Night of the Senses Read online

  On her third attempt, she managed to place it.

  Aware of the clock ticking away the seconds to noon, she hurried to grab her nipple clamps.

  In front of the mirror, she teased her nipples, squeezing them, rolling them between her thumb and forefinger, pinching them.

  Then, when they were erect nubs, she placed the clamps. For a second, they took her breath away.

  The clovers were vicious little things. Over time, they became a bit tighter. As she moved, they swayed, exerting pressure, making her hotter and hotter.

  Master truly was a masochist.

  She double checked her makeup, added an extra coat of mascara. The clamps seemed to dominate her image in the mirror. For an instant, she saw herself as Master Zachary might. She saw her body as ripe for his pleasure, rather than something to be ashamed of.

  She cupped her breasts the way he had the night before, and she squeezed her nipples. The pressure from the clamps as well as her own touch combined to make her knees weaken.

  She ached to just touch her neglected clitoris.

  The orgasm, she knew, would be instant and shattering.

  To distract herself and keep herself calm, she paced the floor near the front door.

  Nerves swallowed her whole.

  She kept reminding herself that she was doing this to please her Master. Then she had a stark realisation. She was pleasing her Master because that was what she wanted.

  It was only a couple more minutes until Lionel arrived. Marnie tried to ignore the little thrill that unfurled in her stomach. No way could she be excited to have Lionel see her naked. No way could she be anticipating another man looking at her stuff.

  At exactly noon, there was a rap on the door.

  In a completely unladylike way, she gulped a breath of air.

  Naked, except for the clamps and plug, she opened the door.

  Oh, my, would Darius approve.

  Lionel was delicious. Tall, slender, black as night, with a shaved head, he also had gorgeous full lips and warm brown eyes.

  When he spoke, his voice was as atmospheric as a sultry Caribbean night. “Miss Marnie?”

  She nodded, wondering where her voice was.

  Without an invitation, he entered her flat and closed the door behind him. His gaze skimmed her body, and she stood there, nervously. “Nipple clamps,” he observed. “They’re tight enough, I presume?”

  She nodded.

  He grabbed the chain, his long fingers touching her skin for a second. She felt it like an electric jolt.

  He tugged on the chain, making sure the clamps were in place. She winced. The very act of him tugging on them made them even tighter. With a nod of approval, he said, “Present, if you please.”

  Forcing herself to act, she turned away from him and knelt.

  “It was my understanding that you were to present yourself upon my arrival.”

  Damn.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “My apologies.” As elegantly as possible, she lowered herself into position, her buttocks thrust upward, her legs apart so he could see her cunt and the plug. She stretched herself out and splayed her fingers as Master Zachary had taught her.

  She couldn’t believe she was doing this.

  What was more, she couldn’t believe she was enjoying it.

  “With your permission, I’ll inspect your labia for stray hairs.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Call me Lionel.”

  She felt him part her labia. She blushed when his fingers slid effortlessly across her pussy because she was so damp.

  He ran his fingers everywhere, checking to make sure she was presentable for Zachary.

  “Master is one lucky man, dress, please.”

  She grabbed her dress from the settee and pulled it over her head.

  As if nothing untoward had happened, he led the way downstairs and held open the back door of the car for her.

  Her entire body was strung tight with anticipation.

  “Master will join you shortly,” Lionel told her when he showed her into the parlour of Master Zachary’s posh town home. “Be prepared.”

  The room was dominated by a gorgeous marble fireplace. Western European antiques decorated its mantel. But the walls shocked her.

  They were beautifully wallpapered, and dozens of mirrors were hung everywhere. Every size, every shape, some framed, some unframed.

  Realising she’d already wasted some time, she pulled off her dress and dropped it on the floor.

  She knelt up and awaited his arrival.

  He didn’t disappoint.

  He was beautiful in a white button-down shirt, and black dress pants. She feasted on him, and she realised his own eyes had darkened with approval.

  “Those nipple clamps look painful.”

  “They are, Master.”

  “Good.” He nodded. “Present, Marnie. And spread your arse cheeks so I get a good look at your plug.”

  The floor was cold beneath her torso. Her breasts were smashed against the unyielding marble, and the cold radiated through the clover clamps, making the pain sear.

  “You haven’t run away.”

  “No.”

  “Tell me about Lionel inspecting your pussy.”

  She turned her head to the side and realised he was watching her. Her body was obscene, with the way she exposed her needy cunt. “I…I mean the sub…”

  “Refer to yourself in the first person in order to tell me the story.”

  “I spent all night fussing about Lionel seeing me. Then I thought of how you had ordered it. Pleasing you pleases me.”

  “Go on.”

  “And by the time he arrived, I was a bit turned on.”

  “Really?”

  She closed her fingers together a little. “I was embarrassed a bit when he arrived. But then, when I saw the way he looked at me… My pussy was wet when he touched me.”

  “What will I find when I touch you?”

  “The sub is wet, Master.”

  He slipped a finger between her folds. She watched in the mirror as his strong finger moved about, exploring her most private parts. “You haven’t had an orgasm since I left your flat?”

