Hacked For Love & The Dom's Songbird: A Billionaire Romance Collection by Michelle Love, Celeste Fall (10)

Arsen was nearly a part of her. She loved him more than she thought possible. When he told her he loved her, she knew she’d do anything for the man. Anything to help him get past the terrible things which were done to him.

She was ready for whatever he was about to do to her. She’d read a little about what the punishments in the dom/sub relationship were about. She knew she was supposed to cry to shed tears. It would show him she understood what she’d done to displease him and that she was sorry.

Then she was to thank him for what he’d done for her. She was prepared to do those things for him. To show him she was his and in the process if things went how she hoped they would, he’d become hers as well.

It wasn’t her plan to remain in a dom/sub relationship. She knew to get to the place she wanted though she had to go that route.

The sound of the leather belt sliding from his pants made her heart race. “Stand up!” She did as he said and continued to look down. “Turn around.”

She turned and felt his hand at the small of her back. The zipper of her skirt he pulled down and pushed it off her hips. It puddled around her ankles and then her panties were ripped off.

His hands grasped her shoulders, and he turned her around slowly. He ripped her shirt open, buttons flying in all directions. His arms went around her to unclasp her bra and he gently pulled it off her.

He took a step back and sighed as she could tell he was looking at her naked body, but she didn’t dare look up at him. She stepped out of her heels as he took her by the arm and moved her towards the closet.

He opened the door and said, “Raise your arms.”

She did and felt something cold go around each wrist then the sound of metal clicking and she knew she was in handcuffs. He pulled her up until she was on her tippy toes. He looped the cuffs over some kind of hook at the top of the door. Her arms ached already.

He stepped back and when he came back something went around her eyes, covering them with a soft material. Arsen leaned close to her. His breath hot against her ear and neck.

“Do you trust me, Steele?”

“I do, Arsen.” Her body was tense, and she was surprised to find she was aroused.

His fingers trailed over her back, sending chills through her.

“What was it you did that brought this punishment on?”

“I broke your rule about being alone with Rowan.”

The crack of the belt across her butt made her wince. It stung, but it wasn’t unbearable. Not yet anyway.

“Why did you break my rule?”

She had to swallow to make sure her voice was steady.

“My stubborn curiosity.”

Another loud crack and the belt bit into her flesh. She had to bite her lip not to scream.

“Why do I make rules for you Steele?”

“Because you care for me and want me to be safe and healthy.”

The leather stung as it slammed across her ass. She couldn’t hold the tears back any longer and a sob came out of her involuntarily. His hand reached between her legs and one finger ran into her.

“You reacted appropriately Steele and now you’ll be rewarded. Tell me our safe word.”

She choked back her sobs. “Thank you, Arsen. Our safe word is Rose.”

He pulled her long, dark hair back and kissed her neck. “That’s right, baby.”

Arsen pulled her cuffed hands off the hook and led her to the bed. He bent her over the bed and she heard his zipper then felt his large cock press into her in one hard thrust.

Each hard thrust sent waves of pleasure through her. His hand fisted in her hair and he pulled it hard. She panted with excitement and her body began to quiver.

His voice was hard and demanding. “If you come without me telling you to, I’ll give you five more licks of the belt, Steele.”

She didn’t want any more, so she held back. Her body was cresting, and it was growing more difficult to keep from letting go. Finally, she said, “Please, Arsen…” Her body was shaking from the need to release.

He stopped and pulled out of her. Then she was picked up and laid out on the bed flat on her back. Her cuffed hands looped over something and then she felt something go around one ankle.

It was cold and her leg was pulled and then it was obvious to her he had cuffed her leg to something that held it in place. The same was done to the other, and she was helpless to move at all.

“Do you trust me?” he asked her.

“Yes, Arsen. I trust you.”

The swoosh of fabric she heard and then she felt his bare skin on hers as he pushed into her again. The wave which had built up had dissipated, and she was no longer in danger of climaxing without his permission.

With her sense of sight gone, she was able to concentrate on everything her body was feeling. The way his large cock was moving inside her felt amazing and his muscles rippled on his stomach, moving against hers.

His breathing was a thing she found amazing. Hard, deep breaths which came from deep in his lungs moved hot air over her cheek and some of her shoulder.

The way he smelled seeped into her senses. His expensive cologne, his sweat, and the unique smell of them together filled her nostrils and made her head feel slightly light. Intoxicating her with the aroma, distinctly them.

His mouth took hers and his tongue moved to the back of her throat. Stroking against hers. It was all getting to be too much for her to handle and she began to feel the orgasm starting. In the position she was in she couldn’t stop it. It was impossible.

His mouth on hers had it where she couldn’t even ask him. Her body climaxed and shook under his. He kept going though. He didn’t stop, didn’t quit kissing her.

Instead she felt his hand move up her arm and take her hands from the thing he’d hooked them to. He pulled them to go around his neck. Stroking hard into her.

He pulled his mouth away and kissed her neck then nipped at her earlobe.

“I love you, baby. I’m sorry, baby. I only want to bring you pleasure and happiness.”

Steele began to cry. She was beginning to get to him. For some reason, making him soften felt wrong. Like she was making him weak.

She wanted in so bad, but to break him down wasn’t what she wanted. “Arsen, I love you.”

His body stiffened, and he groaned as he came. It made her body climax again, and they both were breathing hard as she felt him trembling. She was breaking him and she couldn’t stand herself.

This isn’t what I wanted!

ARSEN

As he un-cuffed her ankles one at a time, he couldn’t stop the ache in his heart. He’d hurt her and he was finding that act unforgiveable. He had no idea what was happening to him.

She lay perfectly still, her eyes still covered. As he released her ankle he saw it was red from where she’d pulled at it. He ran his hand over it and flinched at the sharp pain which stabbed at his heart.

This wasn’t a lifestyle she’d chosen. This wasn’t some fantasy of hers. She wasn’t the woman he was making her be. She cared for him – that was the only reason she even allowed him to do the things he did to her.

He was a monster. The fucking kid had been right about him. He was so set in his ways though. Was it in him to change? To be what the gorgeous woman strapped to his bed deserved?

He released the other ankle and then her wrists. When he pulled the blindfold away, he saw her red rimmed eyes and nearly lost it.

“Steele, baby, please forgive me.” He took her in his arms and held her tight to him.

Her head was on his shoulder and he felt the hot tears rolling over his skin. It was breaking his heart, and he had to swallow the knot down which had formed in his throat.

He picked her up and took her to the shower. The warm water fell over them and he found she was still crying, not hard, but her tears were still flowing. “I’ve lost you, haven’t I?”

She shook her head.

“Far from it, Arsen.”

He was confused and kissed her cheek.

“So why the nonstop tears?”

“Because you told me you’re sorry. I feel like I’m breaking something in you. The thing which makes you who you are.” She looked up at him and he wiped her tears.

“You are changing me. Somehow, you’re so under my skin it feels like you’re a part of me. I brought you into a world you didn’t seek out. I feel now like I was wrong to force you to accept my lifestyle.”

“You don’t want me anymore?” He saw fear in her blue eyes and it further hurt him.

He kissed the tip of her nose.

“Of course I do. Just maybe a little different though.”

She shook her head.

“I want you the same way you had the other women. Arsen, you’ll tire of me quickly if you can’t live the way you have since…” She stopped herself from saying anymore and he saw it.

“Since what, Steele.” He looked at her and lifted her chin.

“I snooped, I told you that. I didn’t tell you that I read your little journal thingy you have locked away in one of the cabinets in your office.” She bit her lip.

Arsen was mad, furious even, but he’d already felt far too much guilt over spanking her. He wasn’t going to let his temper rule him.

“I see, so you know about it all then?” His grip on her loosened some. His mind wandered to the past. A place he hated to go to. “You know I was a weakling and then a submissive myself.”

“Yes, and Arsen, I don’t want you to feel weak again. I don’t want you to feel that way because of me.” She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.

The fact was she’d already made him feel weak. His love for her made him weak. He wasn’t in control of himself that was for sure.

“Are you saying you want to live my way so I can stay strong and in control?”

She nodded, and it made him sick. This strong woman was willing to let herself be treated in a way which was beneath her for him and he was ashamed of himself. For the first time in a long time, he was not satisfied with the man he was.

Her eyes met his.

“I want you to make the dom/sub contract, Arsen. I’m ready and willing to live that way with you. I trust you.”

“You aren’t ready and frankly, I doubt you’ll ever be.” Arsen let her go and poured shampoo in his hand and started washing his hair. His heart was pounding in his chest.

The truth was he longed to take her to the BDSM club, Fierce. He knew all the men would be envious of his gorgeous find. He envisioned her on her hands and knees, his collar around her long and slender throat. His leash holding her, telling all the others in the club she was his, and he was her master.

“Arsen, what’s wrong? Why do you think I’m not ready?” She moved to be in front of him. “You don’t want me like that?”

“You have no idea of what you’re in for, Steele. Tell me, has it ever been a fantasy of yours to crawl around on your hands and knees at the end of a leash I’ll hold?” His eyebrows quirked up, and he grinned.

“I could do it for you,” she said and ran her finger in the lines of his chiseled abs. “I could do anything for you, Arsen.”

He rinsed his hair then took her hand from him.

“This wouldn’t be allowed. You’d touch me only when I allowed. You’d be expected to do so much more as a sub. My subs catered to me. They washed my hair and trimmed my nails. They allowed me to take them whenever and where ever I wanted. That included in front of people.”

He saw Steele take in a sharp breath. “Really? Where? Those clubs?”

“Clubs, elevators, semi-secluded booths in restaurants. Where ever whenever. Think you could do that?” He smiled at her again and ran his hand over her shoulder.

Steele wasn’t answering right away, and he laughed.

“Like I said, it’s not a thing you’re ready for and may never be. It’s something I’m coming to terms with.”

“You certainly have done a lot you in your life, haven’t you?” Steele asked as she shuddered.

Arsen ran his hands up and down her arms.

“I have. More than most and you’d be smart to run away from me, Steele. Not that I’ll let you, but it would be the smart thing for you to do.”

“You choked those girls. Why’d they want you to do that? I actually have a fear of being choked to death,” she said as he turned her around and started shampooing her long, dark hair.

“Why’s that?” he asked as he massaged in the honeysuckle scented shampoo he’d picked up just for her.

“A case I saw played out on television when I was fifteen. A girl came up missing and when they found her months later, they found out she’d been strangled. I looked it up and found it takes a good while for the lack of oxygen to make your brain stop working. The victim is aware they’re dying. It’s awful, so why would people want to be choked?” She looked up at him as he pushed her head back to rinse the shampoo out.

“It’s because of exactly what you read about. They want to be brought just to the point of passing out, then once their throat is released the oxygen hits their brains rapidly and they have a euphoric experience. Add in an orgasm along with that and some people find it to be a phenomenal sensation.” He filled his palm with a honeysuckle scented conditioner and ran it through her hair.

“Have you been on the receiving end of that, Arsen?” Her blue eyes were wide.

Arsen thought it over before he spoke. He didn’t like to think about his time under Mistress Sinclair. It held too many bad memories. But Steele needed to know more about him. He couldn’t expect her to be what he needed in his life without letting her in on some of his past.

He nodded.

“Twice and I hated it both times. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for me. I was a young man, trying to impress my Dom. I should’ve used the safe word, but I refused to show my weakness and ended up passing out both times. I woke with a headache and an aching throat. On top of that, I was further disciplined for not using the safe word.”

Steele ran her arms around Arsen and hugged him.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever meet that horrible bitch, Arsen.”

“Not a damn thing, Steele. I won’t have you getting into any kind of altercation with her. She can take a fuck load of pain and you can’t. Believe me she knows so many ways to hurt you it’s not even funny.” He wrapped his arms around her and thought how good it felt to be talking to her about things.

Arsen never realized he’d want to talk about such things and with a female at that. It was crazy what she had him doing. He kissed the top of her head and felt a shift in his future was happening.

STEELE

As Arsen held her in his arms, Steele was able to see out the one window in the bathroom. On the sidewalk below, was the same man from the police station. He was looking up at the penthouse. Just staring.

That man needed to be looked at as a person of interest in the murders. She pulled back and pointed out the window.

“Look whose outside, Arsen.”

He turned and muttered, “Fuck.”

After turning off the water in the shower, he got out and wrapped a towel around his waist then wrapped one around Steele.

“Who is he, Arsen?”

“An old client of mine. The one case I lost.” He took her hand and led her out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. “This is probably not a good thing he’s out there.”

“What kind of case was it you lost?” she asked as he pulled one of his soft T-shirts out of a drawer and pulled it over her head.

“A murder case. Allen White was convicted of murdering his high school math teacher. He kidnapped her and kept her hidden away for a couple of months then killed her. Her body was tortured in many unbelievable ways.” Arsen pulled on a pair of blue pajama bottoms and led Steele to the kitchen.

“How come he’s out of prison then?” she asked as Arsen began to pull things out of the refrigerator to make sandwiches.

“Grab the bread, please,” he said as he placed a jar of mustard on the island in the large kitchen. “I was called by a member of the parole board several months ago. It seems Mr. White managed to gain his freedom by becoming a jail house evangelist.”

“So he found Jesus, and that alone got him out of prison?” Steele took a knife from a drawer and slathered fours slices of bread with mustard. “Is that all it takes to be set free after torturing and murdering a person?”

“Apparently.” Arsen placed three pieces of turkey on two of the mustard covered slices of bread. “The thing is, he was let out approximately three weeks before the first murder. So he could very well be the murderer.”

“Why target those women?” Steele asked as she placed slices of cheese on the two sandwiches.

Arsen piled lettuce on each sandwich.

“Well, I was feeling like I needed something in my life. The random women weren’t doing it for me. I was feeling like I needed more in my life. I went to see each woman who had been my subs a few times to see if there was any type of spark. I suppose he wanted to take away anyone that I cared about.”

Steele cut a tomato up and placed slices on the sandwiches then Arsen placed the other pieces of bread on top and placed each one on plates. He carried them to the table and Steele grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and a jar of pickles.

She sat across from him. “Why haven’t you told the police about your hunch?”

“Do you think it would do one bit of good to do that? I mean, it’s my handprints on each of their throats. If it was him, he must’ve managed to kill them without leaving a trace of DNA anywhere.” He took a bite of the sandwich.

Steele stabbed a couple of pickles out of the jar and placed one on her plate and one on his.

“We need to investigate him.”

“I do,” Arsen wagged his finger at her. “You are not to go anywhere near the man.”

“I can help you.” She wagged her finger right back at him and smiled.

“Minutes ago, you were wanting me to write up a contract and now you want to argue with me about something. Really, Steele,” he said with a grin.

“So if I’m going to be your sub, my opinion no longer matters?” she asked then took a drink of the water.

“It’s complicated. What I say goes. Arguing will get you punished. Let’s face it, you can’t really take punishment, Steele.” He frowned and looked down. “And I really can’t take dishing it out to you.”

Steele reached across the table and ran her fingers over the back of his hand. “I really shouldn’t have been alone with Rowan. He did exactly what you said he would. I’m not upset with you.”

“I’m not happy with myself, Steele. Things have to change.” Arsen put the half-eaten sandwich down.

“Take me to your club, Arsen. I want to see how it is. I want to know the you that you’re trying to change. If you’re trying to change for me, you need to know that I don’t want you too,” she said as her fingers traced a pattern on the back of his hand.

Arsen’s tone went sharp and commanding. “Take your hand off me.”

Steele pulled her hand back and looked down. “Sorry.”

“So, that’s what you really want?” he snapped at her.

Steele had to think. She wanted to know what his lifestyle was really like. Rowan had made her curious about Arsen’s room in the BDSM club.

“Yes, Sir.”

He let out a harsh laugh. “On your knees, now.”

Steele’s stomach went tight. A part of her wanted that, and another part was appalled she wanted it. She got off the chair and got on her knees.

Arsen got up and walked away, leaving her in the kitchen on her knees. When he came back, she didn’t look up at him. He placed something around her neck. Then a clicking sound she heard near her left ear and a quick jerk she felt as Arsen apparently had attached a leash to the thing around her neck.

She swallowed hard as she realized he’d put a collar on her and had her at the end of a leash. Like an animal. And he was her master. “To my room.”

Steele started to get up, and he jerked the leash hard. “On your hands and knees.”

She began to crawl towards his bedroom and she was surprised to find herself getting turned on. Once she was in the room, he stopped and said, “If I take you to that club, you’ll have to crawl in front of a room full of men and women while you wear clothes that show your tits and ass.” He moved around in front of her. “Take my cock out.”

Steele swallowed hard and reached up. Taking his cock out of his pajama bottoms. Then let it go. It was erect and near her face. His hand took the back of her neck, roughly. “Suck it.”

He pressed her head to him and she opened her mouth and took it in. She tried to run her hands up to it and he slapped one away. “I didn’t tell you to touch me, woman.”

He moved her head back and forth, forcefully. Steele was aroused and moaned. But found her head pulled back quickly. Arsen pulled her hair, making her look up at him. “You make a sound without my instruction in that place and your ass will be hot before you know what you’ve done. Also, you will have to endure this as others watch. And if I want, I can make you suck any man’s dick in the place. Sounding like something you still find intriguing?”

Steele answered with a smile, “You’d never allow any part of me to touch another man, Arsen. We both know that.”

His smile grew sinister. “Baby, you have no idea what I’ll allow. The fact is I made all my other subs do things with other men as I watched. They got ate out and I wouldn’t allow them to come. If they did, not only did I punish them but so did the other man.”

