Seduced by Fire

SEVEN




For Julie, the next two weeks were some of the happiest she had ever experienced. She spoke with Daniel every day and they met for lunch several times a week. Friday nights were spent in his bed and Saturday in his playroom.

She looked forward to that time in the playroom, when she became his and he introduced her to the pleasure to be found under his control. On her knees waiting for him to instruct or tease her, she discovered she never felt more at ease. It seemed the world and all its problems floated away at the sound of his command or the touch of his hand.

Thursday night she was at home, researching new distributors for the floral shop business, when a knock on the door interrupted her.

Puzzled, she got up and looked out the peephole.

Daniel.

She unlocked the door with a huge grin on her face. “Hey, you.”

“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by.” His smile was easy and light.

“Come in,” she said. “Is everything okay?” It occurred to her maybe something had happened to his grandmother, but surely he wouldn’t be smiling so if that were the case.

He followed her into her living room, shrugging out of his coat and draping it casually over his arm. “Everything’s fine. I was just hanging out at home when something hit me.”


“Sit down.” She waved to her couch. “What hit you this time of night?”

He glanced at his watch. “Nine o’clock. It is a bit late. I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry at all.”

She loved the way he could combine a gentle tease with the honest truth. “I never said I wanted an apology. Unless, of course, you want to apologize for not stopping by this time of night before.”

He cupped her face and gave her a soft kiss that whispered of more buried just under the surface. “Trust me, kitten. If I didn’t have to be at work so early, my nights wouldn’t be spent jerking off to fantasies of you. They’d be spent with my cock inside you in any way possible.”

Damn, what he could do to her with a few softly spoken words. Just like that, he could make her visualize everything he said. And more than that, make her want it.

But instead of moving forward, he pulled back. “Before I forget why I came here, the group meeting is tomorrow night.”

Due to their schedules, time together beforehand would be limited. He would be picking her up right after she closed the shop and they’d drive to the meeting, where she would be seen by most people in the group as Daniel’s submissive. Afterward, she would spend the night with him and in his bed, and she would once more act as his submissive.

She couldn’t wait.

“I brought you a little something,” he said. “Thought it might be a good idea for you to have it for a while beforehand. Get used to it.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red bracelet.

? ? ?

Daniel left not long after giving her the bracelet. She tried to convince him to stay, but he insisted he had to get up early for work and promised he would make up for it the following night. She watched the taillights of his car disappear and then turned off her computer, knowing there would be no more researching distributors in her current state of mind.

The red band dangled from her fingers and she spun it around, taking in what it meant. The following night she would put it on and attend a meeting where it would identify her as a submissive. Not only that, but she would show up with Daniel and everyone would know she submitted to him. When she spoke to him, she would have to address him as “Master Covington.”

The thought made her knees wobble and she dropped into a chair.

“Master Covington,” she said out loud, to test the words. She found she liked them a lot.

She took the band and slipped it over her wrist. The red looked so vivid against her skin. No one would have any trouble seeing it. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea to wear it to work; she’d never noticed Sasha wearing hers. But she decided she’d wear it to sleep.

She’d just taken the bracelet off to shower when her phone rang.

Probably Daniel.

But an unknown number flashed on the display. She answered with a frown. “Hello?”

“Julie Masterson, please,” someone said, speaking over a large amount of background noise.

“This is Julie Masterson.”

“Ms. Masterson, this is Hope from Northeastern General Hospital. You’re listed as the emergency contact for Sasha Blake.”

She pressed a hand against the wall to steady herself. Sasha. “Is she there? Is she okay?”

“She’s been admitted and is currently listed as stable.”

“I’ll be right there. Where’s she at?”

“In the Emergency Department, waiting for a room.”

Julie whispered thanks and hung up with trembling hands. She had to get to the hospital. Where were her keys? She fumbled in her purse, repeating over and over again that Sasha must be okay, because the caller said she was stable.

It wasn’t until she was halfway to the hospital that she remembered Sasha had said she was spending the evening with Peter.

? ? ?

