I glance at her over my shoulder, uncertain I can go through with this.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to restrain you. It’s just a demonstration. I’ll start out with very light strokes so you can get the idea.”
I grab the rungs above my head. Every muscle in my body is stiff.
Claudia brushes my hair to one side over my shoulder. “So it doesn’t get caught in the leather,” she murmurs.
Right. Duh. Lord. I’m in over my head. Aren’t I?
She dangles the flogger over my shoulder and then lets it dance down my back. I can barely feel it through my tank top and sports bra. “When you play, you should always have a safeword. I’m not going to do anything to you right now to warrant it, but normally, don’t ever scene with someone without discussing what your limits are first and agreeing on a safeword.”
“Safeword?” I have no idea what she means.
“Like red. That’s the universal safeword. It means stop. The person dominating you should stop that very second. Yellow means slow down. Green means you’re still enjoying yourself and lets the Dom know he can continue.”
“Oh.” I’ve seriously gone to another planet.
“I’m going to start now. Just relax.”
I nearly laugh. Relax. Sure.
Claudia takes a step back and lifts the flogger slowly. When it lands on my shoulder blade, I flinch, but only because I don’t know what to expect. I barely felt it though. She does it again on the other side. Alternating back and forth, she continues, increasing the pressure almost imperceptibly.
I start to loosen my shoulders.
“How’s that?” Claudia asks.
“It’s…nothing.”
She rounds to the side and smiles at me. “Shall I go harder?”
“Sure.” I bite my lip. It’s awkward asking this woman to hit me harder.
Her gaze wanders to my lip. “You’re not mine of course, so I don’t care what you do when you’re with me, but I will warn you that Beck has a thing for submissives who bite their lip.”
I can’t quite breathe as she speaks. “Levi said the same thing.”
She stares at me a moment and then inhales slowly. “I can’t begin to understand why Levi hired you, and it’s none of my business, but I saw the way he was looking at you in the library. I don’t mean to cross a line here, but are you interested in him?”
I’m not sure how to answer her. Isn’t every warm-blooded female interested in him?
She licks her lips and continues, “I’ll be blunt. I’m concerned. Julius, Beck, and Levi are close friends of mine. If you’re not interested in them, you should make that clear before someone gets hurt.”
Them? I swallow. “I never thought about it before today.” That’s not true. I’ve thought about all three of them. Hell, I lusted after Beck and Levi equally even before I arrived in Seattle. But lusting after them and acting on it are two very different things. I work for them. I would never jeopardize that, nor do I have the life experience to compete with the types of women they surely date. I assume they don’t look at me that way. I’m twenty-two.
On the other hand, Claudia seems to have noticed Levi’s interest, so I didn’t dream that up.
“But things changed today,” she points out.
“Yeah.”
“Just think about it. Draw a line if you need to. Don’t let them steamroll you into something you aren’t interested in. They can be pushy and demanding. They’re formidable Doms.”
I drop my arms and turn sideways, facing her fully. “You speak as if they’re one entity.”
She holds my gaze, seeming to read me. Everyone has done that today. Only I don’t see how any of them could possibly tell what I’m thinking since I don’t even know myself.
“I’m sorry. I should butt out. It’s none of my business.”
I hesitate and then speak. “I really appreciate your help. Seriously. It means a lot to me.” I bite into my lip again, catching myself this time.
Claudia rolls her head away dramatically. “I would put a bit between your teeth and leave it there for an hour if you were my submissive.”
My face heats. “What’s a bit?”
She smiles. “A rubber cylinder that straps behind your head and keeps you from fully closing your mouth or speaking. It nestles between your teeth.”
“Oh.” Jesus.
“You want to try the flogger again, a little harder?”
“Yes.” More than anything I want to turn my head away so I can close my eyes and think about what she’s said. I’ve added about fifty new vocabulary words today.
As she lands a few more soft blows to my shoulder blades, I keep my eyes closed, my mind pretending it’s Beck flogging me. After all, I’ve seen him do this. I imagine myself strapped down, which makes me grip the pegs harder. When I visualize having something in my mouth to keep me quiet, I have to fight to keep from moaning.
Beck didn’t use a bit with Katarina. But what he did do to her seeps into my mind next. I squeeze my legs together, thinking of his fingers stroking my folds and then thrusting into me.
Claudia’s flogger dances down my back and then back up. It feels amazing. I’m relaxing incrementally. At least my muscles are. My sex is throbbing against my panties, and I can’t seem to shake the daydream.
When she stops, her hand lands between my shoulders, her fingers on my neck. “I don’t know where you went just now, but it must have been amazing. Welcome to BDSM.”
Chapter 15
Abby
* * *
I adore Claudia. She spends three hours showing me around, letting me touch everything I want to know more about. She gives me several lectures about safety and precautions and negotiations. She seems convinced that I’m about to enter into a relationship with one of my bosses.
I can’t do that. Not a chance. It’s unprofessional. If I even suggested such a thing, they should fire me.
Nevertheless, I’m strung tight while we wander from one station to the next. I can’t stop thinking about Julius’s intense gaze, Levi’s more playful one, Beck’s unreadable expression. My mind darts from one man to the next. Every time Claudia demonstrates another piece of equipment, I pretend she’s one of the men.
