Training Drew

by Blue Kincaid

  And then they stopped in front of an alcoved area with a pair of plush couches and cushions and the most beautiful woman Drew had ever seen seated at the feet of possibly the only man in the place to give Bas a run for his money in the looks department.

  “Drusilla, I want you to meet one of my closest friends, Harry Everett. Harry, this is Drew. And this is his beloved, December.”

  “December…what a beautiful, strange name. Hello.”

  December smiled up at her. “Hello to you. I’ve heard so much about you.” Knowing dark eyes flicked to Bas and her smile was wicked and teasing. Drew might have been a little jealous of that familiar look if she didn’t also see the way December looked up at Harry. Oh, that was love. Jealousy would be a waste of time on these two.

  She got stuck then on the fact that December apparently knew about her. Drew blinked, glancing up at Bas. “You told them about me? I mean, not that I mind, I just…” She hadn’t imagined Bas would bother mentioning her to his closest friends so soon.

  “Of course I did. You told Jeannie about me, didn’t you?”

  Drew wrinkled her nose. “That’s different.” He was…well, he was something to write home about, for sure. She was just…her. Still, it made her giddy inside that he had said anything at all. “Was it nice?”

  He gave her a look, brows raised, and she blushed. “Sorry. Of course it was.” She gave December a sheepish smile. “I apologize, you just caught me off guard.”

  “She has a way of doing that,” Harry chimed in, his look affectionate on December. Then he gestured to the other couch. “Sit down, you two. Raphe texted me to tell you he can’t make it, Bas. Some emergency at the restaurant.”

  Bas rolled his eyes, pulling Drew down to sit beside him, tucked up against him on the comfy couch. “More like an emergency in his pants.” He sifted his fingers through the ends of Drew’s hair. “Raphe’s another friend. He owns a great restaurant here in DC, but as talented as he is in the kitchen, he’s not so skilled at holding onto or settling down with just one woman.”

  “His own fault, letting the only woman who could tolerate him for longer than three months get away. Idiot,” Harry muttered.

  December gave her a conspiratorial look. “And they say women are gossips.”

  Drew laughed, deciding she very much liked Sebastian’s friends so far. And she relaxed a lot because it seemed like the feeling was mutual and her biggest worry for the night – his friends hating her on sight – disappeared. The time sort of drifted, the four of them talking, the club a deliciously strange and wicked backdrop to what would otherwise be average dinner party conversation. Except this wasn’t a dinner party, this was a fetish club and Drew couldn’t seem to forget for more than a few seconds that Bas had something planned for her.

  In fact, the thought had just skimmed through her head for the hundredth time when Bas bent close to her ear. “Come with me.”

  She didn’t ask where or for what and when he stood, she rose with him. He grinned at his friends.

  “I’ll see you two next weekend. Drew, lovely, say goodnight.”

  Drew smiled, lifting her hand in a small wave. “Goodnight. It was nice to meet you.” She wondered what was happening next weekend. A dinner party? Some kind of kinky group thing? She wished she could go, whichever it was.

  Bas laced his fingers with hers and drew her toward the hallway near where they’d been sitting. She knew that hallway. Her stomach dropped and she slowed her steps.

  “Bas…”

  He stopped and turned, one big hand cupping her face. “Hey. I know. It was down there where he took you on your first trip here. I know, I was there, remember?”

  Oh yeah. But… “Then why? I don’t want to go back in there, Bas. I really don’t.”

  His eyes were sympathetic, his tone firm. “Then you know what you have to do. Say the word, Drusilla, and we go find something else to play at tonight. Or we go home and I make love to you until the sun comes up. Actually, I’m going to do that either way, but if you truly do not want to go play with me, say the word.”

  She shivered, swallowing hard. “What if I don’t? Don’t use the safeword, I mean. What happens?” Maybe there was something else down that hall besides the rooms Chad had taken her into. Something she’d like, maybe.

  “What happens is we explore that wanton we found inside you the first night and every night since. And I show you that there’s nothing to be afraid of when you’re with me.”

  Her mouth went dry. “You mean…candles?”

  Bas stroked his thumb across her cheek. “You said you didn’t want to know. That you trusted me. Do you?”

  It was a test. She didn’t know what the specifics were, but her gut told her this was him testing her – her boundaries, her trust, all of that. She bit her lip, not wanting to fail, but not sure if she was ready to take that leap, either.

  And then the thought entered her mind that…what did she think would happen if she went back there with him? If she waited to say her safeword and just…just to see what was going to happen. She knew without a doubt that even if she went back there with him, even if a hundred people were around, if she said no, if she used her safeword, he would stop in a heartbeat and he wouldn’t be mad at all. He wasn’t Chad. Drew was beginning to wonder why she’d ever given that man any part of her.

