Second Time Lucky (Club Decadence Book 5)

by Maddie Taylor

  “That’s my good girl,” was his low praise right before the whoosh and subsequent sting of the lash fell three times in quick succession. Yellow was on the tip of her tongue, but he stopped.

  Both of his palms, at least ten degrees cooler than her cheeks, slid under the mesh and rubbed over her heated skin, soothing her. “Your cheeks are on fire after only six swats, baby? Is it too much?”

  “I’ll take more if you want me to, Master.” As soon as she said it, she wanted to kick herself. Crap!

  Silence fell heavy over the room. Then, a growled, “Dammit, Mara. If I didn’t want your input, I’d flail away and decide for myself. It’s too harsh, isn’t it?”

  “It’s…” The smack of his palm landing low on her thigh convinced her to be honest.

  “I want the truth, sub.”

  Caught, she hesitated.

  Her other thigh received the same motivating smack. “Now.”

  “Yellow. It’s a bit much, even with the harness.”

  “You told me you were green. Why?”

  “Two strokes weren’t enough, you said, so I wanted to give it a decent try.”

  “It’s not my ass under the lash, Mara. If it’s too much, what are you supposed to tell me?”

  “Yellow?”

  “Yellow.” He repeated with a huff of disbelief. “By telling me yellow, I would assume you wanted more of the stinger after a short break. Is that what you want?”

  “No!”

  “Then tell me the truth, dammit!”

  “It’s awful, okay. I feel like I sat on a hot griddle and I don’t ever want more of that.”

  “An honest answer, at last. How should you have told me in no uncertain terms?”

  “I should have said red, Master.”

  His hand speared into her hair and pulled her head back. “Yes. Three little letters would have put an end to it. Have I been unclear in my expectations? I expect you to tell me when something is too much. Did you learn nothing from the lesson with Adele?”

  She shook her head, turning away from the cutting anger in his eyes.

  “Look at me.” When she did, he demanded, “Why didn’t you say yellow or red before?”

  Because she was doing exactly as he accused, trying to please him. In her own warped way, it was like the first half of the scene with Adele—enduring, but not really enjoying. She knew that wasn’t what he wanted. He was a sensual Dom not a sadist. Without a doubt, he could bring the heat, and had on occasion, adding more of a bite when the situation called for it; the night of the mugging and her first real spanking with the hairbrush came to mind. Even then, when there could have been real life consequences, he hadn’t been overly harsh. Orgasm delay, plugs, harnesses, product testing evidently, and rules like no sex after a spanking were much more his speed, not pain. Had she decided to take a beating to make up for all her hurts and assuage her guilt at the same time or was she going along with anything he asked because she didn’t want to say no and disappoint him, or lose him? Either reason was really messed up.

  “Can’t we try the horse hair again?” she blurted out.

  He exhaled heavily in frustration. “Is that what you want, for me to decide it all and take away your voice? If it is, say so and I’ll stop asking, but you’ll have to accept the consequences of that choice, which means neither of us is gonna get what we want.”

  “No. I don’t want that. I want…” She started, but stopped. Was she ready to admit it?

  “Damnation, Mara, tell me what you want.”

  “I want what you want and to make you happy. I want to please you, and by doing so, maybe make up for some of the hell I’ve put you through. If I could, I’d take all the pain I’ve caused and wipe it away.” Her last words came out on a sob and before she knew what was happening, she was upright, the next instant astride his lap. He took her bound wrists from behind her neck and placed them behind his.

  “I’ve forgiven you, baby.”

  “And I am grateful that you did, but I’m having trouble forgiving myself.”

  “This was punishment, then?”

  “Not consciously, but I’ve been thinking it might help. You promised a spanking back in Galveston, but we had Walmart sex instead.”

  “You couldn’t have told me directly that you needed to be spanked?”

  “Like I said it wasn’t conscious and I don’t think I realized what I was doing until now. I didn’t safeword thinking you were enjoying it as much as you thought I was, Master. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

  He grunted, his expression having turned thoughtful. “Yet, you did.”