She restrains me on a spanking bench so that I’ll get a feel for that level of submission. She doesn’t spank me though, and I’m grateful she doesn’t suggest it. Spanking me seems too intimate. She does, however, let me feel the sting of a cane cross my butt. Intense. Too much for me.
We’re just finishing up when a door opens on the other side of the room. I spin around to find a man I don’t know strolling into the main playroom. He smiles at Claudia. “I thought I heard someone in here.”
She returns the grin and kisses his cheek when he reaches us. “Have you spoken to Julius today?” she asks.
“No.” His brow furrows as he glances at me. And then he groans. “Don’t tell me.”
Claudia squeezes his arm. “Abby, this is Master Roman.”
He groans louder, but takes my hand, his smile not matching his reaction. “So nice to meet you. I wasn’t expecting to, but welcome.”
“Yeah,” Claudia says, “There was a slip-up this morning. The cat’s out of the bag. In light of that revelation, some BDSM 101 was needed. I stepped in.”
“Gotcha.” He glances over his shoulder. “Lucy is with me. She’s in my office. Neither of them is ready for a meet and greet.”
“No. I agree. We were just leaving. Let’s hold off on that one for now. Abby is still in shock. She’s not…” Claudia’s voice trails off.
I have no idea what she means, but Roman apparently does. He nods. “Got it.” He faces me again. “Nice to meet you. You’re in good hands with Claudia.”
“That’s what I hear.”
“I’m not sure about Julius’s sanity, but that’s another issue altogether.” He turns away, waving over his shoulder. “Later.”
Claudia leads me back through the front entrance and out to t
he car. “Do I even want to know what that was all about?”
“No. Not yet.” She faces me as we put our seat belts on. “Trust me. If I thought it would benefit you, I would tell you more. But it’s not my place, and I don’t want to do more harm than good. Just…” She takes a slow breath. “Just think about what I said before. Think about how you want to proceed with the men you’re staying with. And then make that clear to them. Okay?”
I nod. “Sure. Okay.”
I’m exhausted when we get back to the house. No one is around either. Claudia and I head for the kitchen where she pulls stuff out of the refrigerator and heats up what I assume Meredith prepared for dinner. The others have probably already eaten.
Baked ziti and salads. I help Claudia shuffle plates in and out of the microwave and then we sit at the island on bar stools. “I texted them and told them to give you space. You’re clear for the night.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
She nods. “No problem. I’m sure you’re exhausted. I would be. After we eat, if I were you, I’d go hide in my room. Take a bath. Absorb what you’ve discovered.” She faces me. “Take some time.”
She’s right, and I appreciate everything she’s done for me. More than I can express. “Thank you so much. For everything.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll leave you my cell number. If you need anything, please call me. I’ll do whatever I can to help or answer any questions.”
Tears well up in my eyes and I swallow them back. It’s been a long day. I totally need to soak in the tub and then climb into bed and think.
Chapter 16
Master Julius
* * *
“I hear you met Abby.” I grip the phone as I lean back in my desk chair and stare out the window into the darkness of my backyard, seeing nothing.
I can hear the mirth in Roman’s voice through the cell as he responds, “I did. I thought you said Levi was hiring an intern for the summer. How did she end up in an in-depth training session with Claudia?”
I’ve known Julius and Claudia since college. We’ve been friends for two decades. They’re both amazing dominants in their own rights. This is why I permitted Abby to leave with Claudia for a trip to Surrender.
Permitted. I smirk inwardly. It can’t be said that I or anyone else in this house permitted Abby to do anything. She’s not ours. She doesn’t belong to anyone. Until twelve hours ago, she didn’t even know about our world.
I blow out a breath and rub my temples with my free hand. “Levi had a little fuck-up this morning. He accidentally uploaded a video of Katarina to the wedding folder Abby was editing.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah. It’s done now. Can’t undo it. But Abby is the greenest woman I’ve ever met. She needed answers, and there was no way she would have been receptive to getting them from the three of us, so Levi enlisted Claudia’s help.”
“Good choice.”
“Did you watch her?” I’m eager to know what he thought. It’s none of my damn business really, except it is because I’m making it so.
“No, except to notice her demeanor as we were introduced. And she was fully clothed. I wouldn’t have violated her trust if she’d been exposed.”
“Of course.” Roman is the owner of Surrender. He carefully monitors everything that happens inside his club when necessary. Though as manager, I’m often the one in that role. Not today though.
“She may be green,” Roman continues, “but I don’t think she’s vanilla.”
I suck in a breath and close my eyes. Those are the words I both wanted to hear and dreaded hearing. “Yeah. Me neither.”
“Seemed like Claudia had drawn her out of her shell.” He hesitated.
“But?”
“No but. I’m just thinking ahead.”
“I’m not a mind reader.”
Roman chuckles. “And what a shame that is. Anyway, I was thinking… If you decide to train her, you should consider taping as often as possible to document her progress. It would be an amazing video.”