  So she took a deep breath and shook her head. “I don’t want to use my word. Not yet. I trust you.”

  Sebastian’s smile lit up his face and he bent to kiss her right there. When it broke, she was breathless and he took her hand again. “Thank you. Come on.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Her heart pounded so hard Drew thought she might pass out or something, and she clung to Bas’s hand as he led her down the hall. To her surprise – and relief – he didn’t detour into one of the open exhibition rooms where the scene four months prior had taken place. Instead, he took a small ‘reserved’ sign off the doorknob of a private room and ushered her in. When the door shut behind them – and no candles to be seen – her breath seemed to find itself again.

  “You knew what I’d think.”

  Bas nodded, his gaze thoughtful and concerned. “I did. I didn’t aim to trick you, little one. I wanted you to know that you can trust me. That even if I had put you in the same position as he did, you’d be safe there with me. You showed me you know that and I’m glad.”

  Drew shook her head. “Why? What does it matter?”

  “Lesson number twelve. Trust can’t be just lip service. There’s no such thing as a little white lie that harms no one in this lifestyle. A sub who says they trust their master but doesn’t really puts themselves in great danger when the whip is flying and fear takes over. A Dom has to know their sub will obey in the midst of what might otherwise be a frightening scene, because if I say – for example – steady your breathing when I’m binding your torso, I need to know that your trust in me will override the instinctive flight response that might otherwise make you panic at the constricting feel of my rope and cause you to hyperventilate or perhaps struggle during a suspension scene. That puts you in danger, and that is unacceptable.”

  Sebastian had a way of answering any question she had with such clear logic that it stole away any worry she had. He was right, of course, and now that he’d explained it that way, she could see exactly what he meant. She tilted her head at him. “Is this a lesson plan you’ve used before? On someone else?”

  Bas shook his head, quelling the surge of unanticipated jealousy that had risen up in her. “No. I don’t have a plan, so to speak, not written out or anything.”

  “How do you know what to teach me? Or how?”

  He brushed back her hair, his expression tender. “You’re somewhat of an open book, Drusilla. And I’m going to tell you a secret…I don’t have all the answers. No Dom does and anyone who tells you they do are liars.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, and she smiled up at him. “So…you’re learning how to be my Dom at the same time you
’re teaching me to be your sub. That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it? Teaching me how to be yours?”

  Sebastian looked a bit blindsided by that and she held her breath, wondering if he’d deny it. Finally he let out a soft breath. “I guess I am.”

  Hope swelled inside her and she stepped up closer to him. “I want to be, Bas. I want you to be my Dom and I want to be your sub. I already am, I mean, but really yours. Always yours.” She rushed to continue before he could stop her. “I know you have this idea that you’re going to teach me how to pick the right Dominant and when I’m ready you’re going to let me go and, like, fade into the sunset or something. But I don’t want that. I don’t want to choose anyone but you. I won’t.”

  He didn’t answer at first, and it was the longest minute of her life. Finally, he met her eyes and shook his head with a soft little smile. “You can’t know that, little one. You barely know me.”

  “That’s not true. I may not know your mother’s name and I may not know your favorite color, but I know who you are inside. I know you’re gentle and strong and caring. I know I feel safer with you than I ever have anyone since I was a little girl. I know that if you say something, it’s the truth and I know your word means something to you.”

  As quick as she could blink, the smile on his face was gone and she blinked, wondering what she’d said wrong. Panic clawed at her throat when he took a step back.

  “I think this is not the place to have this conversation.” Bas took her hand. “Will you come home with me? I think there are some things you ought to know before you make any more declarations to me.” A look of almost sadness crossed his face and Drew’s heart lurched, wondering what he meant. Part of her wanted to insist he tell her then and there, but hadn’t she just said she trusted him more than anyone else? So she’d trust him now and she nodded.

  “Alright. Let’s go. Can…is there a restroom I can use first?” She felt more than a little shaky and some cold water on her face and a minute alone would steady her.

  Bas led her out of the room and to the end of the hall, nodding to the left. “Down that hall near the lounge area. I’ll wait by the doors to the lobby for you.”

  Drew hesitated, then stretched up onto her toes to brush a kiss to his cheek. “It’ll be alright. You have to trust me, too.” Then stepped back and gave him a shaky smile before turning and hurrying toward the hall to the bathrooms.

  She didn’t make it to the bathroom, though, because halfway down that short hall, Chad caught her from behind by the wrist and propelled her forward into the dark corner at the end of the hall, past the doors to the bathrooms. She yanked her wrist free, but Chad was big and he was angry and she couldn’t move past him. She wasn’t scared, really, just annoyed.

