Take Me With You

by Sindra van Yssel

  Still, a mark was a bruise, basically. And a bruise was damage. Maybe it was like a hickey, but to do that by hitting someone didn’t seem like play or sex to him. So why is my cock getting hard? The easiest explanation was that a curvy and attractive girl was pressing her breasts against his chest and staring up at him, but he had a feeling it was more complex than that, and he wasn’t sure he’d like himself very much if he knew the answer.

  “I need to try things,” Alicia said.

  “I know. That didn’t answer the question.” She was dodging, and he didn’t think he was supposed to let her. And besides, he needed more insight into what she wanted from him.

  “Well, let’s make a deal. We try one or two more of the activities, but you decide which ones.”

  Craig frowned. Would I rather have hot wax poured on my girlfriend or have her be hit with a cane? He wasn’t sure he wanted to be involved in choosing any of them. “It’s your exploration. Wouldn’t that defeat the point?”

  She shook her head. “I am interested in the toys. But even more, I want to explore what it means to submit. And these people are all strangers. I can hardly do that with them. I trust you.”

  He wanted to live up to her trust. “Then we have a deal.” He looked around. Laughter in the far corner from the cross attracted his attention. The man Karen had called Fritz was showing off a handheld device that had a violet glowing bulb on one end. When he touched people with it, they clearly experienced an electric shock, but everyone seemed to be having a good time. The only problem was that there was quite a crowd of people interested in the demo, and it would take Craig and Alicia a while before they got to it.

  Rope looked relatively harmless too. At least it wasn’t about pain. But Gerald had an even larger crowd around him. Several people were now walking around with rope harnesses, and one girl had her hands tied behind her.

  So much for the easy options. “Let’s try the spanking.” He took her hand and led her over there. It appeared to be the lightest thing out there. The canes looked nasty, and he didn’t get the attraction of having clothespins attached to one’s body, even though he was curious. Would Alicia like to have one on her nipples? It seemed like an obvious place to put one, although the woman doing the demo was putting them up and down someone’s arm.

  The man at the spanking horse was broad shouldered, with dark brown wavy hair and glasses. As they approached, he put out his hand to Craig. “Hi there. I saw you guys over with Alex. I’m Parker.”

  Craig shook his hand. “Craig. And this is Sunny.” He was pleased with himself for having remembered Alicia’s nom de BDSM, or whatever it was.

  Parker bowed slightly. “Pleased to meet you both. Welcome to the spanking station.” With a flourish, he indicated a leather-covered piece of furniture. “You put your knees here and drape yourself over the rest. Sometimes I cuff someone in, but I’m not going to do that here.” He smiled at Alicia. “I take it you’re going to be the receiver?”

  “Yep.”

  “Get yourself in position. If you want to take your skirt off or lift it, you’ll feel everything better, and it will be easier to aim if your top can see what he’s aiming at.” Parker looked at Craig as Alicia mounted the horse. Her hands fidgeted with the hem. She obviously wasn’t sure what to do with the skirt. “Have you ever spanked anyone before?”

  Craig shook his head. It was distracting thinking Alicia might lift her skirt at any moment, but he tried to stay focused. “A love pat or two,” he said.

  “Well, we’ve got a full set of implements. And of course, there’s hands, which are the best implement of all.” Parker grinned. “Do you two want me to demonstrate so Craig can watch and learn, or do you want to have a little guidance as you do it yourselves?”

  Alicia looked back at Craig and shrugged at him. Apparently she wanted him to decide.

  “I’ll do it. At least with the hand. We’ll see about the other stuff.” Like Alex, Parker had a small table nearby with a variety of toys on it. In his case, it was mostly paddles, some of which seemed designed for the purpose and others which were not. Craig recognized a ping-pong paddle, as well as a junior-size cricket bat. There was no way anyone was hitting Alicia with the latter.

