Claiming (The Submissive 8.5)

shoulder. “Looks clear. Do we go through the pantry or down the hall?”

“Pantry leads directly to the ballroom. Hallway’s more exposed.” Sasha checked to make sure the pantry was empty.

“I vote we stay in the kitchen and bake something to say we’re sorry.” Julie pointed to her left. “Sasha, I think those are carrots over there. Why don’t you get started on them and we’ll make a carrot cake?”

“You’re lucky I don’t throw one at you. Pantry, you think?” Sasha asked.

“Pantry,” Abby and Julie said together.

They stepped into the pantry. It was only a short walk to the back entrance of the ballroom. But as soon as they stepped into the large room, Sasha knew something was off. The room was pitch-black, which didn’t seem right. Normally, the front double doors were open to let in light.

“Uh-oh,” she said, right at the exact moment the room suddenly lit up.

When her eyes finally adjusted, all she could focus on were the three men in the middle of the room. She froze, trying to decide if she should turn back and run into the pantry or stay where she was.

“You know,” Cole said, and she couldn’t hear any emotion in his voice, “if you look out from the upstairs office, you can see directly down into the maze.”

“Damn it,” Abby muttered behind her. “I didn’t think about looking up.”

“Rookie mistake,” Sasha agreed. “We’d suck as spies.”

“The hallway’s exposed. Go through the pantry.” Julie glared at Sasha. “Brilliant plan.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t hear you come up with anything other than a carrot cake,” Sasha reminded her.

Daniel was trying to hide his grin. “Carrot cake sounds pretty good.”

Julie perked up. “I’ll go make one!”

“No,” Cole said. “You ran off together, you can deal with the consequences together. Besides, Sasha doesn’t cook. Especially with carrots.”

“Damn,” Julie said.

“You brought it on yourself.” Nathaniel crooked finger at Abby. “Come here, Abigail.”

Abby didn’t hesitate. “Yes, Master.”

She seemed to almost glide as she crossed the floor to where her husband stood, holding up the blindfold she’d unwrapped earlier. She knelt down before him and he wasted no time covering her eyes.

He stood back. “You look very, what’s the word? Bewitching. Yes, you look very bewitching like this.”

“So bewitching,” Cole said. “I think Sasha and Julie need blindfolds, too.”

Julie and Sasha exchanged an uh-oh look.

Cole lowered his voice. “Now.”

They both hurried to their respective Doms and knelt.

Cole’s hands were quick and efficient as he blindfolded Sasha. “Now, my naughty girl, you won’t able to see what’s happening or who’s doing it.”

Her mouth grew dry. Who? Did that mean either Nathaniel or Daniel might touch her? She wasn’t sure she liked that, and even though playing with others wasn’t a hard limit, she thought it was for the other two women.

“Stand up and undress,” Cole said. “I have a tank top I’m going to put on you to cover your back.”

Everything was quiet. Sasha assumed the other guys were preparing Julie and Abby the same way Cole was preparing her. She heard a small yelp from Julie and then Daniel saying, “I knew they’d look good on you.”

“Use your safe word at any time.” Cole’s voice was thick in her ear. “Unfortunately for you, you didn’t pull anything out of the box. Fortunately, for me, I get to pick. But first . . .”

Something covered her ears and all she could hear was rain. Had he put headphones on her? She shook her head. That’s what it felt like. Because she couldn’t hear, for a minute she panicked thinking Cole couldn’t hear, either.

“Yellow,” she said.

The headphones came off. “Sasha, are you okay? What’s wrong?” His gentle voice was back, tinged with worry.

“I panicked, Sir. Thinking you couldn’t hear me. Which makes no sense because I said yellow. It’s okay. I’m fine to continue.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely, Sir.”

He ran his hands over her, and her body relaxed into his touch. “Are you okay for me to put the headphones back on or should I leave them off?”

“I’d like to wear them, please, Sir.”

He pressed a kiss against her shoulder. “My strong, fierce, Sasha.”

It was almost as if her body hummed with pleasure at his compliment, and this time when he put the headphones on, she felt only calm. She had no idea what to expect or what or who was going to touch her. The waiting about drove her wild.

When something finally touched her shoulder, she jumped. It wasn’t a paddle or a flogger or a cane or anything that she’d anticipated. It was soft. It came again, longer this time, and she knew what it was.

A paintbrush. He was painting her. Or more to the point, painting on her.

It was the simplest thing, but it made her crazy. What was he painting her with? What color was it? She couldn’t tell anything because he switched brushes frequently. Some were very fine and seemed as if he was writing. But others were wider and covered more area.

She moved once, and he smacked her backside in a sharp reminder to be still. She wondered if Abby and Julie were also being painted and, if so, what they looked like. The rhythmic cadence of rainfall combined with the gentle sweeps of the brushes and she felt herself start to drift. She swayed and two arms came around her and carried her somewhere soft so she could lie down.

She jerked awake to complete quiet and blackness. In fact, the silence was so vast it was deafening. She tried to lift her hand to her eyes to see if the blindfold was still on, but her hands were tied down. Where was she? And, more to the point, where was everyone else?

She repeated to herself that Cole wouldn’t leave her unattended. She knew he was nearby watching. If she focused, she might be able to sense him. Taking a deep breath, she tried to hear something, anything, but it was pointless.

Just when she thought she’d go crazy at the absolute nothingness, there was movement around her head and her ears were uncovered. Everything seemed so loud until she heard the voice she wanted to hear the most.

“Back with us, little one? You were the last to wake up. Too bad you were all such naughty submissives; we had something really special planned for after the game.” His voice was calm and gentle and any remaining tension in her body fled at its sound. “Let’s get you up so you can see my masterpiece. Though I’ll admit, painting was fun and not really a punishment. Even if my game was boring.”

He had her unbound within seconds and since she was still blindfolded, he kept hold of her hand as she stood. They walked a few steps forward before he pulled them to a halt.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes, Sir.” She was almost giddy with excitement to see how he’d painted her.

The blindfold fell away and she gasped. Her body was painted in vibrant reds and yellows and greens. Swirls here and figure eights there. She twisted and it was as if the lines on her body were alive.

“It’s beautiful, Sir. I had no idea you were a painter.” She couldn’t stop staring at herself.

He held up a mirror. “Look at the back. I did it before you fell asleep.”

She looked at her back. In his magnificent script, he’d written COLE’S on the tank top across the area on her back where her scars were. The sight made her eyes tear.

“I wish I could keep it on forever,” she said.

“Look at me,” he said and when she did, his eyes blazed with a fiery promise. “Never doubt it. Whether it’s written or not. Whether you can see it or not. Hell, whether you feel it or not. I love every part of you and it’ll say it and write it and prove it over and over, until you’re as sure of it as you are of your next breath.”

Chapter Ten