by Tara Rose
“Yeah, that’s right,” said Maddox. “So let me show you what I’ve been thinking about doing.”
Zach listened to Maddox’s ideas and didn’t pay much attention to what Sean was teaching Harrison across the room, until he heard Harrison mention Gina. He pretended to be fascinated by something in the corner so that he could move closer to where Sean was instructing Harrison in the finer points of throwing a flogger.
“A golf swing is fine,” said Sean, “but you’ll have more control initially if you throw it down from over your shoulder, like this.” Sean tossed the leather tails toward an empty bench, and then he handed the flogger to Harrison. “See if you can hit the same spot I just did. Then I’ll show you how to vary the strike so that the tails barely touch, which will cause more of a sting, and so they land mostly on the same spot, which will cause a nice thudding sensation.”
Harrison practiced, and Zach watched him using quick sideways glances. He was doing a pretty good job. But could Zach have heard correctly? Was Gina Santori the intended target? Not possible…
“So, you told her you bought this and she didn’t freak out or anything?”
“No,” said Harrison, throwing the flogger again. “I asked her if I should bring it here when she came with me, and she said ‘yes.’”
Sean chuckled. “Was that before or after you fucked her?”
Harrison merely shook his head, clearly embarrassed by the question.
“Look, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, but it’s a big step. You have no experience in this, and I’m fairly certain Gina Santori doesn’t either. You don’t just walk into a club and start playing. I only want to make sure you both know what you’re getting into, okay?”
“I know, Sean. That’s why I came to you first.” Harrison glanced around, and Zach had to react quickly to pretend he hadn’t been listening, but he caught the guarded looks from both men.
Zach wasn’t one to play head games, so he walked over and introduced himself to Harrison. “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I heard Gina’s name mentioned. She’s a spitfire at work. Keeps our mayor on his toes.”
“Someone has to,” said Sean, looking right at Zach.
Zach ignored him. It was easy for Sean to assume Zach had no balls at work. He didn’t have to hide his personal life inside the police station. Dean Ramsey didn’t care what his detectives did off duty as long as they showed up for work and did their jobs.
“May I?” Zach held out his hand, and Harrison handed him the flogger. Zach ran his hands along the tails. “This is nice. Good choice.” He took a couple of steps back and then threw it a few times, using various strokes, including a figure eight, which was his personal favorite.
“Shit,” said Harrison. “Can you teach me to do that?”
“Sure. It takes a lot of stamina, but you look like you’re up to the challenge.” Zach was jealous of Harrison’s build. Zach spent five hours a week at The Fit Bod and didn’t have the muscle mass Harrison obviously did.
“Does it hurt them when you do that figure-eight swing?”
“Depends on how skilled you are. The great thing with floggers is that you have so many choices. You can vary the swing so that they feel like barely more than a tickle, all the way up to the tails landing in such a way that the strikes build on one another, and soon the sub has no idea what hit her. That’s why I love them so much. There’s more of an art to swinging a flogger than using a paddle or your hand.”
Harrison was now looking at him in awe, and Zach caught Sean’s eye roll. Sean clapped Harrison on the back. “Guess I’ll leave you in the capable hands of our master flogger here. If you have any more questions about anything, you know where I am.”
Harrison shook his hand. “Thanks, Sean, I really appreciate this.”
“Anytime. I wish more would-be Doms would seek out one of us first.”
Sean joined the others, and Zach turned his attention back to Harrison. “Hey, again, I’m sorry I was eavesdropping.”
“No, it’s all right.”
“How long have you been seeing Gina?”
Harrison frowned. “Not long at all, and I’m not sure we’re technically seeing each other. We’ve only had one date.”
Zach raised his eyebrows and handed the flogger back to Harrison. “Must have been some date if the subject of this came up.”
“Well, things went farther than I’d imagined they would. She wants to come here with me, and she wants me to bring this.”
Interesting. “And you’ve never discussed it with her before?”
