by Marlee Wray
“Wasn’t. That’s fifteen years of Catholic school,” he said with a smirk. “I was a kid with a lot of deviant fantasies, a lot of violent tendencies. Figured it was all demons and beasts under the surface with me.”
“Still Catholic?”
“Why not? It’s a good religion for guys like us. Wives take a vow to obey. You got a culture of shame and guilt, gothic rituals, repressed sexuality that turns twisted. Corporal punishment. C’mon, man. How’re the Methodists or whoever gonna compete with that?”
Shay laughed so hard that Rory joined in.
“You seem in good spirits. Would’ve thought your back meant there was trouble?”
“Took my licks. Gonna be a reminder the next few days to check my ego. It’s all good.”
“Check your ego?”
Telling Shay at least some of the story needed to happen. Rory might travel for business again when she couldn’t come with him. Not that he was likely to let that happen any time soon. But if he eventually did…
“When I was in Austria, something started to go on with Kate. Seems like it was sub drop. I got a vibe I didn’t like. I thought about calling you or Nikki to go lay eyes on her, but I didn’t want word getting around; I wanted to take care of everything myself. So I flew home early, but that was ten hours gone by the time I got to her. She’s all right, but it could’ve easily gone the other way. Can’t let my pride get in the way again. She’s my responsibility.”
“I’d have kept it under wraps.”
“Even if you didn’t,” Rory said with a shrug. “My pride isn’t worth her life. Nothing is.”
“We talking about your trying to do right by your pet? Or do you care about her as something else?”
“Both.”
“It’s been really fast, the way this all went down and progressed.”
Rory nodded. They were both silent for a few moments. Shay wouldn’t get it. The guy’s life was all about order. He didn’t train subs because he’d weighed the costs and benefits and decided the balance wasn’t favorable. He didn’t have a girlfriend or a pet either, though Rory knew girls trailed after the guy. Shay just seemed to see attachments as too much trouble. For his part, Rory understood Shay’s logic, but he just didn’t get how the guy could enjoy life that way. Rory liked fights and chaos and drama. It felt like the natural order of things.
“How was Austria?” Shay asked.
“Got the contracts negotiated and signed. Visited a private club forty minutes from my hotel. Place called Schon Bohemia.”
“Any good?”
“Not like what we’ve got, but some hot scenes. A lot of fisting. There was a Swedish girl who was trying it for the first time, and she struggled through it. Great scene.” Rory glanced down at his hands, closing his fingers into fists. “Impressive what a girl’s body can take.”
Shay smiled. “Seems Kate’s got some hard times ahead.”
Rory shrugged his brows with a smirk. “If she wanted easy, she let the wrong guy have her.”
* * *
Kate confided in Master D about some things, and even though she’d gotten a little tearful, she felt more calm and in control of her emotions by the time they finished talking. He made her feel normal, despite the fact that she knew her reaction had been more extreme than it should’ve been.
He also asked her questions about feelings she’d experienced during punishment and sex with Rory. She felt a little tongue-tied at first, but Master D drew things out of her and helped her see that communication could open up a world of possibilities.
After they talked, she hugged him.
“All right, little one, let’s go find your master. I’m sure he’s more than ready to have you back at his feet by now.”
The subtle guidance wasn’t lost on her. When they reached Master Rory, she lowered herself to sit with her butt on her heels in front of him. He rose to speak to Master D, stroking the top of her head.
“You have quite a lovely kitten,” Master D said fondly. “I think her intelligence and natural tendencies will make her easy to train. With a lot of play and communication, you’ll soon uncover what she needs to be happy and content. I think, however, that getting her to communicate with you about how experiences affect her will be a challenge. Like many submissives, she’s anxious to please and will be more focused on your pleasure and opinion of the journey than on her own.”
Rory nodded. “We’ve been like this,” Rory said, holding up a pair of crossed fingers. “That kind of intensity… it’s not safe for everyone.”
“Icarus and the sun,” Master D said with a nod.
Kate stiffened. She knew the myth of Icarus escaping Crete with wings fashioned of feathers and wax. His father had warned him not to fly too high or too low, but he’d ignored the warnings. He flew too close to the sun, his wings melted, and he fell to his death.
“Setting clear expectations and boundaries is the safest way to begin a D/s relationship.”
Kate didn’t verbally object, but she shook her head, her face bumping Master Rory’s leg. He glanced down and then Master D did, too. Sir rubbed her lip and pressed his thumb into her mouth. She sucked on it. It was very much the way a person might interact with a real kitten, she thought.
“I understand about it being safer,” Master Rory said. “Driving a car at twenty is safer than driving it at a hundred. Doesn’t mean I never shift my 440i into fifth gear when I think the conditions are right. I’m asking your opinion. Think she’s got wings of wax?”
“To use your analogy, driving a hundred miles per hour requires expert handling and focus. It’s not the speed for cruise control.”
“A dom can never be on cruise control.”
“Certainly during a scene that’s true. But I thought you were speaking of your entire relationship. Maintaining heightened vigilance all the time wouldn’t be sustainable.”
“But if it were, there’s nothing else that needs to be done?”
