by Measha Stone
Chapter 18
Sophie stood at the doors of Black Light, willing herself to go inside. She’d made the trek through the tunnel from the psychic shop easily enough. Aside from the twisting in her stomach.
Usually when she worked a case and it started to stall, she’d bury herself in it, combing through the files, the evidence, looking for something she’d missed. But she couldn’t focus. Her mind kept wandering over to the man sitting across the desk from her.
She’d known getting involved with her partner would be bad. She’d warned him they couldn’t keep it just outside the station. Going along with him had been stupid. He invaded her thoughts, her fucking dreams, and every fantasy she conjured ended up with him in it.
When she’d found out about demonstration night at the club, she had decided to get there and get her mind straight. Maybe focusing on something completely non-Scott and non-murder case would get her thoughts back in order.
Her stomach hurt; she should have skipped lunch. But doing that would have tipped Scott off something wasn’t right. She hated lying. It made her want to punish herself. She weighed herself down with the guilt of it, but if she’d been honest and told him what she was up to for the evening, he’d have insisted on taking her, and she really needed the night to focus on herself.
Then again, maybe if she had told him the truth about why she wanted to go alone, he’d have backed off. Too late, now. He thought she was at home watching chick flicks.
Groaning at herself, she stomped her foot.
“Dammit, you’re here. Just go,” she chided herself then looked behind her to be sure she was still alone. If someone heard her, they’d probably alert security a crazy person was trying to get into their high-end establishment.
Scott was making her lose her damn mind.
With another grunt at herself for the lying coward she’d turned out to be, she flung the door open and rushed inside. Better to get it all over with. The sooner she could sink into the atmosphere, the sooner she could stop thinking about the weak lie she’d given Scott to keep him off her trail.
Danny checked her in at the security podium. He tried to make small talk, but her stomach was too twisted for her to do much else other than smile and give one-word answers. If she acted so damn timid at work, she’d find herself in a hell of a lot more dangerous situations.
“Don’t forget to lock up your phone,” Danny flashed a smile when he handed her back her membership card.
“Right. Almost forgot,” she secured her phone and purse in a locker and headed in for the demonstration.
Folding chairs faced the platform where she assumed the demonstration would take place. Most seats were taken by couples, which only worked to remind her Scott would have absolutely wanted to come with her. Sophie sat down in the back, at the end of the row in case she wanted a hasty escape, and settled in.
She’d expected one of the suspension rigs to be on stage since the demonstration was supposed to be about suspension. Instead, she saw a straight-back chair, illuminated by a spotlight. Off to the right stood a man with his arms crossed and his jaw set. A shudder went through her at the utter fierceness in which he stared at the chair.
“Hi, everyone.” Chase, one of the owners took center stage with mic in hand. She recognized him from his modelling career, but holy fuck did he look even hotter in person. If she hadn’t been trying to keep on her feet at the roulette game, she probably would have noticed him more then, too.
“I know we advertised a suspension class tonight, but Owen, who was giving the demonstration had a fender bender on the way in.” Small gasps came from the crowd. “He and his sub are fine,” he assured. “But it was enough to keep them away. Instead of cancelling, we have a demonstration that hopefully will be of interest to you all. I know not everyone who comes to the club practices their kink full-time. Some of you may want to keep it to the bedroom, but a lot of us, like Jaxson, Emma and I take the dom/sub relationship with us everywhere we go. And in doing so, there will be more times when the sub may need redirection or punishment for misdeeds. Stephanos”—he gestured to the fierce man still standing in the corner of the stage—“and his submissive, who is also his wife, Anna, are going to demonstrate what a punishment can look like between a dom and sub.”
Sophie sank into her chair. How fucking fitting.
“Just like everything that happens in this club, this scene is completely consensual. Anna has agreed to accept her punishment publicly. She has safewords to use if she needs them.” Chase glanced off stage. “For now, I’ll turn it all over to Stephanos who’ll start the demonstration.”
The large man stepped forward to a round of applause. The spotlight amplified his stern, set features and seemed to make him a few inches taller at the same time. Who in their right mind would agree to be disciplined by this mammoth of a man?
“So, like Chase said, I’m Stephanos.” He moved the mic from his right hand to his left. “Every relationship is different, so don’t think what you see here is how you have to do things in yours. That said, there are few components I believe are extremely important when administering a punishment.” He pressed his hand to his chest.
He walked across the stage, continuing to talk about trust and commitment, while she tried to tune out the guilt building in her chest.
“And there’s mindset. Now, your sub, slave, wife, whatever you label her—or him—most likely already feels guilty for what they did. They knew they were breaking a rule, or acting badly. They aren’t kids. They know these things. But accepting the consequences can sometimes be harder to get their minds around. Especially when they’ve been at work all day, had to deal with the kids when they got home, and cook dinner, pay bills, etcetera. Real life can hamper their willingness or their ability to enter into the discipline session with an open heart and mind. So, it’s up to the dominant.” He pointed at himself again. “To help the sub get there, because if you take a sub over your knee who really has their mind firmly planted outside the session, thinking about work, or what they have to do with the kids the next day, you can spank them for the rest of the night, and all you’ll get is a physical reaction. They may not break through the barrier to get to the submissive state you both benefit from.”
