by Anya Summers
On a whim, she'd done some online shopping for BDSM Dungeon attire after her first visit with Kara, and had packed the few pieces she'd ordered as an afterthought. Then again, maybe her subconscious had known all along what she wanted, that she needed to delve into the lifestyle further, and had made sure she was prepared for when her brain finally caught up with the rest of her. Not wanting to waste more time deliberating, otherwise she would lose her nerve, Elise changed, slipping on the teensy black G-string panties and leather garter belt with black fishnet hose. She added a blazing red leather micro miniskirt that did little to cover her butt and extremities. Then she added a matching leather halter that zipped in the front but left her entire midriff bare.
Racing into the bathroom, she added a little smoky eyeshadow to her eyelids and a few coats of inky mascara, then slicked her lips with a pale nude that helped her eyes stand out. In the mirror, this outfit made her aware of how much weight she'd lost recently due to her stress. At the knock on the door, she dropped her brush with a clatter onto the counter and felt her breath expel in huge gulps. At the second, more insistent knock, she jumped into action, leaving the bathroom and making a beeline to the bedroom door. She pulled it open just as Tyler raised his hand to knock for a third time.
Her heart pounded in her chest, skitters of unease danced along her spine, and one look at the sexy cowboy duded up in leather standing outside her door made her belly tremble.
"Well, now, darlin', don't you make a pretty picture." The deep timbre of his voice did wicked things to her insides.
Her face flushed and she stood there awkwardly, unsure how to proceed. The battle between her heart and mind was anything but solved.
"Do you want to conduct our business in the hallway, Elise, or are you going to let me in?"
"What? Oh, sorry, I'm a little nervous," she blurted, and then internally cursed herself for showing a weakness of any kind as she stepped aside to let him enter her room. She was acting like a complete ninny instead of a grown ass woman.
She expected recrimination from him but instead noticed approval in his blue gaze as she shut the door behind him.
"Relax, take a deep breath. We're going to go as slow as you need me to. Tonight is just about us getting to know one another, okay?" Tyler said, with a reassuring smile showing his perfectly white, even teeth. That damn smile of his could make a saint agree to experience BDSM—or anything else his mind cooked up. For the record, she wasn't a saint, not by a long shot.
She regarded him, measured the honesty of his words as she considered him. She didn't detect an ounce of falsehood in his statement. He seemed earnest. Should she go out on a limb and trust him, this stranger who was tying her insides up? If her hosts thought he was a bad guy, they wouldn't have set her up with him, right?
"I'll do my best," Elise replied, still unresolved, wondering what was in store for her, but pressing forward like she usually did. Tyler seemed pleased at her response. His gaze simmered, and made her skin feel like it had shrunk a size too small, with liquid swirls of nerves spliced with eagerness.
Tyler had no misgivings about anything, it seemed. He headed directly to the couch and the file folder she'd left on the seat in her haste to be ready in time. Would he like her answers?
"Come, have a seat," he muttered as he sat down, patting the seat cushion next to his big body. He had one of those perfect male chests, from what she could see beneath the form-fitting blank tank. Acres of muscles that were sculpted and flexed as he made himself comfortable.
Why did she feel a bit like a virgin on her wedding night? She really needed to get a grip. It was just sex, right? She'd had sex before, so it wasn't like this was her first time or anything. And he had said all they were going to do tonight was get to know each other, so it wasn't like he was telling her to lie on the bed and beginning to tie her up. The imagery that presented sent a voltage of need sparking to her core.
Taking a deep breath, pushing past any hesitation on her part, Elise walked toward where he was sitting on the couch. Then, as gracefully as she could, she perched on the cushion he'd indicated. When she attempted to keep a mild distance between them by sitting toward the edge, Tyler snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her flush up next to his body, closing the gap she'd put between them as he flipped through her file. Upon contact with his rigid hard form, her body awoke as if from a long slumber. She sizzled at every spot their bodies touched. Elise was surprised there was no smoke emitting from them at the intensity of heat.
