While she couldn’t see any detectable equipment, the chandelier had multiple large and small teardrop ornaments hanging from its center. The light fixture was the perfect place to conceal surveillance equipment.
“Damn it,” she grumbled, throwing herself on the bed and chastising her lame attempt for even considering a ridiculous departure. Where would she go? Better still? Why would she want to leave? Dropping her shoes to the floor, she fumbled in her purse for her cell phone and called Trixie.
Her darling sister picked up on the first ring. “Go ahead and thank me.”
“For what?” Kimberly asked. “I’m locked in a humongous bedroom that looks like a suite straight out of an ostentatious European castle. And this place has an unnecessary dungeon feel, no thanks to the limitless sex furniture.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
“Trixie, I’m locked in here for God’s sake,” Kimberly said.
“And you can stay there as far as I’m concerned. You need to come to your senses.”
“This is about Jason.”
“It’s about my sister,” Trixie said. “I love you, Kimberly. I adore my family. You know that.”
“Jason will be worried sick.”
“And you care why?”
Kimberly thought about that for a moment. Hadn’t she left his place the day before swearing she was done with him? Hadn’t she decided to take control of her life again?
“I don’t,” she quickly and confidently admitted.
“That’s a healthy start. Besides, you can only guess what he did last night when he couldn’t find you.”
“Went to the club?” Of course he would have gone to Clink. Whenever he couldn’t find Kimberly, he recruited a couple of arm ornaments and headed to the club hoping to cause a scene.
“He didn’t stay,” Trixie told her proudly. “Brock and Tristan met him at the door and told him to leave.”
“He’s been kicked out so many times, it doesn’t faze him.”
“Let’s not talk about Jason. What do you think about Sebastian?”
“Why didn’t you ask me about Wyatt?”
“I’ve already witnessed that explosive chemistry with my own eyes. You practically drool all over yourself when you see him.”
“Sebastian is no better.”
“I knew you’d feel that way. He’s a babe for sure.”
“Trixie! You’re a married woman.”
“I’m not dead. A friend of mine who frequents lifestyle clubs in Columbia described him as a walking, breathing streak of sex.”
“He is for sure.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I think he’s more man than I can handle.”
“Jason Neely was more man than you could handle. He’s not even a man, honey. He’s an animal. He fucks for kicks then leaves you to wonder where he is and when he’ll come home to you.”
“Okay, let’s get one thing straight,” Kimberly said. “I lived with the man for several years, but this past year I’ve been using him. I’ve used him for sex and nothing else.”
“Next time try fucking a vibrator. At least when they run out of juice, there’s a little warning ahead of time. Ya know?”
“No, I didn’t,” Kimberly admitted.
“They power down, little sister. They don’t have as much strength in their wiggle.”
“Sounds like Jason for sure.”
“You gotta admit, honey. Not too many men pass out in between their woman’s legs.”
Her sisters would never let her live that one down. Then again, there wasn’t just one incident. It had happened enough to send home a message. Booze mattered more than she mattered.
Kimberly narrowed her gaze on the magnificent stone fireplace in the corner of the room. In front of the hearth, an unusual piece of equipment caught her eye.
“I’m not in much better shape here. I’m horny as hell after last night and I’m stuck behind closed doors with this…this sex furniture.”
“Well, try it out then. There’s more than one way to lure a lion out of his den.”
Kimberly gnawed on her thumbnail. “You know what, big sister? You’re right.”
“Have fun,” Trixie said, laughter in her voice. “Oh and by the way, Ansley told me you were taking the week off. It’s good to know you’re willing to explore this thing with Wyatt and Sebastian. I don’t know that much about Sebastian, but you have to admire the man.”
“Admire him? Why?”
An audible gulp filled the receiver. “You don’t know?”
“What don’t I know?”
“He called Daddy Kane,” Trixie said. “I have no idea what was said, but he more or less told him you were staying in Columbia for a long weekend. Then he called him back and said he’d changed his mind. You’d be there for a week.”
