CHAPTER ONE
He needed the hand on his shoulder, the kiss to his temple and the hot, ragged breath of his Master over his face.
"Silas!"
Instinct took over. Silas Oswald dropped to his knees, taking cover behind the waist high bar that extended along the length of the Tesla-Coil Tavern. The movement was futile; Mistress Lavinia had already seen him and wasn't likely to forgive his disobedience anytime in the near future.
Cursing under his breath, Silas rose reluctantly to his feet and sent a sheepish look across the room. Mistress Lavinia sat in her regular booth with the club's highest-ranking Dom, Master Ambrose. Neither of them looked happy and Silas' heart raced in anticipation. Mistress looked as if she was ready to throw Silas across her knee and spank him until his arse turned bright red.
Silas flushed. There was something incredibly exciting about working for a woman used to getting her way. Silas was pretty sure that no one ever told Mistress 'no' unless it was a mouthy sub who was fishing around for extra punishment.
Silas knew this because he was usually the one fishing around. In general though, he didn't make a habit of mouthing off to the Mistress. She had something Silas had never sought in a Dom — a vagina.
"Silas!"
Silas' cock leapt to attention. An order from his Mistress may have sent him scrambling for cover, but a mere word from Master Ambrose had him panting with need. Silas caught Master's eye across the room. The highly trained Dom pointed to the floor by his feet and Silas hurried across the room, falling to his knees beside the Master.
"Five strikes for your disobedience," Master said the second Silas' knees were against the wooden floorboards. "Mistress Lavinia holds just as much power here as I do. I expect better from you."
Silas nodded, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. He was grateful for Master's attention, even if it was for his disobedience. It had been so long since he had been spanked, punished, and helpless under a Master's hand. "Yes, Master Ambrose," he whispered.
"Your punishment will not be carried out by me; Mistress Lavinia will punish you."
Silas' cock wilted but he nodded. "Yes, Master. Thank you."
"Good boy."
Master Ambrose turned his attention away from Silas without giving him the order to leave. "Any word on the fleet's arrival?"
The fleet. The famous fleet, Silas had heard of nothing else for weeks. The Siobhan was the name of the Zeppelin that Captain Ivan Erasmus piloted. The second that the immense airship was spotted on the smoky London horizon, word had reached the Tesla-Coil Tavern. Silas didn't have much patience for gossip, nor was he allowed to eavesdrop on the Tavern's patrons, but even he couldn't resist extending an ear whenever word turned to the ship's notorious Captain.
Captain Ivan Erasmus was the type of man whose reputation preceded him everywhere he went. Unfortunately, his feats in battle were not on the grapevine at the Tesla-Coil; instead the Captain's sexual preferences were in heated debate.
"They say he likes to dominate."
"What, hurt women?"
The man had snorted. "Oh, you wish. It's only men that he plays with and he doesn't hurt them, he plays with them."
Silas shivered. He knew exactly that that meant, the Captain was a Dom, and if the rumours were correct, he was highly trained and well respected within the scene.
"They landed just this afternoon," Mistress Lavinia replied. She flicked open her elaborate pocket watch and checked the time. "I am expecting the Captain any time now. His presence will be marvelous for business. We'll need to focus on catering to his every need if we wish to secure his membership." Her eyes moved to Silas. "Perhaps you may have had the honor of serving the Captain if you were more obedient."
Silas couldn't help it; his head snapped up. He stared at Mistress Lavinia in surprise. "Mistress?"
Mistress smiled smugly, her eyes glinting in the tavern's low light. "Unfortunately, you are serving your punishment with me tonight."
Silas gaped. "Please Mistress, let me serve the Captain. It's been so long since I've served."
"You serve me on a daily basis."
Silas nodded. "Yes Mistress, I do and I want to please. But I'm never allowed to service the patrons."
"That is because you can be a handful," Mistress Lavinia sighed. "I'll make you a deal, Silas. If you impress the Captain and he requests your company, then you may serve him for the duration of the evening. If not, you will undertake your punishment with me. Is that understood?"
Silas nodded his head jerkily. "Yes, Mistress. Thank you. I understand."
"Good. I suggest you kneel by the door and wait for the Captain and his crew to arrive."
Silas waited until Master Ambrose had nodded before jumping to his feet and hurrying across the room. He tried not to run, but he was thrilled with Mistress' proposition.
The Tesla-Coil Tavern was quiet. Silas preferred it that way. He took up his usual place in the far corner of the room and knelt. The floor was rough and worn under his knees, but he rested quietly without complaint, awaiting his fate for the rest of the evening.
It had been a very long time since he had spent the evening with a Dom. Most of his work at the Tesla-Coil Tavern required him to make drinks behind the bar and embark on the odd cleaning job. Mistress Lavinia hired trained subs whose sole purpose was to serve guests in the privacy of their rooms. Silas was never granted that honor, although he desired it immensely.
