by Selena Kitt
She was afraid to speak, to break the spell. Slowly, their breathing returned to normal. Tilly traced her finger over the patterns of his tattoos, glorying in the tanned heat of his flesh, exploring it like a hot, desert terrain. Her mind raced. She wanted to analyze, to go over every action, try to figure out if she was crazy, or perhaps dreaming. Because if what had happened today between them meant what she hoped it did…
“Connie.” She lifted her head to look at him. His were open, looking up at the ceiling. Then they shifted to her, turning soft, tender. He didn’t correct her when she used his real name, didn’t tell her not to call him that. He just hefted her higher, his fingers linked between her legs, planting a soft kiss on her mouth.
She let out a little sigh when they parted, opening her eyes to him again, seeing things there she could only hope were real.
“Can I come back tomorrow?” she whispered.
“Yes.” He didn’t smile, but he nodded. And then he kissed her again.
That was all the answer she needed.
Chapter 13
Tilly was getting a little tired of hearing about Erich every day.
It wasn’t a long drive to The Block, but it was long enough for Frankie to go on and on about Erich, how absolutely amazing he was, how much money had had, about his Bugatti and a couple of other expensive cars she couldn’t remember the names of. She talked about his house and his clothes, about the witty and intelligent people he knew, about the things he owned and the clubs he belonged to, aside from the one he owned. She went on about what he’d done and what he was going to do.
Tilly knew it wasn’t the money that had drawn Frankie in—Frankie had been around money her whole life, they both had. They’d both dated plenty of guys who had trust funds coming to them, whose parents went to the same country club and donated to similar charities. It wasn’t Erich’s money that appealed to her, Tilly was sure of it. It was something about Erich. Maybe it was the whole BDSM thing that had so enamored her friend, Tilly thought.
But it still surprised her that Frankie, ordinarily a very intelligent woman, had developed such a tendency to complete silliness when it came to Erich. Tilly had warned her to be careful, that any man, sooner or later, in one way or another, might turn out to be less than you thought.
That talk had made Frankie angry, and she demanded to know what Tilly had against Erich. They’d almost gotten into a fight about it, but the anger hadn’t lasted when Tilly said this had nothing to do with Erich in particular—she was just making sensible generalities for the sake of argument. Playing devil’s advocate. Frankie had accepted this explanation, and teased Tilly for being over cautious, as usual.
She’d been afraid to broach the subject again, but Tilly couldn’t seem to help herself.
“But what about long term?” Tilly asked as Frankie shifted gears and pulled away from a red light. “I mean… the whole submissive thing. Is that forever? Like, are you gonna walk down the aisle wearing a cat suit?”
Frankie snorted a laugh at that. “Can you imagine my mother’s face?”
Tilly grinned back. Frankie’s mother already had her whole wedding planned. When Dante had backed out and broke it off, Frankie had been heartbroken, but Tilly thought Frankie’s mother might have been even more depressed over the breakup.
“It’s fun.” Frankie shrugged. “And hot. I guess I can’t see myself doing it forever. But… for the summer? Until I go to law school? I mean, why the hell not live a little? When are we ever going to have a chance to do something like it again?”
“But I thought… isn’t Erich totally into it?” Tilly asked. “I mean, the lifestyle?”
“Oh, he doesn’t do it twenty-four-seven or anything.” Frankie wrinkled her nose, turning the corner. “He owns the club because it makes him money. I mean, he’s into it, but he’s not, you know, obsessed or anything.”
Tilly nodded, not quite believing her, but she didn’t want to say so. Frankie’s attitude about Erich was unsettling to her. On the one hand, she was head over heels, couldn’t get enough of the guy—and then she said things like “it’ll be fun for the summer.” Maybe she was just trying to cover up her real feelings, Tilly thought, glancing over at her friend. Being on the rebound made it hard to trust, hard to take anything too seriously.
“So?” Frankie cocked her head at Tilly, smiling. “How about you? Have you gone out with Mark again? You’ve been so quiet about it—how’s it all going?”
Tilly looked out the window as they started to pass into the warehouse district, a mysterious smile crossing her face. She had to tell her eventually. “I’m not with Mark anymore.”
“What? Why?” Frankie gaped at her, swerving into the other lane for a moment—thankfully no one was coming the other direction. “Oh no, did you get into trouble for dating him? I’ll talk to Erich, he’ll—”
“No, it’s not that.” Tilly shook her head and laughed. “Mark and I didn’t really hit it off, honestly. I mean, he’s a nice guy, but… anyway, I have another dom now.”
“Hm.” Frankie looked sidelong at her. “Who?”
Tilly flushed, shrugging, avoiding her friend’s look.
“You want me to guess?” She was already tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, and Tilly could see her thinking about it, running through the possibilities in her head. “Okay. Let me think… Don’t tell me, don’t tell me.”
