Secrets Learned

by Raven McAllan

  And if I ever catch the bastards, I’ll go all over Dom on them and, boy, will they regret messing with my evening.

  “Where’s the girls?” he asked as they were joined by David and Ross. “I guess the evening’s kyboshed.”

  David rolled his eyes. “It was that even before the white van. My hiccupping lady informed me that, as it was a ‘meet the Dom and chat to a sub’ evening, Mimi had met us and they were chatting. And all the talk made their throat dry and all they could find to drink was Chenin blanc.”

  Jeff rolled his eyes and grunted. Alex laughed.

  “Taps dry? We got a drought?”

  “Only enough water for Shane,” David said, “allegedly. And they didn’t want to leave her short. I got this through giggles and a rather nice crawl over the floor. We looked in and were shooed out. Something about it was girl talk and men wouldn’t understand. That’s true enough. As I knew fine there wasn’t going to be any play, or not likely unless Ailsa felt up to it, I let them be. Mimi might as well know it’s not all bow to your Masters. Mind you, Mimi was white and I have no idea why, except Kath said she thought maybe you needed to be careful how you phrased stuff. She’s sober as well, I hasten to add, and said she’d be happy to let you play later. The others are at the snigger and snort stage.”

  Jeff grinned. “That’s my girl. Except we have to fit it in between crawling babies and feeds. I don’t need to practice delayed orgasm. We’re both expert at it now.”

  “Ah well, it’s good for you,” Ross said with a laugh.

  “Gee, thanks. Wait until it’s your turn.”

  Ross paled. “Shit, I didn’t think of that.”

  “Tonight I guess it did all go haywire,” Alex said tolerantly. After all, they had been abandoned. “If nothing else, it shows we’re human. I guess we’d better go explain it all. I wonder if Ailsa can shed some light on that registration number.”

  * * * *

  “If you report it as an incident, it’ll get looked at,” Ailsa said. “I personally can’t do anything. I strongly recommend one of you does it now. After all, the security camera was damaged, wasn’t it?” She stared at Jeff, who frowned. “Wasn’t it?”

  Alex poked Jeff. “Cracked at the very least, I’d think. Wouldn’t you say so, Jeff?” Alex asked pointedly. “It has something thrown at it, and I’m sure if you cleaned it, you’d see the damage.”

  Mimi cleared her throat. Seven sets of male eyes were turned on her. “It’s had the wires almost pulled out.”

  Ailsa sniggered and put her hand over her mouth.

  “And you know that how?”

  God almighty, if that’s his Dom voice, shoot me now. I refuse to dissolve into a puddle of drool.

  “We, er, looked”—she felt every male eye boring into her—“Sirs.”

  “You did?” Alex asked, once he realized it had unanimously been decided she was definitely his responsibility. “When?”

  Mimi looked toward Jess who shrugged. “Um, well…”

  “When I asked her to,” Kath said clearly. “Theresa said how good she was with electronics—Mimi, I mean, not Theresa—so we went for a shoofty.”

  “You went outside to look around?” Jeff roared. “After the camera was tampered with?”

  Mimi flinched but Kath wasn’t one whit fazed by his shout.

  “Don’t be daft. We’re subs, not stupid.”

  “So you say. I reckon the jury’s out on that. You’re nuts. What if there was someone around?” he asked

  Kath patted his arm. “Calm down. Of course we didn’t go then. We’re not mad.”

  “Hmm, that’s debateable.” Jeff stopped speaking and glared. “What do you mean not then?”

  “Seriously, Sir, stop mumping. None of us would do anything dangerous. Well, not without telling you first. Nope, we went while you were all chatting, before all hell broke loose. If we had gone a bit later, we might have seen something.” She sounded regretful.

  “But how did you know it was dodgy?”

  Kath went red

  “Ah well, we’ve sort of sorted a monitor in our room.” She looked at the floor. “I think my milk’s come in. I best go and express.”

  “Tough. You can wait. Who did the sort of sorting and why?”

