Cherished (Club Indigo Book 4) Read online

  Derek sat down on the other end of the couch and pulled Sonja down into his lap. "Enough talk. We're here to watch the scene."

  In addition to her bound arms, Yvonne stood on a small, raised platform with her legs spread wide and bound to the side poles. Kate was in a swivel chair directly in front of the naked Dutch girl while Chris stood next to Kate and leaned in to play with Yvonne's breasts, alternating suckling each while pinching and fondling the other. Chris snapped his head up when Yvonne made a noise. Kate said something to him they couldn't hear before swatting his ass and then returned to her torture of Yvonne's pussy. When Kate moved out of the way, they saw shiny jewelry dangling from Yvonne's labia. Sonja heard Kate tell Chris to strip, and while he was doing that, she took a pair of clover clamps with matching stones and applied them to Yvonne's nipples. Sonja's hands went to her breasts and she squeezed her legs together in sympathy for the younger woman's pain.

  "See something you'd like to try, baby girl?" Derek whispered in her ear.

  She shook her head vigorously. "No, Sir."

  Derek chuckled. "I guess I'll have to be satisfied with the jewel on the new butt plug I got for you."

  Sonja shivered at the thought. She turned her attention back to the scene. Chris was standing facing Kate with his cock fully erect, waiting for instructions. She pulled another pair of nipple clamps from her pocket and teased his nipples before attaching them. Sonja could tell Chris was struggling to stay quiet through the initial burst of pain. Then Kate sat down on her chair again and wrapped his balls in leather straps and hung weights from them. She topped off the contraption with a condom.

  Derek whispered in her ear, "That's a parachute. It stretches the balls and is supposed to make a man's orgasm more intense."

  When Kate had Chris the way she wanted, she turned him toward Yvonne and had him move close to the masochist. When they were almost against each other, she took each of Chris' hands and cuffed them to the bar next to Yvonne. Then she reached between them and inserted Chris' cock into Yvonne's pussy. Now, the need for the platform was clear. Chris could hardly stand straight with his cock in Yvonne if she were on the floor. "Don't move, either one of you," Kate said loudly enough to be heard by the audience. "I'll take care of that part." She turned toward the couch where Sonja and Derek were and signaled Connor. "Captain, would you join me now, please?"

  Connor got up and turned to Suzie. "Why don't you sit up here so you can see the action? Remember to be a good girl and you might get a taste of the strap later."

  "Promises, promises," Suzie said with a smirk.

  Connor gave her nipple a quick, sharp twist that made her squeak. "If ye want the strap, ye need to behave." He grabbed his toy bag and was with Kate in moments. They conferred too quietly for Sonja to hear, and then Connor pulled out a strap that matched Kate's in thickness.

  "Now, my pretties," Kate said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "this is called whip fucking. I'm going to whip Chris while Captain Connor does the same to Yvonne. The last one to come wins the prize. What prize, you ask? The privilege of going down on me later. The loser won't get another orgasm for at least the next week."

  Laughter came from the audience, and the show began. Kate and Connor started slightly out of rhythm but both quickly picked up the beat of the music so that they alternated strokes on and off the beat.

  When Kate had first announced what was going to happen, Sonja had turned her head into Derek's shoulder. He let her for a few moments, but now he reached up and moved her face toward the scene. "It's not going to happen to you, baby. That doesn't change how hot it is. Have a look. Watch the expression on Yvonne's face. See what she thinks about the scene."

  Sonja focused in on the sub's face as instructed, and Derek was right. Yvonne had a few tears, but you could see her expression change with each blow. It didn't take many before she had a blissful look that must mean she was in subspace.

  While Sonja watched, Derek reached behind her neck and undid the strap holding her halter top up. With free access to her breasts, Derek began with gentle caresses and then began teasing her nipples. Sonja turned toward him and snapped, "Derek, not here."

  "Yes, here. You pointed out the halter top earlier. Clearly, the designer had breast play in mind. See how nice it feels when I caress you here," Derek said as he ran his fingers lightly between her breasts, "and here." He moved his hand to her right nipple, which was already erect and tugged it gently.

  "Oh, Sir, that feels so good." Sonja hummed her approval, and he moved to her left breast and repeated his actions.

