The Heart of the Matter: A Doms of The Cage Novel (The Dom's of The Cage Series Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  The Heart of the Matter

  P. Nelson

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  The Heart of the Matter

  P. Nelson

  Copyright 2017 by P. Nelson

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any way whatsoever without written permission of the publisher except for brief quotations used in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious.

  Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  First Printing, 2017

  Sometimes it’s important to understand how I lost myself before I could grasp how I lost you

  Chapter 1

  Eric sat on a stool at the bar of his former favourite place in the world. The sound of whips, hands meeting fleshy backsides along with the moans and groans of sex used to relax and centre him. Now, it was just a reminder of what he wanted but couldn’t quite seem to reach. He took another pull from the beer bottle and surveyed the crowd, looking for the couple he most wanted to watch scene. Eric knew it was perverse, but if he couldn’t have Lilith, then he didn’t mind being their third wheel.

  “Master Eric.” The cheery voice of the resident shrink Calla Jones buzzed in his ear. Eric didn’t need a shrink to tell him what his problems were. He already knew he was straight-up fucked.

  “Calla, can I just ask you to go away, and you will like a good sub?” Eric asked as his eyes slid over the petite blond. She was wearing short leather boy shorts, but instead of fetware on the top she wore a T-shirt that read DM.

  “Not a sub tonight, Master Eric.” Calla smiled and pointed at her shirt. “I’m a dungeon monitor, and I need to get through some club business while I’m at it.”

  “Don’t let me keep you.” Eric contemplated the last bit of beer and wondered whether he should even bother ordering his second beer. He could have only two drinks at the club. If he wanted to get really wasted, Eric would have to either go home or find another bar.

  Instead of moving away, Calla pulled out the stool next to him and sat down. Eric groaned and wondered whether he could make a hasty retreat before she opened her mouth. It wasn’t very Dom-like, but at this exact moment, he really didn’t care.

  “Master Eric, the club needs you to step up.” Calla’s voice had gone from cheery sub to serious shrink in less than a heartbeat.

  “You know I’d do anything for the club,” Eric replied slowly because he had a fairly good idea of where this was going. Even though he would do anything for the club, there was something he wasn’t willing to commit to right now.

  “Good. Master Gaige has decided not to train any more subs. He wants to focus all his attention on his new permanent sub Lilith,” Calla explained what Eric already knew.

  “Yes, I’m aware of their situation,” Eric’s voice grated out. Unfortunately, he was too aware of their relationship. Eric was Lilith’s boss, and he had waited months to introduce the obvious natural sub to the lifestyle, but another Dom had pipped him at the post. It was galling to know he had been half in love with Lilith all that time, and now the only time he got to scene with her was in the company of the Dom she obviously loved.

  Calla’s face softened slightly as she looked at him. “We need another Dom to help out with the training. There’s a girl who’s ready to start in the next week, and I had her lined up for Master Gaige, but I think you’ll suit her much better.”

  “Listen, Calla…” Eric began thinking that normally in the kink world he didn’t have to make excuses. He was a Dom and whatever he said was unquestioned by subs and other Doms. Unfortunately, this was Calla in shrink mode and that made things much more difficult. “I’m not really in the mood to spank virgin ass right now. Can’t the twins do it?”

  They both looked towards the dungeon floor where two stacked Doms wearing the requisite leather pants were watching a demonstration by the owner of The Cage, Master Flynn. He was using a six-foot single tail whip to punish a sub tied to a St Andrews Cross. By the look on the sub’s face, she was enjoying every minute of it.

  “They’re not twins,” Calla’s voice had become brusque at the sight of Master Flynn, “as you are well aware. And it’s the middle of the hockey season. With their out-of-town schedule, neither of them has time to take on a full-time sub, let alone commit to a thirty-day training program.”

  Eric glanced around the club, looking for anyone who could give him a way out of this situation. He spotted a Dom working a girl over with a sadistic glee. She was screaming around her ball gag as he placed punishing blows all over her body. “What about Master Keith?”

  Calla gave him a look as if he were out of his mind. “Are you kidding me? I can’t give a newbie sub over to the resident sadist. What the hell are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking you owe me ten for using a swear word.” Eric felt good for the first time that night. He was a man who liked to give out punishments normally.

  “When was the last time you had a scene that didn’t involve Lilith and Master Gaige?” Calla asked bluntly.

  “I don’t have to answer that question, Calla.” Eric’s voice had grown hard. He wasn’t mad, more embarrassed.

  “You haven’t played with anyone at the club in months, so unless you’re doing scenes outside the club, the answer is you haven’t played with any subs except for Lilith.” Calla held up her hand when Eric opened his mouth to speak. “I get it, I really do. You wanted to bring Lilith into the fold, but it didn’t work out that way. You have to move on before it starts affecting her relationship with Master Gaige. After everything she’s been through, Lilith deserves happiness.”

  “I know that, dammit.” Eric didn’t normally lose his patience, but he felt as if he were on edge.