“Arsen!” she said and found her stomach growing tight. “You didn’t!”

He nodded. “I made them have sex with other men while I watched and dared them to enjoy it. I used their bodies any fucking way I wanted to and if that’s what you want from me, then I can do that for you, Steele. Is that what you want? Me to take you in front of people and put you under other men and dare you to enjoy it? Dare you to tell me no about anything?”

Her heart was pounding. It sounded awful and amazing at the same time.

“I want that.”

He laughed and took her by the back of her neck again, hoisting her up. Arsen looked into her eyes and she saw his had darkened even more. “It’s not even about sex, it’s about power. It’s about taking your power and making it mine.”

She had no idea why that intrigued her so damn much.

“I want it.”

He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. All she had on was his T-shirt. He unleashed her then pulled it off over her head. Arsen placed her on the bed on her back. “Spread your arms and legs for inspection.”

Steele did as he said and her eyes cut to the side to watch him as he reached into a drawer next to the bed. He took out a small box and pulled out two odd little clear things.

He gave one a couple of squeezes then placed it on her nipple and pumped it several times. It sucked hard, and the pain began right away. Arsen watched her as she closed her eyes and her lips pressed into a hard line. “Do not utter a sound.”

He placed the other one on and she wiggled a little with the intense pain. A quick smack she felt on the side of her ass and she opened her eyes to see he held a thin piece of wood, like a paint stirring stick.

Arsen held a wooden clothes pin, and she began to wonder where he thought he was going to put it. His hand ran over her sex and down one leg. When he went back up he placed the clothes pin on her clit and she arched up in pain.

Things were not going as she expected and the pain was too intense. “Rose!” she shouted. “Rose! Get them off, Arsen! Please!”

He took the clothes pin off and then each suction cup. “Are we done here?”

She nodded. “I’m not ready.”

His hand grazed over her cheek. “And most likely never will be. Your pain threshold is low. Most can take many more strikes than you can and can take the suction cups and clitoral pinning much longer than that. You need to face the fact that this isn’t a thing you fantasize about or even want.”

She began to cry. “Then I’ll lose you. You’ll never be okay with a… what do they call it, a vanilla.”

He left the room, and she turned to cry into a pillow.

I can never be what he wants!

ARSEN

The woman was making him crazy. She was trying too hard to be something she wasn’t. Something he didn’t think he even wanted her to be anymore.

He grabbed a handful of ice cubes from the freezer and put them in a cloth. Grabbing a bottle of whisky, he went back into the bedroom and found Steele crying into a pillow.

He rolled her over gently and placed the cloth full of ice on one nipple. “Here this will stop the pain.” He pulled her up a little and handed her the bottle of Jack Daniels. “Take a drink of this.”

She wiped her eyes and did as he said, choking on the whisky.

“I’m sorry. I’m a wimp.”

He shook his head.

“No, you’re not. You're just not cut out for that. And it takes a while anyway. You want to go and rush things that take years to learn how to make your mind focus to take the pain it causes.” He moved the cold cloth to the other breast.

“Arsen, it will get old and boring with me, won’t it?” She sniffled and took another drink from the bottle.

He smiled and took the bottle from her and placed it on the nightstand.

“I doubt you’ll ever bore me, Steele.”

“The fact is I might be the one who bores you.” He moved the cold cloth to her clit, and she tensed up. “And I’m sorry about doing that to you. You clearly weren’t ready, and I went ahead and did it anyway. I’m not myself. I’m much more responsible than this.”

“Perhaps the fact you have more murder charges hanging over your head.” Steele ran her hand through his hair. “That could throw anyone off their game.”

He laughed. “You think?”

She ran her hand to graze his bearded cheek. “You should let me run the clippers over that beard. You’ve always kept it meticulously groomed and here of late you’ve let it go a bit.”

“After what I did to you, you still want to be nice to me?” he asked as he shook his head.

“I asked for it, didn’t I?” she said with a smile. “Just didn’t really realize what I was getting into. I do want to learn though. Maybe baby steps.”

Arsen’s eyes brightened. “If you really want to do this, I’ll make up a contract. One we both agree on. Then maybe you’ll feel like I’m letting you into my world.”

Steele nodded. “I’ll stop rushing this and let you take the reins.”

“Good.” He placed her hand on the cold cloth he held to her throbbing clit and went to his chest of drawers.

He pulled out paper and a pen then went and picked up the T-shirt he’d pulled off her. Arsen held out his hand for the cloth and she gave it to him. He pulled the T-shirt back over her head and sat next to her.

“Okay, let’s discuss the things you can handle. Obviously, anything involving pain is going to be a hard limit for you.” He wrote that down.

She leaned forward. “What the hell else is there?”

He smiled. “You’ll see. So what about public orgasms? Where do you stand on those?”

“Never had one in public. Is it really embarrassing?” she asked as she bit her lip then added, “And how? Myself or one’s you induce?”

“Both,” he said as he looked at her. “For instance, we might be in a restaurant and I might make you keep a remote controlled dildo inside you while I have the remote. I may turn it on as the waiter approaches or something like that. And I may tell you to come. I can condition your body to come using one word. It doesn’t have to be the word come, it can be anything I see fit. You’d be surprised how easily this is done.”

“No shit?” Her hand ran to cover her mouth as he frowned at her. “Sorry! It slipped out.”

“Hmm. Let’s see, perhaps instead of spanking I could come up with some other way to punish you. I’m going to think on it. For now, I’m going to let that little slip up go.” He tapped the end of the pen on the tip of her nose. “Please try harder. It’s so unsuitable for you to curse.”

“I know. Sorry. It’s just I have a hard time believing what you’re saying. My mind can be conditioned to orgasm with just a word?”

His finger ran over her bottom lip. His dark eyes danced.

“You’d be surprised what all our minds can do, Steele. Now is that a thing you think you can and want to do?”

“It sounds kind of exciting so yes.” She smiled and giggled. “This is kind of exciting too.”

He smiled.

“Glad you find it that way. Now how about sex in public places?”

Steele’s eyes went wide, and she ran her hands over her arms as a chill went through her.

“That sounds kind of risky. I mean, I do want to be an attorney one day and a charge of public indecency wouldn’t look good for me or you for that matter.”

“That’s where you have to trust me, Steele. To make sure we don’t get caught. It’s part of the excitement.” His eyebrows raised, and he winked at her. “Trust is the main thing with this. You always need to trust that I won’t hurt you or do anything that would cause you to get into trouble.”

She smiled.

“Okay then, that’s a yes for that one then. I do trust you, Arsen. I honestly do.”

“Good. And always tell me if I’m really hurting you, Steele. Don’t do what I did when I was a sub and try to push yourself past your limits. With time you’ll build up to whatever your personal limits are. It’s about testing them, but not going past that. Honesty and trust are essential in the dom/sub relationship.” He pushed back a strand of her hair that had fallen over her face.

“You really are sweet, Arsen. Do you know that?” she asked as she searched his eyes.

“I never have been. Well, once a long time ago. You bring something out in me I thought was long gone, Steele. But you are right about me needing to keep the strength I’ve managed to build. I can’t go back to the young man I was.”

“It’s not even a thing I want. Your strength is very attractive. Your authority is also extremely attractive.” Her hand moved up his arm and squeezed his large bicep. “To be honest, the way you spank me, the first couple of licks anyway, send me into a wet, quivering mess.”

He looked down and smiled.

“So a couple of swats are good, but three is too many. Got it.” He wrote it down.

Steele leaned into his shoulder.

“And the way you bite me is good. That sends me over the edge.”

Arsen looked sheepish as he wrote that down.

“Biting is good. And now onto other points of business. Sharp objects. What do you think about those?”

“Like you’ll poke me with them?” Her expression was horrified.

“No, just run them over your skin. But it’s exciting, especially when you're blindfolded and have no idea of what the sharp object is and if I’m going to poke you with it or not. Especially if you move.”

“Oh, the trust thing again. Then okay. It does sound kind of intriguing.” She ran her hand over his thigh. “Arsen, can I touch you when I want to? I mean unless you specifically tell me not to.”

He sighed.

“You really like touching me and running your hands through my hair, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“I do. But I can take sometimes being held back from it. The frustration building is a thing I find I’m liking.”

“I’ll allow it more often then. And another thing I want to talk about is making love. I want us to do that as well.” He looked at her and seemed to be nervous. “It’s a thing I haven’t allowed myself to do since that day. The day Beth’s father caught us. I’ve built up a fear in my mind and I’d like to work through that. I trust you enough to try to do that with.”

Steele’s heart nearly burst.

“Of course, Arsen!” her arms went around him and she was almost shaking with the breakthrough.

It was beginning to happen. Arsen was letting her in and she would be able to help him heal from what the women did to hurt him. Now if she could help him find some evidence against Allen White everything would be falling into place for them.

ARSEN

After painstakingly writing their contract in a book which would hold the things they’d agreed on and the things he expected out of her, Arsen took the book and a legal contract to Steele as she sat in the living room.

“Here it is, only thing left to do is sign the contract.” He placed the three page stack of papers in front of her and handed her a pen. “You sign then I will.”

“And then we’ll really be bound by this?” she asked as she tapped the pen on the top of the coffee table.

“Yes. You will be bound to me and me alone.” He found himself nervous and nearly pulled the paper from her. But she seemed to need it.

She looked up at him and smiled.

“And you will be free to do who and what you want, right?”

He nodded and something inside him was telling him to stop her from signing it. Signing away herself to him.

She tapped her chin with the end of the pen.

“I have to trust you.” She signed the paper and moved it over to him and handed him the pen.

He signed it hastily. Arsen handed her the book.

“This is yours to keep. We’ll add things to it as we move along. It’s like a journal that will show our journey together. But it’s more than that.”

“Sounds romantic,” she said as she ran her hand over the leather cover. Gold embossed letters spelled out one word on the front of it, ‘Arsen’s.’

“It’s not. It’s a guide of what I expect from you. I’ll write certain sex acts. Perhaps draw positions I want you to become adept at. Add rules and even punishments as time goes along and I deem the additions necessary to get you to understand your position as my sub.”

“You may not think it romantic but I do, Arsen.” She held the book to her chest and hugged it to her.

She stood and reached out to touch him. He took a step back.

“Uh, uh. It starts now, Steele.”

A frown covered her face. “So what we’ve been doing is over?”

He nodded and turned away from her. “I’ll be in my office. I’m going to order you a new wardrobe. In that book, you’ll find the recipes for the meals I expect you to not only learn to cook, but make them to my satisfaction. If not edible then we’ll order out, but you won’t get to touch me at all until tomorrow.”

“My adjusted punishments are not being able to touch you rather than physical punishments?” she asked.

He nodded and walked away, leaving her to look through the book he’d left her with. So many pages were full, and she found it a bit overwhelming. She found the recipes and groaned as she was not a cook.

“I asked for this,” she said out loud to remind herself.

ARSEN

The chicken piccata recipe he’d written in the book was one of his favorites so when he heard Steele pounding away in the kitchen then smelled the delightful aroma of the chicken breasts cooking, he had to smile as he opened the door to his office.

Arsen had ordered her a complete wardrobe which would be delivered in a couple of days. He made his way down the hallway to the kitchen to peek in on her. He stifled a chuckle as he saw her with flour all over one cheek and the front of an apron she’d managed to find.

She blew a puff of air from her mouth to move a stray lock of hair which had gotten away from her ponytail. Her cheeks were pink with the heat of the stove she stood over.

After wiping the smile from his face he put on a stern look and cleared his throat. Steele jumped and spun around.

“Arsen! You scared me!”

He tapped his watch.

“It’s five minutes late.”

She looked confused.

“What is? Dinner? No, it says it has to be ready at seven-thirty. I still have forty-five minutes.”

“Look on page eighteen and I’ll be in my office waiting. Every minute I have to wait is a minute you’ll have to wait before I allow you to touch me.” He turned and left, smiling all the way back to his office.

It was just a matter of time until Steele found she was not entirely ready for the submissive lifestyle. He sat at his desk and began researching safe cars for her. He was going to put her in the safest thing he could find.

The clothes and the car were things he wasn’t about to change in how he took care of her. His cell phone rang and when he picked it up his smile faded.

There it was, the San Francisco police department yet again.

“Arsen Sloan.”

A woman’s voice came through the phone.

“Hello, this is Detective Fontaine. I’ve been assigned to your case, Mr. Sloan. The other detective gave it up. I’ll need you to come and talk to me and give me your statement. Seems he misplaced the one that you gave him.”

The woman on the other end of the phone had him seeing red.

“Look, I’m an extremely busy man, Fontaine. The other detective’s desk looked like a pigpen. I’m sure if you look hard enough or have him do it then you’ll find what you need. I’m not coming back down there. I just left the fucking place this morning.”

“I’m afraid I need the statement. How about I come to you since you’re so busy?”

Arsen stilled as he thought about what might happen if they found out he had Steele with him. It might prove very bad.

“Be here around eight. I won’t be home until then.”

“See you then, Mr. Sloan. Thank you. Goodbye.”

With the highball glass in hand, Steele knocked on the door before entering his office. He looked up and was about to bark at her for walking in before he told her she could, but couldn’t muster the energy to do it.

“Here you are, Arsen. A Manhattan. I hope you like it.” She placed it on the desk in front of him and saw a picture of a beautiful car on his computer screen. “Oh, that’s gorgeous. Thinking of getting a new car?”

“Huh?” He looked like his mind was far away. “Oh, not for me, for you.”

She got an odd look on her face.

“I have a truck and don’t want you to be buying me a ton of things. The clothes I get because you want to me to dress a certain way and I can live with that. The car and credit card…”

“Oh, yes. The credit card.” He pulled open the top drawer of his desk and pulled out an envelope. He pulled a platinum colored credit card from it.

“Here, take this. I ordered it last week for you.”

“Arsen, I just said…” She went quiet as his finger touched her lips.

“You signed the contract. It’s all in the book. You should really take some time to read the whole thing. As a matter of fact, I have to take you to your apartment for a little while after dinner. Another detective has been assigned to my case, and she’s coming here at eight this evening.” He took a sip of the drink and gave her a thumbs up. “Great job, Steele.”

She smiled then turned to walk away.

“I have to get back to cooking. I don’t want anything to burn.” She spun back around. “Wait! Did you say she? Like the detective is a woman?”

He nodded. “And take the book with you so you can read it. You’ll have a lot to do tomorrow and need to know what I demand from you, as a submissive. Oh, at dinner, please respond to me as Master instead of my name. That’ll be all.”

Her eyes went wide, and she spun around and left. Her cheeks had turned red in an instant and Arsen had to put his hand over his mouth to hide his smile.

It would just be a matter of time before she realized she was so much more than just a sub.

Part Six: For Her Sake

STEELE

The second glass of wine finally took the edge off Steele’s nerves. She sat in her living room with her roommate, Gwen, and drank wine while she waited impatiently for Arsen to return for her.

The fact he was having to talk to another detective was cause for concern and adding in the fact the new detective was a woman had her woman’s intuition on alert.

Tanner was supposed to go to Arsen’s for the meeting, but she wasn’t sure if he was there or not. Arsen had instructed her not to call him. He didn’t want the detective to get any idea they were seeing each other.

Gwen refilled their wine glasses and took her seat on the other end of the sofa and by her narrowed eyes, Steele felt she was about to get bombarded with questions.

“Okay, so that’s your third glass of wine and now it’s time to talk, Steele.” Gwen leaned back and tapped her finger on the rim of the glass. “Spill it! Tell me everything about you and this Arsen guy.”

“Not much to tell, really. A normal relationship.” Steele sat her glass down as she didn’t want to become too loose lipped by the alcohol.

“Normal! No, it’s not normal, Steele.” Gwen sat up and placed her glass on the table. “He’s been charged with murder, that’s not normal.”

“He’s innocent,” Steele said and picked her glass up as her stomach tensed with the reminder of his predicament.

“It was on the news, Steele. The woman had been his submissive partner. What do you know about that?” Gwen questioned.

“He’s into that kind of thing. No big deal, really. Don’t know why people make such a giant thing about that lifestyle. It’s not what people think. That woman wanted it. That woman wanted him to choke her just to the point of passing out and he did what she asked.” Steele took a long drink as her head was beginning to pound with the admission to her friend.

“While he fucked her. You know that’s how that works, Steele.”

Steele nodded.

“I’m completely aware of that. Thanks for reminding me though.”

“He’s not a real nice man, Steele. You’re virtually innocent and he’s capable of making you into something you’re not. What has he made you do so far? Be honest.” Gwen sat back and looked casual. A thing Steele was aware of and knew she was anything but that.

“He hasn’t made me do a thing. The emphasis on, made.” Steele sighed and looked Gwen in the eyes. “I’ve wanted to do it.”

Gwen shook her head slowly.

“He’s a Master, remember? He made you think you wanted it. So tell me the dirty details.”

“He’s really not like that. Everyone sees this man who is closed off and arrogant, demanding, and somewhat brutal at times. Ask Rowan, he’ll tell you he’s a monster, and he’s hit Rowan a couple of times. But he’s not that. He’s more than that facade he shows the world. But I get to see more of him than that. I get to see some of who he was before he had to become that man to protect the hurt boy inside him.”

Gwen smiled.

“Bullshit, Steele. He’s only making you think he’s letting you in. He’s a master at getting what he wants and he wants little, innocent, sweet you to do what demanding, arrogant, BDSM master wants. End of story. Now you’ve yet to tell me what’s happened in the bedroom between the two of you. So spill it.”

Steele thought for a moment. Would it be a mistake to let Gwen in on at least a little of what she and Arsen had done?

