by Ivy Nelson
He watched her throat working as she swallowed hard. “Just nod your head, Angel. So, I know you heard me.” Her head bobbed up and down, her eyes wide. Not from fear though.
“Good girl.” He planted a kiss on her forehead.
She huffed and folded her arms across her chest, seeming irritated.
“What’s wrong, Angel?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.” His voice took on a stern tone.
Finally, she huffed and said, “I just hate losing. And damn it, I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose our bet.
8
♥♥♥
Adara stared with her bottom lip pushed out as Michael howled with laughter. Peter and Carrie looked at the two of them as if they had grown horns.
Adara blushed when Michael pulled her close and said, “You’re delightful, Angel.”
Peter stood, pulling Carrie up with him. “Should we move to the bar and get a drink?”
Adara couldn’t stand quickly enough. “That sounds wonderful.”
The foursome moved to the bar area where Peter ordered whiskey for everyone, and they found a small table to sit at.
“I don’t know why, based on everything I’ve read, I wasn’t expecting a place like this to serve alcohol.”
“A lot don’t,” said Peter. “But we prefer to treat our members like adults. We do have rules in place about not getting drunk. And we have monitors on duty throughout the club who are allowed to make a judgment call and ask members to leave if they are being disruptive.”
“Not to mention, we vet our members carefully,” Michael added.
Adara thought it was curious that Peter was saying ‘we’. Peter and Carrie technically lived in California now. Though from what she understood, they had been founding members of the club along with Darci, Gary, and a few others she had met. Michael wasn’t far behind them. Aside from her, Bradley was one of the newer members of the club. OK, so she wasn’t actually a member yet, but it was on her mind to change that. Power exchange still confused her, but she loved the vibe she got from being in this place. Everyone was so accepting and welcoming.
Gary came by to say hello.
“Hey, how are y’all?” Adara liked his southern accent and wondered how he ended up running a BDSM club in Washington D.C.
The four took turns answering as he grabbed a chair from another table, flipped it around backwards and straddled it, resting his arms on the back.
“Adara, this is your second time here. You thinking of becoming a member?”
She nodded, suddenly feeling shy. Michael squeezed her shoulders and smiled.
“Excellent. It’s about time Michael found himself a good lady. Gonna have to get some new blood in here though so the other unattached subs have somebody to play with. This guy hasn’t been playing with them lately for some reason, and I can only handle so many,” Gary said with a wink.
Adara turned to Michael and lifted an eyebrow. “Bit of a player, huh?”
Michael flipped Gary the bird when he laughed and said, “That’s an understatement. But not since he met you.”
“I already told you this, Angel.” Adara just sipped her whiskey and studied him carefully.
“Anyway, I just came by to see if I could steal these two gentlemen from you ladies. I have some new security measures in mind that I want to discuss.”
Michael stood and laid a hand on Adara’s shoulder. “Will you be OK here with Carrie, Angel?”
Adara nodded and Carrie shifted her chair closer to Adara’s. “Don’t you worry Michael. I’ll keep her safe.”
Peter rose and kissed Carrie on the top of her head. “Behave.”
“Yes, Sir,” she said batting her lashes up at him.
When the two men were gone, Carrie immediately turned to Adara.
“So, what do you think of all of this?”
Nerves curled in her belly as she twisted her glass in her hands. “I’m not sure to be honest. I sometimes don’t get why you and some of the other submissives enjoy the things you do. Like when Michael gets bossy with me it sometimes pisses me off.”
Carrie laughed. “Peter can piss me off too. We’re all still human, honey. But ultimately, he gives me orgasms like no other man can. And when he pisses me off, he still turns me on. And when he doesn’t, we have protocols in place to let each other know that we need a timeout to just be a married couple for a little while.”
Adara nodded. That made sense to her and made her feel a little better.
“There is a fine line between pleasure and pain too. Sometimes, Peter might push a boundary. Or my emotions might be too all over the place that night and just the lightest swat of his hand, or whip, will be too much for me. We work around that. He has other, non-painful ways of exerting his dominance over me. It’s ultimately that power exchange that turns me on. It doesn’t have to be painful.”
“That makes sense. I have a bet with Michael. It was my idea but I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose. I fucking hate losing.”
When she explained the wager, Carrie laughed and patted her on the arm. “Oh honey. I’m sorry. You’re definitely going to lose. But I have a feeling you’ll both come out winners in the end. He really likes you, Adara. I’ve never seen him so attached to a woman before. Michael has always been more of a one-night stand kind of guy. But he hasn’t looked at another woman since the two of you met.”
“I don’t know why that’s such a relief to hear. Before all of this legal stuff started, he and I hadn’t exactly defined our relationship.”
The two women talked animatedly about their men until the subjects of their conversation returned to the table.
“Have you two macho men made this place safer for us lowly submissives?” Carrie asked with a grin as they settled into their seats again.
“I think you’re safe from everyone but us, sweetheart,” Peter said with a grin.
“Oh dear. I’m pretty sure that means we aren’t safe at all, Adara,” Carrie said, winking at her.
