by Sasha White
“Okay, I got what you’re saying.”
The waitress brought their food, and Eden looked at him over her burger. “So why haven’t you guys been to the club?” she asked before taking a huge bite.
He laughed as her cheeks bulged indelicately and she struggled to chew. “Christ, woman, I know you have a huge appetite, but slow down. The cow’s dead, it’s not going to get up and run away on you.”
She swallowed then grinned. “I grew up with three brothers, Ian. Trust me, burgers can disappear if you don’t eat them fast enough.”
With that the two of them dug into their meals, chatting casually as they ate, and Ian found himself relaxing. Which surprised him because he hadn’t even been aware of how tense he was. Distracted, yes, but not tense.
“Thank you,” he said to Eden as the waitress took away their empty plates.
“For what?”
“For checking in with me. For sticking around for lunch.”
“Awww,” she said with a girlish head tilt. “You’ve missed me.”
He smiled. “Yes, I have.”
“Does that mean I’ll see you and Ronnie at the club tomorrow?”
He thought about it. He’d been keeping them out Overwatch so they could solidify their relationship without distraction, but doing so had done exactly the opposite to him personally. Logically, his restlessness made sense. He’d been going there at least twice a week for years. He didn’t always play, but it had been his social time. His down time. Missing it for two weeks, especially when something as life-changing as falling in love had been happening, had been a mistake.
He’d been worried about the importance Ronnie had been putting on a club scene when he should’ve realized that he needed the club and it’s members just as much, maybe even more, than she did. “Maybe not tomorrow, but soon.”
Now, what would make Ronnie more excited? Telling her they’d do their first club scene soon, or surprising her?
On Friday afternoon, Ronnie took off from the garage early, and drove Ian’s newly tuned Impala to his office. The SS wasn’t really sports car, but it sure suited Ian. Classy, stylish, with some hidden power. Especially after she’d tweaked a few things. His pleasure at the smooth ride when they went for dinner warmed her in an entirely different way than his kisses did, but she found she craved that warmth just as much. They’d spent most of the weekend together, watching movies, playing video games, and having sex, and she woke up on Sunday morning to Ian placing soft kisses along her jaw.
“Hmm,” she hummed in pleasure as her arms came out from under the sheets to wrap around his neck. “Love waking up with you.”
His kiss got deeper and she smoothed her hand down his back, only to jerk awake abruptly. “Why are you dressed?” she asked after tearing her mouth from under his.
“I thought I’d leave you to your Sunday errands alone this week.”
“Okay.” She tried not to frown, worried she’d been too clingy or needy or something that weekend.
Clearly she failed at keeping her bout of insecurity to herself because he cupped her cheek and stroked his thumb between her eyebrows with an indulgent smile. “I know you don’t like to go out on week nights because you have to get up so early to be at the garage, but I thought’d make an exception for your first public play at Overwatch.”
Happiness washed over her. “Seriously? I thought you wanted to wait a while?”
He grinned at her, his gaze alight with confidence and humor. “I think we’ve waited long enough, don’t you agree?”
“Fuck, yeah!” She grabbed him by the ears and pulled him down for a loud smacking kiss. Within minutes he’d stripped off his clothes and had her pinned to the bed with his body as he showed her just how needy he could make her.
A unique tension crept through Ian the next night as he walked toward the doors to the club, with Ronnie at his side. An excitement unlike any he’d felt in years. Funny, he’d held back bring Ronnie to the club to play to be sure she was ready, but he was the one feeling like a nervous virgin at auction. He’d never played a woman he cared about so much, not in front of others.
He trusted her to trust him. He could make the world disappear for her, if she let him. It was a high he craved.
Sure, he could do it when they were alone at home with no distractions. But in a club, full of people and music, conversation and the sounds of others at play…it would be a challenge. It was always a challenge he loved, to make a sub forget about the world around them, and bring them so into their own mind that they floated away on a sea of sensation. He’d done it with Ronnie before, but that was at home, when they were alone. Now he was going to prove to them both that he could do it in public as well.
