Nobody's Hero

Third in the Rescue Me Series

by

Kallypso Masters

Copyright 2011, Kallypso Masters

Smashwords Edition

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Edited by Jeri Smith,
www.booksmithediting.com

Line edited by Jacy Mackin and Rosie
Moewe

Cover art by Linda Lynn

This book contains content that is not
suitable for readers 17 and under.

Thank you for downloading this e-book. This
e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be
reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing
without written permission from the author, Kallypso Masters, at
[email protected].

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or
distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal
copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary
gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years
in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (See
http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/
for
more information about intellectual property rights.)

This book is a work of fiction and any
resemblance to persons—living or dead—or places, events, or locales
is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the
author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Some of the BDSM
techniques portrayed in this book, including rope suspension,
require a great amount of skill and should not be attempted without
proper training.

To discover more about the books in this
series by Kallypso Masters, follow her “
Ahh, Kallypso…the
stories you tell
” blog at
http://kallypsomasters.blogspot.com
. Or send a
friend request to Kallypso Masters on Facebook. She also has a
Facebook Kallypso Masters Author Page at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kallypso-Masters-Author/260576087323803
.
You can also follow her on Twitter as @kallypsomasters.

To the people who volunteer to help me with
edits, beta reading, expertise, and research, you help me achieve
the attention to detail that makes these characters so strong in
everyone's minds. I appreciate your time and dedication (even when
I am always weeks behind and rushing you!)

To my husband—thanks for nurturing me during
my writing marathons.

To Master Adam, for not pulling a Master Marc
stunt.

As always, there are so many people to thank,
and my apologies to any I leave out.

First, I’d like to thank my editor, Jeri
Smith, of Booksmith Editing. My writing continues to improve and I
grow as a writer with your explanations, suggestions, and
corrections. Most of all, your unflappable belief in my abilities
and potential.

Linda Lynn, the cover artist for all of my
books to date, for your patience and knowledge. And for collaring
Karla on this cover.

To my line editors, Jacy Mackin and Rosie
Moewe, thanks for pulling those all-nighters with me and for the
attention to detail you bring to the table. We are an awesome
team—the Three Master-teers!

For the many, many hours of reading e-mails
and scenes and offering suggestions and ideas, thanks to “Toymaker”
and his beloved submissive “Eirocawakening” from FetLife. You've
helped this neophyte learn, always with patience and enthusiasm.
Toymaker, I do believe you will keep me torturing poor Karla and
some of my other submissives for years to come with your
innovations and diabolical ideas.

My incredible crew of beta readers: Fiona
Campbell, Ashlee Davidson, Kristin Harris, Kellie Hunter, Rosie
Moewe, Kelly Mueller, and Kathy Treadway. I’m always amazed at how
each of you finds something monumentally wrong—but it’s never the
same thing. Reading your comments often send me in new directions
or just help me add another layer to make the story even more
complex in its character and plot development.

Thanks to my fans and readers, affectionately
known as the Masters Brats, for falling in love (as I have) with
Masters Adam, Marc, and Damián, and for encouraging them (with your
bratty behavior) to make regular visits on Facebook to keep you in
line. (But you know Master Adam’s fond of deprivation when you get
too bratty, so don't get too bratty or he won’t come to visit. But
Karla's going to show him that bratty can be fun, too.)

To my Romance Writers of America chapter, the
Kentucky Romance Writers, and to my fellow solely independent
authors, Sondra Allen Carr and Donna MacDonald, for all of your
advice and support as we try to revolutionize the publishing
industry one book at a time.

I discovered in the writing of this book that
my Facebook friends restore my energy levels, which is why I spend
more time there than most writers do on deadline. (That’s my story
and I’m sticking to it.) You build up my adrenaline, help me find
the answers to a character’s most puzzling questions (like what
body wash/soap Master Adam uses and what he’d call his underwear,
when he wears any!).

Many Facebook friends have added in big and
small ways to the plot and character development of this book. Some
that I made a note of before Facebook buried them on my profile
wall are: Jennifer P. for providing the perfect setting for the
final scene; Patricia Wheeler for help with my questions about
Marines needed for the last chapter (and thanks for your service!);
Lindsay Klug for self-defense moves; Rosie Moewe and Joanne
MacGregor for research videos on self-defense and rope bondage;
Sherri Hayes for your brainstorming help, because you always seem
to know what Master Adam would do; Kelly Timm for help with facts
about my fictionalized version of Eden Gardens in Solano Beach;
Fiona Campbell, Maria Nespolo, Stacey Price, and everyone who
helped me fill “the box” of special memories in this story; and for
all who gave me suggestions for public and private BDSM collars
(Susan F., Crystal H., Evita’s Reads, Gail M., Joanne M., Tamara
M., Suzanne O., D.F. Starr, and Beth W.). I need to get better at
remember or recording who provided which pieces of information so I
can acknowledge all of you next time, but rest assured you are
appreciated, even if not named here. (All errors are mine, of
course.)

