Dom Wars: Round Two Page 4

  Danielle gasped. “Correct!”

  I stared at Tara, floored that she’d deduced that one. “And how’d you guess that?”

  She gave a perfectly obnoxious smile. “A lucky guess. But your personality screams it. Overcoming obstacles is your middle name and being Aqua-man makes sense given your… childhood fear.”

  I had to admit it. “Impressive.”

  “Okay, so, Tara is in the lead, two to zero. Next question, Tara. We asked Lucian what he wanted to be when he grew up. What do you think he said?”

  “Ummm. I don’t guess Dom was yet part of his childhood vocabulary until much later, soooo, I’ll go with… Proctologist.”

  I burst out laughing at the most unanticipated and priceless answer. She’d thrown her points just to get that jab. “Fuck, that was good.”

  “Good, but wrong.” Danielle frowned. “He wanted to be a master builder.”

  Tara looked at me in wide-eyed shock that I couldn’t tell was genuine or not. “Master Builder. Impressive Mr. Bane.”

  “Thank you… Doctor?”

  “Is that your guess for me?”

  I thought about it. “Yes. It is.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “Wrong again, baby. I wanted to be an astronaut.”

  “Really?” Okay, that was actually pretty cool. “I’m amazed.”

  “I’m so sure you are.” She looked at Danielle. “Is it time for us to draw some BDSM pictures?” She held up the paper and I bit my lower lip at how funny she was.

  “One more question. Tara, we asked Lucian if he could meet anybody in the world, who would it be? Dead or alive. Fictional or non.”

  “I don’t know. Spiderman?”

  Danielle gave a fake dramatic gasp. “Right!” She looked at me. “She’s good!”

  I stared at Tara, wondering who in the world she’d want to meet. Probably… “Neil Armstrong.”

  “Awwww, no.” Danielle patted my hand before leaning toward me. “She put down her parents.” Her fake whisper echoed in the sudden quiet.

  My heart dropped and I jerked my gaze to Tara. God. Fuck.

  “What?” Tara shrugged. “I didn’t know them. I’d like to meet them. Any kid would, obviously.”

  “Of course, love.” It tore my gut to hear her speak so casually about it.

  “Are we done?” Tara’s words were calmer than ever.

  “Only one more assignment. I’d like you to write your greatest, most secret fantasy on your paper and seal it in this envelope.” She produced two envelopes and gave us each one.

  Tara shook her head. “What… is the point of that?” She didn’t hide how stupid she thought that was, along with the rest of their tests.

  “Fair question.” Danielle smiled before waggling her brows. “And one I’m not obligated to answer.”

  Tara grabbed the pen, mumbling about not actually expecting coherent answers or logic to be found in the nearby vicinity as she scribbled furiously. She suddenly slapped the pen down, folded the paper, stuffed it in the envelope, sealed it, and then firmly slid it exactly in front of the amused woman.

  I stared at the paper and sighed. My greatest fantasy, huh? Yeah. That was easy.

  Chapter Five

  Thanks to my answers in the Sir Lucian Trivia Test, I won the right to Dom in the second challenge. Thank God. It was day two. Just one more day. I could survive this.

  I dressed as ordered in the clothing Danielle had brought me and waited on the couch while Lucian got ready. My mind wouldn’t stop puzzling over what we might face next. The one piece swimsuit covered with yoga pants and a hoodie emblazoned with the DOM Wars logo was worrisome. Though I could swim, it was definitely not my strong suite, so that worried me. Light, rubber soled swim shoes completed the ensemble, which made me think there would be more than just swimming involved. Or the whole costume could be designed to mislead us. We wouldn’t know until we faced the challenge.

  Lucian strolled into the living room area, wearing the male version of clothes that matched mine. “Ready for this one?”

  I shrugged and stood. “Of course. Are you?”

  He grinned. “Oh yeah.” Holding the door, he stood back and gestured for me to step into the corridor first. Following, he settled one hand on the small of my back and kept it there.

