How Cassie Got Her Grind Back (44 page)

Ivan gave another nod and began unbuttoning his shirt as he returned to the bathroom with her glass of water. Samson readied her bedroom, pulling all the shades, closing the curtains to darken the room, and lighting candles.

The water shut off a few minutes later and he stood in the dimly lit bedroom listening to their soft murmurings and the flapping of the towel as Ivan dried them off and then eased her across the hall.

Her breathing was slower and her shoulders were not as tight, at least until she spotted the straight-back chair in the open space in front of the turned down bed, and then her eyes widened. But he admired her spirit as she put her hand is his when he reached out to her.

“Cassandra, any form of play you and I engage in will always be safe, sane, and consensual. I promise not to harm you, and to give you what you need. Can you trust me know your limits?”

“Yes.” Her reply was so soft he almost didn’t hear her.

“Your safeword is red. If you say ‘red’ everything stops and we talk, okay?”

She nodded and allowed him to lead her.

“Ivan is going to sit where he can touch you, and so you know he’s close the whole time. He’s a part of this, too.”

He caught Ivan’s eyes and gestured to the spot at his left, and Ivan pulled the upholstered chair in the corner forward and sat close enough that he’d be able to touch her. Cassie swiped a lock of hair from her face that had come loose and gulped as Samson took a seat in the chair he’d brought from her dining room.

Conversation would just delay what was coming and increase her anxiety, so with deliberate purpose, he drew her close and guided her to bend over his thighs. He could feel her hesitancy in the stiffness of the muscles in her back. “Up and over,
chiquita
. Brace your hands.” She grabbed on to him as he scooted her farther over, taking her off kilter. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you, and I won’t let you fall.”

“Okay,” she murmured and allowed him to position her. Her warm flesh draped over his lap, waiting for him to paddle her exquisite bottom, made his cock so hard he needed to grit his teeth and breathe for a moment to get himself under control.

Humping the sexy submissive because she felt so good in his arms was not good Dominant form.

He stroked her back and said, “Breathe, honey.”

“I’m here, baby,” Ivan said as he ran the backs of his fingers along her cheek bone.

She lifted her head to look up at Ivan and then at him and nodded. “I trust you.”

With his left hand bracing her upper back, he used his right to massage and squeeze her butt cheeks. He gripped her tight enough to draw blood flow to the area but not tight enough that she would tense up. Moving his hands around, he gripped her hips and the backs of her thighs, delighting in the feel of her silky, slightly damp skin. Her legs were voluptuous and long, and it was a shame she felt the need to hide them with long skirts, but he liked that only he and Ivan were allowed to see them like this. The backs of her thighs were supple, the muscles firm from work and activity. Her bottom was smooth and bouncy under his palm as he moved his hand up to test the heat compared to the cooler skin on her lower back.

Ready.

He checked her posture as he began to squeeze her cheeks harder with intermittent taps. She flinched the first couple of times but relaxed as he continued, establishing an easy rhythm. He released his hold on her, satisfied that she was secure in her position, and used both hands to manipulate and tap her ass and the backs of her thighs until the flesh showed a nice rosy hue. He glanced at Ivan and found that he was focused solely on Cassie’s face, there for her.

As Samson watched, she relaxed the muscles in her neck and allowed her head to tip down, and the tension in her shoulders eased as she grew accustomed to what for her must be an odd position. For him, it was a dream coming true.

“You have a very strong spirit, Cassandra. Did you know that?”

Her dangling head turned from side to side but she said nothing.

“You’ve overcome all the negativity your father raised you with. You’ve raised two absolutely fantastic kids. You take care of your mother, and—

She planted a hand on the floor and lifted her head. “Oh—wait. I didn’t even think about Mom. Where is she? Is she in her room?”

Samson stroked her back until she relaxed her neck again and said, “Marissa and Tilly came by and picked her up. They wanted to take her to supper and a movie. She won’t be back for hours. Now relax. We have everything under control.”

Her only response was a loud gulp but she obeyed.

“You’ve started you own business and the people of Divine obviously love Divine Drip. You held yourself together when others would’ve crumbled as it went up in flames, and I know when you’re finished rebuilding Divine Drip, it will be even better. But I see you struggling now. You’re not sleeping.” He landed a solid, open-palmed swat on one cheek.

Wham!

Her gasp filled the room and her fingers clawed against the rug. He felt a tremble run through her and heard her soft panting, but she relaxed against him again as he rubbed and squeezed her derriere.

“You’re not eating enough to keep a flea alive.” His palm landed on the other cheek.

Wham!

She clenched her fists but stayed loose. Strong girl. She was submitting for his sake, not for her own.

“You wake screaming with nightmares and won’t talk about them.”

Wham! Wham!
Two hard pops on the backs of her thighs that made the muscles there tighten up for a moment. She kept her lips closed on the high-pitched sound she made.

“You’re stuck because you’re working so hard to keep your emotions in check. I’m going to help you with that.”

He braced her side with his left hand so she wouldn’t fall if she tried to wiggle free, and with his right hand he proceeded to spank her, not at full tilt yet because she needed time to get there with him, but definitely harder pops than he had been giving her. Those had been to warm her up and get her used to him.

In an even tone, he said, “This isn’t a sexy spanking, a role play spanking, or a hardcore spanking…” He delivered each swat in a slow, even rhythm.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

“Although it probably feels hardcore right now. And it’s certainly not a punishment spanking because you haven’t done anything wrong. This is a therapy spanking.”