She knew she needed not to hide so much. After another sip if wine she decided to let her good friend know about the life she was moving into.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to jump to conclusions or judge either Arsen or me.”

Gwen gave her a nod.

“I am in college to become a psychologist you know. I can be trusted, Steele.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re in your first year so try to remember that. You aren’t thoroughly educated yet.” Steele put the glass down, kicked off her flats and folded her legs, Indian style.

“The worst thing so far is that I’ve allowed him to punish me with spankings.”

“Why?” Gwen’s one simple word made Steele’s mind go blank.

Why had she allowed that?

“I think I did it so he would see I was trusting him. I think you would have to have been in my head at that time.”

“What made you think you needed to allow him to physically harm you for him to think you trusted him?” Gwen’s face had paled a bit and her hand shook as she took another drink.

“I’m not really sure, Gwen. The truth is I’m not really sure why I’ve allowed the things I have. I fucking love the man and would walk through fire if he told me to. I don’t know if its trust or what the hell it is. I’d do anything for him and let him do anything he wanted to me.”

The admission had her feeling heavy with an odd guilt. She knew Gwen was trying so hard not to let her see how appalled she was but the look was spreading over her face and it made Steele think she’d made some poor decisions where Arsen was concerned.

“Does he make you do things sexually that make you feel used or abused?” Gwen’s finger tapping on her temple told Steele tons about how her friend was taking the news.

“No. I mean my body is his to do with what he wants. I am his after all.”

Gwen jumped up and began to pace.

“I’m sorry, Steele. This is way too much! What the fuck, girl?”

Steele looked up at her.

“You promised! See, that’s why people don’t talk to others about this. Yes, I believe my body is his. But it’s not like you think. I can walk away anytime I want. I just don’t want to. His touch sends me to a place I’ve never been before. Everything he does to me feels like Heaven. Even when his belt falls across my ass, I fucking love it and get all wet with desire for him. The first two licks, anyway.”

Gwen spun around and looked at Steele with wide eyes.

“How in the hell are you romanticizing this shit?”

“I’m not trying to. I’m just trying to explain why I decided to enter into an agreement with him. I’m his sub now. We signed a contract.” Steele closed her eyes as she readied herself for the explosion.

Gwen’s voice surprised her when it came out soft.

“You are his sub now. Wow! He wasted no time. It didn’t take him long at all to break the strong woman you are.”

“I asked him to do it. He didn’t think I was ready. Told me I might never be ready. To me, that meant he might get tired of the boring vanilla I am. I don’t want him to get bored with me, so I’m learning how to be what he wants, what he needs.”

“You? You told him you wanted to be his sub? You, said that? Well, that’s just crazy and I know you're not crazy. Tell him you want to tear that contract up. Tell him you want to be you, not the you who has changed for him, the you, you were.” Gwen sat down next to her and reached out and touched her shoulders. “You can stop this. He needs to accept you for who you are, not what he can make you.”

“I don’t know if I can do that. You see, a big part of me would break if I made him go back to the soft way he was before his first girlfriend’s father beat him nearly to death when he was seventeen. The man put him in the hospital and Arsen’s mother abandoned him at the hospital. When he got out, he had to go straight into foster care. When he was eighteen, a woman, the mother of the girl he had loved, took him in and made him her submissive. She was cruel and nearly was the end of him.”

“He told you this?” Gwen looked skeptical.

Steele shook her head.

“I found a journal he wrote all this in. But then I told him I read it and he confirmed the story. See, it took him building that wall to get to be the strong man he is today. He’s a success story and his love for me is making him soft and I don’t want to be the person who ruins such a magnificent alpha male.”

“What do you mean by soft, Steele?”

“Don’t get pissed, but he told me not to be alone with Rowan. He caught us alone and when we got home, he spanked me. I cried, and he told me he was sorry. He told me he would never do that to me again.”

“Good. That’s not going soft, that’s getting his head straight. Be glad about that. Keep working for that. Not going the other direction, Steele. If he loves you, he’ll accept you for who you are. That goes the same for you. If you love him, you have to allow him to be who he is with you. If that means changing some, allow that to happen. You said he’s built a wall around his heart to keep himself safe. He must feel safe with you and is letting the wall down, a brick at a time. Let him do that.”

“So, what you’re saying is that I’m stopping him from being the man he is by having him make me his sub?”

“That’s what it sounds like. You two have enough crap to deal with as it is. Don’t go adding in your desire to keep him a certain way add to that.”

Steele thought about what all her friend had said for a few moments.

“You know what. You might be right. But I want to stay with the contract for now anyway. You see, I want him to take me to the BDSM club. I want to see it and experience it. I know that sounds nuts but I want to know what he was like before me.”

“Sounds like he was a real prick before you. A man better left in the past. It’s not a thing I think you’ll like,” Gwen said.

“I kind of find it all romantic. Arsen says it’s not, but I think the idea of taking such good care of a woman that she wants to give herself to a man in all aspects is romantic.” Steele’s eyes sparkled with her fantasy.

“You’re quite delusional, Steele. If Arsen told you it’s not romantic, you should take his word for it. He has been the master for a while now and who should know better than he?”

Steele sighed and said, “I know. But, I’m a curious person and want to see the damn club. So I’m going to push for it. If I hate it, we can always leave. I’ve found out a thing or two about myself since I’ve been with Arsen. I’m a little bit of a freak in the sheets.”

Gwen laughed and got up.

“So, want to hear about my new guy?”

Steele sat up with excitement.

“You have a new guy? Yes, do tell.”

Gwen smiled. “He’s older, almost as old as your guy. He’s cute, with dark hair and dark eyes. And he’s like this awesome Christian man. He goes to different prisons and jails to talk to the inmates about God and stuff. He’s great, Steele.”

“Sounds awesome. So you two are serious?” Steele asked.

“He stays here a lot. You’re never home anymore, so I didn’t think you’d mind,” she said with a laugh.

Steele laughed too.

“I don’t mind. So, what’s his name?” Her cell rang, and she saw Arsen’s name and held her hand up to stop Gwen from answering.

“Hello, Arsen. Okay, be right out.”

The way Steele hauled ass to get out to his car had Gwen shaking her head. “Bye, and don’t forget what we talked about, Steele.”

“I won’t,” Steele said as she walked out the door.

ARSEN

It was five minutes after eight p.m. when the doorman buzzed Arsen to tell him a young woman was there for a meeting she’d sat up with him. He told him to send her up and prepared himself to see the new detective who’d been put on his case.

He left Tanner out of the meeting on purpose. He was a criminal lawyer himself after all. He knew the rules.

Arsen was not prepared for the gorgeous woman who walked off the elevator and stepped into the living area of his penthouse. Clad in an expensive tight fitting, short pencil skirt in black and a silk blue shirt, she’d left the top three buttons undone on, and sky high black heels. He had a hard time not letting his eyes roam all over her.

Her dark hair was falling over her shoulders in waves and her blue eyes were piercing.

He shook his head to clear it.

“You must be Detective Fontaine.” He extended his hand as he walked toward her.

She took his hand and shook it with a slow movement and held it a bit too long.

“And you are the infamous, Arsen Sloan. What a pleasure it is to meet you. I have to tell you I’m not a fan of your work as you get way too many of the bad guys off the charges we work so hard to make stick.”

With a shrug he pulled his hand away and said, “Someone has to defend the accused, Detective. Please come this way and we can talk in my office.”

He wanted her in there where he could be the one to sit behind the large desk and make her feel he was in charge and not the other way around.

“Can I offer you a drink? A Cognac or a glass of wine?”

She laughed a little as she followed him.

“Afraid I’m still on the clock, but thank you. Perhaps another time when I’m not working. You are a single man, aren’t you, Arsen?”

He almost stopped and turned around as she asked him such a personal question.

“As far as anyone knows, I am,” he managed to say with a laugh. “What woman in her right mind would give me the time of day with all the news out there that I’m a BDSM master with three dead subs after all?”

“I guess that would cramp your love life a bit.” She took the chair in front of the desk he gestured to and he went around and took his large, leather chair.

He noticed her taking him all in and frowned.

“It has. Now, tell me what you need from me.”

She bit her bottom lip, and he thought how easily he could bend the woman over his desk and take her anyway he pleased. And then it hit him. She had to be part of a set up against him.

“I need to know why your hand prints are on the three victim’s necks. If you don’t mind. I need explicit details.”

He knew what she was doing and wouldn’t play into her devious hands. He leaned forward and laced his fingers together and placed his chin on them.

“Those particular women were into something not a lot of people know about. They liked to be choked. You should really look it up on your own. It’s not appropriate to discuss in mixed company.”

She crossed her legs, leaving them open for a moment and Arsen saw the flash of red panties she’d meant him to. He almost laughed out loud at her antics. “Please, Mr. Sloan, let me into your world a bit so I can help you. Tell me about why the women wanted you to choke them to death.”

He laughed and sat back in his chair.

“I didn’t say to death, Fontaine. I didn’t even choke them until they were unconscious. Merely until they could take no more and touched my forearm, telling me to let them go.”

“Could you show me?” she asked as her eyes lit up.

He shook his head and laughed.

“No.”

“But I’m asking you to and that’s what you said the other women did. I want to feel that. Can’t you understand? It could help me find out who really did this to them. I don’t think it was you.” She leaned forward and her breasts spilled over her bra and she moved in a way to make sure they jiggled.

“If you want to feel that, I advise you to ask your boyfriend to help you out with that. I’m not going to. You see, there’s a little more to it than just cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain for a little while. It’s during intercourse, so you see how that’s not going to happen?” Arsen opened his bottom drawer and pulled out a small glass and a bottle of Scotch.

“Am I making you nervous, Arsen?” she asked as she sat back and spread her legs apart, allowing the red panties to remain in his line of vision.

“You, no.” He wasn’t nervous, he was growing angrier and didn’t want to lose his temper with the woman who thought she was so enticing. She was anything but that. And the fact is all he could think about was getting the meeting over with and getting Steele back by his side.

“I’d like to help you. But I need you to let me in. You see, I think you might have an idea of who the real killer could be.”

He did, but he was unsure if he should share that information with the woman he felt more and more was some type of trap they thought he’d fall into. He shook his head.

“If I had any idea, don’t you think I’d already have thrown a name out there?”

“It’s occurred to me that you might be thinking you’re smarter than we are.” Her eyebrows arched, and she smiled as she looked intensely into his eyes.

“I don’t think anything of the sort. Now, unless you have anything else to ask me, I have somewhere to be.” He sipped his drink as she smiled.

“Oh, I see. Well, there is one more thing. It’s about this club called Fierce and how you have a private room there and how we need to get in there and take some samples of any type of bodily fluids in the room. I was hoping you’d see fit to help us out on that, without us needing to get a warrant.” She sat back and made damn sure her panties were showing as she hitched up her short skirt a little higher.

He smiled.

“Afraid I’m going to have to let you get a warrant for that. And you will find evidence of all three of them in there.”

“I see. And how about in here?” she asked as she gestured around.

He shook his head. “I never let them come here.”

“Never?” She looked surprised. “You never let your girlfriends come home with you.”

“They weren’t my girlfriends.” He took a long drink, growing tired of her.

“But you have had a girlfriend before. Beth, right?” Her eyes sparkled as she knew she’d hit a nerve.

His eyes narrowed. “She had nothing to do with this.”

“No, but her mother might. You see, I think your ex-mistress might have been the one who killed your ex-submissive partners. She actually came to us, asking us to protect her from you, Mr. Sloan. Tell me when you last contacted her.” She leaned forward and smiled. “And try to remember to be truthful, as she’s told us.”

“I have not contacted her in years. Not since I got away from her. So whatever she said was a lie. She’s prone to lying. She kept her lifestyle a secret from her family. I assume with her coming to you she must’ve finally divorced her husband or something.” He sat back and refused to let the woman see how irate he was.

“He’s dead, Mr. Sloan.” Her face went emotionless.

His eyebrows rose.

“I hope you’re not about to accuse me of that as well.”

“No,” she said with a smile. “He had a heart attack a few years ago.”

He sat back with relief. “Fucking bastard,” he muttered.

“She told us, he’d beaten you nearly to death and that her daughter saw you as a weak coward. Mrs. Sinclair said she helped you to become the man you are today. A successful billionaire.” She stood up and looked down at him for only a second as he quickly stood.

“She had nothing to do with my success. I became the man I am despite her. And I don’t care enough for the miserable woman to bother to threaten her in any way. I have walked away from her, much to her disapproval and I have the scars on my back to prove she was a harsh mistress.” He walked around the desk. “I’ll see you out then, Detective Fontaine.”

He walked down the hall to the elevator as she followed behind him. He pressed the button, and the door opened up. She stepped inside and smiled.

“Be seeing you soon, Mr. Sloan. As soon as we get that warrant.” She gave him a wink just before the doors closed.

Arsen stood staring at the closed doors and cursed silently to himself. He had to get to the club and clean up some things before the police went in there. And he would need help. He knew the one person he could count on, but it really wasn’t what he wanted for her.

He had no choice though!

STEELE

Arsen’s face was unreadable as she got into the car with him.

“How’d it go, Arsen?” she asked as she slid in beside him and buckled her seatbelt.

“Not well, and now it seems I need your help.” He ran his hand over her shoulder and down her arm. “I need you to go with me to, Fierce. It’s Friday, so we have the weekend to get things taken care of before the police manage to get a warrant to search my private room there.”

Her eyes lit up.

“So, you’re taking me there?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t get excited about it if I were you.” He looked past her as they waited at the exit of the parking lot of her apartment complex. A car went by them and he saw the man who’d been at the police station earlier that day and outside his penthouse as well.

“It’s Allen White.”

Steele looked out the dark window and saw him too.

“What’s he doing here?”

Arsen called out to his driver,

“Wait a second, Paul. I need to see where the man in that car that just passed us is going.”

They watched out the window as Allen pulled into the parking spot next to Gwen’s car. He got out and used a key to go into the apartment Gwen shared with Steele.

Steele looked at Arsen.

“Oh my God. Gwen told me she was seeing a new man. It’s him, Arsen!”

“This is not good, Steele. She’s in real danger. We have to go in there. We have to let her know about him.” Arsen looked worried and called out to Paul, “Go back and park, Paul. Steele and I have to stay here until that man leaves. We may have to stay the night.”

Paul turned the Suburban around and took them back. As he opened the door for them, he said, “I’ll stay here, in case anything happens, boss. I can sleep in the car. No problem.”

“Thanks.” Arsen took Steele by the hand and led her back to the apartment. “Your roommate didn’t tell you the guy’s name?”

“She was about to but then you called me.”

“I see. Okay. Well, let’s do this. Let’s try very hard not to let things escalate. We don’t need a scene to be made and the police to be called after all.”

Steele opened the door and found a very surprised Gwen and a not so surprised Allen White. But Allen managed to quickly turn his expression into one of complete joy.

“Well, as I live and breathe, it’s my dear friend and old attorney, Arsen Sloan.” Allen stepped forward and Arsen was taken into the smaller man’s arms in a hug.

Arsen let Steele’s hand go to pat the man’s back and gently push him back. “Allen. How are you doing?” Arsen asked with a smile.

Steele could tell he was playing along with the man. Allen stepped back and ran his arm around Gwen. “I’m doing great, Arsen. Really, great.”

“That’s good to hear. So, when did you get out?” Arsen said. Steele guessed Gwen had no idea she was allowing a horrific murderer to put his hands on her.

Allen’s eyes cut sideways to Gwen and his smile faded. “She doesn’t know about that, Arsen.”

Arsen’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, sorry. It seems I might have let the cat out of the bag. Allow me to explain, Allen.”

Allen nodded. “You’re the one who is so great with words. Go ahead.”

Gwen looked oddly at Arsen. “I’m Gwen, by the way. We’ve actually never been introduced.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gwen.” Arsen looked back at Steele. “Have anything to drink so we can all sit down and get to know one another, baby?”

Steele moved quickly to the kitchen. “Yes, oh, sorry, Arsen. How rude of me, sorry.”

Gwen’s eyes followed her, and she said, “No reason to get all apologetic, Steele.” She looked back at Arsen. “Is there, Arsen?”

“No, no reason to apologize, Steele.” Arsen took a seat on the sofa and Gwen and Allen sat across from him on the other smaller loveseat in the living room. He looked at Gwen. “I was Allen’s attorney in a murder case. He was accused of kidnapping and torturing his high school math teacher when he was nineteen. After a couple of months of doing that, he killed her. I lost the case, and he went to prison. But it seems as if you managed to get out, Allen. Good for you. How’d that happen?”

“I found our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Arsen,” Allen said as he took Gwen’s hand in his and looked at her. “But you know that, darling.”

“But I didn’t know you killed someone. And tortured and kidnapped.” She pulled her hand from his and stared at him in shock. “That’s a big thing to leave out, Allen.”

Steele appeared with a tray of drinks. “Whiskey Sours, anyone?” She handed Arsen one first and made a little courtesy as she did, something which had Gwen’s frown go even further across her face.

Arsen looked at Steele and made a little head shake. She found herself nervous. After placing the other drinks in front of Gwen and Allen, she took hers and sat next to Arsen. His arm ran around her and she leaned into him.

Allen looked at Gwen and smiled. “I’ve come to terms with what I did and firmly believe the Devil made me do that. With Jesus as my leader I have changed my ways and will no longer be following that terrible path of evil any longer. I’ve made it right with God and the Parole Board, Gwen. You have nothing to fear from me, baby.”

Arsen took a drink and glanced sideways at Steele.

