They stuffed Carter in the crate, his dead weight a massive burden. Jake brought in a handcart and they got the crate on wheels. Jake nodded toward him, waving him off. He and Simon would board on the cargo level with the shipment. The rest of them had to get back on the boat with smiles on their faces like they’d had a brilliant time in Finland. Charlotte and Penelope had been trying to fix Candice’s makeup. She looked pale but walked solidly ahead of them.
His chest still ached with every breath. He kept his footsteps steady, but he had to think about it, had to focus. There was a small wound on his left bicep that still stung a bit. He was wearing Taggart’s jacket to cover up the small stain on his shirt.
“Are you all right?” Penelope asked as they moved toward the cruise terminal. All around them happy tourists flocked to buy candies and small souvenirs to take back to loved ones at home.
He had no one who cared where he’d been or what he’d done. No one who cared truly if he lived or died. He’d had Penelope, but he’d ruined that somehow. “I’m perfectly fit.”
Candice looked back. “Can I go to my room?”
Damon nodded. “Yes. But don’t leave there. We might need you.”
“I would like to talk to the big guy, if I could. I’m worried about Walter. I’ve never met him, but after talking to him for weeks, I feel like I know the bloke. I’m sorry about panicking.” Her cheeks flushed as they moved onto the gangway that led to the boat.
Penelope put a hand on her arm. “Everything turned out all right.”
He pulled his keycard out. It was everything to the ship—key, passport, credit card.
She nodded and went silent as they headed through security. The tourists were all talking about the terrible things that had happened at the church, but Damon didn’t engage them. Even Candice went silent as she handed over her card and was buzzed through. She waved as she headed up the stairs toward her room.
He and Penelope walked to the lifts and found themselves blissfully alone for a moment. Charlotte and Ian were heading to the cargo decks to pick up the package. The interrogation could be a long process.
It would be the perfect time to hold her tight and reassure himself that she was alive and all right, but she stepped away from him. He pushed the button for nine.
“I won’t let you punish me. I know I didn’t do exactly what you said, but you can’t expect that I would allow you to do that to me.” She stared straight ahead at the ridiculously ornamental doors to the lift.
“Of course.” He stood to the opposite side, not wanting her to think he was going to attack her. Punishment in D/s was consensual despite the meaning of the word. The submissive had to allow herself to be corrected or it was abuse, and he had no intention of abusing her. He’d been too rough, gone too far, and now she would lock away that part of herself that he could have freed had he not been such a ham-handed idiot.
She sniffled though she still didn’t turn his way. “I’ll be honest, Damon. I didn’t expect that of you.”
She shouldn’t have expected anything from him at all. He shrugged slightly. “It happens all the time at The Garden.” She should truly understand how rough he could be. “I’ve done it to submissives before.”
The door opened and he allowed her to walk out first. She moved with stiff accuracy. “Well, it’s no wonder you don’t have a full-time sub. I suspect they don’t like to be shared in such a manner.”
There were so many reasons he’d never had a full-time sub, the chief one being he’d never had one move him the way Penelope did. “It’s common enough. Jane enjoyed it. She thought it was fun. She would close her eyes and try to figure out which Dom was spanking her. I’ll be honest. I wasn’t going to go through with it. It was a stupid thing to say. I tried to come up with ways to let them spank you that didn’t involve touching you at all. How silly is that?”
She stopped. “Spanking?”
He shook his head, reaching for the keycard again. At least the operation would be over soon. He could get Penelope off the boat at their next port. He wouldn’t have to lie next to her at night and wonder where he’d gone wrong. “Like I said, it was stupid of me. I was very angry. No. I was scared. I was scared of losing you so I threatened you with the worse thing I could think of.”
“Allowing other Doms to spank me.” She seemed to struggle with the words as though they didn’t fit properly in her mouth.
“I wouldn’t have.” He had no idea what to say to her. How was he supposed to tell her how much he was going to miss her? How much he wanted her to stay with him? How much he regretted not being the right kind of man for her?
In the end, he simply turned and started down the hall. The ship would be moving again soon, and he had preparations to make. He needed to think things through. Bennett had to be found, and the Aussie was the only connection they had now.
Unfortunately, Aussies weren’t known for being gentle, cooperative souls.
“Damon?” Penelope was a good ten feet behind him.
“Come along. We need to get ready.” He frowned her way as she stood there. “I won’t touch you, Penelope. You have my word. You might think very little of me, but I won’t hurt you again.”
“Damon, it’s not that,” she began.
A couple of stewards walked through the narrow hallways, shoulder to shoulder, interrupting whatever Penelope might have said.
“Did you just see that? What the hell?” the taller of the two asked.
“I have no idea, man. I’m keeping my eyes closed until this cruise is done. These people are freaks.” He flushed when he realized they weren’t alone. “Evening, sir.”
Damon nodded and allowed them to move by and then he saw what they were complaining about.
Ian Taggart had the big Aussie gagged, his hands behind his back and his shirt off. Charlotte walked next to him, a crop in her hand.
“Bad sub. You are a bad, bad sub and there will be punishment. You never talk to your mistress that way.” She slapped his ass with the crop.
Carter’s head came up, and he looked Charlotte’s way. He seemed to be trying to talk around the bright red ball gag that was strapped to his mouth. He struggled, moving his shoulders hard and to the right, trying to buck Taggart off him.
“You need some help with that one, Tag?” It was a good excuse to end the painful conversation with Penelope. He hurried down the hall, but noticed Carter’s head was back up.
He made some incomprehensible sounds.
Charlotte leaned over. “We’ll get it off you as soon as we make it to the cabin. It’s going to be okay, Mr. Carter. And besides, I’m having fun playing the mistress.”
She lightly tapped his rear with the crop.
“Don’t get used to it. You’re going to be the one taking the crop tonight, Mrs. Taggart. Get his other side, Knight. He’s a heavy son of a bitch.” Taggart hauled him back up.
Damon moved to Carter’s right, but he seemed to cooperate a bit more. His feet didn’t drag now and he stood straight, walking along.
Penelope moved to get the door to their cabin open. She held it while they managed to get Carter inside.
“This is what the world is like in my dreams,” Tag said with a smile on his face. “An all D/s world where it’s perfectly normal for an almost seven-foot dude to get his ass cropped by a Domme. Wouldn’t everything just be better this way?”
Charlotte shut and locked the door. “I’m sure it would be better for you, babe. I, on the other hand, like wearing clothes from time to time. Don’t laugh. You know I do. And if you had your way, we’d all just run around naked.”
Damon did see a couple of flaws in Tag’s plan, though Penelope always being naked and available for him was a tempting idea. But they had bigger things to deal with than Tag’s dream world.