Chemistry of Attraction

by Thianna D.

  “Will do.” Jonathon stood up, gave his partner a kiss and gave a quick wave to Brandon before leaving the house. Unable to help himself, Brandon watched him leave, a small tug in the direction of his chest reminding him of the kind of relationship he wanted.

  “He seems like a good guy,” he said, finally turning back to Benjamin, wincing as he saw a knowing look on his face.

  “He is. One of the best men I know. But then… so are a lot of men here. While a few jerks have found their way in, it’s very few and far between. You’ll find that as you work your way in. But,” he said, in a tone of command that caused Brandon’s lips to quirk – once a commanding officer, always a commanding officer. “One of the reasons I came over today was to let you know I’ve been assigned as your mentor.”

  “Mentor? Do I need one?”

  “Every adult member is assigned one. Any man or woman who’s on the top of the spectrum is assigned someone like me, either a head of household or a spanko, someone who has been in the community since the beginning. We’re here in several capacities. Someone to talk to. A call when you’re confused. When you find a woman and start a relationship, I’m here to bounce ideas off of. Consider me free therapy.”

  Snorting a laugh, Brandon shook his head in amusement. “Just what I needed.”

  Benjamin shot him one of his lightning-fast grins. “Consider anything you tell me sacrosanct, just as if you were talking to a therapist. The only thing that would ever make me break that was if you claimed you wanted to harm someone and meant it. Otherwise, free range, Delt. So, any questions you need answered right off the bat?”

  Knowing the man in front of him did not mince words and if he said he was here for any questions Benjamin had he meant it, Brandon took him seriously. “How many single women in the community?” His wife divorcing him didn’t hurt, though her marrying his cousin did, and he hoped to find someone to at least spend time with if not build something more substantial.

  “There’s a few. And Denver’s only an hour away.”

  “Besides the rule book I received, anything I should know or be aware of?”

  “Keep in mind this is a spanking community. Hell, Jonathon and I have been in a DD relationship for a long time, but I was on maneuvers when he moved us here. The first time I was home for a few weeks he had to grab my arm when I saw a man slap a woman on the ass. My first instinct was to protect her and he explained they were a couple and public spanking was something I would get used to.” A twinkle entered his eyes. “It’s a bit shocking the first few times you see it. Oh, also… if you hear yelling or screaming from a house, most of the time that’s discipline related. If you’re worried about it, tell me, Jonathon, or one of the board and we’ll look into it.”

  Shaking his head, Brandon tried to imagine it and couldn’t. “Is it easy?”

  “Getting used to the open community? Or being in a domestic discipline relationship?” The question again pointed out just how easily his friend saw through him.

  “Both, but mainly the latter. I’ve wanted that kind of relationship for a long time, but have no idea what to expect.”

  “Easy? No. Especially not at first. Which is where me, your mentor, comes in. She, also, would have a mentor. But the thing is no relationship is easy. You both decide on your rules together and when she breaks one, it isn’t just disciplining someone, it’s disciplining someone you love. The first time I spanked Jonathon was a major turning point in our relationship. For both of us. And,” he chuckled, “last summer when I came home for good, was another one. He wasn’t used to me being around all the time and suddenly being subject to our rules twenty-four-seven.

  “You’ll have your ups and downs and will learn your partner’s tells. But, I think being a Marine trains us for this. We’re used to taking charge and being in control; we’re also used to watching out for others and making sure they stay safe. This is just something you will have to temper into your own relationship when it happens.”

  “Temper?” Brandon asked in surprise.

  A bark of laughter left the man sitting across from him. “Oh, yes. I barked an order once at Jonathon in what he calls my ‘military tone’. He stood up from the sofa, walked up to me with a look in his eye that told me I had overstepped some boundary and in a kind, respectful voice said, ‘Don’t you ever use that tone with me again, Benjamin. I’m your partner, not your subordinate.’ Then he kissed me and went on to do as I had ordered. It was a bit of a surprise, but I’ve learned to watch for when the officer in me wants to come out. After all, we’re talking about a loving relationship, not a dictatorship.”