“Well, that’s wonderful to hear, Allen,” he said.

Gwen still looked to be in shock and took a drink.

“So, you’re all better then?”

Allen nodded.

“Better, yes, I’m better. Completely not that guy anymore. I was a kid when I did that anyway. A crazy kid who listened to too much hard rock. The Devil got into me with his Devil music and turned me into his pawn. I’m looking into suing those rock bands I listened to back then.” He looked at Arsen. “Say, you couldn’t help me out with that could you?”

“Suing old rock bands?” Arsen asked in surprise.

“Yeah, you know those guys who let the Devil into my soul and robed me of years of my life. Those guys. Could you help me sue them all?” Allen smiled.

Arsen shook his head.

“Um, I’m not that kind of lawyer, sorry Allen.”

“Perhaps you could refer one for me. I’d really appreciate it if you could help me. You have to recall that I told you the Devil was in my head back then.” Allen took a little sip and looked at Arsen intently.

“I do, I recall you telling me that would be a great defense. I don’t remember you saying anything about suing the people who made the music you listened to though,” Arsen said.

“I came up with that later.” Allen looked at Gwen. “Honey, our kids can’t ever listen to that stuff, promise me.”

Steele had the glass to her lips as he said that and she spit the drink out and choked on the liquid.

“God! Sorry! What did you say? Kids? When you have kids? How the fuck close are you two? Shit, sorry!”

Her hand flew over her mouth and she looked at Arsen with wide eyes. He tapped the top of her thigh.

“I’ll let that slide, Steele.”

Steele nodded and looked down for a brief second then she looked at Gwen who was glaring at her. “We are very close, Steele. And why are you apologizing yet again?”

“I’m trying to stop cursing that’s all,” Steele said and took another drink.

Gwen’s glare moved to Arsen then back to Steele. “You see, Allen is a Christian man, and he doesn’t want to sin so he has asked me to marry him because he doesn’t believe in having sex without being married. He also doesn’t believe in birth control. He believes we should have every child God gives us. We’ve talked extensively on the subject.”

“You left that out when we were talking a while ago, Gwen.” Steele said. “So where’s the engagement ring and when’s the wedding?” She glared at her roommate.

“There’s no ring,” Allen said as he smiled at Gwen. “Those are for people who need to show the world they’re married. We only need God to know that. And as soon as I find us a place to live, I’m going to marry us myself as I am an ordained minister.”

Steele rolled her eyes and looked at Arsen. He tapped her leg and said, “Well, seems like you’re really doing great, Allen. Um, it’s been a long day and I have some things to talk to Steele about in private. We’ll be staying the night here in her bedroom.” He got up and Steele quickly followed.

Gwen watched them leave the room as they all exchanged good nights. Steele smiled at her as she walked by.

“Happy for you, Gwen.”

“You too,” Gwen said as she looked up at her friend. “You two have a good night now.”

Steele’s stomach was in knots as she led Arsen to her bedroom. She closed the door behind them and whispered.

“That guy’s crazy. I can’t see how Gwen doesn’t see it.”

Arsen nodded and pulled her to the bed. He sat down and pulled her to sit next to him. He kept his voice quiet as he said, “He isn’t all there. I’m sure you can tell that. We have to get her away from him. I’m positive he’s the killer. I mean why else would he be here with her? How’d they meet?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me.”

“Go and get a glass of water and ask them, but make it simple, you know not obvious that you’re looking for information,” he said.

She nodded and left the room. Gwen and Allen had moved to opposite sofas. Steele smiled.

“Just getting Arsen some water. Hey, how did you two meet anyway?”

Gwen smiled.

“He almost hit me with his car as I was walking to get into mine in the parking lot.”

“Oh, glad he stopped in time.” Steele said with a little laugh. “What parking lot?”

“Ours, right out there. He was visiting an old friend at one of the apartments down from ours.” Gwen said.

Steele smiled.

“What a crazy coincidence, huh?”

Allen looked at her.

“God always finds a way.”

Gwen nodded and Steele just kept on smiling.

“That’s so true, Allen. So true. Well, good night again.”

She started to go back down the hallway when Gwen stopped her.

“You’re forgetting Arsen’s water, Steele. You don’t want him to get angry with you and punish you for not bringing him his water do you?”

Steele spun around and gave Gwen a dirty look. Then Allen said, “Oh, I know all about Arsen and his dom/sub stuff. It’s all over the news with the murders he’s accused of. Don’t worry, I’m not judging you guys. That’s between you and God after all. Better hurry though, he’s probably adding up the spankings your about to get. You did curse, and that has to be a big one for him.”

Steele was embarrassed and somewhat pissed.

“He said he was letting that one slide,” she said as her cheeks burned and she went to get the glass of water.

She overheard Allen say to Gwen in a quiet voice, “I don’t know how your roommate can do that to herself, she sounds smart. She seems so confident and didn’t you say she was in school to become a criminal lawyer?”

Steele took the water and went to her bedroom, feeling like a fool. She couldn’t explain even to herself why she was so ready to be submissive to Arsen.

She went into the bedroom and right away when Arsen saw her expression he knew something was wrong. He got up and pulled her into his arms.

“What has you so sad, baby?”

There was no way she was telling him she was feeling ashamed of herself for being his sub and yet she knew it was part of their contract for her always to be honest with him about all things and that above all else.

Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at him.

“With it all over the news about you and your lifestyle, I told Gwen about us and our contract.”

“You did?” He frowned. “How did that go?”

She shook her head.

“Not well. As you can imagine.”

“Hmmm. I might like this Gwen. She seems to have your best interests at heart. It’s what makes a good friend. So why the long face now? I mean you told her earlier, and you didn’t wear this sad face.” He pulled her to the bed and sat her on his lap.

“When I was pouring the water I suppose Allen didn’t think I could hear him and he said I seemed too confident and smart to do this to myself.” She looked down and sniffled.

“You are. The nut-job is right about that.” He pushed a piece of her dark hair back and touched her chin, pulling it gently up so she had to look at him. “Tell me how you liked the way we spent today?”

“It was different, but that’s okay. I mean, I’ll get used to it and I don’t really feel demeaned in any way. Not really.” She searched his eyes to see if there was anything in them that told her he was really okay with her talking like this.

His dark eyes were soft, and he smiled at her.

“How’d you enjoy calling me Master during dinner?”

She’d hated it, and she knew he could read her like a book. “You tell me.”

He smiled. “It wasn’t a thing you wanted to do. You see, that lifestyle is for people who want that in their lives. Need it for one reason or another. It’s not about making someone do what they don’t want to. I’m just realizing that now, myself.”

“But it’s how you want things. How you want to live and I want to be with you.” She nearly ran her arms around his neck then stopped herself. “Can I…”

Arsen put his finger against her lips. “Don’t ask. For tonight let’s do what I asked you to do with me. Let’s leave the dom/sub stuff off the table for tonight. Do whatever you want. Tonight, I want us to make love. Show me how much you love me and I’ll show you. No rules, just you and me showing how much we love each other.”

“Really? Are you sure?” she asked as her eyes shined with the knowledge he was allowing her in so much further than she dreamt possible.

“I’m sure.” His hand grazed her cheek. “I love you, Steele.” His lips touched hers and the kiss was so gentle it felt as if silk was drifting over them.

His hands moved over her arms, lightly and left electricity in their wake. Steele found herself more nervous than she’d ever been with him. The fact this was only the second time the man had ever made love was weighing heavily on her. The first time had ended so badly, she was afraid he might have a flashback to that terrible day.

When she looked into his eyes though, any fear she had disappeared as she saw more love in them than she’d ever seen before.

ARSEN

Arsen laid Steele back and began to pull her clothes away. Piece by piece, he took them off and ran his hands over her smooth and satiny skin. He wanted to take every last bit of her in. Relish her beauty and see her for who she truly was.

Steele had been bending for him so hard he was afraid she was about to break.

“You are perfect, Steele.” He kissed her neck and trailed kisses to her mouth.

Her arms ran around his neck and she held him to her. He so seldom allowed her to touch him when they had sex. The urge to take her hands and hold them over her head was one that he had to fight.

Arsen focused on the way he was kissing her. Slow strokes his tongue was making against hers. He ran his hands through her long hair and again found himself fighting the urge to pull it.

He pulled away from her and stood up, looking at her as he undressed. She ran her hand over one breast and smiled at him. Slowly he undressed, trying to gain control over his dominating instincts.

Finally, naked he stood there and when she held her hand out to him, he took it and climbed onto the small bed with her. It had been so long since he allowed himself to have real feelings.

Slowly he trailed his fingers over her breast, he leaned down and took it in his mouth. Making lazy circles with his tongue, he sucked it gently. Her hands ran over his head and she moaned softly.

He almost smacked her on the side of her ass, but stopped himself and ran his hand over her hip instead. Softly, she ran her hands over his back and he tensed as it triggered a memory.

He pulled his mouth away from her breast and looked at her. It was Steele he was with, not Beth. No one was about to break the door down and start beating the hell out of him.

The way she looked at him made his heart pound. She ran her hand over his cheek and he took it and kissed it. He smiled, weakly.

“You have no idea how hard this is for me, Steele.”

“Lie down, Arsen,” she said as she sat up.

He sighed and did what she said. She kissed his lips then let her mouth graze his body as she moved it over him. All the way down she went until her mouth was moving over his cock.

Arsen closed his eyes and moaned. Slow strokes she made up and down his length. Her hand covering where her mouth left. The other hand massaged his balls and his body relaxed.

“That feels so good, Steele.” He moaned again and found himself feeling different.

Her mouth was hot, her tongue ran along his cock and he was about to climax. He pulled her head up and smiled at her. She kissed her way up his body and straddled him, sliding down on his erection.

Her body shuddered as she took him all in and her eyes closed. He took her by the hips and lifted her up and down, keeping the rhythm slow and watching her body as it moved over him.

She was beautiful with her dark waves falling across her shoulders. Her breasts bounced a little with each stroke and all of a sudden it felt as if his heart was breaking. Arsen was falling in love with her so hard it hurt.

Arsen stopped lifting her up and down and turned her over to lie on her back, moving his body over hers. She looked up at him as he pushed back into her. Making harder strokes, he moved faster and looked into her eyes as he did.

Steele looked back into his and he saw the love she had for him and knew without a doubt she would do anything he asked her to. His power over her was absolute. He didn’t deserve her, and he knew it.

She gripped his arms and arched up to him.

“Arsen, can I ….”

“You don’t have to ask, baby.” He moved harder and quicker and she moaned as she came.

Her body took his along, and he groaned with his release. It was a bittersweet moment for him. He’d managed to put his need for total control away for her, but with the realization that she’d do anything for him it meant he had to be much more careful how he treated her.

Kissing her just behind her ear, he whispered, “I love you, baby.”

“I love you,” she echoed as she tried to catch her breath.

Arsen rolled over and pulled her to lie on his chest. Her heartbeat he could feel and her breath left the skin beneath it warm. She was becoming more to him than he could’ve ever imagined. Steele was like oxygen to him, he had to have her to live.

That knowledge filled him with joy and dread at the same time as she held his heart in her hands and he was no longer in control.

If he was sent to prison, he’d have to let her go. It wouldn’t be fair to keep her if he couldn’t be there for her and keep her safe and protected. He had to figure out a way to prove Allen had killed those women.

Arsen was getting no closer, and that fact had him beyond frustrated. The man was right there in the same damn apartment with him and still he was no closer than if he hadn’t found the man at all.

GWEN

“If you’re really her friend, you have to do something about it, Gwen,” Allen said as he held her hand and they sat on her bed. “I know the man, he’s hard as a rock. I’m serious, he’ll only destroy her.”

“You do realize what you’re talking about is kidnapping, Allen,” Gwen stood up and began pacing and running her hands over her hair.

“It’s not really that, Gwen. It’s just getting her away from him for a while so she can see what he’s done to her. She’s blind to it right now. She thinks she actually wants what he’s doing to her. No one wants that. No one wants to be so controlled.” He got up and put his arm around Gwen to stop her pacing. “Don’t you care about her?”

“Yes! Of course I do! Shit!” She looked at him and found herself near tears. “Allen, we can’t do what you’re suggesting. I’ll talk to her more and get her to see things aren’t right with Arsen. She’ll leave him on her own. Taking her and hiding her out against her will is wrong.”

“You’d rather he kill her like he did those other women?”

“He might not have done that. He hasn’t been convicted yet.” She pulled out of his grip and sat on the bed.

“It’s just a matter of time. I can assure you he will be convicted and then he’ll go to prison. Just like I had to. You have no idea of the hell the poor girl is going through with him. Constant criticism, the threat of beatings hanging over her head all the time, you saw how jumpy and skittish she is around him. You can’t tell me that’s how she’s always been.”

“No, she never was like that before him. But taking her isn’t the answer here. I’ll deal with this. You don’t have to worry about her.”

Allen sat next to her and ran his hand over her hair.

“God has told me what has to be done, Gwen. She has to be saved from him.”

Gwen stood up and looked down at him.

“Allen, you’re going to have to leave now. I’m afraid you’re making me very uncomfortable with all this talk about kidnapping my roommate. I think you should probably go talk to someone. God isn’t talking to you. You really need to get help.”

Allen stood up, his eyes drooping slightly at the corners.

“Gwen, I thought you could help me save your friend from that monster. I’m very sorry I have to do this.” He reached into the front pocket of his tan slacks.

Gwen’s eyes went wide. Her mouth opened to scream, but no sound made it out as he ran his hand over her mouth and stabbed the syringe full of morphine into the vein in her neck. Her body fell to the floor with a loud thump.

“You made me do that, Gwen. Now let’s get you out of here. Looks like I’ll have to get another set of chains since I’ll have to take you both now that you made me do this. You really messed up my plans for Arsen.”

Gwen could still hear him talking as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, taking her out of her room and to God only knew where.

Part Seven: For Obedience

STEELE

Warm breath on the back of her neck woke Steele up. Arsen’s strong arms were wrapped around her. A smile crept over her face as she recalled the events of the last night and how Arsen had made love to her.

He had been tender and loving and she loved every moment he gave her. She knew he was getting a bit soft around the edges which had been so sharp, but she remembered what she and Gwen had talked about.

She would stop being so controlling herself. Arsen needed to become whoever he was meant to become. If that meant a little softer version of the man she’d met and fallen in love with, so be it.

His arms tightened around her and he groaned. His lips pressed against her neck and he said, “Good morning, Baby.”

“Morning, Sweetheart,” she said and turned in his arms to face him.

His hair was growing so fast, it was nearly as long as when she’d met him the first time and she ran her hands through it. His beard though, he had kept meticulous as always and his dark eyes blinked a few times as he looked at her.

“Thank you, Steele,” he said with a lazy smile covering his caramel lips. “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt.”

“Glad to hear that. I was afraid it bored you,” she said as she moved one hand out of his silky locks to run over his bicep.

“Bored with you, never.” He kissed the tip of her nose, making her giggle a little. “We should get up and you should see if your roommate is up yet so we can talk to her about Allen. Then we need to get going. I have to purchase you some things so we can go to Fierce and get some things out of my private room before the police get a warrant and get in there.”

“So you’re really taking me then?” Steele looked excited, and he frowned at her.

“You will most likely be disgusted by what you see there. But, yes I’m taking you there to retrieve a couple of things, then we’ll leave. We’ll have to get masks as I want no one to see you there. What you and I have going on is to be kept a secret from the police. You do understand that. Don’t you?” His hand ran over her cheek.

“I do, Arsen. Don’t worry. Let’s shower and dress and I’ll go find Gwen. You may have to get Allen to talk about something so I can get her alone.” She rolled off the bed and onto her feet and padded away to the bathroom.

The shower was small, much, much smaller than Arsen’s. Steele had gotten into the shower and smiled as Arsen joined her. “Give me the shampoo and let me wash your hair.”

She did as he said and he massaged the soap into her dark hair. “You really are very sweet, you know.”

“Sweet, there’s that word again no one has ever used to describe me.” He leaned her head back to rinse her hair and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

One hand moved in her hair to aid the removal of the vanilla scented shampoo and his other hand moved down to run between her legs as he kissed her a bit harder.

Steele moaned as his fingers found her center and moved right in. Pumping his finger inside her, he had her hot in seconds. He pulled his hand from her and ran his hands around her waist, lifting her.

She wrapped her legs around him and groaned as he entered her. The warm water flowed over them as he lifted her up and down, then backed her to the wall and thrust into her, hard over and over.

There was just no way which Arsen took her which didn’t drive her over the edge. He was the master of her body and she knew that without a doubt.

The thought flashed through her mind if he was convicted of the murders she’d lose him to prison. A single tear escaped with the thought.

Her hands roamed over his muscled back and she moaned as her body began the dissent into climax. Arsen pulled his mouth from hers and watched her as she went into ecstasy.

“My God, you’re gorgeous, Steele. When you come all over my cock like that, it makes me feel more than a mere man. It makes me feel powerful.”

“You are powerful, Arsen.” She ran her hands up his back and grasped his neck and pulled his mouth to hers again.

He kissed her hard, his tongue running over hers, stroking it with hard strokes just like he was pounding into her. His hands squeezed her ass as his body went rigid and he spilled himself inside her. A long groan he made as he let it all loose.

Pulling his mouth from hers, they both tried to catch their breath.

“You know how to get the day going, Arsen.”

“I am quite good at it, aren’t I?” He smiled as he let her feet touch the floor. “Now let’s finish this shower up and get our day going. It’s going to be a long one.”

Steele’s insides shook with excitement.

