Stop worrying over everything and just go in with an open mind. You've seen it, done it, and gotten the t-shirts, so why this stupid attitude? She knew full well why. It mattered so much that she could find something to please Nic. Well at least her clothes passed muster. Nina reapplied blusher and lipstick, found her locker, and put her shoes, bag, and pashmina in it. Then she remembered just what earrings she wore and added those, her watch, and her bracelet. She'd put them on earlier without thinking, and she knew jewelry wasn't allowed.
The door to the club swung open, and through the mirror in her locker door, Nina saw Linsey walk in.
"There's a Dom out there wondering if his sub's gone missing." The part owner of the club was in full on Domme mode. "It doesn't do to keep your Dom waiting. He might decide you need punishing."
"Oh no, he won't." Nina turned around to face Linsey, pleased at the look of surprise on the Domme's face. Obviously no one had told her who the sub was. "It's one of my hard limits. And who says I'm his sub? Him?"
Linsey blinked, and a smile spread over her face. "Blimey. Nina Mack. I never thought I'd see you in here again."
"Nor did I, and that's twice in a few weeks. I was in for that hen party your cousin set up."
"Ah, and that's where you met Nic and he persuaded you to sub?"
Nina shook her head. "No, that's where I met Nic and we decided to explore the possibility. Oh I can do it, you know that, but if I get nothing from it, then neither will he. Athol was right when he told me I wasn't trying to see if it was what I am. Well now I am trying. However, it's baby steps. Maybe now it's not for research and my degree I might see stuff in a different light. At least that's my way of thinking. And Nic? Well, he matters. So I'm willing to try, and he, bless him, is willing to do the same, even though he knows it might all end in tears, or whatever."
"You do know about his wife, don't you?" Linsey asked in a concerned voice.
"Yep and yep, and we're taking this slowly, Lin. I know he'll only ever be a Dom. The question is where I can let myself be enough of a sub to satisfy him. So tonight it's look and learn, no more."
"Then shut the locker and start." Linsey's voice took on her Domme tone once more.
I might as well start as I mean to go on. Nina dipped her head. "Yes, Mistress."
Linsey laughed. "Thank you, pet."
Oh no, here we go again. She'd let Nic explain that one. Nina followed Linsey out of the locker room and into the bar of the club.
Generally, only soft drinks were served, but if you weren't playing one alcoholic beverage was allowed. Nina thought she needed hers.
Nic was sitting on a high stool next to the bar and chatting to the tall dark-haired guy behind it.
Both men looked at her as she walked up to them.
"Well by all that's holy. Nina Mack. Are you subbing for this chancer? When you could have had me?" The guy behind the bar put his hand over his heart. "You wound me."
Let the show begin. In truth it was easy once she was inside the club to slip into a sub mindset. Nina dipped her head.
"Answer him honestly, anima mia."
"We're thinking about it, Edan. And no way could I have you. You've only got eyes for Athol."
Edan nodded. "True enough, hon. And you have eyes for this reprobate here?"
"It seems so."
"Then he better treat you well or he'll have us to answer to."
Nic grinned. "Oh I'll treat her very well if she lets me."
Nina bit her lip. The retort that sprang to mind wasn't very sub like. Hell, this keeping quiet lark is so not easy, I want to wave my arms around and shout hello, I'm here, this is me, not a cardboard cutout. She didn't. Some things were perhaps best left unsaid.
“So you're going to let me demo on you?" Edan asked. "A nice little flogging."
Nina shook her head so vehemently her hair flicked her nose. She couldn't let that comment go past. "Not going to happen."
"Maybe I should ask your Sir." Edan was all innocence. Nina knew that look. It meant he was up to something.
"Maybe, if I had one. However I don't, not yet, and if he agreed to that when he knew it was a hard limit then he'd not be my Sir for much longer."
"Point taken. Sorry, hon, I shouldn't tease you like that. Well if you want to watch, I'm on in the Green Room in half an hour."
"It depends on my Sir," Nina said, and Edan laughed.
