Glen Cove

Chapter 5: Delightfully Sweet

He scoops me up in his arms and makes his way back to the entry point we had entered through. One of the workers in black opens the red door.

I loop my arms around Alexandre's neck, holding on to him. Laying my head down on his shoulder, I press my face against his shirt and silently weep.

"Can you stand?" In front of his office, he lowers my feet to the floor.

"Yes, I think so." My body sways and I grab his shirt with one hand and press the other to the wall next to me.

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he draws me close to his frame. The warmth of his body presses against mine. It's a sensation I find oddly comforting, especially after what had just happened.

He keys the same musical code into the numeric keypad and opens the door, then once inside, he rearms the alarm.

Carrying me to the leather couch, he sets me down. Gently, with a tenderness I didn't think a man could possess, he removes the black heels from my feet.

His eyes skim my legs as if examining the marks on my bare legs, then he takes hold of the hem of my dress, lifting it above my thighs.

"What are you doing?" I gasp and shove his hands away.

"Ma petite chere, I will not hurt you. But I need to assess what was done to your skin." His piercing blue eyes peer down at me. "I will keep your modesty intact. Now, lie back, so I may continue the examination."

Hands resting over my lower pelvis, I lay back, but continue to watch his every move. The prior scene in that hellish room replays in my head, leaving me more confused than I already feel.

"You have questions for me, no?"

I slide up onto my elbows and nod.

"He asked if I was looking for a master."

Alexandre guides my upper body down onto the soft folds of the couch.

"Is that the same as a Dom?"

"Yes, to a degree."

When he lifts the dress over my thighs, my body flushes from head to toe. Softly, he brushes the tender skin around the puckered flesh with the tips of his fingers.

I flinch under his touch, and he exhales a heavy sigh.

"Ma petite chere, I am sorry he touched you." He stands and walks over to the desk. "But he will not ever do that again. I assure you."

He slides a drawer open, and the sound of wood on wood echoes through the room. When he returns, he's carrying a bottle of water, a small square package, and a yellow and white tube.

Alexandre hands me the water and tears open a package of Tylenol. "Take these."

I take the two white caplets from his hand, toss them into my mouth, and then wash them down with the water.

Alexandre kneels in front of the couch.

Pointing at the tube, I ask, "What is that?"

I pull my legs under my dress and against my chest, but grimace because it makes the marks on my thighs sting once more.

"It is lidocaine cream. A topical anesthetic that will help ease the discomfort, ma chere. Now, lie down, so I may put it on you," he orders in a calm and soothing voice.

I do as he asks and lower my body onto the plush cushions of the couch once again.

Alexandre slips a blue glove on over his left hand. Then he dispenses some of the white cream onto the tips of his gloved fingers. His touch is tender. He caresses the skin under, above and around the whelped stinging flesh. Gingerly, he glides his fingertips over the puckered skin, and I flinch.

"I am trying to not hurt you." Gently, he slides a hand under the back of my leg, raising it upward, which bends my knee in the process.

His hand glides to the outside of my thigh and up my hamstring. The light touch incites a wave of goose bumps to wash across my body.

He seems to take notice of the goose-pimpled flesh but continues to apply the cream, gently. In time, the stinging on my thighs begins to diminish, and my body relaxes.

"You do not like being tied up, no?"

Memories of the red-headed man touching me floods my thoughts, bringing up past memories I'd rather forget. Fear grips my belly.

"No, I don't." A new wave of tears brims the threshold of my eyes.

"Have you ever experienced bondage before?" He pulls off the glove and tosses it in the black trash can next to the desk. "Consensual or forced?"

A tremor washes over my body, and I turn away from his intense gaze. A couple of teardrops splash onto my cheeks.

"Do not let the action of one ignorant man keep you from exploring s****l possibilities." He cups my chin. "Bondage can be enjoyable when done correctly and with the right person."

Alexandre caresses my face, wiping off the moisture from the spilled tears. His gentle touch is my undoing and start to weep.

"Do not cry, ma petite chere. You are safe now. I will not let anyone hurt you again." His hands cup the sides of my face, tilting my chin toward him, and he peers down into my face.

I shiver under his warm touch, and my eyes are drawn to his mouth.

Kneeling next to the couch, he leans over, lowering his head to kiss me. When I take a deep breath, he tenderly probes my parted lips. The kiss deepens, and he explores the inner recesses of my mouth with his tongue.

"Mmm." Being this close to him is intoxicating, it makes it easy to lose myself in the moment.

His fingers trace the line of my jaw before moving down to the hollow of my neck. Breaking our kiss, he tilts my chin up and to the side, then he leaves a burning trail of desire across my quivering flesh.

"You taste delightfully sweet." He gazes down at me with hooded eyes. "What are you thinking, ma petite chere? What is going through that head of yours?"

A knock on the door makes me jump, and my eyes widen.

The corners of his lips curl upward into a smile that brightens his eyes. He stands, then walks to the door.

"Don't move. I will return momentarily." Alexandre slips out into the hallway, closing the heavy wooden door behind him.

Indistinct voices carry through the air, but I can't make out what is being said.