“Hell, I barely spoke to her before. She intimidated me. I don’t mean in a bad way. I mean…hell, you know what I mean. You must see her all the time at work. She’s fucking gorgeous, but doesn’t act like she knows it. That makes her all the more desirable. And she can hold her own in a room full of people.”
Zach chuckled. “I completely agree with you on that one.” He told Harrison about the meeting the day before, leaving out the part about how Gina had laughed at his cartoon drawings of Bernie.
“Wish I could have seen that. You’re one lucky dude.” Harrison narrowed his eyes. “How come you never asked her out?”
Zach smiled. He liked Harrison because he was direct, and Zach preferred direct people. “There were rumors, but I have a feeling they weren’t true.”
Harrison planted his feet in a stance that reminded Zach of the way a cop might stand if he was about to ask some very pointed questions. “Such as?”
“Such as she’s a cold fish and a cock tease. But the rumors came from guys with whom she went out once or twice, and I therefore believe the allegations sprang more from their wounded egos than anything.”
Harrison looked like he was about to get sick, and Zach wished he hadn’t said anything. Whatever had happened between him and Gina, he was obviously smitten, and he obviously didn’t know much about her. Not a good combo for someone who wanted to bring her to a club that neither of them had been to before.
“Look, you asked. But like I said, they’re only nasty rumors. She’s a tough cookie who has to hold her own in an organization riddled with closed-minded people, mostly men. You know how it is.”
A look of relief passed over his face, and he nodded several times. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. My sister, Olivia, is good friends with her. She paints a completely different picture of Gina.”
“Well there, see? That’s the true Gina then. The one you see through Olivia’s eyes. But I am a bit concerned about something.”
“What’s that?”
“How much experience do you have with all this?” Zach gestured toward the center of the room.
“You just saw it. And…and I spanked her Saturday night. A lot. She liked it.”
Zach couldn’t help but smile as the image of his first drawing of Gina flashed through his mind. “Okay, well that’s a good start. But you don’t just show up and play in public. I would hate to see either of you ruin what could be a good thing by not being properly prepared.”
“I’ve been interested in the lifestyle for some time now, which is why I finally reached out to Sean.”
“And that’s good. But Gina hasn’t been exposed to this. Not really. If you truly want to bring her here, I would suggest either coming to a workshop first, or having another Dom in the room with you to guide you both.”
Zach counted three seconds of total silence while he watched the emotions cross Harrison’s face. Finally, he spoke. “Workshop?”
“Maddox and Ellis are thinking of organizing some.”
“I can’t picture Gina sitting through a workshop with me.” Harrison glanced around. “In fact, I’m not sure she’s ready for this. It’s so open…so exposed. She’s a very private person.”
“I agree. And this is a whole different ballgame when it’s filled with people. Most people are too intimidated to play in public at first. That’s why Maddox has several private rooms upstairs. But he won’t let just anyone use them, for safety reasons, of
course.”
Harrison nodded.
“However, if one of us was up there with you and Gina, that would be different.”
“You mean like you?”
Zach shrugged. “Why not? It would be strictly to guide you both. To keep it safe, sane, and consensual.”
Harrison stared at him for a long time, and Zach had the uncomfortable feeling he was being scrutinized in a way that Harrison usually reserved for suspected criminals. If Harrison had asked him at that moment to confess his true intentions in suggesting he be in the room with Harrison and Gina, Zach wasn’t sure that he’d be able to.
Was he offering merely for the purpose of guiding a couple of newbies, or was it to see Gina naked, with her ass offered for that flogger? Half of his mind was screaming at him to withdraw the offer before he got himself involved in something that neither Harrison nor Gina had expressed an interest in. The other half was telling him that he’d just struck pay dirt. So many conflicting voices bubbled up inside that he missed Harrison’s answer and had to ask him to repeat it.
“I said all right. But you’re there only for guidance. And Gina has to know beforehand that you will be. But if she says ‘no,’ then it’s ‘no.’ Agreed?”