Tyler didn't appear affected. Or, if he was, he didn't show it. It hurt that he seemed not to notice the potency between them. Which was ridiculous. Utterly deflated by her thoughts, she put her hands in her lap and avoided eye contact. Being next to him, sharing body heat with him, Elise fought the instinctive urge to put her hands on him. Were his muscles as firm as they appeared? Why was it that a man she knew nothing about had awakened her latent sex drive, with merely a look, to the point where her body hummed?
"Elise, look at me please." He waited a beat until she followed his command before continuing. "I have some questions and I need you to answer them honestly for me."
"All right." Did he see the doubts in her eyes? The fear that she was making one huge colossal mistake and was just barely keeping herself from wringing her hands in front of him?
He smiled then, like he had peeked inside her soul and understood the battle that raged. There was caring there, too, with a steadiness that seemed to calm her. And the rest of her body reacted to his megawatt charm by turning into a melted marshmallow. "You put an 'I don't know' response for pain. Is that truly what you meant? Do you not know if you like pain or not?"
"Well, I'm not really certain what it meant by pain, so I'm not sure," she admitted, squirming and flushing under his direct gaze, hating that she had no idea what she was doing. In the dictionary under 'fish out of water' she was sure there was a picture of her looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"There are different types, actually. One for disciplinary infractions, which can be tailored to what a sub can handle, and then there is pain which those whom we call sadists enjoy, and in fact need, to feel sexually complete."
"Oh, well. I take three ibuprofen when I break a nail, so I think pain is out."
He studied her a moment before he responded. "I will put a reassessment on this one that we will discuss when I discipline you."
"Right now? But I didn't—"
He stroked a hand down her side. "Relax, darlin', I said 'when', not 'now'. You don't need to fear me, at all. I need you to understand that my ultimate goal with all of this is to bring you pleasure like you've never experienced before. There are rules that as a sub you must follow. If you break them, you will be spanked. Is that clear?"
"Yes. What are some of the other rules I must follow?"
"For instance, what I asked of you before, that when we are together you will address me as Sir or Master."
"Oh, sorry, I forgot, Sir. What else?" she amended, which garnered a slight grin on his yummy lips.
"Since we are starting from scratch, if you mouth off to me with anything but respect that's an infraction. If you don't do as I ask you to, that is another one. While we are in the club, my orders are to be followed without question. If you fail to obey, then you will be spanked. Understood? At least, that's where we would start with infractions. If they were to continue or be deliberate, there are other ways, but we won't get into those for now."
Just spanked, like a child, it couldn't be that bad, right? That knowledge dispelled some of the fear swimming in her chest. She nodded. "Yes, Sir."
At her response, Tyler laid her file on the couch. In a move that stunned her, he shifted and hefted her body onto his until he'd settled her in his lap. His strength, the power of him, surrounded her. His body was like an inferno, transferring his warmth to her, and Elise shivered all the way to her toes. The man felt so good, she wanted to burrow into his scorching heat.
"Easy now, just
getting familiar with your body. I must say you are a downright pleasant armful." His hands roamed everywhere, over her arms, brushing against the sides of her breasts, along her spine, cupping her butt, teasing the insides of her thighs. The close contact, his rough callouses gliding over her exposed skin, made her limbs liquefy until she feared she'd be a pile of gooey marshmallow mush, and the night had barely begun.
"Now, you also had an 'I don't know' response to double penetration and ménage. Why is that?"
Elise's tongue stuck to the roof of her suddenly dry mouth and she blanched. What should she say to that? How did one respond to a question that was so personal and private? It worried her that he seemed intent on uncovering all of her deepest and darkest secrets. What if he found out she was defective? Would he toss her back into the breach, leaving her without the answers she sought?
"I asked you a question, Elise. I expect a response," he murmured with a rather stern look on his face. She'd seen a similar look before at the club in Manhattan, Kara had called it Zeke's 'annoyed Dom' face right before he'd spanked her, publicly.