This first scene for them wasn’t just a test for her, it was one for him as well.
One he was ready to embrace.
Ronnie sat at the bar and soaked up the atmosphere of the club as Ian chatted casually with the bartender. It was a slow night, one of the reasons Ian had chosen Monday as the night for her first public scene, she was sure.
Feeling eyes on her, she glanced up and saw Adam at the top rail, looking down. The club’s owner was one scary dude, but seeing him up there gave Ronnie another layer of calm. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Ian, she did, completely. But Adam was a special man, and a turning out to be a good friend. He’d been the first man to make her feel truly certain she could find what she’d wanted, and he’d never even touched her.
In the past couple of weeks, Ian had touched her plenty. She thought she’d be nervous for her first public scene ever, but she wasn’t. Her belly was tight with a constant low-level or arousal, but there as no nerves. Ian had shown her again and again that he didn’t need to be in a club, or use toys, to command her body and mind. She’d opened herself up to him, and he’d accepted her submission for the gift it was, rewarding her with more pleasure than she’d known was possible. The man was hers, and she was his. He not only had her heart, but he completely mastered her body in the bedroom. Now, tonight, he was going to master it in a club.
As if sensing where her thoughts were, Ian turned away from Kalina and winked at her. “How do you feel about a little bondage with ropes and some impact play?”
She laughed, the memory of their negotiation during one of her training classes flashing through her mind. He’d heated her up with his words then, and she knew tonight, words were just the beginning. Negotiating a scene was foreplay, and something he hadn’t done with her when they were in private, so she thrilled at the chance to make him work for it a bit.
“What sort of impact are you thinking about?” she asked, tilting her head, and giving him a coy smile.
“I just picked up a new flogger today, and I wanted to test it out. See what sort of color it could bring to a woman’s skin when applied to all the right spots.” Sparks leapt to life, brightening his dark eyes as he leaned against the bar. “Does that appeal to you?”
He knew it did, the sneaky bastard.
“I also think you’d enjoy what I can do with a riding crop.”
“A riding crop? Like jockeys use on horses?”
His lips twitched. “Exactly like that.”
The memory of him fucking her from behind, spanking her ass as he thrust deep had a rush of arousal washing over her. He’d used his hand, but what would a crop have felt like?
“Okay, I’m willing to try that,” she said, mentally cursing the sudden breathlessness of her voice. “But I’m not feeling like ropes, tonight. Got any other ideas?”
He nodded. “I’ve got plenty of ideas. Are you willing to tell me what you’re not into, and let me figure it from there?”
“Sure.” She shrugged, trying for a casualness they both knew she didn’t feel. “Tonight I’d say no to ropes, and I’m not that interested in chains. One of the specific pieces of furniture, like a bench or table would be fun though.”
“Hard limits?”
Suddenly tired of the verbal play, and eager to move
forward, Ronnie met his gaze head on. “With you? None.”
The sparks turned to flames, and Ian stilled. They stared at one another for a moment, the club and all of its occupants fading away until there was only them, and the connection that had always been there.
He straightened from the bar and held out his hand to her. “Ready?”
“Hell, yeah,” she muttered. She followed him as he moved smoothly through the club to the far wall. She knew without looking exactly where he was going. It shouldn’t surprise her that he somehow knew exactly where she wanted her first time at the club to be, but it did. Her skin was tight and her knees weak as they walked toward the St. Andrews Cross.
The cross had grabbed her attention on her very first night there. A thing of beauty, it had fueled many of her fantasies since.
Ian set his toy bag on the chair against the wall and turned to her. “Strip.”
Despite knowing it was coming, her belly clenched at his order. She undressed quickly, not paying any attention to who, if anybody, was watching. She only cared about Ian. His nostrils flared and color flushed high on his cheekbones when she stood in front of him, completely naked.