Therapy for her but torture for him. He didn’t intend for there to be a sexual component to this particular spanking, despite the fact that his hard-on was definitely in the “raging” category. Sex would just confuse the issues. She needed a release from the pain her father had caused her, and they could comfort her and make love to her later after she’d recovered, if she wanted to.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

“Owwwww.” Her moan was soft and the muscle tension increased a little as her ass undoubtedly started to sting.

“On the contrary. You’ve done everything right to the best of your ability ever since you were a little girl.” He delivered more hard swats to the backs of her thighs.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

“And even then it wasn’t enough to please your dad, was it?”

Sniffling was followed by a shaky, “No.”

“And with him sick, you may never get anything remotely resembling an affirmation from him.”

Wham! Wham! Wham!

A scream strained against her clenched lips and she grew tenser and her sniffling increased.

He glanced at Ivan and saw the consternation in his deeply furrowed brow but he didn’t do anything more than stroke her arms, which probably helped to ground her.

“Something precious has been taken from you, Cassandra, and I don’t just mean Divine Drip.”

He swung a little harder, hitting full tilt.
Wham!

“You couldn’t trust in your dad, the man who is supposed to be there for you.”

Wham! Wham!

“Ow! Fuck!” She struggled to rise up and he wouldn’t allow it. Her ass and thighs and her back grew tighter.

“Your father didn’t show you love. A father is supposed to model unselfish love to his kids, not yell all the time,” he said in an even voice.

“It hurts! Ow!”

Wham! Wham! Wham!

“And he bartered you to a man who was loyal to him so he could keep you under his thumb even after you married.”

Wham!

“Son of a bitch! Fucking son of a bitch!” she hollered as she bucked and got nowhere.

Wham!

“You keep it together because you’re so used to having no choice. Cassandra,
you have a choice
.”

Wham!

She let out a long, haunting keening sound as the tension crested and her body started to judder in his hold.
There we are.

“Let it go, Cassandra. We’ve got you.”

* * * *

The ache in her hot butt was worse than any spanking she’d gotten while she was growing up, but she didn’t feel wronged. On the contrary, she felt freed as the emotions overflowed and left her howling. She didn’t even care if she landed on the floor in a heap as she let it all out.

“He didn’t love me. He didn’t hug or show me affection. He didn’t care about me except for what work I could do for him. If I wanted to live in his house, I had to work from the time I was itty-bitty. He wanted a slave, not a daughter. He didn’t care that I was in the coffee shop. It upset him that Joseph was in there, but he didn’t say a word about me being in there. I—I don’t think it would have bothered him if I’d died because-because I’m such a disappointment to him. He told me that today. He took Divine Drip from me. He hurt people all his life and everyone made excuses for him—even me!”

Her throat hurt as she sobbed, tears clogged her throat and ran over her temples and forehead as she hung limp over Samson’s lap.

“He hated me, even though I tried and tried and tried to win his approval. It was never enough. It’ll never be enough. I’ll never be enough.”

She was limp as a noodle, all the terrible pain and tension draining from her as she was turned and lifted into Samson’s arms. Samson tilted to one side and then she was swaddled in a velvety soft velour blanket. The throw from the chair Ivan had sat in.

“Cassie,” Samson whispered. “You’ll always be enough for us.
Always
.” His voice shaky with emotion.

Ivan said, “And being enough for us isn’t based on what you can do for us but on who you are to us.”

She could barely open her eyes as Samson cuddled her so that her head was resting on his chest in the spot below his collar bone where her head seemed to fit so perfectly. He sat so that Ivan faced him and she was comforted as they stroked her through the blanket, which she held on to as if it were a life line as the pent-up emotions dissipated.

“You got hard hands,” she murmured, giggling when her words came out a little slurred.

A husky chuckle rumbled from his chest. “I’ve heard that before. I wanted to get through all those walls you’ve built up. You were hurting yourself worse by holding it all in.”

“Think I understand what Victoria said a little better now.” She looked up at him, barely able to keep her eyes open. “Thank you.”

She reached up to him, to pull his head down for a kiss. His warm lips against hers were the last thing she felt as exhaustion finally caught up with her.

* * * *

It was dark outside when Cassie opened her eyes. She listened to the sounds around her, trying to remember why she’d gone to bed and if she’d forgotten to do something.

Then it all came back. The fire. Joseph still in the hospital. Her father and that horrible scene. The spanking. Flipping back the fluffy blanket, she recalled she was nude when the cool air from the ceiling fan hit her warmed skin. A jaw-cracking yawn made stretching irresistible, which reminded her of why she was naked when her ass rubbed against the velour. The soft nap felt like sandpaper against her abused posterior.

Someone must’ve heard her pained groan as she stretched her sore leg muscles, because she heard Samson and Ivan’s dual bass rumbles from the kitchen and then the creak of footsteps in the hall.

“Hey, baby,” Ivan said as his shadowy figure filled the doorway and he came to the side of the bed and set something on the night table before turning on the lamp. “How do you feel?” he asked as he stroked her cheek and her bare shoulder.

She cupped her hand over his. “Like a balloon that’s had all its air let out, but in a good sense. How long did I sleep? Is Samson okay? Are you okay?”

Ivan grinned as she sat up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her, and moved over so he could join her on the bed.

“He’s fine. You slept for a couple of hours and probably need several more, but I wanted to feed you a little something.”

“I missed supper?”

“Don’t worry about that. We fixed the meal, ate, and cleaned up, and there’s plenty left if you want it, but in light of what you dealt with earlier, I’ve decided to bring you your dessert first.” He reached for the stoneware bowl on the night table and dipped a spoon into it, gathering up a bite. The aroma was mouthwatering.