by Ivy Nelson
“I brought a few new impact toys, including a single tail whip I’ve been wanting to try.”
Austin shook her head. “Can’t. I have to wear a backless dress for Holly’s bridal shoot in a couple of weeks. My whip marks always take forever to heal.”
Derek grinned. “Fair enough. We can do something else then. I’ve got a few of your favorites in my bag.”
Austin shivered as the thrill of negotiating a scene flowed through her. “OK. I have a meeting in the bar with a few of the board members. Let me get through that and get loosened up before we meet up and play.”
Truth was, she wanted someone to make her feel submissive tonight, and that wasn’t the kind of top Derek was. He was playful and enjoyed giving sensations and experiences more than he enjoyed dominating someone. Her thoughts drifted to her upcoming meeting. If she came away from it agreeing to be a house submissive, she could indulge in her submissive fantasies, maybe even a few she’d been too afraid to voice to casual play partners.
Derek gave her a hug and told her he would find her later.
Austin walked into the bar again, intent on ordering a drink to calm her nerves. In one corner, she spotted Dakota, Eli, Patrick, Lance, and Garrett sitting at a large table. Aside from Dakota, they were all Doms, incredibly handsome Doms. She swallowed and made a beeline for Mitch, the bartender, and ordered a scotch neat.
As she leaned against the bar, she took a moment to study Patrick’s profile. Dirty blonde hair, a dark t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders as he leaned in, whispering something to Eli. His face was scruffy, as if he hadn’t shaved in a few days.
Dakota stood, tossing her head back in a laugh before she turned and headed in Austin’s direction.
“Hey, hot stuff,” she said when she reached her. “I love the corset.”
Austin smiled and sat her scotch down to give the woman a hug. “Thanks. I’m just happy to be in a place where I can wear one again.”
Dakota grinned. “We’re glad to have you back. I just wanted to come over here and say the fellas are ready for you if you are. I know it’s a bit early. I’m going to hang out for the first little while just to make sure you’re comfortable, if that’s OK with you.”
Austin nodded and picked up her glass again. “That sounds great. I’m nervous as hell.”
Dakota laughed. “They’re an intimidating bunch. Just remember that you could whip their asses in a courtroom any day.”
That made Austin giggle as they approached the table.
“Hello, Austin,” Eli said. “Have a seat. Hope you don’t mind us starting early.”
She shook her head. “That’s fine by me.”
“Normally, this would be a formal interview where we get to know you. Since we’re all friends, this is more of a chance for you to get your questions answered. It’s also a chance for us to ask for clarification about your responses in your application,” Lance said.
Austin’s face warmed at the thought of all of them having read those. The form had asked some very personal questions about her submissive desires and fantasies.
“Is there anything you want to know?” Patrick asked. His voice sent a little shiver down her spine.
“What is the purpose of the house submissive program?”
“It has a few purposes,” Garrett said. “First, it’s a great way for people new to the lifestyle to learn about dominance and submission. Second, it’s one way that we model good consent practices for other members. Third, it’s a great way for members to see all kinds of different D/s dynamics because we do try to customize each subs experience.”
Austin nodded and twisted her glass in her hands. “Do I get a say in who I’m matched with?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Eli said. “We match you based on limits, likes, dislikes, and the personality test that was part of your application. I’ve already told you I think you and Patrick would be a good fit.”
Austin raised an eyebrow. Was Elijah playing matchmaker, trying to set her up with his fiancé’s brother?
Patrick gave an uncomfortable shrug. “I don’t know man. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be fun, but Austin and I have worked together at Eastman Enterprises a few times. You know how I feel about that.”
So, her suspicions were correct. He didn’t show interest in playing with her because he didn’t want to mix business and pleasure.
Elijah held up his hands. “Hey, I was just giving you my two cents. I didn’t say that’s the way it had to be. Look at me though, I blurred the lines of business and pleasure and I’m getting married in a few weeks.”
“Yes,” Patrick bit out. “To my sister.”
Austin shifted uncomfortably as the two men ribbed each other.
With a wink, Eli said, “But back to Austin’s question. If the pairing doesn’t work for one of you after your initial meeting, either of you can request a change at any time. Like Garrett said, we believe the program is a perfect way to show good consent practices.”
“How sexual would I be required to be with my Dom?
Elijah shook his head. “Not at all, unless you want to be. We look at the trainer-submissive connection as a flexible relationship. For some, it’s more of a mentorship. For others, it can be sexual. If both parties agree to sexual activities, that’s fine, but we don’t encourage or require it.”
That made Austin feel at least a little bit better. Though she had to admit, she was having some extremely sexual reactions to Patrick.
Clearing her throat, she said, “I’m excited about this. I really want to spend more time here. Maybe having an official role with the club will allow me to give myself permission.”
At that, Patrick flashed her a smile that sent her heart skittering. Why hadn’t she noticed his smile before? “You always have been a workaholic,” he said.
Austin chuckled. ‘I’m a woman in a man’s world. I kind of have to be.”