Sophie squirmed in her seat. He was talking about real life. A real relationship. Not a fantasy. Her chest tightened, and she had to clear her throat to keep it from closing.
“Because that’s one of the reasons we enter into a discipline relationship, right? It’s not just so I get to have my way all the time. Because hell, I’d rather be having a beer and watching the game when the kids are asleep than having to punish my wife. But it’s what we do to keep our relationship on the right track. Real life happens to Doms, too. So, what do you do about your own mindset? Well, there are a few things you can do.”
As he went on to explain how the Dom might prepare himself for punishing his or her sub, Sophie took several calming breaths. This was supposed to get her mind off Scott, not draw her attention to all the elements she wished she could pursue in their relationship.
“When we’re at home and it’s time for Anna to face the consequences for whatever she’s done wrong, I like to put her in the corner. I strip her down myself. I don’t let her do it at all because this isn’t about her pleasing me, this is about her accepting what’s about to happen to her, and I’m completely in control during this time.” He took a few steps toward the back right of the stage and pointed at what could be considered the corner of the room.
“Once I have her nude, I walk her to the corner, explain again why she’s being punished, and make her face the wall with her hands on her head. I give her time to contemplate what’s going to happen, and why. While she’s doing this, I take the time to get whatever I need for the session and to get my head on straight. Clear it of anything other than her and why we’re doing what we’re doing. Because mindset, right? We both have to be there with the right intentions and the openness to get through it. As muc
h of a sadistic bastard as I am, I hate to see her cry from pain, like real pain. And when I punish her, it’s not pain-slut sort of pain. So, I have to prepare myself to put her in a place neither of us really enjoys.”
Sophie swallowed hard. He probably wasn’t intending to get the audience aroused just by his description, but damn if she couldn’t already feel her pussy dampening at the image of Scott performing those actions with her.
“But like I said, this might not work for you. You have to find the right actions, the right words that work for both you and your partner.”
As he finished his statement, a woman who could easily fit into the back pocket of his jeans walked on stage.
Stephanos turned his head toward her then put the microphone down and went to her. As he approached, Chase set a microphone on a stand near the couple, but not close enough to interfere with their conversation.
Stephanos picked up the woman’s hand and walked her to behind the chair. He turned her to face him, her back to the audience. While he untied the robe, he talked to her. The mic didn’t pick up every word, but Sophie got the gist.
Anna had lied.
Anna had gotten caught.
Sophie’s heart sank even deeper.
Once he had her naked and her hands on her head, he walked back around the chair and picked up the microphone. “Before we get started, are there any questions I can answer?”
Two men asked questions about setting the right mindset, and a woman questioned how he decided what sort of punishment to give out. Had Scott sat through these sorts of demonstrations before? He’d gotten the job done well enough with the ball gag, but he hadn’t spanked her.
She started to raise her hand, to ask about alternative punishments, but Stephanos had put the mic on the stand and walked over to his wife.
He brought Anna’s hands down from her head and kissed her forehead. How hard a punishment could he be giving her if he was being so loving?
As though Stephanos heard her thoughts, he dug his hand into his wife’s hair and pulled her to the chair. Without releasing her, he sat down and dragged her over his lap.
“Hope you’re taking notes, Sophie. So, you can compare during the spanking you’re going to get after this is done,” a deep, authoritative voice vibrated in her ear.
She sucked in her breath, not daring to turn around. She didn’t need to. She could feel him.
Scott.
Fuck.
“No, don’t you dare take your eyes off this. You watch her as she gets her ass spanked, and every time his hand lands, you think about it being mine. Because you’re in for one hell of a spanking when it’s over.” His voice shook.
He probably wasn’t dragging her out of the class to deliver the punishment because he was too angry.
She’d lied.
She’d gotten caught.
Double fuck.
She tried to focus on the scene in front of her. Anna cried out when the spanks landed, and Stephanos didn’t give her any time to recover from them. A full arsenal was being deployed on the little woman’s upturned ass.
Sophie didn’t think Stephanos would go easy, he seemed downright terrifying, but holy shit did that woman take a walloping. From where she sat, she could see the vibrations of her ass with each stroke. Her white flesh blushed then quickly turned a deep crimson.
No amount of wiggling helped her, as her massive husband just wrapped his arm around her waist and continued to punish her.
“Lying is unacceptable, and it breaks down what we have,” he said, taking a momentary break from swatting her to speak.
It would be completely okay with Sophie if a sinkhole opened up right beneath her and took her away. Scott didn’t say another word throughout the punishment, but he didn’t need to. The tension rolled off him, enveloping her—trapping her.
Anna’s cries for mercy went unheeded, her pleas for him to stop ignored. She finally broke down into a sobbing, contrite mess, lying over his lap, completely accepting each spank to her ass. The fight left her, but she turned into something else. Something stronger.
