Pieces of Stronghold Read online

  "Not exactly..." Jared hesitated. "But necessary."

  "Ah, one of those," Will said, the corners of his mouth lifting in a knowing smile. "Well, good luck. I've got my own sub to go take care of."

  For a moment Jared frowned, confused, because as far as he knew, Will hadn’t collared a sub. Then he remembered the club gossip that Will had apparently been playing exclusively with Gina for the past few months. He grinned, nodding and adding a second round of thanks before Will slipped through the door and into the club. Everyone in Stronghold had been watching Will and Gina's relationship developing over the past couple of months, and he didn't blame Will for being anxious to go play with his sub.

  He just wished he had his own sub to look forward to playing with.

  On the other hand, he did have dinner with Leigh to look forward to. His grin widened at the thought, recognizing her influence in his replacing a negative thought with a positive one.

  She was his own little ray of sunshine.

  Chapter 2 – Will & Gina

  Holly and lights and Christmas trees and whips and chains, oh my.

  Gina wandered through Stronghold, a little bit awed by the transformation that had taken it over for the holiday season. Blue and white lights twinkled from every corner of the room, dangling down from the ceiling like sparkly icicles. Red and gold bows were tied to every single seat at the bar, mistletoe hung from the doorways, and holly was everywhere. It was gorgeous. Almost romantic. Even the Dungeon downstairs had been decorated, although the main lights had to remain nice and bright, so the Doms could see what they were doing.

  For some reason, it made her heart ache a little.

  She finally figured out why when she went back up to the main level and looked out on the dance floor, where the architect of all this holiday cheer was grinding against the club owner. Lexie had been chasing after Patrick for well over a year at the club, and now they were finally together. The younger woman was trying to coax him out onto the dance floor with her moves, and while he refused to move the way she wanted him to, he also smiled at her and looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.

  Gina wanted that.

  Unfortunately, no one seemed to want it with her, not even the Dom she'd been scening with regularly for the past few months. She and Master Will had met last year. They'd scened a few times and, eventually, they'd started scening more and more often together to the point where he would text her every week to find out what night she planned on being at the club, and then he'd show up that night. And Gina always turned down any offers to play that she received, until he came. She hadn't scened with anyone else in the past three months, and she knew he hadn't either - club gossip would have informed her if he had. Although, she supposed he could be scening with someone else outside of the club.

  There were a lot of singles who came to the club and scened, then went home and dated other people. Of course, most of them didn't have sex when they did that. Whereas she and Master Will rarely scened without sex anymore. She didn't think he was the type to cheat on his significant other, so she assumed he was single.

  Single, but not looking. Even though they occasionally talked on the phone during the week, they never spent time together outside of the club. He never even hinted that he might want to. Gina supposed she could always ask him out on a date, but that just seemed pushy. After all, the man was a Dominant, and they were already having a weekly sex date. If he wanted to go on a real date with her, he would have said.

  "Hey, you okay?"

  She nearly jumped at the soft voice and hand that landed on her shoulder. She'd been staring blankly at the dance floor, so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't heard Ellie approach. Ellie was one of the other single submissives, but she definitely wanted to stay that way. Gina had heard that one of the Doms, Tom, had really wanted to date her, but Ellie had turned him down one too many times and now he didn't come to the club anymore. It didn't seem to bother Ellie.

  "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired," Gina said with a slight smile. That was a lie, but somehow she didn't think Ellie would understand her sudden melancholy over not being in a real relationship. After all, everyone knew that Ellie didn't want one.

  "Is Master Will running late?" Ellie asked, still looking concerned. Her long black hair was pinned up tonight, a single stick with red jewels on the end poking out of it, just begging for a Dom to remove it and let the silken glory fall down. The jewels matched the red piping on her black corset and the red latex skirt she was wearing. Next to her, Gina felt rather underwhelming in her undecorated tight black dress.