The conversation carried on with Austin asking questions and the board answering them. By the end of the conversation, everyone seemed in agreement that Patrick would be a good match for her. He still wasn’t one hundred percent on board, and Austin had to admit that it hurt her ego a little bit.
As the conversation was wrapping up, they said goodbye one by one and wandered off to enjoy the evening, telling Austin they would let her know who they matched her with before the party tomorrow night so they could start her orientation.
Soon, Patrick was the only one left and Austin felt her nerves returning.
“Get a lot of interest?” she asked, trying to make small talk.
He shook his head. “Nah., I haven’t played in a couple of weeks. Maybe we need to drum up some new members.”
Austin rolled her eyes. She’d forgotten what a player Patrick could be. “No, you dummy. I meant interest in the house sub position. Eli told me the board was asking a number of people to consider taking part.”
Patrick laughed before his expression turned stern. “First lesson for a house sub. It’s Master Patrick, or Sir.”
Austin gave a nervous laugh but couldn’t deny the butterflies that formed in her gut at the thought of calling him Sir. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now answer my question.”
He shrugged. “There have been a few people show interest.”
Austin drained her glass. “So, you really don’t want to be my trainer?” God, she sounded needy.
“Geeze, Austin, don’t say it like that. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to. I just never know when we’ll need your legal expertise at the office.”
Austin sighed. “For being such a player, you sure are ethical,” she teased, though disappointment was forming in her gut.
He tossed his head back and laughed. “I seem to remember trying to sleep with you in college and you weren’t interested. What’s changed?”
She had honestly forgotten about his one advance in college. It hadn’t been a good time in her life though, and she turned down any advance that came her way. Her face warmed and she trie
d to blame it on the scotch as she tamped down the memories. “You heard Elijah, no sex required mister.”
“Master,” he teased with a growl. “And you’re right, but I tend to like a little sexual play with my trainees. Listen, try not to worry about who you get paired with. This is supposed to be fun. Now get out of here and enjoy the party. Everything will sort itself out.”
Austin grinned and gave him a salute. “Yes, Sir. I’ll talk to you later then.”
“Good girl,” Patrick said with a wink.
As Austin stood, a young girl approached who couldn’t have been more than twenty-one. “Are you Master Patrick?” she asked in a small voice.
He turned with a smile and shook the girl’s hand. “I am. And you’re Olivia, right?”
“Olive, but close. I had some questions about the house submissive program.”
Austin backed away. “I’ll let you two chat. Derek was asking me about playing. I think I’ll go see what he’s up to.”
Patrick’s brows cinched together as he frowned, but he gave her a curt nod and said, “talk later.”
Without looking back, Austin made her way to the dungeon and nearly ran into Derek.
“Hey gorgeous. I was just coming to find you. You ready to play?” he asked.
Austin gave him a bright smile. “Sure am. Let’s see what you have in that toy bag of yours.”
Chapter Four
Patrick leaned against the sturdy wooden leg of a suspense frame that was currently unoccupied and surveyed the dungeon. This place was his home, but tonight he was feeling out of sorts and had found no one to play with yet. He couldn’t get Eli’s suggestion that he train Austin out of his head. He’d always found her attractive, but at the point that David Eastman hired her to do some legal work for his company, he considered her off limits.
It had been a long time since she’d done any work for the company he now ran though. Did he need to keep her in the off-limits category? He missed having a sub of his own. Holly was right. The last one he’d trained didn’t really count since it was completely platonic. His last long-term sexual submissive had been another house sub from six or seven months ago. She had since moved on and was collared to someone else now.
Bouncing from play partner to play partner was fun, but the thrill of commanding a sub who wore your collar—or in the house sub program—your bracelet, was one that couldn’t be duplicated by a one-night scene with someone. He shook his head and moved towards the social area where he saw Holly sitting on her own. It was still weird that his sister was a member here, but they had learned to deal with it and made sure they never saw each other naked, despite Eli’s penchant for fucking in public.
“Hey, Holls, where’s your man?” he asked as he dropped onto the couch next to her.
She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. “He had to sneak off for a phone call with China or something. Or so he says. I think he’s working on honeymoon plans. He refuses to tell me where we’re going or what we’re doing though.”
“You sure you’re ready to piss every bachelorette in the U.S. off by becoming Mrs. Barrett?”
Holly giggled. “I can’t fucking wait.”
Her expression sobered a moment later and she snuggled closer to him. “How are you since Wednesday? I know we’ve basically been hiding here from the press, but the office called me twice yesterday asking what to do about all the calls they are fielding from reporters.”
Patrick shook his head in disgust. “I just can’t believe that bastard is going to get away with six months in jail. You know the state of California is going to give him the same kind of deal.”
“I know you’re upset, but we know nothing of the sort. Just have a little faith.”
“He fucking killed our mother and tried to kill you and isn’t being charged with either of those things, and you want me to have faith? Get your head out of the clouds. I know you’re all in love and happy and I’m happy for you, but I can’t just move on from this so easily.”