Zach shook his hand. “Agreed.”
Chapter Seven
Harrison found it difficult to sleep Saturday morning even though he’d worked all night, because later that night he was going to the club with Gina. He still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to it, or that she’d said it was fine if Zach were in the room with them. In fact, she’d been so ready to agree to Zach being in the room that jealousy had reared its ugly head as soon as she’d said “yes.”
It had been two years since his divorce became finalized, and Harrison still had flashbacks to the day he’d come home hours early from a shift and found Billy Cinder, Sylvia’s lover, in their bed, wrapped in her arms. He’d been spending the night regularly while Harrison was on the job.
The fact that Sylvia had since risen to head of Human Resources at Busler’s Department Store and was now married to Billy with a child on the way, only added to the bitter taste in Harrison’s throat every time he saw one of them or heard someone mention their names.
When he’d asked Gina last week if she ever thought about moving away from Racy, he hadn’t told her that he’d thought about it every single day of his life since finding out that his ex-wife had been cheating on him for close to a year.
While it was true his entire family was here, at times the memories and constant reminders of how his ex-wife had flaunted her lover in his face were too much for Harrison to handle. Did the entire town think of him as the biggest fool of the century, or was that label only one he still gave himself?
And now he was on his way to pick up Gina, take her to Maddox’s club for the first time, and one of the Doms would be in the room with them. A Dom that worked with her every day. Was he out of his fucking mind for having agreed to this? He knew it wasn’t the same thing as Sylvia and Billy, but those memories were strong tonight, just the same.
Harrison forced them away, and instead concentrated on the fact that he was on his way to pick up Gina. The flogger as well as condoms and lube were in a discreet black bag in his back seat. She wanted this. She wanted him. It was time to shed the image he’d given himself and start to live his life.
He had worshipped Gina from afar for too long now, and if this made her happy, then that’s all that mattered. And he didn’t have to worry about rumors because he knew that Zach wouldn’t say anything about this outside the club. He couldn’t, for one thing. The residents of Racy probably wouldn’t care if one of their councilmen was a Dom, but Bernie would. And besides, Sean and Chad had both reassured him that of all the Doms in Maddox’s club, Zach was the most discreet.
Harrison turned his thoughts back to Wednesday, when he and Gina had stolen a quick lunch at Nan’s Place on Market Street. Although it had been rushed because she had to get back to work, she’d been genuinely happy to see him and had flirted openly with him. At one point, she’d even run her bare foot up his leg under the table, stopping just short of brushing it across his crotch. He’d had to wait until his dick softened a bit before standing up to leave, and he hadn’t stopped smiling the rest of the day.
She was the sexiest woman he’d ever met, and even the knowledge that Zach was waiting for them at Maddox’s house and would be in the room with them couldn’t dampen his spirits tonight.
Gina answered the door dressed in a plaid skirt and white blouse, buttoned up to the collar. She even had on white bobby socks and saddle shoes. Wednesday at lunch, he’d said that he thought Catholic school uniforms were hot after she’d made a comment about a commercial on a TV show they’d been discussing. The commercial had featured school uniforms, and Gina had commented that she’d always hated wearing those wool skirts and stiff blouses. Harrison had remarked on how much he loved that plaid-skirt schoolgirl look.
As soon as he’d said it, he’d been afraid that she’d give him shit for drooling over school uniforms, but all she’d done was smile mischievously. If he’d said something like that in front of Sylvia she would have gone ballistic, which of course was hypocrisy at its best.
But now, staring at Gina in her outfit, not only was Harrison’s dick rock hard, but all he could think about was putting her over his knee to paddle her for being a naughty girl. How was he supposed to drive all the way across town in this state?
“Please tell me you like it. Alexa Monahan helped me put it together.” Alexa was Kari Tye’s business partner.
“It’s perfect, Gina. I’m overwhelmed.”
