Bells and Chains (Operation Reindeer Retrieval Book 7) Read online

  They bobbed their heads in turn. Each had a huge number on the front of their shirts, and their open coats provided them with the protection that they needed in the balmy weather.

  “In the back of my vehicle are the boxes that we need for the interior of the club. Please begin unpacking and moving the boxes inside into the staging area that Bern arranged.”

  They nodded, and moments later, the hatch of her SUV was open and a train of numbered subs were walking into the manor with one of the leather-bound subs manning the door.

  What followed was a riot of giggles and her shouting numbers as they got into a rhythm. The subs were excited by what they were doing, and after five hours, the house was set up, and it was time to head into the snowy grotto.

  Six and Eight ran to get the horses and sleigh to transport the supplies while the others packed the empty boxes into a stack and giggled wildly.

  “Mistress?” Three asked shyly.

  “Yes, Three?”

  “Where did you find those glowing, glittery dildos?”

  “I can get you the web address. I will have to check the invoice for that precise supplier.” Doni smiled and made a note on her clipboard. “I will get it to you as soon as I am back to my computer. Would you like to give me the email address, or should I send the message through Bern?”

  “Through Master Bern, please. It is a rule of the club.” Three smiled.

  “Not a problem. I am not here to get anyone in trouble.”

  “Thank you, Mistress. I think that I have someone who might appreciate one of those for Christmas.”

  “Not a problem. For the record, you guys are so efficient; I wish I could hire you for every job.”

  The gathering smiled and looked pleased with themselves.

  She knew from their quiet conversations that they were all off university for the holidays. One was an accountant, another a med student, a sociology major and a psychology major. The other four were not as chatty.

  Their group gathered outside and waited next to her car as the sleigh appeared, pulled by Artemis and another mare nearly as large as she was.

  The sleigh pulled up next to the trailer, and the subs sprang into action. Ten minutes of stamping horses later, they clicked into action, and Doni guided them through the woods and into the grotto.

  She shared her vision for the trees and the surrounding area, and as the sleigh returned to the manor for the ladders, she arranged the boxes under the trees where they would come to life.

  The energy of the subs was amazing. They were excited by the work done in the manor, but now, they were going to make magic.

  The dinner that was laid on for them at the manor was amazing.

  They sat together in the kitchen and shared tales of near-death experiences on ladders and what they had created in the grotto. The subs were nearly out of their minds, wanting to share it with their masters and hating to have to wait for the reveal.

  Bern came into the kitchen at long last, and the subs slipped from their chairs to their knees.

  Doni was sipping a glass of lemonade, and she raised her brows. “Dressed for work?” He was wearing skin-tight leather that suited him very well.

  Bern came to her and lifted her hand to his lips. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

  The leather should have made him look smaller, but the snug black covering the width of his chest made her feel tiny.

  “Well, I am ready.”

  It was his turn to raise his brows and her turn to blush.

  “I mean that the numbers and I got everything set up. The grotto is ready and the solar panels are set up. By sunset tonight, there should be enough of a glow to make the whole thing magical.”

  Doni had also caused a small snow flurry as they had ridden away on the sleigh. Their footprints and handprints would be obliterated by now. Even the marks of their snowball fight would be gone.

  “I have a few things to attend to, but the rooms in the manor are gaining tremendous popularity. Where did you find those glittering dildos?”

  She cleared her throat. “When I find the invoice, I will let you know. Three wanted that information as well, and I told her I would forward it to you.”

  “Excellent.”

  She smiled. “Now that my meal is done, I think I will be on my way.”

  “Please, wait here for half an hour. I will attend to the guests and return so that we can head to the wonderland you have crafted in the woods.”

  The subs grinned and kept their gazes on the floor.

  “Bern, can you tell them to get up? They are missing dessert.”

  “Subs, rise and resume your meals.”

  The numbers got back up to their chairs and settled around the table again.

  Doni smiled at Bern. “The clock is ticking. You have half an hour.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, slowly moving his mouth over hers in front of their very attentive audience. He pulled back and smiled. “Thirty minutes.”

  Doni blinked in surprise with her lips throbbing.

  The subs grinned, and Five looked impressed. “He rarely makes time for anyone, and I have never seen him kiss someone before. You must have made an impression.”

  “I don’t think so. I think he is just a little affectionate.”

  Eight shook his head. “Master Bern does not show affection in public. He is the host here; he does not show favouritism. If you have gained his attention, he has some emotional attachment to you.”

  Doni looked around at the earnest faces. “You all agree?”

  Eight heads nodded.

  “Wow. That was the only thing you have completely agreed on today.”

  Laughter rippled around the table.

  Doni had really enjoyed her time with the subs. Two and Four had only tried to manipulate her once before they realized it would just end up with them up a ladder or hanging from a ceiling to wind ribbon around the suspension harnesses.

  When the half hour was up, she yawned and got to her feet. “Well, I am assuming that he was distracted elsewhere and I have to get to bed.”