  “Good, the sub’s name is Elizabeth Williams; she is a total newbie to the lifestyle. Elizabeth was supposed to start the couples training last week, but at the last minute her boyfriend, and would-be Dom, pulled out on her. So now, they’re doing the training separately.” Calla explained.

  “Why did he pull out?” Eric was curious about this girl even though he hadn’t met her.

  “Neither of them said.” Calla’s voice was casual, but years of reading women’s emotions in the lifestyle alerted Eric that Calla was not completely honest. “Listen, she’s a great girl. Ready for a big lifestyle adventure. She has a lot of energy and is super-curious about everything. My analysis leads me to believe Elizabeth will be a brat of the highest order, and she’s going to need a Dom with a very firm hand.”

  “I have a firm hand,” Eric said absently as he thought about Elizabeth. He needed to get his head back in the game. Why not do it with a curious tourist? Eric could go back over the basics of the BDSM lifestyle and get his mojo back. At the end of the thirty days, they would go their separate ways. No fuss, no muss.

  “Yes, you do, Master Eric,” Calla replied watching him intently. She didn’t say anything else letting him come to his own decisio
ns.

  “I’ll do it.” Eric watched Calla’s face light up. “On one condition.”

  Calla scowled at Eric. “What condition?”

  “You find someone else for the next training sub. I don’t mind taking one on every once in a while, but I’m not going permanent like Master Gaige.” Eric was serious. He didn’t want to be stuck with all the newbies.

  “Deal, but you know we don’t get a lot of tourists through The Cage anyway.” Calla seemed happy with his decision. “I’ll forward your details on to her, and the two of you can meet out in the mundane world.”

  “Fine.” Eric eyed Calla as she stood up, getting ready to leave. “Where are you going, Calla? You owe me ten.” She appeared to struggle with the command for a second before demurely lowering her gaze.

  “Where do you want me, Master Eric?” she asked.

  “Pull your shorts down to your ankles, lean over and rest your hands on the bar.” Eric felt a surge of satisfaction go through him as Calla immediately did as he requested. Going into the bag at his feet, Eric unzipped his kit and looked through it until he found what he was looking for.

  “What’s your safe word, Calla?” Eric asked as he tested the weight of the paddle in his hand. It felt good to have an instrument of torture ready to use.

  “Red, sir,” Lilith answered immediately.

  “Good girl.” Eric reached up and pushed the T-shirt away from Calla’s ass to reveal the small of her back. Calla was a good-looking woman, but she needed a little more meat on her bones for Eric’s liking. “It’s a count of ten. This is a punishment, so I want to hear you count out.”

  “Yes, sir.” Calla’s voice had become breathless in anticipation of Eric lighting her ass up.

  “Good girl.” Eric lined the paddle up with the fleshy part of her ass and struck. The sound of the paddle hitting her ass made his balls tighten and his dick harden.

  “One.” Calla breathed out.

  The next few smacks came in rapid succession, landing just after Calla’s count. Hearing her breathy voice, seeing the way her body responded to his paddle brought Eric the kind of peace he had searched for these past few weeks. He was finally out of his head and in his Dom space, working over a woman who was committed to this small scene with him.

  “Ten.” Calla sighed and her head sagged between her outstretched arms.

  “Good girl, Calla.” Eric’s voice was rough. “You took your punishment like a good sub. Do you want to be rewarded?”

  “I think I can handle that.” The voice of The Cage’s resident porn star said from beside him. Eric knew that Calla had been playing with Master Dillon and his protégé Master Mason for the past few months. Calla wasn’t wearing either of their collars, but Eric felt himself step back emotionally and physically.

  “Of course, Master Dillon.” Eric relinquished his rights to aftercare to Master Dillon who inspected his handiwork on Calla’s ass. He rubbed the red stinging flesh, and Calla whimpered in response.

  “This is very nice work, Master Eric.” Master Dillon commented in a matter-of fact-tone. Normally, the guy was full of sarcastic comments, but tonight he appeared to be serious.

  “Thank you, Master Dillon.” Eric took out some cleansing wipes and used them on his paddle before he put it back into his kit bag. Eric watched as Master Dillon leaned over Calla and said something in her ear. She nodded and stood up with a slight wobble. Master Dillon helped her pull her boy shorts back up and signalled for Master Mason to come over.

  “Why don’t you administer a little aftercare to Calla, Master Mason?” Master Dillon addressed Master Mason as he approached. A grin spread across the other man’s face, and he picked Calla up and held her to his chest.

  “No problem, Master Dillon.” Master Mason nodded to Dillon before doing the same to Eric. “Have a good night, Master Eric.”

  Before he strode away, Calla’s voice called out, “Don’t forget to watch for Elizabeth’s phone call.”

  “I won’t.” Eric accepted the reminder. He was looking forward to meeting this new sub and seeing where the next month took them.

  “You taking on a new sub?” Dillon asked Eric with a frown.

  “Yup. A training sub,” Eric replied, and Dillon frowned harder. “What?” Eric was starting to get worried over Dillon’s reaction.

