Power Relinquished (D.C. Power Games Book 3) Page 9

  “Have fun with that,” Peter said with a chuckle.

  Maybe it was fate that Carrie blew him off for dinner. Peter missed the parties and the subs and the sex. Missing that life might be what was causing his inappropriate thoughts about Carrie.

  Out of courtesy, he called to let her know he would be busy for a few hours. She answered on the first ring and sounded more chipper than she had earlier in the day.

  “Hi Peter. Are you off?”

  “I am,” he confirmed. “I was calling to tell you I made some plans for the evening. But if you change your mind about spending the night at the paper, I’ll be out late and can come pick you up.”

  “What’s her name?” Carrie asked in a sing-song tone. There was a commotion in the background and Carrie giggled. “I should get back to work. Thanks for the heads up,” she said, her teasing question seemingly forgotten.

  “Don’t work too hard and lay off the coffee,” he said before ending the call.

  Starting his car, he pulled into traffic and began the drive to Gary’s house. While he drove, he allowed his mind to wander. It landed on a picture of Carrie strapped to a cross. Where the fuck did that come from? He doubted that Carrie Davenport had a submissive bone in her body.

  When he pulled up to Gary’s house, he looked around to see if he recognized any of the cars. Edith’s two door sports car sat in the driveway which meant she was one of the first few to arrive. Evie’s vehicle didn’t appear to be here, but she could have ridden with someone else. Hopefully it wasn’t a boyfriend. Evie was fun to play with. Peter shook his head. He needed to manage his expectations before he went in or the night would go to hell.

  When he got to the door, he gave a quick knock. A young girl in a skimpy mini skirt and red tank answered.

  He gave her a big smile when she opened the door wider.

  “Have you been here before?” she asked.

  “I have. I’m Peter. It’s been a few months.”

  “I’m Allie, welcome back then. Everyone is in the backyard watching some new girl get the crap beat out of her by Master Reggie. He brought a new toy.

  Peter winced. He didn’t like hearing Reggie and ‘new girl’ in the same sentence. He was a heavy sadist and new girls needed a slower introduction than him in Peter’s opinion.

  Since it was just an opinion, he voiced none of that. Not his place. Instead, he just made his way down the hall to the living room where there was a door to the backyard. His eyes scanned the room looking for Gary. The tall Texan didn’t appear to be in the main room, so he opened the backyard door and stepped out. Two steps in and he stopped dead in his tracks. “What the fuck?” Backing into a corner, he watched from the shadows. A very naked Carrie Davenport was attached to a frame and sure enough, Reggie was beating the hell out of her. Carrie appeared to be loving every minute. This was about to get awkward. Maybe he should just leave. Just then, Reggie landed a particularly brutal strike across her ass and Carrie jumped forward, letting out a howl that morphed into a giggle. Judging by the way her back, legs, and ass were marked, she had been there for a while and this certainly didn’t seem like her first time. But he had never seen her hear before.

  Just as he was about to head back in, Edith sidled up to him. “Hey handsome. Nice of you to join us.”

  Peter grinned and tossed an arm around her shoulders. “Hey Edith. Sorry I’ve been gone. You know how work is for me. Who’s the girl with Reggie?” he asked, hoping to sound casual.

  “Why? You interested?” she teased.

  “Just don’t remember seeing her here before.”

  “So observant. No wonder they pay you the big bucks,” she said batting her eyelashes. “You’re right. This is her first party here. Normally she comes to the parties at my place but was busy last Friday.”

  Peter almost smirked. Last Friday was when he’d had her arrested. At least he knew she wasn’t brand new to all of this. Then it hit him. Wait a minute. She wasn’t new to all of this. Did that mean she was submissive?

  Just then, Carrie hollered a string of curse words that would make the men on his roster blush and Reggie let out a belly laugh.

  “I don’t hear your safeword in there. I guess I’ll keep going.”