He gestured, and she stepped up onto the cross. The cuffs he wrapped around her wrists and ankles were soft but binding. When he stepped back to look at her, there was no denying she was well and truly restrained.
“Normally, I love our little give-and-take, but for tonight, I don’t want you talking unless I ask a direct question. Understand?”
She nodded. No slipping up, she thought to herself. Not here. Not in front of his friends.
“Just settle in and enjoy,” he said. “Remember your safeword?”
She nodded. “Red.”
“And if you’re unsure of anything?”
“I call Yellow, and you’ll stop to check in with me.” They’d been over it more than once, and she’d yet to use either word with him.
He nodded then began to unbutton his shirt.
Her man was a computer geek. He spent his time in an office behind a desk playing with gadgets and games. You’d never know it by looking at him though because, with each button that slipped through, another inch of perfect male flesh was revealed. Her mouth watered as she watched him, remembering the other night when she’d gotten to taste every inch of that fabulous male flesh.
It wasn’t just the smooth muscle lightly covered by dark hairs that he revealed that had her unconsciously tugging at her restraints. It was the look in his eyes as he watched her watching him. He fed off her desire; she could see it in the bulge growing beneath his zipper.
When his shirt was off, he moved to stand directly in front of her. He was so close the heat from his skin touched hers, and everything inside her yearned for contact. For him to touch her, to stroke her, to do something. It was then that she understood why he’d wanted her silent, and she frowned.
“Yes, my girl. This is where you usually say something that distracts me from my plans.” He cupped a hand around her jaw and tilted her head up, giving him complete access to her throat. Bending forward, his lips brushed against her neck, then his tongue and his teeth. He nibbled and sucked, sending shivers up and down her spine. She gasped, the throb in her nipples increasing to an almost painful level.
He chuckled, his hot breath puffing against her skin. “Oh yeah, I love having you restrained and completely open to me.” A warm hand skimmed down her side, brushing lightly over her waist and hips to reach around and cup her ass. He pulled her forward, hip-to-hip. His hard-on rubbed between her thighs, and she moaned. So good, he felt so damn good.
He stepped back, and she whimpered. A purely feminine sound that only Ian could drag out of her.
He winked and stepped over to the chair, out of her sightline.
Suddenly, she became aware of her surroundings again. People, more people than she’d thought were even in the club, stood around their station. Just as she was starting to panic, she saw one man shift forward.
Adam stood at the edge of the crowd, his gaze intent on her. He smiled, and her breathing eased. There was pride in his gaze. Not the same kind of pride Ian showed when she gave over to him, but one that reminded her she was right where she wanted to be.
Ian stepped back into her line of vision, and everything in her focused on him. A black leather flogger swung at his side. He rolled a wrist, swung his arm lightly, and the strands barely brushed over her torso. Every cell in her body rushed to the surface, eager for more.
Funny that whenever she’d dreamt of being flogged, it had been across her back, even her buttocks, but Ian had switched it up by taking the play to her front. The strands slapped against her skin again and again, leaving a trail of heat and sensitivity in their wake. Her small breasts tightened, the nipples aching and throbbing to match the pulse pounding between her thighs.
Her eyelids grew heavy as he moved in front of her. He walked from side to side, swinging lightly, and slapping first one breast then the other. Sometimes, he swung at the same side two or three times before switching. Sometimes he’d swing at more of a sideways angle, sending the leather against her thighs, from the outside, then the inside. When he swung straight up and the tips of the strands barely brushed the swollen lips of her exposed pussy, she moaned and bit her lip to keep from begging for more.
Ian stopped swinging and strode right up to her. He leaned in, his body brushing against hers, his scent teasing her senses as he cupped a breast and squeezed.
She moaned, arching up on her tiptoes and pressing forward, deeper into his grasp.
“I think I like my new toy,” he said, hot eyes roving over her face. “It certainly brought some color in to your skin. Didn’t it?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Let’s try something else, shall we?” He stepped back and around the side of the cross again.
