Trace & Tori [The ShadowDance Club 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  When it seemed she’d been leaning against the wall for a few minutes without moving, he opened the shower door and reached in and turned off the water. When she realized the water had stopped, Tori slowly raised her face from where it had been resting on her folded arms and turned her unfocused gaze to face him. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary—she is a damned vision. How can she not know how desirable she is? “Come here, princess…let’s get you wrapped in this warm towel. I’ll help you dry off, and then I’ll comb out your beautiful hair while you sit on the bed, how’s that sound?”

  Trace dried her with gentle pats and then moved her so she was sitting between his legs on the bed as he combed through her beautiful long hair until it was laying in long strands down her back. He had always loved combing through Nan’s hair. Savoring the chance to have a sweet woman nestled between his legs was always a pleasure in his opinion.

  Trace had brought Tori one of his shirts mostly because he had simply wanted to see her in something of his. He could have gone in to her suitcases and found something for her, but there was something about seeing a woman in a man’s shirt that he’d always found extremely sexy. Nan had always wanted to wear his shirts to bed, when he allowed her to wear anything at all, and he found he longed to see the soft fabric caressing Tori’s tight nipples, the soft swell of her belly and the dark curls above her sex showing through the shirt that had been thinned to the point it was almost sheer from frequent washings. As he slid the towel from around her and placed the soft T-shirt over her head, he watched her nipples tighten to sharp points and saw her breathing hitch.

  Just as Trace stepped back and started to turn to leave, she spoke, “Thank you.” Her voice sounded soft and he had the feeling there was something more she wanted to say but was hesitant. She finally added, “I’m just so grateful to you for all you’ve done…and well…I…” Tori seemed like she was about to give up finishing her sentence when she finally sighed deeply and reached out for him. “Could I have another hug, please? I’ve had, well, it’s been a kind of rough few months and well, your hugs are really…um, comforting and I am…well, I just…” Trace saw the tears starting to flow again and he reached up and slowly trailed his fingers over her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m tired and I cry when I’m tired, and I…” she didn’t get to finish before Trace had pulled her into his arms.

  Trace savored the feel of Tori’s softness as he wrapped her in his embrace. She smelled of citrus, sage and sweet woman, and he let her scent fill his senses. He savored those long minutes before he spoke. “Sweetness, I want you to promise me you will never apologize again for needing a hug from me. You are beautiful woman, and I love holding you, and the fact that it’s comforting for both of us is just icing on the cake.” He smiled down at her and was pleased to see the relief in her expression while he gently moved her back toward the large bed. He pulled back the covers and settled her in before covering her, tucking the covers in around her.

  When Trace started to move away from her, Tori grabbed his hand and looked deep in his eyes. “Please stay with me for awhile. I’m not usually so needy, I swear, but I just don’t want to fall asleep alone. And when you go, please leave a light on, I’ve gotten used to sleeping with a light so I could get to my emergen…um…well, I just need to be able to see where things are…it helps me sleep.”

  Tori hadn’t meant to mention the months she’d spent too terrified to close her eyes in to restful sleep. The man who had stalked her had turned her life upside-down, and she wasn’t sure she would ever be the same again. All those nights of lying awake wondering if this would be the night he finally came into her home and did all the vile things he’d promised he would do to her, had taken a huge toll. At one point Tori had been so exhausted that she’d fallen so deeply asleep sitting in her car at a traffic light that she hadn’t even realized people had gathered around her car thinking she’d died. When the policeman they’d called had finally roused her, they’d insisted she be taken by ambulance so she could be screened for medical issues that might cause her to be a hazard to others while driving. The whole thing had been so humiliating Tori had nearly packed up and moved on that very afternoon.

  The play of emotions over Tori’s face had squeezed his heart. He wondered who had made this lovely woman afraid of her own shadow. Someone had tried to convince her she was less than desirable, so she’d be humbled and grateful for his attention, and when that hadn’t worked, he’d terrorized her. He didn’t know who, but he’d seen it with submissives too many times to now recognize the signs in Tori. Abusive men were in abundance everywhere but here in Climax.