  Peter’s fists clenched when the cane the other Dom was using struck Carrie again. Why was this bothering him so much? He didn’t have a problem with how any other Dom played with their subs. All he knew was, he didn’t like watching Reggie beat Carrie this way, even if she was enjoying it—and she clearly was.

  Peter played rough with his submissives, but he didn’t consider himself a sadist. Not like that anyway.

  Although it was enraging him, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding. A minute later, Carrie shifted and turned to face the crowd that had gathered. Her eyes were dancing with glee as she scanned the audience that had gathered. So, she was an exhibitionist too. As he observed, he felt the energy shift around her when she made direct eye contact with him. He tried to lower his head to keep her from recognizing him, but it was too late.

  Chapter Ten

  Carrie’s heart dropped and she felt like she couldn’t breathe as she locked eyes with Peter. What the fuck was he doing here?

  “Red,” she croaked out. Instantly, Reggie dropped the cane and moved in close to her with a blanket in hand that he’d grabbed from a nearby chair. Reaching up, he pulled the quick release on the ropes that held her in place and draped the blanket around her shoulders as he worked to pull the rope off her wrists.

  In the far corner of the backyard, just a few feet from where they had been playing was a small seating area with patio furniture. The onlookers who had been sitting there cleared out without having to be asked, and Reggie led her to the vacated couch pulling her down with him as he sat.

  “Did I push you too far, or did something else happen? I feel like I lost you rather abruptly.”

  Carrie shook her head. “Sorry. I just hit my limit all of a sudden.”

  Reggie offered her a smile with concern in his eyes. “Don’t apologize. That’s what safewords are for. It just happened really fast and I want to make sure you’re OK. I was pretty rough on you for our first time playing together.”

  Carrie settled back on the couch and winced. She was going to have welts and bruises for days. Normally, that would give her a reason to smile, but right now she was too shaken over seeing Peter. Had he followed her? If so, how had he gotten in? Edith had assured her that Gary had policies just as strict as hers.

  Right now, though, she needed to offer her play partner assurances that she was OK. Sitting up straighter, she smiled at him. “I promise I’m fine. That was really wonderful. I’m sorry I had to end it so abruptly. I would love to do it again sometime.”

  The man grinned at her. “Great. Can I get you anything? We didn’t talk about aftercare much which was a mistake on my part.”

  Carrie patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it. If you could get me my dress and heels, I’ll be perfect again.”

  Reggie squeezed her shoulder and sprinted back to the frame to pick up her clothes. Most of the crowd had dispersed and were back inside or setting up to play themselves. When Reggie came back, she quickly got dressed and offered him a hug. Once he had walked away, she took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. It was time to confront Peter and she wasn’t looking forward to it.

  She found him standing in the living room next to the door. Grabbing his hand, she marched him to the front of the house where a quiet social area had been set up. Thankfully nobody else was there.

  Turning to face him she jabbed her finger into his chest.

  “Are you fucking following me?” she hissed.

  His eyebrows rose. “What? No! Of course not. I’m just as surprised to see you as you are to see me.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not buying it Mercer.”

  He placed a finger over her lips. “Don’t use my last name please.”

  Shoving
his hand away, she glared. “How did you get in the house?”

  Peter seemed genuinely confused when he said, “Same way you did I would imagine.”

  “I mean this is a private fucking party. You can’t just walk through the God damned door.”

  Peter’s hands gripped her shoulders and she struggled to step away. “Whoa. You need to calm down.”

  As she was about to respond, Edith came walking in. “Oh Carrie, there you are. You OK? I see you met Peter.”

  Carrie stepped back. “Wait a minute. You know him?” she asked.

  Edith chuckled. “Yes honey. He’s been coming to Gary’s parties for as long as I can remember. How do you know him?”

  Peter grinned at her like a cocky bastard and Carrie wanted to punch him. Edith seemed to sense that they were talking, so she excused herself without waiting for Carrie to answer her question.

