The coat fell away and I didn’t think about it any more. Suddenly and fiercely, I was exposed. And afraid. I hadn’t thought very much about this moment, not really. And now it was here.
The man in the black-on-black-on-black took the coat from Cherise and then eyed me slowly, up and down. It wasn’t leering, but appraising and appreciative.
‘Lovely choice,’ he said.
‘Isn’t she?’ Cherise touched my cheek with her fingertips, a soft stroke of appreciation.
‘Are you ready for this?’ she asked. ‘Last chance to turn back.’
‘I’m ready,’ I said. I had no idea if that was true. My knees were shaking, and this time I knew it wasn’t from cold. Cherise took hold of the leash and looped it loosely over her wrist.
Then she leaned in and kissed me, that kind of kiss that leaves you breathless and panting even as it’s happening. Her lips were soft as velvet, cherry and peaches, her tongue a soft invitation to go deeper, to lean in and lose myself in the depths of her. I shivered slightly when she pulled away, her pale eyes unseeing, and yet, I knew, seeing some part of me, something that I wasn’t entirely sure I’d seen myself.
‘Down, girl,’ Cherise said.
I stood for a few moments, uncertain. Part of me – the aroused part, the turned-on part, the excited part – wanted to do as she said. To just get down on my hands and knees, to be her dog, to lead her around, to be naked in front of everyone. The rest of me, all of the rest of me, oh my fuck the entire rest of me, wanted to run screaming back to somewhere, anywhere else.
I’d left Leather Bound so far behind, hadn’t I? It felt like it. It felt like all of those miles between there and here were far longer than they seemed, and we’d entered another galaxy, another dimension, a Twilight Zone place where nothing was as it appeared to be and I would never be able to go back. And if I could go back, if I returned to my old life, would they remember me there? Would they look at me and say, ‘Who are you? I’m sorry, I’ve never seen you before in my life’? All pictures of me would have disappeared; even Davian would be shaking his head, giving me that ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know you’ smile. Like some kind of bizarre Twilight Zone.
‘Janine?’ It was the first time I’d heard Cherise say my name in a while, and it brought me back into the moment. My real life was far away, yes, but it wasn’t gone. It was just waiting, on hold, until I figured this out. And that was OK, wasn’t it? This was me, standing there, in a foyer, wearing nothing but leather and rope, under the control of a blind woman, a stranger who’d finger-fucked me in her living room and was now getting ready to parade me around like a show dog in a room full of people I’d never met. All so I could find a book for a man that I was, what? Falling for? Maybe.
Was I really and truly OK with this? Yes.
Not only that, I was aroused by the idea. I knew I was already wet. I could feel myself dampening the ropes between my legs, could feel the heated lust rolling off my body, already beginning to take over the anxiety. This was no different than what I’d done before. With Davian.
OK, it was entirely different. But I could do it. I could.
Slowly, I lowered myself to my knees and then to all fours. The perfectly pressed pants of the man who’d let us in. The shoes of the others who’d come in and left them behind. Cherise’s tall heels. It was different down here, but somehow exciting.
Cherise moved to kneel in front of me. Her hands caressed the collar at my neck and I heard the jingle of metal, something I couldn’t see.
‘You’ll need a name while you’re here,’ Cherise said. My collar shifted and then I heard the sound of a click as she attached something to it. ‘So everyone knows what to call you.’
I expected her to tell me what it said, but she didn’t. Instead she stood and gave the leash a soft tug. ‘Let’s go,’ she said.
The man in black opened the door for us, and I led us through. The carpet was soft pile, plush and thick, cushioning my way. I had never thought of being glad of a carpet until that very moment.
Inside, the main room was filled with people. Some were on their hands and knees, or sitting patiently on their haunches, clearly waiting for their master’s command. Some of them even wore collars attached to leather or chain leashes. But it was clear from first glance that I was the only one in the room who was playing at being a dog. So much for being discreet.
