by Heather Long
I knew the plan. I even agreed with the plan.
Emancipation.
Corporate crap.
Kick them in the metaphorical balls.
Cut them off.
Great plan.
And I still wanted to punch that bitch.
“Angel,” Bubba continued, “we don’t have to go to the class tonight.”
Wait…
“I want to go.” Something in her voice shifted. The sadness lifted, and there was a spark there. Ah, got it. He was pushing her out of that bad mood. I was all for that. “I’m sorry, I had a long meeting with Wittaker today about the hearing and my trust fund and all of that stuff, and it makes my brain hurt.”
It made more than her brain hurt.
“Like I said, we don’t have to go tonight. There will be other classes, and we can go torture Archie with mini-golf if you want.”
I can’t help it, I laughed at that idea. No matter how much she wanted to play or how much he hated it, Archie would show up every time. Her chuckle deepened, and I grinned wider.
“No, I don’t think Archie needs that tonight. Besides, you got him to agree to come, and I know Coop is dying to learn more.”
Uh huh. I bet that lucky bastard was. Still couldn’t believe he’d managed to swing an invite with Bubba. Then again, why shouldn’t I believe it? It was Coop. If Archie could talk his way out of any kind of trouble, Coop was a master of getting himself into the middle of it—the good kind too.
“If you’re sure,” Bubba said, pushing it once more, but Frankie leaned up between the seats which meant she didn’t have her seatbelt on.
“I’m positive. I’ll stop being so gloomy.”
“You don’t have to stop anything, Baby Girl,” I said before Bubba could respond. “Except the part where you took the seatbelt off. Now put it the fuck back on.” I was a safe driver, I still wasn’t risking her.
She laughed and brushed my cheek with a kiss but sat back, and the snap of the seatbelt buckle engaging settled me down.
Even though Bubba warned me about the place being in an industrial area, I still had some trouble wrapping my head around the fact we were heading into a ‘club’ of any kind here. Though I supposed they had techno clubs in similar locations. It didn’t take long to navigate through the warren of streets to the right building where I pulled in to park.
Still, Frankie tucked herself between us, hooking her arms through ours once we were out of the car. There was no sign of Archie’s Ferrari or Coop’s car, but I didn’t think they’d beaten us here. Inside, I got to fill out the paperwork and got a dog tag to wear like the ones both Frankie and Bubba had on.
Again, not sure what I expected, but the fact the place had a sitting room and a little kitchen and conversation area kind of gave it this air of community I hadn’t been expecting.
“Different, huh?” Frankie murmured in my ear. She’d taken the seat between us, and I had a hand on her thigh, while Bubba held her hand. I’d have taken her hand too, but she was drinking a soda.
“A little,” I admitted, murmuring my answer into her ear before kissing just behind it. When I’d discovered her stash of books, I’d borrowed them to read up. Even before Bubba talked to me, I got the impression this wasn’t an intellectual exercise for her. The flash of her smile pulled one of my own.
The door to the lobby opened, letting Archie and Coop in. Frankie’s thigh tensed under my hand, and I scanned both of the guys. Coop wore his normal, laidback expression, but there was just the faintest hint of a furrowed brow, like he was smoothing it over before he got in the room. Archie, on the other hand, looked as tense as Frankie felt under my hand, until he locked his gaze on her.
Fuck me. They needed to heal from this. Another reason I wanted to punch that selfish bitch. Archie’s meeting on the golf course convinced him his father really believed Maddy. She was the source of the misery for both of them as far as I was concerned.
We’d saved seats for them, and I almost rose to surrender my spot to Archie, but Bubba was already on his feet. He moved to stand behind Frankie and rested his hands on her shoulders, even as she took Archie’s hand. Fair enough.
It wasn’t long before we were invited into the dungeon proper and to the chairs they had set up. Tonight’s demonstration would be followed with open time in the “dungeon” and the “playrooms” if we wanted to use them. Yeah, I wasn’t sure how likely that was to happen. There were way too many people here to see Frankie naked, thank you very much.
