Light Switch

by Lauren Gallagher

  But Sir had spoken.

  I dragged my nails down his back, probably hard enough to leave faint white trails, but no more. He pulled out, then thrust back in, fucking me faster as I scratched him again. I bit my lip. I was hellbent on obeying his order not to come, but I could barely focus on even that simple ask with the way he fucked me, the way he slammed his cock deep inside me, because it just felt too. Damned. Good.

  “Scratch harder,” he said.

  I dug my nails in a little more, applying just enough pressure to, I guessed, turn those white trails red.

  “Harder,” he growled. “I said ‘claw,’ not tickle.”

  “I’m—” I hesitated.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “I’m afraid of hurting you, Sir.”

  “I’m ordering you to hurt me.”

  “Sir, I—”

  “Fucking hurt me, Kristen,” he snarled.

  Obedience trumped fear, and I did as he ordered, raking my nails down either side of his back. He sucked in a hiss of breath, and like a cat, he arched his back and pushed against my nails, barely breaking his rhythm as he continued thrusting into me. When a deep, throaty growl emerged from him, my fingers curled in response. The harder I scratched him, the harder he fucked me. The harder he fucked me, the harder I scratched him.

  “Yes, just like that,” he whispered breathlessly. “That’s perfect.”

  There was no holding back the helpless cry that escaped my lips. His sharp breaths, his violent thrusts, his whispered praise; it all conspired to drive me toward that sweet abyss of forbidden delirium.

  “Don’t come yet,” he said, panting against my neck. “I know you want to, but you’re not allowed to yet.”

  I screwed my eyes shut behind the blindfold, digging my teeth into my lip as I dug my nails into his back and shoulders. The low groan he released did nothing to help me hold back.

  “Sir, please let me come,” I moaned. “Please, Sir, you feel—” I cut myself off, both because speech was too complicated and because I wasn’t sure if I was at liberty to speak that way.

  “Tell me,” he breathed.

  “You…” I gasped for air. “You feel too good not to make me come.”

  He kissed my neck and thrust harder. “All I have to do is give you the word, then?”

  “Yes, Sir. Please, Sir.”

  “Oh, I would,” he whispered. “But the second you come, I’m going to come too.”

  “Please…” I could barely speak through chattering teeth. My eyes rolled back as my orgasm tried to take over. Knowing he was so close, that he’d come the moment I did, I was a breath away from falling apart.

  “Is that what you want, Kristen?” He was panting hard now, his skin slick with sweat and his arms shaking from exertion. “Do you want to come so you’ll make me come?”

  “Yes, Sir, oh God, yes.”

  “Come.”

  In the split second it took for him to breathe that syllable against my neck, I was over the edge, into that abyss, and he was right there with me. He groaned, the sound reverberating through my trembling, arching, writhing body like an echo of the shudders radiating from my pussy. His muscles twitched and quivered beneath my nails as the force of his orgasm drove him deeper inside me. I couldn’t tell his pleasure from mine, couldn’t tell whose shudders sent me further into sweet oblivion, couldn’t breathe until his mouth was over mine and drawing the air right out of my lungs.

  As one, we came down. Our bodies relaxed. We both exhaled. I no longer dug my nails into his back; now I simply held his shoulders to still my shaking hands. Only our mouths moved, his tongue and mine lazily intertwining as we kissed in between trying to catch our breath. Without breaking the kiss, he rested his weight on one arm and reached up to push the blindfold off. Cool air touched my face now that the satin cover was gone, but I was too lost in his kiss to bother opening my eyes. It was only when he raised his head that I finally looked at him.

  He smiled down at me. “You handled everything well. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay on the cross.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  He kissed me lightly before pulling out and pushing himself up. “So, any chance I’ll be able to talk you into doing it again?”

  “I don’t think you’ll have to twist my arm.” Our eyes met and we both grinned. Then he got up to take the condom off. When he turned away, I gasped at the bright red stripes crisscrossing his back. It looked like I’d even drawn blood in a few places.

