To my shock, the parking lot at the club is full, and when I say full, I mean cars are parked in the grass, on the street, everywhere. What in the hell is going on? “Is there something special going on tonight?”
All Boone says is, “Yep.”
Oh, shit. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with us, would it?”
“Yep.”
Now I’m getting worried. “Boone, what are you up to?”
He’s quiet for a couple of seconds, but then I feel the air in the Rover shift. “Submissive, you’ll not question your Dominant. Am I understood?”
I feel that fear backing down and resting in the pit of my stomach, replaced by the trust I have for him. “Yes, Master. I understand.”
“Good. Don’t worry. I’m going to explain everything to you, and I have a surprise for you too. You have nothing to worry about. Do you trust me?”
“Absolutely, Master.”
“Good. Then, as I said, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Yes, Master.”
There’s a space up by the door marked off by orange cones and when we pull up near it, Boone flashes the Rover’s headlights. Two guys standing outside the door move the cones and we pull right in. Holy shit. Whatever this is, it’s big. As soon as the SUV comes to a stop, Boone’s out, opening my door and helping me down. As I stand and wait, he grabs a bag from the back seat and we head inside.
The place is packed, but the crowd parts as we walk in. To my surprise, we walk all the way to the back and he opens the door to one of the private rooms. When it closes, he points to the bed. “Have a seat. We need to talk.”
“Yes, Master.” Now I’m getting scared again. There’s no way for me to even guess what this is about.
“First, I have something for you.” From inside the bag he’s carried in he produces an envelope. “It’s a contract. I want you to read it and if there’s anything you want to change, we’ll talk about it.”
There are dozens of people out front. “Right now, Master?”
A chuckle rolls from his throat. “They’re not going anywhere! They’re waiting for the show, and if they really want to see it, they’ll wait until we’re ready. Go ahead. Read it.”
My hands are shaking as I pull the paper from the envelope and unfold it. It starts out like a standard contract, but it goes on into expectations for my behavior with his family. Then it turns more domestic. There are points for my dress, attitude, behavior, and the things that will be expected of me. Part of it deals with expectations regarding sex and, honestly, they’re pretty simple. Have it when he wants. Have it when I want. Don’t disrupt each other’s lives with it but do plan to be inconvenienced occasionally when the urge strikes. If there’s a dispute over an act, his discretion is in play. That’s not unusual. I’m to call him Sir in general speech and Master when we’re engaging in anything to do with the lifestyle. I can live with that. And he’s picked the name he wants to give me.
Angel. He’s called me that several times before, and now I know why. I love it when he says it to me. It makes me feel special, like there’s no one else he’d say that to. Now I know why―he won’t. That’s his name for me, and he’ll never call anyone else that.
I notice that several of the things he’s listed have asterisks after them, and I wonder what that’s about. When I get to the bottom, the explanation is there, and it almost knocks me off the edge of the bed.
*All items denoted with an asterisk are negotiable until said time as Master and submissive are married. At that time, they will be enforced.
“Anything you see a problem with?” he asks from across the room where he’s leaning against a cabinet.
“Nope. Nothing,” I whisper, then fold the paper and slip it into the envelope. “Do you want me to sign it now?”
“No. We’ll do that later, formally and privately. Right now I needed to have you see that so you know my intentions toward you. I also need to explain to you what’s going to happen tonight.” As he’s talking, he’s walking toward me, and when he reaches me, he sits down beside me. “When we walk out into the commons area tonight, it will look very different. There will be little in the way of light. Our performance area will be lit only with a couple of candles … and my torch.” My wandering thoughts screech to a halt and focus. “There will be a video camera set up. Everything we do tonight will be recorded so we can watch it later, and so the others can have it to reference. I’m actually teaching tonight, Angel. I’ll be teaching fire play, and you’ll be my assistant.”
Fire play. I’ve heard about it, but no one here has ever done it, at least not that I’m aware. Dave never allowed anything like that, and Brian’s not too crazy about it. This has to be something he’s very, very skilled in and has proof of that skill. I have some questions, and I have to ask them for my own peace of mind. “Master, there are things I really need to ask you.”