  “No, Master.”

  “You realise you have a punishment coming, still?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Kneel up, sub.”

  Her motions a little more graceful than they had been yesterday, she did. He took a couple of steps towards her, and he was the only thing she could see.

  Like Lionel had done, he took the chain. Instead of just a simple pull, he wrapped it in his fist. She gasped as he drew her towards him.

  “This is much more effective than a leash.”

  Her mouth opened, then she purposefully shut it again.

  He unwrapped his fist, then released the clamps. She cried out as blood flowed back into them again.

  He dropped the nasty metal clamps on the floor; they landed with a loud clatter. He knelt before her and, in turn, suckled on her nipples until they were no longer compressed, but instead, swollen little nubs.

  “You decided not to run away.”

  She nodded.

  “Then you need to know what to expect.”

  Why was her heart suddenly pumping at twice its normal rate?

  “This evening, you’ll be punished for last night’s indiscretions. You recall what they were?”

  She nodded slowly. “The sub referred to herself as I instead of in the third person.”

  “What else?” he prompted.

  “She climaxed without permission, even though it wasn’t her fault.”

  “I’ve told you that feeling sorry for yourself doesn’t work with me.”

  She frowned. “Yes, Master.”

  “Even though you’re a novice, I will be inviting others to witness your punishment.”

  She blinked, unable to comprehend.

  “Voyeur becomes the viewed.”

  She hadn’t exactly planned it that way.

  “
I will expect, going forward, that you will be in an observation room. I have it reserved for the next gathering at Master Theodore’s, as a matter of fact. I expect that you will be on display if I have a party, I will expect you to always be proud of your body and to show it to me at all times, as well as to anyone else I choose.”

  “Master, the sub is new to all this.”

  “Your interaction with Lionel was your first test. You passed.”

  She scowled.

  “By your own admission, you enjoyed it.”

  Damn her big mouth, anyway.

  “Mistress Beverly will be coming by with Esma. I’ve invited Darius and Mistress Jennifer, as well, but I’m still waiting on their confirmation. Susanna and Master Theodore have said they’ll be here. Only people you’re comfortable with.”

  As if she wanted Darius to see her stuff, or any of those people at all.

  She wanted to be petulant.

  “Tell me to go to hell.” He paused. “Or ask for details of your punishment so you’ll be prepared.”

  Chapter Nine

  She struggled with the choice. For the first time, he’d really asked her to do something she was uncomfortable with.

  He didn’t force the decision. And she knew that staying now would mean she was agreeing to a future of being on display for others to see. This man had tapped into her deepest, most secret fantasies, and the ones that frightened her the most. “It will be you giving the punishment?”

  “It will.”

  “And you won’t leave me…the sub…alone?”

  “Not even for a moment.”

  “You’ll…”

  He waited.

  “Fuck me?”

  She searched his face for his reaction. She was becoming attuned to every little tic, every frown, every lightening or darkening of his eyes.

  He smiled.

  That expression of his approval was all she needed, all she’d ever really needed.

  He picked her up and carried her up the stairs. “You’ll put your back out,” she teased.

  “No chance.”

  Unceremoniously he dumped her on the enormous four-poster bed in the middle of the room that screamed masculinity. Dark green walls, a maroon coloured bedspread, dark mahogany furnishings. His bedroom was as much of a force as he was. “I’ve had you from behind.” He grinned. “Now I’ll ravish you.”

  She laughed at the antiquated word.

  “Spread eagle, my helpless sub.”

  He secured her hands and her feet to the bed. He then walked around to make sure each binding was taut.

  “Comfortable?”

  “No.”

  “Perfect.” He grabbed a pillow. “Lift your hips.”

  “Master is mad. Sub cannot move.”

  He climbed onto the bed and worked the pillow beneath her, making the straps even tighter.

  Then he moved away and grabbed a camera.

  “Uh…”

  “I won’t do it if you tell me not to. But I want them for my private use. I want to see you even when you’re not around, or when I’m travelling or at work. Maybe I’ll even wallpaper a room of the house with life-size pictures.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. The way he was so visually oriented, there was a chance he was totally serious.

  “No one else will ever see them without your permission.”

  “Not even if they’re on a wall?”

  “A private room,” he said.

  Did she trust him enough?

  Slowly, she nodded.

  He snapped a dozen pictures, of her spread wide, of her face, from every angle. “Lovely.” Finally he put down the camera, and she was half blinded from the flash.

  His cock was massively hard when he removed his jeans. She watched as he put the condom in place, then spent several seconds stroking his cock. His balls were big, as well, and she drank in the visual feast that was Master Zachary.

  Hers.

  As much as he’d claimed her as his, that meant he was hers.

  That sent a possessive thrill through her.

  He knelt between her legs, then guided his cock into her. She gasped at the intrusion and the too-full feeling of him and the plug. He spent minutes torturing her breasts and bathing her with attention.

  Hers.

  That thought, combined with the pressure, scent, and sight of him, made her needy. He fucked her hard, possessing her, marking her as his. “Sub needs to come, Master.”