"I don't envy you, mate," he said to Nic as he poured two glasses of wine and set them on the counter.
"Just as well, it'd do you no good." Nic picked one of the glasses up and handed it to Nina. "Here you are, anima mia. Our one drink. I thought it would be a nice gentle way to reintroduce you to Dommissimma."
She took the glass and sipped the wine. It seemed strange to be drinking alcohol inside the club. In fact it was strange to be inside the club period. She wasn't uncomfortable, and in some ways felt at home, but it had been so long. Maybe, she mused, it was like revisiting an old friend. One who had moved on in a different direction from yourself, and you weren't sure if you'd ever get your rapport back.
"You're awfully quiet, Nina. Do you want to leave?" Nic was staring at her with concern in his eyes.
She shook her head and put her glass down. "Sorry, I was thinking that although it feels weird to be back in here, it's not in a bad way. I'm fine. I just don't want to let you down."
"You won't."
"Well I might, because if I can't get anything out of tonight that I think would work for me, where does that leave us?" Nina nibbled the end of a nail. "And I want to find something I can do for you."
Nic pseudo-leered. She laughed as it broke the tension. "Yes, well, you know what I mean."
"Stop worrying about things that you don’t know. Let's just take it one step at a time. Now, what shall we look at first?" Nic set his untouched glass down on the counter next to her almost full one. "We can finish those later. Shall we both do something we're not sure about? Hamish is going to demo wax. You've never done much with it, and I've steered clear of it, so it will be a try out for both of us to watch."
"That sounds good if you're sure if won't upset you." Nina didn't want Nic to be reminded of his late wife in any untoward way. She admitted to herself she was human enough to want his attention on her, and the here and now, not on the past.
"Anima mia, it won't upset me. Lue was my life, but the operative word there is was. Of course I'll never forget her, but she's gone, and at last I've moved on. Now it's up to you. Are you moving with me?"
Put like that he made it simple. "Yes, Sir." Nina had a thought. "Um, I'm a bit rusty on protocol. Can I speak and stuff?" I must seem a right idiot, but if I'm doing it, I don't want to let Nic down.
"Not whilst we're watching. You know the code. Pinch my hand and we'll move far enough away for you to tell me what's bothering you. To others? Well it'd be good if you checked with me first. Even though Linsey runs a relaxed club, there's some people so up themselves they would see it as incredibly rude and bratty if you didn't. Easier not to rattle their cages."
Nina nodded. That was the same the world over. She took a deep breath. "Then I'll defer to your good sense, and try not to be rude, bratty, minx-like or Domme-ish. God help me. I'll even try not to open my mouth and put my feet in it. If I succeed it'll be a first."
She slid of the stool and followed Nic out of the bar and into the large dungeon. It was little changed from when she'd worked there with Athol. The equipment was newer, but similar, and the familiar benches and St. Andrew's cross were in the places she remembered.
Damn, I wish I felt something other than mild interest.
There was a sub tied to the cross, and a Dom she didn't recognize was talking to her earnestly. Then he stood up and began a series of flicks and strokes across her ass with a short length flogger. Nina watched and admired the way the Dom worked. She'd been told flogging was something she was good at giving when she'd tried to Domme, but looking at the scene in front of her, Nina realized that in
no way did she match the skill of the Dom. She sighed.
"Color?" They were far enough away from the scene to talk quietly.
Nina looked up at Nic. "Green of course. It doesn't bother me one bit, but neither does it make me squirm in a good or a bad way. It makes me understand that I'm no Domme, not really. Oh, I enjoy being in charge sometimes, but not to the extent needed."
"Good. Then if nothing else you've discovered that tonight. Shall we move on and find Edan?"
Nina followed Nic across the viewing area and toward a short corridor. The Green Room was the first room they came to. Edan was leaning over a table checking something. Nina couldn't see what until he turned toward them with a short-tailed flogger in his hand. He grinned and handed the flogger to Nic.
"Feels good? It's one of a line I'm trying out."
