immediately, and Callie’s eyes slid warily to her other Dom.
“Of course, little minx. I always have time to desecrate and defile your ass.” Blue eyes gleaming with devilish wickedness, Elias smiled at his wife in a way that made her pale. “In fact, I have a brand new toy just for you. Eleven and a half inches of thick black rubber plug, fashioned into a corkscrew.”
“A—no. Absolutely not.”
Tamsyn slowly drifted back to earth on the sound of laughter, blinking herself into reality and realizing the voices she’d heard weren’t figments of her imagination. When her vision cleared, heat burned into her cheeks and the tips of her ears when Grit and Mack smiled knowingly at her, but luckily, no one commented on her… public shame.
“Darlin’, I love it when you get off on dirty talk.” Merrick’s voice purred soothingly, becoming the only sound that mattered.
Across the table, Callie was quickly attempting to backtrack her request, to no avail.
“I love it when you let me take a limit and bend it. When you give me control not because I ask for it, but because you trust me. I love how you look at me with those beautiful eyes, eyes I’ve fucking adored since the moment I saw them. There’s more, so much more, but I’m hoping you know where I’m going with this, little owl.”
She lifted her hand to his cheek, trying to follow his game. “You love it when I come?”
“That’s an understatement, but hell yes.” He kissed her fiercely, then eased back to stare into her eyes. More than that, even—he saw through her physical being down to the soul. “I love you , Tamsyn.”
Suddenly, it didn’t matter that she was naked under the blanket or that it was the only thing preserving some semblance of modesty. She didn’t care that her core was aching, her back passage burning from overuse, or that there were people around them becoming privy to more than just the ins and outs of their sex life.
“You love… me?”
“Well, darlin’, you’re the only Tamsyn sitting on my lap, aren’t you?”
Goodnight, my beautiful girl. I love you, Tammy, never forget that. More than anything else in this world.
Tears filled her eyes as her mother’s voice, faded now after so many years gone, reminded her of the last time someone told her they loved her. That she meant something to another person. That she was worthy and vital, held value and importance, in the eyes of another human being.
She twisted, flinging her arms around his neck—almost cracking his chin with her cast in the process—and kissed him through a barrage of sobs. Her heart felt full, expanding by the second until the fissures inside it caused by years of Jedidiah’s callousness didn’t feel so raw.
After over a decade of waiting for the axe to fall on her neck, to be selected as the next broodmare or unfortunate bridal statistic in the community, this new reality was… traumatizing. Not once had she allowed herself to dream of a life outside of the community, away from the crushing feet of the elders, let alone fantasize about a man who not only saved her, but fell in love with and openly declared his feelings for her.
Now here she was, both elated and terrified by his proclamation, yet seeking comfort in the one place she unequivocally knew she would be safe. In his arms, there was nothing that could touch her—not words, not fists, not even Jedidiah’s belt or cane.
Merrick was everything.
Her everything.
“I love you.” The words were smushed against his lips, but when they curved, she knew he got the message. “I love you too, Merrick.”
“Are you crying because you’re happy or overwhelmed?”
“I don’t know.”
He rocked her, chuckling softly into her hair. “Let me know when you figure it out, little owl.” He made a sound of discontent, then kissed her forehead. “Need to relieve Fordham and go back to work for a few hours, darlin’. Gonna take you home first and get you tucked into bed. Want me to arrange some company?”
Tamsyn shook her head, burrowing against his chest.
She didn’t want him to go, but she’d let him take her home and put her to bed. She’d wait for him, probably fall asleep and dream of him until he came back, then snuggle against his big, warm body and thank the stars for whatever sent her running in his direction that night in the forest.
Because he loved her, and that…
That was the greatest, most monumental experience of her life.
*