“Uh oh. I knew we shouldn’t have left them alone together, Michael. I think our girls have been comparing notes.”
Heat curled in Adara’s belly as Michael moved closer to her and grinned at Peter as he said, “We’ll just have to get more creative then. Keep them on their toes.”
It was after midnight when the four finished their drinks and headed home. Back in the hotel, Adara asked if she could take Hamilton for a walk outside. “I won’t leave the courtyard, I promise. I just need to clear my head. I’m feeling overwhelmed again.”
Michael frowned and she knew he didn’t like the idea of her going alone. Finally, he agreed.
“Take your phone with you and don’t leave the courtyard. I can see it from the window.”
She grabbed Hamilton’s leash and kissed Michael’s cheek. “Thank you.”
Outside, she had a hard time keeping the dog contained but after the initial excitement of being outside, he finally settled down and began sniffing for a place to do his business. They walked the perimeter of the courtyard, the dog stopping to sniff every few feet. As he was relieving himself, her cellphone rang. It was Michael.
“I’m in the courtyard. Stop worrying,” she said in greeting.
“Enough with the sass. Come back inside now.” His voice had an edge to it that irritated her.
“He’s not done yet. I’ll come back in a few minutes.”
“Now, Adara. No arguing.” What had gotten under his skin? Hamilton finished and began growling in the direction of a shadowed bunch of bushes.
“Could you at least tell me what has you spooked?”
“Inside. Right now. Please don’t make me come out there and carry you.”
She was already heading toward the door, but she looked up toward their window where she knew he was watching and raised her middle finger before continuing inside.
“Oh, Angel. You really shouldn’t have done that.”
Pressing the end call button, she considered plopping
down on the park bench she was passing but decided against it. Something had him spooked and the dog had been growling too. While she didn’t appreciate his bossy tone, she knew he was worried about something. Seriously though, he could have just told her over the phone.
Michael was waiting at the elevator when she stepped off on their floor, his cellphone pressed to his ear.”
“I’m positive that’s what I saw. He could have been taking pictures of everyone in the courtyard, but he seemed pretty focused on Adara.”
Adara’s eyes went wide and her heart rate increased. She opened her mouth to say something, but Michael lifted a finger and pressed it to her lips, a scowl on his face.
“I’ve gotta go. She’s back. We’re moving hotels. Do you have the manpower to help me out with a couple of decoy cars?”
Back in the room he quickly began tossing stuff into his bag. “Pack your things. We’re leaving.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Like you heard on the phone. Someone was just outside in the courtyard taking pictures of you. I’m going to see if I can get the hotel to let me look at their security footage later, but right now we are moving hotels. And once we get there, I think you and I are going to finally see who wins our bet. I don’t just bark orders for the hell of it, Adara. Not where your safety is concerned.”
“I know. I’m sorry. You just pissed me off with that bossy tone. You could have at least told me what was going on when we were on the phone.”
“I could have. But sometimes when there is danger there isn’t always time to explain myself. Not to mention, if I had told you, you might have looked around and spooked the guy into doing something stupid like try to kidnap you. When I fucking tell you to do something you need to listen. And flipping me the bird? It’s like you’re begging me to turn your ass red, Angel.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and stared at him. He seemed genuinely upset. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t want you to be angry with me when you’re spanking me.”
His features softened instantly, and he chuckled. Setting his bag down, he crossed the room to her. “I’m not angry. I promise, Angel. I’m not going to harm you. But you’re still in charge here. If you say no, we’ll wait until you’re ready.”
She shook her head. “No, I was serious when I said if it were up to me I would never pull the trigger. I agreed to this. I want to try this. I just want to make sure you’re not doing it because you’re angry at me.”
His fingers trailed down her cheek and he smiled tenderly at her. “Not at all, Angel. That’s something I can promise never to do. I was irritated yes, but if I’m ever truly angry, I’ll let you know. We’ll have a long conversation about why. I’ll cool down. And then we’ll deal with any indiscretion on your part.”
She released the breath she had been holding. “OK. I can accept that. Of course, that all depends on whether you win our bet,” she said with a grin.
“Go finish packing before I decide to spank you here and now. Peter is on his way. I’m sure he would enjoy seeing me win our bet.”
Crimson stained her cheeks at the thought of Peter watching her get spanked for the first time.
“I’m teasing, Angel. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“That’s good to know,” she said before going into her room to finish packing her bag. It only seemed mildly insane that they were negotiating a spanking among other things just minutes after some random stranger was taking pictures of her outside.
Peter was there when she emerged from her room with her suitcase in hand. Two other men flanked him. One she recognized from the security detail that protected Darci when she had a killer after her. Michael wasn’t playing around with her safety.
“We’ve got three SUVs in the parking garage downstairs. We’re going to get in one, my men will drive the other two. We’ll all go the same direction at first. After we drive for a while, we’ll find another parking garage. Once we make sure nobody has followed us in, we’ll swap cars and all go in different directions. Eventually, we’ll get you to a new hotel.”
