by Livia Grant
“Okay, okay. So, while the kink itself might not be one that a lot of people actually pursue, it’s still neither exceptional nor rare. It’s just a fetish normally reserved for fantasy, or roleplay, or maybe after you’ve found the guy you want to marry and spend the rest of your life with making a nice big Catholic family.”
“Except I don’t want any of those things per se. I just want…” Jess’s voice faded, and Davis could feel sweat trickling down the back of his neck.
“Well, you’re certainly right about one thing,” Taylor said thoughtfully, “you won’t be rolling on that kink tonight with whomever you get paired up with.”
‘You won’t be rolling…’
Davis felt a calm come over him. A feeling not unlike ones he’d felt in Iraq and Afghanistan when a target had come into view, the objective of a mission he and his team had sometimes waited days, even weeks, to get a bead on. A clearing of the mind to everything in the world about him, all micro-focused down to one single thing.
His goal.
The other woman—Taylor—was forgotten. Black Dress Girl—Jess—was all he could think about right now. He hadn’t really taken a good look at her because she wasn’t going to be playing tonight. She was a plus one, a designated driver. Except with one single word, she’d suddenly become the very thing he’d never thought he’d ever find.
And she was standing literally two feet away from him.
He started to turn. Davis had never been shy about approaching someone, and as the thrill of this moment coursed through his veins, he wasn’t about to hesitate now.
Unreal. Un-fucking-real.
“Come on. We should get to the theater before it gets too crowded.” Taylor pulled on Jess’s arm, and both women turned and began to push through the crowd.
No. No, no, fuck no.
Davis began to move toward them, but another couple surged into the empty space at the bar where the two women had just left, and suddenly everyone seemed to be heading for the same place at the same time. He needed to get to her now, because there was no fucking way he was going to be paired with her tonight—that would be asking Fate too much. Davis knew from the rules trading partners was out of the question, which left him with a very narrow window of opportunity here because the chances of finding her after the event were pretty much nil. He needed to catch her now and make his pitch.
Hi. My name is Davis, and I’m going to apologize in advance, but I overheard you say something at the bar, and I’d really like ten minutes of your time to speak with you about it.
He just needed sixty seconds to convince her to listen to the other nine. To hear him out about what he’d waited a lifetime for.
That’s all he wanted.
And it was disappearing right in front of his eyes.
Chapter 4
Jessica
“Who’s ready to get started?”
Taylor joined in with the cheering crowd as the MC Madison—Mistress Madison—stood on the stage making her welcoming announcement. Jess didn’t join in, but simply stood listening with a smile plastered on her face.
Christ, Jess. Time to get your head in the game. You’re here to have a couple hours of fun, not brood over…
A fantasy. A never-to-be-fulfilled fantasy.
Madison finished her opening announcement, then Jaxson Cartwright-Davidson—one of the owners of Black Light—was called up. Jess wasn’t listening but rather looking over to the pack of men gathered to one side of the stage. As Doms went, there wasn’t anything to be displeased about among the group, and Jess should have been excited to find out which one she was going to be paired with. But right now she was finding it difficult to drop into that submissive headspace which normally allowed her to let go and enjoy what was about to happen.
Just. Let. It. Go.
Maybe once the pairing took place she’d get lucky and find herself with a halfway decent Dom who’d be able to put her in the right mindset. She had a natural inclination to focus intensely on a single subject, and while that might be great for her as a virologist, sometimes it played hell with her submissive side. The same side which was now sitting in a corner pouting that she was going to ruin an otherwise fun evening with this repetitive train of thought.
“I want to thank our participants for making this event possible, and to all of you for joining us. Enjoy your evening, and I hope you’re all still here when we hit ten years!”
Jaxson waved to the cheering audience as he exited the stage, stopping only for a moment to whisper something in Mistress Madison’s ear. As one of the owners of Black Light, he had a right to be proud of what they’d achieved, and Jess joined in the applause from the crowd. The mood was infectious, and Jess felt herself buoyed by it.