  The small town he called home made short work of any man who thought to abuse a woman or a child with physical or emotional cruelty. Trace had seen examples of both physical and emotional abuse and was convinced the scars caused by emotional battering were far worse because that type of abuse was so easy to hide that it could, and often did, go undetected for years. Emotional batterers whittled away the very essence of their victim until those on the receiving end often couldn’t even recall what their own likes and dislikes had once been. Essentially their true identities had been systematically erased by the person abusing them. He’d sat and listened to Alex and Zach’s mother, Catherine Lamont, tell stories about the women she worked with at the shelter the Lamont family funded in Denver. Those stories had never failed to remind Trace of the importance of the rigid screening and training requirements that were strictly enforced at The ShadowDance Club.

  A submissive’s natural desire to please others was often misinterpreted, and as a result, a female sub was often taken advantage of by men who simply wanted to control her. Trace often coached subs on how to tell the difference between a true Dom and a wannabe, who more often than not, was nothing more than an abusive asshole. And at that moment Trace was hit full force with a need to protect Tori that was so strong it shocked him. He’d already set his contacts to work checking her out, and he was willing to bet there was going to be at least one abuser not too far behind all her fears.

  “Darlin’, I can only think of a couple of things I’d like better than to hold you while you fall asleep, but I’m not going to mention those just yet.” His smile was meant to let her know she was safe with him, and it appeared to have worked because her expression was sleep soft and just a little bit loopy. He lay alongside her and pulled her closer so her head rested on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her shoulder to hold her tightly against his side. He felt her relax and knew she was drifting off, and the fact that she trusted him enough to surrender herself to sleep while he held her warmed him to his soul. “Sleep, my sweet snow angel. You’ll always be safe with me.” Tori barely heard his softly whispered words through the fog of sleep, but the feel of his soft lips pressing against her forehead warmed her through, and she let herself fall over the edge into deep sleep for the first time in six long months.

  Trace didn’t want to leave her, he loved the feel of her cuddled up against him, but he needed to make a few calls and get cleaned up. He would check on her again before returning to his own room, after he’d settled her so she was sleeping again, he straightened the room and then dimmed the lights so there was just enough light she’d know where she was in case she woke up and was frightened. He had just finished his shower after reminding his foreman that he was covering for him tomorrow when he heard a bloodcurdling scream that had him running to Tori’s room like the hounds of hell were hot on his tail.

  Throwing open the door, he realized he had only heightened her fear when he’d crashed in to the room. Seeing her cowering in the corner trying to make herself invisible brought him to an abrupt halt. When he slowly moved toward her, she covered her head with her hands and begged him to not shoot her. What the fuck happened to you Tori? Whatever it was, I’ll fix it, I promise you. Startled by his own thoughts, he moved to squat in front of her and pulled her arms apart gently so he could see her face. He knew her look of abject terror would haunt him forever.

  �
��Shhh, Tori, it’s me, Trace. Princess, I need you to wake up right now.” He’d tried lacing the last sentence with a bit of his Dom voice, hoping she’d respond, and she did exactly as he’d expected. Recognition seemed to wash over her, and she launched herself into his waiting arms. Trace had been sure she was a natural submissive, and her immediate response was all the proof he needed. “That’s it, sweetheart. Let me hold you, you had a bad dream, and your scream took several years off my life. I need to hold you for a few minutes and see if I can get my heart rate back somewhere close to normal.”

  Like every true sub he’d ever known, she was immediately compliant when it meant doing something to help her Dom. Subs were by nature giving and would usually go to great extremes—often at huge personal costs—to keep those around them in harmony and to be helpful. They almost always went well above and beyond in their attempts to pacify anyone who was unhappy with them and were always trying to please everyone around them. He’d talked with many Doms over the years who claimed they spent a lot of time protecting their subs from others who would have taken advantage of their accommodating nature.