  Meanwhile, she could hear Chris beg his mistress for permission to come.

  "You can come anytime you want, sub. You just have to pay the price in denial later," Kate said. She reached between Chris and Yvonne and loosened the strap around his balls. She gave Yvonne's clit a pinch while she was there, and they both came together on the next blow from Connor's belt. "Now, look at that. It's a tie. Two winners and two losers. What's a Domme to do? I guess I get to have extra fun later, and these two can wait until next weekend for a chance to orgasm again."

  She turned to her subs and took Chris down while Connor did the same for Yvonne. They put the two of them together on the floor with a blanket and Chris immediately moved to hold Yvonne, who was still deep in subspace. Kate started to put things away and clean, but Connor waved her away to take care of her charges while he cleaned up the area.

  Sonja turned to Derek. "You're right, Sir. That was really hot. But I don't think I want to try it."

  "I would be shocked if you did, baby girl. The music has changed. How about that dance you wanted?"

  "That would be great, Sir." Sonja got up, and Derek followed, stopping only long enough to make sure Suzie was okay by herself, as Connor was still cleaning the equipment.

  He took Sonja's hand and moved them to an area of the floor where there was occasional dancing. Sonja started to re-tie her top, but Derek stopped her. "Your breasts are beautiful and I'm of a mind to share the sight of them with everyone tonight."

  Sonja made a sound of distaste but moved her hands away. Derek took her left hand in his right, and she put her right hand on his shoulder as he led her into a fast foxtrot to keep up with I'm Yours by Jason Mraz.

  Sonja was puffing hard when the song ended. "Could we take a break, Sir? I'm thirsty, and I need a chance to catch my breath."

  "Of course, baby." He led her back into the lounge. At the bar, Peter had replaced Bob. "Water for me, and orange juice for my baby girl here. In a glass, please."

  "Right away, sir." Peter moved to the other end of the bar. Sonja felt sorry for the large man. He'd been a member of the club longer than she had without finding the mistress he longed for. He'd had a crush on Kate for a while, but he wasn't enough of a masochist for her. Kate seemed much happier since she had finally given in to her feelings for Chris and they had found Yvonne almost at the same time.

  Peter returned with their drinks, and Sonja had to stop herself from drinking her juice in one big gulp. She took two instead. "Bring her another please, Peter," Derek said. "I think we'll call it a night after you finish your drink."

  "I think that's a good idea, Sir." Sonja kept a smile on her face as she spoke, but inside, she felt utterly exhausted. "If you don't mind, I think I'd like to be by myself tonight."

  "Do you think you're sober enough to drive, baby?"

  "Yes, Sir. My drink was over two hours ago, and I didn't miss a step when we were dancing."

  "Okay. You can drive home and spend the night alone on three conditions. First, you call me when you get home. Second, you text me when you go to bed and again in the morning when you wake up, and third, no more of this breakup nonsense."

  She gave a half-chuckle. "Yes, Sir. I promise to stop thinking about you dumping me." Sonja hoped he didn't notice how she had weaseled around the idea of her ending the relationship. She needed to keep her options open. They parted at her car door, and Sonja breathed a sigh of relief that the evening
was over.

  On Sunday, Sonja texted Derek as instructed, and they had an enjoyable back and forth for almost an hour while Snuggles glued himself to her side. She finally ended the texting by pleading that she had chores to do.

  She spent the day cleaning her apartment from top to bottom. In addition to standard things like vacuuming, she took down all her curtains and the canopy and flounces from her bed to wash. She cleaned her kitchen and emptied her cabinets, washing them and everything in them before putting things back. By the time she finished, it was after 6:00, and she was bone tired. She was also starving as she'd worked straight through lunch. Her fridge was practically empty because she'd been bringing home food from the café all week and hadn't planned for the weekend. There was an easy solution, though—pizza.