  Parker took one side of Alicia, and Craig moved to the other. Parker demonstrated. “Cup your hand like this. That’s going to create a shape that will mold to her bottom and create a more pleasurable experience. It will also distribute the force of the spanking across your hand better. One of the reasons bare-handed spanking is popular even with people who don’t regard themselves as kinky is that the ass is full of fat and can actually take the impact much better than the hand can, so for the most part, the top is likely to quit before the spankee hurts too badly. That’s not an absolute, but it’s roughly true.”

  Craig smiled. “Sunny, may I lift your skirt?”

  Alicia looked at him. “Yes,” she breathed.

  He liked the way she said that. He took his time, lifting her hem inch by inch until he bared her bottom. She was wearing thong panties, so the two round globes of her bottom were nicely displayed. The way the horse was, she had to spread her legs and lie forward. The place where her torso rested was curved slightly upward in the middle. He liked the view of her ass and the way her legs were spread. I can do this. Holding his hand as Parker had suggested, he gave her a quick swat on the left cheek and got a yelp in response that made him wonder if he’d been too forceful.

  “Good,” said Parker. “But may I make a suggestion?”

  Craig nodded.

  “Before spanking, touch. Make a connection with your bottom, and make them like the feel of your hand. The same is true for flogging, by the way—touch your bottom often, and if possible, let them feel the flogger before it’s actually used for whacking them. It’s relaxing. Touching is enjoyable for both people.”

  Craig smiled. He’d rather feel her butt than spank it anyway. It occurred to him that, as slow and careful as he’d been with Alicia, at the very least the BDSM club was serving as a great icebreaker. He ran his hand over her smooth ass, enjoying the coolness of it and the way she purred as he did so.

  “Now build slowly,” Parker suggested, moving his hand to indicate soft touches.

  That made sense to Craig. He gave Alicia a series of love pats, moving back and forth from cheek to cheek. He slid his other hand up the back of her sweater, feeling her warm skin, and stopped as he got to her bra strap. He wanted to touch her, connect with her.

  He noticed as he got going that there was more to it than simply slapping her bottom. When he pressed her butt after making contact, she sighed contentedly, and that didn’t involve any pain to either of them. He wondered if he was taking liberties. She’d asked for a spanking, after all, not to have her ass groped. But she wasn’t complaining.

  He spanked her sideways in the middle, and that got another happy sigh. He changed the orientation of his hand to spank her cheeks again, aligning his arm with her body. He stopped thinking about each individual stroke so much and went with what seemed natural, listening to her responses and the way her breathing changed.

  His fingers curled, and as he spanked her low in the center, he encountered wetness. Responding to the gasp she gave, he pressed into her panties. She was soft and wet and ready for sex, although he couldn’t follow through on that idea in the middle of the club. His cock ached in frustration. But he was still pleased to have that effect on her, and if spanking was what it took, he could do it again, hopefully someplace more private. Although the idea of taking her right here is hot.

  He needed to pull back. A few people were watching, and Craig noticed Karen among them.

  Parker had moved around behind him, and the next thing Craig knew, Parker was handing him a paddle. It was made entirely of leather, suede on one side and shiny leather on the other, with something to stiffen them in between. He accepted it. Parker took his wrist and guided his hand so that the suede part brushed against Alicia’s bottom. He tapped her with
it experimentally.

  “You’re new, so don’t think you need to be psychic,” Parker said. “Communicate.”

  Craig nodded. He rubbed Alicia’s back. “Harder, Sunny?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Say when.” Craig lifted the paddle and brought it down harder. And then again.

  Parker moved around to the front, where he could see Alicia’s face. Parker crouched down and extended his right hand forward, past where Alicia could see, and gave a thumbs-up. Craig understood. Parker was watching Alicia’s reactions and was saying it was safe to continue increasing the intensity. As long as he could trust Parker, that was invaluable. He swatted her harder, watching a rectangle of pink develop on Alicia’s ass. Alicia was wiggling her bottom enticingly, or maybe she was grinding against the spanking horse.

  Even if she wanted to be hit harder, Craig was reluctant. For one thing, the pink was taking longer and longer to go away with each smack, and the paddle felt cold and impersonal compared to his hand. What he wanted to do was give her pleasure.