Nic flicked the strips of leather over his hand and glanced at Nina.
"Give me your hand, anima mia."
He look was so intense Nina complied without thinking. He turned it so her palm was facing downward and stroked the back of her hand with the leather. The soft hide slid easily over Nina's skin and tickled the fine hairs there. It sent an unexpected tingle down her spine. Nic smiled.
"Good eh? Think how that would be if I stroked your ass with this. Or flicked it gently, just to get the sting not the pain. Your body would sing, and your senses would be on high alert. Not painful but arousing. Think about it. Color, Nina?"
She blinked. The way he spoke—his words almost a caress—made her mouth dry and her muscles tighten. She could feel her juices gather and her thong inch painfully and annoyingly between her butt cheeks. Nic continued the gentle movements over her hand, without putting any pressure on the flogger or Nina. She sighed.
"Maybe, but not now. Oh and green, Sir."
"Good girl. That's all I ask. When we play, whatever we play, it'll only be us." He handed the flogger back to Edan, who had spent the last few minutes watching the interplay between Nina and Nic.
"Changed your mind then?" Edan asked Nina. "I've a few minutes before I demo."
"Nope," Nina said. "Not for a million pounds." She looked up at Nic and hoped he realized the negative response wasn't directed at him. He took hold of the hand he'd been teasing and kissed it.
Nic smiled. "We're in the audience only." He put his mouth near her ear. "And I agree. The only playing you'll do—I know, if you do—will be with me."
The door opened, and several people walked in. Within a few minutes Edan had introduced the person he was demonstrating on, done all his safety checks, and started his demonstration.
Contrary to what she'd thought, Nina was fascinated. It seemed now that she wasn't learning what to do and how, for her thesis, her mindset was completely different. Watching Edan as he expertly placed the flogger over the sub's ass, the way the sub's eyes glazed and she moaned softly was exciting. Nina's thong was damp, her body on fire, and her pulse was beating at high speed.
Nic pinched the skin on the back of her hand, as finally Edan stopped the flogging and began to take care of his now sobbing sub.
"Anima mia." He gestured toward the door.
Quietly Nina followed him back into the bar.
"Well?"
She swallowed. "Very well, thank you, Sir."
"Nic, glad I've found you. Have you drunk any of your wine?" Athol walked up to them quickly. He had a harried look on his face.
"No, why?"
"I need to ask you a big favor. Will you do a wax demo for me? Hamish had to leave. His mum's in intensive care. You're better than anyone, or you were, and I bet you haven't lost the knack."
Nic paled, and Nina swallowed heavily. Would he? She took hold of his hand in a gesture of support.
"Who'd sub?"
Athol grinned, all the worry gone from his eyes.
"That's up to you."
"I will."
Both men turned to stare at Nina. She gulped. Had she really said that?
"Nina?" Nic spoke quickly. "You don't have to."
"Well I will if you will," Nina said. She closed her mind to the butterflies in her tummy and the spiders that crawled over her skin. "We'll both be in it together. And we did say we'd be exclusive, didn't we?"
Nic kissed her. As usual it went from mild to mind-blowing in three seconds, and it was only Athol's theatrical cough that made Nina realize where they were. She was shaking as Nic drew back.
"Okay, but I need time to talk to Nina."
"Whenever you're ready." Athol winked and left them together.
Chapter Twelve
"Are you really sure, anima mia?" Nic pushed down the excitement and arousal that coursed through his body in a way he never thought he'd feel again. "I can say you've changed your mind and ask Athol to sub for me. He would if it was to help you."
"Tempting, just to see him as a biddable sub, but no. It's got to be me." Nina scraped her bottom lip with her teeth. "I was so sure I'd be able to take a step back and say hey, fine off you go and play. But the minute Athol asked for your help, and I saw what a big deal it was for you, I knew I had to be there as your sub. You're mine." She colored. "Um, if that's what you want?"