“I’ll entertain them.”
“I take it you’ve done this before.”
“I have.”
“Often? Extensively?”
“Yes. Quite often before I met Marie. Matter of fact, before I was ever married, Blake let us go with him when he took Misti to clubs around the Birmingham area so we would have someone to play with safely. I learned fire play from an old Dominant down there who really knew his stuff. Since then, I’ve learned more, and a lot of what I learned is safer than what he taught me. Tonight you’ll get the benefit of all that. But first, here.” He turns and picks up something―a shot glass of clear liquid. “You need to drink this. I want you to drink two. You need to be relaxed before we do this.”
He hands me the shot glass and I gulp it down, followed by sputtering and coughing. God, that shit is strong. “What is this?”
“Moonshine from down home. Here. Another one.” He holds out another shot glass.
“I don’t think I can,” I tell him, my eyes still watering.
“Yes. You can and you will. Do it.” I take it and throw it back with the same results. “I need to know―have you ever had a bad experience with fire in any way?”
“No, Master.” Something in my head screams, Not until now! but I just push it down.
“Now, undress. Go in the bathroom and wet down your hair―thoroughly. Then wrap it in a towel and put on this robe.” The robe he hands me is beautiful, a pale peach silk with fine embroidery all over it. “From this point on, this will be your only fetwear. When we come to the club, you’ll be expected to wear that until we scene, and underneath you’ll wear nothing. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Master,” I tell him and undress as he watches. The moonshine is starting to take effect and I’m feeling a little lighter, so I step into the bathroom and stick my head in the shower. A little squeal escapes as the cold water hits my head, but I wet it down very well, then wipe off the water that’s hit my skin and twist a towel around my hair. Finally, I wrap the robe around me and tie the sash.
“Ready?” he asks and reaches for my hand as I exit the bathroom.
“Ready.” With my hand in his, I feel strong, like I can do this. I know I can. And I know he will never, never hurt me.
I’m shocked to find that even the hallway has been darkened. There’s enough light to navigate it, but that’s about it. We’re joined at the head of the hallway by Brian, and I have to wonder what that’s about. Then I realize the bar is shut down. That means he’s going to be doing something in conjunction with our scene. I just don’t know what.
I get an even bigger surprise when we reach the platform―Dave’s there. As I near him, he steps up to me and kisses me on both cheeks, then Brian does the same. Instead of the regular bondage horse or table, there’s something that looks like a massage table in the middle of the room, and it’s covered with some kind of white cloth. Boone leans in toward me and whispers, “Submissive, robe off and lie face down on the table.” I drop my robe and the towel on my hair and Brian scoops them up while Dave helps me onto the table. Once I’m there, my face in a cradl
e, I feel hands working to bind my ankles and wrists. Another band secures my thighs and I’m immobile.
Before too long, Brian appears in my line of vision, sitting on the floor and looking up at me through the hole in the cradle. He leans in and whispers, “Melina, I’m here for you if you need me. If you get scared or anxious, just tell me and we’ll talk it through, but you’re in no danger, babe. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I thought there was anything that could go wrong. Boone loves you. He’s going to be very careful. He gave you some liquor, right?”
“Yes, sir.” I’m not drunk at all, but I do feel warm and relaxed.
“That’ll help. Dave’s going to be assisting him so he’ll have enough hands.” He glances up and away, then turns back to me. “Okay, he’s getting ready to tell everybody what’s going on. We’ve got to be quiet and listen.” With that, he turns from me and I hear Boone start to speak.
“Good evening, club members and guests. My name is Master Boone and tonight I’ll be doing a demonstration of advanced fire play. Fire play has ancient roots, but these days we use far more modern methods. I first learned about fire play while I was in college at the University of Alabama―”
“Roll Tide!” I hear somebody in the audience yell out.
