Rude Awakening Read online

  Leo’s loud greeting gained the attention of others in the room, and those with him turned to watch Harry and Ruby approach.

  “I see you’ve brought a guest.” Leo nodded his salt-and-pepper-covered head once and held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you…?”

  “Ruby,” she said quietly, allowing him to shake her hand.

  “Ruby. Lovely. Sub name or real?” He quirked a fuzzy eyebrow.

  “Real,” she said.

  Harry smiled, pleased she’d answered and didn’t act so subservient that she waited for him to do it for her or to give permission. Other introductions were made, and Ruby behaved impeccably with them all. The group moved away, continuing whatever conversation they’d been having before Harry and Ruby arrived, leaving Leo with them.

  “Jolly good to see you, man.” Leo cocked his head at Harry. “Seems an age since last weekend. Bloody bugger of a working week just gone. Damn court cases just wouldn’t stop coming. Couple of times you’d have laughed, though. I wanted to smack the devils with the gavel for being in my courtroom at all. Still, that’s me done until Wednesday now, and even then if we get another large snowfall I suspect some cases will be postponed.” He cleared his throat. “So, you’ve come to show off your sub?”

  “Uh, no.” Harry turned to smile at Ruby, who gave him a wide one of her own. “She’s not quite ready for that yet.”

  Leo clapped him on the back. “But you’ll soon have her shipshape and raring to go, yes?”

  Harry shrugged. “I’m not sure. What do you think, Ruby?” He placed his arm around her waist and held her tight, looking down at her. “Would you prefer to watch some play before you decide?”

  She blushed a wonderful shade of pink. “I…I don’t know. I think so, yes.”

  “Fabulous!” Leo said. “It’s always a joy to see new subs become so comfortable with their Dom they can perform for us.” He leant forwards, between Harry’s and Ruby’s heads. “Don’t tell anyone, but it always makes me get a lump in my throat.”

  He drew back, winking, and Ruby let out a tinkle of laughter. Leo would get Harry’s thanks later for putting her so at ease, but the shuffle of several feet behind him indicated tonight’s meeting was about to begin.

  “Is there definitely a show on tonight?” Harry asked.

  “Isn’t there always? You know this lot. If there isn’t one scheduled, someone always steps up to the plate.” Leo stared at the stage. “But I had an invitation delivered. You?” He turned back to face Harry and raised his eyebrows.

  “I did. New equipment.” Harry felt better someone else had received the unusual summons.

  “Yes, and I wonder what the devil it is!” Leo smiled broadly. “I can see, if it’s a good piece, a scrabble to be the first to use it tonight.”

  Harry laughed, stroking Ruby’s lower back. He was concerned at how quiet she was, realising it must be somewhat daunting to be a new person among so many friends. He nodded to Leo and led her to the back row of chairs.

  “We’ll keep out of the way in case you don’t like it,” he said, pulling her down into the seat beside him. “We can leave without disturbing the others.”

  “Okay.” She gripped his hand. “Leo was friendly.”

  “He always is. Seems he’s let his sub go and is on the lookout for another.”

  Did it hurt him to release her like it will when I let Ruby go?

  “So you’re both teachers, then?” she asked.

  “Yes, two of the only seven here, in fact. Everyone else is a proper couple.”

  “I’d love to be a proper couple,” she said, gazing at him and squeezing his hand.

  “I think I’m rather leaning towards that myself these days.”

  That was all he’d give her, the only indication he was feeling something more for her other than the relationship they’d initially agreed on. He couldn’t influence her any more than that. It wouldn’t be fair. She had to choose him herself, and for the right reasons. He would have to judge whether she’d made the correct decision if she wanted to be with him.

  He stared at her lovely elfin face, at the hope in her eyes and the pretty smile on her lips.

