Awakened (3 page)

Sub.
  Her true nature must be as obvious to him as his Dominant one was to her.  She thrilled at the word.

“I…”  She hesitated.  “Well, I kind of came here with someone,” she admitted.

He quirked an eyebrow.
  “Oh?  And where is he?”

“We, um…  We kind of just broke up,” she said softly, uncomfortable having to make the admission.  His eyes softened.

“I’m sorry,” he said earnestly.

Anger flooded back into her as she remembered Brad’s outrageous claims.  “Don’t be,” she said definitively, her mouth twisting down into a frown.  “He and I clearly had different ideas about what it means to be a Dom.”

“And what exactly do you think it means to be a Dom?”  He asked with curiosity.

Holly shifted uncomfortably.  “Well, he seems to think that it means that he owns me, that I’m completely subordinate to him.”  She couldn’t keep the hard edge of anger from coloring her tone.

“For some people that is what it means,” Holden said gently.

“Well, that’s not what I want,” Holly said, a bit snappishly.

Holden regarded her for a moment, his head cocked to one side.  “No,” he said finally.  “No, I can see that.”  Then he grinned, baring his teeth.  “You’re a little spitfire, aren’t you?  Well, I can tell you honey, it will make your submission all the sweeter when you finally do give in.”

The way he looked at her, as though he knew that that was exactly what she wanted, made her shiver visibly.  His smirk returned when he saw her reaction.  “Will you come and sit with me?”  He asked, but his sly smile told her that he already knew her answer.  She balked for a moment, not wanting to give in to him; he was already smug enough.  But the growing heat in her belly told her that she very much wanted to go with him.

“Okay,” she said finally, trying for nonchalance.

He took her by the arm firmly, and she suppressed a pleasurable shudder at the casual way he touched her, at the strength evident in his grip.  He steered them to a corner of the room
with sofas and chairs, and he pulled her down so that she was seated beside him.  He placed his hand on her bare knee, and the warmth of his hand seemed to spread from where he touched her to her sex, making her core clench in longing.  God, he was hardly touching her, and she was already so hot for him.  She could feel a growing wetness between her thighs, and her cheeks flared crimson at the realization.

“So, little sub,” he said, giving her no time to gather her wits about her, “what really brings you here?”

“Um…”  She said stupidly, struggling to form a coherent thought.  “I…  I’ve always been… interested.”

He speared her with a knowing gaze.  “That much is obvious,” he grinned, and she blushed more deeply.  “You put on a brave front, but I could sense your desire to submit from the moment I first saw you.”  He paused, his gaze turning inward for a moment.  “Or maybe I just hoped that that was the case.  I can’t deny that I want you, Holly.”

He wanted her? 
“Really?”
  She asked shyly.

He placed a strong finger under her chin, lifting her head so that her eyes met his.  “Yes,” he said definitively.  “I do.”

Her gaze fell to his full lips, and her own parted.  Without realizing what she was doing, she leaned into him, drawing in a deep breath.  He smelled like salt and leather and man.  It was intoxicating. 
He
was intoxicating.

“God, you smell sweet,” he half-groaned, clearly as affected by her proximity as she was by his.
  She flushed in pleasure.  This was so different than how things were with Brad; this man
truly appreciated her, wanted her.  Brad had never made her feel sexy, but this near-stranger made her feel desired.  The feeling was heady.

Their lips met, and his were hard on hers.  He didn’t ease into the kiss; he claimed her mouth immediately.  His tongue delved in, and she tried to meet his strokes, tried to resist his dominance in the kiss.  He growled into her mouth, a low, sexy sound.  His hands tangled in her long hair, wrenching her head back.  With a small whimper, she melted for him, giving in.  She felt him smile against her lips in satisfaction before he tore his mouth from hers.  She was left panting, wanting, her eyes dilated and her pulse racing as she stared up at him, completely captivated by him.

He released her abruptly, and she almost fell against him.  His grip was on her waist instantly, holding her upright.  He was smirking down at her again, but instead of making her indignant, it only turned her on more.

He was grinning at her, a predatory smile.  “So, little sub.  Would you like to play?”

Holly’s heart skipped a beat.  Did she want to? 
Absolutely.
  Could she bring herself to do it?  Here, with a man that she barely knew?

Yes.  Yes, she could.

Her mouth too dry to speak, she nodded shakily.

“Excellent,” he beamed.  “What are your limits?”

Limits?
 
Holly thought.  To be honest, she had no idea; she was completely inexperienced.

“I…  I don’t know,” she admitted.  “I don’t think that I’m into extreme pain.”  She started trembling, adrenaline running through her, making her giddy.  Holden touched her face, gently tracing the line of her cheekbone.

“You’ll be oaky,” he reassured her.  “I won’t hurt you.”  He paused, considering for a moment.  “Much.”

Holly shivered.  Was it from fear or excitement?

“That’s why we have safe words,” he explained gently.  “Do you have any particular preference?  It needs to be a totally random word, something that I won’t mistake for anything else.  For example, ‘no’ is not a safe word.”

Holly thought for a moment, not wanting to say anything too stupid.  She had read about safe words before, so she went with a classic.  “Let’s just stick with ‘red,’” she said finally.

“You have done your research, haven’t you, little one?”
Holden grinned at her, evidently pleased.  “Alright then, say ‘red’ if you want to stop.  That’s your only out, understand?”

Holly swallowed down the lump in her throat and nodded silently again.

Suddenly, Holden’s grip on her waist shifted, jerking her forward so that she lost her balance.  She fell forward over his knees, draped across them so that her hips were over his lap, her torso and legs dangling down on either side.

“What are you doing?”  She exclaimed breathlessly, struggling to lift herself up.

