remained in position. Master John turned to the audience. "I've been doing this for ten years. This is not something you pick up overnight. If you want to learn, see me after and I'll give you my card. I offer group and individual sessions."
He turned back toward the girl, drawing his hand over her ass, his fingers tracing the fresh welts he'd created there.
Kate swallowed, watching him, her body tingling as if his hand was on her, not the girl. The room was silent. Master John stepped back and snapped the whip several times in rapid succession. When the cracker curled cruelly against Lotus Flower's bare thigh, she screamed and stumbled forward.
"Back in position, girl. Now."
Master John's voice was suddenly hard. Kate found herself feeling terribly sorry for Lotus Flower. She imagined herself up there, and knew she wouldn't get back in position. She'd probably grab the whip from Master John and give him a bit of his own medicine. So much for being submissive, she thought to herself with a wry inward grin. But Lotus Flower dutifully bent over again, grabbing narrow ankles with slender hands. Master John stroked her back.
"That's right," he said.
"You can take a little more for me. I know you can."
He turned back to the audience. Kate's eyes traveled over his physique. No question, the man was very easy on the eyes. "The crack of a bullwhip explodes like a thunderbolt. It's both savage and sensuous, dangerous and sexy as hell,"
he pronounced. Like you, Kate found herself thinking. The girl stood still as stone, her welted ass toward the audience. Master John turned back to her.
"Four more," he pronounced. "Show us your grace."
Four more cracks, two on each cheek, each punctuated by a soft cry from the girl, though she managed this time to hold her position. Master John coiled the whip and set it down on the table. He tapped Lotus Flower's shoulder and she rose, turning slowly to face the audience, her cheeks flushed. Master John stroked the hair from her face and put his arm lightly around her bare shoulders.
"Thank you, Lotus Flower. I'm sure your Master will want to work with you on maintaining position."
"Yes, Sir," the girl said in a clear, high voice. She dropped to her knees and bent low, kissing the top of Master John's right boot. The audience applauded.
As Master John helped Lotus Flower down the three steps leading to the stage, Stacey turned to Kate.
"So, what'd you think? You ready to play tonight? You know he's going to ask you."
"I know no such thing," Kate asserted, though the idea excited her as much as it unnerved her.
"I'm not even sure I'm going to the play party."
"Not going to the party!"
Stacey shouted, her voice ripe with incredulity. Several people sitting nearby turned to stare at them. Lowering her volume only slightly, Stacey added,
"Come on now, Ashley. You have to go. I won't let you not go.
The parties are the reason we're here, babe. All this seminar and workshop shit— it's just foreplay. You have to promise me you're going. Otherwise I'll sell you into slavery to Georgie Boy.
You think I'm kidding, but I got connections."
Stacey furrowed her brows and frowned, though her small dark eyes were dancing. In spite of herself, Kate laughed.
"Okay, okay, I'll go. But no one's getting near me with a bullwhip, I can tell you that right now. Give me a flogger any day. It's more, I don't know, sensual. Less punitive."
"Punitive," Stacey repeated.
"I like that. You have a way with words, you know that?
You should be a writer."
Kate smiled. "You think so?"
CHAPTER 3
"Tighter."
"You sure you'll be able to breathe?"
Kate stood just behind Stacey, who was bent over the bed with Kate's foot on her butt. Kate was pulling at the thick black satin ties of Stacey's custom-made corset.
"It's like something out of Gone with the Wind,"
she offered, as Stacey's round form began to assume a more hourglass shape.
"Except Scarlet's waist was the size of one of my thighs."
Stacey laughed.
Finally satisfied with Kate's efforts, Stacey stood and turned, offering Kate a view of ample breasts bared nearly to the nipple.
The red satin corset fit over a tight black leather miniskirt, the tops of her fishnet thigh highs visible beneath its hem. Stacey moved toward the mirror on the back of the bathroom door.
Putting her hands on her hips, she announced, "I look fabulous."