  The memory of his hand stroking my spine the night before sent heat blasting through me. That was fighting dirty! But if I said anything, he would know how deeply his lovemaking had affected me. That would be way too much ammunition to give a Dom Romeo.

  I kept quiet as we headed for the dining room. We hadn’t been there since the closing of the first part of the contest. Another woman, brunette and thankfully not that ditzy Danielle, stopped us just outside the double doors into the dining room. I looked around, relieved to find Danielle nowhere in sight.

  The announcer gave us both an appraising look, her gaze lingering on the dark marks I’d left on Lucian’s neck at some point the night before. She gave him a little smile that looked like encouragement. “I trust you’re both well rested and ready to get started?”

  Lucian grinned back. “I don’t know about well rested, but definitely satisfied, for a bit. And ready.”

  I rolled my eyes. Bad enough I’d marked him for all to see. He didn’t have to brag that we’d had a night filled with wild monkey sex.

  He caught my disapproving expression and lifted a brow. “Problem, love?”

  “Not at all, baby. I’m ready to win again. I have a few plans of my own I’d like to carry out.” Okay, so it was all bravado. It still put a speculative gleam in his eyes.

  The announcer signaled a cameraman who’d come up behind us. When he nodded, she began with her mega-watt smile and the introductions to the viewers. With that part over, she turned to speak more directly to Lucian and me.

  “Okay, so, this leg of the challenge, this week, is all about trust. Trust is the ultimate requirement when making any kind of exchange in any type of relationship. As Danielle mentioned yesterday, it doesn’t matter if it’s a vanilla romance, a Dom/sub relationship, or a platonic friendship. If there’s no trust, the relationship cannot work in any real, meaningful way.”

  She looked at us, probing, as if assessing whether we had what was necessary for anything meaningful. “Up until now, you may have thought you were playing a cute, fun, if somewhat twisted, game. And while it may have been fun, and even cute, from here on out, the challenges are going to get a little more real. Know that every single test from this point forward has a defined purpose.”

  She paused for a smile at the camera to involve the viewers. “As the weeks pass, you will begin to feel that purpose, and know what we expect of our Top Dom. You will understand that top Dom isn’t just about how well you command an orgasm, it’s a way of life, a mindset, a moral position. Our tests are designed to weed out the fakes and the power mongers. So, if you’re in it for any particular thrill, you will lose. If you don’t like that, you can quit. If you don’t agree with it, you can quit. But if you stay, know that you will be demanded to do things you might not consider a real Dom would do. But to be our top Dom, you will not only do it, but you will do it with excellence.”

  She turned slightly to indicate the double doors into the dining room. “Now, on the other side of these doors, is your next challenge. This challenge is going to put the trust you have built in each other to the test. This time, you face an obstacle course. Bane, you will be blindfolded. The two of you will be tied together to ensure you have to work as a team Reese will direct you with words through the obstacles. This will test her ability to guide in a way you can follow, and Bane’s ability to allow someone else enough control to follow their directions.”

  Hand on the door latch, she smiled again. “And you guys might want to do this quickly. As it stands, you’re second to last in line for elimination. Not looking good for you. You’ll be graded individually and as a team. The one with the most points wins the right to Dom in the bedroom.

  “A
nd,” she said, opening the door to a large gymnasium set up with obstacles. “There has been a new development at this stage of the competition. From here on out, the one in the sub position will be subject to discipline. If he or she does too poorly, the Dom will decide a discipline that will inspire proper obedience. But in the weeks to come—if you manage to make it past this week—it’ll be determined by the highest ranking Dom in the competition. And that includes the possibility of auctioning off a sub to another Dom for training.”

  What? Holy crap, that’s crazy. Judging by Lucian’s lowered, shaking head, he wasn’t happy about that news either.

  He looked at me suddenly, flint in those clear blue eyes “I guess you’re going to play Dom?” His attitude said he figured I would, out of sheer obstinacy. He would be wrong. I was playing Dom because I could, and I was damn good at it.

  “I am. And you’re going to play sub?” I matched his doubt in his ability.