They’d moved Sasha to a room by the time Julie made it to the hospital. Running around, first to the ER and then up to the floor to Sasha’s room, left Julie feeling harried and even more upset. Turning the last corner, she stomped to the room they told her Sasha was in and took several deep breaths to calm herself before pushing the door open.

It took her eyes a few minutes to adjust to the dim light and when they did, they settled on the blanket covering the fragile-looking bundle in the middle of the bed. Sasha. But her positioning looked odd and it took Julie a second to realize it was because she was on her stomach.

Julie wondered for the two hundredth time what had happened. She tiptoed forward, unable to tell if her friend slept or not.

“Sasha?” she whispered.

The bundle shifted slightly. “Jules?”

She rushed forward and stopped only when she saw Sasha’s red-rimmed eyes and wet cheeks. “What? What happened?”

A silent sob shook through Sasha’s frame and she hissed in pain. “I can’t . . . not yet . . . just sit with me?”

Without saying anything, Julie took her friend’s hand and sat in the chair beside the bed.

Julie was there for hours, but she didn’t sleep at all. It seemed like nurses were in and out of the room every hour, checking blood pressure, seeing if Sasha needed pain medication, and one time asking Julie to step outside while they changed dressings. Still no one told her what had happened and every time the nurse left, Sasha faked sleep.

Even with every imagined reason she came up with for why Sasha was in the hospital, she was unprepared for the two police officers who knocked and entered the room at six o’clock the next morning. She was even less prepared for the person she saw entering behind them.

She stood up. “Daniel?”

He didn’t look shocked to see her; he looked resigned. Nodded in her direction. “Julie.” Then he breezed past her and bent down to talk to Sasha. He whispered, but standing so close, Julie couldn’t help but hear. “Tell them what happened in as much or as little detail as you want. Press charges if you wish. Just know that, regardless, this will be handled.”

What the hell happened?

“Ma’am,” one of the officers said to Julie. “Can you step outside? We need to speak to your friend alone.”

She jerked a thumb toward Daniel. “Does he get to stay?”

“No.” Daniel put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s wait outside.”

She slipped out of his grasp and stomped to the door. Angry tears threatened to spill from her eyes and she steeled herself. She would not cry.

When the door closed behind him, she spun to face him. “Will you tell me what the f*ck is going on and what the hell you’re doing here?”

He raised an eyebrow. “She didn’t tell you?”

“Don’t answer my question with a question.”

“I think it best she tell you herself. It’s not my place. I’m here because Peter called me.”

She’d come to the realization Peter was involved around two o’clock in the morning. Nothing else made sense.

“I knew that piece of shit was involved. Where is the a*shole?”

He leaned close and whispered, “I’m going to give you five seconds to drop the attitude and clean up the language.”

She crossed her arms. “Don’t even think about pulling—”

His hand clamped around her wrist. “Best decision you can make right now is to not finish that sentence. I understand you’re upset. I’m upset. But Sasha needs your support, probably for longer than you realize, and your outbursts aren’t going to help.”


Three deep breaths and she bit back the response dancing on her tongue. “Maybe I could be supportive if I knew what happened.”

He shook his head. “It’s best you hear it from her.”

She wiped her eyes. Damn tears. “I’ve been sitting by her bed listening to her gasp in pain every time she moves the wrong way and you have the nerve to stand there and not tell me what happened?”

He closed his eyes and sighed. When he looked at her again, his expression was flat. “The short version is, Peter took a scene too far and used equipment he had no business using.”

She didn’t understand. “Did she use her safe word?”

He pursed his lips into a line. “He didn’t give her a way to safe word.”

Shock, then rage, coursed through her body. How could something like that happen? “You knew this and you had the nerve to tell me to watch my language? Just wait until I get my hands on him, I’ll rip his—”

He took her shoulder, guided her down the hall, and spoke through clenched teeth. “Watch it. Last warning.”

He led her to a private waiting area and nodded to a chair. She sat. He stood before her, arms crossed, looking down at her.

