“Don’t confuse second wave feminism with third wave, Charlie.” Her nickname for me, which she’d asked if I minded the use of, but I told her I liked it. It sounded sexy and sassy, whereas I sometimes felt my full name sounded old and dowdy. “Remember that a lot of third wavers thought we needed a more pro-sex stance, to encourage women to embrace their sexuality as much as any man, rather than the sex wars that happened in second wave. I tend to agree with that. I’m a pro-sex feminist. I support sex workers and legalization of their trade, female or male. There’s no shame in that job, if you love what you do and do it on your terms. Not that there weren’t some great issues probed by second wave thought, but there were also ideas proposed that made some younger women feel guilty about their sexual desires. Like they weren’t allowed to have them. Don’t let another person define your feminism for you, sweetie. Only you can define what it means for you.”
Her words seemed to lift a weight from my chest.
Dmitri’s patient emerged from the office and he soon followed. As I gazed at his face, I thought of the tenderness he’d showed me this morning, how he’d encouraged my dominant streak, as well as he enjoyed my submission. Thanks to Mildred and this, a bit more of my guilt, my reservations, ebbed away.
***
The Surrender Sanctuary lay in a rural area, on the outskirts of the city. Much like Dmitri’s home, the place was palatial. Only where his house was stonework and an onion dome, this mansion was all looming, carved white columns with a peaked roof and verandas lining most of the upper floor windows. It reminded me of old plantation homes I’d seen in Southern Gothic films.
“Surrender Inc. is a sex resort and sex club franchise,” Dmitri had explained on the drive there. “I’m one of twelve board members who own and operate it. We cater to everyone from middle class to upper echelon elites. The Sanctuary, however, is only for board members and friends of board members. Everyone must be tested to get into one of our establishments, plus we provide protection, and when engaging in any bdsm activities we demand you play safe.”
He led me through a pair of mammoth white doors. People milled about a spacious area carpeted in rich crimson. Inside was all pristine white walls and a checkerboard floor. Behind a front desk framed by potted ferns, a handsome blond man in an expensive looking suit smiled, waiting to greet us.
“Nice to see you, Mr. Nichvalodov.” He spoke in a smooth falsetto that charmed the ears. “We’ve missed you at the Sanctuary.”
Dmitri signed a ledger the young man slid his way. “Yes, it’s nice to be back. My friend Charlotte and I are anxious to perform tonight.” He placed a hand on my back and looked at me. “Aren’t we, my dear?”
Perform? I almost choked on the deep breath I inhaled. What exactly did he mean by perform? I knew my contract had stipulated something about “live play in front of an audience,” but I’d figured we wouldn’t get to anything like that until much later in our arrangement. For now, I simply nodded and returned the young man’s smile, not trusting my voice would work if I tried to speak just then.
As Dmitri led me into a elevator with shimmering doors that looked like polished gold, I asked, “We’re performing tonight?”
“Yes, I wanted it to be a surprise. Are you uncomfortable with that?”
I pulled the collar of the knee length, grey coat I wore over my costume tightly closed. “I…I’m not sure. What exactly will we be performing?”
He rubbed a hand down his mouth, and his expression became unreadable. Was he disappointed? Annoyed? I couldn’t tell, but I’d have at least liked some forewarning I’d be on display this evening, and what that display exactly entailed.
“I booked us in a live show room. That consists of you and I performing sexually for others. There will be a lot of people watching. At least a crowd of fifty.” He watched me for reaction as he spoke, his eyes narrowed to slits as he studied my face.
I gulped, felt nerves tickle and burn the back of my neck. “Fifty?”
“If you’d rather a private room—”
“No, that’s fine.” I held up a hand. After all, this was my job, and I couldn’t constantly expect my employer to make adjustment for me, could I? Still, a small flame of anger flickered in my guts. I felt a bit ambushed by his secrecy, and wondered why he hadn’t prepared me more so, but I decided to ignore my fear and irritation and just do this. “It’s my job. Can you at least prepare me for what I’m about to face?”
