Harnessed (8 page)

The rain started during the night. She heard it lashing against the windows and the wind whistling down the chimneys. It sounded cold and wild enough to make her bury herself beneath the duvet.

Elise awakened the next morning to the sound of Amy bringing her breakfast tray. Warm scones and hot tea, which had to be the most tempting smell in the world. It was still raining, the rain beating against the windows. She rolled over to watch the maid tend the fire, savoring the luxury of her room. When the fire was blazing, Amy opened the drapes, letting in the sullen grey light of the day.

The last thing Elise wanted to do was leave the cozy haven of this room. Amy’s nipple clamps shone as she moved, the sight of them awakening her mistress in more ways than one. She’d enjoyed putting them on Amy the day before and watching the maid’s ecstatic pain. She knew exactly how they felt, exactly how they should be adjusted for maximum effect.

A rainy day like this one would be a perfect day for indoor games.

“Good morning, my lady,” Amy said, arranging the tray, then kneeling beside the bed.

“Good morning, Amy. Did you leave those nipple clamps on all night?”

Amy flushed a little. “I didn’t have permission to remove them, my lady.”

“No, you did not, but it was remiss of me all the same.” Elise sipped her tea, watching the maid. “I suppose I owe you a reward.”

Amy swallowed.

Elise set her tray aside, then swung her legs over the side of the bed. She leaned forward and caressed Amy’s breast, noting how fiercely red the nipple was. She touched it with a fingertip and the maid gasped. “You’ve shown great endurance,” she murmured, then bent to flick her tongue across the peak. At such close proximity she could smell the maid’s excitement and that fed her own.

Amy’s blush deepened and her skin heated. “Thank you, my lady,” she whispered, her words strained.

Elise removed one clamp, then rolled the other nipple between her finger and thumb. Amy threw her head back and gasped in pleasure. “Do you like this, Amy?” Elise punctuated her question with a quick pinch, one that made Amy jolt.

“Whatever you desire is what I desire, my lady.” Amy’s voice was strained, her arousal clear.

“Is that so? Did you sleep well last night, Amy, wearing these clamps?”

“Not particularly, my lady.”

Elise could feel the heat radiating from the maid’s skin. She slipped to the floor, then closed her mouth around the released nipple. She flicked her tongue across the peak and felt Amy shiver, then suckled it gently. Amy moaned, then cried out as Elise eased her teeth across the tight peak.

Amy was so aroused she was trembling, but she didn’t move away. She wasn’t bound but she remained in place, so perfectly submissive Elise was thrilled. She knelt before the maid and turned her attention to the other nipple. Amy sighed and shuddered when it was released from the clamp.

Elise caught both breasts in her hands, rolling those nipples between finger and thumb, watching Amy fight her rising pleasure. “Because of the clamps?”

“Not exactly, my lady.”

Elise watched the maid closely. “No? Did you have bad dreams, Amy?”

“No, my lady.”

Elise pinched the nipples. “Company, perhaps?”

Amy’s cheeks turned scarlet and her gaze flew to Elise.

“You did.” Elise shook her head and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. She bent to suckle the second breast, being a little less kind with this one. She pulled the nipple with her lips, loving how the maid was practically writhing in pleasure. “I should have done more than denying you a release,” she whispered against Amy’s skin. “I should have put a clamp on your clitoris.” She reached down with one hand to caress the maid’s sex, loving how wet and hot she was. She slid her fingers between Amy’s labia, then began to tease her clitoris. Amy was gasping, her fists clenched on her parted thighs.

“Aren’t you a naughty creature,” Elise whispered, then kissed the maid quickly. “I didn’t give you permission to welcome a lover, nor did I give instruction for you to be shared. Did my lord help himself?”

“No, my lady.”

“Then?”

“I found myself intrigued by one of the ponies, my lady.”

Well, she wasn’t alone in that. Elise wondered which pony had drawn the maid’s attention. “So, you were down at the stables last night.”

“Yes, my lady.” Amy swallowed.

Elise slid two fingers inside Amy, then rubbed her thumb back and forth across the hard peak of her clitoris. “Why? Did your pony pleasure you?”

“No, my lady. I watched him at stud.”

“And you found that exciting?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“But you didn’t have permission to go there.”

“No, my lady. Of course not, my lady.” Amy shook her head quickly, so obviously struggling to keep herself from climax that Elise could only torment her more. “My lady! It won’t happen again, my lady.”

“It most certainly will not.” Elise stood up, lifting her hands away from the maid. Amy shook but held her pose as Elise strode to the large wardrobe between the windows. She flung open the doors, knowing there would be something she could use. Hanging on one inside wall was a lady’s riding crop. She smiled as she lifted it from the hook, then slapped it against her palm. It made a good crack, a very satisfying noise, and even on her palm, the blow has a most delicious sting.

She turned to find Amy watching her with wide eyes.

“Bend over the ottoman, please, Amy, with your buttocks in the air and your legs spread wide. I’ll ensure that you can’t sit down today without remembering me instead of your pony.”

“Yes, my lady.” Amy moved with such speed Elise was convinced her maid wanted this discipline as much as she wanted to give it. She considered that pink ass as she strolled closer, her fingers running over the leather-wrapped handle of the riding crop. It would make an excellent dildo. Would she use it on herself or on Amy? Elise decided to make the choice on impulse.

“Twenty strokes, Amy,” she said sternly. “If you last that long, I’ll give you the release you deserve.”

“Yes, my lady. I beg you to begin.”

