“So what did you want to talk to me about?” he asked after the waiter cleared the last plate away. He covered one of her hands with his, and his hand felt warm, comforting, and strong. He had such marvelous fingers. It was hard not to think of them curling up inside her. Or holding her.
She took a deep breath. “Oh, I don’t want to talk to you about it. What do you want, Jeremy? Are you looking to have a lot of play partners, a few relationships, or are you looking for that one special someone?”
Jeremy smiled. “You know, when I came to Excess, I would have said play partners. Maybe not a lot. But no attachments, nothing to tie me down. Just some way to let out the part of me I’ve been bottling inside.”
“The kinky side.”
“Yes.”
“And that’s changed?”
“It’s just not me, Amanda. I don’t operate that way, and in truth I never have, even before I met Cheri. The thought of you playing with someone else bothers me, and I can’t give less of myself than I want of you.”
“Plenty of doms can. They play the field while the girls hope they’ll settle on one. Or they have a regular girl and then play on the side.”
Jeremy shook his head. “Good for them. I’m not that guy.”
Amanda nodded.
“I won’t pretend I want to share you, Amanda. And I won’t pretend I want to be shared.”
“You don’t have to share me.”
Jeremy grinned, and Amanda held up her hand and continued. “I can’t give a man something he won’t give me back. I guess it’s the selfish side of what you stated. But I’m going to make an exception in your case. I won’t see other people, at least until we figure out what we have going on together, because I think it might be special.”
“And how is that an exception?”
“Because you will see other people. I’m not going to be forever wondering whether I was just the first submissive you found when you finally decided to look around again. I want to know you’ve looked at the options. I can’t do the full-time slave thing, but I think you’ll find there are girls at Excess that are looking for just that. And even though I’m a great play partner, I’m not willing to be just that to you, either. What you say you want sounds wonderful, but I’ve been burned too many times before. I need you to be sure of what you want.”
He leaned back, shaking his head. “I’m not sure what bothers me more, that you’re ordering me, or that the thing you’re ordering me to do is cheat on you.”
“It’s not cheating if I give you permission. Instead of you staying away from the club because I might have a date, I’ll stay away for a while. But I’ll get reports. I know plenty of people there.” She shrugged. “As to ordering, I prefer it when it flows the other direction too. But I can’t risk my heart—hell, I never risk my heart, Jeremy. I’d rather have it be broken this way than for you to find out I’m not what you want after I fall in love with you.” Although it could be too late. How can that be? I’ve only known him for a few days. She didn’t want to see him play with anyone else. But once she decided that he was really hers, she wouldn’t want to let him go, ever. Somehow, she had to not decide that yet.
“You are a remarkable and strange woman.”
“Flattery. You’re not the first man to say I’m strange. Odd, though; the others all walk away.” It wasn’t far from the truth. She was good enough to play with, never good enough for a relationship.
“I know what I want, Amanda, and I’d like to explore it with you. Just because I haven’t dated around doesn’t mean I don’t know a good thing when I see it.”
She almost melted and gave in at that, but she was determined to press on. “Am I a good enough thing to be worth doing what I ask?”
Amanda watched Jeremy’s face. Clearly, he didn’t approve of the idea. There was no way anyone was that good an actor. Most guys she’d met would be all over an offer to let them fool around, but Jeremy wasn’t. She didn’t know what she’d do if he said no.
“I will do as you ask, Amanda. But I have my limits.”
“I’m not placing any on you.”
“I have my own.” He signaled the waiter.
Amanda nodded. The discussion could have gone worse, and clearly it was over as far as Jeremy was concerned, which suited her. The waiter brought the check and then stood discreetly a few feet away. Jeremy glanced at it and tucked some twenties in, and the waiter efficiently scooped it up.
“How much do I owe you?” asked Amanda.
“Dinner, once you’ve had a few paychecks. This time it’s on me, please.”
“I bet I could find another way to pay for it.” She grinned at him and licked her lips.
He looked at her. For a moment, she thought he thought she was serious. She didn’t mind following through, although she certainly didn’t see it as payment for lunch. But if she wasn’t going to see him for a while, she wanted to feel his hands on her once more, first. Although there wasn’t anyplace they could do anything except make out. Hopefully he didn’t think she really—
“You, Amanda, are a brat.” His eyes twinkled.
“You noticed.” The repartee was far preferable to the earlier discussion.
He seized her hand. “Come. I have something I want to show you.”
He led her out onto the street and then kept walking, squeezing her hand in his. She followed, moving quickly to keep up with his long strides. “Where are we going?”
“A nice, public place.”
“Damn.”
He chuckled. “I thought you only felt safe with me in public places?” They took a right at the next corner.
“I was willing to take a risk. There are things we can do in private ones.” It was safe enough to say, since there weren’t any, unless he was going to check into a hotel room or something. There were some high-rise hotels a block farther on, if she remembered right. She’d gone to a science-fiction convention in one of them when she was young.
A block ahead, she saw the sign that said Charm City Symphony, and she knew where he was going. She grinned. He steered her in through a small door which he opened with a key card. “Showing me your workplace?” she asked.