See? Fun. Just enjoy the moment. Pretty soon you’re going to have a strong, virile Dominant handling everything, and you can just give in, let it all go…
Virile. She knew why that word had popped into her head, but she shoved it down hard, driving it away. Instead, Jess forced herself to focus on what Madison was saying, her eyes flicking from the sexy young woman to the line of men waiting onstage with her.
Jess smiled, saying nothing as the MC looked down the line of Doms, speaking to them quietly. When she finished, she walked along with a handful of what appeared to be popsicle sticks, letting each of them take one.
“What’s that all about?” The submissive next to Jess stood on her tiptoes to watch what Madison was doing.
“Picking order,” the woman behind her said simply. “Each stick has a number and that determines which Dom gets to spin the wheel first to be assigned their submissive.”
Once all the sticks had been handed out, Madison returned to her spot by the wheel. As she did, a large, well-dressed Dom moved from the group toward her.
Well, there’s number one.
Madison paired off three couples, each starting with the same process: hand over a small ball to the Dom before spinning the wheel with a casual flick of her wrist. The Dom would then drop the marble in and they’d both watch as it plick-plick-plick’ed its way along the wheel’s track until it fell into a slot and the wheel came to a stop. The chosen submissive would then come up, spin for their first activity, and afterwards the couple would head off the stage to await being released to begin their evening. After the first couple, it was rinse and repeat twice more.
“And for Dom number four we have… Mr. Davis!”
Jess narrowed her eyes. She’d seen this guy before. Not during one of her previous visits to Black Light, nor at any other club she frequented. No… no, she’d seen him here someplace, tonight.
At the bar. She’d seen him at the bar. He’d been standing next to her and Taylor as they’d talked. As he took his place next to the wheel, he wasn’t looking at it or Madison. He was staring out toward where she and the remaining submissives stood, his gaze intense as he scanned them.
Jess hadn’t taken much notice of him at the bar, but she did now. He was tall, over six feet easily, and while he didn’t have the ’roid rager, gym-monkey body type that was all too common in SoCal, he was well-built, and looked as if he was no stranger to physical labor. He was… attractive, in a way that suggested outdoorsman rather than West Coast chic actor or influencer.
The man turned away from searching the group long enough to drop the ball into the wheel. He didn’t watch it, though. Instead, his eyes immediately returned to raking back and forth over the subs.
“And to play with Mr. Davis tonight we have… Miss Jess!”
Jess stiffened. Well. Okay. There you are. There’s your play partner for the evening.
Could be worse. Could definitely be worse.
Jess moved from the group of submissives toward the stage. The entire way the man tracked her, his face blank. There was something about his body language, a coiled tension in the way he stood waiting for her, that made her nervous. Had he been hoping for the chance to play with someone else? Was he masking disappointment? He had to know that t
he rules dictated there’d be no switching of partners: she was his and he hers, and they were going to spend the next three hours playing together whether he wanted to or not. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. If he was going to be a dick about not getting who he’d hoped for, Jess had no problem safe wording out of this and bailing. Sure, a free month of membership at Black Light—two if they got really lucky— was appealing but it wasn’t enough to make Jess endure three hours of subpar kink-play because this guy was butthurt about not getting to perform with who he wanted.
Shouldn’t have signed up for the event, chief, if that’s how you’re gonna be.
She mentally shook her head as she crossed the stage. Okay, Jess, don’t go poisoning the well here. Sure, his gaze was intense, but otherwise his face was unreadable, and she had no idea what was going on inside that chiseled jaw head of his.
Mr. Davis took a single step back to give her room as she moved up to Mistress Madison. He said nothing, and if anything, his gaze grew even more penetrating. It was a little disconcerting, but it certainly had one effect: Jess finally began to slip into a submissive headspace.
