Free Two Masters for Alex by Claire Thompson Page B

the next stroke hurt all the more against bunched muscle. It was then he realized he was gasping as if he’d been sprinting, running for his life. He felt lightheaded, his legs suddenly weak. If he hadn’t been bound to the cross, he might have slid to the floor.
    All at once he felt Liam’s warm body behind him, pressing against his back and ass. He felt Liam’s hand cover his nose and mouth as he whispered softly into his ear. “Shh, slow down, Daniel. It’s only me. Take a deep breath. Breathe…slow down.” Daniel struggled to obey, his gasps subsiding in deep, shuddering breaths against Liam’s warm palm. Liam had continued to murmur, gently stroking Daniel as he held him steady with his body and his gentle words.
    Finally Daniel calmed completely, his breathing deep and even. Liam reached around him, grasping his cock, which had remained erect throughout. Liam laughed softly and whispered, “Are you ready to continue, slave? I’m not done with you.”
    This time when the cane drew its line of fire across Daniel’s ass, he’d hissed his response but remained still. Again and again the cane struck, marking his ass and thighs with welts that would remain visible for several days. It was the first time Liam had taken him to that special place in his psyche where pain and pleasure no longer existed except as part and parcel of pure, perfect sensation. Liam delivered several more strokes but Daniel no longer felt them—or more accurately he no longer experienced them as painful. He remembered his head falling back, his breathing so slow and deep Liam had stopped at one point and put his ear to Daniel’s parted lips, as if making sure he were still alive.
    Daniel was literally unable to move by then, even if his wrists and ankles had not been secured to the sturdy cross. Yet he wasn’t unconscious by any means. It was almost as if he were in a swoon, his body paralyzed with pleasure, his mind soaring in a submissive state of altered consciousness. He was aware of Liam releasing his cuffs. He knew his lover would hold him as he fell back limp against him. He knew he was safe in Liam’s arms—it was the safest place in the world.
    The door pushed open and Daniel heard Liam enter. He felt Liam tap his shoulder, signaling him to stand. Daniel did so. Liam took him in his arms, his tongue leisurely exploring Daniel’s mouth as he held his face in both hands. When he let him go, Daniel’s cock, which had begun to rise in anticipation of the evening, was jutting hard against his shorts. “Take those off,” Liam said. Daniel obeyed, suddenly self-conscious though Alex remained in position, her forehead still touching the floor.
    Liam moved to her, touching her shoulder with his bare foot. “Stand up and strip,” he ordered. Alex stood slowly, her face flushed from its position below her heart while she had been kneeling. “When you are in this room, you are a slave in every sense of the word. You have no will, no opinion, no power. You will not speak except in answer to a direct question. You belong to me and to Daniel. Tonight is an audition, if you like. A chance to show us what you’re made of. If you please us, you’ll be rewarded. If you don’t, you may find yourself in there.”
    She followed his finger, her gaze lighting on the large steel animal cage in one corner of the playroom, a padlock dangling from its hinged door. It wasn’t large enough for a person to stand in—one would have to kneel or lie down. She turned back to him, her eyes as big as plates. With trembling fingers she pulled her dress over her head.
    Liam turned to Daniel. “Shall we warm her up with the flogger or go straight to the snake? It’s your call.”
    Daniel watched Alex’s face. Her emotions were so transparent—both fear and desire flickering over her features as she turned toward him with a mute appeal. His fingers actually itched to whip her soft flesh. Still, he didn’t want to scare the girl to death. She was