  The question made her nerves feel further grated, even though she knew Ellie hadn't meant anything by it. It just brought up more of the discontent that she was now feeling. Everyone knew that she and Master Will were playing together, exclusively... but they didn't have a relationship. They hadn't even signed a contract.

  How had that happened? Normally when two parties played together with the regularity she and Master Will did, they put a contract in place. BDSM relationships needed to be defined. Would she be feeling this discontent if she had a contract to tell her where she stood? She'd had a few short-term contracts before, although nothing had come of them. Those contracts had been in place before she and the Dom had become exclusive. Somehow, she and Master Will had become so without the contract.

  "No, he should be here soon," Gina said, rubbing her forehead, knowing that her consternation was showing but unable to hide it. Sometimes it took her a while for her to figure out what was bugging her, but once she did, she was pretty much incapable of pretending like everything was okay. "I think I need to talk to him."

  Ellie kept her hand on Gina's shoulder, her dark eyes worried. "Do you want to talk to me until he gets here? You don't have to, but I'm here if you need someone to talk to."

  That was sweet of her. Gina smiled. Ever since a bunch of the submissives had stood up for Lexie, forcing the issue of her presence in the club to Patrick and the other protective Doms who acted like her big brothers, there had been a certain bond between all of them. The subs that hadn’t been there that night had all heard about it and it had created a kind of team feeling between all of them. Even the ones that didn't particularly like each other or didn’t know each other had started watching out for one another. She didn't know Ellie well, but here the woman was, looking out for her. It was nice.

  "Thanks. I just..." She blew out a breath. "I think I need to talk to him first."

  "I understand," Ellie said, squeezing her shoulder. "I'll be here all night."

  "Thanks," Gina said, giving her a wan smile, which the other woman returned before walking away and heading to the Lounge. Several other submissives were already gathered there, talking and waiting for a Dom or Domme who wanted to play.

  For a moment, Gina was tempted to follow, but her eyes flickered over to the club entrance, as if some part of her had felt him arrive. Master Will was striding in through the door, toy bag in his hand, his gaze swiveling around, and she knew that he was looking for her. Wearing his usual leathers and black shirt, he looked hot, as always. His dark blonde hair gleamed under the lights, contrasting with his dark eyes and the darker, reddish scruff on his cheeks. Gina liked him scruffy, something she'd mentioned about a month ago, and for the past four weeks he'd come to the club without shaving first.

  That was the kind of thing that made her think maybe he liked her more than just for a scene every week... but then, why didn't he ask her out? The question kept running through her head, because it bothered her. If one of her friends said that to her, she'd tell them to ask him out. But under these circumstances, that was the wrong thing to do. So she couldn't even take the lead.

  His eyes lit up as he saw her, and he moved across the room, stalking towards her like a hunter after its prey. That was one of the things that drew her to him; the way he moved, with complete confidence and authority. The way he stared at her, capturing her with his gaze, making it hard for her to look away.
Yeah, he was hot.

  But being hot and arranging hot scenes wasn't really enough. Not anymore. Just looking at him, she knew it. Because if he hadn't looked at her that way, if he hadn't come straight to her, it would have hurt. A lot. They hadn't even talked about being exclusive, it had just kind of happened... so he could change his mind at any time. Something akin to panic boiled up inside of her. She didn't know why she was reacting this way, when these issues had been bubbling under the surface of her skin for a while now, except that maybe the pressure inside had become too great. As a submissive, she hadn't felt like she could initiate that conversation, and he never did, so it just never happened.

  Tonight, looking at him, thinking about how much it would have hurt if he had acted any other way upon seeing her, she realized that she couldn't go on like this.

  ******

  Black latex wrapped around generous curves that were soft enough to bring a man to his knees, and Will was no exception. Gina's legs were showcased by her high heels, her pouty lips were painted a deep red, and her dark hair was swept up in a sleek ponytail. She'd been growing it since he'd met her, and now it was just long enough for a man to wrap around his hand and use it to control her. After playing together for so long, she knew just what he liked.