  Carrie was overcome with the need to sit down, so she lowered herself to a nearby couch.

  “I don’t appreciate you lying to me by the way,” Peter said as he sat next to her.

  “Oh, bite me. I’m processing here.”

  Peter chuckled. “I clearly need to process too.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “I was so pissed at Edith,” Carrie finally said.

  “Why?”

  “I thought for sure you had followed me and somehow managed to sneak in here. I’m incredibly careful about where I go when it comes to kink. Edith makes me feel safe. She assured me Gary was as protective of privacy as she is.”

  “I’ve never been to Edith’s but if I had to guess, I would bet that Gary is more protective,” Peter said, patting her knee.

  Carrie shifted her leg away from him and asked, “So what now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This has to be weird for you. It’s sure as hell weird for me. You just saw me naked and I suppose now that you know I’m not at the office I have to go home with you.”

  “Honey, I’ve seen a lot of women naked. It doesn’t have to be weird. Unexpected, yes. But not weird.”

  Carrie took a deep breath. “OK. So, I’m going to go make sure Reggie is OK.”

  Peter tossed his head back and laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Carrie asked.

  Peter shook his head. “It’s nothing. Just the thought of Reggie needing to be checked on. He’s practically my brother, but he’s much more macho man than I am.”

  Carrie shook her head. This was getting weirder and weirder. “When I get back maybe we can hang out, so the trip home isn’t so awkward for me?”

  Peter looked surprised. “Um. Sure. Did you not come with Reggie?”

  Carrie shook her head. “Nope. Just met him tonight. I rode with Edith.”

  For a brief moment, Carrie could have sworn she saw a look of pleasure in his eyes. Was he happy she wasn’t dating Reggie?

  Before things got any more awkward, she quickly left in search of the burly Dom. Reggie was already negotiating a second scene with another girl, so she winked at him over her shoulder and moved to the kitchen where she found Peter opening a bottle of water. She grabbed a plate and loaded it with chips and dip and a cupcake before grabbing a soda out of the ice chest.

  “You’re insane, you know that?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Soda? Really? How many cups of coffee have you had today?”

  She scowled at him. “Three and a Red Bull. Why are you so obsessed with my caffeine addiction?”

  “So, you admit it’s an addiction?”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “Of course, it’s an addiction. It’s just not one I feel bad about having.”

  Peter just shook his head and took a long pull off his bottle of water. “And your plate, do you ever eat anything healthy?”

  “I had onion rings the other night. That counts as a vegetable.”

  Peter laughed. “Not even a little bit. Just humor me and drink some damn water,” he said pulling another bottle from the cooler.

  She wrinkled her nose at the water but took it anyway.

  “Good girl,” he said.

  “Whoa there. Not your good girl,” she corrected.

  Peter chuckled. “My apologies. I see a couch open in the living room. Would you like to go and sit? I hear Gary is about to do something fun with whoever the girl of the month is.”

  Carrie chuckled. “He’s always got a different girl at Edith’s house too.”

  “OK. I lied. This is weird. I’ve known Gary and Reggie for over a decade. It’s weird that you know them too,” Peter said.

  Carrie shrugged. “Sorry.”

  They settled on the couch for the show Gary was about to put on. The scene turned out to be a Florentine flogging. It was a skill Carrie enjoyed watching a top demonstrate and Gary was superb at it. The ability to get both floggers going in a rhythmic patter across his bottom’s back wasn’t easy.

  She had let Gary work her over a time or two at Edith’s parties, but they had found they didn’t have a lot of chemistry for intense play. Now, he usually only used Carrie as a demo bottom when he was teaching a class.

  After the initial awkwardness had worn off, Carrie began to relax. Once Gary was done with his scene, he, along with Edith came over to their couch and the foursome spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing.

  At midnight, Carrie leaned over and whispered to Peter, “Don’t you have to be at work in like six hours?”

