Page 14 of Shrouded Desires
“Not tonight, boy. You’ll be lucky if all I do is blister your ass.”
He groaned softly. His ass had already had a workout, thank you very much.
“Obviously, if the bright shade of red is any indication.”
Crap, had he said that out loud?
There was a sudden burst of cool air as they exited the main floor and entered the dark hallway that led back to the offices at the back of the house.
The temperature drop was enough to start clearing his fogged mind, as he slowly slipped from sub-space and back into the reality of the situation he found himself in. He was in deep shit. “If I apologize, will it help, Sir?”
“Not likely.” Storm shouldered his way into Master’s office, then clicked on the lamp sitting on the corner of Max’s desk.
Raine shivered as he was set gently on his feet. He swayed back and forth as he tried to find his balance, only to be caught up in those strong arms once more, as Storm cursed under his breath. That didn’t sound good...not at all.
“Damn it, Raine.” Frustration colored Storm’s words.
Raine winced. “Sorry, Sir.” He mumbled the apology, before clinging weakly to the firm chest in front of him. Damn, the man was more ripped than he’d realized. A stray thought of how the man would look shirtless crossed Raine’s dazed brain. He bet the man had mouthwatering abs. “Ones I’d like to lick.”
“Maybe next time.” A hint of amusement coated the words even as Storm pulled back from him. “But we’re not here to talk about my abs, boy.” Storm shifted their position, before using the hard edge of the desk to prop Raine up. “This is all about you.”
A hissed groan of pain escaped Raine when the hard but cool wood made contact with his bared blistered ass. “Ouch.”
“I bet.” Storm eased his grip on Raine’s arms. “Hold the position, boy.” He slowly moved his hands up Raine’s arms to his shoulders. “Don’t move. Understand?”
Raine gazed up at Storm. The man was wearing the same clothing he’d left the club in earlier in the day. A stark baby blue polo contrasted with his dark skin and the faded jeans he wore clung to his thick thighs in a loving manner. But even as a casual as his clothing was, his face was impassive. Raine couldn’t read anything on the surface. Which as a submissive who’d royally fucked up wasn’t a good thing. He’d rather see anger or disappointment on a dom’s face than...nothing. It was as if what he’d done didn’t matter becausehedidn’t. He swallowed hard. “Yes, Sir.”
Storm stared at him for a moment, before a rough sigh escaped the other man. “You’ve put me in quite the predicament tonight, boy. Max is understandably pissed at me.” He crossed his arms over that wide chest, sending shivers of awareness down Raine’s spine. There was something about that pose that just did it for him. It pushed every submissive button he had. But Storm wasn’t assessing him as a potential play partner. He was staring at Raine as if he wasn’t sure what to do with him. It was sobering.
“Look, I probably shouldn’t have...” he drew in a deep breath. “...I know Master is supposed to arrange my scenes but...”
“...he’s not here.” Storm interrupted. “Which means you should’ve come to me if you needed a scene, Raine. That’s how your Master set this up. He left you in my care and you damned well knew that.”
“Yeah, he did.” A hint of bitterness laced the words, as he hung his head. “However, Master and Lizzie needed you more tonight. They come first – always.”
Storm growled, surprising Raine. “Commendable that you would think that, and not surprising now that I’ve gotten to know you a bit.” He dropped his arms to his sides. “But would it have killed you to open your mouth? It’s been at least two weeks since you’ve played, and I could’ve easily arranged a scene before I left. Or did one with you when I returned.” He rubbed a hand over his scalp. “I shouldn’t have had my best friend berating me for something that easily could’ve been avoided. I’m not a damned mind reader, boy.”
Raine grimaced. He’d fucked this up. Everything that Storm had said was true. He should’ve waited for Storm to return or asked him earlier in the day to arrange something for tonight. But his pride had stood in his way, along with a healthy fear of trusting the wrong person.
“Why?” He lifted Raine’s head with a firm grip on his chin. “I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’d never let you suffer when it’d be easy enough to assuage your need.”
“I...” His face flushed, as the last of the brain fog melted away under Storm’s intense stare. “Look, I know I’m a fuck-up, Sir, but did you ever think that this isn’t easy for me?”
A frown tugged at the corners of Storm’s mouth. “It isn’t? You have no issue with fighting with me when it comes to the club, so why would this be any different? All you have to do is open your mouth and say hey, Sir, I need a scene. Or maybe something along the lines of ‘I’m on edge?’”
Raine chewed the inside of his cheek as he wrestled with the truth. “Easier said than done, Sir. Helping with the club, it’s just different. I’m not a submissive when I’m dealing with club business. Asking for a scene is a whole different kettle of fish as mamaw would say. You’re asking me to trust a man, a stranger that I barely know, to set up a power exchange for me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Pardon me, if I figured I was safer to set it up myself than risk a scene that...”
“...that might not be what you need. I get it, but communication is a two-way street, boy. If I’m not sure what kind of scene you need, I’ll ask questions before I agree to anything. I’m not a stupid dom. What works for one sub, doesn’t necessarily work for another.” He rubbed his thumb over Raine’s lower lip. “It’s too easy to harm a submissive if a dom is arrogant enough to think the only way is their way. Lot of flavors of kink out there.”
“No kidding.” Raine was tempted to roll his eyes at the almost preachy words, but Storm’s touch was beyond distracting.
“Smart ass.” He narrowed his eyes. “Even after witnessing a short bit of your scene with Mistress Nadine, I could tell you’re much different than Lizzie. You crave heavier impact play, and you need much more pain to reach subspace than Lizzie does.”
Raine shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.”
“No guess about it.” Storm glared down at him. “You got damned lucky tonight. Mistress Nadine is an old friend of mine and Max. She respected the boundaries you put in place even when you were begging for more.”
Confusion consumed him. “What do you mean? I could’ve safe-worded at any time if it became too much.”