  She grabbed her bag and clipboard and headed for the door. She was just about to open it when it swung toward her and Bern was standing there.

  He blinked. “You were leaving?”

  “Time is up and I don’t wait.”

  “Good to know. Now, please, lead me to the stables.”

  His aura of command was unmistakable, but his putting her in the role of servant was odd. She scowled, but turned and headed for the back door.

  There was no courtly moment here, and something in her rankled at the shift in him from knight to dom.

  She stalked to the stables and opened the tack room. “I have gotten eight belled harnesses for those who like pony play. Reindeer antler gear is also available for those who feel whimsical.”

  He nodded and grabbed Titan’s saddle from the named bench, ignoring the myriad attachments that were available for the leather and wood. “Come on then and let’s see the rest of the magic that you have wrought.”

  She followed him to Titan’s stall, and the huge beast frisked like a pony at the sight of her again.

  “He hadn’t seen a reindeer before you arrived. Just a moment while I saddle him.”

  Doni calmed him while Bern got him ready, and the moment his saddle and bridle were on, they headed for the door.

  She cleared her throat. “How did you know?”

  “I have been watching for your name in a myriad of combinations. The magic you have wrought is obvious. The horses just reinforced my opinion.”

  Bern boosted her onto Titan’s back, and she settled in the saddle. He landed behind her once again, and they took off into the snow, toward the soft glow in the trees.

  As they entered the shelter of the forest, he finally spoke. “We never discussed the horses calling me an elf.”

  “Elves exist in the world, as do many other things. It was not my concern.”


  “What if I want it to be your concern?”

  “Then, you had better stop giving orders. I don’t take well to folks who give me orders.” She said it. She was riding with a dom, and she had no intention of hanging around after this contract was done. He hadn’t given her a reason to.

  “You don’t like being told what to do?”

  She twisted in his embrace. “Don’t be silly. Of course not. If I accept that you aren’t human, you can accept that I am not human and I have to act as an obedient part of a process once a year. That is not something I particularly enjoy, but I do it.”

  “You want to be in charge?”

  “No, I want to be an equal. It is shocking, but there it is. Not less than, not more than, but equal.” She shrugged.

  She turned to face forward, and they entered the beginning of the grotto.

  Bern gasped.

  Soft lights hung from the trees, powered by the solar panels and battery packs she had hidden deeper in the forest. White leather was everywhere in the trees, as were more of the glittering dildos. It had seemed a little silly, but this was a pervy paradise for those who enjoyed the outdoors. The padded benches were assembled and tucked into the hollows between and under the trees. It was an ideal setting for a snowy orgy or just a cathedral of winter magic for two.

  “This is amazing. It is all functional?”

  “Of course. I mean, steps will have to be taken not to give someone hypothermia with the dildos. If they are frozen, things could get a little uncomfortable, but there is an insulated chamber with everything that you see on the trees and a discard box underneath for the subs to check on at the end of the evening. They know how it works.”

  “How does a reindeer know so much about this?”

  She shrugged. “I did my research. Some of my sisters wanted sex and nothing else. Others wanted to try to blend in with the humans. I wanted to experience the trappings of Christmas in all their variety. I ended up here.”

  His hand around her waist tightened. “You are not interested in sex?”

  “It was not my sole reason for coming out here. Yes, going into heat is annoying with eight of your closest friends doing it at the same time. But it was the feeling of missing out on something that the humans took for granted. That is what left a hole in my soul.” She sighed.

  Titan sighed with her.

  “Will you return to the workshop?” His voice was low and in her ear.

  “Of course. I am not going to punish the world or my team simply because the current rules are not fair. I will go back on the twenty-third, and we will run through the skies on Christmas Eve.” She shrugged. “Just like we always do.”

  The hand on her waist moved lower, pressing between her thighs with a slow rhythm. “Would you stay with me?”

  She shook her head. “No. I have to go back. It is a calling as much as a duty.”

  He kissed her neck. “I can make it worth your while.”

  “You have other play things. Human ones. I am sure you would tire of just plain old me in no time. I don’t want to be tied up, spanked or tortured for your entertainment.”

  She shivered as his mouth moved across her skin and he stroked the bob of her hair out of the way before he continued his exploration.

  “What about what you want? What do you want from a lover?”

  The rhythm of his hand over her sex and the pulsing heat that the touch was waking was distracting, but she managed to whisper, “I just want to touch and be touched and wake with them in my arms. Nothing exotic, just plain vanilla as the vernacular has it.”

  He leaned back, put his hands on her waist and lifted her high, turning her before setting her down with her thighs over his. “What makes you think that I can’t give that to you?”

  She chuckled and gripped his shoulders. His intense gaze was a little hard to meet. “I think you could, but I think you won’t. Elves bore easily from what I understand. I don’t want to be a centuries-long regret for you.”

  His dark-brown gaze bored into hers. “You believe what you are saying.”

  “I definitely do.”

  “Then, what if I told you that after catering to the whims of those who were neither naughty nor nice, I wanted something nice in my life, what would you do?”