I’m finally going to get to see the inside of a real BDSM club!

ARSEN

“No one else is here, Steele. Try to call her,” Arsen directed.

Steele called Gwen, and both heard her cell phone ringing in Gwen’s bedroom. They followed the sound and found the phone on the floor near the bed.

Steele picked it up.

“Well, the blanket is gone from her bed. Perhaps she was sick on it or something and took it to get it cleaned and accidentally dropped her phone. Is her car still here?”

They went to look out the front door and Gwen’s car was still there, but Allen’s wasn’t. Arsen shook his head.

“She must’ve went with Allen. I guess we’ll have to talk to her tomorrow about him. I don’t think he’s crazy enough to do anything to her now that I know he’s with her. That would be really stupid. Don’t you think?”

Steele turned to go grab her purse so they could leave.

“It would be dumb and he didn’t seem stupid, just crazy.”

Arsen took her hand as she came back and they left the small apartment. Steele winced as Paul got out and opened the back door to the Suburban for them.

“Good morning, Paul. God, I feel awful about you having to stay the night in the car,” she said.

“Aw, don’t worry about me. I climbed in the back and slept like a baby. Sure I’m a little wrinkled this morning, but I can shower and change once we get back to the penthouse. You know I have an apartment in that building, don’t you?”

“No, I didn’t realize that.” Steele slipped inside the car. “Paul, did you see when that car we followed back here left?”

He shook his head.

“No, I just woke up about fifteen minutes ago. It was gone already.”

“Okay, thanks,” she said as she buckled her seatbelt.

Arsen moved in next to her and frowned.

“It would’ve been nice if he had seen them leave.”

“I’m sure they just went to eat breakfast and must’ve took her blanket to the cleaners. Gwen drinks often, but it still has her puking now and then.” Steele ran her hand over Arsen’s muscular thigh and left it there.

He looked down at her small hand on him and thought how he’d never allow anyone to touch him like that before. She was changing him and it was happening a lot faster that he even thought possible.

Arsen ran his hand over hers and lifted it to his lips, leaving a kiss on top. “You really are perfect for me, baby.”

Her blue eyes sparkled.

“You are perfect for me too.”

Running an arm around her he felt as close to normal as he’d ever been. But as they pulled away from the apartment a police car moved down the street in front of them, reminding him of his trouble and how he had to hurry to fix that problem.

Arsen knew his time was limited. He pulled out his phone and pulled up the website of a local shop that sold the clothes and masks they’d need to go to the club. He tapped on something he’d love to see Steele in and showed it to her.

“How about this for tonight?”

He smiled as pink stained her creamy colored cheeks.

“Really? That will show all of me! I mean every bit! You’d let me out in public like that?”

The leather garment was a series of black belts which crisscrossed over the body, leaving the breasts exposed and the ass as well. The belt which ran between the legs was a little wider than the rest and managed to cover the goods, but that was the only thing which was covered.

Arsen stifled a chuckle and said, “Oh, it has a thing you wear over it, Steele.” He tapped another place on the cell phone’s screen and a sheer, black short dress came up. “See, this goes over it.”

“It’s nearly invisible, Arsen! You have got to be playing with me.” She tapped her foot, nervously.

When his head shook her forehead wrinkled with a frown. Arsen’s eyebrows went up.

“Steele, you said you wanted to see what it’s like. Well, this is the type of thing the females who go there, wear. You’ll look hot as hell. Don’t worry. I’d never dress you in anything you wouldn’t look good in.”

He tapped at the screen again, pulling up a picture of thigh high, shiny leather boots with six-inch heels and grinned at her. Steele shook her head.

“Arsen, I can’t wear that. It’s crazy!”

After showing her a cat-woman mask, he said, “You’ll wear this. You’ll be anonymous. No one will even know who you are or ever recognize you on the street. Let yourself go with the character, Steele. You said you wanted to know and you will know after tonight.”

“And what will you be wearing? May I ask?”

“An Armani suit and a batman mask.” He put his arm around her again and pulled her tight to him. “Cat-woman and Batman. Sounds fun. Don’t you think?”

“Only this cat-woman is naked,” she said with a frown.

“Nearly naked,” he corrected her as he placed the order for the things, having them delivered to his penthouse by eight that night.

Thinking about how hot she was going to look had him more excited than he’d been in a very long time. He had a bright red collar he would put around her long, elegant neck to show every male there, she was his and his alone.

Arsen toyed with the idea of making her crawl or not, but ended up deciding she could walk in as he led her with his leash. It would be his last time going into the place after all and he was going to make it count.

He nipped her neck, playfully and ran his hand over her sex.

“I cannot wait to show your hot ass off, baby.”

The way she shivered let him know she was afraid, and for some reason that made him happy.

A little fear is good for the soul.

STEELE

“Arsen! This is just too much!” she whined as he buckled the last buckle on her little BDSM outfit, emphasis on little.

She turned her body in front of the mirror and frowned.

“My big ass is all out there!”

His large hand cupped one of her ass cheeks and he gave it a good squeeze. “It is and I’m loving it.”

Steele watched his eyes light up in the mirror and knew he was in his element. It both excited her and made her nervous at the same time.

“Arsen, I’m sure to let you down. I know I will.”

He pulled her into his arms, resting his forehead to hers.

“Baby, we’re not going there to really do any more than retrieve a couple of things from my private room. None of the regular things that happen there are we going to be involved in. So you can’t possibly let me down. Can’t you see that? Plus, I kind of love the shit out of you, and that means whatever you do never lets me down.”

“You love the shit out of me, huh?” she asked with a grin.

He popped her ass. “I can curse. You cannot.”

She giggled. “Yes, Master.”

He smiled and pulled away from her, picking up the sheer, black dress and pulled it over her head. Then went to a closet that when he opened it up Steele about fell over.

“Oh my God! That’s why I smell leather in here all the time.” She went to him and looked at all the leather inside.

He pulled out a long, red, leather coat and held it out for her. She put her arms through the sleeves then he wrapped it around her and tied it closed.

“Better?” he asked

She nodded and smiled.

“You fooled me, you rogue.”

“Oh, once inside, the coat has to be checked. But you won’t be walking around anywhere else like that.” He led her back to the mirror where she looked at their reflections.

Arsen was in his black Armani suit, looking handsome as hell and she was in the long, red, leather coat with the tall boots. Her long, dark hair was pulled into a single braid which fell over her shoulder. Her make-up was impeccable, and she found herself feeling a lot sexier than she ever had before.

Then Arsen went to the leather filled closet again and took out a red leather collar and leash set. Her heart started to pound in her chest as it never crossed her mind she’d have to wear that and crawl on her hands in knees in front of a group of people.

As he reached up to run the collar around her neck her hand took his wrist. “Arsen, I’m beginning to think this isn’t a thing I can do after all. Crawling around in front of people is too much.”

His smile was a mixture of fun and evil.

“You will have to trust me, Steele. I am your master after all. You signed the contract.”

The contract, yes she had asked for the contract between them and signed it. Ready to show him she could be what he needed. After gulping down the knot which had formed in her throat, she said, “I did. Go ahead, put your collar on me, Master.”

Arsen placed the thing around her neck and attached the leash.

“How does that feel? It’s not too tight, is it?”

She shook her head. The fact was it fit a little bit loosely. But she wasn’t happy with the way it made her feel. Like an animal and not in a hot way either.

“I suppose I’ll get used to this.”

Arsen’s silence left her wondering what the man was thinking.

Will this become something we do often?

She’d signed the contract and whatever he wanted to do with her he could. When she looked back up at him, she saw a slight droop at the edge of his dark eyes. He wasn’t as happy as he had been.

His finger ran over her red painted lips.

“Think about things tonight when you see that lifestyle. Be true to yourself and to me. If you decide you want out of the contract, I’ll let you.”

Steele shook her head. No contract meant no Arsen, and she knew it.

“I’ll get used to this. I can get used to anything if it means I get to stay in your life, Arsen.”

“If I have my way, you will always be in my life, Steele.” Arsen kissed her cheek and picked up the leash. “Remember to follow a step behind me when we get to the club, baby. I don’t want one of the assholes there to smack your ass if you don’t. It’s not like any place you’ve ever been.”

As they went down the elevator to get into the car, Steele felt something inside her growing. It was fear and excitement and a little anger. She was feeling angry with herself for letting so much of herself go. But she couldn’t seem to stop herself. The thrill was outweighing the shame.

GWEN

Water was dripping somewhere in the open room. Gwen opened her eyes and looked around. It was dark and musty smelling. She could hear the sound of water lapping against the shore outside a window.

Lights glowed in the darkness outside the window which had been covered with a plastic sheet she couldn’t see through. She tried to move and found herself trapped.

Still groggy, she moved her head around and found herself chained to a small bed. It seemed like she was in an old warehouse, most likely down by the docks near the San Francisco bay area.

Though her mind was fuzzy she did remember telling Allen he had to leave as he was talking about kidnapping Steele for her own good. Now it seemed he must’ve kidnapped her.

Panic ripped through her as she recalled what Arsen had told her Allen had done to his high school math teacher that had him sent to prison. She wondered how anyone could be set free after what he did.

“Allen?” she called out.

Nothing came back, and she hoped he would leave her alone there rather than come back and do God knows what to her. Better to die of starvation and dehydration than to be tortured by the crazy man.

The sound of metal grinding against metal met her ears and then there were footsteps. She bit her lip and tried hard not to cry as Allen came near her. The light was dim, but she saw he was holding a whip in one hand and some type of odd contraption in the other.

“Allen, what are you doing, Sweetheart,” she asked in a really kind voice, hoping to make him see her for who he knew she was. They were going to get married after all. Though crazy, he had to love her she thought.

“I asked you to help me and you told me to get out of your house. I guess you have no idea what your best friend is going through with that monster, Arsen Sloan, so I’m about to show you what he does to women, Gwen.” He took a step towards her and placed something in her mouth.

The contraption he had in his hand had been some type of gagging device. After placing the ball in her mouth, he buckled the thing around her head.

She tried to talk and scream and it wouldn’t allow either. She shook her head, and he looked at her with no emotion.

“You have to see. So you understand what he does to your friend, Gwen. You didn’t understand me or maybe you didn’t believe me, so you see, I have to show you or you never will understand.”

He took a step back and let the whip fly, the thin leather fell across her stomach and she shrieked with the pain, only the thing in her mouth stopped it from ringing out in the air for anyone to hear.

Tears fell in streams down her cheeks. The whip flew through the air again.

So this is how I’m going to die.

ARSEN

The angels and demons residing in Arsen seemed to be at war with each other. On the one hand he found Steele beyond amazing in the outfit he bought her. On the other hand, that was not her.

She was tolerating too much, and he knew it. It was he who needed some change in who he was, not her. She was a sweet, innocent, young woman he met and radically influenced in a bad way.

Yet here he was taking her to a place he’d promised himself he wouldn’t. The car stopped in the alley where the entrance to Fierce was. He watched as Steele looked around, confusion riddling her beautiful face.

“Where is it, Arsen?”

He pointed to the rusty metal door.

“Right here.”

Paul opened the car door, letting them out.

“Call when you’re ready to leave, boss.”

Arsen nodded and placed the mask over Steele’s eyes then put his own on. He took her leash and heard her sigh. His heart sped up, and he wanted nothing more than to tell her to get back in the car and wait for him to go get the things he needed to so the police wouldn’t find them.

“Steele, would you rather wait in the car for me?”

“I want to see this place. I want to see what you found you had to have in your life these past years. I want to know all about you and what you need,” she answered.

“The only thing I need since I found you, is you, Steele. None of this is me any longer. I need you to start understanding that, Baby.”

She shook her head. “I’m no fool, Arsen. You will tire of me if I can’t be what you need.”

He shrugged his wide shoulders and took a step then turned back.

“Steele, if we get separated somehow, you need to immediately go into that little submissive sit I showed you. As long as you have my collar and leash on and take that position, no male will mess with you. If you’re wondering around free they might mess with you even though you have the collar and leash on. If you’re wondering around free and it’s off, you’re fair game to them. And all the screaming and yelling will be ignored or even stopped by a gag.”

“You’re just trying to scare me into staying in the car, aren’t you?” She smiled and giggled. “So dramatic!”

Arsen shook his head and knew she was about to really freak out, but she was too tenacious to believe him. Once he opened the door, and she saw how dark it was she hugged up behind him. Her hand moved into his and he stopped and looked back at her.

“You can’t do that here.”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry. Okay, let me get into character. Wow, this place looks spooky. Don’t you think it’s creepy in here, Arsen?” She took a step back and seemed to be rambling.

“You have no idea, Baby. Now, keep your mouth shut and follow me. Remember all the rules, please. I don’t want some mother fucker smacking you and pissing me off.” He led her down the stairs and prayed she’d follow the rules he’d laid out for her.

When they rounded the corner to the coat check he heard Steele gasp at the freak show who was running the counter. The guy did look rather ghoulish with his spiked black hair and ruby red lipstick. The piercings all over his pale face were gruesome, and he was dressed in only tight leather shorts. His nipples were pierced, and a chain ran between them.

Arsen turned and took off Steele’s coat and saw her eyes go wide behind her mask as he revealed her nearly naked body. Her chest rose as she held her breath.

“You need to breathe, Baby,” he whispered in her ear as he pulled the coat completely away.

“Nice,” the young guy said as he took the red coat. “Room 21, right?”

Arsen nodded as the guy placed the coat on a hanger and pressed a sticker to it with his private room number. Arsen looked back to find Steele biting at her lower lip and shook his head at her. She stopped and fell into place behind him.

With a few feet of privacy before they got into the main room he told her, “Walk with your head up high. You’re proud to be with me after all and want all to know that. But don’t make eye contact with anyone. Look forward and stay only one step behind me.”

“Okay, man my stomach is full of butterflies. I guess I should’ve had a drink or something before I came in here,” she said.

Arsen smiled knowingly.

“I wanted you completely sober to see this place. Now no more talking until we get to my private room.”

Steele shut her mouth and Arsen walked into the room, holding her leash and loving the stares the men were immediately giving his woman. He walked through the crowd of scantily, leather clad people and had to hold back a smile.

She was stealing the show, just like he knew she would.

STEELE

Steele was amazed by the people she tried so hard not to look at as Arsen had instructed. Nearly naked women everywhere on leashes. Some on their hands and knees while others stood. But all seemed to be looking at her and Arsen as they strode through the middle like they owned the place.

The air was cold and had her nipples as erect as they could get. A good thing she supposed. A scene from the corner of her eye made her head turn just slightly to see a man who stood and looked on as another man fucked the woman he had on a leash, from behind as she looked up at her master.

The word, degrading, hit her mind like a brick and she looked at the back of Arsen’s head instead. Her stomach was tense, and the butterflies had transformed into pterodactyls.

The six-inch heels were proving hard to walk in as the cement floor was a little slippery and she glanced down to see a fair amount of fluid was here and there on the floor.

Bile rose in her throat as she thought of being made to move through the room on hands and knees as some were having to do. It was disgusting. Arsen had been right about how she’d see it.

The scene changed as they walked into another room. A disco ball was suspended high on the ceiling and hard rock music played loudly. People danced, and it was an odd feeling as the lights flashed off and on.

Arsen turned to her and pulled her up in his arms and moved them to the hard beat of the music. He whispered, “Okay, so far?”

“I’m okay, Arsen. This is not what I expected though.”

He pulled back and turned away from her, pulling her along after him again. Once they made their way out of that room they entered a dark hallway. Then turned and went down another.

Doors were on each side of the dimly lit halls. Odd sounds leaked out of some of them as they passed by. Some good groans, some not so good groans, and some horrific groans had Steele second guessing coming into the club.

Arsen finally stopped at a door and used a key to open it. He led her inside and turned to close the door behind them.

“So, you like this place, Steele?”

“Um, uh, It’s uh, different. I can’t say I do or don’t like it,” she stammered.

He pulled the collar off her and smiled.

“Really? Maybe the full treatment will help you make a decision then.” Arsen turned a knob on the wall near the door and the interior of the dark room lit up.

“Oh my God, Arsen,” Steele said in a whisper as her eyes traveled over his extensive collection.

An odd wooden structure was in the middle of the room which she found to be rather large. She pointed at it and before she could ask, he said, “That’s a bondage bed.”

“It looks medieval. And anything but comfortable.” She walked over to it and almost touched it.

“Stop!” he said with a sudden sternness to his voice. She stopped, and he walked up to her, then pulled some surgical gloves from a black box under the bed. He put them on her hands. “I don’t want your finger prints on anything in here.”

“Oh! Smart, Arsen.” She looked around as he put the white gloves on her.

Two long poles leaned against one of the black walls. A rusty color was running down the tan poles and she knew immediately those were the things Rowan had told her about. She gulped and asked, “Is that blood on those things over there.” She nodded her head towards the poles.

Without looking at her, he answered, “It is.”

“You beat women until they bled?” Her mind was spinning.

“I did.” He still didn’t look at her.

A block of wood caught her eye next.

“Is that like a stockade? Like from the old days when people would get locked up in them for committing a crime?”

“It is.” He finally looked into her eyes.

“So you would lock women up and then do whatever you wanted to with them?” Her lip was beginning to quiver as she was realizing the man she knew was so much more messed up then she imagined he was.

“I did, yes.” His eyes were dark and hard as if daring her to tell him he had done anything wrong.

A leather, full-face mask hung on the wall near a hook and silver handcuffs dangled from them. Along the wall was a line of various items used to flog people. Her heart began to race.

“There is not one thing in this room which doesn’t bring pain, is there, Arsen?”