  She flinched.

  “Let me clue you into something that you obviously haven’t figured out. What I get out of spanking or flogging you isn’t causing you pain. I enjoy it solely because you get off on it, Mara. You can deny it, or put up a fuss when the time comes, but you crave the play. You want me to spank you, flog you or swat you with a paddle. If I clamp you, plug you, or have you take a foot long purple cock in your pussy while I watch, it makes you burn red-hot and so wet you gush until it trickles down your thighs. That’s what turns me on. Giving you pleasure, pushing you until you fly, and seeing you soar in subspace because I put you there. How your body responds to my slightest touch and to my commands makes my dick ache. Taking pain for pain’s sake or finding out you’re being a martyr for whatever screwed up reason, taking more than you want or could possibly enjoy in an effort to please me, does not do it for me, Mara. No fucking way.”

  Affected by what she’d done, he sounded raspy. Her actions had taken him on the roller coaster ride of her crazy emotions right along with her. Another pang of guilt assailed her.

  “What would you say if I decided to stop, if I sold my shares, packed it in, and moved to Rossi full time and that we were going to become Mr. and Mrs. Vanilla USA.”

  Shocked, she blinked up at him. “What?” Her brows snapped together. “Wait. You own a sex club; you love this stuff, the kink, the control, the toys, and the whole dungeon scene. So, I’d say no to Vanilla USA because you wouldn’t be happy.” She went on to say quite intuitively, “Making sacrifices and doing something you don’t want to placate me would make us both miserable.”

  He was quiet, saying nothing, clearly giving her time to think. She didn’t need much.

  “That’s what I’ve been doing, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “That is so uncool,” she whispered in misery.

  “It’s also manipulative and not what our marriage or D/s relationship should be based on.”

  She nodded, feeling more miserable and not liking where this sounded like it was going.

  “Do you trust me, Mara?”

  “Absolutely, I trust you, Master.”

  “Then for this to work, I have to trust you in return.”

  She’d heard about many Doms who released subs for less than this. Communication, honesty and trust were key. She’d fucked up all of them. Closing her eyes, she tried to brace for what would come next.

  “Eyes on me, Mara.” Speaking sternly, more so than she’d ever heard him. Immediately, they opened. “You will not shut me out. It’s what tore us apart the last time.”

  With her arms looped around his neck and wrists bound, they were face-to-face, nose-to-nose, lips inches apart. After what she’d done, this amount of intimate eye contact wasn’t easy. He was right. She was slipping back into old bad habits and that had to stop. Now.

  “I need to be able to trust what you tell me, Mara. Whether here at Decadence or playing at home, if we’re discussing routine auto maintenance or paying the taxes, it doesn’t matter. Distrust will break us apart quicker than anything.”

  “I get that, Sean.”

  “I’m not done. When we’re playing, it is especially important because if you aren’t truthful, I could hurt you. Not only would that be painful for you, it would crush me. I was whacking away at your ass with the stinger as if everything was okay—as in green—as in go!” Again, she
flinched. “I could have done some damage, much worse than a welt or a bruise.”

  “I trusted you not to hurt me, Master. I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

  “I don’t want sorry.”

  She nodded, her eyes downcast.

  “Don’t hide from me, Mara.”

  Her green gaze lifted.

  “Look at me until I make this perfectly clear. If something hurts, you have to say it. If you’re afraid, I need to know it. And, if you find something distasteful or out of bounds, I have to hear it loud and clear. I won’t get angry, or feel cheated unless you hide things from me, or lie. Are we clear on this once and for all?”

  “Crystal.”

  “Good. I won’t have this discussion a third time, Mara. This is a D/s deal breaker. If it becomes necessary, I’ll change our names to Mr. and Mrs. Vanilla USA so fast it will make your head spin. Got it?”