  Leaning in, he moved his hand from her back to caress her bottom. He could hear her breathing change over the noise of the increasingly busy club. He didn’t need Parker’s thumb to tell him he was doing something right. He forced her bottom down. If he was right, the curve of the seat would press against her clit. He might be new to BDSM, but he knew his way around a woman’s body. Pushing and then relaxing, he guided the tempo as she ground against the horse. Once he was sure he had a rhythm, he took his hand off briefly and brought the paddle down hard.

  He cringed at the noise of the smack, and again as she screamed. Her body shook. Parker was still holding his thumb up, and grinning, amazingly. Craig lost trust in him. He dropped the paddle and wrapped one arm around Alicia’s waist, the other touching her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  “Okay?” Alicia echoed.

  Parker frowned, but Craig ignored him. “I didn’t mean to smack you so hard. I’m sorry.”

  “Uhh,” Alicia said.

  Craig decided to shut up and hold her. He’d apologized, and he didn’t know what else he could do. The pink mark on her bum was fading slowly, and there was a purple mark that hadn’t been there before. A bruise. Fuck. Way to destroy what might have been a good relationship.

  Parker picked up the paddle and put it back on the table. Alicia caught her breath. Craig waited, wanting to say he was sorry again, but resisted. Once was right. Saying it over and over again was badgering, and no one liked that. Instead, he tugged the hem of her skirt down. The least he could do was give her some decency.

  She shifted her weight, obviously wanting to get up. He moved back. When she turned to look at him, her eyes widened. Her cheeks were flushed. He wasn’t sure how to read her expression. Parker offered her a hand, which she took as she dismounted the horse. So he’s the good guy now, thumbs-up and all. Craig knew the responsibility was ultimately his own, but Parker had led them there, and Craig didn’t like the friendly smile Alicia was giving him. If she looked around at the table, she’d see the other stuff there was even worse, like a big, heavy wooden paddle with holes in it.

  “So,” said Alicia to Craig. “That was intense.”

  Craig nodded. Despite his earlier intention, he said, “Sorry I got carried away.”

  Alicia knit her brows and looked at him quizzically. It made him feel, as his mother used to say, as if he had three heads and the middle one was green. Alicia’s cheeks were still bright red. “I better go freshen up a second.”

  “Um, sure. Of course.”

  Parker had grabbed a nearby box of disinfectant wipes and was wiping down the bench. Straightening her skirt as she moved, Alicia walked toward the ladies’ room. Craig watched her, wishing he could help somehow. Karen walked the same way, quickening her pace to join Alicia. Craig was glad she had someone with her, at least. Hopefully she wouldn’t find a way to look at her ass in the mirror, because she was going to be pissed.

  “Why’d you stop?” asked Parker.

  He turned to him. “She screamed. I hurt her.”

  “A scream isn’t a safe word, Craig. Even if you should slow down in response to your submissive’s signals, it’s only rarely right to stop at the most intense part of a scene.” Parker kept rubbing the bench. “You weren’t hurting her, or not in any way she didn’t want. Did you see how wet the bench was?”

  Craig shook his head. The bench was shining now, in any case, as the liquid from the wipes slowly evaporated.

  “She was turned on. You did pretty good for a beginner, and your instincts were mostly right on. Except toward the end. You’ll make her a good Dom, if you work at it.”

  Craig didn’t believe a word of it. “That last whack was way out of line. I caused a bruise. I hope it’s not too bad.”

  “Bruises fade in time. You look like you work out and are pretty active. I bet you played pretty hard as a kid.”

  Craig nodded. It was difficult to focus on the change of subject, but he couldn’t just wait for Alicia. “Yeah.”

  “Probably scraped your knee and bruised yourself a zillion times. Would you go back and stay inside and play video games all day, if you had it to do over?”

  Craig shook his head.

