“Can you find out? I mean, I just don’t know what to do at this point—”
“She can’t stay inside forever. We have a camera on the house and a GPS tracker on her car. So if she leaves, we’ll know. We’re hoping something happens this weekend,” the detective explained. “Do you think it’s possible she and your partner are having an affair?”
Luke scoffed. The very idea was completely ludicrous. “My wife has medical issues.” He was sure he’d shared this information already. “She cannot have sex, so I’m not sure she’s even capable of having an affair.”
“An emotional affair?” Calvin suggested, his broad shoulders lifting into a shrug.
“I can’t imagine what Jim would want with her,” Luke said. It was the most farfetched thing he’d ever heard of. This was all turning out to be much stranger and more convoluted than he ever imagined.
“You’ve gotten your accounts and everything straightened out? Battened down the hatches?” Calvin asked. Luke nodded. “Do you have other assets that need to be protected? I’m assuming both of your names are on the house. What about vehicles? Any other properties?”
“My lawyer and I went over all that when I met with him yesterday.” Luke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So I guess this is really happening, huh?”
Calvin’s lips curled into a small smile. “Well, something is happening for sure. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of it soon. In the meantime, please lay low. Go through your daily routines as normal. Maintaining the status quo is the name of the game, alright?”
“Yes, sir,” Luke agreed. “That sounds like a solid plan.”
Luke arrived at The Factory before anyone else but Cap, Bry and Tam. The trio was waiting in the lobby, all sipping drinks from plastic red cups. “Hey, I bet I need to start off with one of those as well,” he said with a smile.
“It’s great to see you again.” Brian stood up from the sofa and approached with an outstretched hand. Tam stood up as well and made her way over to plant a soft kiss on Luke’s cheek.
“We’ve got things set up in the dungeon,” Cap announced. “I have some other stuff to do upstairs. Leah’s coming in later, and if I don’t make it through my honey-do list, there’s gonna be hell to pay.”
Everyone laughed as Cap winked and headed up the stairs to the office.
“Did you get a chance to read the books we recommended?” Bry questioned once they were alone.
“Yes, one of them,” Luke answered. “Been reading that this week. Really interesting stuff.”
“Good.” He turned to his wife. “Tam—why don’t you go get Luke a drink?”
“Of course. What’ll you have?”
“Whiskey sour, please.” Luke smiled at her with gratitude before turning back to Bry.
“So you know domination is really all about your mindset. Everything starts with what’s going on up here.” He pointed to his head. “Your voice, demeanor, the way you carry yourself: all of that is used to establish and convey dominance.”
Tam came back with Luke’s drink and handed it to him with a smile, then she turned toward her husband. “Anything else, Sir?”
“Go ahead down to the dungeon, kneel in the center of the floor and wait for us.”
“Yes, Master,” she said solemnly and then did as instructed.
“Do you practice this all the time?” Luke had so many questions, it was hard to know where to begin.
“We do, yes,” Bry said, “but, of course, you can also just roleplay. It’s really up to you and your submissives to decide whether you want to do it only in the bedroom or as a lifestyle. That’s the really great thing about BDSM...it can be whatever you and your partners decide. You choose the kinks, the punishments, the limits, the parameters—all of it.”
Bry went on to share some more details with him, but Luke’s mind began to wander. His brain was conflicted about whether to devote its attention to Bry, to the information he’d just learned at Calvin’s office, or to thinking about Connie. Guess which one is going to win out? he predicted with a smile as his thoughts slid over to Connie, her gorgeous smile and ocean-blue eyes.
Before he knew it, Bry was ushering him down the hall to the dungeon and telling him what to expect from the workshop, which would be taking place before the club opened for its regular Friday night party. Luke thought Connie was going to arrive a few minutes before the workshop was scheduled to begin so they’d be able to discuss what he’d learned from the detective, but so far she was a no show. He kept glancing down at his watch and wishing he hadn’t left his phone in the car.
“You okay?” Bry asked him as a crowd of people began to filter through the front doors of the club. Cap and Leah were both there, as were Calvin and Paisley. He also saw Sirena and Jessie standing in the back talking to Casey.
Casey, Luke thought. Need to talk to her. “Yeah, sorry, I was just wondering where my—”
He stopped.
My what?
“Uh...friend...went,” he finished.
“Oh, okay. Is she coming for the workshop?” Bry questioned.
“I thought so, but I haven’t seen her. Her sister is over there, though. Mind if I go check and see if she’s seen her?”
“Of course, be my guest,” Bry said, making a sweeping gesture with his arm.
Luke nodded and headed over to where Casey was animatedly telling a story to the two younger females. He had to wait for the conversation to die down before leaning in to interrupt. “Hey,” he said, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.
“Hey, Luke, how goes it?” Casey slapped him on the back, her full crimson lips spread in a grin.
“We better go see if Paisley needs any help,” Sirena said, seeming to understand Luke wanted to have a private conversation. As the two women walked away, Luke noticed Jessie grabbed her girlfriend’s ass. He chuckled under his breath at the sight. He couldn’t blame her. Sirena had a very nice derrière.
“What’s up?” Casey’s expression seemed to relay that she knew something was, in fact, up.