“He did what?” Instant anger rolled over her.
“I think it’s admirable.”
“I think he assumed too much too soon.”
“Calm down, honey. You have to understand where the man is coming from. He went over a few things with Daddy Kane. Apparently, he believes you’ve been exploited by Jason over the years and he wanted to assure the parents he wasn’t in this for sexual thrills. I think it’s romantic.”
“I think it’s pushy as hell,” Kimberly bit out. “And it’s not romantic.”
“Oh I forgot,” Trixie drawled. “You don’t believe in romance. You’ve had such an unsatisfactory relationship that the idea of romance must be a fantastical notion. No one, not even your sisters who have provided proof to the contrary, could live happily ever after. Much less enjoy the power of romance. Right?”
“You got it,” Kimberly muttered.
“I have a feeling two men are about to prove you wrong,” Trixie said. “Don’t fuck this up, Kimberly. Don’t call Jason and don’t answer his calls. I don’t know much about Sebastian except hearsay. Wyatt, however, is a different story. I’ve spent a lot of time with him and he’s a standup guy. And Mitch says he’s crazy about you.”
“By the way, how did Mitch meet him?” Kimberly asked.
“Wyatt didn’t mention Cow Camp at all?”
“What about the camp?”
“I’m not supposed to say anything, but you know how Mitch wanted to convert the place into an adult lifestyle retreat?”
“Yes.”
“Wyatt and Sebastian tossed in some money. They each own thirty-three percent now.”
“Why didn’t Mitch come to me?”
“He actually thought about it, Kimberly. Fact is, he decided against it because he didn’t want Jason involved. He wanted to meet with you today to explain his position. Obviously, you’ll be a little tied up this afternoon.”
“Let’s hope,” Kimberly teased. After a moment of silence, she added, “Mitch should’ve talked to me. I’m family. Plus, I’m more knowledgeable about kink clubs than these guys.”
Trixie laughed. “I wouldn’t count on it. You’re the one who said there was a lot of equipment in that bedroom. Look around, baby sister. You’ve finally met your equals, maybe even your superiors.”
“You’d like to think so.”
“No, honey. You’d like to think so.”
They said their good-byes and Kimberly prowled around the room. At the foot of the bed, she noticed the curved padded bench. Located under the cushion, a drawer held lubricants, condoms, and vibrators of all shapes and sizes.
She shivered as she thought of the endless possibilities.
On the other side of the bed, she caught a glimpse of a box with graduating steps. At first glance, someone might confuse the container as a three-step footstool. Kimberly knew better.
She’d seen these spanking benches in lifestyle catalogues. A submissive knelt on the lower wooden platform and leaned over the elevated padded area. Her arms would then be secured by the cuffs and attached to the hooks located on the slab of wood in between. In this position, a sub’s bottom was up and her head was down.
&nbs
p; God help her, she could only imagine the spankings.
Her gaze immediately went to the hooks next to the fireplace. Filled with leather whips and floggers, the display was enough to make a submissive long for an erotic spanking.
Next to the window, a large wooden X with hooks, straps, cuffs, and chains made Kimberly’s mouth water. The kind of punishment she liked most was the punishment that placed her in a vulnerable position, one everyone could view, possibly even appreciate.
Still, her favorite piece of furniture was definitely the sawhorse. Thick padding covered the classic discipline table and all sorts of toys lined the shelf underneath.
A door slammed behind her. Sebastian strolled across the room carrying a breakfast tray. “Good morning.”
“I was wondering what had happened to my hosts,” she said, eyeing the assortment of fruits and breads.
“Wyatt went down to the car to retrieve your luggage.”
“I didn’t bring anything with me. I hadn’t planned on an overnight stay.”
“One of your sisters packed a bag for you.”
“Ansley.”
He grinned. “I’ll take the fifth.”