Coop elbowed me, and I cut a look at him.
“Lose the scowl,” he murmured, lips barely moving. “There’s restrictions on sex on the property, not to mention you look like you’re going to kill someone.”
I would kill someone if they saw her that way, but fine.
“Good evening,” a petite blonde woman said as she walked out wearing what amounted to a leather corset, the tiniest lace panties, and a pair of stiletto heels. My gaze cut upward and stayed there. Lady had great legs, and I focused on her face because the corset took her boobs and pushed them high enough they were still visible, even when I focused on her face.
Fuck.
A soft giggle from next to me had me glancing at Frankie, and her open grin teased me. Yeah, yeah. I was a guy. I noticed things. But I wasn’t watching the chick in the skimpy clothing, even if she was the one talking.
“For our newcomers, I’m Lyssa, and this is Master Richard.”
Master Richard.
I didn’t scoff. I really didn’t. But at the same time, I had to choke back a laugh.
“I know we have some newcomers tonight, so welcome, and we have some who are new to the lifestyle as well.” I swore, she looked right at me. Fuck. Called out. Wait…
No, Lyssa focused on Frankie. Yeah, okay.
“Tonight, instead of a full scene, we’re going to talk a little bit about the romantic dominant and the power exchange between dominant and submissive. What one gives and the other takes.”
The man behind her stepped forward and slid a hand up to rest against Lyssa’s nape, and her whole body seemed to relax at the contact. Okay, that was pretty cool.
“It’s not a one to one exchange,” Richard explained. “It’s a cycle. The dominant commands the submissive, and the submissive takes those commands and crafts a response. The dominant then takes the response to craft into their next commands.”
“For example,” Lyssa began as she moved to her knees and bowed her head. “Master Richard gripping my neck is a command, it’s a nonverbal one, but it also offers me the opportunity to play if I want or just to relax if I want.”
“Not all commands are going to be an open discussion, though you should have good communication in any dominant and submissive relationship,” Master Richard said, picking up the thread. “Lyssa’s response communicates that yes, she would like to play. She is open to the commands. Now I can take this a step further…”
And so it went. For the next thirty minutes, they walked us through the dynamic of a full power exchange that had almost nothing to do with sex and everything to do with how they interacted. In fact, it was both interesting and entertaining. While Richard stressed listening to and responding to both verbal and nonverbal cues, Lyssa, in turn, discussed being open to those responses and fearless in offering them.
“Romance is a co-created reality,” Richard said. “It doesn’t just fall from the sky. It takes effort. When you add romance to dominance, you get dominance that cares, dominance that’s loving, dominance that puts the needs of your submissive before your own. It’s still intense, but it can be very fulfilling.”
The conversation segued into transition into scenes through micro rituals and how the communication and choices made could dictate a scene. Even if they’d previously decided on one thing, that they may change their minds, because organically, that’s not what the submissive needs or what the dominant can offer.
By the time they opened it to questions, I had a lot of thoughts in mind. Not t
o mention a lot of ideas. The micro rituals they discussed, we did a lot of them. At some point during the demo, Frankie had interlocked her fingers with mine. She had her head tucked against Archie’s shoulder, and her free hand locked tight in his.
“So, when you talk about micro rituals,” Coop asked, and I wasn’t the only one who twisted to look at him, “and that exchange, is it possible in a relationship with more dominants than submissives that there can be conflicting messages, or more positively stated, more specific messages to communicate different needs to different dominants?”
“Well that’s kind of a two-part question,” Lyssa began when Richard glanced at her. The interesting thing was the dynamic when it came to who answered what. They deferred to each other, not always on the relationship dynamics in the question that was answered, but maybe the one who had more experience? Maybe? “So let me address one part. A submissive, no matter who they are, will never have the exact same relationship with more than one dominant. Just like in life, in a power exchange, our relationships are unique. What a submissive may ask of one dominant, she might not of another.”