“Where’s Connie? I thought she was going to be here.”
Casey’s eyebrows flew up, and she shook her head. “I haven’t talked to her since yesterday.” Then she smiled again, her blue eyes sparkling at whatever thought she was getting ready to share. “By the way, she told me about Tuesday night. Sounds like you are quite the stud, Dr. Cannon!”
He wanted to bask in the glow of her compliment, even though it was weird coming from his lover’s sister, but he was too concerned about Connie’s whereabouts. “Do you mind texting her or something? I left my phone in the car, and we’re about to start this thing. They’re waiting for me.”
“I’m sure she’s fine and on her way,” Casey said, “but I can text her if that’ll make you happy.”
He let out a little puff of air. “It would make me very happy.” He wrung his hands together as he glanced down at his watch again and then to the entrance of the club. He still didn’t see her. Now his fears from earlier in the week and what he’d learned from Calvin were all starting to breed in his imagination, producing a mutant race of baby fears that were vivid and sharp, poking into all the corners of his mind.
He saw Bry gesture for him from the hallway leading to the play rooms. He had a pleasant smile on his face, but Luke knew he’d get annoyed if there were any delays in starting the workshop. He might try to turn his paddle on me, he half-joked. “Okay, thanks for your help. I have to go.”
Casey grabbed his hand right before he could make an escape. “I’m sure she’s okay. Don’t worry about her.”
He forced a smile and disappeared through the throng of people.
“So these are some tools that you can use for discipline. We have a flogger, a crop, a whip, a paddle.” Bry held up each item as he named it. “We’re going to have our Dom-in-Training use these on Tam now so you can get an idea of the different sensations they can produce. Then we can take volunteers from the audience to try if you’d like.”
He handed Luke the flogger, which had a black braided leather handle and black and purple leather strips fanning off the end. He turned it over in his hand, feeling the way it moved, the leather bits swirling and twirling, awaiting their deployment.
“You can start with light strokes, which will bring all the blood to the surface of your sub’s skin. Tam, lean over the bench here with that beautiful ass in the air.”
“Yes, Sir.” She happily complied, presenting her full, round cheeks to face the audience.
Luke tested it out, letting the tails of the flogger lightly slap the top of Tam’s cheek. She groaned just a little bit, so he did it a few more times, a bit harder. Bry removed the flogger from his hand, gave him the crop and some instructions, then let him loose. Finally, he replaced the crop with the paddle, again presented some tips before allowing Luke to practice with it.
Luke enjoyed seeing how each implement elicited a slightly different reaction from the sub and left a different mark. Her bottom was now streaked with red prints, and knowing he put them there was a thrill. Bry asked for volunteers from the audience, and Luke turned around to notice a flash of blonde pushing her way through the crowd.
It was Connie.
“I volunteer,” she said with a devilish smirk on her face.
Luke’s heart almost beat right out of his chest. He had no idea Connie had actually arrived, though now that she was near him, his heart rate had picked up considerably. He still held the paddle in his hand and had a vision of it smacking against Connie’s delicate flesh. He couldn’t wait to hear her squeal when it struck her backside.
“Can you lift up your skirt?” Bry asked as Tam stood up from the bench to give her space to Connie.
Luke’s eyes bulged at the sight of his lover wearing a skirt, which he had never seen her in before. It was black, made of a stretchy yet flouncy material that didn’t quite reach her knees. She was wearing a sparkly pink camisole on top made out of a satiny material and sequins that clung to her curves. And on top of that was a cropped black sweater. When he looked closer, he noticed her blonde hair was curled, flipped up on the ends, and she had on makeup that made her look like a 1940s pin-up.
Casey had blatantly lied about her sister’s whereabouts; there was no doubt in his mind. She looked like she had given her little sister a makeover, complete with a bright pink pout painted on her lips. She looked so different in such feminine attire than she did in her normal scrubs or even the black capri pants and jeans he’d gotten used to seeing her in. He wasn’t sure why, but seeing her dressed like that made the dominant beast he was slowly revealing prowl to the surface, ready to pounce on her delicious body.
The paddle landed on her ass with a crack, and she only let out a soft grunt. He repeated it, harder, and this time he was rewarded with a deep moan. He wanted to make her scream, so he tried again.
“Ahhh!” she cried out.
His cock was instantly hard.
Where did this side of him come from? He had never experienced this with Barbara or with any of the women he was with before her, though there weren’t very many. Connie looked over her shoulder at him with a smug little grin on her face.
“Keep your eyes straight ahead,” he growled at her.
She complied but didn’t answer him verbally.
“You must answer ‘Yes, Sir’ or ‘Yes, Master,’” he corrected her.
When she failed to speak, he landed another blow with the paddle on the other cheek. In seconds, a deep crimson outline of the paddle appeared to match the mark on the other side.
Later that night, Bry and Tam congratulated him on a successful workshop. “I think you and your sub are off to a good start,” Bry observed.
Connie was across the room, speaking with Casey and Paisley completely out of earshot of their conversation. Her face was glowing as if it were backlit by a full moon.