Those who weren’t waiting were already tangled in piles, kissing and licking at each other. Soft grunts and groans were mixed with murmured pleas, and everywhere the sound of skin meeting skin whetted my senses.
As we walked in, a number of guests turned to look at us. Men and women fully dressed, and clearly seeing me. Some eyed me for a long time, not leering but definitely appraising. Smiling at me as though they clearly approved of the view.
I balked, pulling back behind Cherise, suddenly trying to hide. Why had I stupidly assumed that everyone would be blind here, that no one would be able to see me in this getup? I’d even assumed that everyone else would be a dog. I bonked hard against Cherise’s leg, felt her wobbling slightly in her heels. Her fingers tightened on the leash, not in anger but in an attempt to right herself from my jostling.
Damn it. I could do this. I could.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, forcing myself to come back to centre. If I needed to be on display to get what I wanted, then I would do that. Let them look. Let them think I was crazy or awful, let them remark on my body, let them think what they would. The one thing I wouldn’t let them think was that I was scared, that I was ashamed, that I wanted to roll up in a ball and die of my own cowardice. Which, of course, was what I really wanted to do.
Instead, I opened my eyes and lifted my head. I shifted myself away from my hiding place against Cherise’s leg and lifted my butt into the air. I could feel Cherise grow steadier as I did, and when I craned my neck to glance up at her – dear God, how did dogs do this all the time? They must have far more flexible necks than I did – I saw that she was smiling, the corners of her red mouth curled up as she lifted her own head. OK, I could do this. For me. For her. For Davian.
A pair of legs approached, clad in perfectly pressed dark jeans and a pair of well-shined leather shoes. Funny the things you noticed about people at this level.
‘Cherise, how lovely to see you. And who’s this new girl? She’s delightful.’ A hand reached down and gently touched my hair. I leaned into the soft touch almost instinctively. Everything felt good. My body was alive with electricity, with arousal, with the newness of it all. If I was going to do this, then I was going to do it all the way. No half-assed job for me, dammit.
Cherise murmured something I didn’t quite hear, and then a face appeared in front of me. Dark hair, pale-blue eyes, the kind of smile that is disarming and wicked all at once. ‘Well, hello there, little one,’ the face said. ‘Let me see what to call you…’
He plucked the tag on my collar between his fingers and read it to himself. His laugh was strong and beautiful, a cry of delight.
‘Hussy,’ he murmured. My face flushed, my cheeks going hot and prickly. Was that really what my tag said? Hussy? ‘That seems apropos,’ he said. He looked up at Cherise, one hand stroking me gently under my chin. ‘Are you planning to share your lovely pup with the rest of use, Cheri, or is she just for you this time?’
Again, Cherise murmured something that I couldn’t make out. If I had had real dog ears I would have perked them just to try and hear better. As it was, all I could do was turn my head sideways, but that didn’t help much.
The man responded with another laugh, and then his face lifted out of my view, leaving only his jeans and shoes again.
On one of the couches a man lounged, his arm along the back of the cushions. At his feet rested a woman wearing nothing but a purple leather collar and a matching pair of wrist cuffs. Her lips were pinkish-red, the colour of a tongue. Or of a pussy. I couldn’t stop looking at them, their wet plumpness, their dark contrast against her white skin.
She caught my eye and flicked her tongue out, a gesture that was part playful and all sex. I felt my own mouth moisten in response. She leaned in towards the man, not touching him, but making him respond nonetheless.
He turned from the woman he’d been talking to – a fully clothed upright woman dressed in a long, simple black dress – and brought his hand to the pale woman’s shoulder. As he turned, I caught a glimpse of the man’s jaw, of his mouth, and then his face.
Wes?
I squinted, narrowing my eyes to see clearly.
Yes, it was Wes. A hundred per cent. What the hell was he doing here?
I ducked my face towards the floor, trying to hide my profile behind my hair.
If Cherise noticed my discomfort, she didn’t say anything. She was busy talking to a black miniskirt in knee-high boots whose submissive was leering at me from the end of his too-long leash.