“I won’t.” Tilly smiled mischievously.
“There’s Gary… but he’s pretty hardcore. Erich wouldn’t put you with him. It’s not Gary, is it?”
“Nope.”
“Neil’s not your type.” Frankie pressed her lips into a straight line. “He’s kind of cute, but he’s… too detached. Not right for you...”
“True.”
“Oh! It’s Devon!” Frankie hit her palm on the steering wheel. “Ha! He’s hot! The girls always ask for him. Well, when they can’t get Beast. They all ask for Beast. Erich says his submissive contracts have practically doubled since he hired Beast.”
Frankie rolled her eyes at that. She was still mad at him for telling her not to date Erich.
“Ooh, tell me it’s Devon!” Frankie bounced in her seat, grinning over at Tilly in satisfaction, sure she was right.
“Nope.”
“No?” Frankie was genuinely surprised. “But there is nobody else. Unless… Erich?”
“No!” Tilly put her hands out in a warding off gesture. “No way!”
“Well who, then?”
“You said it already.” Tilly watched her friend’s face, saw her going over their conversation in her head, saw the realization dawning, slowly.
“Beast.” Frankie said his name, softly. Then she shrieked it. “Beast! You’re with Beast!”
“Yeah,” she admitted.
For a moment, Tilly was terrified. Frankie’s foot rose momentarily, as if she was about to slam on the brakes. At the speed they were going, they’d get into an accident for sure. Frankie was probably the worst person in the world to tell shocking news to while she was driving.
But Frankie got a grip on herself. At least, enough to not crash the car. What she did instead was cry, “Fuck me sideways!”
Tilly didn’t know what else to say.
“So he’s…” Frankie cocked her head, like she was trying to work it out. “He’s your dom. You and him. You’re… like… together?”
Tilly nodded, pursing her lips, not saying anything. She waited for the shock, the disgust, the judgment. She knew Frankie loved her, but this might test their friendship to its limits. Tilly waited, closing her eyes against it and turning her face toward the passenger window.
But Frankie did something Tilly never expected.
“I knew it! I knew it!” Frankie raved. “Oh my God, Tills. Oh. My. Fucking. God! I knew it!”
“What?” Tilly turned her face to look at her, eyes wide.
“Oh come on.” Frankie grinned happily. “I’m not fucking blind. I saw the way you looked at him when he cam
e home. And I can’t blame you!”
Tilly looked at her, stunned. Frankie knew? Did everyone know? Dear God, she hoped she wasn’t so transparent.
“Tilly, this is so awesome! I am so happy for you!”
Tilly found herself beaming.
“Shhh, Frankie, you’re screaming so loud people on the street are going to hear you. And keep your eyes on the road!” Tilly laughed. “I just had to tell someone. I was bursting…”
“So wait.” Frankie glanced at her, trying to keep her eyes on the road as requested. “When you signed the contract… did you ask for him?”
Tilly nodded, flushing at the confession.
“You sneak!” Frankie laughed. Then she frowned. “Wait… how did you end up with Mark?”
“It was a mix-up.” Tilly shrugged. “I was going to quit, if they didn’t switch me… but… well, I’m with Beast now.”
Frankie shook her head. “How long were you not going to tell me?”
“I don’t know.” Tilly felt her cheeks full of heat. She felt bad, keeping it from Frankie, but she honestly hadn’t known what her reaction might be. “I was afraid you might get all judgy.”
Frankie gave her a long, dark look and Tilly pointed at the road, urging her again to keep her eyes on it.
“And Beast is so… he’s hot and cold.” Tilly sighed. “I guess I was kind of waiting to make sure it stuck.”
“So… is it?” Frankie asked. “Sticky, I mean?”
“So far.” She was afraid to say anything else. “But Frankie, you have to swear not to tell anyone.”
“I promise.” Frankie nodded gravely. “I get it.”
“I mean… my mother. It would kill her. Like, literally.”
“Yeah.” Frankie winced. “Oh, yeah.”
“She’d never go for it.” Tilly shook her head, seeing Beast’s car as they pulled into the parking lot of The Block.
“Well, I guess some people might think it’s kind of… strange,” Frankie said, putting the car in park. “It would take some getting used to. But you’re not really related. I mean, technically. Not by blood or anything.”
“I know.” Tilly took a deep breath. “But it doesn’t matter. Not to her.”
“You’ve gotta follow your heart.” Frankie put her hand on Tilly’s arm, squeezing gently. “I’m not saying this to be cruel, Tilly. I’m really not. But… she’s not going to be around forever. And you have your whole life in front of you.”
“I know.” Tilly gave her friend a smile she hoped covered everything she was feeling. “Come on, let’s go.”
They went into The Block, down the stairs to The Bottom Floor, past the bouncer and the closed doors of soundproofed training rooms. Tilly was still amazed how quiet the hallway was, yet she knew there were couples behind those doors, submissives being trained by doms, emitting moans and sobs and cries that they couldn’t hear.