  Slowly the conversation turned toward the basics. “We have several small corner markets in the community you can go to get things like bread and milk, but if you want lots of food and in the brands you like, I suggest making a run to Denver or Boulder. The pool is open now that it’s summer time. With the kids still in school, I suggest going during the day during the week. In the evenings and weekends, they do tend to take it over. I’ll warn you, though. The pool is cold, not sure how that will work with your arthritis. There’s a theater behind the clubhouse that’s open every night.” Benjamin paused as though trying to figure out what Brandon might want to know. “We have some great restaurants. Endelé has fantastic Mexican food. No barbeque.”

  Brandon interrupted him. “Probably a good thing. I’m Texan. I know barbeque. And I’ll run down to Denver tomorrow for food. The furniture’s supposed to be delivered sometime today.”

  “Which means as late as they can make it,” Benjamin agreed, nodding. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. “Here’s the community map. This way you can find what and who you need. On the back, all the members of the housing and disciplinary boards are listed as well as me and my phone number. We’re all here if you need us.” His tone clearly stated ‘don’t be a fool, call when you need to.’ Brandon appreciated it.

  “Well, I had best get back home.” They both stood up from the boxes, Brandon wincing as his leg twinged. “Check in with Doc Devon. He might have something that would help the pain.”

  As Benjamin walked out the door, Brandon stopped him. “Thanks for helping me get in here.”

  Benjamin looked over his shoulder and smiled as if he had a secret he was about to tell. “Thank Jonathon next time you see him. That man can wrap Brent around his finger more than anyone else in this community except maybe Charmagne. It’s quite the talent.”

  Once his friend was gone, Brandon surveyed the rooms full of boxes. He supposed he could unpack, but at the moment that felt wrong. If his furniture was here, he would—even before he could finish the thought, the sound of a truck’s brakes reached him and he opened the door, pleased to see the furniture truck. An hour later, all the furniture was where he wanted it, he signed the forms, and the truck left.

  “Now, I can check out my new community.”

  Grabbing his wallet, he elected to take a pain pill— it would be bad to get a few miles away and be in too much pain to walk back—and headed out of his house. His only reservation about moving to Corbin’s Bend had been the planned development aspect wherein each house would look like every other house, but strangely enough that did not seem to be an issue. If he looked closely, he could tell the designs were the same, but every house had slightly different landscaping, some with trees others without, and there were a multitude of colors everywhere he looked. When all the trees and park areas were taken into account, each bunch of houses felt wonderfully secluded.

  Following the map, it did not take long before he came across the main structure, the Corbin’s Bend dome. It was huge. And not at all what he expected. There were windows everywhere and except for the fact it was rounded, it looked like it belonged. A short twinge from his leg told him he was probably overdoing it right now, but he elected to walk around the building anyway. The sound of splashing water caught his attention and he turned toward a large gated pool. One woman who was completely dressed, walked quietly out of the g
ate, shutting it just as quietly behind her before walking away, but that wasn’t where his eye was drawn.

  A woman was slicing through the water like an otter, swimming quickly from end to end in the pool and captivated as he had not seen someone so naturally adept at swimming like that, he leaned against the fence and watched. When she pulled herself out of the pool, water sluicing off her skin, a soft gasp left his lips. Stunning. That was the only word that came to mind as he looked at the beautiful blonde in the one-piece bathing suit. Instantly, his body responded and a low chuckle left his lips. If the women of Corbin’s Bend looked like her? He was going to love it here.

  Another twinge reminded him he should buy the supplies he needed until the next day, and with a final look at the woman who was now prone on a chaise reading a book, he turned and walked toward the closest market.

  Chapter 2

  “Dina!”