“Did I or did I not tell you that nothing happens to a submissive without their consent?” He held up a hand when she tried to speak. “I’m not saying Peter is blameless. I’m just saying Sasha isn’t either. She should have never started the scene.”

Julie didn’t quite know what to make of that. But after a few minutes, she did remember that he had always said she was the one who decided how far they went. Then it started to make sense. “I still don’t know exactly what happened.”

“Sasha will tell you when she’s ready.”

He wasn’t going to tell her. Even so, she still had plenty of questions she could ask him. “What did you mean when you told her it’d ‘be handled’?”

His eyes grew cool, colder than she’d ever seen. Something inside them scared her. “You remember asking me what happens when a Dom in our group violates a sub’s hard limit?”

She remembered him saying an over-the-knee spanking would seem like a reward. She nodded.

“I suppose,” he said, “it’ll be a lot like that.”

? ? ?

The policemen had left by the time Julie collected herself enough to make it back to Sasha’s room. Unable to feign sleep any longer, her friend was sitting up and eating. She gave Julie a wary smile and set her spoon down.

“Daniel leave?”

“Yeah, said he had things to take care of.” Like letting everyone know the meeting had been postponed to another week. Just as well, she supposed; she doubted anyone would be in the mood.

“He tell you?”

Julie sat down in the chair she’d spent the night in. “Not much of anything. He said it would be better coming from you.”

Sasha looked past her, tears still in her eyes. She pushed the breakfast tray away. “It started out so wonderfully. Peter said he was ready to collar me, wanted to know if I felt the same. I said ‘of course’ and we agreed to make it official at the meeting.”

Sometimes, Julie remembered Daniel saying, couples would have a collaring ceremony, often following a group meeting. It had made her curious at the time, wondering if her relationship with Daniel would ever progress to that point. She’d fantasized what it would be like to have him place his collar on her. Unbidden, her hand stroked her throat.

“He said that to celebrate he’d like to try something new and I agreed.”

“Did you ask what it was?”

“No, but we’d gone over our checklists. He knew my limits.” Her fist tightened, tangled in the sheet. “I trusted him.”

The door opened and a nurse’s aide nodded to the tray.

“Take it,” Sasha said. “I’m not hungry.”

Julie decided it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to tell her she really needed to eat. Food wasn’t going to help Sasha’s gaunt look.

“Anyway,” Sasha continued, once the door closed. “He gagged me.”

Unable to help herself, Julie shivered. She recalled the gags in Daniel’s playroom. They didn’t look fun.

Sasha didn’t notice or acknowledge her shiver. “Always before when I’ve been gagged, I’ve been given a bell. To drop or ring as a safe word. Peter didn’t give me anything. I knew better, but I . . .” She shook her head.

Just like Daniel had said.

“You what? Why wouldn’t you say something?” Make me understand, Julie wanted to say, why you would deliberately ignore one of the first rules Daniel taught me. The one he made sure she remembered every time they started.

“Look, I know it was stupid, but at the time, it was like I was high or something. I was going to wear his collar. I wanted to please him. I thought he would be able to tell how I felt. I remember thinking it was so touching he knew me so well, we didn’t need safe words anymore.”

No, that wasn’t touching, Julie wanted to say; it was stupid. But she refrained. Sasha hadn’t even known Peter that long.

“He has chains suspended from his ceiling. That’s where he bound me. We’d done it before. I enjoyed it. This time, he decided to blindfold me, too.”

Julie recalled being blindfolded and bound. She’d liked it. Aside from the gag, part of her understood where Sasha was coming from.

And that scared her.

“He started with a flogger. One of my favorites, but it takes me a while to reach subspace.” She looked at Julie with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes.” Julie nodded. “I know what it is, just not by experience.”

Subspace, that mysterious feeling submissives craved. The place a Dominant could take them that felt so good, it almost became addictive. The state where a rush of endorphins sent a submissive into a trancelike frame of mind so deep, pain was nearly nonexistent. She’d longed for the day she could experience it firsthand.

“He knew it took me a long time,” Sasha whispered. “He knew.”