"That, anima mia, is such a silly question, that if we were further into our relationship, it would definitely warrant a punishment. And before you say no pain, let me remind you, I can be very creative. But for now, I'll just reiterate this. I want you. Only you. As my partner, my sub, and my lover. Now, let's plot strategy. Short and sweet I think. After all I'm rusty."
Nina laughed. "Well if you're rusty, I'm in the scrap yard. Seriously though, Nic. Thank you. Because to me as well, exclusive means just that. Okay this would be extenuating circumstances, but can you imagine the furor if I caused a scene of my own and tried to rip any sub's eyes out? And before you say anything, yes you're the Dom, and what you say goes, but in that instance it would be me that did the going. Forever." She shrugged. "If ever there was a wake-up call that was it. I was like hold on, this is my Sir, no one else's. Anything he does, he does it to me. And that, Sir, is something I never ever thought I'd want to say." She shivered. "Mind you, it's scary."
Nic rubbed her arms. They were chilly. "I feel the same, anima mia. I want you, in every way possible, when we both feel ready. Hell, it was going to be a slowly, slowly, softly, softly approach. Then this. I couldn't say no. Athol and everyone here have been great to me. They helped me after Lue died by just being around. No one forced me to jump back in the deep end, but they were all there to hold my hand when I needed it. Now, you and I can hold each other’s hands and swim together."
Nina grinned. "Good, because I'm a crap swimmer. Okay, Sir. What do you want me to do?"
"Let's go and see, shall we?" He took hold of Nina's hand and walked with her to where Athol had set up for the wax demonstration.
Nina's hand trembled in his, and in a perverse way it made Nic stronger and more determined. What was it she said? It just hadn't worked for her, either as a Dom or a sub, and public play was a no-no?
It was up to him to show her what they had could cope with things like that. He hoped.
As Nic expected, anything set up by Athol was exactly as it should be. Even so he pulled Nina across to the table and explained everything to her. The laughter that lurked in her eyes and made them shine made him grin. "Yeah, okay preaching to the converted. Were you good?"
Nina giggled. "Sir, I was exceptional, but I threw up every time I finished. And you are the first person I've admitted that to. Seriously, I was okay, no more. I just did what I had to and quietly did no more."
Nic stroked her cheek. "Anima mia, are you sure about this? What's your color?"
"Green because I'm doing it for us. Ah, I've just wondered what you want me to wear? This," she ran her hand over her dress, "won't do, and my underwear is for your eyes only."
Those words were all he could ask for. "Of course it is. However I can see Linsey hovering, and at a guess she's found out what's going to happen and is going to wh
isk you off to change. Then it's back here please and we can get the show on the road." He put his hand under Nina's chin and lifted her face so she looked him in the eyes.
"I value this trust. I won't abuse it. And I am good." He winked. "Or I was. Let's hope it's like riding a bike, eh?" He bent and kissed her briefly. He daren't deepen the kiss or they'd never get around to doing the wax demonstration. The way Nina made him feel, there would be a demonstration of a very different kid. One they'd be kicked out for. "Off you go." He patted her bum, and she wriggled it.
Nic watched the two women leave the dungeon, and took a deep breath. His jeans would do, and it would take scant seconds to remove his shirt.
The dungeon door opened—it was getting to be like Central Station—and Athol came in.
"Ready?"
"Who did you bribe bully or threaten not to turn up to do this?" Nic asked. "Oh I don't doubt Hamish's mum is ill. Have you heard anything by the way? But I know you. If you think it's time for Nina and me to do something, then you'd sort it."
Athol rolled his eyes. "Hamish's mum is being kept in for observation."
In one swift movement, Nic pulled his shirt over his head and hung it in a cupboard. "And the rest?"
Athol gave the dirty laugh that surprised people when they heard it for the first time. It never ceased to amaze Nic that such a big, raucous, deep, belly laugh could emerge from such a slim person.
"If we were in the States I'd plead the fifth."
Nic punched him on the shoulder, enough to be felt but not enough to hurt. "We're not, we're in Glasgow. So 'fess up."
Nina's Dom Page 8
