Burned (Purgatory Club BDSM Erotic) (6 page)

When he sagged against her, Ruby leaned forward and buried her face in his shoulder. She couldn’t let him see the impact he had on her. It was sex. Simple, sensational, sex. Something she shouldn’t have to keep reminding herself of.

Chapter Four

Zane held Ruby close, burying his face in the warmth of her shoulder. He’d given her what she asked for and it hadn’t been nearly enough. Sex with her, even vanilla sex, was more explosive than what he’d expected. Now, with the aftershocks causing her muscles to tighten around his cock, he wanted her again…and again.

“
Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to do that?” he teased, his voice low and rough.

She nipped at his shoulder with her teeth. “Probably about as long as I have.”

Reluctantly he withdrew from her body, her tight sheath dragging across his over sensitized cock. If she’d driven him mad tonight, what would she do to him if there were no barriers between them? He padded across the room to the bathroom and quickly disposed of the condom. He wanted to keep her in his arms, away from anything that could hurt her. The need to possess her swept through him. No, not simply sex. He wanted more from her. Her surrender, for starters.

He collapsed beside her and pulled her into his arms. The craving he’d denied for months still burned inside him. She’d tried to deny him by hiding, but eventually she’d come to him. It was a gift he would never forget. Still, she harbored fear of him inside her and he aimed to get it out in the open so they could deal with it and move on.

“
Tell me, Ruby,” he demanded hoarsely.

“
Hmm?” she mumbled sleepily. “Tell you what?”

“
Tell me more of what you started in the car. What is it that makes you fear submission?”

She stiffened against him and he touched her arm in response, tracing the curves in a light, soothing pattern. He never wanted to stop touching her. “You’re safe with me, Ruby—always. But you need to help me understand what it is that holds you back.” He softened his voice. “You can trust me.”

“
My mother is a slave.”

Wow, that he’d not seen coming. More often than not a submissive would admit to a bad experience at the hands of a novice Dom and on a more rare occasion, an issue with an abusive man. This was new. It did explain a lot though.

Zane propped his head on his hand so he could look at her face as she spoke, his fingers still trailing up and down her arm. He’d tread carefully for now and hear what she had to say. “And?”

“
And
, growing up in a Master/slave household gives me a unique perspective into the inner workings of the relationship. I know my parents love each other very much, but there were times when their relationship scared the hell out of me. I worried all the time about my mother being lost in my father. Her devotion never wavered no matter what he asked of her or did to her in the name of being her Master.”

“
What do you mean?” He modulated his voice, keeping the tone low and soft…encouraging.

“
Her life revolves around nothing other than serving my father. If she does something outside his established boundaries she begs for punishment.” Her eyes closed, as if lost in a memory while she spoke. “She does nothing for herself, only for him. It’s all about him. Sometimes it breaks my heart.”

“
How can you be so sure? One of the basic tenants in that deep of a relationship is a slave’s need to please her master. It is how she derives her pleasure.”

“
I know, Zane, I’ve heard it from my mother many, many times. She is happy. Serving her master is all her heart desires. Yet…”

“
You still don’t understand it. You constantly wonder how she could possibly be happy like that.” He was definitely beginning to understand her wariness. He knew plenty of people who lived like that, but she was the first person he’d met who’d actually been born into it. Lived with it from a daughter’s perspective. She clearly hadn’t inherited the heart of a slave and for that she struggled with understanding.

“
I believe her when she explains how happy she is, but I’m not sure I’ll ever understand it one hundred percent. I’m not like that. I don’t want to be submissive to a man, I like having control over my life.”

“
Haven’t you learned yet that submission, and dominance for that matter, takes any number of forms? The number of levels and ways to practice is as varied as the number of people you meet on a daily basis. In this case, it sounds like your parents live one of the deepest forms of the life, or what some might refer to as an extreme case. However, one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to this lifestyle, and I would think you’d have learned that by now.”

Ruby pulled away and rolled onto her back. The puzzled look on her face told him she was considering his words so he continued to touch her, focusing on the rounded flesh of her hip, giving her time to process what he’d said.

“
I can’t be like her.”

“
No one said you should.”

“
But you’re a Dom in need of a submissive.” She choked back a cry. “I can’t be your submissive.”

“
Yet every time I touch you, you nuzzle closer. You try to hold back but eventually the need to give in wins out. Why would you want to resist that? It’s beautiful.”

Ruby sighed, a frown forming across her face.

He ran his fingers along her compressed lips. “Don’t do that. As cute as you are when you’re frustrated, you don’t have to fight me.” Zane tilted his head and took possession of her mouth. It was going to take more than words to get his point across. His tongue swept inside her mouth, melding them together until he stole the breath from her lungs. He wasn’t letting her go that easy. He couldn’t. He kissed his way down her throat and licked at the sheen of sweat between her breasts while his fingers rolled and tugged at the nipples until she shuddered in response. Against her hip his cock began to swell again as arousal fired between them.

“
There’s a big difference between what I need and what your parents share. I’m not looking for a slave. Yes, I’m possessive and controlling, but that doesn’t mean I want to control a woman’s every move. That’s a lot of work and responsibility, and not many Doms truly want to go that deep on a twenty four seven basis.”

His teeth bit slowly down on her nipple until she gasped and arched. Streaks of heat whipped through him, lighting him up for more.

“
What are you saying, Zane?”

“
I’m saying open your mind to the varying degrees of submissiveness and I think you’ll find the place you need to fit.”

