Out of the Woods
Page 13
“Stop over-thinking,” Odessa warns me sternly. “Stay focused on the scene. Remember, Christina: stay focused.”
“I will.”
She grabs my chin and turns me toward her. Odessa’s bright brown eyes practically glow as she gazes at me.
“You are not a mother tonight. You are not a widow. You are not a childcare provider. You are not anything but a submissive. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Say it for me, love.”
“I am only a submissive tonight.”
“That’s right,” Odessa nods, seemingly satisfied. “Don’t make the mistake of spacing off during your scene, okay?”
I blush, embarrassed she remembers the debacle from a few weeks ago. I had been playing with someone new and just couldn’t really get into the submissive mindset. As a result, I was spacing off, thinking about grocery lists and errands, and the scene fell short.
Really short.
“I won’t space off tonight,” I tell her. Odessa is a submissive, too, and she’s going to be playing with her regular Dom tonight. Theodore is a kind-hearted tax-attorney who is seriously cut. He’s huge, and if I was at the end of his whip, I’d be terrified. Odessa isn’t, though. She loves it, takes it in stride. She’s a perfect fit for him and sometimes, I wonder why the two of them aren’t dating.
“Good girl,” Odessa says, pressing a kiss to my cheek. I give her the same once-over she gave me, fixing her top and adjusting her boy-shorts to make sure every part of her looks perfect. We each take one last look in the mirror, but then it’s time.
It’s time to leave the safety of the locker room.
It’s time to go to Anchored.
Odessa takes my hand and we leave the room together. Instantly, the sound of the heavy music hits our ears, reminding us where we are. Tonight is about fun and excitement. It’s about relaxing. It’s about unwinding, but it’s about more than that, too: it’s about submission.
Tonight is about giving ourselves to our partners, and in return, they’ll give us a little bit of themselves, as well. That’s the true beauty of submission. In giving of myself, I get something in return. The feeling of offering myself to my partner is satisfying in and of itself, but knowing that it meets my partner’s needs, as well, is even more fantastic.
I like knowing that my Dom or Domme feels good about themselves when we’re through playing together.
I like knowing that they’re having just as much fun as me.
And I like that at the end of the night, when I walk out of Anchored, I’m leaving them at the door.
It’s fucked up, but I don’t really care.
Anchored is my release. It’s my safe space. It’s my haven. Anchored is where I go because I have nowhere else to go. Anchored is the only time I get to myself, and I take it. It’s the only time I have away from my daughter. It’s the only time I can be me.
I’m not the best mother in the world. I certainly wasn’t the best wife. When Cameron died, he left me alone. He left me without anyone in the world. Even now, I don’t have anyone. It’s been two damn years since he died and I have no one.
No one.
But I have Anchored.
I have this place where I can forget, for just a couple of hours, that I’ve lost my true love.
I have this place where I can forget, for just a little while, that my life fell apart and I’m only starting to rebuild it.
I have this place where I can forget, for just a tiny bit of time, that I am completely alone in this world.
I have this place.
And I’m not giving it up.
I’m not going to get in a relationship with one of my play partners only to have us break up. Then coming to the club would be awkward, weird, and uncomfortable. I’m not going to get into a relationship where we have a fight, and then neither one of us goes to the club. I’m not interested in that.
I don’t want to sacrifice my safe space for the temporary satisfaction of being someone’s romantic partner. That’s not what I want and it’s certainly not what I need. That’s not for me.
So at the end of the night, after I play with Mistress D, I’ll spend some time crying in the locker room showers. I’ll wash my hair. I’ll clean my face. And then I’ll get dressed, get in my car, and go back to the real world, where I am a mother, and a childcare worker, and a widow.
I’ll go back to the real world where everything hurts.
I’ll go back to my life as a solitary person.
I’ll go back to my world.
“Christina,” I hear a sharp, crisp voice, and I turn. A tall black woman with braids tumbling past her shoulders is walking toward me. A corset pushes her breasts up and out. She’s wearing tight leather pants and stilettos that are even taller than Odessa’s.
