Inhaling through her nose, she could smell Master Jake's evergreen-forest cologne. It was like a hint of freshness in the rock and leather scent of the dungeon.
"Bite down on the gag, if you need to," he said calmly. "Use the squeaky toy to safeword-or when you're ready to speak."
When. Not if.
His palm was warm against her cheek as he bent. "You're going to talk to me, sweetling. The only question is how much you'll subject yourself to before that point."
At the terrifying determination in his voice, she involuntarily pulled at her straps, but she was completely restrained.
He leaned his forearm on the table, his face inches from hers. The stern set of his jaw reminded her of the steely core beneath his usual charm. "I don't know what's happening in that head of yours, Rainie. But before this evening is over, we're going to explore it, even if we journey back to your birth."
She bit down on the gag. No way would she talk about her horrendous childhood.
"Total trust. Total submission. You're one of the most honest people I know, Rainie. You wouldn't renege on the bet."
Her mind went blank as she realized the depth of Master Z's trap.
When he paused, giving her a chance to respond, she told her fingers to squeak the toy, to talk to him. And everything in her stayed immobile.
He waited another second before brushing his lips against hers. "Don't worry, Rainie. You're going to tell me everything." His face was expressionless as he put a pair of sunglasses on her.
The room turned dark. Even worse, the lenses curved like magnifying glasses, distorting the surroundings like funhouse mirrors, enlarging objects and people.
"I'm going to fuck you eventually," he said softly, "but first I'll ensure the sensation is increased for both of us."
What did he mean? Was he planning to do chemical play?
He positioned a rubbery-feeling circle above her clit, extending almost to her anus. He held it in place with one hand. With his other hand …
The circle dug into her skin even as something seemed to pull on her clit and labia. There was another surge. The drawing sensation increased. And increased. And increased.
Unsure if the device hurt her-or just scared her-she whimpered.
"All right, I'll leave it at this pressure for a while and see how you do."
Pressure. Her eyes widened. He had a pussy pump on her-a suction device. Now she recognized the feeling. It didn't really quite hurt, but was extremely disconcerting, as if a giant mouth kept sucking on her entire pussy.
She looked up at his looming presence in her shadowy world and couldn't make out the features of his face.
His hands were warm as he massaged a light oil into her stomach and breasts. "You have the softest skin," he murmured. "Like silk." His callused fingers scraped lightly as he rolled her nipple, making it peak.
A sultry hunger flowed to her core, adding to the sensations. Having his hands on her again was the most bittersweet of pleasures.
Jake idly caressed Rainie's full breasts as he contemplated her response. Her color had heightened. Her nipples beaded tightly.
Knowing he needed to unsettle her quickly tonight, he'd removed her ability to move, to speak, to see. Her pussy belonged to him, and the constant pressure from the suction device would enforce that awareness. But she was still too much in her head.
Time to up the game with the next step. He put wet towels on the stone table. A bowl of water with ice. A table knife. The candle had a stand to prevent accidents. His toy bag held aloe cream.
Lifting the candle, he visually noted the height before letting a drop fall on his inner arm. The pleasant splat was followed by a spreading warmth. Not too hot, at least for him.
He looked down at Rainie. The glasses hid her eyes, but with the curved lenses, the flame probably appeared huge to her. With consideration for her more delicate skin, he raised the candle an extra foot of height to ensure the wax had more time to cool. A drop fell on her shoulder.
She jumped. Gasped in surprise-but he didn't hear any sound of pain.
Using his fingertips, he pried up the hardening blob. Beneath, her skin was slightly pinkened. Just right.
And so he began.
Wax play was as engrossingly fun as finger painting in kindergarten. Even more than the artistic enjoyment in creating interesting patterns, he had the delight of using a woman's silky skin and curves as his canvas. Add to that his Dom's pleasure in taking a submissive up and up. He increased the heat, the amount, the timing, until Rainie was straining upward and yet flinching away from each drop.
Her face turned pinker. Her lips reddened with her arousal.