"You sure do. You look great! Maybe I should get one of those."
"It set me back a small fortune, but it's worth it. Which brings us to the question. What are you going to wear tonight? Let's see what you brought."
"Well, you know I hadn't really planned on the party thing..."
Kate spread her meager offerings on the bed. She had a pair of black linen pants and a pale green silk sleeveless blouse, plus a sleeveless black dress that zipped up the back.
"This is it? This is what you bring to a BDSM play weekend?"
Stacey's tone was disbelieving.
"You're kidding right? Where's the bustier? The stockings? Your stilettos?"
"I'm tall enough, thanks,"
Kate demurred.
"And I don't have enough to put in a bustier."
"Sure you do, honey." Stacey eyed Kate's chest.
Kate was still wearing the clothes she'd arrived in that morning.
"I know," Stacey said, her smile suddenly cunning. "You don't have the gear, but you definitely have the bod. And you're right, sometimes understatement is the way to go."
She ran her hands down her crimson corset and laughed. "Not for me, of course. I'm an in-your-face kind of gal. But for you..." Stacey squinted, sizing Kate up.
She turned toward the bed and picked up the silk blouse.
"This will be perfect, without the bra."
Kate instinctively covered her chest.
"Oh, no. I couldn't..."
"Of course you could! You have gorgeous tits. The kind that stand up on their own, all perky like round peaches on a plate.
You got it, flaunt it!"
Stacey shook her head.
"Man, I'd kill for a body like that. You should be proud of what you got, babe."
Kate said nothing, but her mind was whirring. Stacey
was right. At the risk of being immodest, Kate did have a good body and she knew it. Unlike most women she knew,
she didn't feel like she needed to lose a few pounds. She ran several times a week and lifted weights as a way to unwind while watching TV. And it wasn't like she was attending a book signing.
This was a BDSM sex play party, for god's sake. Yeah, she was there to do research for her novel, but who said she couldn't have fun in the process?
As if reading her mind, Stacey nodded.
"So, that's settled. Hurry up and shower and dress, and I'll do your makeup."
Kate looked at Stacey, with her heavy eyeliner, dark blue sparkling eyelids and a red gash of a mouth.
"No, that's okay. I can do my own, "
Stacey laughed.
"Relax. I know you can't pull off the slave slut girl look. But we can add some color at least. A little pizzazz. Trust me. I went to cosmetology school."
****
The dungeon filled the entire basement of the warehouse. Large rugs had been strewn over the cement floors and sconces shaped like old-fashioned torches lined the walls, which had been painted red. Some kind of new age jazz was being piped in through small speakers mounted in the ceiling corners of the room. The space had been partitioned into at least a dozen private and semi-private areas by large folding screens. Thick concrete support posts spaced at
strategic intervals had been converted to whipping posts, with manacles and cuffs hanging from wooden mounts that could be adjusted for height. There were three St. Andrew's crosses, a bondage wheel, several cages, a number of medical exam tables complete with leather str
aps, and piles of pillows heaped here and there. Along one wall was a large aluminum frame strung with a thick weave of rubber strips in a spider web design.
The cache of toys Kate had seen upstairs earlier in the day had been brought down to the dungeon and Master Presley stood beside it, helping people select the implement
of their choice, and signing the item out on his clipboard.
The party appeared to be just getting started when Stacey and Kate arrived. There had been a number of people upstairs milling around, talking and eating snacks, and it seemed like even more down in the dungeon. Most of them were dressed more like Stacey than Kate, decked out in black leather, fetish rubber gear, or very little at all.
Kate saw Lotus Flower and George's other two slaves
dressed in identical black waist cinchers, each with a leash attached around their necks, being pulled along by George toward the spider web. A tall, very thin man was wearing nothing except a small cage locked around his cock and balls.
He too was leashed, though the leash was tethered to his cock cage, and he was being led by another man, dressed predictably in black leather.
"I don't remember there being this many people here before," Kate commented, taking it all in.
