Chapter 14
“Well?” Saul demanded when Sadie looked away, suddenly completely closed-mouthed despite being previously so argumentative.
What was she trying to hide?
There were layers to this woman. Saul had already worked that out.
But he’d bet his billions that if he mentioned to anyone who knew her well how she’d flown off the handle, they’d have trouble believing him.
From what he’d seen of her, the impressions he’d gotten over the past few days of close proximity, Sadie struck him as the kind of woman who always needed to be in control.
Something that must be difficult for a submissive, since it was almost the antithesis of a Dom’s fundamental necessity.
She mostly presented like a Domme. He would have been secure in that belief if she hadn’t thrown the grenade about being a hard-core masochist. Then again, not all masochists were inherently submissive.
Perhaps that was the root of her problems. Perhaps she was a switch, but didn’t recognize it.
Certainly, she didn’t appear predisposed to tell him.
But with the little bit of insight he’d just uncovered, it was like he’d had an eureka moment, so he didn’t miss the way she reacted when he stalked towards her and made demands.
Sadie might not welcome the lack of control, but there was a part of her that craved it.
Standing before her, towering over her, he used every bit of the Dom presence he could muster as he silently raised his eyebrow and waited for her to fill the silence. It was an old psychological trick. One she certainly knew and used, but it was effective for a reason.
And it worked like a dream. Likely because the flustered state Sadie was in already had her off balance.
Sadie automatically dropped her head and shuffled from foot to foot under his scrutiny. Yep. Definitely submissive - when she allowed herself to be.
Her hands balled into fists, but still Saul waited.
“It’s not that easy because I have difficulty ceding control, so Doms don’t like to play with me.”
Finally!
“So how do you get your needs met?” he asked, more than aware they sounded like they were negotiating. Did Sadie realize that? He didn’t think so.
“I used to scene with Dallas Johnson. I met him during my early club days, and we became good friends, since he was always plagued by the gold-digging types who wanted him for his money and celebrity. Once he realized I wasn’t interested in anything other than the scene, we became…
friends of sorts. I trusted him more than most, and he was very tolerant of my specific foibles, so we developed a very copacetic relationship, which suited us both. ”
“So why haven’t you done that recently?” he asked, wondering at the unexpected surge of possessiveness he felt at the thought. He didn’t want her to scene with Dallas.
Sadie glanced up at him for the barest moment before looking away again. “He’s now in a serious, monogamous relationship, so it’s not really an option anymore.”
“What are you saying, Sadie? That no one will scene with you?”
She shrugged but still wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Not exactly. Since Shelly and Cree got together, and she quit as a club sub, I’ve stepped into her role a little...”
She trailed off. “But you’re not getting your needs met that way,” he finished for her, certain his guess was right.
“Jonah has kinda realized it’s not working, so he doesn’t rely on me anymore. It was only ever a stopgap while he found someone more suitable, anyway.”
By the way she hunched her shoulders, Saul could tell the mere idea that she wasn’t ‘suitable’, even though the word came from her own lips, had inherently more far-reaching connotations for Sadie, and his heart hurt for her.
She was a complex woman, likely emotionally stunted, with obvious trust issues.
She might be the psychologist, but Saul had needed to learn how to read people far more deeply than the layman because of his job.
If he couldn’t, it put his life in danger.
With Sadie, the lifestyle she chose might have worked for her, but she was battling herself over it with what control she was willing to concede, so she was left increasingly frustrated and unsatisfied.
Saul had an acute feeling his presence had pushed her to the very precipice of a cliff she’d been teetering on for quite some time.
But she sure as hell wasn’t going to fall over it on his watch.
Not if he had anything to say about it.
Of course, Sadie, being Sadie, was undoubtedly likely to argue with that. What she’d soon learn was that he wasn’t as easily deterred as most of the Doms who had let her down.
And besides, he owed her.
“There’s an easy solution,” he said, causing her head to whip around. “I’ll take care of your needs.”
She stared at him incredulously. “Saul, I’m a pain slut,” she reminded him, as if he didn’t already know. “And you aren’t in any fit state to wield a whip or a cane.” She gestured vaguely to his bandaged shoulder.
“You’re right. But there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
Sadie looked dubious, and he didn’t blame her.
“I don’t think…”
“Good, don’t think. Just accept what you need from someone who’s trying to help you.”
“But…”
He cut her off again. “I know it’s hard for you, but trust me… I’m pretty sure I can give you what you need without wielding either a whip or a cane.”
The face she pulled would have made him laugh if things weren’t quite so serious. But what Sadie didn’t know was that he had an ace up his sleeve she was unaware of. His own favorite kink.
Electricity.
And it just so happened that he had everything he could possibly need to turn a woman who craved the most intense forms of pain into a quivering mass of fulfillment. And all without breaking the skin.
“But your shoulder…” she tried again, clearly having trouble letting it go.
“I tell you what. How about if I promise not to do anything that will aggravate my injury, you agree to allow me to give you the relief you need?”
Could she argue with that?
She might try, but Saul had an inkling Sadie was already wound too tight to outright turn him down.
He watched the battle play across her expression but remained quiet. This needed to be her decision alone.
Finally, her shoulders slumped, and she gave in to her needs.
“Okay,” she whispered.
It probably should have worried Saul that he felt like that simple capitulation made him feel like he’d won the lottery.
Ridiculous, he scoffed to himself. Winning the lottery would be pocket change to him. He was just happy he could do something to help her.
“Excellent.” He rubbed his hands together and had to swiftly hide the wince the action caused. “I’ll go get everything we need.”
Sadie looked at him then, her eyes narrowing. “What do you mean? Where are you going? You can’t just…”
He raised his palm to stop the rain of questions. “I’m just going to take a leisurely walk to my cabana. Pick up some stuff, and then I’ll be back.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” she asked, her brow furrowing into a frown. “You’re staying here for a reason, after all.”
“True, but most of that reason is because I still need help with stuff. The chances of my cabana being compromised are small, but this will also give me the chance to check, and to pick up some clothing… otherwise, I’ll have to start walking around naked while I wash the ones I have.”
That wasn’t strictly true, although the tuxedo pants weren’t exactly island wear, but he waggled his eyebrows as he said it, and it worked to lighten the mood, just as he’d intended.
Sadie gave him a small smile, but her eyes danced like maybe she wasn’t totally opposed to the idea.
“I’ll be back in twenty minutes, " he told her, slipping his feet into his dress shoes, and suffering through her having to lace them for him. Thank goodness he had some deck shoes in his cabana. He made a mental note to pick them up.
“Do you need any help with things?” Sadie asked as he headed for the door.
“I can manage, thank you. Why don’t you go have a shower or whatever else might relax you?” He put enough dominance into his voice so she’d know it was a command, not a suggestion, and she immediately nodded and dropped her head.
“Good girl,” he responded, following his instincts and stepping close to drop a light kiss to the top of her hair. She undoubtedly didn’t mean him to, but Saul heard the happy little sigh that hummed in her throat and the way her shoulders relaxed a fraction.
He got the impression Sadie Jones hadn’t been told enough that she was a good girl.
Well, he could change that too.