Page 26 of At Her Service (Club Velvet #2)

CHAPTER 26

V alerie got up from the bed. “Why don’t you take a moment to catch your breath while I get ready? Close your eyes.”

Abby shut her eyes. She truly was everything Valerie had ever wanted in a submissive. Eager, obedient, and oh so tantalizing.

But her need to serve ran far deeper than the games they played together. Abby longed to surrender not only her body, but her mind, her heart, her soul . However, she feared it all the same.

Valerie understood why now. She saw the pain Abby carried, saw that behind her carefree exterior was a desire for comfort, security. But those needs had always been denied to her. So she found what she was looking for in submission, in pushing herself to her limits so that she had no choice but to be vulnerable, all while knowing that her Domme would keep her safe.

Valerie stripped off her dress and opened up her suitcase. She would give Abby what she needed. And perhaps, one day, Abby would feel secure enough to be vulnerable without needing to submit.

Valerie withdrew a strap-on from her suitcase. She liked to be prepared for anything when she traveled, and this trip was no exception. After making some adjustments, she slipped into the strap-on harness, tightening it around her hips. Then she took a bottle of lube from her suitcase and returned to the bed, placing the bottle on the nightstand.

She turned to Abby. Her eyes were closed, her hair fanned out on the pillow beneath her head like a halo of flames. Her lightly freckled skin was pale against the dark bedsheets and just as silky soft, and her breasts were flushed a rosy red, her nipples the same pink as the folds between her legs.

Valerie wanted nothing more than to devour her there and then. Instead, she told Abby to open her eyes.

Abby’s cheeks glowed at the sight of Valerie’s bare breasts. And when her eyes fell on the strap-on, the blush on her face deepened.

“It’s, um… smaller than your other one. Not that it’s a bad thing. I mean, it’s still pretty big when I think about it. Maybe too big.” She shook her head. “I don’t really know. I’ve never done this before…”

“Abby, my pet.” Valerie climbed into the bed beside her and reached out, cupping her cheek in her palm. “I need you to get out of your head. Can you do that for me?”

Abby nodded. “I’ll try.” But her eyes simmered with anxiety. She needed her Mistress.

And tonight, she needed a gentle hand as much as a firm one.

“Trying isn’t good enough,” Valerie said. “I require your full attention. Your full devotion . And you can’t give me that if your mind is elsewhere, can you?”

“No, Madame V.”

“That’s right.” Valerie skimmed her fingers down the side of Abby’s face. “So forget about everything else. Get out of your head. And be here with me.”

She pressed her lips to Abby’s in a tender kiss. And when she pulled away, there was no trace of unease in Abby’s eyes. But the lust, the yearning in them, had only grown stronger.

“I’m here,” Abby whispered. “I’m yours.”

Heat sparked deep inside Valerie’s body. She pushed it back down. She couldn’t let carnal impulses distract her. She needed to be attuned to her submissive’s needs at all times, but now more than ever. She was pushing Abby’s limits. And with the risks involved, the heightened emotions at play, failing to meet her submissive’s needs could be enough to shatter her.

But with Abby? Knowing what she needed was as natural to Valerie as breathing.

“You’re mine,” Valerie echoed. “You’re mine.”

She kissed Abby again, prying her knees apart as she slipped between her legs. She ran a hand up the inside of Abby’s thigh, eliciting a shiver from her. She was already wet, the heat of her desire radiating from her skin. But that wasn’t enough. Valerie had to make sure she was ready.

“Understand this. We’re going to take things slow. So very, very slow.” Valerie dragged her fingers up to the peak of Abby’s thighs, stroking her silken folds. “I’m going to take my time, unravel you slowly, until there’s nothing left but need .”

She slid back down the bed until her head was between Abby’s legs. Abby’s lips parted with a soft breath. Valerie didn’t give her a chance to take another before diving between her thighs.

Abby gasped, her hips rising into Valerie’s mouth. Valerie drew her tongue up and down, stroking and strumming and swirling. As she pursed her lips around Abby’s swollen clit, Abby’s chest heaved, her hips bucking wildly.

“God, that feels…”

Her thighs clenched around Valerie’s head. Valerie hooked her arms around them, pulling them back apart and holding them in place as she drove Abby closer and closer to release.

And soon, Valerie felt it—the telltale quiver, the quickening of breath, the half-whimper, half-moan. Abby was right at the edge. And that was where Valerie wanted her.

She pulled away. Abby groaned.

“Oh?” Valerie traced her fingers up the inside of Abby’s thigh. “Ready to come so soon?”

Abby nodded. “Yes. Yes, Madame V.”

“That’s too bad. Because I can’t let you come yet. I haven’t given you what you want. I need to make sure you’re truly ready for me first.” She drew her lips up the center of Abby’s stomach. “I need you delirious with lust. I need you so desperate for release that you need me more than the air you breathe. I need you so pliant and willing that your body yields to me without hesitation.”