  “Me,” Shane said, “ages ago. And well, because we were worried about what was going on. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. We want to be able to back you up and not be a liability. But it was a bit naff and getting worse. When we were looking at it tonight, I said it wasn’t working properly. Mimi agreed it was fuzzy and unfocussed and sorted it out.”

  “Indeed.”

  Jeff glared at Mimi, who flinched but stood her ground. How dare he moan when she was only helping her new-found friends?

  “Indeed.” She glared back and ignored the smothered sniggers she could hear. “Your security is crap.”

  “You think so?” Jeff’s voice was almost enough to make her kneel and do—what was it? Assume the position?

  Almost.

  “I know so. However, don’t worry. I won’t mention it again, but I am going to say that the wires had been loosened so they’d fall out without much help. I reckon the throwing thing would have been enough. Now I think it’s time for me to go. I can reassure you that my report will be honest, and say I see no reason to close you down. You’re not bothering anyone else. You’re legal and ethical and mind your own business.”

  “And you’ve got all that from this brief time?”

  Was the man trying to make her be negative? “Exactly. Excuse me.” She walked toward the door. Alex blocked her way.

  “No.”

  “I beg your pardon?” If Alex could be brief and to the point, so could she. “Yes.”

  “Dominique, we need to talk.” Alex took her arm. “Please?”

  Damn him, why do I go to goo at such a stupid thing?

  Mimi guessed she owed him that at least. The night hadn’t panned out as either of them expected. “Okay, then I need to go. The cat needs feeding.”

  “You can’t drive. You’d be over the limit.”

  “I didn’t drink.”

  “She didn’t, the rest of us had her share,” Kath said. “Well, I only had a wee bit of it, but anyway… The end room is made up.” The innocent expression on her face made Mimi instantly suspicious. Was it the way she emphasized room?

  Alex gave her no chance to question Kath. He nodded.

  “Thanks, all. I’ll see Dominique home later.”

  “Theresa and I will be around,” Ronnie said. “Dun…duty and all that.”

  Mimi was damned sure he’d changed what he meant to say.

  Chapter Nine

  “What did Ronnie really mean to say?” Dominique asked as Alex towed her down the corridor and away from sassy subs who had seemed to have lost their filter on what they said. “Because I’m damned sure ‘duty’ wasn’t it.”

  In for a penny. “Dungeon Master. Tonight should have been a normal play night for members. It was canceled so you could do your look around and chat, which you haven’t.”

  “I’ve chatted and fixed a security camera, which had been tampered with. And then was put out of action with gunk.”

  “Eggs, I think.”

  “Then you need to re-site it.”

  He nodded and stopped outside a solid oak door.

  “Jeff will do it first thing tomorrow, and someone will stay alert overnight.” He put two fingers under her chin and tipped her head up to look him in the eyes. “Welcome to my dungeon. Once inside, even if you only look around and ask questions, we’ll follow protocol, okay?”

  Dominique bit her lip. Alex put his finger over the spot.

  “Enough. No lip biting unless I do it.”

  She gasped, paled, went red then paled again before her complexion became what he considered to be normal. Alex stroked her cheek, pleased with the way she quivered at his touch. “Pet, nothing, but nothing, is going to happen unless you ask for me to do whatever it is you want to experienc
e. I promise. As much as I want to introduce you to my world, I know it’s not for everyone. And before you say it, yes, I accept it might never be for you. However, it’s a risk I have to take, to show you what moves me, what makes up my persona and what I need. That is all apart from the forum stuff.”

  She nodded and relaxed. “Okay, but I have a question even before we go in. Why is it called a dungeon?”

  “Fuck knows.” Not quite true, but he was interested to see how she reacted to his words. “I guess because of the whips and shackles, but it’s wrong really. After all, the Dom doesn’t have the last word, the sub does, and I’m no jailor. But then if I said come and see the playroom, how would that make you feel?”

  She was silent for so long, Alex wondered if she was going to answer.

  “I guess you’d expect me to say it’s friendly and cuddly, and dungeon is the opposite,” she answered, slowly. “But I’ve read the books and actually playroom scares—no, that’s not the right word—freaks,” she corrected herself, “me more.”