  Let her choose me. Jesus Christ let her choose me…

  He looked away, at the stage, unable to gaze at her for fear of giving himself away. Everyone had taken their seats—around forty or so people—and the club owner, the beautiful and elegant blonde Laura Stiles, stood behind the podium.

  “Welcome, everyone,” she said, forty-year-old features appearing so much younger. “As you’re aware, tonight is somewhat special due to a member—who wishes to remain anonymous—donating a very large and expensive piece of equipment. Because this is such an alluring item, I decided to have a draw before the meeting to determine who uses it first. The donator picked a winner out of the hat, so to speak, and I’m delighted to announce Harry Knowles and his guest are the lucky winners.”

  Harry widened his eyes in shock as Ruby gasped and all heads turned to look at them. He nodded, acknowledging the win. “We won’t be using it unless you’re happy to do so,” he whispered to Ruby, putting his free hand on her knee as he looked at her. “All right?”

  She nodded, biting her lip.

  “Good.”

  “Now,” Laura said, slapping her palm on the podium top. “Before the equipment is revealed, let us do our usual weekly question and answer, and then we have a wonderful couple coming up to the stage to show what they’ve discovered this past week. I assure you it should be delightful. So, any questions?”

  Master stood behind the curtain on the stage, hidden from everyone’s view. He seethed, tuning out the question-and-answer session, thinking about what he’d overheard before Laura came on stage. Ruby. What an utter load of rubbish. Either she’d conned Knowles into thinking that was what she was called or they’d made it up between them.

  Margaret—that was her name, goddamn it—was radiant, and it grated on his last nerve. She’d never looked like that with him these past few years, always appearing drab, tired and ugly. He’d instructed her to make herself more presentable, and bar putting on a touch of make-up, she’d ignored him. A thorough beating with a cane hadn’t ensured she wore the clothes he’d bought her, the spike-heeled boots or the PVC bra that gave a tantalising display of her nipples through the circular cut-out. Which was why he’d bought that equipment. To teach her that he called the shots—not her. He was the one who said what she wore and how she looked.

  He stared at her, grinding his teeth until his gums hurt. She glowed, the pink blush on her cheeks becoming, her body movements fluid—none of the stiffness she’d exhibited around him. So Knowles was good for her, Master could admit that—grudgingly—but she didn’t belong with him. She was Master’s, body and soul, and he’d do everything in his power to ensure things went back to the way they were.

  He missed punishing her.

  He squinted, trying to make out her features, but she sat too far away. Her hand in Knowles’ pissed him off, and he recalled how her skin felt, how soft it was. How it scarred so easily. His cock twitched, and he fought the urge to rub it through his trousers. He’d save his hard-on for later, when he had her where he wanted her.

  Smiling, he crept towards the back of the stage, keeping to the shadows and praying no one caught his movement. Pleased that his plan was working perfectly, he took the exit and followed the corridor that led outside. There, he closed the door behind him and sucked in a huge lungful of icy air. Careful of his steps in the snow, he walked around the front of the building and entered the foyer as though he’d only just arrived. Veronica, the uptight bitch, tried hard to hide her sneer but failed. He signed in, headed for the hallway, and sidled into the meeting room.

  His sights went straight to Ruby, who still clutched Knowles’ hand and seemed caught up in whatever discussion was going on. No one turned to look at him. Relieved, he went upstairs to wait, more than ready for the next phase of his plan to begin.

  Chapter Eleven
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  Ruby watched the scene playing out before her, but in truth her mind was occupied elsewhere. The woman on stage was being fucked by two very large Masters and they were making her beg for it. The scene did nothing for her—she didn’t like the thought of having more than one man, liking the thought of only Harry so much better.

  Swallowing past the ball of emotion clogging her throat, she glanced at Harry. She wanted to make him proud so he wouldn’t want to get rid of her in a couple of weeks. How could she prove to him how much he meant to her already? Shit, she was in love with a guy she barely knew and didn’t even want to contemplate life without him anymore.

