by Livia Grant
“Try again.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “Maybe it’s a sign we shouldn’t continue.”
“I’m not only sure, I’m absolutely positive.” After a pause where she seemed to waver, I added, “Unless, you’re not up to the challenge?”
That seemed to do the trick as all hesitancy disappeared. She took a step closer to the wheel and dropped the ball. It wasn’t but a second or two before the wheel stopped turning and Madison looked up to announce, “Chemical Play.” Ember looked at the wheel as if to confirm the spin and then back at me.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“No. Well, I don’t think so. It’s just I’m not too sure what that actually means.”
“If you’re asking then I’m guessing it’s not one of your hard limits,” I said.
“Um, no. I put down needle play, diaper play—”
“Then we’re good to go.” Placing my palm against the small of her back, my fingertips brushing against the bare skin of her spine, I gave Madison a nod and then guided Ember from the stage.
Once we were standing off to the side, Ember spoke softly. “Listen, maybe we should rethink this. I mean—”
“I know what you mean.” I regretted cutting her off when she shifted away from me, which wouldn’t do. With a press of my fingers, I pulled her back. “I meant I understood this is probably not what you expected, but I also meant what I said. I’m looking forward to sceneing with you.” When that didn’t dispel the look of uncertainty in her eyes, I sighed.
I didn’t mind a little hesitancy in a submissive, but I sure as shit didn’t want to see fear. I was pretty positive she wasn’t physically afraid of me regardless of the fact I towered over her despite those killer stilettos and outweighed her by a good hundred pounds or so. That left the concern of emotional damage, and while I was a dominant who demanded a lot from the women I played with, I wasn’t a bastard. I moved us a few inches from the others as a newly paired couple joined us.
“Look, is this awkward? Sure. But the fact we’re meeting for the first time in a club rather than a conference room isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you’re concerned I’m seeing a side of you that you don’t share with the world, don’t be—”
“You really expect me to believe you won’t see me as weak and use that against me tomorrow?”
“Weak? Because you’re a submissive?” At her nod, I shook my head. “Hell no. It takes an extremely strong woman to surrender control to a dom.” When she still looked doubtful, I continued, “We’re both very astute people, or else we’d not be able to successfully separate our professional lives from our personal ones. Before I saw you here, I had no clue you were a member of Black Light—”
“I didn’t turn up your membership either.”
“Ah, so you confess you researched me?” I teased.
She shrugged, her cheeks flushing at being caught. “Let’s just say we both obviously discovered Google’s weak spot.”
I didn’t bother to inform her Google wasn’t my only source of information. Instead, I reached out and brushed her hair off her shoulder, wrapping my fingers loosely around the slim column of her throat. Extremely conscious of her quick inhalation, I spoke softly enough she’d have to concentrate all of her attention on me.
“Will I push you to your limits? Yes. Will you be pleading for permission to come? That sure as hell is one of my goals. Will you be begging me to fuck you? If you don’t, I won’t have done my job properly.”
Her eyes, which I’d assumed would be green, proved to be an incredible shade of cobalt blue. They widened as the pulse beneath my fingertips fluttered rapidly. She could deny her need all she wanted, but her very body language told the truth.
I leaned closer, stroking my fingers along her skin. “But do you need to fear anything that happens here will follow you into the meeting tomorrow? No, Ember, you do not.”
She stared up at me, and I watched the war between the professional woman and the submissive play out. My assurance or perhaps the intensity of my gaze had her bottom lip beginning to tremble. I lifted my free hand and ran my fingers across her lips and down her throat. Aware of the hitch of her breath, I continued the slow slide into the valley of her cleavage, watching as her nipples puckered against the red silk. I didn’t stop until my fingertip circled around the rim of her belly button, enjoying the quivering of her body at just the simple touch.
“So you’re suggesting we play tonight and tomorrow we forget about what happened here? It’s business as usual?” she asked.
“Exactly,” I confirmed, twirling my fingertip in the little dip of her navel, loving the soft moan she gave and the fact her head bowed to watch my every move.
“I just have one thing to say.” Her voice shook slightly as she lifted her head.
“What’s that?” I asked, meeting her gaze, my dick jerking at the raw need I saw in the blue depths, knowing without her speaking who had won the internal battle.
“Stop touching me before we’re dismissed or else we might be disqualified before we even begin.”
I chuckled, not really caring if we were granted the free month’s membership awarded to any couple who made it through the evening.
“It’s not about the money,” she said quietly as if reading my mind. “It’s about respecting the integrity of the game.”
She had me there. I lifted my finger away and moved behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against me. Leaning down, I spoke into the shell of her ear. “I’ll grant you this one, little girl, but any further instructions will only come from me, understand?”
“Yes,” she said and then yelped softly when I nipped her earlobe.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, Master.”
I’d heard those words before, yet somehow, they’d never sounded quite the same. I soothed the bite with a long, slow sweep of my tongue, her moan my reward as I straightened to wait for the last couple to be paired so the games could begin.
Chapter 4
Ember
Master.