  “Take it,” he told her.

  She smothered him in kisses and in words of appreciation.

  Almost no time later, she felt his cock harden, noticed the change in his breathing.

  She bit his shoulder.

  “Marnie!” He came, pulsing deep in her.

  Finally, satiated, he released her tethers and gathered her into his arms. She dozed, and when she awakened, he was watching her. “Mine,” he said.

  She nodded and snuggled against his chest.

  “About tonight,” he continued. “Our guests will arrive around seven o’clock. You will not be there to greet them.”

  She shifted to see him better.

  “You’ll be up here, preparing. When you enter the room at half-past, all eyes will be on you. You’ll be in your heels, and you’ll be on display. I thought about nipple clamps, but I would rather your nipples be enhanced. And you’ll be wearing a jewelled butt plug.”

  Her body tensed, and he soothed her, rubbing his fingers across her shoulders.

  “Everyone will watch you as you walk across the room. There will be a small table in the room, on the rug. You’ll stop in front of it. I’ll expect you to bend over and grab your ankles. After a count of five, reach up and spread your arse cheeks. I want the people who are farthest away to know what colour your plug is. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I want you to present yourself on the table. Lionel will secure your hands and feet. You’ll take your punishment at my hand.”

  This time, she couldn’t answer.

  “And you’ll be hooded.”

  “Hooded?” the word was hardly over a squeak.

  “I want you to be hyperaware of your punishment and of the people looking at you.”

  “That’s a lot to ask, Master.”

  “You’re free to refuse.”

  They both knew she wouldn’t.

  He fucked her again, and this time her back was to him as he took her on her side.

  The man made her come undone.

  He removed her plug, then filled the bathtub for her. “I want you to relax, and I’ll be back in about an hour to put in the jewelled plug.”

  Thinking about what was to come made it all but impossible to enjoy her bath. He rejoined her in the bedroom, as promised. “May sub request a glass of wine, Master?”

  “Certainly. After her punishment.”

  She scrunched up her nose.

  “I want you completely aware of what’s going on. I want your submission to be freely given, without any outside influence.”

  He showed her the black box he held. “Open it.”

  She gasped at the sight of the plug inside. It was beautiful. It was made of fine stainless steel, polished to a lustrous glow. The base was made up of dozens of pink crystals that exploded with colour under the incandescent light.

  She couldn’t tear her gaze away.

  It was a monstrosity. An absolute monstrosity. No way was that thing fitting inside her. No way. No how.

  “It’s the smallest of the three I bought for you. In future, you can show off the larger ones.”

  The smallest?

  Mad.

  That was it. He was certifiably mad.

  “Look at me.”

  She couldn’t. She was too riveted by the plug. She was hypnotised by it, as horrified and fascinated as she might have been a snake. The reptilian part of her brain was fighting for survival.

  Fight or flight.

  She’d do either as long as that didn’t
go near her anal opening.

  “This will not be as easy to insert as the other one, so we’ll need some patience,” he said. “Silicone is a bit flexible, this one is not. Would you prefer to be on your stomach or on your back as I put it in? I suppose you could even choose to squat.”

  “Sub should prefer to wear the other plug.”

  “The one she fussed about last night?” he asked patiently.

  There was that.

  “Stomach or back?”

  He was as unyielding as the damn stainless. “Choose before I choose for you.”

  “Stomach, Master.”

  He ignored the tone of her voice, lucky for her.

  “Do it.” He snapped the lid of the box closed, breaking the spell.

  She reluctantly moved into position. “If sub begged…”

  “No chance.”

  “Cried?”

  “Another half dozen stripes in front of our friends.”

  She supposed that ruled out a tantrum, as well.

  She could see in the mirror that he was lubing his fingers. She tried one last thing. “Sub’s arse is still tender from earlier.”

  “Then this will hurt more than it would otherwise.”

  She buried her face in the pillow as he spent a couple of minutes stretching her and prepping her.

  “Remember to breathe,” he said. “Since this is larger than anything you’re accustomed to, I won’t try to put it straight in. I’ll fuck you with it. Don’t fight me, Marnie. It will only make it that much worse.”

  She suddenly recalled the sight of Susanna taking the plug up her own tight hole and the little protestations she made. Master Theodore had allowed others to watch her humiliation. At least Master Zachary spared her that indignation. In a relationship such as this, she supposed you counted your blessings differently.

  “‘Now the plug.”

  As she watched, he drenched it in lubricant.

  “Bear down, Marnie.”

  She did, with her teeth gritted.

  He pushed it in, then drew it back out, then in and out repeatedly, and faster, overwhelming her, making her cry out, making her thrash, then suddenly, there was no more pressure.

  “Next time you try that nonsense, I’ll spank you for it.”

  That was it?

  He flipped her over onto her back. He ensnared her gaze. “Maybe we should move to Hollywood? That was certainly an award-winning performance.” There was no hostility in his tone, no tic of anger in his temple. “I win,” he said, tweaking her nose.