“Roll Tide!” Boone calls back and everybody laughs. “Guess I’m not the only Alabama boy in the room tonight!” That gets more laughter. “But yeah, we had a club on campus, albeit a very covert one. Seriously, as much trouble as they have with the fraternities, can you see us trying to explain that? Our college careers would’ve been over before they started! Anyway, we were fortunate that we had some older members from the community who came in and mentored us or we probably would’ve killed a few submissives. Yeah, we were that green. But we had good intentions, and they taught us a lot. I was lucky that my dad and some of my uncles were good mentors. I come from a long lineage of Dominants and submissives. It’s a family tradition for us. So as I came up through the ranks, one of the things that really caught my interest was fire play. It’s a highly specialized field. I enjoy shibari, torture, wax play, all of those things, but I truly love fire play. Tonight all I can realistically show you is the most basic components, but if anyone would like to learn more and there’s enough interest, I’d be glad to teach a workshop at a later date. Until then, enjoy our scene. Master Dave and Master Brian will be assisting me, as will my lovely submissive. Most of you know her as Melina, but for me, the name I’ve given her out of my love for her is Angel.” I feel his warm palm on the small of my back as I lie there, and it fills me with love and hope. He’s just declared his love for me in front of dozens of people.
“Melina?” Brian whispers, and I stare at him as best I can. “Boone will be giving instructions. You need to listen to him, but if you start to feel panicky, just look at me and tell me. You say the word ‘help’ and I’ll be right here. Got it?” I try to nod but it’s difficult. “It’s okay. I know. Just relax and try to enjoy it. I hear it’s fun once you’re used to it.” Easy for you to say! my brain shrieks. In seconds, the smell of something burning fills the air, and I see a flickering light begin to glow. “That’s just the torch, honey. He has to have it. It’s okay,” Brian whispers to me.
Then I hear Boone’s voice. “This is flash paper. It’s very easy to use. It has the same properties as the flash cotton I’m about to use.” There’s silence for a second and then a murmur in the audience. “Now I’ll use the flash cotton. It’s not expensive, but I make my own because in doing so, I can control the chemicals used. I want to do that for the safety of my submissive.” I can feel him touching my spine in little intervals down my back from my shoulder blades down to my waist. “Watch closely or you’ll miss it. This happens very fast.” There are brief little sensations of pin pricks down my spine and the crowd is murmuring and whispering. It’s followed by the feeling of something warm and wet wiping downward and something dry following it. “I always wipe off my submissive’s skin and dry it before switching to a different kind of fire play.” That didn’t hurt at all.
“Now we’ll move on to something different. This is alcohol, just regular isopropyl alcohol that you can buy at the drugstore. Seventy percent. And this is a dual-head torch. I had this one made special for me. We use fire-retardant cotton on the torch, and it’s soaked in the alcohol before we start working. There are a lot of different ways to do this, so I’ll show you a few.” I sort of brace myself, but nothing happens, and then I hear his voice in my ear. “Angel, you okay, baby?”
It’s surprising to me the emotion I feel when I whisper back, “Yes, Master. Fine, Master.”
“Good. Watch Master Brian if you need anything. He’s there for you even if I can’t hear you. Here we go, babe. Trust me.”
“I do,” I croak back, and I almost start to cry when I feel him plant a little kiss at the base of my neck.
“In case you’re all wondering, her hair is soaked because hair ignites very quickly. While I don’t anticipate a problem, this is purely a safety step, and one I’d advise you to take. And now, we begin.”
Something cold and wet is dragged across my back, followed by a warmth and the touch of his hand. It happens over and over, and I find the rhythm comforting. There are oohs and ahhs from the crowd, and I’m proud to be part of this. My Master is showing off his expertise, and I’m included in his skillset. No one can know how happy that makes me.