How one little word had the power to calm nerves that had been jingling since I’d looked up to see this man — this Master — I couldn’t explain. But it did. Uttering the word caused my entire awareness to shift. While I was cognizant of the fact several additional paired couples had joined us, I was far more conscious of the man standing behind me. The fact he held me so close I could feel the bulge of his dick probably aided in my awareness. Then again, I’d already learned he could stand yards away and the submissive in me was drawn to the dominant in him like a bear to honey.
More like the spider and the fly…
I shuddered as the fingers splayed at my waist gave a gentle press as if to reassure me I had nothing to fear. If Braxton could see my face, he’d know I wasn’t afraid — well, not in the sense I feared he’d harm me — I was anxious to see where this evening would take me. Where my Master would take me.
Finally, the wheel made its last revolution, the final couple heading off the stage, and someone from the audience yelled out, “Let’s go!”
Several people laughed, and as the last pair left the stage, Mistress Madison announced, “You’re right! It’s time for our participants to go and start Valentine Roulette. Good luck!”
Braxton wasted no time, his hand dropping from my waist to take mine. “It’s about time,” he said, his long stride making it necessary for me to take two steps to his every one which wasn’t exactly easy in four-inch Jimmy Choos. But who needed comfort when one could wear glittery shoes that shimmered with every step?
I got a momentary break when Braxton paused to grab his bag among several others that had been left at the base of the stage. My thoughts instantly went from my shoes to wondering what might be in the bag — the rather large bag. There was only one way to find out.
“What’s in the bag?”
Braxton looked down and grinned. “Toys.”
My stomach flipped. “W
hat kind of toys?”
“Curiosity killed the cat,” he taunted as we reached the doorway to leave the theater.
“Satisfaction brought it back,” I countered.
He chuckled and hefted the bag over his shoulder. The sound of the contents was subtle yet enough for me to hear a few clinks of something that sounded like metal and a thud of something heavy.
“Handcuffs?” I ventured, my mind already visualizing my wrists cuffed to some apparatus. “And maybe a paddle? Are you a spanker?”
“Anticipation is part of the game,” he answered cryptically. Before I could ask another question, he added, “Just so you know, I won’t need a paddle to set your ass on fire.”
I swallowed hard, the skin of my buttocks crawling even as my pussy contracted.
He wove through the crowds milling about, and all I could do was practically trot by his side. I saw spectators leaving the bar area to begin lining up to watch as other Roulette pairs peeled off and approached various equipment. It served to remind me part of the night’s draw was the prize of an additional free month of membership for whichever pair gave the best show.
I wasn’t a shy woman when it came to standing in front of a room full of business associates while wearing a designer suit and far more sensible shoes. But if I said I wasn’t nervous about getting buck-assed naked, I’d be lying. I’d taken a tip from a blogger and had started performing household tasks like washing dishes, checking emails, and doing laundry in the buff in an effort to become more comfortable in my own skin. I normally managed to check my modesty the moment I entered a club to play, but that was before I knew who I’d be paired with. Seeing women already shedding their clothes in preparation for play had me very aware of every bounce of my breasts as Braxton continued across the floor.
I’d never been to this club before, but it was definitely laid out differently than the one in D.C. Instead of basically one very large room where members played, Black Light West had been built inside an absolutely huge mansion. There were hallways leading off in different directions and was that an actual swimming pool? I got a better view of the gorgeous indoor pool when Braxton finally slowed as a woman approached us.
“I’ll be right back.” Dropping my hand, he moved forward to speak to the blonde.
I took the opportunity to look around and discovered the area also held a sauna, a hot tub, and several platforms that were already being claimed. It wasn’t long before Braxton returned and slipped his arm around my waist.
“Everything all right?”
“Yes, everything is fine,” he assured me.
“Where are we going?” I asked as he continued to lead me through the club.
“To one of the playrooms. They’re located in a hall behind the stage.”
At his explanation, I relaxed slightly. A battle was already waging inside me about even playing with this man. My mind screamed I was a fool to believe he wouldn’t use this against me tomorrow, while my body stated I’d better not even think about wimping out. Perhaps having any play being done in privacy would satisfy both sides.
Black Light West was a huge place, but from the amount of people I’d seen, I wondered how many rooms were available for private play.
We reached a set of short stairs, and I looked up in time to see a door closing toward the end of the hallway.
“That’s the nursery,” Braxton said. “Complete with adult-sized baby furniture.”
“So, the rooms are furnished for different play?”
“Yes. There’s a schoolroom and one that can be used as a dungeon or interrogation room.”
I was busy picturing a classroom with desks where a naughty student was bent over, her panties at her ankles while the stern headmaster wielded a cane against her ass. Or perhaps a woman tied to a piece of wicked-looking furniture with the ability to have a submissive trembling in need. Yet neither of those rooms seemed a place where chemical play had a role.
“So which room are we in?” I asked.
“This one.” He inclined his head toward the first room. The entire front wall of the room wasn’t really a wall. It was a large window that looked a little shaded.