She was quiet for such a long time, Julie wondered if she felt well enough to continue. “We can finish later if you want.”

“I told them I didn’t want to press charges.”

“Are you regretting that now?” Julie asked. “Do you want to press charges?”

Sasha shook her head. “I don’t think so. How can I when it was my fault, too?”

“What happened after the flogger?”

“I hadn’t made it into subspace yet. I was close, I think.” She sighed. “So much I’ve blocked. What I remember next was the pain. Searing. Like I was being burned over and over. All up and down my back. I tried to get away, but I was bound so tightly, I couldn’t move. And I kept yelling ‘red’ over and over . . . gagged . . . he couldn’t hear.” She spoke through little hiccuping sobs and she kept closing and releasing her fist.

It took Julie a second to understand she was safe wording, releasing an invisible bell over and over.

Sasha blew her nose and continued, apparently through the worst part of the story. “They told me I passed out. Next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. Apparently, my back’s in pretty bad shape. I’m afraid to look at it.”

Julie took her friend’s hand and squeezed. “Oh, Sasha.”

“I’m not even sure where he got it. I know he doesn’t have any experience in using one.”


“What did he use?”

“A bullwhip.” Her lower lip started to tremble and Julie knew whatever bravado she’d briefly put on had reached its limit.

Julie went about getting Sasha into a comfortable position, all the while trying to keep her own feelings at bay. Nothing worked; in her mind she kept seeing Sasha bound, gagged, and desperately trying to safe word. After a while the image morphed and she was the one struggling to break free.

? ? ?

An hour later she was still sitting beside Sasha’s bed when Daniel came back. He didn’t say anything; he simply walked across the floor to stand beside her. His hand rested lightly on her shoulder.

“When was the last time you slept?” he asked.

“I can’t remember.” She didn’t remember anything except Sasha’s fingers fluttering uselessly for a man who wasn’t paying attention.

The hand at her shoulder tightened. “You can’t be strong for her if you don’t take care of yourself.”

“I’ll sleep later.”

“She told you.”

“Yes.” Her body shook, remembering.

“Come here, baby.”

He barely had the words out when she pushed the chair back and flung herself into his strong embrace. In his arms, she finally let her guard down and allowed the tears to flow. He held her, whispering things she couldn’t make out, but that soothed her just the same.

“Why?” she asked when she could speak. “I don’t get it. You said a Dom cherished his sub above all, guarded her with his life. How could he do that to her?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to discuss anything with him in detail yet, but I will.”

She didn’t miss the sharp edge of determination in his voice.

A knock on the door caused her to jump, but she stayed in his arms when the nurse entered.

“Time to change the dressing,” she said.

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to leave while they did this?” he asked in a whisper.

“No way. They had me leave last night, but since I’ll be the one changing it for her at home, I need to stay.”

Standing across the bed from them, the nurse gently roused Sasha and repositioned her. With the utmost care, she folded the sheet down, and removed the dressing. Daniel slipped his hand into Julie’s.

Angry red marks crisscrossed Sasha’s back. Many of the lines bled.

“F*cking hell,” Daniel said under his breath.

Julie swayed against him and slid into her chair. It looked even worse than she’d imagined.

“That bad, Jules? You look green,” Sasha said, so clearly trying to be brave.

Much too late she noticed Sasha’s gaze on her. “Sorry, it’s just . . . I didn’t . . .”

“No need to apologize. You didn’t do it and I know it looks bad, I can feel it.” Sasha’s eyes drifted shut and she started breathing slow and deep, though she jerked occasionally. Julie knew she was on a painkiller, and she was glad her friend could sleep through the discomfort of having the dressing changed.

The nurse worked quickly and silently. The entire time, Julie was acutely aware of Daniel’s presence beside her—his power, his strength, his being. And for the first time, that power and strength scared her.

? ? ?

Sasha was released from the hospital the next day. Julie insisted she stay with her, at least through the weekend. And when Sasha brought up working Monday, Julie told her it was out of the question.