“Tell me something, Sebastian,” she said, trying her best to cop a sexy strut as she greeted him in the center of the room. “Just how many Cartwells were behind this meeting of ours?”
His lips twitched. “You know I spoke with your father.”
“Yes.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“You probably don’t want to know.”
“I asked,” he said, setting the tray on the floor and scooting the spanking box away from the bed. “And I’d like an answer or you can take your punishment.”
She wasn’t good at talking about her family, particularly the father who had alienated her once she’d started seeing Jason. “I’ll take the spanking.”
He pointed at the box. “I had hoped you’d be willing to start early.”
Kimberly knelt to the box, draping her arms around the curved wood and pressing her chest against the padded support. “This won’t change my mind. I might be persuaded to talk about Jason, but Daddy Kane is off-limits. We have a complicated relationship.”
“One which you caused,” Sebastian told her, selecting a nice whip—one she would’ve chosen for herself—from the wall.
Before she could say anything about his choice, he snapped the end against her bottom. The burn wasn’t intense thanks to the bodice covering her. And undoubtedly he realized why she hadn’t flinched or groaned.
Kneeling beside her, he whispered at her ear. “Do you enjoy pain, sub?”
Her pain threshold was great. He would’ve instantly known as much after the first strike.
“As long as pleasure follows, I invite the pain,” she told him.
Wearing only pajama pants, Sebastian looked like he was dressed for sex more so than bed. The buttons at his crotch stretched forward with his length and his eyes darkened.
“Place your palms on the floor,” he said, reaching under her and unsnapping the silver buttons at her crotch. He quickly pulled the material away from her hips. Bunching the cloth around her waist, he said, “Today I expect truth and compliance.”
“I’ll give you what you want,” she promised as she anticipated the first of many more wallops against her bare ass.
Thin leather met flesh as numerous strikes resounded. “I believe you, sub.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sebastian was as hard as steel by the time Wyatt arrived in the bedroom with Kimberly’s clothing. Standing at her head, he looked down the long bridge of his nose, noticing her acceptance, her eager compliance.
“Good God,” Wyatt said, tossing aside her belongings and squatting behind her.
Reaching under the stool, he located the soothing cream, unsealed the jar, and lathered his hands in the clear substance. “Are you hurt?”
“Hmm, no,” she whispered, locking her gaze on Sebastian’s erection.
Wyatt ran his hands over her globes, glaring at Sebastian as if he thought he’d somehow managed to carry her punishment too far or shove her beyond her limitations. “I leave you alone for a few minutes and you leave welts on her ass.”
Sebastian stepped forward. He gathered a handful of bangs and lifted her head. “Did I hurt you, sub?”
“No,” she replied, moistening her lips.
“You were supposed to bring her breakfast,” Wyatt said, waving his hand at the tray.
“We’re sidetracked,” Sebastian said, searching her face. Without a doubt, Kimberly had thoroughly enjoyed her whipping. Her cries for more were only trumped by the way she’d thrown her body toward his, rotating her bottom in a circular fashion as if to encourage him to strike harder, perhaps even draw blood.
She had pushed him to extraordinary limits, and to please her, he’d complied, but now he doubted her reasons and his own. Did she enjoy harsh punishment? Did he? He had a feeling their responses would vary greatly.
Her mouth trembled. Her sexy tongue traced her lips as she stared harder at his cock. “I wanted a few more.”
“I know you did,” Sebastian said, trying to understand why she craved the pain. “Now what do you want, sub?”
“You,” she replied.
“Try again,” he said, already in training mode. “You’ll address me as Sir.”
“Then you, Sir,” she drawled, staring harder, if a more intense glare were even possible.
“Be more direct,” Sebastian said, stroking her cheek.
“I want your cock,” she told him, pumping her hips back and forth as Wyatt caressed her blushing globes.
Whipping out his dick, he rubbed the head over her lips. “Don’t suck. Let me guide you.”