Oh, crap. Was he going to spank her now? Had she messed up that badly? She responded, fumbling a bit as she did so, still wary of the whole discipline thing.
"Um, well, I witnessed a ménage scene at the club in Manhattan and it, well, it…" She flushed, embarrassed at her response to the scene. It made her feel like such a pervert.
"Go on. It what?" His hand teased the exposed flesh of her back; his roughened palms sent corresponding tugs of need into her belly.
"It turned me on, but I don't know if it's just because I haven't, well, you know… in a while," she stammered, and wanted a hole to open up so she could crawl in and die. How mortifying. She was blowing it completely. He must think she was an inexperienced idiot barely capable of forming words. She should paint a sign that declared her the sexless wonder that men seemed to avoid, like they somehow picked up on their internal radar that she was defective on a pheromone level and shouldn't even bother.
Hunger simmered in his blue eyes, turning them darker and more mesmerizing. "Are you attempting to say that it's been a while since you've had sex, sweetheart?"
Humiliated, she broke contact with his gaze, shifting so that she stared down at her hands still gripped tightly in her lap. Except she was not prepared for the sight of one of his big hands resting between her thighs. She was not only in over her head; she was the fool at the beach who ignored the shark warning signs.
"Elise?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And you think that's why the ménage scene might have turned you on?" he pressed. His voice had lowered and made her shiver involuntarily.
"Yes," she admitted rather glumly.
"Look at me," he commanded.
She shifted her gaze up until she was staring into his kind blue one. He cupped her cheek, keeping her a prisoner to his gaze. "Desire is nothing to be ashamed of, Elise. It's perfectly acceptable to say that the idea of being with two men at once makes you hot. Understood?"
"Yes." She sighed, his hand on her face like a branding iron, smelting her insides, and she wanted to sink into his touch. She didn't even care that she barely knew the man. He was warm and strong, and everything she was not.
"Yes, what?" He crooked a dark eyebrow at her.
Shit. She'd forgotten the rules, his touch scrambled her brain. How could she forget already?
"Yes, Sir."
"Good girl. Do you have any aversion to restraints of any kind?"
Oh God, he was planning on tying her up. Need pulsed and moisture flooded her panties. This was why she needed to explore this world. Just the idea of being tied up made her incredibly turned on. "Not that I'm aware of."
"Have you ever had anal sex?"
She shifted, uncomfortable with the personal nature of his query. "Um, no, Sir."
"Good enough for now. What I would like for this evening, just so that you become familiar with me, is that we go down to the Dungeon and watch a few scenes so I can gauge your response to them. I want to see how your body responds. How does that sound?" He tilted his head to the side as he studied her.
He wasn't going to make her have a scene with him tonight? Some of the weight she'd been hefting around since dinner evaporated. So much so, she gave him a hesitant smile. "I think I can do that."
"Good girl. And one more thing before we go."
The hand cupping her cheek tilted her head up and his other hand joined its twin so he was holding her face between them. Her eyes dropped to his lips as his face neared hers. Her breath seemed to expel in a rush, and then his lips claimed hers.
Elise had been kissed before, plenty of times, but she'd never been kissed this way before. Tyler's kiss seduced her as he nibbled and caressed her lips. And then he devoured her body and soul as he plunged his tongue inside her wet heat, drinking down her startled moans.
His kiss devastated her, shaking the foundation of her world into a line of demarcation: before Tyler kissed her, and after. This was not a kiss one walked away from unscathed.
Her hands, of their own accord, fisted in his black tank as desire swamped her body. She didn't even need to go to the club. They could stay right here and have sex. She didn't need anything more but for him to keep on kissing her. Elise's body sank into his, molding to his form, and she wanted nothing more than to stay there for a while. It had been too long since she had felt anything but a monotonous existence filled with worry and anxiety. But this, this made her feel alive for the first time in forever.