Holly sat back and looked at him with sad eyes. “You don’t have to bite my head off.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying not everyone has the rosy view of the world that you do.”
“That’s enough, Patrick,” a deep voice said from behind him. He turned to see Eli standing next to the couch.
He held his hand out to Holly. “Come on, lover. We’re going to the suite tonight. Patrick can apologize later when he’s cooled down a little.”
Patrick growled and dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I’m just on edge tonight,” he said.
Holly patted his shoulder as she stood to accept Eli’s hand. “We’ll talk later,” she said.
He sighed and leaned back into the couch. The spanking bench to the right of the social area caught his eye. He recognized the brightly colored corset Austin had been wearing now draped haphazardly over a nearby table. Her ass was in the air as she was strapped to the bench. He felt his cock grow hard at the sight of her perfect round backside turning red under Derek’s paddle.
Periodically, the top would run a hand over one of her heated cheeks before delivering another round of blistering swats. She cried out each time, her head lifting, sending her blonde locks falling into her eyes. He was close enough to hear every sound, and he wanted desperately to brush the hair from her face.
Christ. He never paid attention to other people’s scenes, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from this one. He definitely needed to find a sub to play with or he was going to fixate on Austin. The party was in full swing though, and most people had already paired off.
“Red,” a voice hollered.
It was Austin, and Patrick had to fight the urge to jump up and go to her rescue. Calling red wasn’t a sign the sub was in danger, it was just a sign the sub was done, and Derek was a respectful top—he hated being called a Dom—who immediately dropped the paddle he was wielding and reached to undo her cuffs. Not only was he respectful, he was thoughtful. Patrick watched as Derek draped a blanket around Austin and helped her sit upright on the bench.
When Austin assured him she was OK, he cleaned up their station and led them in Patrick’s direction.
“Mind if we join you for a bit?” Derek asked as he helped Austin onto a loveseat.
“Not at all. Looks like you two were having some fun.”
Austin gave him a small smile. He could tell by her eyes that she was still floating in subspace, despite having ended the scene.
“Will you get me some water?” she asked Derek a few minutes later.
He immediately hopped up and went to one of the several water stations that were scattered throughout the space.
“How long have you been here?” Austin asked.
“A while. But I only caught the tail end of the scene. I was talking to Holly.”
She nodded and seemed relieved. Was she embarrassed by the thought of Patrick watching her play? She would be really embarrassed if she knew how hard he was.
Derek returned then and Austin quickly gulped the water down. “Thanks,” she said, pulling the blanket tighter around her.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Austin cleared her throat and said, “I don’t really feel like putting my corset back on. Can one of you grab my bag for me? I left it by the bench.”
Patrick jumped up, eager to have a reason to escape, and fetched the bag. When he handed it to her, she surprised him by standing and dropping the blanket before bending over to pull yoga pants and a solitaire t-shirt out of the bag. Her ass was still red from the spanking scene she’d just finished, and Patrick was having visions of adding to the marks she wore.
Stepping back, he said, “I’m going back to the bar. We’ll talk more about your application later.”
Austin smiled as she tugged on the yoga pants. “I look forward to it. Thanks.”
Patrick quickly made his escape and had Mitch pour him a double.
“That’s your third drink tonight. I take it you’re not playing?”
Mitch grinned and slid him the glass of expensive scotch. “Drink up then, friend.”
• • •
“Thanks for tonight, Derek. That was a lot of fun. Sorry I had to call red before you were finished with me.”
Derek chuckled and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. “Don’t worry about that. I got to break in my new paddle.”
Austin shifted, suddenly uncomfortable with the small talk. “I think I’m going to wander around a bit if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. You really doing the house sub thing?”
Austin shrugged. “I think so. It seems like it could be a lot of fun.”
Derek frowned. “You know house subs have to get permission from their trainers to play with other tops, right?”
Austin nodded. “I know, but I want to try something different. It’s only eight weeks of training. How bad can it be?”
Derek laughed. “True. You know I’m always open to something more with you though, so don’t think you have to let a stranger train you just to get a new experience.”
Austin shook her head. “I’m leaving now. I love you to pieces, Derek, but you won’t even let people call you a Dom. And the house Doms and board members who do the training aren’t exactly strangers to me.”
Austin stood and hefted her bag onto her shoulder. As she passed through the bar, she offered a small wave to Patrick on her way to the lobby.
Cassie was back at the desk. “Hey, girl. I hear you applied to be a house submissive. I think Master Patrick would be a great trainer for you.”
Austin rolled her eyes. “Why do people keep saying that?”
Lance stuck his head out of the conference room door. “Because it’s true.”
Austin laughed. “What about you? We’ve played together before.”
Lance shrugged. “I’m not against the idea. I just happen to know Patrick really well, and I think he would be a better fit. I’m a mean Dom, ask Cassie,” he said with a wink.
Cassie giggled. “It’s true. But I liked it.”