  Except something was wrong.

  He could see it in the way she tensed as he approached her, not in anticipation, but in a kind of dread. What the fuck? They'd been playing together for weeks now and he knew he'd satisfied her every time, never hurt her beyond what she could handle. Gina was a masochist, and she liked a good amount of pain in a scene, almost needed it in order to orgasm. He was happy to deliver. So what was the problem tonight?

  "Hello sweetheart," he said, cupping his free hand under her chin to tip it back. Her chocolate-brown eyes searched his for a moment, before he lowered his mouth for a kiss. So far nothing out of the ordinary; she wasn't resisting, so she hadn't changed her mind about playing... maybe she was just stressed? He wouldn't mind working her tension out. She tasted sweet and minty, like she always did, but her kiss was almost timid. Reluctantly, he pulled away. "Everything okay?"

  Her white teeth dragged across the inside of her bottom lip. Gina never bit into her lip, but she would worry it a bit, especially when she was nervous. It was the kind of tiny cue that he'd picked up on while they were playing together. Normally he liked to see that reaction from her, but that was when they were in a scene, not before.

  "We need to talk."

  Will's stomach tightened; although just because she wanted to talk, that didn't necessarily mean anything bad. It was just that those words rarely seemed to indicate anything good.

  "Okay," he said, slowly, thinking fast. He'd reserved the Interrogation Room for them this evening, anticipating a hot scene. It would be a heck of a lot more private than the main floor of Stronghold, even if the setting might be a bit imposing for talking. "We're in the Interrogation Room tonight, we can talk there."

  Nodding, Gina relaxed a bit, although she still seemed on edge. He tried to keep a frown from creeping onto his face as he wondered what was going on with her. When they'd talked earlier in the week on the phone, she'd seemed fine. They'd been playing together for a long time now, although at first it had been more casual than anything else. Lately they'd been playing with just each other.

  It occurred to him, actually, that they'd been playing exclusively with each other for a matter of months now, not weeks. How had the time flown by so quickly? Probably because he'd been busy as hell; the general contracting business his father owned and ran had Will and all of his brothers running lately. It seemed like he rarely had a free moment to sit and think, no wonder the time had slipped away from him. Shit, he really should have set up a club contract with her, they'd been playing together for so long. That's probably what she wanted to talk about. He immediately felt bad that she thought she had to initiate the conversation; as the Dom, it was his responsibility to take care of her and make sure they'd set out the boundaries of their play, once they'd stopped playing with others. At least, he was pretty sure she hadn't been playing with anyone else. Someone would have mentioned it if she was.

  Ushering her into the room, Will closed the door behind them and put his toy bag down just inside the door. He hoped that she wasn't about to reveal that she'd been scening with someone else and had decided to be exclusive with them. He enjoyed scening with her. Their kinks matched up almost perfectly, she was both trusting and giving in a scene, and he knew he could count on her every week. The idea of her breaking things off so she could scene with someone else made his chest ache. If she didn't end their play together right now, he needed to get a club contract into place immediately. Secure her, so that he could enjoy her without having to worry about some other Dom stealing her away. He should probably apologize for not having set up a more formal relationship with her before this.

  Settling himself onto the chair in the center of the room, he tugged her onto his lap. She came willingly enough, which relieved him. Surely if she was about to end their play together, she wouldn't be so amenable to curling up on his lap.

  "So what's on your mind, sweetheart?" he asked. With one arm curled around her back, holding her up, he tucked the other around her legs. She was a nice, soft weight leaning against him, her head angled slightly so she could see his face. The anxious expression on her face was already easing as he held her, which was something to take pride in. He liked knowing that she was comforted when he held her.