The pretty short-haired blonde—Amanda was her name—gave them each a key card. They knew their room numbers. Frankie gave Tilly a brief, one-armed hug when they reached room seven—Frankie’s training room—and then Tilly went on, unlocking room four.
Beast was already there, waiting for her, leaning against the table, arms crossed. She wondered for a moment, with a jolt of panic, if she was late, even though she knew she wasn’t. The dark look on his face wiped the smile from hers. Was she in trouble? Had she done something? She composed herself, dropping her gaze.
“What do you want me to do, sir?” she asked quietly.
They became two other people in this room. The psychologically abrupt changing of gears here was jarring, yet enjoyable. Maybe it’s what made it possible, she thought, for the two of them to pass each other in the hallways at home, to be at the same breakfast table with Tilly’s mother, and then to come here, and do this.
God, she loved doing this.
“Get undressed and kneel,” he told her. “The safeword’s still tequila.”
Her associations with tequila would never be the same again.
Tilly did as she was told. She was so excited she could hardly breathe. Doing this with Beast was like getting to go to Disneyland as a kid every day. A very naked, adult sort of Disneyland.
As Tilly knelt in front of him, Beast undid his belt. She swallowed, her mouth already watering in anticipation. Just the sound of him unbuckling made her pussy weep with joy. She kept her eyes down, but she could see him unzipping his khaki’s, sliding them down his hips. They landed on the floor, his belt jangling. She liked when he used his belt, something personal, instead of the flogger or his hand. Although, she liked those, too.
“Today you’re going to learn how to suck cock.”
She looked up in surprise. “I already know how to...”
Then she saw the look in his eyes and immediately fell silent, looking down again. She’d forgotten—a new submissive knows absolutely nothing. Whatever experience she had before she became a submissive meant nothing. Techniques, habits, anything already learned had to be unlearned, relearned. Whatever she’d learned about sucking cock—and while Tilly hadn’t ever, technically, been with anyone but Beast, she had done other things with men before—was just the tip of the iceberg. Or, the tip of something, anyway.
Beast dropped his boxers, stepping out of them and kicking them away. The man had a gorgeous cock and she wondered, not for the first time, if this was the real reason he ended up being nicknamed “Beast.” His cock was long and fat, circumcised, curving majestically down. She was fascinated with that silver ring. He looked kind of hard, even when he wasn’t. His balls were big, heavy, unshaven, although his crotch was neatly trimmed.
“It will be your job to get me hard.”
“Yes sir.” She licked her lips, looking at his length out of the corner of her eye.
“Learning how to suck a cock is easy.” His hand moved through her hair, forcing her head back and eyes up to meet his. “Learning how to worship a cock… only a few submissives ever truly master it. It takes a great deal of practice. And I want you to master it.”
“Yes sir.” She was wondering if he’d ever had his cock worshipped to his satisfaction, and the thought made her feel cold all over. She didn’t like the idea of him being with anyone else, training anyone else. She knew Erich had hired him for his curb appeal—there was a long waiting list for Beast, Frankie had casually informed her before she knew who Tilly was training with.
And who had bumped Tilly to the top of that list? She wondered. Had Erich finally proven good on his word? Or had it been Beast who had chosen her? She desperately wanted to ask him, but hadn’t gathered the courage. She was too afraid of saying something that might push him away again. These sessions with him were what she lived for, now.
She didn’t know who else he was training—but she did know that the two of them often spent the whole day together like this, locked in a room, naked, sweaty, lost in each other. Secretly, she hoped he’d stopped training with anyone else altogether, but she didn’t ask. It wasn’t her place to ask, anyway, at least not here.
“I’ll teach you how to please me.” His fingers trailed over her neck, his thumb tracing her collarbone. “With your hands and your mouth. Then, just your mouth.”
His thumb moved to pull her bottom lip down, spreading her own saliva over her lips. She wondered if she’d pleased him, that summer. Her own inexperience made her blush. She’d been eager to learn, even then, and he’d taught her a great deal. Even when he hadn’t been instructing her, like he was now.
“Yes sir.” Her words came out breathless. And oh so eager.
“So hungry.” His fingers, calloused and firm, moved along her jaw, slipping behind her neck. His whole hand cupped the back of her head, fisting in her hair, a gentle tug that made her gasp—not in pain, but in submission—when he pulled. “Fuck, Tilly, you were made for this.”
“That’s what Mark said.” The words escaped her without thinking and she saw the way Beast’s eyes glinted, his mouth pressing into a thin line.
“Let’s see what you think you know.” His hand moved, drawing her face toward his cock. “Suck it.”
Her face filled with heat—she knew what he was mad about. She’d mentioned Mark, reminded Beast that she’d come here that first day, expecting to be naked in front of another man. Someone besides him.