Holden’s strong hands encircled her wrists, yanking her arms behind her.  He held them to the small of her back, pinning them there, effectively trapping her.  Then there was a sudden, stinging pain as his free hand cracked down on her ass.

“Quiet, sub,” he ordered, his voice hard.

She gasped, truly indignant this time.  They weren’t alone; people were watching her.  She squirmed in his grip, fighting him.  “No!”  She said staunchly.  “Let me go!”

His hand came down on her again, hard and punishing.  “Those aren’t safe words, sub.  And I believe I told you not to speak.”

She couldn’t suppress a delighted moan, reveling in being truly dominated for the first time.  She had never experienced anything so erotic.  Her core was pulsing in need, her clit hard and wanting.  Obediently, she stilled, relaxing against him.

“Good girl,” he praised.  This time when he spanked her, it was softer, less painful.  The small sting warmed her ass, and with each subsequent blow the heat began to spread throughout her entire body, until flames seemed to lick across her skin.  She began to squirm in his grip again, not struggling to escape, but struggling to rub her clit against his thigh, to find some release.

Another hard blow cracked down on her, hitting her sensitive upper thigh this time.  She cried out in shock and pain, but the idea of being punished, corrected, only turned her on more.

Then his fingers were at her entrance, tracing along her outer folds.  She groaned and tried to rock back against him, but his touch retreated to her thighs.

“Is this what you want?”  He asked softly, swirling his fingers in her wetness.

“Yes,” she moaned.  “Please.”  She didn’t even realize that she was begging her need was so acute.

“Then you’ll have to stay still,” he commanded.  “Don’t move.”

His fingers suddenly, roughly, slid into her.  She whined at the effort of keeping her hips from rocking up into him.  His touch retreated, slowly pulling out of her until he barely penetrated her entrance.  He lingered there, stroking, teasing.

Holly couldn’t take it anymore.  She had to come, had to slake the burning need inside her.  She pressed back into him, straining for more contact.

His fingers withdrew from her immediately, and he growled as his hand came down sharply on her thigh again with bruising force.  Holly gave a strangled cry at the loss and at the pain.

“There are consequences for defying me, sub,” he said, his voice soft and dangerous.

He released her hands, and his grip was back on her waist, jerking her upward.  His fingers tangled in her hair at the nape of her neck, and he pulled her to her feet as he stood.

“What?”  She gasped, shocked by his actions and aching for his touch.

He speared her with a disapproving gaze, as though he was disappointed in her.  Her heart sank.

“I told you not to speak.  You have already defied me once.  I would not recommend crossing me again.”

Holly gulped and pursed her lips together, determined not to make a sound. She was completely under his power, totally entranced by him.  She didn’t even consider disobeying him again.

He pulled her along roughly, gripping her upper arm hard.  Holly’s eyes widened as she watched people staring at her, many of them smirking at her predicament.  She was shocked to find that the embarrassment only further fuelled her desire, and she could feel her nipples pebbling even as her cheeks flamed to match the heat in her abused ass.

Holly was breathing hard as they entered the corridor, and it was a struggle to balance on her heels and keep pace with Holden.  But she had no choice.  Her clit was pulsing, throbbing, and the need to come persisted.  She wanted desperately to protest, to beg for him to touch her, but she didn’t dare speak.

Holden was pulling aside one of the heavy red drapes, leading her into a small room that was packed with kinky furniture, many different apparatuses that she couldn’t even imagine a use for.  She wanted to ask questions, to know what he was going to do to her, but she staunchly maintained her silence, fearing further retribution.  He had promised her a punishment, after all.  She didn’t want to make it worse.

He led her to a corner of the room, where a pair of leather cuffs dangled from a chain that was fed through a hook in the ceiling.  Holden took her right wrist, and she tugged against him slightly, suddenly afraid.  He shot her a hard look, and she stilled immediately, allowing him to buckle the leather restraint around her.  He did the same with her left wrist, and despite her fear she felt pleasurable tingles running down her spine at the feeling of being bound.

Holden left her, retreating to the corner of the room.  She heard a clanking noise, and then her hands were being drawn up over her head.  They were pulled upward, higher and higher, until she was suspended by her wrists, the balls of her feet barely touching the ground.

He was in front of her again, holding something long and thin.  Holly swallowed as she recognized it: a cane.  She knew then that this would hurt.  Could she endure the punishment he was about to dole out?  But the lust in his eyes only fuelled
her own
.

He brought the cane up, touching the tip of it to the hollow of her throat.

“Are you frightened, sub?”  He asked softly.

Holly nodded shakily.  She
was
scared.

“Do you want to use your safe word?”

She considered for a moment.  She was afraid of the pain, but curiously, she found that the fear only fuelled her desire; her inner walls were still pulsing in need and her nipples were almost painfully hard against her corset.  Finally, she shook her head.  No, she didn’t want to use a safe word.

Holden gave her a small, predatory smile.  “Excellent,” he said, his voice low, with a hint of a threat in it.

Holly shuddered in delight and trepidation.

He slowly pulled the tip of the cane down, tracing the line of her sternum until he reached to top of her corset.  The bamboo scraped across her skin deliciously, bringing all of her nerve endings to life, making the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end.

He stepped to her side, and Holly turned her head, trying to watch him.

“Eyes forward, sub,” he said sharply.

Her head snapped forward, and she was shocked to see that a small crowd had gathered, watching her.  She was suddenly acutely aware of just how little she wore, and her hands jerked against her restraints as she instinctively tried to cover herself.  Holden laughed softly in her ear.

“Yes, they’re watching you.  They want to see me punish you.”

Pleasure shot through her at his brash words, the intensity of it making her head spin.  She let out a small moan as the complete vulnerability of her situation came crashing down on her.