  When she finally seemed to have settled, he picked her up in his arms and moved toward his bedroom. He felt her stiffen slightly, so he hugged her tightly and said, “I want you in my bed, Tori. You’ll sleep better in my arms, and I know I’ll sleep better knowing you are safe. I promise you, nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to happen, all right?” When she merely nodded her head, he continued. “Ordinarily, I’d make you speak the words aloud, but I think we both need a minute to get back on an even keel, so that nod is going to work just fine tonight.”

  As he turned into the master suite, he saw her eyes take in her surroundings as if she was figuring out all the exits and escape routes as he set her on the edge of the bed. Knowing she wouldn’t sleep until she understood the lay of the land, he pointed out the closed door that led to the bathroom and indicated the door they’d just come in through. “Those curtains cover patio doors that lead to a deck overlooking the back of the house, and there is a hot tub out there also. But right now, I want to lie next to you and hold you tightly against me so we can both get some sleep.”

  He left his boxer shorts on, but as he pulled her against his bare chest, he slid his hands under the soft cotton shirt, so they spanned her bare back. Her skin felt like warm silk against his fingers taking in the feel of each beat of her heart and every breath she took. “God you feel so good in my arms. You are so beautiful you simply take my breath away. Just let me hold you while we get some rest, princess. You are and will always be safe with me.” He’d no sooner spoken the words than he felt her lips press a small kiss to his bare chest. “Oh damn. Tori, please don’t start something you don’t want me to act on because I’m telling you now my control is hanging by a thread.”

  Trace was sure Tori felt his cock harden even more against her as he’d spoken his words of caution. She was pushing him, and it had been so long since he’d wanted to make sweet love to a woman that Trace wasn’t sure he was going to be able to resist her.

  “It’s been so long since I have felt safe in a man’s arms, and you make me feel desirable and I want to lose myself in that intimacy and connection, even if it’s only for a little while. Please? I need you…” She’d spoken the words so softly at first he wasn’t sure he’d heard her right, but then he knew he had when she tilted her face up and licked her lips in anticipation.

  Chapter 3

  Trace slowly rolled Tori beneath him and covered her mouth with his. His kiss was tender, but when he felt more than heard her soft moan, he deepened the kiss with a fervor that he knew conveyed his possessive side. Tori’s lips were soft, sweet, and plump against his, and their warmth had his mind flashing to what they would look like wrapped around his cock as he slid into the hot depths of her mouth. Images of her looking up at him, her dark eyes unfocused with arousal as he held her still while he stroked to the back of her sweet mouth until he could feel her open her throat in surrender flashed through his mind at the speed of light.

  Before he let himself get sucked into that fantasy, he moved his mouth to her temple and then trailed sweet kisses down her jawline to the other side where he continued kissing down the side of her neck. Reaching that tender spot where her neck and shoulder met, he bit gently and then soothed the spot immediately with his tongue “Princess, tell me what you need. I’ll give you that and so much more, but I need to hear your words.” His kept his voice gentle, and he was sure she was quickly getting lost in the sensations so if he was going to get any help from her, he knew he had better get it quickly.

  “Oh please…I need…I just need you to…” Tori couldn’t even think straight let alone form a coherent sentence. How does he expect me to think when his mouth is painting passion over my skin like he is some kind of Renaissance master or something? Oh my God! At first I thought maybe I’d just forgotten what it felt like, but I’ve never felt a connection like this before and its power swamps me.

  “Tori, look at me.” When her eyes didn’t open, he pulled back from her. “Victoria, you need to open your eyes so I know you are listening. It’s important for many reasons that I will explain later, but right now I need to know you really want this. Tell me what it is that you need.” Trace was well known at the ShadowDance Club as a gentle or Daddy Dom who was always able to take his subs where they needed to go, but his approach was unlike any of the other Dominants at The Club. He rarely punished a sub with implements or heavy-handed pain, preferring to use positive reinforcements or touch depravation to get the behaviors he valued.