  “I’ve got it, Master.” Some of the heat had left his eyes, thank goodness. She took the opportunity to share something and prove she had really gotten it. “This is me being completely honest with you when I say this won’t happen again, Master. You’re right when you say I want this. It’s true. Bland vanilla isn’t the flavor that I crave anymore.”

  He nodded, his eyes bright. “I know you want this, baby. Your body gives you away when it trembles and weeps, or like with Adele that day, when it doesn’t. Thank fuck your pussy can’t lie.”

  She had no response to that, except for a nod and the flush that suffused her face.

  As he pulled her close, his big hands rubbing up and down her back and over her warm behind. With a gentle kiss, he said, decisively, “Let’s take a break.”

  “No. Please, Master.”

  “Mara…”

  “Let me prove I can do better.”

  Slowly, he smoothed his hand over her hair, pausing at her nape and gripping her tight. His eyes seared into her, searching. Then he nodded and lifted her.

  Back in position on the desk, except her wrists cuffed in front so that her folded hands pillowed her cheek. “I’ve been thinking about the limit list that has been giving you fits. I’m taking charge of it. We’ll start with my hard limits, adding yours as we proceed slowly. The first item in the red column, obviously, is the Kangaroo Stinger.” He paused to tug aside the black mesh harness. With a low curse, she heard him open and close a drawer in his desk. Cool, soothing lotion slathered over her hot cheeks a moment later.

  Relief from the burn was instantaneous.

  “I can practically see the steam rising off your ass, and you’re red, not the pretty pink that I prefer. You might have a bruise of two tomorrow, which makes me angry. At the very least, you’ll be irritated because there’s an imprint of the mesh on your skin.

  “I know you don’t want to hear I’m sorry, but I truly am.”

  “I believe you, baby, but sorry doesn’t help the inflamed state of your ass. This Arnica gel will, however.”

  “It does feel good. Thank you.”

  He hummed in response. “We’ll continue to search for something more moderate, or I’ll use my hand, what I’d sorely like to do now, but you’re too red already. I’ll pass the stinger off to Seth or Arturo, our resident sadists. They have some masochist subs that will love it.”

  Her gratitude came out as a sigh as she felt his smooth lips graze across her burning cheeks.

  “Despite out little detour, we’ll be able to add quite a few things to the green column after today. The horse hair flogger is a definite green.” She heard a couple of clicks and the vibes harnessed inside her switched on. “Other green additions: oral, anal, toys, vibes, restraints, harnesses, breast play, clamps, lingerie, bunny play, spanking. That sounds like a busy morning for a new bunny. Did I leave anything out?”

  “Office play, dress up and a sound verbal spanking?”

  She was comforted to hear his chuckle as he answered back. “See, our list is shaping up nicely.”

  A knock at the door had her flinching. The notion of being seen with her plugged, harnessed and burning butt in the air outside of the play area made her freak. She started to get up.

  “Be still, sub,” he ordered.

  “But—”

  “Mara.” An order, in his deep drawl it couldn’t be misconstrued.

  Nodding, she lay back down.

  “Public display, what column would you say that goes under?” His hand gave her hip a gentle pat of encouragement.

  “In the main room, I’d easily say green, but here, I’m not sure. It’s different.”

  “Intimacy pushes limits for some, while others find being exposed to a large group an issue. We’re all different. I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that you are very well covered right now so whoever it is, isn’t going to see much. Think about it while I get the door and send our company on their way. Afterward, you can give me your answer. And, Mara…” She met his gaze. “You know what I expect if you get tweaked before that.”

  “Safeword yellow or red, I won’t let you down again, Master.”

  “Good girl.”

  He then crossed the room and opened the door wide as if he had a half-naked sub on his desk every day. A dark misgiving entered her mind as she realized that may have been the case while they’d been apart. She shook off those bad thoughts, or tried to. That path was riddled with pitfalls and heartache.

  “Cap, Dex, I’m in the middle of something as you can see.”