His expression now pinched in obvious displeasure. “Of course. Our room is called The Glass Cage. We’ll be performing a spanking, among other things, in front of live cameras. There’s microphones and flat screen tvs inside and outside the cell. Our audience will see and hear everything, and so will we.” He clenched his teeth now, and I could see the muscles working in his jaw as he did so.
My cheeks flamed, while my stomach tied in tight knots. I inhaled a shaky breath and steeled my resolve.
Before we made it to our room, Dmitri gave me a brief tour of a few areas on our way, though he was curt and clipped for the remainder of our walk. I peeked into a private room decked out to mimic the inside of a spaceship, straight out of some pulpy science fiction movie. Another room was done up like a Wild West saloon, only it held a bed and a rack designed to look like an old gallows. A small cluster of tables and chairs smattered the front of the space.
“Sometimes small live performances are held in these private rooms, also,” Dmitri told me, before we descended a wide, short staircase that opened into a huge round area. Four doors led off from this expansive, circular room. Dmitri pointed to the second door on the right. “That’s where we’ll be.”
I tried not to have a panic attack right then and there. He didn’t take my hand as he opened the door and led me inside, and he walked off ahead of me as we entered. I supposed he was still miffed about me questioning him, but, dammit, under the circumstances, I felt I had a right to know what was expected of me. I simply kept my cool and surveyed the massive place we’d entered.
It, too, was circular in shape. Chairs, like those found in a movie theater (only they looked more comfy) packed the place, surrounding a circular, raised stage. I noticed the huge flatscreen tvs filling the walls and suspended from the ceiling as I walked down a wide aisle toward the stage, my gaze fixated on what must be The Glass Cage.
A transparent, shimmering dome encapsulated the stage. It reminded me of a garden gazebo, only much bigger. Dmitri walked up black, marble stairs and stepped inside. I followed.
The interior held more tvs, and I spied tiny red lights blinking in every corner, plus elsewhere, hooked up to small, dark eyes I identified as the cameras he spoke of. A glass table off to the right held sex toys, whips, paddles, and other instruments of erotic torture. In the center of the stage a padded leather spanking chair waited. Its elaborate design incorporated intricately braided, colorful rope manacles for wrists and ankles.
Dmitri peeled off his charcoal trench coat, revealing the tight black shorts he wore beneath. His sculpted, golden pecs shone under the overhead lights. “Disrobe, Mistress,” he told me, his tone still cold.
I did as requested, revealing my wine colored corset with black lace lining its top and bottom. Fishnet stockings and a black satin thong finished off the ensemble. My first instinct was to cover myself with my arms, but I was supposed to be on display tonight, so I figured that would be counterproductive.
Then the crowd began milling in, and I almost had a panic attack again.
“Get on the bench,” Dmitri demanded, but I almost forgot to obey as my focus glued to the people filling the seats. He reminded me that if I wasn’t comfortable, I could always use the safe word, but ice clipped his words still.
I broke my trance and lay face first on the cold, smooth leather, inhaling its mild, earthy scent. Dmitri barely looked at me as he bound my wrists with the braided rope, then went to work on my ankles. The flatscreen directly in my line of sight kicked on, along with the others, and I was treated to a full
view on myself staring back at me. I closed my eyes, breathed deep, and silenced my anxiety once more.
The rope had that rough / soft texture like it had in our dungeon session. I supposed this, too, was hemp. Once Dmitri finished tying me to the bench, the picture on the screen in front of me changed. This time my ass, tilted high in the air, along with my legs spread wide, was on full display.
He knelt beside my head. “The cameras are timed to change at specific intervals, so they focus on different parts of our play. Outside and inside, we’ll receive a three dimensional show. Are you ready to begin, Mistress?”
I simply nodded.
First he went to the glass table and selected a pair of long, glimmering scissors. My heart hammered against my rib cage when I saw him returning to me with these. What did he plan on doing with those? I steadied my breath as the cold metal kissed my buttocks, and he removed the wisp of thong with one efficient snip, then he tore the scrap of material away. Now my pink, puckered asshole and dampening pussy received a close up from the cameras. Through the speakers that also lined the cage, I heard the crowd outside murmur. I burned with humiliation.
