Chapter 31
The loft was dark when Nala turned the unlocked handle. She entered warily as if the wrong step would get her kicked out of Varen Lake’s den of domination.
Naturally, she was the first thing Nala noticed. She stood in the bedroom, overlooking the living area from her high pedestal and surveying the entirety of her queendom. Of which Nala was a part of. A trifle trinket to be toyed with.
Her watchful gaze followed Nala into the living room, where she stopped, pulled her sweatshirt over her head, and tossed it onto the couch. I’m cold now. If the heater was on, Varen only set the thermostat when she came in. Not enough time to make it warm enough to take off the sweatshirt.
Nala kicked off her shoes and socks and sank to her knees. Her hands slowly came to her head, fingers locking together as she glanced back up at Varen.
She also was not wearing her sweatshirt anymore.
Or her shoes. The woman watching Nala with a steady eye wore nothing but her shirt and jeans, both tight enough to outline every minute curve beneath.
As she leaned down and crossed her arms across the guardrail, Nala swore she saw a gleam in Varen’s eye.
“That was the easy part,” she called down. “I’m not going easy on you tonight.”
Nala didn’t say anything. Varen hadn’t told her to speak, had she?
“Go ahead and tell me that you’re excited about tonight.”
She looked up again. “I can’t wait, ma’am.” That was almost impossible to say without sounding sarcastic. Nala could only hope she succeeded in portraying how much she wanted to please her Mistress tonight. If that meant pleasing her with obedience and service? So be it.
“I know you can do better than that.”
Nala cleared her throat, hands still on her head. “I’m excited about what you have planned, Mistress. I’m sure I’ll not only enjoy it, but in ways I can’t even comprehend now.”
“Do you like doing that?”
Nala’s knees shook. “Doing what, ma’am?”
Varen grinned. “Calling me Mistress.”
She hadn’t thought about it until that point.
I guess so. Every time she did it – when they were in private, anyway – it was like giving up one more care or tribulation in her life.
Mistress would take care of her. Mistress would make all her problems go away.
Mistress didn’t need Nala to worry about anything ever again.
She was hers, which also meant her issues were Mistress’s to solve while she went about her life.
And, boy, did she have a lot of tribulations.
“I like putting myself in your hands, ma’am.”
“What will I do with you once I have you in my hands?”
Nala didn’t miss a beat. “Whatever you please. I’m okay with that. More than okay.”
Without a word Varen backed away from the guardrail and went to the spiral staircase, treating each careful step downward as if it would be her last.
Amazing how one woman could be so graceful, so steady as her body moved languidly, almost as if she too had been waiting for this moment for a long time – but didn’t want to make it look like that was the case.
After all, she had an image to maintain, even around Nala.
“You stay still so well.” Varen stood in front of Nala, out of reach, but certainly present. “So far you’re obeying as I told you. Like I said a few minutes ago, though… this is nothing. This is the easy part. Any woman could come in here and kneel in my house. What is it to me? I’m not impressed.”
What do you want from me? Nala had to suppress a sneer of defiance.
That would get her nowhere. I can’t tell if she wants me to make it or not, though.
Perhaps Varen wanted to break and tame Nala some more.
Or maybe she wanted her ready out of the box.
Nala had a good idea, but… she wasn’t about to attempt the risk.
“Do you know what would impress me, Nala?”
Varen didn’t wait for an answer. “Unwavering loyalty. Even if you falter, I will still see your motives. Your intent. If you falter and I can tell you desperately wanted to behave but are still green behind the ears… that’s fine. That’s admirable. So don’t worry about disappointing me.
Only worry about that if your heart isn’t into any of this.”
Nala swallowed. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll give you my all, ma’am.”
“Good.” Varen approached, each step its own brand of torture.
She’s coming for me, but will she do anything?
Will she satisfy me yet? Will I have to satisfy her first?
Nala thought of her last night as Nightingale when she showed off her naked breasts because her Mistress commanded it.
She had sensed how much Varen wanted to savor the moment with her.
Did she want a mulligan now that they were alone?
“I know this doesn’t come naturally to you, Nala. That’s okay. I prefer my women – my girlfriends – to be feisty. I don’t like the demure types of submissives, except for every great once in a while. For everyday life, I like a girl with a lot of punch and power. Do you know why?”
Nala shook her head. At least she knew now that the woman in the bookstore couldn’t have satisfied her Mistress.
Varen touched her cheek with soft knuckles, caressing Nala’s skin with a touch that warned her to not indulge in it too much. “Because you’re so much more satisfying to tame.”