  A momentary silence settled over the room. Mara closed her eyes, imagining the sight she presented. Doms for years, she knew they’d both seen women in more daring positions and wearing a heck of a lot less. Even so, it was intimidating having these three powerful men in the room while she was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, or more appropriately, a rabbit. Inhaling deeply, she tried to calm her edginess.

  “Sean, you do know we have a sex club next door with fully stocked private rooms, right?” Dex had a very dry wit. Unable to stop, Mara giggled.

  “Did you say something, fluffy bunny?”

  “No, Master.”

  “We can come back.” The distinctive low rumble of Cap’s bass was unmistakable.

  “Only if he’s going to be done with his bunny before we open,” Dex corrected. “If not, we need to talk now.”

  “No guarantees. It’s product evaluation day, we have two more boxes of samples to get through.”

  “That’s very pretty,” Cap commented, sounding closer. She peeked. He stood a few feet away watching her. “Is that Becca’s work?”

  “Yes, this all came from her shop. I like my subbie bunny, so I’ve decided to keep all of it, but she sent along a pamphlet with her new line of custom-made costumes.”

  “Hm, I wonder if she does special requests. I’m thinking a halo and wings would be perfect for Megan.”

  Listening objectively, she relaxed, the tension dissipating with their focus on the costume, not the sub wearing it.

  “That would be sweet,” Sean offered, “just make sure you get the bonus feature.”

  Holy shit! He pointed it out, now they’d want to have a look. Her spine drew tight like a bow as the tension returned.

  “What’s that?” Dex and Cap asked at the same time.

  Click. Sean cranked the rabbit up a notch—or three. Unable to help it, she arched her back and rocked back into the sensation, a groan rising over the whirring coming from between her legs.

  “A harness,” Dex stated. “Nice.”

  “A jackrabbit harness, to be specific.”

  With her heart pounding in her ears and every neuron in her brain focused between her legs, Mara didn’t hear anything else. After only a few moments, Sean dialed back the speed, allowing her to breathe—and think—once again. The sensations slowed to a gentle massage, keeping her on edge, but no longer enough to launch her to the moon.

  Sean leaned back against the desk, his hand coming to rest on her back: warm, reassuring, stroking lightly. He was proving that despite their company, his focus remained
on her. She blew out her pent up breath.

  “So what’s so urgent it can’t wait?”

  “We’ve got an uproar among some of the membership and need to talk.”

  “What about?”

  There was a pause. Feeling eyes on her, Mara’s opened to find Dex and Cap watching her with concern. She knew immediately that she was the uproar. Damn. After her uncomfortable encounter with Megan and Regan several weeks back, when the twins had treated her like persona non grata, she worried her return to Club Decadence wouldn’t be welcomed.

  “What’s being said?” Sean demanded.

  “Some of the subs are in a lather about having a spy in their midst. The Rossi men know, as do Lexie and Joanna, but they can only calm the waters so much and keep Mara’s history confidential.”

  “Master—”

  “Hush, Mara. I’ll deal with this.”

  “But I don’t want to cause trouble,” she insisted.

  “You won’t. Be quiet now.”

  “We should tell them.”

  “Your story is none of their business, nightingale.”

  “Is having them thinking I’m a lying, cheating, bitch who betrayed not only her husband, but all of her friends better than being known as a teenage prostitute forced into the life by a vile bastard with no other choice in order to survive?”

  “Baby…” He crouched to eye level, searching her face intently.

  “They were my friends, Lucky. Now, they see me as a traitor, worth less than dirt on the bottom of their shoe. It hurts worse than the truth ever could.” Her throat had gone dry when she finished.

  “You’re sure about this? Once it’s out of the bottle…”

  “I know. There’s no going back. I’ve thought about it a lot. I’m sure.”

  His concern was palpable. Without turning from her, he addressed his trusted friends. “Tell Megan and Elena, that’s all it will take.”

  Over his shoulder, Mara saw Cap nod, then look at Dex. “I think he just called our women gossips.”