“
But—”

Zane covered her mouth. “You don’t listen very well.” He framed her face and stared into her eyes. Stubborn, that’s what she was. And irresistible. “Maybe a more accurate demonstration is in order.”

He pushed off the bed and held out his hand. She hesitated for a brief moment, but it spoke volumes. “Ruby, do you trust me that I won’t hurt you?”

Without hesitation she replied, “Of course I do, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.” She placed her hand in his and allowed him to draw her from the bed.

“
Then trust me to understand how you feel and still stay open to new possibilities. You’ve jumped to a lot of conclusions that I think you’ll find aren’t as accurate as you think.”

She tilted her head. “Why are you being so patient? There are plenty of willing submissives in this city who would happily knock me out of the way to get to you.”

She waited for an answer, and he realized that no one had tried this hard with her before. He squeezed her hand. “Because when the right woman comes along a man will do everything in his power to prove he’s the one.”

He led her to the end of the hall to a closed door and reached atop the ledge to retrieve the key. While he lived alone, one could never be too cautious when it came to expensive toys and privacy. The door unlocked, he pushed inside and pulled her with him.

“
My playroom.”

It wasn’t a fancy room by any means, nor was it a cold and unfriendly room. It was large and well ventilated, which were the important things when it came to his brand of play.

There was a cushioned table that dominated the room, and while it did come with straps and cuffs at the ends, he rarely used them. The carpeting had been ripped out and the concrete underneath painted black and sealed. Safety first.

“
What do you think?”

She glanced around the space. “There’s not much here, although I do like the collection of implements on that wall.” She pointed to where he kept everything hung or neatly placed.

“
This room is only used for my interests in fire, and is not meant for anything else. Does that surprise you?”

She nodded.

He pulled her hand and led her to the table. “Face down, sweetheart. I have much to show you.”

Her eyes searched his face and he held his tongue. She wanted him to push, but not this time. He’d let her set the pace and he’d honor as much of her comfort zone as he could. Nothing was more important tonight than her achieving an understanding that she was more than woman enough for him.

When she climbed on the table he bit back a smile of satisfaction. She couldn’t be sure what he’d planned for her, but she wanted it. Whether she realized it or not, she wore a good number of her emotions on her face.

“
Good girl.”

He picked up a lighter and a candle, placed them on the small stand next to the table, and then went to adjust the lighting.

“
I think tonight should be about learning for both of us. I love watching you react to the fire and now I want to delve a little deeper into what’s behind it. Are you okay with that?”

“
Yes, Zane. It’s fine.” Her voice trembled.

The buzz of energy between them sizzled and popped from the sound of her voice. The stiffness of her shoulders spoke volumes about her nerves. They couldn’t start their session like this. Zane touched her shoulders and cringed at the subtle flinch of muscle underneath his hand. For a second the warmth he’d experienced from Ruby earlier disappeared. The years melted away and he stood in the midst of a crowded BDSM club with a huge chip on his shoulder and an urgent need to touch the fire. To relax them both he began to massage Ruby’s neck and shoulders.

“
The first time I played with fire, I hurt someone very badly.”

Ruby turned her head and met his gaze. The shock he recognized didn’t surprised him. He’d not exactly been forthcoming about his life. There was more to tell so he pushed her shoulders back to the table and started over again.

“
I was very young and still new to the scene. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for but I liked the open minded reception I received at my first munch so I went to another meeting and then one thing led to another and I’d become a regular attendee at the local BDSM dungeon.”

Her muscles loosened as he continued.

“
The first time I saw a fire demonstration I was hooked. Unfortunately I still thought I knew it all and took it upon myself to have a full fledged scene after minimal instruction.”

He hated thinking about what an idiot he’d been but Ruby needed to hear his story as much as he’d needed to hear hers.

“
I thought I was smart by negotiating the scene with another young submissive who claimed experience in fire play. The arrangements were made, I purchased and made my own equipment and away we went.”

“
You trusted her to be truthful,” Ruby whispered.

“
Yes,” he agreed. “And despite contrary beliefs, Doms do not read minds.”

She giggled, her body shaking slightly under his continued ministrations. The sweet sound caused a shift inside him. He needed to finish the story.

“
What I didn’t know about this particular sub was that she needed pain and lots of it. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that pain and fire are not a good mix.”

“
Mmhmm,” she murmured.

Zane focused on the satiny texture of Ruby’s skin as he kneaded her muscles one section at a time. “I let her push for more and more not watching as closely as I should for the signs of trouble.”

Ruby’s breath caught.

“
Relax, it’s probably not what you’re thinking. I didn’t light the poor girl on fire or anything. At least not on the outside. Halfway through the session she turned into a screaming, writhing mess in the throes of a painful memory from her childhood.”

Ruby turned into his embrace and stared up at him.

“
You hit a trigger?”

He nodded.

“
First time out and I ended up traumatizing her.”

“
But she should have disclosed something like that. Subs have responsibility too.”

“
I know that now and I knew somewhat then but that didn’t stop me from withdrawing for a while.”

“
A while?”

“
You aren’t the only one drawn to fire. I thought about it all the time. It haunted me.”

Ruby nodded her head as if she understood the compulsion exactly.

“
That’s how I became a performer. I set out to learn everything I could about fire chemistry and safety and from there I learned how to spend my time with it wisely. One thing led to another and now I’ve managed to make a career out of it.”