As suddenly as it had begun, Tyler broke the kiss and the look on his face almost made her sex-starved body come on the spot. He caressed her cheek with an unfathomable depth crossing his face before he set her on her feet and stood next to her. Elise's legs wobbled as she gained her footing. His kiss had wreaked havoc on her whole system.
"Let's head down to the Dungeon, shall we?" He held out his arm in a debonair, gentlemanly fashion that made her blush and feel like a Southern belle. They'd just shared the most erotically charged kiss of her life, and he went all Rhett Butler on her. Was it any wonder that she had always had a thing for cowboys?
"Oh, let me get my shoes."
"I like you barefoot, darlin', you don't need them for tonight." Of course he did. And that was why she considered herself a city girl.
"Yes, Sir."
"One more thing. I need to put on your cuffs." He withdrew a set of leather cuffs from his black bag, which Elise knew likely carried all manner of erotic toys inside. The cuffs were about two inches in width, and fur-lined for comfort. Just the sight of them sent shivers through her system as he towered over her.
She craned her neck, feeling a little betrayed. "But I thought you said that we weren't going to do a scene tonight… Sir."
His expression was unreadable and Elise knew in all of two seconds that if she wanted to go to the Dungeon tonight, or any night she was here, this was another non-negotiable. "Any time we go to the Dungeon, you will wear my cuffs; otherwise you won't get to enter."
She conceded the point to him. "All right."
"Give me your wrists," he ordered, holding out one of his large, lean hands.
She held out her hands to him, unable to hide her trembling fingers.
"Easy there, now." He wrapped the smooth leather restraints around her wrists—the fur was like a microfiber down, it was so soft—and secured them. Once they were firmly fastened, he threaded his fingers through hers, and led her from the room and to the elevator.
His stride was sure-footed and strong. Elise had to take three steps to match one of his. She wasn't that short, coming in at five six, but Tyler was over six feet, and large with it. Everything about him seemed to be so large to her smaller frame. They rode the elevator in silence. Elise was far too nervous to be able to strike up a conversation. This was it. She'd agreed to enter the forbidden lair, and not just watch, but participate. Even though Tyler had said he wasn't going to have her do a scene with him tonight, how exa
ctly did he plan on gauging her response to being a voyeur with the scenes taking place?
When the elevator doors opened on the club level, music pumped a heavy bass number through hidden speakers. Elise fell into step behind Tyler, still holding onto his firm arm like it was a lifeline. It was like stepping into a wholly different world from the manor above. Where one floor up it was all old world elegance, the club was modern, sleek lines, with an undertone of Goth. Similarities between this club and the one in Manhattan were everywhere. She almost expected to see Kara, Zeke and Chase near the bar or laughingly entering one of the private rooms. She recognized the similar private rooms. Some were shrouded with black velvet curtains, while others were open and very occupied with a bit of a crowd gathered around to watch the display.
The size of the crowd shocked her as Tyler murmured greetings to other Doms as they passed. The hall opened into a center arena of sorts, with black leather couches and chairs in the center. There were scene areas along the wall, which were roped off with black velvet rope. Elise recognized Jared behind the bar along the far right wall, serving drinks and looking devilishly handsome. His attention was on the patrons but his gaze swept the crowd, looking for someone. Elise would bet money on who he was waiting for.
Tyler drew her over to one of the couches that faced the St. Andrew's cross scene room. It was early yet, but it appeared that a Master and his sub were preparing for a scene. So she was going to just sit there with Tyler and watch other people do it. And that was a good idea because—why? Elise really didn't understand what Tyler hoped to learn by doing this. It was a little like he was going to watch her watching porn, only this was a live version. She hoped she looked more relaxed than she felt. As it was, she had frogs leaping in her stomach.
Tyler had picked an unoccupied couch, folding his big body onto the leather first and then towing her onto his lap. It put her at eye level with him, stirring memories of their kiss. Did he mean to pick up where they'd left off?