Next, I feel his hand touch me here and there and I have no idea what that’s about, but everybody is commenting again, so I know it must be spectacular. “No, it doesn’t burn my hand. If I held it long enough, it would, but I’m not doing that. And no, it doesn’t burn when I swipe it out. If you’re afraid to do that, wet your hand before you do so.” It goes on for a few minutes. “Of note here … If you’re a Dominatrix, or someone who likes to wear nail polish of any type, do not wear it while doing this. Nail polish is very flammable. That’s one of the reasons they don’t allow it in culinary arts school or in a surgical suite during surgery. If you’re wearing it and you want to do fire play, take it off and scrub your nails thoroughly. It’s actually better if you wait until the next day before doing fire play. I can’t stress this enough. Great way to get hurt if you aren’t careful.” It gets quiet and, once again, I feel the warmth and wetness followed by the drag of what I think is a towel on my skin. “It’s important to remove any residue before moving forward. Also, know that alcohol will pool in depressions or crevices on the body, such as a dip in the small of the back or the cleft of the buttocks. That can be very dangerous, so know where the alcohol is going and where it’s been at all times.”
Tears are dripping from my face and I catch Brian glancing at me. “You okay, babe?”
“Uh-huh,” I whisper back.
His brow wrinkles. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m happy.”
He reaches out a hand and strokes his thumb down my cheek. “Good. I’m so glad. Boone’s crazy about you, sweetie. Just stick with him, you hear me?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” I sputter.
That warm breath returns to my ear. “You okay, Angel?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good. Liking it so far?”
“Oh, yes! Thank you for letting me do this, Master! I’m so happy!” I whisper to him, trying hard not to sob.
“Nobody else for me to do it with. You’re stuck with me, baby.” This time, he kisses the base of my neck but he also pats my butt, and that makes me smile.
Somebody in the audience says something and I hear Dave say, “Master Boone will be glad to answer any questions you have afterward, but for now, we need quiet to work. Thanks.”
“Now we’ll move to the flash cotton. There are ways to use this other than just a little ball. It can be strung out in sheets like this,” he says, and I can feel him moving around, something light as a feather falling on my skin. There’s a flash of warmth and the room buzzes. “Or you can do this.” Now I wonder what he’s doing, and I
can feel something on my skin. It’s obvious there’s some kind of pattern to it. In seconds, I feel the sting of heat as it travels across my back and I’m wondering what that was. Oddly, there’s clapping. “Yes, that took a bit of work. I’m no yarn spinner, so it took me a little while, but you can eventually work the cotton into something that looks like string and draw nice patterns with it. What you can’t see from where you are is the small amount of redness this caused on my submissive’s skin. Once again, make sure all chemicals and residue are gone before you move on to something else.” Wetness washes across me again, followed by the towel. “This, however, is my favorite,” Boone says, and I get the distinct impression he’s about to do something completely different.
I glance at Brian and whisper to him. “Pssst.”
“What’s wrong, babe?”
“Am I burned?” This is kinda scary to me. I can’t see what’s going on and I’ve been here for a while. And there’s a little stinging in my skin. I don’t know if that’s supposed to happen.
“No, babe. You’re a little pink, but you’re not burned. He’s almost finished. Just one more demonstration. Gonna be okay?”
“Uh-huh. Yeah. I think so.” But I can see him looking to Boone.
And there’s that warm breath in my ear again, making me smile. “Hey, baby. You okay?”
One of the tenets of the lifestyle―honestly. “Um, I’m a little scared.”
“This is the end, and it’s pretty simple and safe. It’ll be fine. Is that all right?”
“My back is stinging,” I tell him.
“I know. But it’s pretty, and it’s not really burned. Just kinda like a mild sunburn, that’s all. This will probably make it feel better. You ready?”
Stammering, I answer, “Uh, yes, um, yes, Sir. I mean, Master. Oh, god.” Fear is clutching me to its spiny breastbone and I’m growing more terrified by the minute.
“Don’t fail me now, Angel. You’re the best submissive I’ve ever met. You can do this, I know you can. Just a few more minutes and we’ll take care of all of this, okay?”
Undeniably His: Bliss Series, Book Five Page 15