  Clever girl.

  “Exactly. Psychology works every time.” He opened the door. “Step into my dungeon.”

  Dominique looked at him, quizzically. “I hate spiders and I’m not that keen on flies.”

  It took a second for him to realize she alluded to the rhyme and he grinned. “Well, it’s no parlor, so you should be fine. If you want to touch, please ask first. Not for protocol, for safety.”

  She paused on the threshold, and he wondered how an initial view of a dungeon felt to a sub. It was a long while since he’d had his first glimpse of one, but even then he’d known he needed to dominate and that scribing fascinated him. He could still remember the surge of adrenaline that had filled him when he’d understood that he could be at home there and be himself. Since then, he’d never looked back.

  Now, though, he did his best to look at it as if for the first time. He could just about manage that, but not as a sub.

  The room wasn’t overlarge, just big enough for a floor to ceiling cupboard and a long set of waist-high drawers and shelves that filled one wall, a St. Andrew’s Cross, a spanking bench and a long, thin bed, similar to one used in a beauty salon. There, though, the similarity ended. He was damned sure the beauty salon didn’t have shackles on their beds.

  On the top of the drawer unit, candles and floggers were set out, seemingly at random, although he knew different. A leather container about the size of an iPad case held his scribing tools, and he’d deliberately set out a ball gag or two, a set of nipple clamps and a wicked looking clit clamp. Like he’d said, psychology was a wonderful thing.

  “Do you use all this, Sir?” Her voice was breathy and uneven.

  “Sometimes.” He made sure his tone was level. “What interests you, pet?”

  Alex thought he could smell her excitement, intermingled with not so much fear as uncertainty. Her skin was flushed and the soft sheen of perspiration visible. Her lips were parted and her eyes bright.

  “Pet, I asked you a question.”

  “I’m formulating my answer…Sir. It all interests me in the abstract.”

  “And in the actual?”

  “I don’t know.” She looked at him and her puzzlement was obvious for him to see. “I’m confused. I honestly do not do pain, and I was sure I’d cringe when I saw stuff. But, well”—she licked her lips—“I haven’t. In truth, it sort of intrigues me.”

  “Intrigues or excites?”

  She made a face.

  “Be honest, Dominique. If you hadn’t been interested, you would have made an excuse not to come? If you hadn’t wondered about things, you’d have left before we got to this stage. What did you talk about with the girls?”

  “Girl talk,” she said. “For us women only.”

  “Sub talk,” Alex corrected her. “I bet they said try, before you decry.”

  “You know they were all so positive about everything. Even about what they hated and why. And so yes, I guess… Talk about an about face.” She rubbed her hands on her jeans. “If I said what’s best for BDSM for beginners who hate pain, but are now wondering… What would you say?”

  At last. Alex could have punched the air, except it would be the wrong thing to do on every count. Instead he took hold of her chin again and squeezed just a little—not enough to cause pain, but he hoped enough to make her think he meant business.

  “I’d say, do you trust me?”

  “Now that, Sir, is a leading question.” Her eyes twinkled and he smiled.

  “And one I need an answer to, pet.”

  “Then yes, with qualifications. Which are, do I trust myself?”

  There, I’ve admitted it. So, what next? His fingers tightened on her chin and she forced herself not to react. The pinch was enough for it to register on her personal scale of soreness. If she thought about the gush of wetness that coated her thighs, then that scale needed to be re-evaluated.

  “Only you can answer that,” Alex said evenly. He let go of her chin, and the acute pang at the loss of his touch surprised her.

  “Maybe not as much as I trust you at the moment,” Mimi said honestly. “Um, this might sound so daft, but what does a flogger feel like?” She watched as Alex walked to the long sideboard—or whatever it was—and picked up one with a gray and black plaited leather handle.

  “Hold your hand out, palm uppermost.”

  Her heart thudded and her hands went clammy. What next? However, she did as he asked. Something in his tone called to her deep inside. Dominant, yes, but with a hint of vulnerability. The thought she might say no, maybe?