  "Well..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, and she peeked at him under her eyelashes. Will gave her an encouraging smile. "We've been playing together for a while now... and I haven't been playing with anyone else..." Although a lot of her anxiety had melted away, she still seemed nervous, probably because he should have been the one to bring this up, not her.

  Immediately, he took the reins of the conversation from her, feeling her relax even further. "I haven't either, sweetheart, and I should apologize for not having brought it up sooner. My only excuse is that I've been running my ass off at work lately, and I hadn't realized how much time had passed, but I haven't been playing with anyone but you in months. I don't want to play with anyone but you... we should discuss a club contract tonight."

  To his surprise, Gina tensed. If she hadn't been sitting on his lap, he might not have noticed it, but with her snuggled up against him, there was no way to miss it. Her eyes slid away from his.

  "There's more... I... I want a relationship," she blurted out.

  Now it was Will's turn to tense. "With me?" Gina tried to pull away, but Will tightened his arms. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded," he said, trying to order his thoughts. "I just... you caught me off guard."

  Giving up on getting off his lap, which was good, because he wasn't going to let her run away from him, Gina crossed her arms over her chest. She was no longer snuggling, but at least she wasn't struggling either. The look she gave him wasn't happy. Crap, now he had to figure out what to say to her.

  It wasn't that he didn't want a relationship with her, it was just that he honestly hadn't thought about it. He didn't know why, other than he hadn't been in a relationship in years. Then again, he hadn't had a club contract with a submissive in a long time either, hadn't even considered one. He wasn't avoiding it exactly, but he just hadn't found someone that he clicked with.

  He clicked with Gina, though.

  "I don't necessarily want a relationship with you," she said, although he knew better than to believe what she was saying. He'd hurt her feelings. Something he'd make up to her when he got the chance. "But I want a relationship. I'm tired of just scening. I want to go on dates. I want to have scenes at home. I want to have a relationship outside of the club. With someone."

  "With me," Will said firmly. He barely even needed to think about it, because the thought of her ending things with him and searching for someone else made the ache in his chest become almost unbearable. Sometimes he could be a bit thickheaded, he knew th
at, and he tended to stay in his same patterns of behavior unless he had an impetus to change, but this was definitely a wake-up call for him. He wasn't willing to lose Gina. Not just because he enjoyed their scenes every week, but because he'd miss their conversations on the phone too, he'd miss her mischievousness, and he'd probably want to kill the next guy to touch her.

  So he hadn't really thought about his feelings for her before today. He'd taken her a bit for granted, he realized, because it had been easier to just let things continue as they were while he dealt with the rest of his life. But he always felt better after their weekly conversations, and even better after scening with her, so why wouldn't he want to take that to the next level? Sure, he'd been thinking club contract, but he could amend that to relationship.

  Gina eyed him suspiciously. "Are you sure? You thought about that awful quick."

  "Of course," he said, suddenly feeling light-hearted and less stressed than he had all week. The idea of Gina as his girlfriend made perfect sense. He could pamper and punish her all week, instead of once a week, and she could help him remember that there was life outside of the family company. Hell, his mom would love Gina. She was independent, outspoken, funny and confident, until she was scening, and then she was beautifully submissive and compliant - not that his family would see that side of her. "I didn't need to think about it too hard, sweetheart."

  Suddenly stubborn, Gina didn't look convinced. "We don't even know that much about each other, how can you be sure that you just want to jump into a relationship?"

  "We know enough to start," he countered. "Besides, that's what dates are for." He was amused at her sudden turn around, although he understood it as well. Sassy, sweet Gina didn't want him to want her because she was convenient. Maybe he should be mad that she would think that of him, but they really didn't know each other that well. While she trusted him with her body, it was harder to trust with her heart. "I know what makes your nipples hard, what makes your pussy wet, and what you look like when you come. I also know that your favorite color is purple even though you wear red more often, your mom makes the best meatloaf in the world - allegedly, and you named your car Leo, after the pet rabbit you had when you were a kid. I'd say that's a pretty good start."