They didn’t check out of the hotel. Even though the suite was in Peter’s name, Michael had arranged for them to stay in the registration system for a couple more days in case someone was watching them electronically.
It all seemed like overkill to her, but she decided not to voice that. After threatening phone calls, being picked up by Homeland, and bugs in her house, she wasn’t going to argue with the men trying to keep her safe.
As they went on their wild goose chase, Michael kept his arm around her, stroking her shoulder or neck from time to time. Occasionally planting soft kisses on the top of her head. Having him here kept the fear at bay and she was grateful. She hated being afraid of things. Especially unknown things.
The new hotel only had a one-bedroom suite available. Adara didn’t mind, but she wasn’t going to tell Michael that. She just smiled and nodded when he offered to sleep on the couch. Peter escorted them to their new room and made sure they were settled before he left. He offered to park one of his men outside on surveillance, and Michael accepted.
“Carrie is digging as fast as she can and so am I, sweetheart,” Peter said before leaving. “She’s on a mission so I’m not even going to try to convince her to go to bed. I’ll just bring her more coffee.”
Adara laughed. “Tell her thank you for me.”
When Peter was gone, nerves overtook Adara again. How was this going to go? It was after three in the morning, but she wasn’t sleepy.
Hamilton sniffed around the suite before finally curling up in the bed she had set up for him in the corner of the room. It occurred to her that whatever was about to happen might freak him out.
Inhaling deeply, she turned and asked, “Now what?”
“How do you want this to go down, Angel?”
“What do you mean? Isn’t that up to you?”
“It can be. I’m asking if you want to negotiate exactly what I do to you. Or, do you want me to just treat you the way I would any other submissive? It’s up to you.”
This conversation was making her nervous, but to her irritation, or perhaps delight, it was also turning her on. She couldn’t imagine trying to negotiate every detail of whatever was about to happen.
“I think for it to be a fair wager, you should handle this however you would with any other submissive. The point is to prove whether I’ll enjoy that, right?”
“You’re right. But I do expect a lot from the submissives I play with. I won’t lie about that. I’m not planning to throw you in the deep end or anything, but I don’t want to shock you too much.”
“I trust you, Michael.” It dawned on her then that she meant that completely, and it calmed some of her nerves. “Pretend I’m a newer submissive you are correcting for the first time.” Had she really just said that? Yep, and there was no way she was backing down now.
“OK then. Until I say otherwise, I expect you to address me as Sir. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Sir.” It came out as a whisper but the grin that spread across his face told her she was doing just fine.
“Good girl.” He closed the distance between them and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her close. “Now, I want you to go in the bedroom. Take off your pants and lower your panties to your knees. Then, you’re going to stand in the corner with your hands on your head until I tell you to turn around. While you’re standing there, I want you to think about why this is happening. Any questions?” Eyes wide, she stared at him and shook her head. “Good. Off you go then, Angel.”
Was she really about to do this? Apparently so, because she heard herself say, “Yes Sir,” before she turned and walked to the bedroom. Michael on the other hand sat on the couch and watched her walk away.
In the bedroom, her hands shook as she unbuttoned her jeans and slipped them off. Next, she slid her panties down to her knees. She was shocked to find them damp. Damn it. She was definitely going to lose. But she felt like deep in t
he recesses of her mind, she had known that from the beginning, and that’s why she’d made the bet to begin with.
As she moved to the corner and placed her hands on her head, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her face was flushed and her pussy tingled. The cool air of the room caused goosebumps to prickle her skin. This was insane. Wasn’t it?
It seemed like forever before Michael came into the room. The sound of his jeans rustling as he moved toward her sent her heart racing.
When he spoke, she jumped. “You have the sexiest ass. It’s too bad I’m about to have to spank it. Well, too bad for you anyway. I’m certainly going to enjoy it.”
His hands settled onto her waist and he planted a kiss on the back of her neck. “You look incredible like this, Angel. But, in the future, if I send you to the corner, spread your legs like this.” He nudged her legs apart with his knee. She fought the urge to whimper as the action sent a flood of heat rushing between her legs despite the cool air. “And keep your elbows back and straight like this.” His hands slid up her torso to her elbows where he straightened them to his liking. “Mmm. Better. So sexy.”
The whimper she had been holding in escaped.
“What is it, Angel? Losing our bet already?”
She shook her head vigorously. Determined not to let him win that easily.
He chuckled. “We’ll see. Tell me why you’re here, Angel.”
“Because I wouldn’t listen to you, and I flipped you off,” she whispered.
“Sir,” he prodded.
“Sir,” she repeated. “Sorry.”
“I’ll let it slide. You’re learning. It’s not just because you didn’t listen or because you flipped me off. Though that’s not a nice thing to do. By not listening to me, you put yourself in danger. I don’t allow my submissives to knowingly put themselves in danger. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered.
“Excuse me? I can’t hear you, Angel.”
Damn it. Why was he making her talk louder? It unnerved her to hear her own voice.
“I’m waiting.”
“Yes, Sir,” she repeated, louder this time. Hearing herself made her cringe and she brought her elbows in as if to hide her face.