She knew it.
Varen reached around Nala’s head, gently pushing it to one side to survey the white of her throat. She then inspected the other side before grabbing Nala’s ponytail.
“Ah!” That was the only sound escaping her as pain surged through her scalp.
It was fleeting, as all Varen did was rip out her hair tie and let locks fall across Nala’s shoulders, but it was enough to give her a taste of what was in store that night.
She’ll show me no mercy. She’ll take me exactly where she wants me breaking me in.
Nala didn’t yet know what it meant to serve or to obey.
That night of her bondage practice didn’t count. As hot as it was… it didn’t count.
“You are so…” Varen shoved her fingers down Nala's shirt, tugging on the front of the fabric. “Damn…” She pulled down harder, nearly bringing Nala down to the floor as her balance floundered and she struggled to keep her hands on her head. “Gorgeous…” With a terrifying tear, her shirt came apart.
So. Damn. Easily.
Nala stared, aghast, at her bra now on full display.
The light gray of her plain cotton shirt was in two as if the woman’s bite and claws were taking her apart.
My mother would call her a volk, like her maiden name.
A wolf. A terrifying, wonderful wolf making her its prey.
Yena had warned her daughters of such men.
But had she considered a woman doing it?
The only reason Nala didn’t panic about her clothing was because it meant nothing.
A simple T-shirt could easily be repurchased, especially by a Varen.
No, the real reason I don’t care is because she can do whatever she wants to me.
Like pulling her shirt free from her body, and tossing the ruined cotton onto her sweatshirt.
“Look at you. If I always had my way, you would spend your whole life on display to me.”
Varen crouched down so her breath blew hot on Nala's face.
“I’ve spent this whole day thinking about what I want to do to you, Nala. I never thought you would give me the chance to express it. Not like this.”
She yanked down Nala’s bra, freeing her breasts – but, more importantly, her nipples.
When Varen pinched one, as she liked to do?
Oh, my God. Here they went. Here Nala went.
Pretty soon, she would be so suggestible that she would walk on hot coals to get to this woman.
“I want only to serve you, Mistress.”
Her voice shook. For the briefest moment, as Varen stroked Nala’s flowing hair and ripped down her bra straps until the whole thing came apart, Nala wondered if she were retreating into Nightingale’s space.
But we’re the same person. How can I want to be anyone else but who I am?
Nala didn’t need to be any other identity. Not around… the woman she loved.
Varen discarded Nala’s clothing until she was half naked, her hair the only thing keeping her modest.
Nala shook in the cold and from the anticipation.
I want her to do whatever she’s going to do right now.
I can’t stand the wait. She had no idea what to expect.
She had no idea what kind of woman lurked beneath this kindly shell.
For all she knew, Varen’s true self was using BDSM as a guise for something terrible, like other members of The Aviary.
“Do you trust me, Nala?”
She looked up, catching a flash of concern on Varen’s countenance. She’s still the same Varen. She still wants to protect me. “I trust you,” she said softly. “You won’t hurt me. The only pain I feel will be pleasure.”
Nala didn’t have to read those books. She didn’t need to talk to those girls at The Aviary.
She knew these things like she knew her own heart.
This is a part of me. This has always been inside of me.
For all her bite and desire to be seen as an independent young woman, she enjoyed this more than anyone had the right to.
Every time Varen took her deeper into this world, every time she made Nala more into her ideal sub…
Nala realized that this was her true calling.
It was exhilarating. It was pleasurable. It was so fucking hot that she thought she would explode beneath Varen’s domineering touch.
“If you want me to stop at any time, the safe word is…”
“Tasha.”
Varen didn’t say anything. She touched Nala’s chin before reaching into her pocket.
“Please…” Nala begged as she saw the nightingale collar emerge from Varen’s jeans.
“Don’t hold back. I can take it, I swear. I trust you, Ven. Do whatever you want to me. Make use of my body and what I can do to you. Deny me whatever you want. Give me as much as you want. I want to know what it’s like.”
“What it’s like… to be my sub?”
“To be your girlfriend.”
Something glistened on the collar, and it wasn’t the pendant. A silver chain fell from the nightingale’s beak. A leash, one of the most debasing things Nala could have thought up. Even she balked for an instant.
“You’re not a dog.” Varen slipped the collar around Nala’s throat, making sure it was snug yet not too tight. “But you need training. You might get overeager, otherwise. No matter how much you think you want it like that, I can’t be sure until I’ve made you feel like this.”