Silas lowered his eyes and focused on his breathing. He used all his training to calm his body and mind, straightening his spine and relaxing into position the way he had been taught.
Master Ambrose used to tell him he looked beautiful in the Present position. He used to make Silas kneel until he was so deep within himself that no one but a Master could retrieve him. But Silas hadn't spent an evening with his ex-Master for a very long time.
Silas had been purchased by Mistress Lavinia when he was just a boy. Brought into her service as a slave, she had passed him along to Master Ambrose when he began showing signs of submission. Five years under the tutelage of the Master and Silas was more than ready to submit to any Dom that walked into the Tavern primed to play. The Mistress, however, was insistent that Silas was far too naughty to be given to any but the highest-trained Dom. Silas knew this wasn't necessarily true because he had once overheard Master telling Mistress that Silas 'didn't know his limits' and 'would do anything a Dom asked him to'. Silas didn't really know what that meant, but he did know it meant he had to wait until Mistress approved of a Dom for him. In one of the smaller BDSM establishments in London, those Doms were few and far between.
*
It was as the afternoon rush dwindled to a sporadic trickle that a series of loud, joking, teasing, and laughing voices erupted from the other side of the Tavern doors. Silas barely registered the noise, he was so deep in sub-space that everything else faded into the background.
An icy-cold wind blasted through the open doorway, spilling the heavy scents of steam and metal into the interior. The door hung open on its hinges as a man stepped over the threshold. Silas' heart stopped beating for a split second and then sped up as a burst of adrenaline shot through him when he recognised the tall, lean figure.
Captain Ivan Erasmus.
He was unmistakable. Silas had seen him, time and time again, in the London newspapers that reported his progress across the skies almost daily. Silas almost blacked out and as an afterthought remembered to breathe. He drew in oxygen and then slowly released it in an attempt to steady his nerves. Silas' vision cleared.
"Captain Erasmus," Mistress Lavinia greeted happily, "what an honor."
She strolled across the room, her presence penetrating the very walls of the establishment. She held out a hand to the Captain. "Welcome to the Tesla-Coil Tavern. Will your crew be joining us this evening?"
"They will turn up eventually. This is the first time we've made port in several weeks. I imagine they will wander in after all other options have been exhausted."
Silas lifted his eyes ever so slightly and looked at the Captain from underneath his eyelashes. If Silas thought that the Mistress exuded presence, it was nothing when compared to the Captain. He wasn't handsome. That was too calm a word. He was intensely masculine. He was sexual. He was magnetic. There was an exoticness about him. In his dark eyes, in his long dread-locked hair, and in the way he stood. He was the kind of man that demanded respect and obedience, and immediately received it, with nothing more than an expectant look.
Silas shivered. He was magnificent.
Brown leather boots stepped up beside Silas and Master Ambrose squeezed his shoulder. "I want to see you on your best behavior, Silas. Captain Erasmus is a very good Dom. Impress him and he will return consistently to the Tavern with his crew and whoever else is traveling with him at the time. You understand how important this is for Mistress Lavinia?"
Silas nodded, his eyes trained on the Captain. "Yes, sir. I understand."
"Good."
Master Ambrose held out his hand to the Captain. "Ivan, good to see you again, old friend."
"And you. It has been a very long time, has it not?"
"Over a year I'm afraid. Keeping well, I see?"
"The usual."
Silas felt heated eyes against his skin, the knowledge that the Captain was looking at him sent shivers down his spine.
"Who is your boy?"
Master Ambrose stroked his hair, petting softly. "This is Silas. Say hello to the Captain, Silas."
"Good afternoon, Captain Erasmus, sir." Silas was desperate to look up, to see what the Captain thought of him, but he kept his eyes respectfully lowered, presenting in the way he'd been taught with his knees apart, and hands linked behind his back.
"Stand up, boy. Let the Captain get a good look at you."
Silas stood gracefully, taking great care to keep his spine straight. He may have wanted to impress the Captain, but his training also reflected on Master Ambrose and Silas had never grown past the desire to impress his first Master.
"Whose collar does he wear?" Captain Erasmus asked. "He exudes your training."
Master smiled. "Silas completed his training with me many years ago. He belongs to no one except the Tavern. Mistress Lavinia doesn't give him to the guests."
"Why is that?"
"Perhaps you would like to play with him for the evening. You will find out."
"Is he a good boy?"
The Master smiled. "He is."
Captain Erasmus nodded. "Very well, I accept your offer, old friend."
Silas' heart leapt and immediately started racing so fast and loud that he was sure everyone could hear it. He stepped forward and dropped to his knees at the Captain's feet.
CHAPTER TWO