Thanks to Fiona Campbell for her medical
expertise and for keeping 50-year-old Master Adam (with his
fondness for rough sex) from going at Karla like a teenager before
he was fully healed from his wounds.

Thank you to my supportive, innovative, and
kinky "Playroom" friends, for lifting me up, making me laugh,
giving me delightful and informative inspiration into the BDSM
lifestyle, and for providing me with an awesome social-networking
fix every day! You’re the best!

Thanks, Jennifer Zeffer, Joanne Ioana T, and
everyone who shares delightful Master Gibbs “Dom” quotes from
NCIS
on a regular basis. Most memorable of late was:
“Somebody needed a safeword.” I hope the
NCIS
writers who
keep toying with us will one day give us the scene we all
crave—Master Gibbs in a romantic scene with a woman in restraints.
(Surely there’s a dungeon or playroom in his basement somewhere!) I
just wonder what all the "vanilla" (non-BDSM) viewers of
NCIS
think of these Master Gibbs-isms. (When asked what
safeword meant, one said, “It’s probably a Marine codeword." Well,
it is in MY books—especially this one!”)

And special thanks to everyone who came to my
aid whenever I put out the call for help, including when I needed
encouragement and support both for writing and for the situation
with my sister and her cancer. To those who took the time to post a
review (size does NOT matter—I love them all!) or rated my book at
e-book sales sites, you cannot know how this helps getting a book
to move up the bestseller lists. And thanks to those who sent me
e-mails or private message saying how much you love the characters
in my world, which just feeds the flames and keeps me going!

I am a perfectionist. No matter how many
times I read one of my books, I will change something. This is my
third book and I know from experience that over the next week or
two, I will upload additional versions of the book. In fact, I've
already announced on Facebook and my blog that there will be a new
one by Dec. 31, 2011. So, I encourage you to go back to where you
bought the book and sync or download the newer one before doing any
re-reads in the future.

Now, if this is the first of my books you've
ever picked up, I need to state unequivocally that the books in
this series are not stand-alone novels. We'll both be very
frustrated (especially with this one in which a major dramatic
event happened to this couple in the last book,
Nobody's
Angel
, which leads us to the opening scene in this book. I urge
you to learn more about five of the first main characters (and some
secondary characters who may become main characters some day) by
starting with the introduction and prequels to the series by
reading
Masters at Arms
(Rescue Me #1—only 99 cents at this
time). Then continue with
Nobody’s Angel
(Rescue Me #2,
$2.99). The lives of the characters in the first four books of the
series are very intertwined and will have recurring roles
throughout the series (which I have plans to continue with at least
four more books into 2013).

While
Masters at Arms
doesn’t have the
Happily Ever After endings romance readers expect, it does provide
extensive and heartbreaking stories about each of the Doms who own
the Masters at Arms Club. (That’s Master Adam on the cover, by the
way. You'll see him strike that pose on a regular basis.)

In my debut series, I strive to write
emotional, sometimes gut-wrenching stories with both dramatic and
humorous plots for a group of characters who are or will
eventuallybecome involved in the kinky world of safe, sane, and
consensual BDSM
(bondage-discipline-domination-submission-sadism-masochism). But I
don't write BDSM erotic romances. I write erotic romances in which
the erotic scenes often involve BDSM. As one reader wrote to me
recently, "I loved that the story was about the
story
and
the characters first, and they happened to be into the
lifestyle."

As the series progresses, the BDSM elements
will get ramped up. (I am new to "the lifestyle," and learning more
every day—well, in the fictional world at least.) In this book,
you’ll find scenes with Shibari rope bondage, breast bondage and
torture, anal play, orgasm torture (multiple forced orgasms), and
other forms of BDSM play that are more advanced than those in
Nobody's Angel
, as well as creative sexual positions and
locations for having sex. In the next book,
Nobody’s
Perfect
, the main characters will be involved in much edgier
play, including the inflicting and acceptance of severe pain
(they're into the SM, or sado-masochism, part of BDSM). In
Nobody’s Home
(#6), you’ll learn about female Dominants and
malesubs. (And was I ever surprised to learn how alpha male and hot
malesubs can be! And Mistress Grant's is the more alpha, hot male
yet, I think, so please don't get squeamish on me and skip that
one. He's a kick-ass man who served in the Army and with Grant in
Black Ops counterterrorism in Iraq.)

I also strive to write stories about
realistic people and scenes, not fantasy Doms or the more "dark" or
hardcore BDSM, erotica with dubious consent or non-consensual
scenes. (I write very explicit, sensual, hot sex scenes that
advance the story in some way. If you're one to skip over sex
scenes, this series might be a frustrating read for you. This book
is my very highest sexual/sensual heat level yet!)