  Slowly Tori seemed to regain focus, and when she opened her beautiful eyes, Trace was struck by the stark loneliness he saw reflected in their depths. He realized in an instant that this was a woman who had seen her whole world taken apart, and he knew instinctively that she needed this connection in a way that only another lost soul could understand. “I need you to make love to me, to help me feel desirable again. I need to lose myself in you even if it’s only for a little while…I just want to feel something other than fear even if it’s just for a few minutes.” She’d met his gaze for this first part of her answer, but as she had continued speaking, he watched as her eyes lowered to his chest as if she were trying to hide the shame she felt by verbalizing her needs.

  Trace placed his fingers under her chin, bringing her up to look in his eyes again. “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me what you need. I know that was hard for you, and I’m so proud of you for being brave enough to take a chance, I promise you your trust in me is well placed.” Brushing his lips over hers in soft passes and gentle caresses over the entire length of her back and lush ass, he led her slowly back to the arousal she’d been lost in earlier. “You are so beautiful, and you have a light that shines from within. When I first saw you sitting out in the snow, I was sure you were a gift sent directly from God and now? Well now I’m certain it’s true.”

  As he’d been speaking he’d been moving his hands in random patterns under the soft shirt. He moved to the hem and slowly drew it over her head and tossed it aside. Leaning back, he let his eyes caress her and knew his appreciation was reflected in his expression when her nipples tightened even further in to the sharpest points he’d ever seen.

  “Let me tell you what I see. I see a beautiful woman who has been sold a bill of goods about not being worthy, when in reality any man she gifts with her time by allowing him in to her life should be thanking his lucky stars that she has deemed him worthy of her trust. You and I are going to have a long conversation about the lifestyle that I embrace, but that is for another time. Right now, I have every intention of giving you exactly what you have asked for and it is going to be my pleasure to do so. But know this, my lovely snow princess, I am deeply honored that you have given me your trust. It’s a precious gift and I want you to know how much it means to me.”

  Trace had moved back over her and leaned on his elbows so she would feel his weight with
out bearing the crush of it entirely. Her skin was almost sparkled in the moonlight that was shining in through the windows high above the bed. Trace was grateful that the snow had abated allowing the moon to kiss Tori’s beautiful skin. Even in the low light he could see how beautifully she was flushing with her arousal. He moved his knees so that he pushed her thighs apart and shifted just enough to the side that he could run his hand from the side of her face all the way over her softly rounded breasts down her belly and then over the curls covering her mound before ever so gently sliding his fingers through her wet folds. When a look of embarrassment crossed her face, he said, “Oh, princess you are so wet for me. I am so pleased that your body is preparing itself for my possession. My cock is aching to slide deep into your pussy, but I want to know a few things first.”

  Tori could feel herself getting lost in the feel of his hand as it lit her up like the Fourth of July. “I’m on birth control, and I’m clean if those are your questions. I haven’t had a man for a very long time, so you may have to go a little slow at first.” Tori was looking everywhere but at him, and she didn’t know why it was so hard for her to talk about these things, but it had always had been.

  “Well, that does answer a few of my questions. I want you to know I am also clean. Regular physicals, including testing for disease are a part of the requirements for membership at ShadowDance.” At her puzzled expression he continued. “I’ll tell you all about The Club later, but first I’d also like to know what kind of sexual experience you’ve had - has it all been vanilla or have you experienced anything that would be considered outside that box?” Trace knew the answer the minute he asked the question that Tori had only had vanilla sex, and he’d bet she hadn’t had much of that. But she was intrigued by what else was out there and curiosity was definitely something he could work with. Yes indeed, the angels had absolutely sent him a very special gift.