Instantly, I drop to my knees, palms down. I bow my head and I wait quietly for my Domme of the night to tell me how I’ve done so far. I wait until she tells me it’s time. I wait until she tells me she’s ready.
And when Mistress D tells me I look beautiful, and that she’s ready to play with me, I take her hand, and I walk into the world of Anchored.
Want to read more?
Get your copy wherever eBooks are sold!
Don't miss out!
Click the button below and you can sign up to receive emails whenever Sophie Stern publishes a new book. There's no charge and no obligation.
https://books2read.com/r/B-A-XOYC-KVUKB
Connecting independent readers to independent writers.
Did you love Out of the Woods? Then you should read No Fox Given by Sophie Stern!
Are you a shifter looking for love? It's time to take your dating to the next step with TEAM SHIFTER: the best dating app for bears, wolves, and yes, even dragons. Start swiping to find someone and get your happily ever after.
Foxy has been on her own for years. That's the way she likes it. She works as much as she wants, she plays whenever she likes, and no one is around to tell her otherwise.
Until she meets someone on the Team Shifter dating app, and everything goes wrong.
Suddenly, she has a stalker, and nobody seems to know who it is. Nobody can help her. Nobody can save her.
Except for the one person she promised herself she'd never run to for help.
Is Foxy brave enough to ask Brendan for a second chance?
Also by Sophie Stern
Alien Chaos
Destroyed
Guarded
Saved
Alien Chaos: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Bundle
Anchored
Starboard
Battleship
All Aboard
Abandon Ship
Below Deck
Crossing the Line
Anchored: Books 1-3
Anchored: Books 4-6
Club Kitten Dancers
Move
Pose
Climb
Dragon Isle
My Lord and Dragon
The Dragon Fighter
A Dragon's Bite
Lost to the Dragon
Beware of Dragons
Cowboy Dragon
Dark Heart of the Dragon
Once Upon a Dragon
Catching the Dragon
Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 1-3)
Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 4-6)
Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 7-9)
Good Boys and Millionaires
Good Boys and Millionaires 1
Good Boys and Millionaires 2
Honeypot Babies
The Polar Bear's Baby
The Jaguar's Baby
The Tiger's Baby
Honeypot Darlings
The Bear's Virgin Darling
The Bear's Virgin Mate
The Bear's Virgin Bride
Office Gentlemen
Ben From Accounting
Polar Bears of the Air
Force
Staff Sergeant Polar Bear
Master Sergeant Polar Bear
Airman Polar Bear
Senior Airman Polar Bear
Red
Red: Into the Dark
Red: Through the Dark
Red: Beyond the Dark
Return to Dragon Isle
Dragons Are Forever (Coming Soon)
Shifters at Law
Wolf Case
Bearly Legal
Tiger Clause
Sergeant Bear
Dragon Law
The Fablestone Clan
Dragon's Oath
Dragon's Breath
Dragon's Darling
Dragon's Whisper
Dragon's Magic
The Hidden Planet
Vanquished
Outlaw
Conquered
The Wolfe City Pack
The Wolf's Darling
The Wolf's Mate
The Wolf's Bride
Standalone
Saucy Devil
Billionaire on Top
Jurassic Submissive
The Editor
Alien Beast
Snow White and the Wolves
Kissing the Billionaire
Wild
Alien Dragon
The Royal Her
Be My Tiger
Alien Monster
The Paralegal
Roses in the Dark
Honeypot Babies Omnibus Edition
Honeypot Darlings: Omnibus Edition
Red: The Complete Trilogy
First Shift
The Swan's Mate
Eternity: A Vampire Romance
The Feisty Librarian
Polar Bears of the Air Force
Wild Goose Chase
Star Princess
The Virgin and the Lumberjacks
Resting Bear Face
Shifters at Law
Seized by the Dragon
The Fablestone Clan: A Paranormal Dragon-Shifter Romance Collection
Star Kissed
Club Kitten Omnibus
Okami
Savored
Out of the Woods