Kneeling between Marcus’s legs, Gabi felt enclosed in safety as he played with her hair and traced his fingers across the back of her neck.

The other two couples were watching the scene where the harsh dom, Master Nolan, caned… What had Andrea said his sub was named? Beth. Chains held the redheaded sub’s arms over her head, and a spreader bar kept her legs wide apart as Master Nolan beat on her. A flogger lay discarded on the floor, and now he tossed away the cane and picked up a leather tawse. Beth had tears in her eyes, but her nipples had peaked hard and her face was flushed. She waggled her hips and arched into the blows with more excitement than pain.

Gabi shivered, remembering the flogging from Marcus, how the burning had somehow changed to pleasure until she couldn’t tell the difference. The redhead’s moans sure didn’t sound unhappy. Her dom worked her higher and higher, then switched to the little pussy flogger Marcus had used. Had Z given them to all the Masters?

Nolan slapped the flogger across Beth’s breasts, then landed one right between her legs. The sub’s back arched as she screamed and shuddered in a long, awe-inspiring climax.

Master Nolan’s face changed entirely as he smiled, and Gabi saw why his sub found him appealing. The rumble of his voice reached the people watching as he fisted a hand in Beth’s hair, leaning his body against hers. Her tremors eased. And then Nolan stepped back and swatted the flogger three more times right on her pussy, hard and fast. With an incredible look of shock, Beth climaxed again so violently that the chains rang.

The watching doms grinned, murmuring approval of his skill.

The rest of the Masters had arrived while Gabi had stared at the scene. Sam, a whip dangling from his belt, stood with arms folded across his chest. Mistress Anne sat in a leather chair, and a sub in a chain chest harness knelt at her feet. Raoul leaned against the back of the couch where Dan and Kari sat.

Dan pulled Kari onto his lap, freeing up more space. His big hand splayed over her pregnant stomach, and he smiled at her like a man who had all his dreams right there in his arms.

Gabi sighed. Would anyone ever look at her like that?

Mistress Olivia sat down beside Dan and Kari.

Master Z had stood off to one side and now chose one of the two empty chairs. He had his short, curvy sub with him tonight, although Gabi didn’t remember seeing her recently. Z pointed to the floor. Jessica sank to a kneeling position, her face expressionless.

As Nolan wrapped his arms around his restrained sub, Gabi glanced at Marcus and the other Masters. “Why’s everyone so happy?” she whispered to Marcus.

He leaned down, crossing his arms under her breasts, and murmured in her ear: “Beth was married to a sadist who scarred her up simply to hear her scream. She ran away.”

When Gabi squinted her eyes, she saw Beth’s white scar lines and puckered circles, marks like she’d seen on some of the victims she’d worked with. “The bastard. I hope he’s rotting behind bars.”

“Underground actually, I believe. At any rate, when Beth came to the Shadowlands, she was too terrified to give up control. Z made her take Nolan as her dom.”

Gabi suppressed a laugh. The meanest-looking dom in the place? If she’d been Beth, she’d have run like hell.

“He’s worked with her for months to get her over her fear of restraints. She trusts him now. Totally. So much that when he brings out floggers and canes, she doesn’t have a panic attack. He considers tonight her graduation in a way, and he wanted to show her that she could do it all.”

Gabi watched as Nolan released his sub from the restraints, one big arm around her to hold her up. Beth’s eyes were fixed on the dom as if he held the sum total of her world. “I think she passed the test.”

Chapter Nineteen

Jessica sighed as Nolan swept Beth up, carrying her over to join the group.

Z turned, motioned for one of the trainees, and nodded to the scene area. The members knew to wipe up after playing, but sometimes a sub needed the attention more, so Z kept a cleaning person available. The trainee nodded and trotted off.

Although a bit glassy-eyed, Beth appeared incredibly happy, snuggled into Nolan’s lap with her head against his shoulder. He murmured to her, his face as gentle as Jessica had ever seen. God, they looked good together, and she felt pleased for them…if a little envious.

Nolan’s voice lifted slightly. “Beth, do you love me?”

She tilted her head back to smile up at him. “You know I do.”