All it took was a brief glance for me to gasp. An exam table exactly like the one in my gynecologist’s office stood front and center.
Well, not exactly the same as this. While this table had a strip of pristine white paper aligned perfectly down the center, I was willing to bet the black padded surface was leather and not a cheap imitation. Another difference from the standard shiny metal stirrups at one end, were the large D-rings around the sides where restraints could be attached. Off to one side of the room was a counter with the accoutrements of the medical profession lined up like good little soldiers waiting to be called into battle.
“I’m guessing there is no wizard behind the curtain?” I motioned toward the back corner of the room where a curtain hung from a rod.
“Not unless he’s using the bathroom.”
I looked up at him and saw the amusement in his eyes.
“You’re not scared of the doctor, are you?” he asked.
“It depends on the skill of said doctor.” I wasn’t about to admit the very sight of a needle or blood being sucked from my arm into a tube had my vision blurring and my stomach roiling.
“Touché,” Braxton acquiesced and opened the door, gesturing for me to precede him.
I stepped past him and would have sworn the temperature dropped a good ten degrees. “Why do they keep hospital rooms so cold?”
“You won’t feel chilled for long,” Braxton assured me. When he reached for a white lab coat hanging from the back of the door, I thought of a more pressing question.
“And come to think of it, why are we even in this room when I didn’t spin medical play?”
“Several reasons, the main one being you never engage in chemical play without testing for any allergic reactions first.”
When he didn’t continue, I prompted, “And?”
Grinning, he patted the table’s surface. “Take off your clothes,” he ordered as he moved to drop his bag onto the counter.
Who knew shrugging into the lab coat allowed a man to slip into the persona of a doctor so effortlessly? Then again, I’d be willing to bet this man had been playing doctor since he was a boy.
This was it… one could tell themselves they were playing all they wished, but nothing quite screamed ‘submissive’ as loudly as being casually ordered to strip. And nothing announced who was in control any more clearly than watching a dominant with his arms crossed over his chest, his ass leaning against a counter, a look of expectation on his face and that little smirk lifting the corner of his mouth just the slightest bit. Braxton didn’t repeat his order, didn’t instruct me to hurry, didn’t even speak. All he did was wait for me to obey.
“Do I get a lollipop if I’m a good girl?” I asked in an attempt to ease my sudden flare of nerves.
“Let’s just say I’m pretty positive you’ll get to suck to your heart’s content before the night is over whether you’re a good girl or not.”
That didn’t exactly answer my question, but it did have my heart skipping a beat.
“Do you need help undressing?”
“No.”
“No what?”
“No, Doctor,” I said, proving I wasn’t lying by reaching for the silk at my shoulders. Crossing my arms, I slowly pulled the fabric down until it reached the bend of my elbows. The pressure of my arms against my body ensured I’d yet to truly reveal anything. It was my turn to smile as I watched his eyes follow my every move. I waited for a heartbeat and then dropped my arms, allowing the material to slide down and fall, catching on either side of my hips.
My nipples instantly peaked and while that could be excused due to the temperature of the room, the fact my panties grew uncomfortably damp told the truth. The look in this man’s eyes alone had every cell in my body sitting up and taking notice.
“Continue,” he instructed.
I
slid down the zipper and with a little shimmying and a few tugs, the dress slipped down my legs to puddle at my feet. Braxton stepped forward and surprised me by crouching in front of me.
“Step out,” he instructed.
I placed my hands on him for the first time, grasping his shoulders as I stepped out of my dress and then my shoes after he unbuckled the straps around my ankles. My legs trembled as he ran his palms up my right calf until he reached the top of my stocking, stroking his thumb where silk met skin before rolling it down until it too was removed. The left stocking was next, leaving me in nothing but the black panties edged with red lace. I gave a squeal when he stood and wrapped his hands around my waist again, quickly lifting me into the air before setting me down on the surface of the exam table.
“Sit up straight, hands on your thighs, palms up and knees spread.”
I moved into the position and learned it was far easier to dismiss the crackle the paper made with my every move than it was to ignore the fact there was already a visible wet spot beneath me despite the fact he’d left me in my panties. I shifted a bit forward to cover the telltale evidence of my arousal as he turned away to rummage in his bag. His body blocked any chance I had of sneaking a peek and besides, I was sort of getting off on the whole anticipation thing. The knock on the door took me by surprise. My eyes flew toward it which, of course, had me remembering a crowd had likely already gathered outside the viewing window.
“Come in,” Braxton called out and turned when the door opened to admit another gorgeous woman who carried a tray, its contents hidden by a cloth. She smiled at me and then passed the tray to Braxton. “Thank you,” he said, placing the tray next to his bag on the counter.
“You’re welcome, is there anything else you need, Doctor?”
It seemed the staff was every bit into this role-playing thing as its members.
“A pot of hot tea, a cup, and a glass of milk,” Braxton responded which had my nose crinkling. I’d never heard a dominant ask for anything other than bottled water or maybe a drink at the bar when he was done playing. The woman simply nodded and left the room with another smile shot my way.