“Something like that.” He winked at the security guard, who winked back and then returned to his console, flicking a few buttons.
“Do you have your own room?” she asked.
He shook his head. “But that’s okay. Because I know a room that’s not in use.”
They took the elevator down and then went into a hall that led past a series of dressing rooms. Finally he got to a door at the end, which he unlocked with his key card. He opened it and gestured her through. She stepped forward. A grand piano was right in front of her, and several dozen seats arranged in a pit that reminded her of the middle of Excess. She turned her head and found herself looking up at hundreds of empty chairs, some in balconies. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Given how good the acoustics probably were, she imagined that pin could be heard anywhere in the concert hall. Only a few lights were on, which made the whole place seem almost haunted.
He entered the room and locked it behind him.
She blinked and looked around at him.
“See, a public place. I’m a man of my word.”
“But there’s no one here.”
“No, there isn’t. Of course, there’s always a chance someone might happen by.”
The thought both worried her and excited her. At the very least she could tease him. She unbuttoned the top two buttons on her dress exposing her pink bra and what she hoped was irresistible cleavage.
He reached out and unbuttoned the rest.
“You can’t be serious,” she said.
He silenced her with a kiss, hard and hot. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled her back as he leaned into the kiss. His other hand cupped her breast, squeezing her through the lace and satin. Her nipples bunched in response.
He turned her around, so that her back was against the door. She supposed it
was out of the way, only in view of half the seats. With his grip on her hair, she had no choice but to comply, but she didn’t want to get away anyway.
“This isn’t the bedroom, either,” she said. “Or the club. Another exception?” She knew she shouldn’t push it. She wanted there to be limits to his power over her and restrictions as to where or when would keep things in balance. But right now, she wanted him to ravish her.
He chuckled and pulled his head back. His body was still pressed against her, pinning her against the door. “Seems the sight of perfect breasts causes me to forget that the world is not a bedroom.”
“I don’t have perfect breasts. They only look that good when they are well supported.”
“I disagree.” He pulled her forward, his hands slipping into her dress and around her back, to rest on the hooks in back. “But since I’m not in charge here, I will ask. May I?”
“Aren’t you worried about—”
“There’s no concert here tonight. The janitorial staff knocks off at noon when there isn’t a concert in the evening. No one has a reason to be here.”
“Then you may.” She shrugged the top of her dress off her shoulders and let it fall to her waist. He undid her bra, pulled it away, and tossed it on a chair.
“See,” she said.
He cupped them from beneath and lifted them. “See? Perfect.”
“That’s very well supported indeed.”
He let go to wrap his arms around her and kiss her again, and she melted. Her nipples rubbed against his cotton shirt.
“I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too. But I need to be sure, Jeremy.”
“And I need to make sure you have something to remember in the meantime.” He slid his hands down and lifted her dress enough to move his hands to the waistband of her panties. “May I?”
“Yes, please.”
He pulled down her panties, and she kicked them next to her bra. With each step her heart started racing more. It was indeed a very public place. It didn’t take much to imagine all those seats filled and hundreds of people watching them. The thought shouldn’t turn her on, but it did.
He slipped his hand under her dress again and thrust his fingers into her wet and waiting pussy. The warmth of them filled her. “No S and M for you tonight. Since this isn’t the bedroom, and I’m not in charge. Just sex.”
You’re not in charge, my foot. Maybe he wasn’t being a dom, but he was still totally in control. Alpha male. She didn’t want to resist. Couldn’t resist. Not once he started fucking her with his fingers, moving them in and out. There was only one ending for that, and that was orgasm. Unless he chose to leave her frustrated. That would definitely be S&M.
His hand caressed her breasts, and she expected him to pinch her nipples and sharpen the dull ache in them to something tangible, bearable. But he didn’t. No S&M. We’ll see about that. She reached up to the nipple that didn’t have a hand on it and pinched, hard. It wasn’t as good as if he did it, but it was something.
“If you do that, I’m going to stop. You can do what you wish, mind you. I’m not in charge.” He grinned at her, knowing full well he had the upper hand. She was incredibly wet and turned on, and he’d felt as much.
“But.”
“Leave them wanting more, isn’t that what you taught at the class?”
“Unless it’s me, I said!”
“I must have missed that part. No nipple pinching.”
She let go, reluctantly, and grabbed his ass instead. And pinched. He ignored her and ground the heel of his hand against her clit. “Don’t stop.” She didn’t want to scream, and if he kept doing that, she’d come. Not in a concert hall. God only knew how the sound would travel. She bit her lip.
He stopped. “I could fuck you.”
Their eyes met for a moment, and then she nodded. “Yes, please,” she said, breathlessly. For that, she could wait.
He pulled a condom from his pocket. Had he planned this all along? But fucking her in the concert hall, even empty, was crazy, the sort of thing one only came up with on the spur of the moment. Yet here he was, unzipping his pants and rolling a condom over his big, beautiful cock. The only way it made sense for him to plan it was if he had made sure the concert hall would stay empty somehow.