“I’m ready,” Abby said, breathless. “Please, I’m so ready .”

Valerie purred. “You know how much I love it when you beg.”

She took the bottle of lube from the nightstand and dribbled it over Abby’s stomach, between her outspread thighs, letting it trickle all the way down between her ass cheeks. Valerie’s fingers followed, painting a trail that spread the lube down her folds and past her entrance to the tight hole behind it. Abby murmured softly, her head falling back against the pillow.

“Looks like you are ready.” Slipping out from between Abby’s thighs, Valerie drew her onto her side and slid into place behind her. Her arms were still bound above her head, but Valerie didn’t untie her. She needed Abby to relax, to let go. And the only way to make her truly let go was to take control away from her.

As she melted against Valerie’s body, it became clear. Abby had reached that state of surrender.

Valerie took hold of the strap-on, coating it in the slick lube. Then, she slid it between Abby’s thighs, gliding it between her lower lips and dragging it back to her rear entrance.

Abby drew in a shuddering breath. But Valerie didn’t try to enter her. Instead, she reached her other hand around Abby’s hip and slipped it between her legs, stroking her clit until her body relaxed again. Her fingers still between Abby’s thighs, Valerie pressed the tip of the strap-on against Abby’s hole.

“Is this okay?” she asked gently.

Abby nodded. “Yes, Madame V.”

“That’s it, my pet. Just relax.”

Valerie slid the tip into her carefully until she felt an easing of pressure as she pushed past Abby’s entrance. Abby’s body tensed, then loosened again.

“Is this okay?” Valerie asked.

“Yes. Please, don’t stop.”

Slowly, Valerie eased in deeper and deeper still. And as she bottomed out, a moan fell from Abby’s lips.

“Oh?” Valerie snaked her hand up to Abby’s breasts, caressing her nipples in time with the hand between her legs. “You like that, do you?”

“Yes.” Abby arched back against her. “God, yes.”

Valerie hummed with satisfaction, sweeping her lips down the side of Abby’s neck. “Do I feel good inside you?”

Valerie shifted her hips, moving inside her. Abby gasped, her whole body shaking.

Valerie stopped. “Is this okay?”

But Abby only twisted her head around, pressing her lips to Valerie’s in a fiery, urgent kiss that said more than words ever could.

Valerie deepened the kiss, her arms tightening around Abby’s body as she pulled her into her, her hands moving faster at Abby’s breasts and between her thighs. Abby strained against her bonds, murmuring and groaning in ecstasy. Valerie ground her hips, reveling in the feel of Abby against her, the softness of her skin, the heat between her legs, savoring every sound and every quiver.

And soon, Abby’s shivers turned to tremors, her moans turning to cries.

“Oh…” Her head tipped back against Valerie’s shoulder. “Oh!”

A shudder rocked Abby’s body as an orgasm took her, her mouth falling open in a silent cry. Her thighs clenched, her legs and feet curling as she pressed back against Valerie.

But even as her body grew slack, Valerie didn’t stop moving inside her, didn’t stop teasing her clit and her nipples with her fingertips. Not a second later, Abby’s thighs began to shake again.

“I… I think I’m?—”

Her words were cut off by a deep gasp as another orgasm rippled through her. She quaked uncontrollably, her climax stretching on and on and on, until she collapsed against Valerie’s body, breathless and spent.

“Oh god.” Her voice quavered as she spoke. “That was… Oh god…”

Abby trembled, heavy breaths rattling through her. She was coming down from the highest of highs. Valerie needed to catch her.

She untied Abby quickly and drew her into an embrace. “I’m here. I’m right here with you.”

Abby closed her eyes and curled against her. Valerie pulled her closer, held her tighter. But her breaths didn’t slow, and she didn’t stop trembling.

“I’ve got you, my pet. I’ve got you.” Valerie kissed her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, whispering softly. “I love you.”

But if Abby heard her, she didn’t say a word.

* * *

Abby lay beside Valerie under the sheets, her head on Valerie’s chest. Her eyes were closed and her body was still, save for the rise and fall of her breasts. Her face wore a serene expression, one Valerie had come to relish seeing on her. It was that subspace high that erased every thought, every doubt, every worry in a submissive’s mind, until all that remained was bliss.

Valerie’s mind, on the other hand? It was nothing but turmoil.

I love you. Three simple words that had slipped out unbidden. It was as if someone else had said them, someone who wasn’t weighed down by the pressures of a life that could fall to pieces at any moment.

Is there someone else?

Does she know the truth?

Does she know what you did to me?

Blocking Francesca had done nothing to stem the tide of messages and phone calls. Instead, she’d grown even more persistent, sending calls and texts from a dozen other numbers. One thing was clear.

Francesca wasn’t going to stop.

Abby glanced up at Valerie’s face. “Are you okay?”