He shook his head slowly.

“So what do you think of this place now, Steele? Think it’s a place you’d care to frequent? Think it’s a place you belong in?”

If she wanted to stay in his life, she’d better figure out how to take all he was about.

“Show me how you take a woman on this hard wood bed, Arsen. Show me how it feels to be in here with you as my Master.”

He chuckled and his eyes softened.

“You know stubborn isn’t a strong enough word for you, Steele. I’m not going to be taking you in this room, ever. This is not for you. It’s not a thing you want. Your mind was not made to handle the pain that this lifestyle is about.”

“Show me how to do what you want, Arsen,” she said and fell to her knees on the cold cement floor. “If this is you and what you want, then teach me. Teach me to take the pain you like to give out.”

He turned away from her and put his head in his hands. “Get up!” he snapped.

She did as he said. But her mind was racing with the newfound knowledge he had never really had sex that didn’t involve pain. She had to be disappointing to him.

“If you won’t take me in here then at least put me in some type of bondage thing you have so many of in here. I know you want to, so just do it. I want you to do it.” She looked around and pointed to a table.

It looked benign enough.

“There, that table thing. Do to me what you did to other women on that table, Arsen.”

He looked at where she was pointing then back at her with an expressionless face.

“I leaned women over that and flogged them with various things until they begged me to stop. Then I held them down and fucked them on it. Is that what you think you really want?”

“I want some of what you gave other women here, Arsen. I feel left out of a part of you.” She stepped towards him and found him moving back from her.

“Be glad you’re left out of this part of me. This part of me only wanted to cause pain the way pain had been done to me. You don’t seem to understand. This is about overcoming pain, Steele. Learning to handle the harsh reality that some of us are dished out a hell of a lot more than others are. Learning how to overcome it.” He spun around and pulled his jacket off, hanging it in a closet. He pulled his shirt off next and hung it up.

Steele’s heart began to pound, thinking he was finally going to give her what she’d asked for.

“Arsen, it kills me that you were ever hurt.”

He picked up one of the long poles and carried it over to her. She looked at it and flinched.

Why would he want to use that?

Arsen held it out to her.

“I want you to take this and match it to the faint marks on my back.” He turned, and she held it to the three places on his back where faded scars were.

That woman who’d been his mistress had hit him with the thing and split his flesh wide open more than just one time. “Arsen, this is horrible.”

He looked back at her.

“No, what’s horrible is when I did that to others. When I first met you I told you that you should run and you should’ve. I am a monster, Steele. And now that you’ve seen this and what I have done, you know it’s true.”

“I don’t think of you as a monster. You had tons of pain inside you. You still do. I can see now why the women asked you to do the things you did to them. I also want to take your pain away and would feel the bite of your strap or whatever you had to endure to take it away from you,” she said then ran her hand over his cheek.

“That’s not what I want for you, Steele. I don’t want you to feel pain. Shit! You can’t take it and you shouldn’t have to. Your life wasn’t bad. You have no reason to need to accept pain and learn how to deal with it and I won’t be the one to make you.” He took the pole from her, turned and walked away.

In that instant it all became crystal clear to Steele. Arsen was never going to be able to stay with her. She turned and ran from the room at full speed. All she could think was she had to get the hell out of that place and away from the man she loved more than she ever could’ve imagined, but he was never going to allow her to be what he needed.

ARSEN

The door slammed, and he turned to find Steel had gone. He cursed and ran after her, not sure which way she’d turned in the hallway. He took off the way they had come in, but he knew she might’ve gone the other direction and he hoped she hadn’t done that.

After searching the two rooms they’d been in, he found nothing. He stopped by the coat check stand and saw her red coat still hanging and he knew she wouldn’t go out without it.

He made his way back and hoped she was okay because if she found herself in the room at the other end of the hallway she was going to be in over her head.

Hearing the roars of laughter and shouts from a lot of men, Arsen went into the room where the auctions were held and sure as shit, Steele was on the auction block.

The daft woman had run right into the one place where she should never have gone. Arsen stayed in the back in the dark shadows as he saw her trying hard not to let her fear show as a man wearing nothing but ass-less chaps held a leash fastened to a black collar around her throat.

She must’ve been making a lot of fuss and a gag was in her mouth, the straps ran around her head and her hands had been bound as well.

Oh, the fit she must’ve been throwing for them to do all that to her.

He flinched when the blonde-haired, older man smacked her on the ass and said, “Whew wee! This one is wild and built to handle what you got to dish out. I tell you what!”

Steele glared at the man and Arsen winced as the man pinched one of her nipples, making her close her eyes and shake her head. Some man in front yelled, “Two hundred dollars.”

The auctioneer’s eyebrows raised.

“You have got to be kidding me. For this feisty piece of prime ass that’s all you got. I’m starting the bidding at five hundred dollars. She’s got it all men. The looks.” He grabbed her by her braid and pulled her head up and ran one finger over her red cheek. “The body.” His hand ran over her breast.

Arsen stiffened and clenched his fist at his side. Another man shouted. “I’ll give you five hundred for her.”

Another shouted out, “I’ll give you six. She’s about as wild as they come. I’d love the chance to break her fine ass.” He held a whip in his hand and popped it in the air.

Steele’s eyes went wide, and she shook her head, making the room full of men laugh. Arsen wasn’t laughing though. He was getting increasingly pissed at how the auctioneer was touching what was his.

An old man yelled out, “I’ll give you one thousand dollars for her. I could use me another sub and she’d make a fine one.”

The auctioneer reminded him.

“This is only for the remainder of this one night, old man. Not forever.”

The old man cackled then said, “Once she gets a taste of my dick, she’ll beg to become my sub.”

The auctioneer moved his body behind Steele’s and acted as if he was fucking her from behind. He went so far as to push her shoulders forward and pull her hips back and slammed into the back of her. Only the thin leather strap of her outfit which ran between her legs and his chaps was stopping him from actually getting to her and Arsen had all he could take.

He strolled up to the very front and smiled at Steele who mumbled behind the gag and begged him with her eyes to save her. Arsen looked at the auctioneer. “How does five thousand sound?”

The man released Steele and said, “It sounds like you got a hankering for this little filly, sir. Your number please, so we can get our money.”

“Twenty-one,” Arsen said and took the leash the auctioneer handed him. “Thank you.”

The crowd of men moaned and gave Arsen dirty looks as he led Steel off the auction block then threw her over his shoulder, smacking her ass one time. He took her all the way back to his private room before he took the gag and binds off her. She took in a deep breath and threw her arms around him.

“Arsen, that was horrible.” She let him go and placed her hand on a small red bump on the outside of her thigh. “That man popped his whip, and it hit me as I realized once I got into that room I needed out of there fast.”

He pulled her back into his arms and shushed her.

“You’re okay now. I have you, Baby.”

“I’m sorry I left the room. I was an idiot!”

“Look, that’s over now. Let’s get those poles and break them down and get them out of here. I think you’ve seen quite enough of Club Fierce.” Arsen let her go and moved to unscrew the poles to make them manageable.

Steele pulled the black collar off and found the red one and put it on. She held her hands out to take the poles into her hands.

“Take my leash and do not let me go. I’ll carry these.”

Arsen handed her the six pieces of wood and chuckled.

“At least I don’t ever have to hear you ask to come here again.”

“No, you will never hear those words come from my mouth ever again. That’s a promise. If you wish to leave this behind you, I’m all for that.”

“Good.” He took her leash and led her away from what had been his life.

He looked around the room just before he closed the door for what would be the last time if he had anything to do with it. Ghosts of the three women who had been his subs flittered through his mind and he found himself saying out loud, “I’m sorry girls. I’m really sorry and I hope you can forgive me.”

He closed the door and had to swallow the lump which had formed in his throat. Arsen hadn’t allowed himself to think about the dead women and with their memory came a flood of emotions. And Arsen was not one to allow many emotions.

STEELE

Sliding into the back of the Suburban, Steele opened the little fridge and grabbed the first bottle of liquor her hand landed on. One long drink she took then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as Arsen watched her with a smile on his handsome face.

“That was rough on you.”

She nodded and stayed on her knees on the floor of the car as he sat on the seat. Paul closed the door and Steele untied the belt of her leather coat. Pulling it off, she laid it out on the floor and got on her hands and knees and wiggled her finger at Arsen.

He looked at her for a second, obviously taking her all in. Arsen moved off the leather seat and came to her. Moving her to lie on her back. He ran his hand over her forehead, pushing some of her hair back off her face.

“Thank you, Steele.” His lips brushed hers softly, and she moaned and ran her hand to the back of his neck.

She needed him. For reasons she didn’t understand she needed to feel him inside her. Show her she was his in every way. What she’d seen was fresh in her head and worrisome. She needed to know he wanted her. Nearly plain old vanilla, her.

His tongue ran around hers and he pressed his body to hers. She arched up to him and said, “Arsen, please take me.”

He reached between them and unbuckled the one strap that was keeping him from getting to her. His fingers found her wet and he unbuttoned and unzipped his slacks and pushed himself into her.

She moaned in his ear as he thrust into her.

“Fuck me, Arsen. Make me come all over you hot, huge cock.”

Steele knew he didn’t tell her she could talk and a small part of her wanted to test him. See if he was going to really be her master.

Arsen plunged deep into her and pulled one of her legs back. He held his body up and watched his dick slam into her over and over. Steele found him fascinating as she watched his reaction to their bodies coming together.

He looked at her.

“You like it? You like my cock buried inside you?”

She nodded and moaned then put one finger in her mouth and wet it. She reached down and touched her clit and moaned as she stroked it. She was pushing him and was waiting for him to tell her something.

“Fuck me harder, Baby,” she groaned.

He pounded into her harder as she rubbed herself and moaned loudly. She knew he didn’t allow much noise made, and made as much as she could. He pulled out of her just before she was about to come.

“Did I make you mad, Master,” she said with a sly smile.

“Really, Steele.” He leveled his dark eyes on hers. Then he grabbed her and turned her over and slammed into her from behind as he pushed her face and chest to the floor. “Is this what you want from me?”

He pounded her like any other piece of ass he’d fucked, Steele thought. Her breath was coming out in spurts and she was thinking that was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to feel him do to her what he’d done to all the others. Fuck them and care nothing for them. Then he stopped again and pulled out of her.

She lifted herself off the floor and turned around to find him setting back on his haunches. His hands over his face and he was shaking.

“Arsen?”

Steele reached out and placed her hands on his and gently pulled them away to find tears streaming down his face. She pulled him to her and hugged him as he cried.

“I’ll never lay my eyes on their beautiful faces again. I’ll never run my hands over their exquisite bodies again. I will never get to tell them how sorry I am for hurting them both physically and mentally.”

She had no idea he’d break like this. Selfish is what she felt like. She was so busy wanting him to do to her what he’d done to the others, she never thought about how it might affect him.

“Arsen, it’s okay.” She hugged him tight. “They know now, Baby. They know everything now. And they no longer hurt.”

He pulled back and looked at her, breaking her heart for him as the strong man sat on the floor of his expensive Suburban, wearing an Armani suit that cost more than the rent on her apartment, and cried like a baby.

“I never even bothered to talk to any of them about why they felt they needed to be submissive. I’m sure each had her reasons, but I never asked. I hardly ever spoke to them. I used them for what I needed, and then left them. The money I gave them, the cars, the apartments I rented them, I thought that would compensate them for what I did.” His body was shaking and Steele pulled him back into her arms.

“You were a hurt person yourself. How were you to be any better than what you were? Give yourself a break, you lived in hell for quite a few years. No one can judge you, Arsen. Please, don’t judge yourself.” She rocked back and forth with him as he let out what seemed like years of pent up emotion.

She was mad at herself for breaking him down. Though unintentional, nearly everything she did was making him be a man he wasn’t. Arsen pulled back, and she saw his tears were slowing.

It hit her she’d never seen him look more beautiful. He was opening up to her. Letting her see what he never even allowed himself to see. The part of him that was human. Weak and sorry and a completely vulnerable human being, just like everyone else.

“Steele, you’re saving me. I don’t know exactly how, but you are saving me, Baby. I feel more weak when I’m with you, but also more powerful in other ways. You’ve brought something to my life I didn’t even know was missing. God, I love you.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her.

It was a kiss like he’d never given her before. Not overpowering and not soft, just something which felt as if he was one with her. Like they were equals. And in that moment for one split second she let herself believe she was okay letting him change.

He laid her back on the floor and pulled his mouth from hers.

“I want to make love to you. I never want to fuck you again. Please don’t ask me to. I’ve fucked women for too long. Let me make love to you, Steele, please.”

“I understand now. I didn’t before, but now I do. Arsen, please make love to me, Baby. You’re all I want and need in this world.” She opened her arms, and he began unbuckling the leather straps and pulled them all away.

ARSEN

Arsen ran his hands over Steele’s body as she lay on the floor of his Suburban. He’d taken all his clothes off and lay next to her. Thin lines ran over her pristine skin where the leather straps had been.

Things had to change, she had to see he was a man in transition and be able to be there for him, allowing him to make the changes he needed to. Too much bad had happened in his life and it was time for the good.

Steele had brought that good into his life. He wasn’t about to let it be him who changed her. She was perfect already. His hand ran over one perfect breast and gave it a gentle squeeze.

He took it in his mouth and ran his tongue around the nipple then suckled it, moving his hand to play with the other pert breast as he did. Steele made a little moan. Arsen didn’t even have to fight the instinct to smack her ass to let her know she wasn’t allowed to make noise.

Instead, he found her sounds pleasing and arousing. He kissed up her chest and playfully nipped at her neck then found her lips and took them in a soft kiss.

The kiss turned hard as Steele pulled at him, making him come closer and closer until his body was over hers and she was arching up for him. Normally he’d make a woman wait until he said it was time, but Steele made him want to give her anything she wanted.

It was all about her. Arsen knew she was his one weakness, and he was able to accept that fact. He could live with it. He wanted to live with it.

He moved into her and she sighed as he filled her completely. His heart beat hard in his chest as he felt more than he’d felt the night before. He’d come apart in front of her and she didn’t try to hurt him while he was weak.

Steele had held him, nurtured, and comforted him. Arsen knew he could trust her, like he’d never trusted anyone else in his entire life. In his arms he held the one woman who could help him be the strong man he wanted to be without being a monster to keep him that way.

Slow, long strokes he made as she arched up to meet each one. When he pulled his mouth from hers, her eyes opened and she looked at him. Her hands moved over his biceps as she whispered, “I love you so much, Arsen. I love you more than I even knew was possible. Being with you like this is more than Heaven.”

He couldn’t speak because tears were threatening him yet again. Arsen kissed her cheek softly and rubbed the tip of his nose to hers. Letting her know he felt the same way she did.

Steele ran her legs around him, running her feet up and down the long length of his legs. He knew she loved the way his muscles rippled with every movement. He moved faster, rippling them more for her.

It was all he could think about, pleasing her, giving her whatever she wanted. She arched up to him, silently asking him to speed up. He moved faster and thrust harder until her breathing was ragged and a thin sheen of sweat shone on her creamy skin.

Arsen knew Steele liked a little of his control over her and he leaned to whisper in her ear, “Come.”

Her body exploded around him, pulsing and squeezing him as she moaned with her release. He came right along with her. They would have some things to work through to get where each needed to be.

Arsen knew Steele wanted some of how he’d done things and some just weren’t good for her so he’d have to let her know those were his new hard limits. She was becoming more and more precious to him with each passing day. And he meant to treat her like one would any precious object.

“I love you, Steele. Thank you for being here for me. It’s more than I deserve,” he said then pulled away from her and began dressing. “We should probably get our clothes on. We should be nearing home.”

Steele picked up her strappy leather outfit and smiled at him.

“Um, I don’t know how to put this thing back on, Arsen.”

He smiled and shook his head as he buttoned up his shirt.

“Just put the coat on. Don’t even try to get back into those boots either.”

Wrapping the coat around her then tying the belt to keep it closed, she sat on the seat and buckled her seatbelt as the car came to a stop in front of the building Arsen’s penthouse was in. And that’s when he saw her.

“Oh my God.” Arsen’s tanned face went pale and Steele followed his wide stare.

“Who is that?” she asked as she looked at the woman who stood at the front of the building at twelve o’clock at night.

“Mistress Sinclair.” The words barely had left his lips when he realized Steele had rushed past him and gotten out of the car, running at full speed towards the tall, thin, blonde woman.

It was obvious Steele was in a full rage as she screeched, “You fucking piece of shit, bitch.”

Mrs. Sinclair had a smug look on her amazingly unwrinkled skin. The woman was a little over fifty and didn’t look it. Arsen winced as Steele, nearly six inches shorter than the woman, jumped up a little and grabbed a handful of her shoulder-length blonde hair.

In an instant, the two were on the ground and Steele was straddling the woman and beating the crap out of her. Arsen and Paul had gotten out of the car as quickly as they could, but Steele was just too fast for them.

Arsen called out to her over and over, but Steele was in such a screaming, cursing rage, she heard no one, was his thought on why she continued the assault on the woman who’d made him her submissive.

He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her away and found Mrs. Sinclair had a good amount of blood on her face from a busted lip and a wad of blonde hair was held tight in Steele’s small fist.

“Steele, calm down!” He ordered her in a strict tone as she wiggled in his grip to get back at the woman.

“Let me go, Arsen! Let me deal with this bitch!” Steele continued to try to get away from him as Paul helped the older woman up.

Arsen watched as the woman who’d helped make him the hard man he was stood up, her body shaking. She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand and said, “My God, Arsen! Is this your little Hell cat?”

