The Claiming Read online

  “Okay,” Sasha said. “Here’s the plan. We find the exit in the maze that leads to the back of the house. We go in through the old servants’ entrance. That’ll put us in the kitchen. From there, we sneak through the pantry because it leads to the ballroom. We go through the ballroom out to the back stairs and up to our bedrooms. It’s foolproof!”

  Julie bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know. It sounds too easy.”

  “Easy?” Abby asked. “With all that sneaking around? We’ll be lucky if we make it to the house, much less all the way upstairs. Hell, they’re probably on the other side of this hedge, listening to everything we’re saying.”

  “I know,” Julie said. “One of us could call them. That way if they’re close enough, we’ll hear their phone ring.”

  Abby shook her head. “Won’t work. I’m pretty sure they’re smart enough to turn their phones off if they’re going into stealth mode.”

  “So what do you suggest?” Sasha asked.

  “We have to go with your idea.” Abby shrugged. “It’s either that or sleep out here tonight and you guys know I love you, but I don’t do camping.”

  Julie agreed. “Okay, first thing then is to find our way out of here. Sasha, do you have any idea which way?”

  With renewed determination, Sasha retraced their footsteps and though it took longer than she would have liked, they finally made it out of the maze.

  “I’ll go first,” Sasha said, “and make sure the path and kitchen are clear. Then I’ll come back for you.”

  “And if you don’t come back?” Julie asked.

  “Then you know one of them found me and you’re on your own.”

  “Fair enough. Let’s do this thing.” Abby nodded. “Good luck.”

  Sasha wasn’t sure why her heart pounded the way it did. Seriously, she told herself, the worst she could do was run into Cole. But that didn’t exactly help matters. She peeked out the exit of the maze and scanned the short distance to the house. It looked clear.

  She gave Julie and Abby a thumbs-up and darted to the kitchen door. Too late, she wondered what they were going to do if the door was locked, but it opened up to an empty kitchen.

  Certain at least the first part of the escape plan was clear, she ran back to the maze.

  “All good,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  They all three ran together and she didn’t think any one of them took a breath until they were safely in the kitchen.

  “I don’t like it,” Julie said. “It’s too quiet. They have to be somewhere.”

  “Maybe they decided to finish the game,” Sasha said.

  “Right.” Abby stuck her head out into the hallway. “And they just decided to ignore the fact that we ruined their fun. No, I agree with Julie. Something’s going on.” She looked back over her 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

  On Saturday evening, Sasha paced Cole’s bedroom, trying to decide what was going on. When she entered, the first thing she’d noticed was the dressing gown someone had placed on the bed. Curious as to what that meant, she walked to the large picture window to see if she could find Cole. It was early evening and he typically went for a walk this time of day.

  She peeked out and her breath caught when she saw him dressed in a dark three-piece suit, talking with Nathaniel. The only other time she’d ever seen him wear such an outfit had been the day he caned her. He once told her he almost always wore a three-piece suit for discipline sessions. Is that what he had planned today?

  She went over the entire week in her mind, trying to pinpoint something, anything, unresolved that would have led to a discipline session. Not only could she not find anything, but she knew Cole and she knew he wasn’t the type to let an issue hang out there. If he thought she needed correction, he would have brought it up when the incident happened.

  Satisfied that whatever was going on didn’t involve her being bent over a chair waiting for him to cane her, she undressed and slipped into the dressing gown. No sooner had she folded the clothes she’d been wearing than someone knocked on the door.

  She scurried over and opened the door.

  “Hello, little one.”

  Cole looked so unbelievably handsome she didn’t move for several seconds. At his raised eyebrow, she realized he’d called her little one and as such, she needed to be kneeling.

  She dropped to her knees. “Hello, Sir.”

  “Stand up for me, Sasha.”

  His voice sounded serious, nothing at all what she expected. Worry started to tickle her brain as she made her way back to her feet.

  “Sir.”

  “Our friends are waiting for us, but I have to talk to you privately first.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  He gently brushed his knuckles across her cheekbones. “No, little one. Nothing is wrong. I just thought it might be time to let you in on the real reason we all came to the UK.”