  He put his hand on her knee and her heart skipped a beat. Every touch she craved, further proof of his acceptance of her. The scene was fast coming to a close and she looked forward to seeing the end just so she could have some alone time with Harry.

  The club and all the people seemed great, nothing like her previous Master had said about the Doms and subs he interacted with. Sighing, she watched Harry stroke the sensitive skin on her knee. Her pussy responded and although she wanted to please him, she returned her attention to the stage.

  The two Doms ordered the little sub to come and seconds later the vocal appreciation of their explosion erupted throughout the room.

  Harry got up and talked with a couple of people in the row in front. Then he took her hand and she rose, following behind him towards some other men, keeping her head down. She didn’t want to draw any attention to herself, and when Harry started a new conversation with the men, she didn’t listen. Her heart hammered—they were going to go and test out the new equipment—and she panicked at the thought of what it could be. So many times Master had brought home some new ‘toy’ that meant she would be in for hours of torture. Her pulse jumping beneath her skin, she tried to calm her nerves.

  Harry won’t keep you if you don’t show him your worth. You can do this, Ruby—just breathe through it and try to enjoy.

  A man handed Harry a key for the dungeon then kissed her knuckles before moving away to join others. Closing her eyes briefly, she opened them again and followed Harry’s lead towards the door. A couple of other guests stopped him to have a word, and one or two admired his new sub. Ruby hated their gazes. She wasn’t a piece of meat on display. She was for Harry and no one else.

  She relaxed the moment they were out of the room.

  “Tell me what’s wrong?” he asked, stroking her cheek.

  Ruby turned to him, opened her mouth then shut it. “Nothing.” She didn’t want to be a disappointment, and how many times had Master told her that she had been?

  “Ruby honey, please, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable around me. Please tell me what’s wrong so I can help.”

  Closing her eyes again, she tried to form the right words. “I’m nervous.”

  Oh, fucking great. Out of all the words you can come up with to explain your issues, you come up with, I’m nervous.

  You can do better.

  “I understand.” He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back. “Ruby, I’m not some sadist. I won’t get pleasure out of your distress. I want you to feel safe with me. If at any point you’re feeling nervous say your safe word. You remember your safe word?”

  She nodded.

  “Say it for me so I can hear it and know you’ll say it if I take it too far.”

  “Isn’t that against the rules?”

  Harry shook his head. “No, not my rules. I like to know my sub can trust me enough to use their safe word. I’ll stop and it doesn’t mean the end of our exploration.”

  His posh words really turned her on. She could listen to him talk all night long.

  “Butter.”

  “See, sounded good to hear it.”

  Ruby smiled and whispered the word again. Harry pressed her up against the wall, making her cry out seconds before his lips descended on hers. She moaned when his tongue plundered and she met him halfway. He kissed the hell out of her then reared back.

  “You’re a bad little sub,” he whispered.

  Ruby shivered as he cupped her arse beneath her skirt.

  “You feel so damn good,” he said.

  She’d got to see a whole other side of him, like the club truly transformed him into a Dominant, and she shivered in anticipation of his coming punishment, to be under his hand as he dished out his pleasure.

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  She gripped a fistful of his hair, bringing his lips back to hers. Their kisses grew fiery and passionate. Ruby was so close to begging him to take her there and then but at the last minute, Harry pulled away.

  Without saying a word, he took her up a flight of stairs to the dungeon. Doors dotted the passage, and he produced the key he’d been given. She watched him slide it into the lock and activate the code, which opened the door.

  “This is a pretty secure place,” she said.

  “I’m sure you noticed some of the more important people of our society walking around downstairs. It costs to be this privileged and gives members the privacy they want.”

  He shut the door and Ruby took the time to look around the massive dungeon. A four-poster bed stood in the corner with a chest of drawers beside it, and through a doorway was an en suite.

  “The club supplies everything for the couple or party on the night. Domination isn’t just about the sex act but about the complete caring of a Dominant for his sub. The bathroom has all the essentials to bathe and care after punishments and sex.”