  “Gramps!” she yelled upon hearing her grandfather’s voice. When she returned from the pool, she took a quick shower to get rid of the chlorine. Now she quickly donned a pair of shorts and a tank top before running down the stairs and launching herself into one of his strong hugs. “So good to see you!”

  Laughing, Jason Rolson hugged her tightly and then released her, holding her at arms’ length. “Why, Carodine Lea, you’ve grown into a beautiful woman. How did you enjoy your swim today?” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she curled into it as they walked further into the living room and sat down on one of the sofas.

  “Great pool. The water was wonderfully cold. So many pools make it hot. And I met someone. Her name’s Elly. She seems rather shy.”

  He squeezed her shoulders for a moment. “Until she gets to know someone, she can be incredibly shy, but you should get to know her. She’s a wonderful lady. And… her husband is the local vet.”

  Her head shot up. “Vet? Is he looking for any help?” She did need to get a job this summer and working with animals would be a great way to do it.

  “Not sure. His number’s on the fridge. I suggest you give him a call tomorrow and find out.”

  The front door opened and Rose walked in, smiling at the two. “It’s good to have her here, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Most definitely. It’s been too long since we have seen our Carodine Lea. Let me help with those.” Jason stood up and took a couple of the bags Rose had been holding and carried them toward the kitchen. Dina stood up and followed the two.

  “How was the meeting?” Rose asked as they began to unload groceries.

  “Good. We agreed to accept one of the three applicants and deny the other two. On paper, all three looked good, but after Brent showed us what came up on the two as well as what they said in their interviews, it was obvious they were not meant for Corbin’s Bend.”

  Listening, Dina was slightly surprised. Her grandparents had always seemed so liberal, definitely more open than her own parents. “I didn’t realize this community was so conservative,” she commented, putting the new gallon of milk in the fridge. Laughter behind her had her swing around.

  “Oh, honey,” Rose said smiling. “This community is not conservative by any means. There are some people within it that are, but over all? As I mentioned earlier, spanking is acceptable here; in fact it’s what the community is based upon. If an applicant is not spank-friendly, they’re not allowed.”

  “Oh.” Dina wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Were they serious about the whole spanking thing? “So, by spanking, you really meant spanking.”

  Jason looked up, his eyes soft. “We’ll explain more over dinner and you can feel free to ask anything you want. Your cousins are all too young to hear this but at your age, you should be able to.”

  Once the groceries were put away, Jason pulled down some plates. “Dina, why don’t we set the table?” As the two of them set out the plates, forks, knives, and spoons as well as glasses and napkins, Rose pulled the roast and potatoes out of the crock pot. In no time they were settled around the table.

  “Do you know what you want to do with your degree now that you have it?” Rose asked after they each served themselves and began to eat.

  “I figured that with an advanced chemistry degree I could do anything. Turns out? The people who want that kind of degree make things I would never want to be involved in,” Dina said with a sigh. “I want to be involved in something that helps others, not in creating drugs with side effects or huge weapons. I just don’t know what that is yet.”

  “You’ll figure it out,” Jason said calmly. “You always were a bright one.” Dina beamed at his praise. He had been behind her getting into science. One of her earliest memories was of him showing her what happened when vinegar and baking soda were combined. “For now, use the summer to unwind. From your letters, it sounded like you were very stressed at school.”

  “I was. I even had a minor breakdown and saw a therapist because I wanted to quit last fall.”

  “Pushing yourself too hard,” Rose said with a nod. “You did that in undergrad too, graduating a whole year early and yet being burnt out by the time you received your degree.”

  Blushing a little because that was still a bit embarrassing, Dina shrugged. “I get wound up sometimes.” The words were forced from her lips. Layton had forced her to say it over and over again to be able to admit it was the truth. It still felt like a cop-out to her.

  Reaching over, Jason squeezed her hand. “Take this summer to unwind, Dina. You deserve it.”