Her hot breath swept across his cockhead. He held himself at the base and dragged the length around her mouth, desperate to sink between her cheeks but realizing he could not, would not, give in to temptation so quickly.
Wyatt smirked. “Better you than me.”
He was right on the money there. Wyatt would’ve already been balls-deep by now. And Sebastian wasn’t one hundred percent certain he could resist if she kept this up.
The way she watched him made him think of innocence, even though he realized she was anything but pure and untouched. She hadn’t been loved the way she deserved. She hadn’t been cared for or received the guidance and nurturing she apparently longed to experience.
In many ways, Sebastian believed she’d been abused as much as she had been taken for granted. And that angered him to no end.
Her mouth opened and her tongue snaked around the crest. A smile tilted her lips as if she had won some sort of challenge and now awaited her prize.
“Someone didn’t mind,” Sebastian said, pulling away from her and stuffing his cock back in his pajama pants.
She whimpered as soon as he tucked his dick out of sight. Her shoulders visibly relaxed and she dropped her head, thrusting her bottom toward Wyatt as if she expected another spanking.
Instead of giving her what she perhaps wanted and expected, Wyatt helped her to her feet. “We never finished the interview process. We also didn’t discuss our plans for you.”
“First, you’ll take time to freshen up,” Sebastian told her, directing her to the bathroom.
Wyatt said, “Take a hot bath or shower. Leave the door open.”
“Okay, Sir,” she rasped, the need and longing already evident in her voice. “Can I look and see what Ansley packed?”
Wyatt grinned. “No. There are towels in the linen closet. Choose any color you like.”
* * * *
Kimberly wasn’t surprised when they entered the bathroom a few minutes after she stepped in the tub. She hid under the bubbles, relaxing against the headrest.
“Kimberly, we need to ask you a question,” Sebastian began. “Do you know what it means to be a sex slave? There are significant differences between a sex slave and a submissive.”
“Of course,” she r
eplied.
“Why don’t you tell us in your own words how you differentiate the two,” Wyatt suggested.
Kimberly closed her eyes and enjoyed the hot soak. “At Clink we see more couples committed to Domination and submission. If you’ve frequented sex clubs then you know from viewing random couples that it isn’t all that uncommon to see subs abuse their safe words.”
“I would agree there,” Sebastian said.
“I don’t think a submissive woman has the need for safe words if her Dominant is totally in tune with her needs and desires as well as her limitations and reservations. He won’t push her beyond her limitations for fear he could bring her physical or emotional harm. He won’t introduce mechanisms she views as distasteful or unappealing because he wants her pleasure-pain to be a rewarding experience for both Dom and sub.”
“Look at me,” Sebastian said, sitting next to the tub.
She turned her head toward him.
“You sound as if you’ve thought about this a lot. Wyatt and I were somewhat surprised when you led us to believe you want more than a typical Dom-sub relationship.”
“I know what I want and I’m a good judge of character after spending years with someone who didn’t appreciate me. Now if you talk to my family, they’ll tell you something different I’m sure, but this is me being honest with you.
“I kept going back to Jason for several reasons and many of them interchangeable at various points during my life.”
“Tell us about that,” Wyatt said.
Kimberly shifted. When she moved, the bubbles parted and the men towering over her stared down at her body. A wave of white-hot arousal washed over her as she watched them.
“You want the whole story and I’ll give it to you, but only with provisions.”
Sebastian stuck his index finger up in the air. “This is what I mean. You’re defiant one minute with conditions even new Doms wouldn’t allow. The next, you tell us you won’t settle for submission alone. You want to be a Dom’s sex slave.”
“And I do,” she assured him. “But you didn’t pay attention. I will only submit once someone earns the right to accept that submission. When I know it’s right and someone earns my trust and promises to work just as hard to keep that trust, I will honor and service him because then he has proven he is suited for me as my Master.”
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