  Ruby rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling cold. “It’s a little…out of my league.”

  Being in places like this forcefully reminded her of how different she was from him. The first flat she’d rented hadn’t had this type of luxury, and yet this served as a room for people who paid a yearly membership.

  Harry circled her waist and pressed his arm against her back. “You’re not out of your league.”

  “Harry, look at me. Shit, listen to me, for God’s sake. I’m common and used to earn minimum wage. I don’t have a degree or any type of university education.” She could list so much more but oncoming tears had her biting her lip.

  “You think I care about that?”

  Ruby shrugged. She didn’t know anymore.

  For the first time the silence between them was awkward. She wished with all of heart she was different.

  “Ruby, I don’t care about the differences between us. I don’t want you to be anyone other than who you are, and when you decide you want to leave…it…it will hurt me.”

  Ruby spun in his arms. He looked really upset at the prospect of her going.

  “I don’t want to go,” she said.

  He nodded. “Why don’t we leave all of the normal conversations for later when we’re in the privacy of home?”

  Harry took her hand and led her through the small room to where the new piece of equipment was covered by a large black sheet.

  “Ready?”

  They each took a corner of the sheet and unveiled the device.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  Harry let her go and went and looked at the caged equipment. Rubbing her arms again, she glanced back at the door, wondering if she ought to leave, just go so she didn’t make a fool of herself when she wasn’t able to be what he wanted in here.

  “Come here, honey.”

  Ruby went to him. The cage had leather straps for the feet and hands so a person would be spread out fully, star-shaped. Harry opened the prison-like door, and from its width she could tell that if whoever was inside wanted to get out fast they would struggle.

  “It’s a perfect fit for you. Do you want to go in?” Harry asked.

  Did she? Although a little awed by the piece, she did want to go in…for him. She nodded and walked through the doorway sideways, as did Harry, who almost got stuck he was so large. He urged her towards the straps, and she stood in position, heart beating so fast she worried she might be sick. Excitement played a big part, as well as fear of the unknown. Harry might
well show a harder side to himself here, but her instinct was to trust him.

  He bound her wrists and ankles. “It was like it was built for you,” he muttered, seemingly to himself.

  He shut the door and Ruby froze. This was the perfect piece of equipment to guarantee the person inside would be stuck until their Master let them out.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” he said, hand to his chin.

  He frowned and Ruby couldn’t determine if that was a good or bad thing.

  “Could…you…please…open…?” She stopped to lick her lips, her heart racing faster. She could cope having the straps on, but the door shutting, the enclosed space sent her over the edge and into a world of panic. “Please…open.”

  Harry opened the door immediately and untied her. Ruby rushed out, grabbing her chest as she fought to bring her breathing under control. He held her through her panic attack.

  “I’ve got you,” he whispered, stroking her hair and face.

  She calmed down after a short time and was able to turn and face him. “Please, never shut the door on that thing again.”

  “Okay. I never will.”

  “Do you want to try again?” she asked.

  Harry glanced between the equipment and her. She saw he wanted to but took her hand and brought her flush with him.

  “Soon. Dance with me?”

  She softened against him, resting her head on his chest. “We’ve got no music.”

  “We don’t need any.”

  What was it about him that made her melt?

  They danced together in one spot and Ruby closed her eyes, loving the feeling of closeness the moment brought. He surrounded her in his warmth and she never wanted to let him go. Would she ever be the right woman for him? The type of woman he could settle down with?

  Her heart ached to think of him with someone else, and if she had to change completely to be with him, then she’d do it. Her feelings for him deepened with every passing minute.

  She opened her eyes and looked at the terrifying device, so like something Master would have made for her. He derived great pleasure in keeping her cooped up in one place. The old images of her past pressed in on her, of being tied up and bound for hours, her pleads for release going unheard or ignored.