“So, Miss Jess, ready to spin?” Madison handed her the smooth round marble, then reached and sent the wheel turning.
It whirled for a moment, then Jess reached out and dropped the ball into the device. It clitter-clattered between the dividers, skipping from spot to spot as the wheel began to slow. As he’d done with his own spin, Mr. Davis didn’t bother looking at the wheel: his eyes remained fixed on her.
What was this guy’s deal?
“Sybian–orgasm torture!” Madison cried out. “Someone’s in for a fun time,” she said with a sly grin.
Okay, Sybian sounded good. In fact, it sounded very good. And in the right hands this could be hot as fuck, the torture part notwithstanding. If this guy was going to spend the night with some bullshit chip on his shoulder instead of edging Jess with the Sybian before making her come, that’s all the excuse she was going to need. She’d ripcord right the fuck out of this evening, free months be damned.
Suddenly, a strong hand was gripping her shoulder. She snapped her head up and found herself staring into a pair of steel gray eyes.
“Come with me.” His voice was low, commanding, and it sent a little shiver wriggling up her spine. Everything about him so far was an enigma: she couldn’t tell if he was pissed, angry, excited, upset, frustrated, or just bored to tears.
Still, the grip of his hand and the tone of his voice made it clear he was a Dom—or he at least put up a damn-good act. Beyond that, though… she had no idea what was going on with the man. He wasn’t giving the same cues she normally got with a new Dom. In fact, she felt like she was being led off for interrogation, which would have made sense if they’d rolled roleplay or even high protocol. But for someone who was going to be spending time teasing and torturing her while she rode the Sybian, he certainly gave no indication he was looking forward to it.
They moved off the stage, standing to one side as the final pairings were made. Davis remained at her back, a silent presence that wasn’t without a certain amount of thrill, and yet…
Well, if this’s how he’s going to be the rest of the evening, this is going to be sooo much fucking fun.
When the last couple was finally matched up, someone from the crowd yelled out “Let’s go!” and Madison turned toward them.
“You’re right! It’s time for our participants to go and start Valentine Roulette! Good luck!”
A frisson of anticipation skittered across her skin. As the other couples began to move off, Jess stared at the floor in front of her, waiting for her Dom to do... something.
Anything.
Nothing happened.
He made no movement, no sound, and if it wasn’t for the fact she could feel his presence behind her, she might’ve thought he’d left her altogether. They stood like statues, and as the last couple drifted away, what had seemed slightly odd at first now began to feel like a battle of wills, a contest that began to irritate as the seconds drifted by.
Enough was enough. Jess had no patience for this tonight. If he wanted to play games—
A hand clamped to the back of her neck.
“Miss Jess.” There it was. That voice again. It sent another shiver coursing through her, thrill overcoming exasperation.
“Yes?”
“You and I need to have a little chat.”
Chapter 5
Davis
Be. Fucking. Patient.
Davis remembered whispering those words into the ear of a subordinate one time. They’d been waiting for a target to appear, and the sergeant had wanted to take off, get ahead into a ‘better position.’ Davis had put his hand between the man’s shoulders and pressed down, giving him the command quietly.
The words repeated themselves in his head right now. He needed to heed them if he wanted to be as successful with Miss Jess as he had been that night.
So, he did nothing. He remained silent behind the woman standing rigidly in front of him, watching her as she took in the growing number of couples around them. Was she wondering why he wasn’t murmuring bold words into her ear as the other Doms around them seemed to? Maybe that’s what she expected, perhaps even wanted, but Davis’s approach was going to be different. Patience. Don’t rush her with the questions that burned like fire through him right now.
Even after everything had been rolled on, and they’d been released by Mistress Madison, Davis waited. He wanted her a little off kilter because he was a little off kilter himself, and he definitely needed this time to get his shit together and form a plan.
Davis wasn’t a religious person per se, but there must be a deity watching over him tonight, because she shouldn’t be the submissive standing in front of him right now. It was too good to be true.