  She thought back to the week they’d just spent: enjoying the area with their friends, laughing and having fun, growing even closer to Cole as she learned about his past. That wasn’t the real reason?

  “I don’t understand, Sir.”

  He rubbed her eyebrows with his thumbs. “Don’t frown, little one. I much prefer it when you smile.”

  She leaned into his touch; everything always seemed so much better when he touched her. It was almost frightening the effect he had on her. “Tell me what our real reason for being here is. That’s why I’m frowning.”

  “Do you remember the conversation we had the night I brought up the trip?”

  She couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face. “Parts of the conversation. More than that, I remember what happened after the conversation.”

  He gave a short laugh. “Indeed? Yes, I remember that as well.” He took her hand and led her to a nearby couch. She knelt beside him and sighed when he ran his fingers through her hair. “You told me you sometimes felt like you were living in a dream and sometimes had a hard time conceiving what you meant to me.”

  “Yes, Sir. I remember.” She leaned her head against his knee, wanting to feel more of him.

  “The thing is, I collared you rather quickly and we didn’t have anyone with us to witness. I know you’ve never worn anyone’s collar before mine and I’ve collared only one other woman.”

  She was glad he couldn’t see her face because she knew her frown had come back. Why was he talking about that and why the hell would he be mentioning Kate?

  “You see, Sasha, everyone is here in the UK because I invited them to our collaring ceremony.”

  Her jaw dropped and she looked up to see his face. He had such an expression of love and adoration, it made her heart hurt. “Sir?” was all she managed to get out.

  “I know you wear my collar daily, but I’d like for us to make it official. In front of those we love and those who will support us in our lifestyle choices.” He slid off the couch and came to his knees before her. “Sasha, my beloved little one, will you wear my collar?”

  “Cole.” She threw her arms around him. “How did you know I wanted a ceremony?”

  “I wish I could take the credit for knowing, but I didn’t. I thought it might be a way to show you how much you mean to me.”

  “I didn’t stay to watch when Daniel collared Julie and I’ve always regretted that. And then I thought, maybe it’s better that way because then I won’t know what I’m missing.”

  He gathered her into his arms and pulled them both to standing. “I wish you had told me sooner. I want to meet all your needs, even the unspoken desires you don’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone.”

  She nodded against his chest.

  “But, Sasha, you have to tell me. You have to share them with me.” He pulled back and made sure she was looking in his eyes. “Understand?”

  “Yes, Si
r.”

  “I think to make sure we keep communication open, I’ll have you pick back up your journaling. I want you to write every day. Even if it’s only a few lines. That way if there’s something you want me to know, but maybe don’t feel comfortable talking about, you can write it first.”

  “I like that idea.”

  “You do?” His eyes danced with mischief. “Even if I still count off for grammar?”

  “Yes, especially if you count off for grammar. Maybe you’re rubbing off on me. I actually don’t mind writing now.”

  “I’m glad.” He kissed her. “Before we start the ceremony, I’m going to need to take your collar off.”

  Her hands flew up to her neck, “I know you’re going to put it back on me, but just the thought makes me sad.”

  “I’m actually not going to put this one back on you.”

  “You’re not?”

  “There you go with the frowning again.”

  She sighed. “You keep saying things that make me sigh.”

  “I suppose I do.” He reached behind her neck and undid the clasp. “I think we’ll have this made into a bracelet or something.”

  “It’s my first collar,” she said. “I’d like to keep it.”

  “Of course.” He took a long slender box from the drawer beside the couch they’d been sitting on. “Would you like to see your new collar?”

  She nodded even though she couldn’t imagine liking any collar better than the one he just took off her.

  “Remember when Kate came by that first morning?”

  Seriously? Kate again? Sasha didn’t consider herself jealous, but seriously? “Yes,” she said, when what she wanted to say was, “Kinda hard to forget your ex-slave coming by the morning after the best sex of my life.”

  “She stopped by to drop off a box I inadvertently left when I moved out.”

  Ah yes, she remembered. He’d asked her to take the box to his bedroom and while she’d been off doing that, he’d had a few words with Kate in the living room. “I remember,” she told him.

  “The box contained the jewelry that my family hid when we fell out of favor with Henry the Eighth.”