Free Trace & Tori [The ShadowDance Club 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Avery Gale

weren’t so overindulgent in your treatment of the subs you are training, Doms like me wouldn’t have to pick up the slack and whip them into shape.” The man’s words and crazed expression caused a crowd to gather and quickly caught the attention of Club owners, Alex and Zach Lamont.
    Alex moved quickly to stand at Cort’s side “What’s going on here?” Looking at his longtime friend and employee, he said, “Cort, I assume you have a good reason for interrupting this scene?” Alex and Zach both knew about Cort and Sally’s mutual interest and had been wondering how to provide them with a gentle push toward each other. It looked like they might have just been handed the perfect opportunity.
    “Of course, I know this submissive well. I trained her, and I know her tolerance levels. I believe this scene has exceeded those, and I’d like to check with her to make sure she is in the right frame of mind to call a halt if it’s too much for her.” He turned to the Dom who was still flipping the whip nervously with small movements. “What is her safe-word signal?”
    “Fuck that, she doesn’t need a damned signal. She needs this punishment after she turned me down last weekend.”
    Zach had moved to Sally and was removing the gag from her mouth by the time Cort had turned to face her. Zach leaned forward and used a small towel to wipe her face and spoke in a firm but compassionate voice. “Sally, talk to me. Did you enter in to this scene of your own free will without a safe-word signal?” Zach couldn’t imagine the woman putting herself in any position of danger because she had a young child to care for, and he knew that Sally’s little girl was the center of her world. She had worked for The Club for over a year and she had never shown any tendency toward reckless behavior before.
    Sally’s eyes flicked to Cort and then refocused on Zach before she answered. “No, Sir, I did not. I would never do anything so dangerous. I didn’t even want a scene with…” Cort watched the tears start falling and immediately began removing the unlined leather cuffs the prick had placed on her delicate wrists and ankles. Pressing his fingers to her lips he stopped her from finishing what she was saying, knowing she needed care more than they needed answers right at this moment.
    Zach’s voice calmed her as he spoke softly. “Shhh, that is enough for now. We’ll get you settled and taken care of while Master Alex and I have a chat with Master Jacobs in our office.” Alex was already escorting the man from the room for what would be the last time. His membership was about to be revoked for life, no one tricked a sub at ShadowDance or hurt one purposely because he or she had refused a scene. What part of consensual had escaped this asshole’s attention? The bastard would be banned from not only this establishment but every other one in their network as well. They would send out his picture and a summary of what had happened to nearly three hundred fetish clubs across the United States and Canada, essentially black-balling him from every major club in both countries. There wasn’t any guarantee that the old man wouldn’t ever hurt another sub, but they could make sure he didn’t have easy access to them.
    Cort stepped up, placing his hands on both sides of her face as Zach and the dungeon monitor finished releasing the cuffs that were cutting into her abraded wrists and ankles, and wrapped her in one of the warm subbie blankets that were used for aftercare. Cort scooped her up in his arms and headed for a small alcove that was shielded from view by large plants, the area was fairly private and was used by Doms when their subs needed a bit of privacy when coming back down after a particularly intense scene. Zach put his hand on Cort’s shoulder as he’d walked away and told him they would cover the bar for the rest of the evening. Zach knew it was more important for Cort to take care of his woman. And he hoped Cort