Master Dmitri sighed dejectedly. “I will forgo my promise to him that you can’t play with anyone else. You can refuse him. I don’t want you making such a big decision when you’re this upset.”
Why wasn’t he listening to her? “I don’t think I can—”
“I know you’re hurting, Cora.” Dmitri leaned in closer and stared at her intently. “Please trust me that I think this is best.”
“I do trust you.” She swallowed hard, wiping away the moisture in her eyes. “I feel—”
“Aidan needed to hear what you’ve done for him these past years.” He gave a gentle smile exuding comforting warmth. “You’ve taken care of him, hmm?”
Yeah, I have.
And he let me fall.
Dmitri added with a sharp voice, “If Aidan can’t see how good you are for him, he is a damned fool.”
Knowing that did nothing to mend the broken pieces of her heart; she loved that damn fool. These past weeks it seemed as if she was in the permanent state of sub drop, where emotions didn’t make sense and thoughts were all jumbled.
A wave of exhaustion slid over her and the empty sensation of his dismissal sunk into her. Her desire to stand above it all battled within. That’s all that made sense. Everything else seemed to spin around her, completely out of control.
“Christ.” A low, angry voice snapped her into focus. Porter’s arms were folded and his glare was fierce. “Now, this I don’t like to see.” He turned to Dmitri, and they exchanged a look.
Cora couldn’t read it. Hell, she couldn’t understand her own feelings, let alone anyone else’s. She had one focus: Get over Aidan. How would that happen if she couldn’t add him to her hard limits? If she couldn’t take the control from him?
Porter stepped in close to Cora. “To your knees, sub.” At Cora’s hesitation, Porter arched a brow, dominance blazing in his gaze. “That was not a question. Do as I’ve told you.”
I don’t want to play with you.
Even so, she found herself moving without thought, sliding into a role that had been forged long ago. Though her heart hammered, her shallow breaths slowed. Once her knees pressed firmly against the carpet, Porter tucked a finger under her chin. His features were cold and stern. “Tonight, you will remain at my side. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Cora?”
Her crushed heart could not refuse him. Her mind was desperate to be silent. I don’t want to struggle anymore. “Yes, sir.”
Chapter Twenty-two
A slow beat of the drums carried Aidan through the dungeon. His footsteps matched the rhythm of the music and set his stride. As he strode farther into the club, a loud slap against flesh followed by a deep moan caught his attention.
Master Miles smacked Kenzie with a cane in strategic placement on her bottom. With her fingers laced behind her head and legs spread wide, she stood in a typical posture Miles used during punishment.
Each hit of the rattan cane turned her bottom a mix of red and deep purple. Aidan noted that the punishment wasn’t working. Miles wasn’t holding back his force, and Kenzie enjoyed going to those extremes. Her lips weren’t open with a scream, they were parted in pure pleasure. She shuddered with each crack of the cane, eyes wide open, pupils dilated.
Aidan shook his head. He’d never understood Kenzie. She teased and tempted Doms to make her hurt. He thought there was more going on with that submissive, but Kenzie had never interested him.
Only Cora. She was his.
Or she had been at one time.
Now he had no idea what he had.
He returned to the constant mind struggle since Cora’s admission. He hadn’t dealt with the fact that this entire time she hadn’t been the problem, he had. How could he? His mind spun out of control.
He walked by a couple submissives, who smiled at him, and he spotted Dmitri on the couch with Presley kneeling beside the coffee table. At this point, Aidan had no idea how to deal with Cora. As a Dom, how should he proceed knowing he was the reason for her problems? What was the best path to ensure he didn’t hurt her further? Dealing with what she admitted to him was another conversation he wasn’t ready to have, of that he was sure.
Dmitri had insight Aidan respected.
Once he reached him, Aidan’s eyebrows raised at the gag in Presley’s mouth. She glared at Dmitri, who grinned at her. Apparently, Kenzie wasn’t the only one facing punishment.
Aidan tilted his head toward Presley. “What did she do?”
“Tell him,” Dmitri said to Presley.