  He eyed me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Your back. It’s…”

  He turned his back to the mirror above the dresser and looked over his shoulder. “Oh, that’s going to sting in the shower.” Then he winked at me. “Nicely done.”

  Chapter 23

  We lay in silence for a long time, just breathing and returning to earth. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat while his fingers absently ran through my hair. The endorphins were slowly wearing off, as was the adrenaline that came from returning to the scene of a previous panic.

  Lying beside him, it occurred to me that none of this had been what I’d had in mind when BDSM first piqued my interest. I’d thought of it as whips, chains, leather, pain. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that it could be some of the most deeply satisfying and intimate sex of my life.

  Then again, I’d never imagined I’d ever have a lover like Scott, whether in a kinky or vanilla situation.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” he said.

  “Just catching my breath.”

  He laughed softly. “You stopped breathing hard a few minutes ago.”

  I craned my neck to look up at him. “Nothing gets past you, does it?”

  “Not a thing.” He kissed my forehead. “I figured you were either thinking or falling asleep, and since you’re fairly wide awake…” That inquisitive, I see right through you eyebrow lift. “So, what’s on your mind?” Concern creased his forehead. “You did fine on the cross, but is anything bothering you about that?”

  “No, not at all.” I turned onto my side. “I was just thinking about what we’re doing. All of this. It’s weird, I guess. I keep thinking about this versus what I was doing with Alec.”

  He propped himself up on one elbow. “How so?”

  “Well, it seems like,” I paused, trying to find the words. “Like, he wasn’t a Dom, yet he had more control over my sex life than you do.”

  “To be fair, he was also the only player.” Scott winked.

  I laughed. “Touché. But, in all seriousness, Alec was completely in control of our sex life. And with you, it’s…” I chewed my lip. “It’s different.”

  “Of course it is,” he said with a half shrug.

  “How so?”

  “He took control. You gave me control.”

  “I know. Still, it’s almost surreal, looking at the differences,” I said. “You’re in charge. You’re the Dom. You decide everything from whether or not I can see to what I wear, but he…” I shook my head, releasing a frustrated breath as I struggled to articulate it. “He controlled when we had sex, where we had sex.” Through my teeth, I added, “If we had sex.”

  Scott ran his hand up and down my arm. “The difference is that he was a selfish bastard. I may be the one calling the shots, I may demand you call me ‘Sir’ and punish you when you disobey me, but every time we do this, my ultimate goal…” He made a gentle, spine-tingling circle on the inside of my elbow. “… is your pleasure. From what you’ve said about Alec, he just wanted to come and be done with it. I want to give you more than just an orgasm. It’s supposed to be…” He pursed his lips, his eyes losing focus for a moment before he met mine again. “… an experience.”

  “Which it has been.”

  “Good.” He kissed me lightly. “That’s what it’s all about. Anyway, yes, I’m a Dom, but all I take from you are your trust and submission. And what I take from you, I take so that I can give you even more in return.” He shrugged
with one shoulder. “What he gave or took, he did so with only himself in mind.”

  “That would be Alec in a nutshell,” I muttered.

  “And that,” he said, draping his arm over my waist, “is why you’re in my bed right now instead of his.”

  I gave him a pointed look. “Scott Moore, you’re not gloating, are you?”

  “I just tied you to a Saint Andrew’s Cross, teased you with ice, fucked the hell out of you, and then you told me how he basically pissed you away.” He shrugged again. “You’re damn right I’m gloating.”

  Laughing, I said, “Cocky bastard.”

  “I don’t deny it.”

  “I didn’t think you would.”

  “What can I say?” Another casual, one-shouldered shrug. “He was an idiot. And quite honestly, from everything you’ve said, and from how you reacted to being tied the first time, I’d say it’s a damned good thing you never tried anything kinky with him.”

  “Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

  “Of course I am.”