  “Yes. I am.”

  I nodded and clapped him on the back. “You can handle it?”

  He looked at me. “Can you? Can you handle Domming me?”

  “Yes I can. Can you submit?”

  “I can. I can fucking submit. If you can guide.”

  “I can guide.”

  “Good. I can follow.”

  “We should ace this then.”

  The announcer handed us off to a man and woman, who led us to the starting point.

  I couldn’t resist a little jab. “Take a good look before the blindfold goes on.”

  “Oh I am. Trust me.” He mumbled out the course several times. I studied it too. It didn’t look too complicated, just standard obstacle course stuff.

  “Okay, at the sound of the whistle, you’ll both go through the Torture Tires, coated and set in a mud pit, as you can see. After, you’ll climb the Berlin Wall, which will require you to help one another. You will then cross the balance beam. If you fall off, you’ll have to start again and go all the way across. Then you will make your way across the ropes, and finally the Spool of Sin. You’ll both mount it and walk it to the finish line. Got it?”

  We nodded and Lucian held out his hand.

  I slapped it and he gave a frustrated sigh, presenting it again. “Hold it, love. I can’t exactly know where I’m going unless you guide me.”

  Heat crept up my neck. “I know that.” I took his hand and he gripped it tight. The kind of tight that said he’d be dragging me. “Remember we’re a team,” I said. “And I’m leading. So don’t get ahead of me. But keep up.”

  “Don’t worry about me, love. Just lead and don’t hold back.” They tied on the blindfold then joined us at the waist with a rope having approximately a two foot slack.

  The whistle sounded and I ran with Lucian to the tires. “Get ready to stop, tires in ten feet.”

  “Just go, go.”

  We got to the tires. “Stop.”

  Lucian didn’t stop quite in time and fell into the tires, dragging me with him. “I need a little more than a second of advance warning, Tara, fuck!”

  “Sorry!” We fought our way up, slippery mud making the task far more difficult than necessary. “I’m putting you exactly next to the tires. Step with me on three. Right foot first.”

  We managed great up to halfway. “My shoe!”

  The unexpected halt got me jerked off balance by a driven Lucian and we both fell in a tangle, coating ourselves thoroughly with the slick goo.

  “Fuck, it’s a shoe! I’ll buy you fifty fucking pairs if you don’t do that again, Jesus.”

  We fought our way to standing only to fall again.

  “God, I’m sorry.” I helped him back up. “Shit, we have to start over.” I led him back to the start.

  “Let’s start like we did before. Right foot first. Go.”

  We did our robotic dance with me calling out step left, step right, step left, step right until we made it out.

  “Okay, I’m running with you to the wall.”

  “Run like hell.”

  I did. And he followed. “Wall in three feet.”

  He put his hands out but still hit it pretty hard and cursed, rubbing his right wrist. Hoping he hadn’t injured himself, I handed him the knotted rope to climb next to mine. “Together again?”

  “Yes. One, two, three.”

  We started climbing, only to find that the slick mud from our clothing quickly coated the rope as we went up, making the knots incredibly difficult to gain footholds. I somehow managed to keep pace halfway up, despite the rough fibers digging painfully into the instep of my bare foot.

  The rope joining us at the waist began to tighten, pulling harder with every inch Lucian advanced. “Love, faster.”

  “I’m going as fast as I can,” I gasped. My bare foot slipped off the knot. “Shit!” I fought to regain my foothold.

  “God damn.” Lucian growled under the strain of both our weight. “Come on baby. Get it together, you got this.”

  Finally, I got my foot on the next knot and began to climb again. The muscles in my arms burned with the strain. “Go. Go. I got it.”

  He climbed and again the rope yanked on me, destroying my balance. “The top is close, right? You can do it. Fucking hurry.”

  I finally made it and we carefully swung our legs over the wall and descended without a problem.

  At the bottom, I turned Lucian in the right direction. “Running to the balance beam.”

  We sprinted and I gave him a five foot warning before arriving. Seemed to work perfectly. “I’ll go first,” I said, “and you follow.