"Some folks can't get here till after work," Stacey explained.
"Speaking of which, what do you do to pay the bills?"
Kate was saved from answering by a tall, heavyset man who suddenly appeared before them and swung Stacey up into his arms.
"Baby! Your lord and master is here at last. You ready to suffer for me, gorgeous?"
Stacey let out a delighted peel of laughter.
"You know it, Tim, er, I mean Sir Tim."
The man set her down and offered a mock frown.
"Uh oh, you know the rules. When in the dungeon, it's always Sir. Now I'll have to punish you."
He pulled a tapered red candle from his back pocket and ran it under his nose, as if smelling a fine cigar.
Stacey turned to Kate.
"Ashley, I want you to meet my dear friend, Sir Tim. We used to be lovers until we figured out we drove each other nuts, but we still enjoy playing at parties. No one can handle hot wax like this guy."
Tim bowed toward Kate.
"The pleasure is mine."
Turning to Stacey he said,
"Where did you find this delectable young thing? Is she part of the two for one package I signed up for?"
He stared hard at Kate's chest. She crossed her arms, embarrassed. How had she let Stacey talk her into going braless?
The blouse was so sheer she might as well have
been topless, her nipples clearly outlined against the pale, thin fabric.
"She might be. Depends on her. What do you say, Ash? Ever experience the fiery thrill of hot wax dripping over your delicate parts? There's nothing like it,"
Stacey said, hugging herself with apparent anticipation.
"Can't say as I have," Kate replied. "I've heard a few horror stories around hot wax. With my luck, my hair would catch on fire and the guy would end up calling the fire department."
Sir Tim grinned, shaking his head.
"Safety is the name of the game, especially where fire is concerned."
He puffed out his chest.
"Luckily, you're with a pro tonight. We'll give you a demo. I've got everything all set up already."
He turned to Stacey.
"Let's give 'em a show, shall we?"
Stacey took the man's offered arm and they moved off toward a partitioned area, her high heels clacking on the concrete floor.
Kate followed, aware of eyes on her as she moved, relieved no one was approaching her.
Sir Tim helped Stacey onto a medical exam table and slipped a small pillow beneath her head. He placed Velcro cuffs on Stacey's wrists and she let her hands drop to either side of the table. Crouching beside the table, Sir Tim secured her wrists beneath it with a length of chain attached there for the purpose.
Next he pulled a thick leather strap across her chest, which he buckled securely just below her breasts.
Kate was standing off to the side of the table, wondering what to do with herself. Stacey turned toward her and smiled.
"Relax, Ash. This is fun. Hopefully you're next, eh?"
Kate didn't reply, though she seriously doubted she would be next. Several people had come to stand beside her. A few of them greeted Sir Tim by name.
There was a card table set up against the screen, and on it were three tall jar candles with pictures of the Virgin Mary staring mournfully upward, plus a bottle of mineral oil, a bowl of ice, a washcloth and a box of matches.
Sir Tim selected one of the jar candles. Opening the box of kitchen matches, he pulled one out and struck it against the side of the box. A small flame flared. He lit the candle and returned both it and the matchbox to the table.
Leaning over Stacey, he put his hand between her legs, moving his fingers beneath the leather skirt. He smiled a sly smile.
"Wet for me already, eh, slave girl?"
For the first time, Stacey had no ready comeback. Kate noticed her cheeks were flushed, her eyes fever-bright.
When they began to flutter shut, Tim removed his hand and focused on Stacey's breasts. He pulled at them, popping each one from the satin corset that had barely held them in place. Stacey's nipples looked like large, fat pink gum drops at the center of soft, creamy mounds of flesh. Tim leaned over, burying his face between them.
"Oh, I've missed these,"
he said, longing and reverence in his voice.
"They've missed you, Sir,"
Stacey murmured.
Sir Tim picked up the bottle of mineral oil from the table and squirted some onto Stacey's breasts and thighs. He rubbed it in, coating her skin with the shiny oil. That done, he retrieved the burning candle.