* * *

The second night, Josh was more tired than the first. The rain had made the training more of an ordeal, at least for him. Kerr had been just as relentless and had worked Josh in the muddy stable yard, repeating his lessons over and over again. The dampness seemed to go right to Josh’s bones. In a way, though, the physical challenge did wonders for his mind. He felt more than still: he could almost hear the distant sound of the music. It was coming closer, just as he’d hoped, returning to him as a kind of reward for submitting to this challenge. He couldn’t wait to get to bed, lie back and close his eyes.

Then wait.

Josh was sure it would come to him, and he couldn’t wait to hear it.

The evening routine was the same, the removal of the harness, the hot shower and the welcome massage. The ritual was reassuring and calmed him even more, while the warmth of both water and massage relaxed his body. He was nearly dozing, right on the edge of sleep, when Kerr leaned down to whisper to him.

The trainer’s words were so unexpected that Josh’s eyes flew open.

“One more job for my best boy,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Go?
Josh glanced at the stable hand, noting the sparkle in his blue eyes, even as his resistance rose. He didn’t want to go anywhere but back to his stall. He didn’t want another job. He’d worked hard all day and deserved his rest.

He wanted to hear the music.

But he didn’t have a choice.

He’d surrendered.

“There’s a small bet in the stables tonight,” Kerr confessed, his excitement obvious. “My lord has offered a wager, a bet as to which new horse is the champion. I said it had to be you.”

Josh’s cock stirred again at his trainer’s obvious pride, his sleepiness banished. How many new horses were there, besides himself and Golden Boy? How would the champion be determined? The questions only dismissed Josh’s exhaustion, curiosity making him wide awake once more.

Kerr smiled. “Let’s go prove me right.”

It wasn’t a question.

Josh was led to the other end of the stables, through a door that mirrored the location of the one to the spa. He could have been floating on that long walk, feeling tired, relaxed and excited all at the same time. Behind the door was what could only be called a pen. It was square, with a corridor all around it. There was hay stored overhead, and the floor of the pen was thick with fresh straw. There were stable hands and grooms laughing around the perimeter, all men, all watching him enter with Kerr. One man stood a little apart from the others, man dressed more elaborately with an assessing gleam in his eyes. Even though he’d shed his jacket and pushed up the sleeves of his white shirt, there was an air of authority about him that left no doubt of his role.

He must be the lord of the manor.

A quick look confirmed he was a handsome bugger, with silver at his temples and a wry smile. He was trim as well, and not afraid to share a joke with the grooms. He also looked reckless and a bit dangerous, a man who knew what he wanted and was used to getting it.

Did he want the woman from the flight in? Josh found that a troubling thought, even though it wasn’t his place to be jealous. They were lord and lady. For all he knew, they knew each other already and had arranged the situation here to suit themselves.

He didn’t like that thought any better.

Kerr led Josh into the enclosure as the others watched. Josh heard bets being made as three grooms began to slather his skin with a thick oil. He lifted his arms over his head and turned in place, letting them all look and ensuring he was well-greased. He was placed in one corner, well aware of the assessing weight of the lord’s gaze. It reminded him of a backroom brawl, a street fight where bets were made.

When they led the other new arrival into the pen, Josh smiled in anticipation.

Golden Boy.

He was going to enjoy this.

“This is off the program,” Kerr said, as if reminding the others. Josh guessed that it was a kind of hazing and against the policy of the club.

Because it wasn’t safe.

“Au contraire,” the lord drawled, cocksure and loud. “You’re all fulfilling my command.”

The men exchanged glances and laughed, more than a few uneasy with the breaking of Phoenix rules. No one wanted to be exiled, and he supposed many of these men were employed by The Phoenix. Still, the forbidden nature of the game gave it spice.

“No rules.” Baxter said, giving Josh and then the other guy a hard look. “There’s no shame in taking a pass. So, are you in?”

Josh nodded immediately, so hard and primed for this that he couldn’t believe it.

Golden Boy nodded quickly, too, anger simmering in his eyes. He thought he could take out his frustration on Josh.

He could think again.

“Three to one on the dark one,” the lord said, earning a glare of outrage from Golden Boy. He chuckled easily. “Although passion has been known to take the day.”

Kerr patted Josh’s rump and left the pen. “May the best steed win.”

* * *

Things were looking up.

First the fillies and now this fight. Someone could have been reading Tyler’s mind as well as his application.

As soon as Tyler entered the pen and saw the guy from the helicopter, he felt the tide had turned. This guy attracted Elise’s attention and was the cause of Tyler’s humiliation and now Tyler had the chance to get even. He was still angry Elise wouldn’t be in the stables, and hated that she might have lovers other than himself. He couldn’t believe The Phoenix changed the rules on him, despite their stupid contract clauses, and he was going to make this bastard pay for it all.

It was surreal to be fighting like this, to be surrounded by men shouting encouragement. He could have stepped back in time, with all the grooms in their uniforms and the lanterns hanging from the massive barn beams overhead. The violence in the air was tangible, irresistible, and it fed the anger inside Tyler. He wanted to make this guy hurt, and he wouldn’t stop until he won.

He felt good, strong and pumped. Having so many guys checking him out reminded him of the change room at the gym, but the looking was more overt. Maybe some of them were fags. Not him, and he’d set anyone straight—ha—who suggested otherwise. The female ponies were noticeably absent from this event, which was disappointing. He could have shown off for the girls.

That was when he realized he and the other guy were the only ponies.

Baxter blew a whistle and they were released. They circled each other, hands out, skin gleaming, gazes locked. The other guy moved with a deliberation that hinted at his strength, and he certainly had a powerful build. He didn’t seem to blink as he watched Tyler and there was a tiny smile playing on his lips.

Like he was mocking Tyler.

That was so totally the wrong choice.

“What’s so funny, asshole?” Tyler snarled.

“Maybe that you were too dumb to read the contract.” His voice was low, his words softly uttered. He had some kind of an accent, but not quite British.