She smiled. She should have known he wouldn’t do anything that wasn’t safe and sane.
He lifted her up and entered her with one smooth thrust, stretching her. She gasped.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
She looked at him. Might as well milk this for all it’s worth. “Please?”
For a moment she thought she’d overstepped. My brattiness is going to drive him away. But then he laughed. “Please,” he said. He looked far too amused to have it be confused with begging. She wrapped her legs around his waist.
He carried her into the orchestra pit, still inside her, until she was right where the conductor would stand. Then he dipped her, making a mock bow toward the imaginary audience, before settling her on a chair in the front row of the orchestra.
He didn’t even seem short of breath when he was done.
She thought he might tease again, but he didn’t. He cupped her breasts roughly and drove into her, fucking her hard and fast. She spread her legs, holding on to his shoulders and digging her fingernails in. He filled her all the way, his pubic bone grinding against her clit. “Oh my God, Jeremy, that’s so good.”
He kissed her hard and fast and then lowered his mouth to a breast, sucking her nipple in. That freed a hand to cup her ass. As good as it had felt before, it felt better now, his cock hitting her G-spot every time he thrust back inside.
“I’m about to—” she whispered harshly, and then she did, screaming the way she’d feared. The sound boomed, but it didn’t echo. Her pussy shuddered around his cock, and she had to shut her eyes because suddenly even the dim light seemed too bright.
She was aware of him slowing down, aware he hadn’t come even as the aftershocks fluttered through her. He held her and then pulled out slowly. He slid the condom off, glanced around for a moment, and then stuck it in his pocket. A better place than none, she supposed.
His cock was still rock hard. He leaned over to hold her, but she evaded him.
She got to her feet, feeling wobbly, but forced herself to be steady. He looked at her with concern, and she pushed him back. Of course, he didn’t have to move; even with the element of surprise, she doubted she could move him if he didn’t want to move, but he played along, stepping back. She kept after him, pushing until he was right in the center of the orchestra pit. Then she went to her knees and slipped her lips over the head of his cock.
I sure hope I’m right about him making sure the place was secure. The taste of latex lingered, not entirely pleasant, but the feeling of his warm cock in her mouth was delicious. She remembered her comment about paying him back for lunch. No, not for lunch. But for fucking me like that. And something for him to remember me by.
He nestled his fingers in her hair, and she yearned for him to pull her down, to set the rhythm. To fuck her mouth. But he didn’t, and she remembered the rules. He wasn’t supposed to be in charge. Pity, but that made this her show. A blowjob in the middle of a concert hall. She hoped the shows he gave here were as good.
She listened to his breathing and knew she was getting to him. He was getting closer, to the point where he’d lose control. Good. Not the safest thing I’ve ever done, but from what he’s said, he hasn’t fucked in years. She knew she didn’t know him well enough to trust him, but what man brags of inexperience? She wanted to taste him. He swelled, and she knew he was only a moment away.
He grabbed her head and pulled out.
“But,” she said.
“No buts, Amanda. Not safe, not at all.”
“Do you have anything?”
“No. I’m clean. But you don’t know that. But—”
“But what?” She resisted the temptation to tell him he had said no buts.
“But once we’re done with your little scheme, we can get tested together. And then you’ll know, for sure.”
She pouted and reached out her hand. But he stepped back and tucked himself into his pants again. “Always leave them wanting more, Amanda. And trust me, I want more.” He turned away. For a moment, she thought he was going to leave her there, but then he returned with her underwear.
“I wanted to make you come.”
“I know, Amanda. And you will. When you finally trust that I’m yours.”
Chapter Six
Jeremy set the two floggers back in their case. One advantage of floggers without handles was that they took up less space. He shut the case carefully and returned to the woman on the cross.
“That was wonderful,” said Dottie. Her face was glowing, partly due to a sheen of sweat and because of her smile. She was a beautiful girl, inside and out, the most enjoyable person he’d played with in the last few weeks. Since Amanda. He couldn’t get Amanda out of his mind.
“I’m glad you enjoyed that, Dottie,” he said with warmth. He’d learned something about himself the last few weeks, and one of those things was that he couldn’t flog someone without loving them in some sense. If he didn’t have that compassion, he wasn’t a good partner. He also knew full well the difference between what he felt for Dottie and what he had felt for Cheri. Or what he felt for Amanda. There was love and being in love. Not the same thing.
Dottie shuffled her feet, looked down at the ground, and then back up, shyly. It would have been a practiced gesture from some, but he suspected from Dottie it might be genuine. Either way, he preferred Amanda’s in-your-face honesty, but he had to admit Dottie’s shyness was cute. “I know you don’t play with girls a second time, usually, Sir, but I was wondering if we could do that again sometime. I could make it worth your while, if you want.” She took a step toward him, making herself kissably close and brushing her small, lace-covered breasts against his chest.
He didn’t want to undermine her confidence, but he didn’t want to say yes, either. Or lead her on. The silence lingered for a while, and her shy smile slowly faded. “I see, Sir,” she said at last. “May I get dressed, Sir? I suddenly feel cold.”
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