“Do you like living with me?” He framed her face, his hands almost as scarred as his sub’s body.

“Of course.”

“You trust me.”

“With everything in me,” she whispered.

“Am I your dom, little rabbit?”

“Yes.” Her red-brown brows drew together. “What’s wrong?”

“Not a thing.” He gave her a faint smile, and his gravelly voice deepened. “I thought I’d tell you we’re getting married next month. We need to get a plane ticket for your mama.”

Jessica could almost see Beth’s mind try to process Nolan’s declaration. The redhead sat straight up. “What?”

“You heard me, honey.”

“That’s…that’s not any kind of a proposal. You can’t…”

Nolan’s mouth tightened, and he gave her a look any sub in the world would recognize, the one that said someone was getting far too close to pissing off a nasty dom.

Beth stopped. She frowned at her hands.

“Beth, do you love me?”

“Yes,” she snapped, lifting her head.

“Do you like living with me?”

Beth gave an exasperated snort. “Okay, you jerk. You don’t need to go through it all again, although you really should have finished with a ‘will you marry me’ question.”

He smiled slowly. “I didn’t want to take the chance you’d say no.”

“You’re such a dom,” she grumbled and then gave him a breathtaking smile. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

As everyone broke into applause, Cullen handed Nolan a ring, and he slid it onto Beth’s finger. She let out a squeak of delight, her eyes wide. Hands bracketing her dom’s face, she gave him a very long, very sweet kiss.

And then she shoved herself off his lap to hurry to Kari and show her ring off.

Jessica grinned as Nolan winced and adjusted a conspicuous erection.

Dan snorted and told Nolan in a low voice, “You’d better take her home soon before you damage something.”

“Hell with that. We’re heading upstairs the minute she stops showing off her ring.” Nolan grinned as Beth trotted from Kari to Andrea. “Then again, if she takes much longer, I may just bend her over this chair.”

As the men laughed, Beth dropped down beside Jessica. “Look, Jessica.”

Jessica smiled at her instead, seeing the glow in her eyes, the utter happiness with no reservations whatsoever. “I’m so glad for you.”

Beth hugged her. “Without you holding my hand and encouraging me, I might have run. Thank you.”

Blinking away tears, Jessica hugged her back. “Okay, show me.”

The ring was lovely, a diamond in the center of smaller multicolored gems, giving the impression of a flower in bloom, perfect for the landscape designer. “I’m envious,” Jessica said, trying to make her words light even though she meant them with all her heart. “And I know you two will be wonderfully happy together.”

“Thank you.” Beth kissed her cheek before grinning at Z. “Thank you, Sir.”

Z stroked her hair. “Be happy, Elizabeth.”

Feeling a little excluded and a lot envious, Gabi watched Beth return to Nolan.

His black gaze had never left his submissive for more than a few seconds.

Beth flapped her subbie blanket at him. “Want to go upstairs, my lord and master…or just bend me over the arm of your chair?”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Nolan’s face darkened, and he rose.

Beth warily took a step back.

Gabi giggled when Nolan stripped the blanket from Beth and tossed her over his shoulder. He slapped her butt, glanced around at everyone, and grinned. “We’re going upstairs for a bit, Z,” he said.

Master Z inclined his head. “Feel free to spend the night, Nolan. Use as many rooms as you deem necessary to get her properly engaged.”

Nolan chuckled, caressing Beth’s slim thigh. “Good suggestion, Z. It shouldn’t take more than a handful of rooms to obtain a quiet little fiancée.”

A muffled “What!” came from the redhead, even as the rest of the doms grinned.

Cullen had picked up the various toys in the scene area. Now he hung the leather bag over Nolan’s shoulder. “You’ll need this, buddy.”

Gabi shook her head, a bit appalled. Each of the private rooms on the second floor had a different piece of equipment—from spanking benches to St. Andrew’s crosses to bondage tables. By morning, poor Beth probably wouldn’t be able to walk.

“Well, that exhausted me.” Dan nuzzled his pregnant sub. “Brought back all sorts of horrible memories of getting engaged.”

“Oh, it did not,” she said. Gabi gasped as the round little sub poked her hard-faced dom in the ribs. Was she insane?