  Mimi gulped and swallowed twice, then she took in a deep breath, straightened and held her hand out.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Surprise flared in his eyes so briefly that if she hadn’t been looking at his face, she’d have missed it.

  “Good girl, pet.” Alex flicked the flogger in the air.

  The swish made Mimi flinch, but she held her hand steady. The suede tails of the flogger danced around and settled. Nowhere near her hand. Alex smiled, reversed the flogger and handed it to her. Puzzled, Mimi took it from him.

  He held out his hand, palm uppermost, just as he had asked her. “Try it.”

  Mimi stared at him without comprehension. “You mean me use it on you?”

  Alex nodded.

  “But why? You’re the Dom.”

  “And I say you use it on me. Discover how it feels.” His look never wavered as he stared steadily at her. “Pet.”

  Mimi moved the flogger from one hand to the other and tested how it felt. Not too heavy, and the tails or thongs of suede tickled her as she stroked them over her wrist. She was damned sure they wouldn’t tickle if she used them properly.

  “Color,” she said.

  Alex’s lips twitched. “Green.”

  “Oh good.” She flicked the flogger as hard as she could and watched as the strand hit his palm.

  Did he flinch? It was hard to tell, but a slight redness flushed where they had landed.

  “Color?” she asked again.

  “Pet, you’ve a strong arm. Green.”

  “Good.” She handed the flogger to him. “Did it sting or thud?”

  Alex laughed. “Tickled a bit, but that’s technique, not strength.”

  “And will you tickle me, Sir?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, I’ll show you a sting and a thud. Turn around, pet.”

  Mimi did as he asked. “Why, Sir?”

  “I’ll show you on your ass. There’s a bit more padding there.”

  She looked over her shoulder. “Are you saying my bum is big, Sir?” She rolled her eyes to show she was funning.

  He swatted said bum with the flogger gently.

  “Sassy. That was a tickle, pet, for doubting your body. Your bum is perfect. I’m saying your jeans will be a barrier. Okay, let’s hear your color now.”

  “Green as grass, Sir.” At least she hoped so. Surely the clammy skin and uneven pulse was excitement not fear? She w
asn’t scared, and she was excited. And, she admitted, aroused and with very damp undies. His integrity shone through, and Mimi was honest to know she needed to find out…what next?

  “I think this would be better if you bent over the bench and held on to the grips.” He pushed her gently toward the spanking bench and pressed on her back. Mimi bent obediently. Her head lolled forward and she lifted it up.

  “Not comfy?”

  “Er, no, I mean, yes, Sir, it’s good and green. But how do I hold on to them?” She took hold of handles obviously meant to be used to keep a person in the correct position. “Like this?”

  “Unless you want me to tie you down?”

  Tie…? “No, thank you, Sir. That’s yellow or red.”

  “Then hold the grips and try to relax.”

  That was easier said than done, especially as Mimi’s body thrummed with something she’d never experienced before.

  She felt his hand stroke the globes of her ass. Even through the denim that covered them, his touch warmed her, and she rued the fact that damp lace and denim chafed rather than aroused.

  Lady pads next time, and that’d be sexy—not. She wriggled a little. His hand stilled.

  “Pet?”

  Oh shit.

  “Er, sorry, Sir, um, well…”

  “Open and honest,” Alex reminded her.

  “My undies are a bit… Um… Oh, Lordy, this is embarrassing.” She stopped speaking. He didn’t say a word, and the silence seemed to smother her. Damn him, why couldn’t he help her out? She realized he could, of course, but chose not to. This, she guessed, was another step in being a sub. That no longer sounded as scary as it had earlier.

  “I’m wet and aroused and it’s all so new to me. Oh, and my undies are damp and my jeans chafe.”

  “Ah.” He stroked her ass again. “Would you feel better with them off?”

  What?” The word came out as a squeak. “No, not here, I mean, aren’t there security cameras?”

  “Of course, but we’ve all been there, done it and got the T-shirt.”

  “I haven’t. No, I’ll keep them on.”

  “Even the T-shirt?”

  She giggled. “Even that.”