“Thank you,” Luke said, grasping Tam’s hand within both of his and squeezing it tenderly. He repeated the same gesture with Bry’s. “I really appreciate getting to be a part of this. This community is really turning out to be so much more than I ever thought it could be. I feel honored to be included.”
They both smiled and nodded, then Tam gave him a kiss on the cheek while Bry turned to address some questions a few ladies in the audience had. Luke headed over to the trio, amusing himself with how striking they looked with their blonde, auburn and brunette heads all framing exquisitely made-up faces. As soon as Connie noticed him, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly as she jerked him down to be eye-level with her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing the surprised looks on her sister and Paisley’s faces.
She pulled him down further and, with a finger under his chin, tilted his head so she could whisper in his ear. “You have to take care of me.”
The desperate tone in her voice stiffened his cock all over again. “Whatever do you mean?”
“I need to come... I’m—come on, Luke, you know what I need.” She pulled away from him long enough to give him a knowing look.
“That’s ‘Sir’ to you,” he retorted.
The next thing he knew, she was dragging him down the hall to another playroom...
TWELVE
Sex without love is as hollow and ridiculous as love without sex. ― Hunter S. Thompson
The sun was ascending over the Eastern Shore in a golden arc bursting through cotton candy clouds. They could not have asked for better weather for The Factory’s inaugural pool party. Two lifeguards, one on each side, perched in their red suits reminiscent of Baywatch. Luke still wasn’t sure where they’d found two lifestyle-friendly guards, but he trusted Cap and Leah had done their due diligence in hiring them.
He’d arrived a little late to the party, wanting to make sure Alfie was walked and fed before taking off for the afternoon. Despite all the unanswered questions and things left hanging over him, he wasn’t going to let any of those dark clouds block the sunlight of this otherwise glorious day.
“Hey, you,” Connie said, sliding next to him at the edge of the pool where he had his feet dangling over the edge and soaking in the water. Every once in a while, the group playing volleyball at the shallow end would send a splash in his direction, and a few drops of cool water would land higher up on his shins and thighs. It was a welcome relief when the high was expected to be eighty-five degrees.
He turned to drink in the image of his girl. Not only was she hot as hell in her neon pink bikini, but he marveled at the way he thought of her. He couldn’t remember thinking of Barbara as “his girl,” not even at the beginning of their relationship.
It was more like they met, went out on a few dates, and then succumbed to societal and familial pressures to go through the whole expected spiel: engagement, a big wedding, and popping out two children. It was all scripted, and she was the woman playing the role of wife and mother, while he was cast as husband and father.
He’d actually convinced himself early on that he loved her. But that illusion had eroded more and more over the past decade, and now he was left with the sour taste of knowing he’d been wrong. Dead wrong. Nothing illuminated that more than meeting Connie. Every time he saw her, he longed to have her closer. Three inches away from him, as she was right now, was too far.
“Hi, beautiful,” he sang out to her, not caring if he sounded too invested. His life had already taken a 180-degree turn in the past two weeks, and he could either embrace it or be filled with dread about what might happen next. Though he did have momentary episodes of panic, for the most part, he was sticking to the “embracing it” thing.
“What’s a sexy man like you doing in a place like this?” she quipped, resting her hand on his knee.
“Just waiting for a sexy woman like you to come along.” He was wearing sunglasses, so she probably couldn’t tell that he was mentally stripping that bikini right off her.
She sighed as she dipped her toes into the water. “That’s...uh...brisk!” She giggled as he prete
nded like he was going to pick her up and throw her in. “If I end up freezing in that water, it’s your responsibility to warm me up again!”
“I think that’s a risk I may be willing to assume!” He slid into the water, but they were in the deep end, so he couldn’t quite reach bottom with his feet. All the hair on his body bristled as he struggled to adjust to the frigid temperature. He reached out to grab her leg then dragged her into the water and his embrace.
“Damn it!” she shouted. “Well, there goes my hair and makeup!”
“Who cares about that? I just want you close to me.”
As he pulled her closer to him, she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Did you miss me already?”
He nodded, treading water so he could keep them afloat. “I really wanted to stay the night with you last night, but Calvin advised against it.”
“I know. We’ve got to be careful,” she agreed. “So you haven’t heard anything else?”
“Nope.” He shook his head for emphasis. “I don’t really expect Calvin to be back in touch till Monday. But I still can’t imagine why Barbara would be at Jim’s beach house.”
Connie shrugged. “I know I haven’t been at the office very long, but he’s hardly spoken to me. He did mention his wife and that he has three sons. How old is he?”
“He’s actually a few years younger than me,” Luke answered, “because I got a late start to medical school. He started a bit late too, but not as late as me. Two of his kids are still here, still in high school, I’m pretty sure.”
“That’s definitely strange. You have the address, right? We could drive over there and see what’s up?” she suggested.
“Are you kidding? That sounds like a terrible idea.” He chuckled. “I have a better idea though.”
“What’s that?”
“This.” With her hanging on to his body, he glided to where he could reach the bottom of the pool. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her like he didn’t care that there was a pool full of people watching them. Because he didn’t.
Turning the Tide (Eastern Shore Swingers, #5) Page 14