“Oh, yes,” she said with a sigh, her eyes drifting closed. “More would be wonderful.”
He chuckled, and she smiled, pleased to have made him laugh. She liked it when he laughed. It made her heart swell and everything inside her all warm and fuzzy.
There was no warning, just a stinging slap to her nipple that had her eyes popping open and lightning bolts of pleasure zipping from nipple to groin. She saw the crop in his hand, but it didn’t sink in what he was doing until he did it again. Harder. Then again, softer.
Holding the handle in one hand, he pulled the flappy tip part back with his other, then let it go, so it smacked right on her nipple. He shifted and did it on her other nipple, watching her reactions closely. Monitoring her. She smiled. He monitored her because she was his. He loved teasing her, bringing her to the brink of orgasm, and watching her squirm. He loved doing it to her almost as much as she loved him doing it.
She leaned her head back, closing her eyes and sinking into the sensations ripping through her body. The hits sped up, sometimes three or four in a row, sometimes harder, sometimes softer as he alternated between her breasts and her thighs. The outside of her thighs, then the inside, creeping up closer and closer to her aching, clenching pussy only to jump back to her breasts. Pain, pleasure, pleasure and pain, more pleasure blending with the pain as he played her body like a maestro.
Then he was there. His hard chest pressed against her heated skin, one hand sliding down her belly and between her thighs. He swiped a finger the length of her slit, parting her folds and planting the heel of his hand against her aching clit so that her hips to jerked, and she opened her eyes to see him staring at her. It was as if her body was there simply to connect her to him.
He lowered his head, his mouth slanting over hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth at the same time his cock thrust home deep inside her center. Her insides clenched, spasming around him as he pumped fast and hard until she burst apart into little pieces. If it wasn’t for Ian pressing her tight to the cross, she was sure she’d have simply floated away into the ether.
When Ian thrust hard and bit down on her neck to muffle his own guttural
groan of triumph, she came again, waves of pleasure washing over her, taking her away.
She was vaguely aware of him pulling out of her body, making her moan and whimper at the loss.
“Shhh,” he crooned, his hand cupping her cheek and his lips pressing against hers. “I’m not going anywhere, baby.”
She fought to the surface, opening her eyes to see him smiling at her, soft and full of satisfaction. “Beautiful.”
She smiled, a languid heat making her mellow. “Thank you.”
He said “My pleasure,” and she realized she’d spoken out loud. He thought she’d been talking to him, when she’d really been thanking God for bringing Ian back into her life.
No matter, she thought. He’d done good, too.
Ian took Ronnie down off the cross and settled her in a chair with a blanket while he made quick work of the clean up. Less than two minutes after he’d taken her down, he was settled into the chair with an arm full of soft, sated woman. Most of the crowd had wandered off to give them privacy, but Ian knew Adam still watched them, and he was okay with it. He’d never get angry at the man for watching over the club members, and Adam’s presence nearby acted as a buffer between them and the small crowd in the club.
He felt better than he had in as long as he could remember. The past few weeks with just him and Ronnie had been crucial for sure, but the intensity and intimacy of the scene they’d just had made it clear to him that they both managed to let down their walls, and become more than two people falling in love. They were a unit now, and he had no doubts that they were going to be together for years and years. Maybe in time the club would become a rarity in their life together, but for now, it was an integral part. And he wasn’t going to forget it again.
Ronnie snuggled closer, tucking her nose into his neck, and Ian’s chest tightened. He gazed down at her, almost asleep in his arms, and was suddenly reminded of the day he’d found ten year old Ronnie crying in the treehouse, and he’d held her in this arms. They’d never talked about it after he’d walked her home that night, and he’d never told anyone. But as he looked down at the woman in his arms, he realized that, in his mind, she’d become his that night so long ago. And, no matter how much either of them had grown or changed over the years, she forever owned his heart.