She smiled so sweetly that Harrison nearly lost it, right then and there. The hell with the club. They could have just as much fun inside her house, without Zach watching them.
“Are you ready to go?” She picked up her bag and followed him to the car. On the way to the club, she caught him staring at her shapely legs, and turned in her seat to face him. “Do you want to know what I have on under this skirt?”
“Gina…Christ…I can barely drive as it is.”
She chuckled and spread her legs apart, slowly, then lifted the skirt to reveal a pair of lacy white shorts that hung so low they barely covered the skin where her pubic hair would be if she hadn’t shaved it off. The image was sexy as hell, and Harrison had to grip the steering wheel tightly. She put her skirt down again and faced the front of the car, a sly smile on her face. Cold fish? Not even close.
It had made him see red when Zach had told him the rumors about Gina. He’d asked Olivia about them, and had finally gotten her to admit that those rumors did surface from time to time, but only when Gina had gone out with someone who hadn’t been able to get her into bed. Olivia was certain that the guys were simply trying to save their pride by making it look like it was Gina’s fault they hadn’t had sex. Olivia said the rumors hadn’t surfaced as often as Harrison had imagined, but he knew it didn’t take much where rumors were concerned. Especially rumors like that.
Harrison reflected that for adults who were supposed to be running their city and prosecuting criminals, they acted more like jackasses who were still in high school. He glanced sideways at her. She had to know the things that had been said about her. Was she hurt by it? Knowing she might be holding all that inside made Harrison even more determined to make her happy tonight, even if that meant Zach stayed in the room longer than he would find comfortable. He’d let Gina call the shots tonight. She deserved to have some fun.
* * * *
Gina’s palms grew damp and her pulse raced as Harrison pulled up to the gated entrance of Maddox’s house. She’d been to Ellis’s, and it, too, had a fence and gate, but the day they’d had the meeting there after the tornado, the gate had been open. This was far more intimidating, and made her feel like they were trespassing.
Harrison had to give his name before the gate rolled open, and then men with flashlights waved them toward a parking area next to the house. When they en
tered the foyer, a man dressed in black and wearing a mask over his eyes directed them to a parlor off the main hallway, and Gina took a deep breath as Zach rose from a sofa to greet them.
He was dressed in leather pants and a matching vest, open to show off his impressive abs. Now that she could see the muscles in his arms and chest, she realized why his clothes always looked so good on him. He wasn’t quite as built up as Harrison, but it was obvious he worked out. Just the sight of him dressed like that sent Gina’s mind racing to dark, erotic corners. Harrison, in contrast, was dressed in khakis and a camouflage tank top. He still looked yummy, but there was something so dominant about the leather that Zach wore.
Zach shook Harrison’s hand, and then he took a step back and surveyed Gina’s outfit. She suddenly understood what it felt like to experience someone undress you with their eyes.
“Gina, that is…wow. I don’t know what to say.”
“She wore it for me.” Harrison actually puffed out his chest, and his tone was nothing short of smug. “I made a comment Wednesday while we were at lunch about how hot schoolgirl uniforms are.”
Zach grinned, and Gina’s breath caught in her throat. She still had the sketch he’d given her on Tuesday morning. In it, he’d drawn her face on Jessica Rabbit’s body from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The cartoon bubble he’d drawn above her head said, “You’re not too tolerant, are you? I like that in a Mayor.”
After he’d given it to her, he’d admitted that he’d drawn a few others first, but he hadn’t had the nerve to show them to her. No matter how much she had teased and cajoled, he’d refused to tell her what else he’d drawn. She wondered now if they hadn’t been far more sexual in nature that the one he’d given her, and that possibility sent a thrill through her.
“Well, it’s absolutely a fantasy come true. Are you two ready to go upstairs?”
“Yes.” Gina didn’t even hesitate. She was not only ready, but for the first time since Harrison had asked her if she’d mind Zach being in the room with them for a while, she began to relax. This was going to be all right.