By Sunday, Julie could clean and dress Sasha’s back without breaking into a cold sweat. The sense of fear she’d had in the hospital hadn’t returned. Of course, she hadn’t seen Daniel since Friday either. He’d called a few times, but between caring for Sasha and working out the schedule for how to run the shop alone, she hadn’t been able to see him.

She wasn’t ignoring him, she told herself; she was busy.

And if she put the red bracelet in her top dresser drawer, it was only because she didn’t know when the next meeting would be.

She didn’t quite know how to reach Sasha. Her once happy-go-lucky friend had sunk deep inside herself and refused to be drawn out. She answered questions with a “yes” or “no” and otherwise kept her conversation to as few words as necessary. Dena called on Sunday afternoon, but Sasha refused to talk to her. Instead she told Julie to tell her she was sleeping.

Julie didn’t want to leave her alone on Monday, but she had no choice—the shop had obligations to meet. Someone had to be there. Fortunately, it was a busy day, so she was able to keep her mind occupied with thoughts other than her hurting friend and Daniel.

Her cell phone rang right after she closed the door behind the day’s last customer. She looked at the display and sighed. Eventually, she would have to face the turmoil she was trying to ignore.

“Hey, Daniel.”

“Good to hear your voice, how are you doing?”

“Busy.” She eyed the clock on the wall, trying to judge how long it would take to get home and fix something for her and Sasha to eat. “Doing everything by myself is a bit much, you know?”

“I imagine it is, and once you get home, you’ll be tending Sasha.” His voice dropped. “Who takes care of you?”

She closed her eyes, knowing he probably heard her distancing herself every time they spoke. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”

He didn’t have to say anything; she could feel his displeasure through the phone. Something deep inside started to hurt.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I’m just so tired.” It wasn’t much of a lie.

“I need to stop by your place tonight and speak to Sasha,” he said.

“We’ll be there. About what time?” She hated the way they were talking, as if there was nothing between them. It just wasn’t possible for her to do anything else at the moment.

“Seven.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure she’s awake. See you then,” she said, and hung up with a softly spoken good-bye.

I’m so sorry, Daniel.

? ? ?

Daniel hung up the phone with a muttered curse. He was losing her. When Sasha was in the hospital, he’d felt it, although he’d hoped once she was released, it would be better. And maybe it would get better. It hadn’t been that long. He just needed to give her space.

He raked a hand through his hair. Damn Peter and whatever the hell had been going through his mind Thursday night. Even after talking with him, he still wasn’t exactly sure what transpired, but he would get to the bottom of it. He had a meeting set up with him before he needed to head out to talk to Sasha.

Sasha.

He knew it wasn’t his fault and that there was nothing he could have done to prevent it, but he still felt guilty. She was a submissive in his group and he should have protected her. Had he missed some sign in Peter? He’d replayed in his mind all the times he’d seen him with a submissive and nothing stood out as being off.

Even still, whenever he thought of Sasha, he remembered the mass of welts and cuts on her back and it made him sick. As the recognized bullwhip expert in the group, he knew the training and practice its use required. Likewise, he recognized the handiwork of one who didn’t know what he was doing. His only question was how Peter hadn’t ended up in the hospital himself from the whip coming back to hit him.


He both dreaded and looked forward to seeing Julie. But even with all the turmoil he felt about their floundering relationship, he forced himself to focus on his upcoming conversation with Sasha. His heart was heavy when he pulled into Julie’s driveway hours later.

Julie wasn’t smiling when she opened the door. She simply pushed it wide open to let him pass. Sasha sat on the couch, her head down. He knew he was there for her, but he couldn’t ignore Julie.

He cupped her shoulder. “I can only imagine what you’re thinking and feeling, but don’t shut me out. Please.”

There was a particular sadness in her reply. “I’ll try.”

It was the best he could hope for.

Sasha stood up as he walked into the living room. “Ma- Ma-Master Covington.”

He flinched and waved to the couch. “Please. Have a seat and call me Daniel.”

“Can Julie stay?”

Typically, he liked to have a third person present for conversations like the one to come. However, he’d be lying to say he thought it a good idea for Julie to be that person. Regardless, she was the only one available, she had some knowledge of the lifestyle, and she was fiercely loyal to Sasha.