  I smacked him playfully. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were right about him. Christ, I can only imagine what he’d have done had he tied me the way you did the first time.”

  Scott’s expression turned serious. He touched my face as he said, “If he’s as oblivious and self-centered as I think he is, I would hope it never got to that point with him. I can pretty well guarantee he wouldn’t have caught on as quickly that you needed to come down.”

  I shuddered. For all the times I’d tried to persuade Alec to try something, I was suddenly glad he’d never agreed to it.

  “He’d never done any of this before, had he?” Scott asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Putting a flogger in his hands probably would have been a bad idea, then,” he said. “He wasn’t just inexperienced, he was stupid, clueless, and selfish. You’d have been asking to get hurt.”

  I couldn’t argue with that.

  “But,” Scott went on, “that asshole is gone, and you’re stuck with me and all of my experience.”

  “You’re gloating again.”

  “Still not denying it.”

  “You’re terrible.” I laughed. “Okay, so, since you have all this experience, can I ask you something?”

  “Didn’t leave me much choice, did you?”

  “Shut up, smartass.” I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  He chuckled. “Of course. Go ahead.”

  “This may sound ridiculous, but given how little experience I have with all of this, bear with me.” I moistened my lips. “How does someone learn how to flog?”

  “A lot of practice.”

  “I figured, but I don’t imagine too many people are willing to help a novice with target practice.”

  “You’d be surprised.” He turned onto this stomach and rested on his forearms. “But it usually helps to practice on something inanimate at first. Pillows, stuffed animals, your boss, whatever you can find. Some people throw a little flour on them so they can see where the tails are hitting.” He paused. “I can also teach you using one of my subs.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. Obviously I’ll have you practice a bit on your own, but sooner or later, you need a human target.”

  “One of your subs won’t mind being on the receiving end of a flogging from a novice like me?”

  “Amy will jump at the opportunity.” He chuckled. “Trust me, it won’t take much to persuade her. Just tell her she’s going to be tied up and beaten, she’ll be there.”

  “I can see why you and she get along so well.” I laughed. Then I said, “While I’m asking you strange things, I have another question for you.”

  He shrugged. “Okay, shoot.”

  “You know I have this thing going with my neighbor, right?”

  “Which part?” He grinned. “Watching each other, or fucking each other?”

  “Both, now that you mention it.”

  “Okay, what about it?”

  I swallowed. “You said you’re an exhibitionist, right?”

  “I am. As are you.”

  “Exactly. And he’s obviously a voyeur.” I thumbed my chin. “Would you be opposed to me bringing him in one night? With us?”

  Scott cocked his head. And there it was, that patented Scott Moore smirk. “Hmm, I think someone’s been enjoying her threesomes.”

  I tried—and failed—not to laugh. “Maybe I have been.”

  “Maybe, my ass.”

  “Okay, you got me.” I smiled. “So, are you down with it? He mostly wants to watch, but he might join in. Depending on how comfortable he is.”

  “Sure, I don’t see why not.” He grinned again. “A voyeur is the perfect thing to add to a couple of exhibitionists, after all.”

  “I guess I don’t need to ask if it bothers you to have another man in the room.”

  Scott laughed. “I’ve flogged you while another man fucked you. I think I can live with someone watching or joining in.” He kissed me. “Sounds like fun. Just tell me when and where.”

  I put my arms around him. “How about my place, as soon as possible?”

  He pulled me to him and rolled me onto my back.

  “I’ll be there,” he murmured against my lips, and when he kissed me again, the conversation was over.

  Chapter 24

  “You sure about this?” I asked when I greeted Matt at the door.

  “Getting to see you up close and personal instead of across the alley?” He kissed me. “You’re damn right I am.”

  I smiled. “But on any other night, you get to have me—”

  “But watching you is…” He trailed off, biting his lip as his eyes lost focus for a second. Then he looked at me. “Watching you is so fucking hot.”