I blink at the window again. “Train her? I don’t even know if she’s going to decide to remain in Seattle after today. I’m half expecting to wake up tomorrow morning and find her gone.”
I fist my free hand on my thigh. I’d give just about anything to train that sweet package of innocence. Levi, Beck, and I have trained dozens of women, but all of them came into Surrender looking for information. None of them were as uneducated in the fetish world as Abby.
I picture her carefree smile, the way her green eyes light up when she laughs. She dresses professionally and demurely every day, but her pencil skirts and blouses do nothing to hide her ample chest and her fantastic ass.
“She won’t be gone. She’s intrigued,” Roman responds.
“Maybe she is. Maybe she isn’t. Maybe she simply responded to Claudia. Who knows if she would respond to any of us that same way? Claudia has a way of making people feel safe. Besides, she has no idea the three of us are a package deal. That’s one last bit of information we didn’t reveal.”
“You might be right, but there’s no way I would let that woman walk away without flat out propositioning her first.”
“She’s so young,” I remind him.
“The same age Lucy was when she moved in with me.”
“First of all, there’s only one of you, though admittedly, you are as formidable as three Doms,” I joke.
“Aren’t you a comedian. Don’t forget, Lucy was green when I first saw her too.”
“What I remember well is that Lucy came to Surrender to satisfy her curiosity about the lifestyle. She had been there five times observing before you took over her life.” I’m not exaggerating when I say that. I’m the one who helped dig around in her life to find out everything Roman wanted to know about her while he watched her every week for five weeks. Furthermore, he didn’t come right out and ask her to submit to him. No, that would have been too tidy. Instead, he hired her as his personal assistant, brought her into his home, slowly made her realize what she needed. And Lucy isn’t your average submissive.
“It worked out, didn’t it?” he taunted. “Talk to Abby. See what she’s up for. You just never know.”
“Speaking of Lucy, did Abby meet her?”
“No.” His voice is adamant. “She was in my office. I knew she wasn’t ready to meet Abby any more than Abby was ready to meet her.”
“I’m sure you’re right. That’s why I asked. Has she outed herself to anyone besides your closest friends yet?”
“Not yet. Working on it. I’m still trying to acclimate her to the club when it’s not open. I figure if she familiarizes herself with the club and the apparatuses first, it will help when I start adding other people to the room. Other people besides the three of you and Claudia, I mean.”
“It’s been three years. Maybe she isn’t into exhibitionism,” I point out.
Roman sighs. “Honestly, she thinks what we have is unique to just the two of us. She struggles to wrap her head around the idea that there are many kinds of kink and hers isn’t even the most outrageous.”
“Are you sure you’re not pushing her further than she’s comfortable with?” I know Roman. He’s the best Dom I’ve ever met in my life hands down. But he’s blinded when it comes to Lucy. Sometimes I worry he might not make the best choices. He’s head over heels in love with her, but I’m concerned he might need to back off on the issue of public exposure.
“I’m not sure of anything. What I am sure of is that she graduated from college two weeks ago, and now she’s a bit lost. She needs something else to do with her time. She needs a new challenge.”
I laugh. “Maybe she needs to get a job or go to graduate school instead of stepping out of her comfort zone wearing pink-smocked dresses that barely cover her bottom.”
Roman groans. “I know it’s not her role as a middle that’s got her twisted up. She gets off on being my little girl just as much as she did the day I first introduced her to the idea. I think she ju
st needs…more.”
“And yet, you didn’t take the opportunity to expose her to Abby tonight,” I point out.
“Nope. She has finally reached a place where she will leave the house wearing whatever I choose, but only if our destination is to the empty club or your house. Plus, Abby is way too innocent to meet Lucy, who was wearing a youthful fluffy white dress and light-up shoes. Her hair was in braids too.”
I’m not shocked. Roman dresses Lucy that young often. “You’re right. Abby would not have understood. I appreciate your discretion. How were you able to meet Abby while Lucy was in your office?”
Roman’s sardonic chuckle fills the line. “She had a little tantrum when we arrived and she realized someone else was in the building. That lack of trust cost her a hard spanking and a timeout. After I gave her a taste of the club, I brought her back home, gave her a bath, and put her to bed. As soon as I was certain she was asleep, I came down to my office.”
I shake my head, grinning. That sounds exactly like Roman. Lucy too.
“Listen, I just called to touch base about what I observed. Talk to Abby. Talk to Beck and Levi first, and then talk to her.”
“You’re just thinking about the amazing training videos we could make of her as she blossoms.” I know this is the main reason for the call.
“That’s true. But that’s not everything. It was just a suggestion. It’s not your first or primary concern.”
It certainly isn’t. My first concern is whether or not Abby will still be in the house in the morning. “Thanks.”
“Of course. Any time.”
I end the call and lift my gaze, aware that Beck and Levi are entering my office.
Levi nods toward my phone. “You talk to Roman?”
“Yeah.” I lean back in my chair and put my hands behind my head, stretching out my tense body.
“He have any advice?” Beck asks as the two of them plop onto the chairs across from my desk.
I smirk. “Some, but he has his hands full with his own sub.”
“Not surprising.” Levi leans back. “Lucy has seemed a little off lately. Restless.”
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