  She blinked. “Um, I have no idea. I wasn’t thinking beyond what you obviously represent. I can’t turn my preferences off and on. This is me, and I have never been after anything fancy.”

  He chuckled. “I have never been called fancy before.”

  Doni had a dozen other things to call him, but he leaned in to kiss her before she could say them.

  As he kissed her, a light snow began to fall. Huge, wide flakes came down and landed on their skin and lashes.

  Bern lifted his head. “What is this?”

  She blushed. “Weather magic. It is my thing. Donder is the reindeer who controls the weather.”

  “I thought the name was Donner?” He frowned.

  “The old name is Donder. Thunder. All of us have our own speciality, and mine is weather. I pull back the storms so that we can fly quickly.” She blushed.

  “So, you are definitely needed for the team.” He looked a little disappointed.

  “We all are. That is why we would not skip out on our one day. Santa must have panicked when he called in the elves to send us home.”

  “Probably. We weren’t sent out to send you home; we were sent out to bring you home. The magic that took you from the workshop put you near our long-term assignments. I don’t think that was an accident.”

  Titan was slowly turning under pressure from Bern’s thighs.

  “I don’t think it was an accident either, but I am not sure of the purpose.”

  He pulled her against him, and Titan surged forward. Her hips slammed against his, and each thundering step of the horse under her drove her against him. Her orgasm didn’t creep up on her. Halfway to the stables, she shuddered and clutched at Bern, her body twitching and shivering in the grips of a release she had not anticipated.

  Bern kissed her as the aftershocks gripped her and Titan pranced proudly. She wanted to smack the horse for what he had done; the rhythm to his steps had had a definite purpose.

  When they reached the barn, one of the subs took Titan, and Bern swept Doni into his arms.

  “I can walk perfectly well.” Her bag smacked against her side. She had forgotten she had it on.

  “I know, and yet, I am enjoying this. You may want to be an equal, but that means you will also have to give in to the desires of your partner.”

  She scowled. To her surprise, he didn’t head for the common areas of the house; instead, he moved into a wing that had been untouched by the decorations and the club in general. It was what the manor house actually seemed to be on the exterior.

  Antiques, portraits, couches, even porcelain flower arrangements were all around. He walked her past all of those and into his bedroom.

  She smiled. There were no chains, no leather—other than what he was wearing—and no weird assortment of toys. It was a simple bedroom, and she enjoyed the look of it.

  He set her on her feet and removed her bag, putting it to one side. Her sweater went next and then the long-sleeved shirt she had been wearing under it.

  She was methodically stripped until she was shivering in nothing but her skin and the silvery snowflake tattoo.

  He stroked the tattoo, and he obviously felt the magic under the marking. The leather he wore creaked as he admired her.

  Reindeer didn’t get cold, so the shivering her body was doing had to do with him staring at her. It was a new sensation, to be admired for what she looked like. Normally when folks saw her, she was nine feet tall and pulling a sleigh. The man who had written about eight tiny reindeer had been guessing. He saw what he wanted to see.

  Bern worked the leather off, undoing clasps and fasteners that defied description. His skin was a pale gold, all even, and she had to smirk
at that. Elves didn’t tan. They were the colour they were born to.

  His erection was straight, thick and long. The hair that crowned it was the same dark scarlet as the long mane that cascaded down his back.

  She pressed a hand to his chest. “Show me what you really look like. Your glamour is good, but I can see bits of you peeking out now and then.”

  “Only if you engage in that equality that you want so badly.”

  “You’ll show me yours if I show you mine, as the humans say?” she smirked.

  “Exactly.”

  Doni took a deep breath and let her horns out, let her skin glow and embraced the change in her ears and eyes.

  His skin took on a transparent gleam, his hair rippled and glittered like rubies, and his eyes were deep onyx in a golden translucent ocean. It was as if he were made of gems.

  His skin was hot, and she looked up at him as he was staring down at her in wonder. He stroked her cheek, and she fought the urge to close her eyes and lean into him.

  It seemed like they spent hours just indulging in small caresses, light touches and kisses that were the whisper of a moment. He turned her in front of a mirror and wrapped her in his arms, their contrasting flesh was a stimulation all its own.

  He kissed her shoulder, nibbled at her neck and the entire time he caressed her breasts and belly with one hand while the other searched between her thighs.

  Doni watched as she licked her lips, her lids drooped and she tilted her head back. It was like watching someone else as her breath came faster, and she moaned when another orgasm swept through her. In slow motion, she watched her skin flush, her knees buckle, and Bern held her against him while she shook.

  He moved swiftly and turned her to face him, lifting her high in his arms before lowering her, kissing his way up her belly until she was able to wrap her legs around him.

  His cock nudged at her, and she shifted her hips, rocking and twisting until he was inside her. She kissed him wildly and jerked her hips toward him, impaling herself with slow motions.

  His kiss matched hers, and she felt him grip her horns to hold her head. Her thighs and his cock were holding her body weight. He really was as hard as he looked.