“Of course.” Valerie kissed the top of her head. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel great. That was just…” Abby shook her head. “It was so intense. I didn’t know that could feel so good . I think you sent me to a whole different plane. I don’t want to come back down to earth.”

“You don’t have to. Not yet. We can just lie here.”

Abby let out a contented sigh, laying her head on Valerie’s chest again.

“Madame V?” she said. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

Abby hesitated. “Have you had many other subs before?”

Valerie drew her fingers gently through Abby’s hair. “No, not many. There have been submissives I played with, but only casually. And there was rarely sex involved. I’ve only ever taken on one long-term sub. Francesca.”

“Your ex-wife?”

Valerie nodded. “It’s part of why we ended up together. We met when she auditioned for one of my films. She got the part, and eventually, after filming was done, we started seeing each other. It was our shared love of kink that really brought us together. I was the first woman she’d ever been with, and me being a Domme was part of why she took that chance in the first place.”

At times, Valerie had wondered if that was the only reason her ex had been interested in her. To Francesca, people were nothing more than tools for her to use. And Valerie was a convenient way for her to have her sexual fantasies fulfilled.

“So what happened between you?” Abby asked. “Why did you end things with her?”

Valerie stretched out on her back. “It’s a long story. Our relationship was… complicated. But it didn’t start out that way. In the beginning, it was perfect. We were a Hollywood power couple living a life most people only dream of. The films we made together? Even now, I can’t deny that they were brilliant. Every single one propelled us further into stardom. But there was one thing we both wanted, more than career success, more than anything else—to have children.

“Or so I thought. It wasn’t until we started trying that the cracks began to show. Because the truth is, Francesca never wanted kids the same way I did. What she wanted was a carefully crafted family to show off to the cameras, children she could use as accessories, just like her designer handbags. She’d always been more concerned with her image than anything else.”

Abby gave her a sympathetic look. “I know what that’s like.”

“But I didn’t realize it at the time. I was too preoccupied with making my dream of having children a reality. We looked into adoption, but the process was long and difficult, so we turned to IVF. That was difficult too, far more difficult than we expected. And as time went on, our relationship grew strained.”

There had been fights. Guilt trips. Breakdowns, accusations, manipulation. And for a while, she’d started to fall for Francesca’s mind games.

For a while, she’d started to believe she was the monster Francesca made her out to be.

“Over time, it became clear to me that it wasn’t working,” Valerie said. “That I needed to leave her. But by then, I was so close to finally having the child that I so badly wanted, that I’d poured my everything into, that I couldn’t accept it. I never considered having children by myself. I grew up in an old-fashioned household. I spent my childhood listening to my parents going on and on about the evils of single motherhood, divorce, so-called ‘broken homes.’ Anything other than the traditional family. I never wanted a traditional family, or a traditional marriage. But a small part of me was still hesitant to go it alone.”

“It’s hard to shake off the stories we’re told when we’re young,” Abby said, echoing Valerie’s words from that night after Club Velvet.

Valerie nodded. “Eventually, I realized it would be better for my future child to have just one loving mother than one who loved her and one who resented her. So I left Francesca. I tried IVF again, by myself this time. And I had Hazel.”

Abby blinked. “Wait, Francesca isn’t Hazel’s mom?”

“Why would you think—” Valerie held back a curse. Abby had been with her the day Francesca stormed the set demanding to see her so-called wife and daughter. “No, she isn’t Hazel’s mom. Not biologically, not legally. Long before Hazel was born, I made sure the divorce was finalized and all ties I had with Francesca were severed permanently.”

Of course, it hadn’t been that simple. Francesca had refused to accept it at first. But eventually, she’d conceded, all so she could live single and free again.

However, the shine of the single life hadn’t lasted. And now, she wanted Valerie back.

How far would she go to get what she wanted?

“Let me assure you, Francesca isn’t part of Hazel’s life, or mine.” And she never would be. Valerie had to make sure of that. “But she’s the last thing I want to think about right now. Not while I have you in my bed.” She wrapped her arms around Abby once again. “I want to enjoy this moment with you.”

“Me too.” Abby nestled against her. “But there’s one more thing…”

“Yes?”

“It’s just, earlier you said that—” Abby glanced up at her, then looked down again. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

Silence fell over them. Valerie felt a pang of guilt. She pushed it aside, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. It was getting late.

She sat up. “I should get dressed. The sitter will be back with Hazel any minute.”

Abby nodded. “Right.”

“Abby, I…”

Abby gazed up at her. Valerie knew what Abby wanted to ask her. She could see the uncertainty in the other woman’s eyes, could feel how much she wanted Valerie to say the words she’d said in the heat of the moment again.

But she just couldn’t do it.

“I want to thank you,” she said. “For tonight. For this. I needed it.”

Abby gave her a weak smile. “No problem. Glad I could help.”

Valerie got up from the bed. “You stay here. I’ll take care of things with the sitter.”

Without another word, she picked up her dress, slipped it back on, and left the room.