Steele wiggled and kicked into the air, screaming, “Shut the fuck up! You cannot talk to him!”

Arsen kissed the side of her head and had to hold in a laugh.

“This is my little Hell cat. Didn’t know she was one, but she’s mine. You should leave. She doesn’t seem to like you much.”

“We need to talk, you and I.” Sinclair looked at him then at Steele. “Preferably alone. I can take one attack but not two in one night. I’m not as tough as I used to be.”

Steele stopped wiggling and looked at Arsen.

“Do not be alone with this woman. Arsen, please.”

He kissed the tip of her nose and smiled.

“You have nothing to worry about, Baby.” He looked back at Sinclair. “I don’t give one shit what you have to say. This woman is my life now. The other three who were a part of the life I had before this little Hell cat came along are gone and you, I want nothing to do with. Thanks for going to the police and telling them I’m threatening you, though. You always have been one magnificent liar.” Waving a hand to dismiss the wretched bitch, Arsen turned to take Steele inside.

“I know who killed them, Arsen. I thought it was you and I kept digging until I found out who it was. If it was you, I meant to see you go to prison for the murders. Seems it wasn’t though. Seems like once again you are in need of my help, my protection. Are you really going to walk away from that again?”

Arsen turned and looked at her. The woman who’d nearly broke him.

Do I need her?

Part Eight: For Keeps

STEELE

Red was all she could see as Arsen held her tight around her waist, holding her off the ground, and said the words she never thought she’d hear come out of his mouth, “Maybe I should hear her out.”

The tall, thin, blonde woman smiled and looked at Steele.

“My name is Anne, by the way. And did I hear Arsen call you, Steele?” Her voice was calm and told nothing of the blood which still flowed from her busted lip or the swelling of her right eye.

Steele looked up at Arsen.

“I will not let you do this, Arsen. She’s a horrible person and you can’t believe a word she’ll say anyway.”

Anne Sinclair’s left eyebrow arched in amusement.

“Do not tell me this poor excuse for a submissive is going to tell you what to do, Master Sloan. Even in those clothes, she’s so obviously vanilla.”

A growl came from deep in Steele’s chest as she said, “Let me go, Arsen. I can make her stop talking if you just let me go.” She began to wiggle in his tight grip again.

Arsen narrowed his eyes at his old mistress.

“She is not a person I want you to speak about any more, Sinclair. Now tell me what you know so we can be done with this.”

“In private, Arsen. It’s not a quick thing, and I’d like to see to my wounds your hell cat has inflicted on me. If you don’t mind.” Anne moved towards the glass doors to the lobby of the building Arsen’s penthouse was in.

“Paul, will you see her to your apartment? I don’t want her in my home.” Arsen walked ahead of Anne. Steele was still held under one of his arms as she kicked and squirmed. “I’ll be down to talk to her shortly. I have to deal with a couple of things first.”

Anne followed behind him.

“I hope one of those things is teaching that hell cat a thing or two about her position. She is quite the brat. I can give you some pointers on breaking that part of her if you like.”

Steele screamed, “Shut the fuck up, you fucking bitch!”

“And the language, Arsen, tsk, tsk…” Anne shook her head and sighed as she walked on the other side of Arsen and Steele glared at her.

Arsen took Steele to the private elevator up to his penthouse and Paul took Anne to the other set of elevators.

“Help her see to her wounds, will you, Paul?” Arsen called out over his shoulder as he took Steel into the elevator.

Paul gave a nod and the elevator doors closed. Arsen finally let Steele go and placed her feet on the floor.

Her face was as red as a beet and her body was shaking.

“Arsen, please don’t go talk to her. She really is not a viable person who you can get information from. You know that. She’s already lied on you to the police about you threatening her.”

Arsen ran his hand through her disheveled hair. The braid had come loose and her hair hung in tendrils around her red face.

“Steele, you know that I need every clue I can get. I have to at least hear what she has to say then I’ll send her on her way.”

Steele threw her arms around him.

“No! Please, don’t! I’m begging you not to go talk to her.”

He pushed her back, gently.

“And I’m asking you to trust me, Baby.”

Steele stood perfectly still as she thought about his constant need for trust. It was one of his biggest issues.

“Arsen, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I mean, I do trust you. That woman is capable of hurting you. I want you to realize you have deep seeded issues with her. It’s not a smart thing to put your trust in her.”

“And I’m not. I simply want to hear what she’s found out.” He ran his hands over her back and pulled her to him in a hug.

“Arsen, I’m afraid for you.” Steele looked up at him. “Something isn’t right. Why would she pop up after all this time? What if she was the one who really killed those women? What if this is some type of set up?”

“Do you think I’m an ignorant person, Steele?” His dark eyes danced as he looked at her.

She brushed back a section of his dark hair, letting her fingers relish the silkiness of it.

“You know I think you’re the smartest person I’ve ever met. But your past with that woman makes her dangerous to you. Call Paul’s phone, talk to her that way.”

He shook his head.

“I need to be able to read her body language as she talks or I’ll have no idea if she’s lying or not.”

They got off the elevator, and he ran his arm around her shoulders.

“Arsen, let me come with you then.”

Arsen’s laugh filled the hallway they were walking down as they went towards his bedroom.

“Steele, you cannot be trusted to keep your cool with her. That’s been proven, Baby.” He kissed the top of her head. “By the way, thank you. I’ve never had anyone be as protective over me as you are. It’s nice and makes me feel like what we have is deeper than either of us even realized.”

Steele stopped and turned to hug him again.

“I love you, Arsen. You might be right about me not being able to control myself with her. I really hate her. And I really would not stop until she’s dead. What she did to you was unforgivable.”

“At least you agree with me.” He opened the door to the bedroom.

“I want you to take a nice, hot bath. I’m going to bring you a bottle of wine and I want you to relax and let that temper settle down a bit. I’ll go see what she has to say then be right back up here to tuck you into bed.”

A shiver ran through Steele as she began to realize just how many of his rules she’d just broken.

“Arsen, please don’t keep me away from you as a punishment for all the rules I’ve broken just now. I have to be able to touch you. To hold you after all that’s happened.”

A little grin ran over his caramel lips.

“Steele, there will be no punishments for that. Your anger was justifiable. I would like you to gain control over it, but much like I found myself punching Rowan, I know your anger.” His lips touched hers then he pulled back. “Go jump in the tub as I’ve told you to and I’ll be right back.”

Steele did as he said but everything in her wanted to follow him down to Paul’s apartment and make sure his old mistress didn’t play any mind games with him.

I hope she doesn’t make him change his mind about me!

ARSEN

Arsen’s hand moved up to his twitching eye, and he cursed his weakness. “Damn nerves.”

He got off his private elevator and went to the other which would take him to Paul’s apartment. He was glad his stomach hadn’t begun to ache. Anne Sinclair was not able to make him feel all the little ticks he’d had when he was under her.

A quick knock on Paul’s door had Paul answering with a frown. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Anne wasn’t behind him then whispered, “What a complete bitch this woman is, Arsen.”

Arsen gave him a nod.

“I’m more than aware of that fact. I’d like you to stay in here with us. I want a witness the whole time we’re together.”

Paul nodded and followed Arsen to the living area where Anne was seated on a sofa. A bag of frozen peas covered the eye Steele had punched.

“I see Paul took care of you, Sinclair. Now down to business. What do you have?” Arsen took a seat across from her.

Her eyes darted back and forth between Arsen who sat and Paul who stood behind him.

“We should be alone, Arsen.”

Arsen shook his head.

“I will not be alone with you. You’ve already lied and told the police you’re afraid of me. I won’t be setting myself up for any further trouble. So spill it, tell me what you found out.”

“I have a friend in the lab where the autopsies have been done on the three women you’re being accused of killing. Tell me, Arsen, do you have any way of getting a drug called succinylcholine?”

With a shake of his head, he answered, “Not only do I have no way of getting any drug, legally, I also have no idea what that drug is even used for. Do you?”

Paul’s voice from behind him had him turning to look back at the man.

“It’s used in anesthesia. It paralyzes the body. If too much is used it can cause complete respiratory failure. I dated a girl in pre-med last year and helped her study a lot.”

Anne’s eyes darted back to Arsen’s.

“Were you aware of that, Arsen?”

“Him dating a girl in pre-med?” Arsen shook his head. “No, but he and I don’t get into each other’s business like that.”

“So, could you get access to that drug, Paul?” she asked.

He laughed.

“No. I just know about it is all. And it doesn’t leave any traces in the body. Only slightly elevated amounts of choline and succinic acid are evidence the drug could’ve been used to kill the girls.”

Arsen’s mind was working fast.

“As of right now, all the women’s deaths have been ruled from asphyxiation. But that drug would also cause the same effects as strangulation.” He looked at Anne. “Do you know if that’s the case?”

She nodded.

“My friend is just a student and an intern. She said the only thing the women had in common, other than the marks around their necks, are slightly elevated choline and succinic acids. She couldn’t get anyone to listen to her about looking for a point of puncture where a needle would’ve been inserted to deliver the drug.”

Arsen rose quickly.

“Then I need to make sure that gets done.”

“Where are you going?” she asked him.

“To make a call. I’ll get that new detective to make sure they look for that.” He strode away.

“Arsen, wait!” Anne was behind him instantly. “That alone won’t get you off the charges. I know who did it. I just need your help in finding the man. He works at the California Pacific Medical Center, here in San Francisco.” She tugged at his arm to get him to sit back down. This time she sat next to him.

“How do you know this?” he asked in confusion.

“Once I found out the women may have been poisoned, I was able to get into all three women’s medical records.” She smiled at Arsen.

“Just how did you manage that?” he asked with a frown.

“I’m a billing specialist now. So I did a little illegal searching and found out all three women knew a certain anesthesiologist as they all had little procedures done this last year. Two had boob jobs and one had implants removed. This guy’s name was on all three as the one who billed for the anesthesia. He also frequented one of the local BDSM clubs in town. It’s called ‘Hard’ do you know about it?” Her hand lingered on his arm and he felt her squeezing his bicep.

He moved back away from her.

“I haven’t been to that one. I knew they all went there, and I didn’t want to run into them. So this man may have been the one who killed them. What’s his name so I can tell the detective?”

With a laugh, she shook her head.

“You don’t get it at all. The San Francisco Police want you out of the picture. You get way too many criminals off the charges they work so hard to get on them. This is an easy way to be rid of you, Arsen. We have to catch him. You and I, together. Just like old times.”

“There is not going to be a you and I, Sinclair. Thanks for the information. If you don’t want to give me the man’s name, I can work to find it on my own. I do have my sources as well. It would be much easier and appreciated if you did though.” He stood up and prepared to leave.

Anne picked up her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to him.

“I can see you’ve changed a lot since you were young. Your eyes tell me your set on doing this without me. So I may as well let you have this. To be honest I thought this might get us back to where we were.”

He laughed.

“I’ll never be going back to that. I’m pretty much on my way out of this lifestyle all together.”

“The hell cat got anything to do with that?” she asked.

“Everything.” Arsen took the paper from her and looked at the picture of a man in blue scrubs. The name on the tag was Peter Christy, but the man in the picture was Allen White. “How the hell did he manage to get a position at a hospital as an anesthesiologist?”

“You know this man?” she asked.

“Yeah. And he’s easy for me to get to now. He’s Steele’s roommate’s fiancé. Looks like we have to give him another visit in the morning. I’ll have the little fucker confessing in no time.” He turned to leave and felt Anne’s hand on his arm.

“Arsen, can I have one last kiss, please?”

Arsen turned and looked into the light blue eyes which once had been a dark blue. Thin lines ran around them and when she smiled she almost seemed likeable.

Only Arsen knew how quickly that sweet exterior could go dark. He ran his knuckles across her cheek.

“Please. Interesting choice of words. Don’t you think?”

Her smile changed quickly into a frown.

“Arsen, you know I was only trying to toughen you up. And what I did worked.”

“It made me a man who shut himself off. I can take the worst kinds of pain. You made sure of that. You also made sure I knew how to inflict the most pain and I now have to live with the guilt of how I’ve hurt people. Mentally and physically.” He moved his hand off her face and smiled. “So, no, I won’t give you one last kiss. Goodbye, Sinclair.”

Arsen walked away without looking back and he felt better than he had in a long time.

STEELE

Steele had waited for what seemed like forever in the deep bathtub filled with lilac scented bubbles. She sipped some red wine and jumped as Arsen opened the door.

“Finally!” she said as she breathed a sigh of relief. “Well?”

Arsen picked up a towel and held it out. She got out and let him wrap the towel around her. He picked her up and carried her to the bed.

She giggled as he tossed her on it then started taking his clothes off.

“Arsen! Tell me what she said!”

He just shook his head, making her sigh. Once the last stitch of clothing was removed, he crawled on his hands and knees up the bed to her. His grin was constant, and she squealed as he ran his whiskered cheek along her inner thigh.

Unwrapping the towel from her body, his eyes went from playful to lusty and he ran his hand from her breast to her clit and looked into her eyes.

“I want you, Steele.”

A half grin she made as her hand ran through his hair.

“I’m yours.”

One leg he took, holding it up. His tongue ran down the inside of it, igniting a shock of chills over her entire body. Arsen took her other leg and lifted it up, doing the same to it.

He pushed them up until her heels were by her ears then he leaned over her and teased her with his erection. Allowing the tip to move over her, but not pressing it to her while he nipped and sucked at her neck.

Her arms moved to press him to her, but he didn’t let her move him. He held himself back until she was begging.

“Arsen, please. I need to feel you inside me. Please, Baby.”

He let one leg go, and she moved it to wrap around him as she arched up. Arsen pulled his head from her neck and ran a thumb over the nice purple hickey he’d made just behind her ear.

Arsen watched her face as he pushed his cock into her wet depths. Relief filled her as he entered her.

“I love you,” she said as she let her breath out.

He stilled and continued to look at her.

“I have no idea why you do, but that makes me more happy than I knew was possible.”

Arsen pulled nearly all the way out and slowly moved back in. Steele ran her hands over his biceps and moaned as he slowly stroked in and out. His chest moved over her breasts as he did, making the nipples go tight and erect.

He took one in his mouth and licked it. Constant strokes of his tongue had it hard, and she wanted him to suck it so bad her body was shaking for him to do it.

She took one hand off his muscled bicep to push his head harder to her breast.

“Please suck it, Arsen. Baby, please.”

He took a long suck, and she moaned as it pulled something deep inside her. “Yes,” she hissed.

Arsen let her other leg down and took her ass cheeks in his hands, lifting her so his strokes went deeper into her. He groaned as he moved slowly in and out.

Steele ran her hands over his back and quivered at the way his muscles moved as he made the slow strokes. It was beyond sexy. He was like a perfect machine. Every little muscle was defined and moved like a river under his skin.

Just as she thought she was about to fall over the edge with his sucking and the deep strokes, he pulled his mouth from her breast. His dark eyes searched hers. He put his mouth just over hers without letting it touch.

“Breathe me in, Baby.”

His breath left his mouth with a heat she’d never felt before. She parted her lips and took his air in and felt something amazing. He was more a part of her than ever and she loved the way he was being so free with her. Giving so much of himself to her.

She heard and felt him inhale the air she let out and it thrilled her. His mouth came down on hers and his tongue roamed hers. Her body fell apart beneath him and she moaned as she arched up.

He was still for a moment then made hard, deep thrusts. Arsen pulled his head back.

“Keep coming for me, Baby. Don’t stop, take me with you, make me come.”

She looked into his eyes as she kept arching up to meet his hard thrusts, her body squeezing his thick cock with little spasms. And just as his body was beginning to tense, she said, “Come for me.”

His eyes went wide as his body did what she asked of him. He clenched his teeth and made a deep groan as his body released. Steele felt her body going into a deeper climax and joined him. They groaned together, long, deep, guttural.

Then he laid his head on her chest as they tried to catch their breath. Steele ran her hand over his head as she thought about how he might be getting softer, but he was still strong and beginning to make a fantastic combination of both attributes.

Arsen might just become the perfect man! And he’s all mine!

GWEN

Two male voices woke Gwen up from the deepest sleep she’d ever had. Her head was fuzzy, but she could make out what they were saying. One was Allen’s of that she was sure, the other wasn’t familiar at all.

Her entire body ached. She had no idea how long he’d had her chained up to the little bed in the empty warehouse.

The empty metal building with cement floors echoed as the two men talked. Even though they spoke as quietly as they could.

Allen said, “I need two syringes, Peter.”

“Look, I gave you my medical ID. I don’t want to get caught actually taking the stuff myself, Allen. And if I can be frank with you, this is getting a little too risky. Why do you have to take his current girlfriend? There’s more than enough evidence to put him away for a long time with the three other women’s deaths.”

“I want this man to hurt as much as he hurt me. I came to the man needing his help, and he lost the case. Peter, it was the only case the man has ever lost. I think it’s because he wanted to see me punished for my crime. He is into punishments after all.” Allen’s voice was riddled with disgust.

“You don’t understand a thing about what that lifestyle is about, little man. Look, I’ll go along with you using my ID but I won’t go further than that. I hated those bitches is the only reason I’ve even done as much as I have,” the other man said.

“It was Arsen who got in your way when you were trying to get into their panties. You have to want to see him hurt,” Allen said.

“Yes, I do. Not to mention the fact he turned Anne into a shell of her former self. That woman had been fantastic until she took him under her wing and he shit all over her for her efforts to turn him into something more than a weakling with oversensitivity,” Peter said.