I lay down on the floor the best that I could, trying to make myself small and forgotten. Look. Listen. Hear. Keep hidden. That’s what Cherise had said. So that’s what I would do.
The leering submissive moved in on me. Damn. He was all tongue and face, and I backed away from him. As though it wasn’t bad enough for my asshole landlord to see me while I had this guy trying to hump my leg … This was just getting worse and worse.
I started to say something, but then I remembered I wasn’t supposed to speak.
Sighing, I realised I was going to have to take matters into my own hands. Or paws, as it were. How did I get myself into shit like this?
The next time he came towards me, I snarled at him. A low sound in my throat, gravelly and totally inhuman. It was my first time trying it, so of course, it was way louder and much meaner than I meant it to be. The guy gave a yip like I’d actually bitten him or something, and backed off. Suddenly, Cherise was there, with a hand on my head. Black boots pulled her sub’s leash in tighter. The room was quiet. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, was looking right at me.
Even Wes.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
‘Don’t draw attention.’ Isn’t that what Cherise had said. ‘Be unnoticeable.’ That too.
So clearly the first thing I should do when I arrived at a place was draw every eye to me by getting into a fight. I wanted to stand up and say, ‘And this, ladies and gentleman, is why I stay home and read books.’
Wes sauntered our way. God, why did assholes get to be hot? It just wasn’t fair.
He came close enough that he was all shoes and pant legs.
‘That’s quite a little fighter you have there, Cher,’ he said.
‘In need of some training, if you ask me,’ Cherise said. Her voice had been sharp before, but now it was nearly bitter. Cutting. If it was fake, it was a good fake. If it was at all real, I felt like the world’s largest asshole.
‘What’s she called?’ Wes asked.
Cherise’s response was a murmur, but this time I could hear her clearly. The room was still silent, although the soft sound of talking was beginning to return.
All I could think about was what I must look like. Wes was standing directly in front of me, so close I could smell him, that dark musk of his skin. I didn’t dare look up. Maybe he couldn’t see my face, couldn’t tell that I was one of his tenants. I kept my eyes on the perfectly stitched seams of his dark jeans, on the leather of his shoes.
I caught another snatch of the conversation taking place above me, and cocked my head sideways to listen.
‘I’d be happy to take her in hand for you, see if I can’t teach her a thing or two,’ Wes said.
‘That would be absolutely lovely,’ Cherise said. ‘If you think you can work some magic on her, I’d be in your debt.’
‘I do believe I can do just that,’ Wes said.
He had my leash in his hand, and he snapped the end of it lightly against my thigh. It stung, just barely enough to make me yelp. Wes laughed above me, then squatted down in front of me. He caught my collar in his fingers and tugged it, forcing my head up.
‘I know you,’ he said. ‘You are –’
A voice cut him off, a voice I knew. ‘Why don’t you let me have a go at her instead? So that you can attend to your party, Wes.’
I couldn’t hear Wes’s answer, but I could hear Davian’s voice say, ‘Please, don’t worry about it. It’s my job.’ I was never so happy to hear that man’s voice.
The next face in front of me was Davian’s.
‘Come along, Hussy,’ he said. The sound of my puppy name on his tongue sent a shiver of want through me, a shameful desire, a feeling so sharp and strong that it made my pussy flare.
Jesus, I really was a hussy, wasn’t I? Everything turned me on these days. But especially, especially, this man who was taking my harness in both hands, who was urging me towards the back of the room.
I cast a glance at Cherise, who nodded as though she could actually see me. Her ability to sense what I was feeling was uncanny, and I wondered if that was part of what made her such a great lover. Without her sight, she was intuitive in her understanding of what those around her wanted and needed. So intuitive, so aware, in fact, that I wondered if her ignorance of the sub harassing me had been feigned.
Davian had said he wouldn’t be here. So what was he doing, leading me on my hands and knees towards the door?
* * *
‘I should like to see your form of discipline, Davian.’