He returned to the table, this time retrieving a riding crop and a paddle with a red surface that appeared soft, like velvet. Next he moved to the front of the glass dome, holding these items up to the crowd one at a time.
“Whip?” he asked, holding it up, his voice booming out through the microphones and speakers.
The crowd gave moderate applause and uproar. I felt the shame scorch my ears.
“Or paddle?” This time the applause and uproar were far more enthusiastic. When the cameras changed, I caught Dmitri’s vulpine smile. “Paddle it is then.” After he returned the whip, he came back to me.
The soft surface of the paddle caressed one ass cheek. It was velvety, like a carpet of moss covering a forest floor. The feel of it brushing over my goose bumps sent jolts of electric sensation through me. I closed my eyes and tried to melt into the stimuli, but just as I began to almost relax, he brought the paddle back, then it swished forward and met my buttocks with a resounding crack that echoed through the speakers and made me release a shrill squeal. A mumble of disappointment seemed to rumble up from the crowd at my outburst.
“How disappointing, Mistress.” Dmitri’s eyes flashed impatience at me when he looked my way. His mouth was set in a grim line, and I wondered what I’d said, exactly, to turn him into this wall of intimidating stone. “Where’s that control you showed in my dungeon? You’ll have to try harder if you’re going to impress our audience.”
His taunt steeled my resolve. I grit my teeth, took a long inhale through flared nostrils, and waited for what was to come next.
He dipped down beside me, whispered in my ear. “Be quiet until I tell you differently. One more outburst like that and I’ll stop the show, and you won’t get to come tonight. Maybe I won’t let you come for a week.”
I clenched my teeth harder and spoke not a word.
Then just as he brought the paddle down for another sharp rap that left my bottom tingling, the camera focused on a familiar face in the crowd. I almost gasped from the combination of surprise and my smarting behind, but I stopped the sound before it spilled from my lips. Mildred sat with a handsome young man, watching our performance. Renewed heat and humiliation burned my cheeks. Another shock I hadn’t expected, and a part of me did feel betrayed by them both.
The spanking ceased, but my butt still burned as he returned to the table once more. This time he grabbed a strange little device that was curved. From some of our private sessions together, I recognized it as a vibrator, once he drew close.
“Remember,” he whispered close to my head, before he returned to my ass. “No outbursts, no coming, until I tell you to. Understand, Mistress?”
I nodded.
He took his time getting back between my legs, to torment me I had no doubt. The light whirr of the vibrator kicking in perked my ears, and I tensed my muscles in anticipation.
Little tremors erupted through my skin when he pressed the buzzing toy against the base of my spine. Slowly, he drew it down, parting my ass crack wider as he did so. The closer the humming drew to my pussy, the tighter it clenched. To keep from crying out, I bit my lip until I tasted blood.
From the waist down I hung over the lip of the bench, so I rested on my knees. He reached between my legs and pressed the sex toy hard against my clit, then the whirring grew louder as he turned the speed up. I fisted my hands tight as stimuli zipped, like lightning, through the tiny bead of tender flesh. He rubbed the vibrator into my clit now, and my hips began moving, taking on a mind of their own. But he stilled them with a firm press of the paddle against my lower back. He held me in place while he kept tormenting me. I could feel the copious wetness trickling from my vagina.
Then he took the toy from the swelling bud and slipped it in my quivering cunt. Without warning, the paddle drew back and cracked down on my ass again. I bucked atop the spanking bench, thrashing in my bonds, as my vagina clenched hard around the vibrator in time with the whack.
Audience approval had amped up, and through the speakers I heard excited conversation, but couldn’t make out clear words. I heard claps and cheers for more as I drowned in an erotic fog and the sheer command on my will to keep this bliss internal. The crowd almost became invisible to me because of it.
The paddle slipped around to my front, and now he used its soft surface to tease my throbbing clit, while he worked the curved vibrator in and out of my sex. My hips desperately wanted to buck once more, but I knew if I did the pleasure would stop until I held still. My loins ached with the growing need to come.