“Of course,” he said. “Julie, will you join us?”

By the look on her expression, Julie didn’t think it a good idea for her to be present either. That she nodded and took a seat beside her friend spoke volumes about her character and fortitude.

“First off,” he said, “I want to apologize for what you’ve been through. I feel quite protective of the group’s submissives and for something like this to happen on my watch? ‘I’m sorry’ just doesn’t convey my feelings.”

“You weren’t there,” Sasha said. “You shouldn’t feel guilty.”

“That’s the funny thing about guilt. It’s rarely reasonable.”

That at least got him a half smile from Sasha. He said it intentionally to lighten the mood but also because it was true. If he knew anything about human nature, Sasha was probably dealing with her own guilt over the situation.

“The other senior members and I met with Peter earlier,” he said. “I don’t know if you’re interested in his account, but I can tell you if you want.”

Sasha nodded warily. “Okay.”

“He claims he forgot the bell. Completely unacceptable for a Dom of any experience level. It’s probably overkill, but we’ll be stressing the importance of safe words, and how to use them when playing with gags, at every group meeting, every breakout, and every play party going forward.”

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as overkill when it comes to safe words,” Julie said. “For either party.”

He looked to her in surprise. She’d so staunchly stressed her dislike for Peter, he wasn’t prepared to hear her even suggest Sasha shared some of the blame.

I’m proud of you, kitten.

“Agreed,” he said.

“What else did he say?” Sasha asked.

“He has no excuse for the whip and admits it was a mistake. He’d watched a few demo scenes and thought he could handle it.”

Sasha’s expression drifted to somewhere else and her fist opened and closed repeatedly. Julie took her hand and whispered something to her with no response.

“Sasha,” he commanded as gently, but firmly, as possible. “Right here with me. Focus on me. On my words. Nothing else.”

Something inside the wounded submissive flickered to life and her gaze focused on him. She looked surprised for a second, but then she frowned and slipped her hand out of Julie’s.

She was in a worse frame of mind than he’d thought and he decided to edit the remainder a bit.

“Peter thought you had gone into subspace. It was only after he realized you were bleeding and had gone slack in your bonds that he checked and discovered you’d passed out.”

Julie kept her hand on Sasha’s and she whispered to her friend. Sasha nodded.

Daniel cleared his throat. “While he did the right thing by taking you to the hospital and calling me, that the scene even progressed to that point is reprehensible. And as a submissive, you should have never let the scene start in the first place. The principal group members have called for a discipline session for you both to be held at my house on Friday.”

Sasha simply nodded, but Julie’s head jerked up in surprise. “For them both? What?”

“Sasha is dealing with the consequences of her misjudgment. I can’t imagine the group to call for any action against her.”

“But they might?” Julie’s eyes grew big. “Are you serious?”

“It’s standard procedure for us to at least speak with the parties involved.”

“I can’t believe—”

Sasha cut her off. “I understand. I’ll be there.”

“And I will be, too,” Julie said.

He thought that would be a horrible idea. “Julie, I’m not sure—”

“Is there a group rule preventing my attendance?”

“No, but as your . . .” One look in her eyes told him not to finish the sentence. If he said he could forbid her as her Dom, he had no doubt that in her current frame of mind, she would tell him where he could shove his playroom. On the other hand, he feared if she attended the session on Friday night, she might tell him the same anyway. It was a lose-lose situation no matter how he looked at it.

“No,” he said. “There’s not a group rule preventing your attendance. I would just ask you to make sure you think it’s the best idea for you to attend.”

He’d known her to be a stubborn woman, but never had that been clearer than with her next words. “Just because something isn’t good for you doesn’t mean it isn’t good for me.”

She was drifting farther and farther away and there was nothing he could do about it. For a moment he wished he could command her to stay by his side, but reason soon replaced that thought. He wanted her to be with him of her own free will. And if her free will took her elsewhere, he had to accept that.

No matter how much her leaving would crush his heart.