  “Then don’t sweat it. But next time you do that, make sure it’s intentional. Because what a submissive wants most is to know that her Dom is in control and is doing exactly what he wants to be doing. If she knows that, she can take so much more. Enjoy so much more. If you make a big mistake, apologize. But if you make a small one, and she doesn’t know it was a mistake? Do your sub a favor, and tell her she’s a good girl instead of telling her you’re a bad Dom.”

  Parker pulled out a card. “I need to take the next couple in line. But send me an e-mail. I can teach you to be a better Dom, if that’s what you want.”

  Craig took the card out of politeness, but he shook his head. “No. I’m done. But thanks.” He didn’t feel thankful, but Parker seemed to think he was doing a service, despite all the evidence. What Craig wanted to do was not only get away from the spanking horse but get the hell out of the club, but he wasn’t going to leave until he got a chance to talk to Alicia. If she still wanted to talk to him.

  He went to sit at one of the tables. Around him, people were playing with toys. Screams and moans filled the air. He didn’t want to watch. Beyond the teaching stations, a few people had started playing on their own, and he saw one girl tied to a post, naked but for a thong. There were dark red lines, placed evenly an inch apart, that stretched horizontally across her bottom and her thighs. In spite of himself, Craig looked closer, concerned that the girl might be bleeding. She wasn’t, but each of those lines would become a bruise. The evenness of them unnerved Craig. Did her top—a burly guy who had to be twenty years older—care more about making some kind of odd art than about the fact that he was hurting a woman?

  Chapter Three

  “Hey, are you okay?” Karen asked Alicia.

  Alicia splashed some water onto her face. “I think so. Kind of embarrassed.”

  “Why?”

  “I was supposed to be experimenting. Not having an orgasm in front of everyone.”

  “Your guy obviously cares about you.”

  “He was repulsed by the fact that spanking me caused me to come.” She frowned, thinking of the look on Craig’s face. He had looked horrified.

  “He looked like he was starting to get into it. You liked it, obviously.”

  “All too obviously.” Alicia wiped her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked disheveled, and she’d left her lipstick and brush in the car, so there wasn’t a lot she could do about it. “I look like hell.”

  “You look fine.” Karen ran her hand through Alicia’s hair and then patted it. “Freshly fucked, perhaps, but that’s a sexy look for you. Don’t worry about that. And as to obviously—I don’t think so. I’m not even sure Craig knows it. Parker does, because he was watching your face. I was pretty sure. But your reaction c
ould mean any of a number of things. And I hate to seem blasé, but people come in this place on a pretty regular basis. Admittedly, not very often during a demo, but Parker let it run long. I think he liked your dynamic.”

  “You don’t think Craig could tell, really? Then why did he stop?”

  “Because you screamed, maybe?”

  “I did not.” Surely she would have been aware if she had.

  “Honey, you did. A lot of people scream when they come.”

  “Then he definitely knows I came.”

  Karen smiled. “Well, how people interpret things depends a lot on what they expect. I’ve come from a spanking. Parker’s probably made it happen a dozen times. But does Craig have an experience with that?”

  Alicia shook her head. “No. He didn’t like the idea of me coming to this place, but he said if I was going to go, he wanted to be along to protect me. I kind of urged him to spank me, but I don’t think he wanted to. But when it was a choice between him touching me or Parker—well, I guess I kinda manipulated him there. He already told me he didn’t like the idea of ‘hurting’ a woman.”

  “When you screamed, Craig was probably afraid he hurt you because that was already playing on his mind. I suspect Parker would have enjoyed spanking you.” For the second time, Alicia detected a trace of tension in Karen’s voice, like she had when Karen had talked about Parker’s “dozen times.” “As would any of a number of other people here. So you could find someone else. But you like Craig?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you want to do that with him again?”

  “Yes! I wished he hadn’t stopped. I was willing him to keep going or…to touch me. If he’d put his fingers inside me, I bet I would have come again and again.”

  Karen grinned. “Well, men are simple creatures. If Craig really doesn’t want to, you’re probably not going to get him on board. But sometimes, they have to be manipulated a little for their own good. I’m not going to claim I’m an expert, but I have been a sub for a long time, and I’m willing to help if you want. I have a few ideas.”