“Alternatively,” Richard answered, “the relationship requires a lot of trust, communication, and negotiation. So depending on whether it is a lifestyle—where you live it twenty-four-seven or you are only engaging in scene play—will also play a part in it, because a sub could send conflicting messages to two different dominants without intending to. So ahead of time, there needs to be a decision on who is the final arbiter. Being a Dom is about control and giving, but multiple people can’t drive a car, even if a passenger can help with the directions.”
“Fair enough,” Coop said, satisfied, and I half-listened to the other questions being asked. Frankie didn’t ask any, but I caught her and Lyssa locking gazes. I had a feeling she would want to talk to the other woman before we were done.
Sure enough, when the “class” ended, everyone was offered a chance to make use of the different scene areas, and there were others present who were members of the club who were prepared to help or act as guides.
“I’ll be back,” Frankie told me and the guys before squeezing my hand and letting it go as she stood. Yep, straight to Lyssa she went. I tracked her, and I liked that Richard backed off when Frankie got there with a small smile and nod to her.
“Stop glaring,” Coop advised as he clapped me on the shoulder. I didn’t elbow him in the gut, but I thought about it. I wasn’t glaring.
Archie chuckled, and I sighed.
Okay, maybe I was glaring a little.
“Well?” Bubba asked as he folded his arms and moved to stand with us. The four of us were more in a horseshoe than a circle. The opening perfect for Frankie to rejoin us.
“Interesting,” Coop said. “I’m definitely down to learn more.”
“Not sure I’m into all the play,” Archie admitted, though he divided his attention between Frankie and the sessions starting up around us. Thankfully, clothes seemed to stay on—and never mind. One woman was out of her top. “Not like this.”
“No,” Bubba agreed, thank fuck. “Though she doesn’t mind if you guys watch.”
Coop grinned, and I snorted softly.
“What?” Bubba asked as he glanced at me, and I shook my head.
“Nothing, just…processing all of it. It’s a lot more complicated than it sounds, and at the same time…”
“Kind of straightforward and simple,” Archie finished for me. “Communication. Observation. Giving.”
“We do all those things.” We had been, particularly the last few months. We’d all been more open about what we needed or wanted. I’d definitely been paying more attention and not just to Frankie.
“Yep,” Coop agreed, hands tucked into his pockets. Frankie and Lyssa were deep in discussion. “Any idea what that’s about?”
“Five bucks it’s research or homework,” I offered.
“I’ll take that bet,” Archie said. “She’s asking for advice.”
“That could be research,” I countered.
“No, research is when she wants to understand a topic, advice is when she’s looking for solutions for herself.” He smirked at me, and I frowned. He had a point.
“You’re both wrong,” Coop said. “She’s asking about future classes, or that one on one coaching they had on the board up front.”
I must have missed that. But as one, all three of us looked at Bubba. He just grinned and folded his arms. “I don’t need to bet. I know what she wanted to talk to her about.”
Lucky jerk.
I scratched at my jaw. Still, I had to admit the whole intrigued me. But I wasn’t sure about the punishment aspects. Then again, I did like slapping her very sweet ass, and I loved how she wiggled it when I did.
“I’ve got one request,” Archie said, sobering. “This can’t be a twenty-four-seven thing.”
“No,” Bubba agreed immediately. “It’s not for either of us. Right now, we’re exploring and we’re playing and we’re testing what we like and don’t like. But the dynamics of who the five of us are isn’t going to change.”
“Unless we’re playing too,” Coop supplied, and Bubba gave him a look.
“Unless we are playing,” he conceded. “But that’s still an ongoing trial and learning curve.”
“But it’s not a no all the time anymore?” Maybe this wasn’t the right place to have the conversation, but I was still curious.
“It’s more of a maybe,” Bubba admitted. “Under some circumstances, but not all the time.”