  As she had straightened her miscellaneous drawer that afternoon, the menu from the closest pizza place that delivered was right at hand. Her call made, she settled down to wait for her small pizza with pepperoni and every vegetable they offered except olives, which she couldn't abide. After pouring herself a glass of red wine, she sat down on her couch and put her feet up on her glass-topped coffee table to wait for the food to arrive. She congratulated herself on all she had accomplished during the day. It was amazing how avoiding unpleasant thoughts could help her get so much done. Now, the events of the night before and the day to come returned. She was still trying to process the notion that he planned to be with her even if she had cancer. What kind of man did that? Of course, her experience with men's behavior in relationships was almost non-existent. She'd have to abandon that subject for now and think about something else, or she would find a way to turn it into something negative. She was left with the biopsy to consider. She wasn't sure what to expect. They'd told her it shouldn't take more than half an hour and she would only need a local anesthetic. That much, she remembered. There had been paperwork with details, but she had buried that on her desk at the office, hoping it would disappear.

  In the middle of her ruminations, the buzzer rang, indicating the arrival of her pizza. The trip to the lobby broke her train of thought and she decided to find something on television when she got back upstairs. She brought a plate and a knife from the kitchen and served herself in the living room. She channel-surfed for a bit before landing on an old movie she had always enjoyed—Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Barkleys of Broadway . The interplay between the leads, especially when Fred was pretending to be her French director, giving Ginger advice over the phone, was delightful, and the dancing was outstanding. She finished the pizza right before the last dance of the movie. Sonja debated whether it was worth the effort to get up and go to bed or if crashing on the couch was a viable option. Then she remembered how she had felt the last time she'd spent the night there and got up before she let her exhaustion change her mind. Sonja gave Snuggles his nightly medicine, brushed her teeth, and was about to turn out the light when she remembered that Derek had asked her to text him again at bedtime. She sent him a quick message about her day's cleaning and made sure she had set her alarm. Snuggles was in his usual spot on the pillow next to her and she was ready for sleep once she turned off her bedside lamp. Unfortunately, sleep wasn't ready for her. After tossing and turning for what seemed like the entire night, Sonja woke up to an empty bed. Snuggles didn't like sharing with a human who wouldn't stay still.

  Sonja opened her curtains to find dark skies and steady rain, which matched her mood all too well. Today, was the day of the biopsy, and she wanted to hide under the covers rather than get up. Nevertheless, she made it to work and then operated on autopilot with the mantra 'just get me through this' playing in her head at work and on her way to the hospital. She didn't have to wait at all, and before she knew it, she was on her way out with a miniature ice pack in her bra to keep the area where the needle had gone in numb once the anesthetic wore off. She had a bowl of minestrone from the café for dinner and had another early night. Now, she would have to wait for the results.

  Chapter 6

  W ednesday afternoon finally arrived. Sonja had spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday at the café, driving everyone but Suzie crazy. Typically, a laid-back manager as long as people were doing their jobs, Sonja was anything but, this week. Tuesday, she'd spent most of the day in the kitchen until the chef threatened to quit if she didn't stop poking her nose into the food. Wednesday, she was checking tables for cleanliness, shadowing the servers, hurrying the busboys and generally making a nuisance of herself. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when closing time arrived and the last customers left.

  Once the employees were gone, Suzie cornered Sonja in the office. "Would you care to explain your behavior of the last two days?"

  "I'm sorry, Suzie. I'm stressed, and I'm taking it out on everyone else. I promise I'll be better tomorrow."

  "It's not something with you and Derek, is it? You guys seemed great together at the club."

  "No, it's not Derek. Things with him are great. He told me he loved me Friday night." Sonja's face brightened as she thought about him.

  "That's fantastic!" Suzie hugged her. "So, what's going on? This is not 'he told me he loves me' behavior."

  "It's probably nothing. I've got a doctor's appointment later to go over some test results. I'm just edgy. Don't worry."

  "Okay, but you'd tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn't you?"

  "Of course, I would," Sonja said as she mentally crossed her fingers for stretching the truth. "I'm just worried over nothing. Now, don't you have to go watch Tim or Abby do something spectacular in soccer?"

  "Damn, you're right and if I don't leave right now, I'll be late. I expect a full report tomorrow."

  "Yes, ma'am. Go!" She shooed a distracted Suzie from the office.

  An hour and a half later, she was sitting in the waiting area at Dr. Davidson's office. She checked her watch. The appointment had been for 4:30 pm and it was almost five. The waiting room was practically empty when a woman appeared at the door. "Sonja Madden?" she asked.