“Well then, why not help a little bit more than you have? I nearly got caught last time I was in the hospital. It’s not safe for me to go in there anymore. I need you to get me the two syringes of the same stuff we used on the others. And tell, Anne, she can take out Arsen’s girlfriend. I’ll allow her that pleasure,” Allen said.

The other man laughed. “She’ll love that. That feisty little bitch did a number on Anne’s face last night and she is not happy with her at all. My mistress will be pleased with that. Tell you what, I will get the drug for you, but you have to swear not to tell Anne about my doing it. She forbade me to actually take the drug myself. And when she punishes for something she’s forbidden, it’s not pleasant at all.”

Allen made a deep chuckle.

“Well, that’s pretty obvious by what she’s doing to Arsen for leaving her. The woman is a force to be reckoned with. I just hope she stays true to her word.”

Peter said, “She will. I’ve seen the fake contracts she’s had drawn up. They put her as a silent partner in every investment she could find Arsen has. Once he’s convicted and put away, she’ll gain access to all that investment return and I know she’ll give you the ten percent she promised you. Don’t worry.”

“She better or she’ll find herself having a little accident. That’s all I have to say about that.”

“Allen, don’t even think about talking like that about her.”

“Just make sure she does what she said she’d do,” Allen said.

“And you don’t forget who came to you in prison and told you how to get your guilty ass out of there. You show her the respect she deserves, Allen. Or you’ll deal with me.”

“Fine! So, tell me how we’re going to get Arsen to strangle his girlfriend and mine?” Allen said.

“I’ll handle that when we all meet up here once we have the other chick.”

Gwen winced as she realized she’d been so wrong about Arsen and Allen. Now she and Steele would meet their end with some type of drug and somehow Arsen would be made to strangle them.

I have to get free and get to Steele before it’s too late!

ARSEN

With Steele wrapped tight in his arms, Arsen inhaled the scent of lilacs on her soft skin. Without thinking, he pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. His heart was full.

With the information Sinclair had given him, he was nearly home free. Allen might be a crazy killer, but he was nowhere near as hard as Arsen could be. It shouldn’t take him much to get the little freak to confess.

The police may have wanted his ass out of the courtroom and on the side of the accused, but with a confession they would have no real choice.

Arsen nuzzled Steele’s neck and pushed her hair away and saw the purple mark he’d left on her neck. He grinned and kissed the spot.

Soon he’d no longer have to hide their relationship. Once he was out of the mess he was in she and he could move forward. He had big plans for her and he hoped she’d agree with him about them.

Steele groaned and rolled over to look at him as she rubbed her eyes.

“What time is it?”

“I’m not sure,” he said then kissed her cheek.

“I’m sorry, I must’ve overslept. I see the light coming in through the curtain. I know your breakfast is supposed to be ready by six each morning.” She tried to get up, but he held her in place.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked with a naughty grin.

“Your breakfast. I have to get it ready. It’s in the book.” She looked puzzled.

“Steele, do you really want that?” he asked as he gazed down at her.

“Arsen, we’ve discussed this in depth. You know I do. So much is changing in you so quickly. I don’t want to sabotage anything and make you break. I can be what you need.” She ran her hand over his cheek.

He kissed her softly.

“You already are.”

One of his hands ran over her soft stomach and he ran it until it touched her hip bone. He pulled it gently as he moved her body over his. Arsen settled her on his hard erection.

She sat up and smiled. “Look who’s up!”

He placed his hands on her breasts and gave them a squeeze.

“Ride me, Baby.”

Steele moved her body up and down his as he watched her. Her dark hair was just the right amount of messy. The blue in her eyes was bright from rest and happiness filled them.

She was happy just to be there with him, he could tell. Steele moved to lie on his wide chest as she moved her body up and down his. Her mouth moved over his neck and she bit him playfully.

“Feeling like playing a little rough this morning, Steele?” He chuckled.

Steele sat back up and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“Want to show me who I belong to?”

Arsen smiled and rolled her over quickly, pulling her arms up over her head. He slammed into her hard.

“Who do you belong to?”

With a moan she said, “You. I belong to you, Arsen.”

Pulling out and pushing back into her hard enough a little air was pushed out of her lungs, he said, “Damn right you do. You don’t make a move or I’ll smack that sweet little ass of yours, understand me?”

She giggled.

“I won’t move.”

He knew she liked a little of the rough stuff. Arsen took both her wrists in one hand and took a handful of her thick dark hair in the other, pulling it back a bit, making her lips part.

Arsen kissed her hard. His tongue moved through her mouth, claiming every last bit of it as his. Arsen could be whatever it was Steele wanted. He was going to prove to her she was what his world revolved around.

Deep strokes had her breathing hard as her body struggled not to move. Her legs wound around his waist and for a second he forgot he’d told her not to move.

He smacked the side of her ass and she quickly moved them.

“Sorry.” She giggled, and he knew she’d done it on purpose.

Arsen drove into her deeper and harder. The animal in him took over, and he pulled out and spun her around, drawing her back to him by her hips until their bodies collided.

Almost instantly she began to climax.

“Arsen! God!” Her body shook as it pulsed around his hard dick.

He slammed into her harder and faster as her orgasm continued to make his cock feel as if he was about to explode. Arsen held it back until he no longer could and he erupted into her.

Arsen gave her hair one last tug then let her body fall to the mattress as she caught her breath. She lay on the bed spent and looking prettier than she had minutes before.

He moved off the bed and stood at the side of it. Her ass was begging for a quick swat, so he gave her one and she erupted into a fit of giggles.

She rolled over and her gorgeous face nearly brought him to his knees. He loved that girl with every single thing in him. He knew it without a doubt. “Get your fine ass up and let’s shower then I want you to teach me how to ride your horse.”

Steele sat up quickly.

“Really! You want to go ride, Tripper? Arsen, that would be fantastic!”

“I don’t have any cowboy boots,” he said with an exaggerated drawl. “Will sneakers do?”

“They sure will!” she hopped out of the bed and he picked her up into his strong arms. “I can’t wait to introduce you to him. He’s such a sweet horse.”

“I can’t wait to meet him,” he said then kissed her cheek.

How much longer can I hold out before I ask her?

STEELE

The afternoon was going by much too quickly for Steele. She leaned back against Arsen’s broad chest as he sat behind her, holding her horse’s reins. He’d caught on quickly, and she was enjoying the day with her two favorite males.

His thickly muscled legs were on either side of her and she rested her hands on them. They moved with each step the horse took and she loved how they felt as they did.

“You know, Arsen. You haven’t told me what she said.”

He moved her braid and kissed the back of her ear where she found out he had left a good sized hickey.

“You know what? You just reminded me that I need to find that little fucker and deal with him. Thanks for reminding me. I’ve been kind of drunk on your love since last night.”

Her heart fluttered.

“Drunk on my love? That sounds so sweet.”

“Yeah, you’re making me all sweet, you little hot temptress.” He squeezed her in his strong arms.

“So,” Steele said as she waited to hear what Anne Sinclair had said to him that had him in the best spirits she’d ever seen him in.

“Allen White has been impersonating an anesthesiologist, and he was able to procure a drug that leaves little trace it was given. It also causes the body’s muscles to stop working. The victim dies of asphyxiation. Sinclair found out from a friend who’s an intern at the place they’re doing the autopsies at. She said they weren’t looking for any needle marks and that we needed to get Allen White to admit what he’s done.”

“Well, how the hell is that, Arsen?” Steele felt agitated the woman was poking her nose into Arsen’s affairs. “I mean, she had to have been asking and investigating on her own. Why would she do that?”

Her body had stiffened in his arms and he handed her the reins and massaged her tense shoulders.

“Relax, Baby. She’s just that type of person. A real nosy woman. But in this case, I’m damn glad she’s that way.”

“I don’t like it. I smell a rat, Arsen. A scrawny, old, blonde rat with crow’s feet.”

“You sound like a jealous woman, Steele. You aren’t insecure enough to be jealous, are you?” He snickered a little as he deepened the massage.

“I’d like to call it concerned. And here’s another thing I’d like to know. Did the old bat ask you to get back together with her?”

His silence told her the answer and her body went hard as a rock.

“Now, Steele, don’t go getting your panties in a wad. You have a man who will be propositioned from time to time. You have to….”

She interrupted him.

“Trust you! I know! Dang it, Arsen, I knew she was going to do that.” She looked back at him with horror on her face. “You didn’t kiss her or anything, did you?”

He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.

“Baby, you should know me better than that. My lips will never touch another’s now I know what a real kiss feels like.”

She smiled and turned back around, finding his words and actions comforting.

“I can’t believe you like me so much. I’m so plain and dull.”

“I don’t like you, Baby. I love the shit out of you.” He turned her back to look at him. “Nothing about you is plain or dull. Please stop saying that. I want you to feel every bit as special and perfect as you truly are.”

She shook her head as she looked into his dark eyes. “I have no idea how I got so lucky. You’re perfect, Arsen. You are the man of my dreams. I held out for you, I knew you’d come along one day. I saved my heart just for you.”

The horse slowed to a stop as he kissed her. When he eased his kiss she giggled as she said, “Arsen, have you ever done it in a barn?”

“Looks like I’m about to,” he said as he took the reins from her and tapped them, making the horse start back up, headed to the barn as the sun began to set behind them.

GWEN

“Please, Allen. Please,” Gwen begged him.

Allen looked at her long and hard then took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the lock which held the chains. He quickly grabbed her by the wrist and hoisted her off the small bed.

Gwen’s legs were weak, and she stumbled as he pulled her along behind him.

“Thank you, Allen. I really didn’t want to spoil the bed.”

“Just try to make it quick,” he said as he took her to the bathroom. Just before he let her go in he looked up at a small window at the top of the wall. “Take all your clothes off.”

“What? Why?” she asked.

“Just do it!” he snapped at her.

She began taking off her clothes. Gwen knew he thought she wouldn’t try to escape if she was naked. But he was dead wrong.

After she was undressed she asked, “Can I go in now. I’ll be as fast as I can.”

Allen’s eyes traveled over her body. He smiled as he looked up at her.

“Tell you what, Gwen. Take a shower while you’re in there. I think I’d like a taste of what you have before, well, never mind about that. Just take a shower and I’ll be here waiting when you get out.”

She nodded and went inside the small bathroom. She turned the water on in the shower right away and after relieving herself she started figuring out how she could climb up and get out the window.

A few old towels were laid out on the counter top and she wrapped one around her. Climbing on top of the toilet, she jumped and was able to grab the window ledge.

She was weak from lack of food, water, and the time stuck in that bed, but she managed to pull her body up and pushed the screen out. The drop was probably ten feet, and she knew she could really hurt herself.

Gwen let her body fall out the small window, moving her body so she’d hit shoulder first. As her shoulder hit the cement, she rolled with the fall.

Once she’d stopped rolling, she took a breath which she didn’t realize she’d been holding and found her shoulder hurt some, but her adrenaline had kicked in and the pain was bearable.

Her towel had come loose, and she had to wrap it back around her and she began to run. It was dark, and she had no real idea where she was, but a woman running down the street wearing only a towel would be easily noticed.

“Gwen!” Allen shouted as he ran out of the metal building. “Stop!”

Gwen didn’t even look back. She just ran faster towards the lights she figured must be a street. A couple of cars’ headlights moved along the road and she nearly cried with relief.

A hill separated her from the road and as she came over the hill she nearly fell down with disappointment. A tall fence with razor wire at the top of it kept her from getting to the road.

With no shoes on, the rocks along the fence hurt her feet. But she kept running along the fence. There had to be an opening somewhere along it.

“Gwen!” Allen shouted, and she looked back to see he was still pretty far behind her.

She turned and gathered speed to stay away from him. If she couldn’t get out, she would hide from him.

Abandoning the fence, she cut back up the hill and ran to the closest empty building. The whole place had been abandoned. It was a series of old metal buildings.

She found this one had open rafters and there was a ladder. She propped it up against the wall and climbed until she got to the long steel beam which ran the length of the large building.

It was wide enough if she laid down on the top of it, he wouldn’t be able to see her. The ladder would give her away though and she heaved it up and laid it on the beam as well.

Her position was secure, and all she had to do was wait. She’d left the prison of the bed for the prison of a beam high up in the air, but this prison was one she could eventually make an escape from and the other one led to certain death.

Just like she knew it would, the door squeaked open. Allen’s face peered into the darkness.

“I know you’re in here. Just come on out and I won’t hurt you. I’ll even set you free, Gwen. I promise. Just come on out and let me help you.”

He moved around the room making clicking sounds with his shoes as he did. Gwen lay perfectly still on top of the beam, not even daring to glance down at him.

His loud shout rang out and made her body clench, “Gwen! God damn it! Get out here or so help me!”

After a few more steps she heard him mumbling to himself as he left the building and she could hear him going into the next one.

She had no idea what she should do. Gwen just laid there and cried silently. Helplessness flowed through her and she was left with doubt she’d ever really be able to get herself free from this man.

How am I supposed to get out of here and make sure he doesn’t get Steele?

ARSEN

The day had been perfect in Arsen’s mind. He and Steele were riding back to his apartment in his Jag. He looked over at her and found a piece of hay had lingered in her hair after their tumble in it back at the barn.

He chuckled as he pulled it out and handed it to her.

“Here you go. A little memento of our time in the barn, Baby.”

She giggled as she took it from him.

“Thanks, I’ll put it in our book.”

Arsen groaned with the mention of the book. He had thought she would take one look at all those rules and toss it away. Instead she acted as if he’d written her a love story in it.

But the day had been too perfect to start an argument over the damn rules she seemed so determined to learn how to live by. Arsen reached over and gave her cheek a stroke with the back of his hand.

“I thought we might spend the night cuddled up on the sofa watching a movie and eating popcorn. What do you think about that, Steele?”

Her eyebrows shot up.

“I think that’s really normal, Arsen. It sounds great, but I thought we were going to go see Allen. You seem to keep forgetting about him.”

“He isn’t going anywhere and I can’t seem to get my mind off you. Tomorrow I can deal with him.” Arsen ran his hand down her arm and took her hand in his.

Steele laid her head back on the leather headrest and closed her eyes.

“This seems a little too surreal, Arsen. Like the calm before the storm or something. You’re too laid back and nothing like yourself.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I mean, I’m absolutely loving it, don’t get me wrong. It’s just not like you to deal with this business of knowing about Allen and doing nothing about it.”

“You’re really all I can think about. I can’t explain it. I know I have a huge undertaking with getting Allen to confess and maybe I’m not in a hurry to get into that.” He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. “I can’t seem to get enough of you, Baby. Sue me.”

Steele shook her head and sighed.

“Tonight then it can just be us, but first thing in the morning you have to deal with it.”

“I will. Now what movie do you want to watch? And what’s the best popcorn. I haven’t eaten the stuff in so many years I have no idea what kind to buy.” He pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store and smiled. “It’s been forever since I’ve actually went into one of these things. I have Paul pick things up for me.”

He parked and got out to open Steele’s door. She placed her hand in his as they walked into the store.

“Paul’s pretty much your right-hand man, isn’t he?” she asked.

Arsen pulled out a shopping cart and grinned.

“He is. Wow, this is so odd. I’m grocery shopping.”

Steele’s eyes rolled. “Yep, just like any normal person, Arsen. I really need to get you out more. It’s like you’re from another planet or something.”

He chuckled and pulled her to him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other pushed the basket.

“We should make some s’mores in the fireplace and roast hotdogs too. What do you think about that?”

Steele grabbed a pack of hotdogs out of the refrigerated bin and tossed them into the basket.

“I think you and I should do a camp out soon.”

“I can get a tent!” His eyes went wide. “That’s what we can do when we get back home. We can get online and buy a tent and a bunch of camping supplies and go to Big Bear maybe next weekend.”

“Or just rent a cabin up there,” she said with a smile. “Arsen, camping can be rough. A lot of work.”

“I don’t care. I want to have you all alone in a tent in the woods. Now that sounds romantic.” He kissed the side of her head and an old woman who was passing them in the aisle looked at them.

“How sweet you are, young man,” she commented as she passed them.

Steele smiled back at the woman. “He is very sweet, mam.”

The woman’s eyes ran over Arsen. “You’re one lucky girl.”

“I am,” Steele agreed.

Arsen chuckled and gave her another kiss on the cheek this time.

“I’m the lucky one.”

The older woman sighed and walked on by. Steele shook her head.

“Who knew this sweet man was under all that arrogance?”

“I wouldn’t say I was arrogant, Steele. Maybe closed off, but not arrogant,” he said as he threw a bag of hotdog buns in the basket.

“You were definitely arrogant. And I’m sure you still will be when it’s called for. You’ll need to be when you talk to Allen.” Steele pulled a bag of marshmallows off the shelf and placed it in the basket, picking up the buns and putting them in a safer position so they wouldn’t be squished.

“Let’s leave Allen and all that crap out of this evening’s conversation, please.” He held up a can of chili. “Chili with the hotdogs?”

“Yes! Oh, let’s get some corn chips and cheese and make chili pies too. We can just totally pig out on this junk. Tonight only though, then back to eating right I promise,” she said as she grabbed a bag of the chips.

“Of course, Steele. Back to the rules tomorrow. If that’s what you want.” He pulled her to his side again, holding her by the waist.

They went past a couple of young women who were looking at the wine. Steele asked, “Should we pick up some wine, Arsen?”

One of the women’s head spun to look at him.

“Oh! It’s you!” she said in surprise. “Do you remember me?”

He blinked and shook his head. “Should I?”

The young brunette put her hand over her mouth then said, “Oh, sorry. This must be your new sub. Sorry.” She turned away.