Kate stiffened, realizing what this was. D was a former therapist. Rory had sent her to D’s office for an evaluation of her mental health.
D’s brows drew together. “I’m not sure I follow,” Master D said.
Thank God, she thought.
“That answers my question,” Master Rory said with a smile. “Really appreciate you taking the time to talk to her, D. Thank you,” he said and shook Master D’s hand.
Master D glanced down at Kate and then at Rory. “It’s a pleasure to be involved.”
She didn’t relax until long after Master D had walked away.
“What if he’d uncovered something? Would you have sent me away?” she whispered.
“If by sending you away, you mean give you up, no. If you mean would I take steps to protect you from everything, even yourself, then yes.”
She swallowed. “I told you I’m okay.”
“I know.”
“Do you believe me?”
He nodded.
“Because Master D didn’t find anything wrong?”
“Yeah, among other things.”
“I wish you’d trust me again. It hurts me so much that I made you lose faith in me.”
He sat down, catching her chin in his hand and raising her face. “If you want me to trust you, don’t break your promises. Who is the first person you tell when you’re in trouble?”
“You.”
“For what kind of trouble?”
“Any kind.”
“That’s it. Now stop worrying. We’re fine.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
“May I please kiss you?”
“You’ll ruin my badass reputation.”
“That’s not even possible. Look at you.”
“You can kiss me, but not above the neck,” he said, releasing her face.
She kissed his knee and then darted forward and licked his zipper like a kitten.
He laughed. “Feel better?”
She smiled and nodded, setting her chin on his knee. “I love you,
” she mouthed.
“I know.”
* * *
They watched a variety of scenes, and Kate found most of them compelling in some way. They were part of a large crowd in front of an open area where Master Blade, a lean and muscular six-foot-tall African American man in mustard-colored pants and wingtips verbally degraded Tyler while Mistress Marianne whipped him.
The tension was building as Tyler pulled against his restraints. When Master Blade pulled down Ty’s shorts, the red marks across his buttocks were clearly visible, as was his erection. Kate’s nipples tightened.
Master Blade told Tyler he wasn’t worthy of all their attention. Mistress Marianne walked to a table covered with implements, picked up a crop and a flogger, and weighed them in her hands thoughtfully. Then she walked to the edge of the area where Nikki was sitting on her heels, watching.
Mistress Marianne put the tip of the crop under Nikki’s chin and tapped. Nikki lifted her face.
“Front row seat for our little fangirl, I see. I heard you didn’t make yourself available for a scene so you could be here to watch.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Blade, this little subbie used us as an excuse to avoid a scene.”
Blade, who’d been slapping Tyler while he berated him, walked over. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Bad manners, little girl. Shoulders back, let’s see those pretty little tits.”
Nikki pulled her shoulders back and arched her back. “She reminds me of someone, Mari.”
Marianne glanced over at Tyler who was dangling from his restraints.
“Yeah,” Blade said. “She’s another little blonde toy who needs a lesson in what she’s here for. Just came to watch? Spectator, my ass!” He leaned forward so he was inches from her. “You think you should just be decoration at the front door and get to enjoy the show?”
“No, Sir.”
Mistress Marianne drew a line in front of Nikki with the crop. “I think you better get your little tail inside the circle of pain, girl, and show us you know where your place is.”
Nikki crawled forward on hands and knees into the open area.
Kate’s hands trembled. Had this been prearranged? Or were they improvising? If so, was it safe? Did they even know Nikki’s limits?
Kate bit her lip.
Mistress Marianne swung the crop and it snapped across one of Nikki’s exposed cheeks. Nikki jerked, but didn’t draw back as a red mark bloomed on her butt.
Kate shifted, her belly tightening as Nikki was moved forward with a series of stinging swishes of the crop. When she was positioned in front of Tyler, Mistress Marianne grabbed Nikki’s hair and pulled her head back. Master Blade fed Tyler’s cock into her mouth. There was something unsettling but also hot about it, like her friends were just pretty little dolls to be played with.
Master Blade took the riding crop and alternated between whipping Tyler with it and sliding the handle into Tyler’s ass.
Tyler begged for permission to come. Blade flicked the crop between Ty’s legs to deliver stinging snaps to his balls.
Mistress Marianne, who’d been forcing Nikki to deep throat Ty, pulled Nikki back by the throat. Nikki rocked back and landed on her butt, red-faced and gasping. Ty’s hard cock wept and he sagged from the restraints, whimpering.
Mistress Marianne leaned down and said something to Nikki that was too soft to hear. Nikki crawled to a padded table.
“Up,” Mistress Marianne said.
Nikki hopped on the table and laid back. Marianne fastened her arms in restraints above her head, then secured Nikki’s legs to the table so her sex was open and exposed. The domme bent forward and licked Nikki’s pussy then spread her labia and slapped her with an open hand. Nikki writhed, but never spoke.
Master Blade unhooked Ty’s hands from the overhead chain and used the crop in Ty’s ass to drive him across the floor to the women.
Blade shoved Ty forward with a push on his back. Ty landed on Nikki, and Mistress Marianne secured his hands right next hers.