  Sonja got up immediately. "That's me."

  "Hi, I'm Erin Carlier. I'm a nurse practitioner," she said as she led Sonja to an exam room. "Do you prefer Ms. Madden or Sonja?"

  "Sonja, please." They came to an empty room and went in. Sonja sat in the patient's chair and Erin took the ubiquitous rolling chair that all doctors' offices seemed to have.

  "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. It's been a zoo this afternoon. One of the doctors called in sick this morning and Dr. Davidson had to leave at lunchtime for a personal emergency. We rescheduled most of their patients, but we've still had more to cope with than usual. She asked me specifically not to put you off, given why you're here."

  "I hope it's nothing serious. Dr. Davidson's emergency, I mean." Sonja worried about everyone but herself when bad news was in the air.

  "I don't know any details. Sorry," Erin said. "For you, though, it's good news. The biopsy results are negative. No sign of malignancy."

  "Oh, my God. That's wonderful! So, what was it?"

  "The pathologist said, and I quote, 'No signs of ductal or lobular carcinoma. Possible beginnings of fibrocystic formation.'"

  "What does that mean? Fibrocystic formation." Sonja wanted to be sure she understood everything. "My mother died from lobular carcinoma and my grandmother from ductal, but I've never heard of fibrocystic."

  "Basically, fibrocystic breast disease means a tendency to develop fibroid cysts in your breast tissue. The only trouble they cause for most women is mild discomfort, lumpy breasts, and false positives on mammograms." Erin chuckled a little. "I know it's not funny, but those are the only problems I've ever heard of with cysts in the breast."

  Sonja laughed in relief.

  "I'll give you a copy of the pathology report for your records, and I took the liberty of printing out this article on fibrocystic breasts from the Mayo Clinic's website."

  "Thanks, I appreciate that," Sonja said. Now that she knew she didn't have cancer, she took a moment to really look
at the other woman. She saw a statuesque brunette, with curly, shoulder-length hair. "Have we met before? You look familiar."

  "I don't think so, but anything's possible."

  "Have you ever been to The Sweet and Savory Table? It's a little café downtown. I'm co-owner, and I try to get to know my customers."

  "Once or twice, I think. Your bakery is excellent. I had a dark chocolate raspberry torte that was out of this world. That must be where you saw me." Erin seemed oddly edgy over the question, but Sonja put it out of her mind. She was so full of relief that it was hard to concentrate on anything else.

  "Come back any time, and be sure to say hello." Sonja started to get up.

  "One more thing. Dr. Davidson left a note in your file. Have you considered genetic testing, given your family history?"

  "Dr. Jacobs mentioned it back when the testing first became available, but the cost was a problem then. I take it Dr. Davidson wants me to consider it again?"

  "Yes. Costs have come down, and it could help you get a better handle on your level of risk."

  "Where would I have to go for it?"

  "Nowhere. We could do a swab here today. For the results, you'd meet with a genetic counselor at Truman."

  "I'll think about it. I need to check into the costs and insurance coverage."

  "I'm sure Dr. Davidson would be happy to talk to you about it any time."

  "Sure. Is that all? I'd like to go celebrate my news."

  "That's all. Congratulations. I hope to see you again under more pleasant circumstances."

  "That would be great. Thanks for not putting me off, Erin."

  They shook hands at the door. "Enjoy your evening, Sonja."

  Trying to work while he waited had been a terrible idea. Derek stared at his computer screen, more of the letters flickering into gibberish with each passing moment. He glanced at the corner of the screen for the time. 5:05 pm. Sonja's appointment had been at 4:30 pm. What was taking so long? She had promised to call as soon as she left the doctor's office. He tried to focus on the case file on his screen again. He got through two paragraphs of notes before he lost concentration again. He was accomplishing nothing, but he couldn't take off because that would guarantee she'd call while he was driving. He needed to give her his undivided attention. Too bad the days of paper records were over. He could have used the time to catch up with his filing, but his office had converted everything to electronic records the year before. He kept expecting data breeches and system crashes, but so far, the transition had been remarkably smooth.