  “Go, go. Slowly. No falling.”

  “Right.” I stepped on the balance beam and slid my foot several feet ahead. “Hold on to my waist maybe. To keep the same balance.”

  He held my waist and I carefully led us across.

  “You’re doing fucking great, love.”

  Before he could finish his sentence my stupid, hurting, bare foot slid off the beam. Lucian gripped my waist tight, righting me, but the effort destroyed his center of gravity and suddenly, we were fighting just to regain our balance. Shit. I finally pulled us both off the beam and we fell in a painful heap on the hard floor.

  “Fuck, did I hurt you?” He ran frantic hands over me, searching for injuries.

  “Not really.” I had to lie to keep from sitting down and bawling. Helping him up, I hurried with him back to the beginning. “Okay, here we go.”

  “Get on my back.” Lucian turned. “I’ll carry you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Do it.”

  I jumped on his back and he crossed with us in record time with me directing the distance. “Done. Yes, you did it,” I gasped.

  He set me down and I turned him toward the next obstacle. “The rope. God, I hope I can do that, my arms are tired.”

  “Fuck. I’ll carry you there too. Just get me to it.”

  I hurried us to the ropes, hating that he had to, but realizing it was our only real hope. “We’re here. Maybe I should try first.” I led him up the maybe eight foot high platform and directed his hands to the thick rope suspended between two platforms twenty feet apart.

  “Get on my back. If you tire out half way through and we have to start over, I won’t be able to carry you.”

  “God, are you sure?”

  “No. But that’s all we got.”

  “Okay.” I climbed his back and the reality of my physical inferiority burned my cheeks.

  “Hold on tight, love. We got this.”

  He began crossing, moving hand over hand, swinging us along the rope.

  “Am I too heavy? Maybe I can hold on with one hand to take the some of the weight off.”

  “No!” He continued to swing like a monkey with me.

  “Are you okay?”

  He answered with growling grunts, every muscle in his torso straining. His t-shirt was soaked with sweat and the absurd need to see him naked and glistening hit me like starvation.

  “You… have a really nice body,” I whis
pered in his ear.

  “Ugh!”

  It was more a roar and I couldn’t tell if he was upset or not. “Sorry. You’re so close. Wow, you’re amazing. Seriously.”

  He gave a snort among the loud panting, like he didn’t believe me. “Fuck!”

  “What? Are you slipping?” I reached one hand up and latched on to the rope then grabbed it with the other hand. “Finish, I’m behind you. You have maybe four feet left.” It was really more like six.

  He swung his arm and the slack in the rope holding us together suddenly jerked tight, preventing him from grabbing hold, leaving him dangling by one hand.

  “Shit shit,” I gasped. I slid one hand along to get closer. “I’m coming. Hold on.”

  “My hand is numb, I’m going to fucking fall.”

  “Okay, coming. Coming. Hold on.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  I crept along until I was up against his back. “I have enough strength in my arms to help. I’m going to wrap my legs around you and take some of your weight. Then just…let’s shimmy the rest of the way a little at a time. We can do it. You only have like four more feet.”

  He nodded and used the bit of support I could give him to grab hold with his other hand. Inch by excruciating inch, we made our way. “Fuck how close?”

  I struggled to see below us. “You’re there. You’re there, the platform is beneath you.”

  He suddenly dropped and jerked me down with him. I fell on top of him, a disgraceful pile of sweaty limbs.

  “Let’s go,” he gasped.

  “The spools next.” I ran with him. “Five feet ahead.” I guided him to the large spool lying on its side. Shit, we’d have to keep perfect time, like a synchronized log roll. Because I did that all my life. Not. Lucian climbed up then pulled me with him.

  “Okay.” He was winded. “On the count of three. I’ll begin and you follow.”

  “I’m supposed to be leading.”

  “God, whatever. Then you do it. Go.”

  I began and he lost his balance, nearly falling and taking me with him.

  “Love! On the count of three.”

  “You said go!”