He caught the tic of her neck as she started to turn. Whether she was confused, or her patience had worn thin, it didn’t matter. Davis reacted quickly and brought his hand up to grip her.
“You and I need to have a little chat.”
She tensed against the clamp of his hand, but Davis felt her shiver too, and she didn’t resist when he turned her away from the stage and guided her out of the room. Whatever she was going to say died unspoken as Davis moved them from the theater and back into the main space. He glanced around, then found what he was looking for.
“I’m looking for the Sybian,” Davis said quietly to a large man in a skin-tight black T-shirt with a small Black Light logo embroidered on the chest.
A slow grin spread across the dungeon monitor’s face as he looked down at Miss Jess, then back to Davis. “I’ll bet you are.” He pressed a button on the walkie-talkie handset clipped to his collar, then nodded a moment later to whatever response he heard in his earpiece.
“Tyler’s got it set up for you on one of the platforms in the main play space.” He gestured with a hand across the room. “Just head through the curtain at the end of the bar. Can’t miss it.”
“Thank you,” Davis said politely. His hand never left the back of Jess’s neck, and the further they went, the more she appeared to relax into it. If she’d been upset earlier, she seemed to be easing out of it now. Getting her into the headspace Davis wanted was going to be his task for the next hour. After that…
Patience. Then he’d make his move, for better or worse.
Davis guided them past the end of the bar and through a heavy burgundy curtain. Beyond that was another room already filled with people, many of them clearly setting up to play. Davis paused, feeling Jess’s head move through his fingers as they both scanned the room at the same time. Finally, he found it. Just as the DM had said, they’d set up the Sybian centered on one of the platforms dotting the room.
A small crowd of people were already gathered around it.
Well, fuck. He should have anticipated this. They’d made it clear to expect being watched during Roulette, and Madison’s intro had only reinforced that. Sans him fucking Jess outright, the Sybian
was going to be a pretty close approximation, so of course it was going to be popular. Davis had to admit: if he weren’t playing himself, it definitely would’ve been one of his first stops.
“There.” He steered Jess toward the platform, and still she said nothing as they threaded their way through the crowd. As they drew close to the platform, the people around it parted, allowing them both to step up.
The device was situated dead center on the riser, a single chair set to one side. The Sybian itself was a custom one, different from those he’d seen before. It was mounted onto a stand made of heavy timber stained to a dark umber, soft, black-tooled leather stretched over a rounded center cushion, a slightly ridged center running the length of it. A small opening in the middle of the cushion was where the phallus would normally be positioned, except…
“Evening.”
Davis turned to the sound of the voice, and found another DM stepping up onto the platform.
“You guys must be Mr. Davis and Miss Jess.”
He felt Jess nod through his fingers, and Davis gave the man a polite smile. “We are.”
“Cool. I’m Dave.” The DM stuck out his hand. “Ever use a Sybian before?”
“A couple of times”—Davis shook the man’s hand, then glanced back at the device—“but definitely not one quite like this.”
Dave chuckled. “Yeah, I get that a lot. I built this,” he said with pride as he patted the black leather cushion. “The Cartwright-Davidsons want to make sure their guests have only the best, and this is the best goddamn Sybian you are ever going to ride, I guarantee.” He grinned at Jess, then turned his gaze back to Davis. “So, like this is probably similar to ones you’ve used before”—the man moved to the rear of the unit—“but there’s a few modifications I’ve made I need to go over.”
He reached and pulled a small black box clipped to the back of the unit. There were multiple buttons and dials on the face of it, and a long spiral cord trailing behind. “This is your controller. With this you can adjust just about anything you need. These two pistons”—Dave pointed to the large cylinders mounted front and back of the large center beam—"will allow you to go up, down, change the angle of the cushion… whatever you want.” He turned and smiled enigmatically at Jess before continuing.