Wes’s voice followed us. Ahead of me, Davian stopped so abruptly that I nearly ran into the back of his legs.
‘It is, after all, my party,’ he said. ‘And you’ve brought an uninvited guest.’
I wanted to say that he hadn’t brought me, but I wasn’t sure if I was still bound by the rules of dog-ness. Besides, I’d already got myself in more than enough trouble.
Wes continued. ‘So, I’d like to watch you do your work. I’ve heard you’re quite good. And this –’ I heard Wes approach and lowered my head yet again, but he caught my chin in his fingers, forcing my head up again ‘– is quite a lovely specimen. Aren’t you, Janine?’
I’ve never wanted so badly in my life to bite someone’s fingers.
Instead, I stayed quiet and brought my gaze up to Wes’s. I’m not a hater, usually, but I hoped he could see my intense dislike of him in my narrowed eyes.
Davian turned, catching my gaze with an unspoken question. I nodded at him as best I could while still being held by Wes’s tight grip.
‘I’ll need a table,’ Davian said. ‘Something knee-height.’
Wes snapped his fingers at one of the naked men holding silver trays. In moments, a long low table appeared next to me.
‘Return to your conversations,’ Davian said, opening his arms to the entire crowd. ‘I need a few minutes to prepare.’
‘Up,’ he said, popping his hand on top of the empty table. I hesitated, uncertain. I was pretty sure I could crawl up there on all fours. Most of the eyes in the room were on Davian, but I knew that, if I followed Davian’s command, those eyes would be on me sooner rather than later.
But I’d promised. And I’d come this far.
So I slowly shifted my weight and climbed up onto the table.
While fussing over my harness, Davian leaned in close to my ear.
‘How does Wes know you?’ he asked.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked in return. ‘I thought you weren’t supposed to.’
‘Listen to me,’ he said. His face was so close to mine I couldn’t believe our lips weren’t touching. But there was none of the heat that had been in his eyes. It had been replaced by anger or confusion, or maybe both. ‘How does Wes know you?’
‘He’s our landlord,’ I said. ‘Lily’s and mine. At Leather Bound.’
‘Fuck,’ he said. He dropped his head for a moment, sighing. ‘You really are a pain in the ass,’ he said. ‘And so fucking irresistible I can’t keep my hands off you. You make me insatiable, always, but roped up like that, on your hands and knees, with your leash in my hands? I can barely think. And
right now I need to think.
‘We’re going to have to get out of here,’ he said.
‘But I didn’t find the book yet.’
He shook his head, telling me that it didn’t matter.
Someone brought him a tray full of toys and, watching me, he chose one, a thin black crop. It had been a long time since I’d played like that, but I remembered it well, the whistle and slice through the air, then the crack and sting of the leather hitting my ass. I didn’t think I could get any wetter, but my body certainly seemed to be trying. I clamped my thighs tight together, aware that there were eyes on my exposed ass, on my naked and pulsing pussy.
Davian cocked a brow at me, a question in its own right, and I nodded. I wanted to tell him the whole story, how long it had been and how much I wanted that, maybe needed that, from him. But I couldn’t. So I merely did what Cherise had recommended. I leaned forward and licked the hand that held the crop.
Grinning, he caught my collar in one hand and ran the crop lightly over my curves with the other. The leather teased in its soft touch, almost tickled. He trailed it between my thighs, smacking the insides lightly.
He pulled it back and a moment later, brought the end of the leash down against my ass, the leather cutting into my curves, causing a yelp to come tumbling out of my mouth. The pain was unexpected but delicious, a single sear of fire that ran down my skin and then faded to nothing.
A crowd was gathering around the table. I could feel the weight of their gazes as Davian began to move around me, reaching out to tweak a nipple with one hand, his other moving my thighs farther apart. The harness kept snagging against my labia as I moved, a pain that eased into pleasure, and then seesawed between the two until all of my senses were focused on the hollow space between my thighs. A space that Davian quickly filled by inserting two fingers.
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