  “Tricky business, training new subs,” Dillon remarked as his gaze caught something that looked interesting. Eric followed where he was looking and spotted Lilith and Gaige approaching a St Andrews Cross. His heart clenched at the sight. “You don’t want to end up like them, having to scene with one sub for the rest of your life.” Dillon’s voice took on a tone of sympathy.

  Eric thought about only playing with Lilith for the rest of his life and believed it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing. But he was looking forward to meeting Elizabeth and working out some of his demons.

  &

  Elizabeth stirred the salad leaves around her plate. What she really wanted was a cheeseburger with everything on it. Elizabeth looked up and studied her reflection in the black oven door. She was pretty, rather than gorgeous. Big blues eyes stared back at her critically, and Elizabeth closed them. Not nearly sexy enough to go through submissive training with Jerry, those were the words her ex had recently used to break up with her. After she had saved all her money, worked a second job and used the rest of her small inheritance to get them both into the couples’ training program at The Cage, the most exclusive BDSM club in Vancouver. Elizabeth had been judged and found unsexy.

  The woman who had done one of the entrance interviews, Calla, told her she was a great candidate for the sub-training program. Elizabeth opened her eyes and slid them away from her reflection. Maybe if she kept her weight down and wore a little more makeup, she could hide the fact that she was unsexy from whomever her training Dom might be. Her cell phone made her jump as it vibrated across the table, and she shook off her depressing thoughts. BDSM was going to help her with her body image issues was what she had read. Everyone was accepted, even if they carried an extra few pounds.

  “Hello, this is Elizabeth,” she answered quickly.

  “Hello Elizabeth, this is Calla Jones from The Cage.” The voice of The Cage’s shrink made Elizabeth’s heart flutter, and she wondered if she could find a play partner for her. Maybe Jerry had already started his Dom training, and he had told everyone that Elizabeth wasn’t very sexy at all.

  “Hello, Calla.” Elizabeth put on her best cheerful voice and plunged into the conversation even though she wanted to throw up a bit. “How are you this evening?”

  “I’m great, Elizabeth, and you’re going to be great, too. I’m sorry it’s taken me a few days to get back to you with your training Dom’s details, but our regular guy has taken on a permanent sub as I said before. We don’t match subs to just any old Doms; we want to make sure they’re as compatible as possible. So, I have the name of Eric Danvers. These are his details,” Calla continued while Elizabeth scrambled for a pen.

  “Have you given him my details?” Elizabeth wondered whether she should worry about a negative reaction from her training Dom. She thought she might die if he thought the same thing as Jerry.

  “Master Eric has been in the kink community for a very long time, Elizabeth.” Calla’s voice was reassuring. “Remember I told you The Cage was open to everyone for play as long as they passed the requisite tests. You passed all of them, and you earned the right to explore your submissive side. You don’t have to have sex or do anything else with Master Eric if you feel uncomfortable.”

  “Yes, I remember you went over the rules when we filled out my hard and soft limits.” Elizabeth could hear the doubt in her voice, but she plunged on. “You know Jerry ditched me because he wanted a sexy sub. What if Master Eric wants a sexier training sub?” she asked.

  “Stop right there.” Calla’s voice had gone from soothing to commanding in under a second. The authority in the other woman’s voice pulled at Elizabeth’s senses to obey. “There’s
no cookie cutter mold for a submissive in BDSM. Women come in all shapes and sizes, I don’t need to tell you that, and their needs come in a myriad of different shapes and sizes, too. You’ll be making a really big mistake if you try and be something you’re not in the kink world. You won’t enjoy the experience, but more than that, you won’t have the opportunity to reveal the true submissive inside. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, I think I understand,” Elizabeth murmured.

  “No, you don’t yet, but in time you will,” Calla said cheerfully. “And take my advice, never, ever bring up your body issues to Master Eric, he will be offended, and you will end up with a very red ass.”

  “Really?” Elizabeth asked, not quite believing Calla.

  “Yes, there’s nothing more irritating to a Dom that a sub who persists in criticizing what belongs to him. And if you decide after your mundane date that you want Master Eric to top you, he will own your body, and he will take great pride in showing it off and working you over,” Calla finished her warning.

  “I like the sound of that,” Elizabeth said, and she really did. She had spent every waking moment she could spare reading about BDSM and submission. In her heart, she knew she was born to be a sub.

  “Good. I have your medical from the doctor so you’re clear to play at the club. You indicated you’re on birth control, so it will go on your contract. Remember you have to get your medical done every month, especially if you play with someone outside the club. Now give Master Eric a call and make plans to meet. Make sure you call me afterward and let me know if you think the two of you make a good fit.” Calla’s voice was cheerful again.

  “I will and thank you for everything,” Elizabeth said thinking it was inadequate for how much she owed Calla.

  “My pleasure, we subs have to stick together. Have a good night,” Calla announced, and Elizabeth offered her the same before she hung up. Elizabeth stared at the name written on the old receipt she had dug out of the bottom of her purse and his number. Eric Danvers. The name sounded sexy, and she tried it out.