  “Dirty man.”

  “Damn right.” He kissed me again.

  I slipped my hand into his. “Come on, then. Let’s get this thing started.” I led him into the kitchen, where Scott waited. “You remember Scott, right?”

  Matt nodded and extended his hand.

  As they shook hands, I said, “Wine?”

  “Please,” Scott said.

  “Matt?”

  “No, thanks.”

  While I went about pouring the wine, Scott said, “So, while we’re all still dressed, I suppose some ground rules are in order.” He looked at Matt. “You’re mostly in this to watch, right?”

  Matt nodded.

  “Are you opposed to participating?”

  Matt grinned at me before looking at Scott again. “Probably not.” He paused, then quickly added, “I mean, playing with her.”

  Scott chuckled. “Of course. Now, since she’s my submissive, she takes orders from me.” He glanced at me, then back at Matt. “If I order her to do something to you, are you comfortable with that?”

  Matt shifted his weight, drumming his fingers on the counter. I imagined Scott’s straightforwardness caught him off guard. After a moment, he looked at Scott. “Define ‘something’.”

  Scott shrugged. “Kiss you, fuck you, suck you off.”

  Matt stiffened, his cheeks coloring slightly. He glanced at me. I smiled and offered a shrug that was more apologetic than Scott’s. Matt was quiet for a long moment, then finally nodded.

  “Yeah, I’m fine with that.”

  “And I assume you’re okay with that too, Krissy?”

  “Of course.”

  I handed the glass to Scott. He grinned as he took it, and my nipples instantly hardened. Just the sight of him with a glass of red wine was enough now. He didn’t even have to take that first sip, but he would, and by the time he did, I’d be wet and desperate for his mouth, his cock, and his approval. Once his sleeves were rolled, I’d be putty in his hands.

  For now, though, he taunted me with the untouched wine and sleeves still buttoned to the wrists.

  “Well,” he said, “unless anyone else has any limits, rules, questions, whatever…” He gestured down the hall with his glass. “Shall we?” />
  No one had any limits, rules, questions, or whatever, so they followed me into the bedroom. There, Matt took a seat in the chair beside the window. Scott set his backpack down and leaned against the bed.

  I looked at the bag, then at him. “I assume you already have an evil plan in mind?”

  “But of course.”

  After he’d sipped his wine and rolled his sleeves, Scott grinned, pulled a blindfold out of his bag, and handed it to me. I started to put it on, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

  “No.” He nodded toward Matt. “It’s for him.”

  Matt and I exchanged puzzled looks. When I met Scott’s eyes again, the lift of his eyebrows and the tautness of his lips asked if I was going to obey or if I wanted him to punish me.

  I turned to Matt. He swallowed hard, glancing at the blindfold in my hand before giving me just the slightest nod. Though I was puzzled about Scott’s intentions, there must have been a method to his madness. Not that I was in a position to question either his madness or his method.

  Once the blindfold was on, I stepped back and waited for the next command.

  Scott stayed still and silent. I did the same. Matt drummed his fingers on the armrest. Tapped his heel on the floor. Took a few deep breaths. If this all caught me by surprise, I could only imagine what it was doing to him. He’d come to watch, and now he was blind. He didn’t know what either of us would do, and for several long moments, we did nothing.

  Evidently my mind wasn’t the only one with which Scott could play games.

  Sir’s voice made me jump. “Unbutton your blouse and take it off.”

  Matt shifted in his chair. I wondered if he could hear my fingers opening each button. Blindness had a funny way of making other senses incredibly acute. Whether or not he could hear it, I had little doubt he was picturing it, and he licked his lips when my blouse landed on the floor in a whisper of falling fabric.

  “Take off your bra,” Scott said.

  Matt drew in a long breath through his nose. The more clothing Scott ordered off me, the more Matt fidgeted. More murmured curses rolled off his tongue. By the time I was completely naked, his knuckles were white from gripping the armrests.