Speaking of which … He set the candle on the table and assessed his artwork. White lines of wax crossed her torso, circled her breasts, and thickened on her lower abdomen. Gorgeous.
The quick-release on the suction device ended the pressure. He removed the cup and surveyed the results.
Her clit and pussy lips had puffed up to three times their normal size. "Very pretty."
When he ran his finger over her beautifully swollen flesh, she sucked in a breath. Yes, she was much more sensitive. And her labia already glistened with her arousal.
Damn, he wanted her-but he wanted all of her, not merely her body. Answers came first. At the head of the table, he pulled the gag from her mouth. The mini-dildo pacifier had cute bite marks in it. After wiping her lips, he pushed the glasses up onto her forehead.
"You're looking a little dazed there, sweetheart," he said. "What's your name?"
She swallowed and whispered, "Rainie."
Even before talking to Z, Jake had wondered about the gaps in his knowledge of her. Her father, then mother had abandoned her. She'd been in foster care. But … she'd run away and possibly been with a drug dealer at sixteen. And Miss Lily had given her a home at seventeen. Wherever you are, Miss Lily, thank you for your care.
"Pretty Rainie. You're being such a good girl." Murmuring in a low voice, Jake stroked his submissive-because, dammit, she was. He ever so slowly traced the skin not covered by wax to ease her into a calm state. "The wax looks gorgeous on you, baby."
She relaxed under his hands, her gaze losing focus.
In the same quiet voice, he asked, "Why'd you run away from foster care?"
Rainie's mind had taken up residence somewhere else. But with the question, a darkness slid into her, like a rain cloud over the sun. Foster care. "Mr. Evans tried to … " Her lips had trouble forming the words. "Ripped my dress." Her borrowed clothes had made her look almost as nice as the popular high school girls. "My pretty clothes for Jennifer's party."
"Jennifer? For Jennifer's Sweet Sixteen party?" a husky voice said.
"Invited me." To be invited to Jennifer's home was … beyond cool. And the house was sparkling clean, lushly beautiful. It even smelled different, like flowers and pastries. She'd been late. Heard the sounds of people having fun when she came in. "Go through the living room to the back patio, miss." Only halfway there, she'd glanced in the door of a game room and seen...
Her feet had simply stopped. "Look at him..." Surrounded by his friends, the boy-no, the man-moved with a lean power. Hair a shaggy brown, eyes a mesmerizing green. She'd never seen a man so beautiful. So decent and strong.
"Look at who, baby?"
"Jake … brother." Then the laughter started, right behind her. Horrid. Cruel. She flinched at the sound. "Hey, Fat Girl, who you looking at." "Jesus, she's staring at Jake." "Like you'd ever get him." She flinched.
"Tell me, baby. What's wrong?"
"I'm ugly. Trash."
The voice held an angry edge. "Who said that?"
"Jenn … friends." Her legs shifted, but straps held her down. "Run." Tears filled her eyes, a harsh sob escaped. Run, run home.
"Jesus, that's it." A calming hand settled on her legs. "You ran home"-the voice growled-"from my place, and the bastard attacked you."
She tried to nod. "He said I deserved it. Asked for it."
"He lied."
At the snap in the Dom's voice, her head started clearing. What had she told him? Trash. She'd called herself trash. Oh God. Her eyes blurred with tears, and she shut them tight. Let the world go away. Please, God.
Instead of more questions, he kissed her. "I love your lips, sweetling." He kissed her again, tenderly enough to have fresh tears seeping from under her closed lids.
"I'm sorry I made you cry." Another kiss. "But you're going to finish telling me the rest of what bothers you."
Her mouth clamped shut … and he chuckled.
"You will. Because I'll push you to the point you'd rather talk than suffer." He slid the glasses back on her face, cutting her tie to the world.
Her skin prickled under the cooling wax-and her arousal had disappeared, although her swollen pussy throbbed. When she opened her eyes, he was only a giant shape in her distorted vision. A black body in the darkness.