When Stephanos stopped spanking and starting rubbing her ass, she sniffled but didn’t try to escape him.
The distance from the mic made hearing his words hard, but Sophie could make out his tone. Loving. He loved this woman he’d just spanked to tears. Although he kept a stern demeanor while had administered the spanking, Sophie could almost feel his own pain at having to dish it out. But they were reconnecting now.
Several couples rose and quietly left the area, seeming to know Stephanos and Anna needed private moments now.
“Let’s go,” Scott whispered in her ear and gripped her upper arm.
Sophie didn’t fight back, didn’t pull away. She continued to watch Anna as her husband helped her from his lap and brought her into his chest for a cuddle. Stephanos kissed her forehead, her cheeks before kissing her lips and wiping away all of her tears.
Envy seeped into Sophie.
“I know the club’s closed, but if it’s okay, I’d like to use one of the semi-privates. Need to take care of something.” Scott’s voice pulled her attention away from the aftercare taking place on stage to the immediate danger of her ass.
Chase, who had looked so damn hot only minutes before, suddenly appeared more like a prison warden. He swept his gaze over her with a frown.
“You good with this?” he asked her.
She could say no. She could get loose and just go home.
Lowering her head, she nodded. “Yeah. I’m good with it,” she muttered.
“We need to clean up still, and everyone’s milling around for a bit in the lounge, anyway,” Chase said, not an ounce of pity in his voice. “Not sure what she did, but I’ve seen that same look of guilt written all over my Emma’s face.”
Sophie shot her head up to look at him. Still no empathy for her, but at least she found encouragement in his tone.
“Thanks.” Scott gave a curt nod then pulled her along with him to the same semi-private room he’d used the last time they were at the club.
“What are you doing here?” she asked once they were inside and the curtain had been closed.
He laughed. “What am I doing here?”
Okay, she probably shouldn’t have led with that particular question. But she was still curious.
“I didn’t think you’d be here.” She changed tactics, though it seemed to get the same result.
He grinned, but not the sexy, come-fuck-me grin she usually got from him. No, this one made her spine tingle. Danger danced in the room with them.
“Obviously, since you were supposed to be home watching chick flicks and chilling out.” He let her arm go and strode to the chair in the corner. Lifting it with one hand he carried it to the middle of the room and put it down. She swallowed back a defense because she had none, and watched him jerk the zipper of his coat down and pull his arms free.
She’d left her jacket in the demonstration room, but it didn’t seem like the right time to mention it.
“You lied,” he stated with his hands on his hips. The dark T-shirt he wore stretched across his chest. His tense muscles didn’t do much to ease her panic. She’d thought he was mad with the ball-gag punishment, but this was different. This made her chest twist and her stomach flop. He wasn’t just a little irritated because she didn’t stop talking when he told her to. No. This went deeper.
“I did.” She nodded. What else was there to say?
“Why?”
Easy answer, I’m a coward. But he’d want more. “I wanted to get my mind off things for a night.” Mostly true.
“I get that. I’m not mad because you needed a night to yourself. That’s understandable; we’ve been spending a lot of time together.” If his voice hadn’t softened at just that moment, like the time meant something more to him than just casual play, she could harden herself.
“But I told you I was staying home and then came here.” She finished his thought for him. No point in arguing once
you’ve had your hand in the cookie jar for a full hour.
“Yeah. That’s what I want to know. Why not just tell me you were coming here?”
“Because you would have wanted to come with. You would have said it wasn’t safe for me alone.” She rushed out her answer, although every word now seemed fabricated.
“So, you lied because you thought you knew how I’d react?” He quirked an eyebrow.
“Would you have let me?” she asked, meeting his gaze. Maybe if she could win that point, he’d take it easier on her.
“I’m not your owner, Sophie. If you wanted to come here alone, I wouldn’t stop you. Yeah, I probably would have suggested I tag along, mostly because I like the demonstration nights. That’s why I’m here, because of the demonstration. But fuck me. When I walk in, I see you, my fucking submissive, sitting in the crowd when you’re supposed to be home tucked under your blankets, binging on chick flicks and popcorn.” His lips thinned more with each sentence.
Okay, she was not going to win the point.
“But…” His voice deepened. “If you’d been honest with me, that you wanted to go it alone, I wouldn’t have stopped you. I would have just stayed home or gone out to dinner with Gray and Dani.”
She flattened her hand over her stomach. Lunch had been a horrible idea.
His gaze flickered to her belly then back up to her face. His sigh filled the space between them.
“I’m sorry I assumed your reaction,” she murmured, folding her hands in front of her.
“Lying breaks down communication and trust,” he said.
“I know,” she agreed. She knew this but had done it anyway.
“I’m going to punish you, now, Sophie. Not a little spanking, either. It’s going to hurt, and it’s going to last a while, and you’ll remember it tomorrow morning when you sit at your desk.”
She swallowed and took a shaky breath. Watching it on stage had been like watching a dirty film, made her hot and wanting. Having the words aimed at her, the disappointment in his eyes focused on her, made the experience humbling. Painful.