  “I don’t go in until eight on Saturday mornings,” he whispered back, causing Carrie to shudder as his breath danced across her bare neck and shoulder. “We probably should think about going soon,” he continued. “Is it going to be weird if we leave together?”

  That hadn’t occurred to Carrie. “Maybe? They’ll talk but it will be OK.”

  Peter nodded. “As long as you’re OK with it I am too.”

  Twenty minutes later, they made their excuses and walked to Peter’s SUV together. The drive home was quiet, with Carrie surfing the internet on her phone and Peter focused on his driving.

  As they approached his parking garage, Peter turned to her and broke the silence.

  “You know, if you were mine, I would have to spank you for lying to me about staying at work tonight.”

  ***

  Peter watched Carrie’s face closely as he made his subtle threat, looking for signs that he had freaked her out or piqued her interest. Shutting the car off, he opened his door, intent on going around to open hers. Instead, she hopped out before he got around to her side and ran toward the elevator.

  The drive home may have been quiet, but Peter’s thoughts had been anything but.

  The most common thought running through his mind was ‘of all the gin joints.’ How had he not seen Carrie at a party before now? Maybe he had and just didn’t notice her. Though come to think of it, Gary did say tonight was her first night at his house and Edith said Carrie normally came to her parties. Peter didn’t go to Edith’s because he didn’t care for the neighborhood she lived in. It was too close to one of his former protectees.

  D.C. was a small town in so many ways, and tonight just proved that once again. The elevator ride was quiet. Since she didn’t respond to his threat of a spanking, Peter decided not to say anything else.

  When he unlocked his door and stepped aside for Carrie, she scurried off to the guest bedroom mumbling something about being tired as she went.

  Peter locked the door behind him and stood in the entryway dazed for a moment. When he shook himself out of it, he made his way to his office.

  He needed to talk to Gary again.

  “Hey, it was good to see you tonight,” his friend said when he answered. “I noticed Carrie left with you. What’s up with that?”

  “Long story man, but she’s why I’m calling. Do you really think it’s wise to let a journalist into your parties?”

  Gary was quiet for a moment. Finally, he said, “She’s not Gigi man. Don’t compare her.”

/>   Peter felt his fists clench. “I’m not. I just wonder if it’s really wise in a town like D.C. to knowingly let a journalist in.”

  “First of all, you’re crossing a line. You didn’t know that I knew she was a journalist. You could have just outed her in a way she didn’t want to be outed. I know what she does for a living because she doesn’t hide it, but you had no way of knowing that.”

  Peter closed his eyes. Gary was right. That was a serious fuck up on his part. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s cool. I understand. Your history with Gigi makes you wary and with good reason. But if it makes you feel better, Carrie has been coming to Edith’s parties for years and don’t forget that she was strung up naked and letting Reggie beat the shit out of her. I know some reporters go far for a story, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about there.”

  Peter laughed as he began to see his own ridiculousness. “Thanks man, you’re right. I just get crazy sometimes.”

  “So, did you know her before tonight?” Gary asked.

  “I did. Like I said, it’s a long story, but she’s actually staying with me right now.”

  Gary whistled. “Wasn’t expecting that. What does mama Mercer think of your new roommate?”

  Peter growled. “Leave her out of this. First of all, it’s not like that. We aren’t even friends. We’re just collaborating on something and second, my mother doesn’t need to know anything. Let her enjoy their Hawaii retirement in peace.”

  “Whoa. You’re collaborating with a journalist? Are you ill?”

  “Bite me Gary.”

  “You’re so not my type dude. Really, I’m glad you’re able to be civil with a reporter man. Means you might be finally moving on and you’ll lighten the fuck up.”

  Changing the subject, Gary said, “Did you ever talk to Reggie or Cannon? What did you want them for anyway?”

  Damn it. Peter had been so caught up in the surprise of finding Carrie at the party that he never even remembered he wanted to talk to Reggie.

  “Nothing important,” he lied. “Just trying to touch base with a couple of the people from Colombia on something.”