  The warmth of his smile and his hand on hers helped her to relax. It never ceased to amaze her how non-judgmental her grandparents were. Her parents would have had a fit. “So,” she said to change the topic off her, “spanking…”

  Laughing softly, Rose took a drink of wine. “Are you familiar with spanking as an adult?”

  Scrunching up her face as she thought about it, Dina considered the question. One of the guys she had dated had slapped her across the rear once, but she had just glared at him. Of course, there were the heroes in a couple of her romance novels who spanked their women. That was sometimes exciting, sometimes shocking. “I’ve read about it in some novels,” she admitted.

  “Well, reality is vastly different than fantasy,” Jason said with a smile and a wink at his wife who, to Dina’s surprise, gave him a definite ‘come-hither’ look. Holy shit! These were her grandparents. They were… old. Though, to be honest, they were the youngest old people she had ever known. But sex? At their age? Huh. Now that she thought about it, that was pretty cool. It was a nice thought to think she might still be randy in her seventies.

  “Gram said I might see someone spank someone else?”

  He nodded. “Not punishment-wise. We ask that people keep that to their homes, but you may see the occasional pat or spank between loving couples. Here, that is the same thing as rubbing their shoulders.”

  Her mouth opened to ask something but she immediately closed it again. Taking a deep breath, she asked the question that just might well embarrass the hell out of all of them. “Do you spank Gram?”

  Without the slightest hint of embarrassment, Jason nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  “For years,” Rose said, a soft smile on her face as though remembering some amazing memories.

  “Wow. How… I mean what…” Dina stopped as for once her rather large vocabulary seemed to have failed her. How did one ask their grandparents why one spanked the other?

  “Spanking is different things to different people,” Jason explained, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be discussing at the dinner table. “For some it’s purely sexual, for others it is part of a domestic discipline lifestyle. For many here it’s both. Including your grandmother and me.”

  “Domestic discipline?” Dina asked, grabbing on the unknown phrase as she really did not want to think of her grandparents having kinky sex.

  “A relationship built upon the premise that one person leads, they are the head of the household; and one person follows, they are, in our vernacular, tak
en in hand,” Rose explained. “It isn’t for everyone, but for certain people it works. Jason is the natural leader of our relationship and I like that he leads and I can follow. Does that mean I agree wholeheartedly with everything he does?”

  “No,” he interrupted in amusement and they both laughed.

  “But it does take that stress off my shoulders. We’re at our happiest this way. Especially here where others understand, and we do not have to hide who we are.”

  “So, is this kind of a throwback to the nineteen-fifties?” Dina asked as that was what it sounded like. The little woman at home making dinner and keeping the house cleaned while the man did his duty away and came home and put his feet up. The only thing was? There was never a time when she could remember Jason acting like that. Or Rose, for that matter.

  “Some live their lives that way, but very few here do. Every domestic discipline relationship is different. You decide on your own rules as a couple and go from there.”

  “So if you break said rules, he spanks you?” Dina felt as though she should be shocked at this. It sounded strange and she wasn’t sure if she believed it yet, but it wasn’t in any way shocking. On a level she could not grasp, it actually made sense.

  “Yes, I do. But don’t for one moment think it’s forced,” Jason explained. “Rose is an equal partner here. She might not enjoy the actual pain, but she understands the connection that comes from that discipline and thus submits to it.”

  “That and it gets rid of any guilt.” Rose’s words confused her.

  “How can a spanking get rid of guilt?”

  “Ah, honey. Have you ever done something and you apologized to the person but the guilt about it ate at you for days and days?” Thinking about her breakdown, Dina could understand the concept of guilt; she still felt incredibly embarrassed for it. “When Jason disciplines me, it’s over and done with. The act is forgiven, but the discipline itself helps me to let go of the internal guilt I carry for doing whatever I did. Yes, it hurts, but the results are worth it. I come out of it happier and every time it brings us closer.”