I concentrated so hard on keeping it in, my forehead ached. The moss-like touch of the paddle against my tingling clit was sheer torture. Dmitri strove to caress my g-spot with the curved sex toy, and he hit it just right, making the pressure within me climb higher and higher. Finally, when he commanded, “Come now, Mistress. Come hard for our crowd,” I let my climax gush forth in a torrent. I could feel my juices trickling down my leg. I cried out loud and long, and the sound seemed to ring through the speakers.
Through my ecstatic daze I heard applause, heard Dmitri whisper some words of approval, but my eyes wanted to close. My mind was a scattered disarray of erotic bliss. Slowly, I gathered my thoughts back to center as I felt his warm, wide hands at my wrists. After he untied my ankles, too, he helped me stand on shaky legs.
“You did well.” He raked his gaze up and down me. “Not as well as I expected, but there’s always room for improvement.”
I flinched inwardly at his words, wondering again about the sudden change in him. But as people milled out, and I saw the doors of The Glass Cage open, allowing Mildred to enter, I pushed worry over his ill mood aside.
“Sweetie, you were great,” she said, then to Dmitri, “Well done, Dmitri.”
He simply grunted, “Thanks,” and she must’ve seen the torn expression on my face, for her eyebrows drew close in a worried frown.
She tried to ease the tension by introducing me to the slender man who stood behind her. He was just an inch or two taller than Mildred, with dark auburn curls falling to just below his ears. His eyes were a shade of light brown, almost amber, and his sharp face reminded me of a playful fox.
“This is my playmate, Ryan,” she said. “We’re off to perform in the Gothic Room. I hope you and Dmitri will come watch.”
I gave her a curious frown. “You’re a member of Surrender, too?”
She winked. “I’m one of the board members, and a femdom. Ryan, here, is my submissive.” The young man nodded a hello in my direction and smiled.
Now it all made sense—why Mildred was here watching. There was no conspiracy going on between her and Dmitri to betray me. She was simply a member, and owner, of Surrender Inc.
“Didn’t Dmitri tell you I would be watching tonight?” she asked, as if she could read my thoughts.
Before I could answer, my master growle
d, “No, apparently I didn’t inform Charlotte well enough regarding the duties involved in her … job.”
“You let the woman perform blind?” Mildred almost looked annoyed with him.
I glanced at him and watched his jaw work in irritation once more. “Live play was part of the contract. I just didn’t stipulate when it would happen. I thought a surprise might be welcomed. Apparently, I was wrong.”
“That’s a pretty big surprise for a newcomer to the club.” Mildred said.
Dmitri simply gave her a glare, then stalked past us all to leave the cage.
I followed after, walking close to Mildred. She opened her mouth to say something, but Dmitri’s raised voice made her stop.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he snarled, his gaze pinning a shadowy figure that came forward from the back of the theater seats.
Mildred and I moved closer to him to get a better look. She muttered, “Oh, shit,” and I looked at her.
A man about four inches shorter than Dmitri walked toward us. He bore a resemblance to my employer, but his hair was a lighter shade of brown and his eyes were the color of chocolate.
“Who is that?” I asked Mildred.
She sighed. “Dmitri’s brother.”
***
Surrender To His Charms
As Mildred, Ryan, and I drew close to Dmitri and his brother, their heated words became clear.
“I don’t believe it,” Dmitri said, crossing his arms over his massive chest. “I know too well how you work, Yuri, and I won’t let you see her.”
Yuri exposed white, clenched teeth as he hissed in return, “You can’t stop me from seeing my own mother. I’ve spoken to Father, and he encouraged me to go. He also wanted me to reconcile with you, but I can see that’s going nowhere. Look, I know I’ve asked you for a lot of second chances, but—”
Dmitri cut off his words by stepping so close they were nose to nose. “How’s Astrid these days?”
Yuri’s fists tightened at his sides. “She left me. But that’s—”
This time it was Dmitri’s laughter that interrupted him. “Karma, my dear brother. Karma.”
BDSM Mega Boxed Set Page 54