"Ready, slave girl?"
"Yes, please, Sir," Stacey responded in her smoky voice.
He tipped the candle and a trail of black wax splashed over Stacey's left breast. When the droplets coated her nipple, Stacey blew out a sudden breath, her eyes squeezed tight.
Kate's nipples ached with sympathy. What would it feel like, she wondered? Did she have the nerve to climb up onto the table after Stacey?
"What do you say?" Sir Tim intoned.
"Thank you, Sir," Stacey hissed between clenched teeth.
"Good girl." He turned his attention to her second breast, eliciting a similar reaction from the bound woman. After covering most of her bared flesh with splashes of hot wax, Sir Tim moved downward, focusing on the pale skin showing above Stacey's stockings. Stacey twitched, shuddered
and moaned as melted wax splashed over her skin. Kate wanted to turn away, yet found herself riveted to the scene.
She watched, along with the small crowd now gathered
around the table, as Sir Tim lifted the hem of the leather skirt.
Kate held her breath as Sir Tim tilted the candle over the expanse of shaven, pale skin.
Stacey's eyes were squeezed tight, her lips compressed in a tight line, her nostrils flaring. When the first drops splashed against her pubic mound, she yelped, then stilled. He did it again and again, until the black wax coating created a
triangle where once pubic hair had been.
"Spread your legs. Offer yourself to me, slave girl."
Sir Tim's voice was low, the jaunty, teasing tone with which they'd begun the scene replaced with something compelling and dominant. Despite herself, Kate reacted to the words as if they'd been spoken directly to her. She caught her breath and swallowed. Though she wasn't attracted to the man in the slightest, something about the masterful change in his demeanor spoke to her on a
primal level.
Reality intervened when Stacey spread her ample thighs and arched her hips upward, flashing all who cared to look. Kate didn't want to see Stacey's spread pussy, and the thought of melted wax dripped over tender labia suddenly overwhelmed her senses. She turned abruptly from the
scene, pushing through the onlookers.
She smacked headlong into a broad chest covered in black silk, the waft of an expensive cologne assailing her as strong hands gripped her shoulders to steady her.
"Excuse me." Kate was flustered. Master John kept his hands on her shoulders, a devilish grin on his face.
"No problem. You can slam that gorgeous body into me anytime."
As his eyes caressed her body, her nipples leapt to attention beneath his gaze. She started to cover her chest with her arms, but forced herself to resist her modest impulse. She was at a play party, damn it, with a gorgeous man ogling her body. Where was the harm? It felt good to be admired.
"Like what you see, huh?"
she quipped, ordering her blood
to remain at bay and not color her cheeks.
"I do, indeed. I'd like to see a lot more."
He let go of one of her shoulders, bringing his hand to her cheek. With two fingers, he stroked her skin, moving along her jaw to her throat. His touch caused a small shudder to ripple through her and she barely controlled the soft moan of pleasure that threatened to escape her lips.
"I'd love to scene with you,"
he said, his voice low and compelling.
"I sense something powerful in you, Ashley. A force to be reckoned with, as yet untapped, waiting to be unleashed and tamed."
Kate's heart was beating too fast. She wasn't ready for a public scene, but her body seemed to be melting beneath his hot gaze.
"I, I'm not..."
Kate's mouth was dry. She swallowed, licked her lips and tried again.
"I'm sorry. I'm not ready. I'm just here to watch."
Master John frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as if he were trying to comprehend what she'd said. It occurred to her he wasn't used to being refused. Why was she refusing the best looking guy she'd seen in years, maybe ever up close?
Why was she such a chicken?
She looked away, wishing he'd stop staring at her. She felt foolish and young, out of her depth. Then the words the couple who were running the event said that morning came back to her.
Any public scene should be negotiated in advance. Yes, that was her out, an out that didn't make her look like a twelve-year-old kid afraid of her first kiss.
Heart of Submission Page 3