“They’re holding hands,” Marianne said, amused.
“That’s sweet, but not as sweet as being able to put his dick in her would be. Too bad he can’t,” Blade said, taking the flogger from Mistress Marianne and delivering a flurry of blows to Ty’s exposed ass. His hips jerked and his cock bobbed helplessly.
Mistress Marianne rubbed lube on a black strap-on dildo.
“Time for some black dick in your ass, pretty boy,” Master Blade said.
“Yes, please, Sir. Give me your dick,” Tyler begged.
“You think you deserve that? I don’t,” Blade said, flogging his back, then reaching down and stroking his cock.
Mistress Marianne pinched Ty’s ass, spread his cheeks, and pushed the dildo into him. He cried out, but it wasn’t from pain.
As she drove in and out, he begged for release again.
Mistress Marianne pulled out and swapped positions with Master Blade who’d been vigorously slapping Nikki’s small breasts.
Mistress Marianne reached down and stroked Nikki’s pussy, then put Tyler’s stiff cock inside her. When Master Blade started to pound into Tyler’s ass, it was so surreal, as if he was also really screwing Nikki through Tyler’s body.
Mistress Marianne leaned near Nikki’s and Tyler’s heads, her hand working them where their bodies joined. Kate wondered what dirty things she said to them because they both seemed to come right afterward.
* * *
Kate liked the Marquis Club’s sense of community. When Tyler’s scene ended, people congratulated all the participants, expressing how much they’d enjoyed it. Cotton blankets were wrapped around Tyler and Nikki.
Blade sat to drink a Powerade with Tyler curled against his legs and Blade periodically put the bottle to Ty’s lips and made him drink, rubbing his back through the blanket.
Nikki didn’t seem to need aftercare. She stood instead talking to Mistress Marianne and smiling and shyly thanking the doms who stopped to say how entertained they’d been by her surprising entry into the scene.
People ate light meals in the lounge and play continued. Kate stayed close to Master Rory and tried to remember the names of all the people who came over to meet her.
“Sir?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you use me for a scene tonight?”
He nodded. “Ready?”
She nodded back, nervous, but really excited. They’d talked some about possible first scenes. He’d asked her a lot of questions and described different scenes while they’d lain in bed together the night before. The possibilities were overwhelming and in the end, she’d broken off from talking, feeling too exhausted to choose. He hadn’t pressed her after that, and she hadn’t been sure whether that meant he’d made up his mind or whether he was just giving her a break from thinking about it.
“Are you going to ask me where to start?”
“No. You don’t want me to,” he said, glancing over at her.
She looked down with a small smile. She knew communication was important, but she really preferred to try things and then talk to him about them after. She knew that wasn’t usually how things worked, but she trusted him completely with her body. Even that first night, which had ended so rough, had ultimately been great. The Motrin and Tylenol he’d made her take the next day had relieved a lot of the pain, and she hadn’t really wanted all the pain gone. She wanted to feel the aftereffects of the things he did to her. She also believed that the next day’s struggles had brought them closer together. He’d hinted more than once that he never talked to anyone as much as he talked to her. That certainly seemed the case at the club. Even with Master D, whom she thought anyone might tell their life story to, hadn’t gotten as much conversation from Master Rory as she always did when they were alone.
“Take that top off,” he said, leading her to the St. Andrew’s cross.
“Oh, I thought…” She flushed. She knew he might strip her for a scene. She just thought it would happen when she was already
semi-delirious from the pain and endorphin release.
“Off,” he said in his low, uncompromising voice.
She pulled the thin top over her head. It hadn’t really concealed much, but the feel of it against her skin had provided some psychological protection. She heard murmurs and turned her head to find that a crowd was gathering. She quickly looked back at the cross so she wouldn’t have to make eye contact. How had anyone realized? Had they been watching and waiting for Master Rory to take her to a scene area? She’d been with him for most of the night, and he’d been noncommittal about whether he’d do a scene with her during this first visit.
“There are a lot of people,” she whispered.
“Of course,” he said.
She swallowed. “Not every scene has so many people watching.”
“No.”
She laced her fingers together and squeezed, needing to give her hands something to do.
She moved closer to him. “I’m nervous.”
His dark gaze slid to her face. “You should be.”
Her heart pounded, and her lips parted. His fingers closed around her arm, and he took her to the cross. She was surprised that he was letting her keep her underwear. True, they were barely there, but she kind of wished he’d made her take them off. Not only did she not want anything between her skin and what he did to her, but also keeping them meant he wouldn’t have access the way he usually did when she was bare. She might need him to touch and tease her when the pain got intense. She swallowed against a dry throat. Maybe she could suggest…
When she looked at his face though, all the words died in her throat. He was fully in the zone.
“Use your safeword if you need to. Say yellow if you’re close to breaking but can take more.”
She nodded and her hands trembled as he secured her wrists. She wanted this, but she also felt breathless and wanted to retreat into some private space with him. The scene was already getting intense, and it hadn’t even started yet.
She hoped to be brave while taking her punishment, like Nikki, who’d never uttered a word during all those slaps and pinches. Kate wasn’t sure she could be that stoic.