I glanced at Archie, but he wasn’t listening to us so much as watching her. Yeah, he wasn’t there yet. Frankie gave Lyssa a quick hug or maybe the other woman gave it to her, and then she headed back over to us. With a little hop, she joined our circle.
“And what are you four plotting?”
“Betting on the conversation topic,” Coop told her, not missing a beat. “Advice? Homework? Research? Or asking about some private tutoring?”
Frankie grinned wider. “A little bit of each, but more about whether there’s a right or a wrong way to learn some things. Like should we have a guide or should we just keep doing what we’re doing, and was there something on when you have multiple people involved.”
“So, we’re all right,” Archie said with a slow nod. “And you want us to do the one-on-one class?”
The hopeful look flaring in her eyes was unmistakable. “You don’t have to. Ian and I already discussed it. I like the idea of being tied up, but he really wants to learn how to do it the right way so it doesn’t hurt me.”
I agreed with that thought one hundred percent.
“But if you’ll notice, not everyone here is shy, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t have to be naked even for the one-on-one stuff. I mean, if it was just Lyssa there, that would be fine, but Ian’s going to need someone who is a master of ropes, and he gets to learn how to tie others up first.”
Bubba grimaced, but Frankie’s smile didn’t waver.
“And I get to watch.”
Coop laughed.
She hooked her arm through Bubba’s and leaned up to nuzzle his jaw. Whatever she told him settled him almost immediately because he relaxed, and then Frankie’s gaze locked on mine and I raised my brows.
Outside, Frankie slipped away from us to walk with Archie over to his Ferrari. I leaned against the SUV to wait with Coop and Bubba, only half-listening to their conversation on ropes and why it interested him. I’d seen some of the pictures in the books, I got it.
“Hey, you think she’d mind if you took pictures when you had her all tied up?” I mean, if I wasn’t going to be there.
“We’ll discuss it,” Bubba offered. “But maybe not right away. Not while we’re learning.”
Yeah, fair. That might be a little too intimate.
Still…
Frankie wrapped herself around Archie and then kissed him before he slid into the car and she headed back over to us.
“You guys okay with everyone coming o
ver tonight?” Frankie asked us. Well, she focused on me. “I know we haven’t had a lot of time together…”
“Baby Girl,” I said, wanting to stop her right there, “we have all the time in the world. If you want everyone to come over tonight, I’m in. Archie grabbing food?”
“Yeah, he’s gonna grab pizzas. Then I’d like very much to just spend the night like we did in Colorado, just us and playing games and hanging out and not thinking about the rest of the world.”
Because she had court looming over her.
“Whatever you need,” Bubba said. “I’m going to ride with Coop, you ride with Jake and talk. I’ll even concede him the spot in the bed tonight.”
“Generous,” I said with a faint smirk, and he just grinned.
“I know.”
Then Coop pressed a kiss to her temple and they headed for his car, leaving me and Frankie alone in the cold.
“Jake…”
“Baby Girl, I meant it. I’m fine.” But when she plowed into me, I wrapped her up close. “We’re fine,” I murmured into her hair. “I know you love me.”
Voice muffled against my jacket, she said, “I really do, and I’ve missed you. It’s just been so…crazy.”
That was a word for it.
“Well,” I assured her as I pulled back and caught her gaze with mine, “then it’s a good thing crazy is my specialty.”
I could almost see the worry evaporating off her.
Yep, I’d totally punch that bitch in the face.
“C’mon, pajamas, pizza, and video games sounds like a perfect night to me.”
Chapter Thirteen
All Rise
Frankie
The weekend sped past, despite all our best efforts to block it out. And by best efforts, I meant the video game marathon, movie marathon, and even YouTube video marathon we engaged in. I also got homework done. I worked my way ahead through two of my classes, including writing up the last two French papers I’d need for the year. Our AP classes would pretty much switch to drilling for the test itself after spring break, along with final projects, if any.