  “Leave me alone, Chad. I already apologized for leaving with Bas in the middle of our date. I don’t owe you any more than that.”

  Chad pressed his hand against the wall beside her, leaning in close. Too close and she looked away, trying to see if she could catch someone’s eye behind him but she couldn’t see anyone. “You’re such a stupid little girl, Drew. You think I’m pissed that you chose him?” His laugh was harsh and cruel and made her stomach pitch unpleasantly. “You actually think any of what’s happened since then was your choice?”

  She glared up at him. “You don’t know anything about what’s happened the last two weeks, Chad. And I have no intention of telling you, so why don’t you go find someone else to play with, someone who wants you breathing down their neck? Because that’s not me, it never was!”

  He just sneered. “I don’t need you to say a word. I know how Bas operates. He took you home, he seduced you, he made you think you were special and unique and fed you a line of bullshit so thick I’m amazed you didn’t drown in it. But here’s the kicker, baby – none of it had anything to do with you.”

  “What are you even talking about?” She shook her head abruptly. “You know what, no, I don’t even want to know. Because you were never honest with me before and I don’t think you’re going to start now.”

  Chad took a step back. “Go, then. You think Bas is so honest? Ask him why he picked you that night. Ask him about Katie. Then you tell me if you think any of what he did had shit to do with you.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Go home, little girl. You don’t have any place here, you never did.”

  Drew swallowed hard, stomach churning as Chad turned to go. She bit her lip, then reached out to grab his jacket, tugging him back around. “Wait. What are you talking about? Who’s Katie?” A former lover of Sebastian’s? Drew’s heart clenched, sourness rising in her throat. A…current lover? She didn’t want to believe it, but still, the thought popped into her head.

  “Oh, now she’s listening.” Chad rolled his eyes at her. “Katie isn’t anyone anymore. Katie’s dead. She was mine, but more than that…she was Harry Everett’s fiancé.”

  Drew frowned. “Harry…December’s Harry?” What did he have to do with anything?

  “Now he is. But first he was Katie’s Harry. Until she fell in love with me and planned to leave him. She died before she could, but they found out about us, Harry and Bas did. Tried to get me banned from the entire scene, as if sleeping with a willing submissive is a crime. And when that didn’t work, well…what better way to exact a little tit for tat revenge than to set me up the night of the auction and steal you right out from under my nose? Ask him, Drew. Ask him if he planned that, if he got his buddies the security team to pull me aside for a ‘random’ search that night so I’d miss the auction. So he could buy you. So he could do to me what I did to his best friend. Ask him. He’s so honest, I’m sure he’ll tell you the truth, right?”

  Her stomach roiled with nausea and Drew leaned heavily back against the wall, staring at him. “That’s not true.”

  Chad snorted. “Okay, you keep telling yourself that. Ask him. Hell, ask anyone here, probably they all knew about it. Harry’s still out there with his new whore, why don’t you ask him? I’ll tell you why, because you know I’m telling the truth.” He straightened his jacket. “The fucked up part is that he thought you mattered to me even a fraction as much as Katie.”

  With that cruel barb, Chad walked away. Drew didn’t move, her whole body shaking. Was he telling the truth? Had it all been a set-up, a way to make Chad pay for what he’d done to Sebastian’s best friend? God, she didn’t want to believe it. But something about Chad’s words rang true. Either it was true or Chad believed it was.

  “Miss? Are you alright?”

  Drew focused on the owner of the soft voice, recognizing Summer, the girl from the front desk. She blinked, trying to stop shaking. “Oh…yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

  Summer didn’t look like she believed her. Drew couldn’t blame her, she probably looked as nauseous as she felt. “Is your master here? Can I get him for you?”

  Her master. Drew let out a broken sound, hand covering her mouth. Sebastian wasn’t her Master. He’d made it clear from the beginning that he never intended to be. In fact he was right then waiting to take her back to his place and probably break it very gently to her that he still had no intention of keeping her. Tears flooded her eyes and she bent over a little with a sob.

  Summer was gone then, bolting away probably thinking she was a basket case, and Drew slid down into the corner and tucked her legs up against herself, struggling to keep from breaking down as it hit her that Chad wasn’t lying. It all made sense. Bas had lied to her all along.

  And then the girl was back, this time with a dark-haired man in tow, covered in tattoos but with gentle brown eyes as he crouched down in front of her.

  “Hey there, darlin’. You okay?”

  “She…I think she’s with Sebastian. I’m pretty sure that’s who she came in with.”

  The brown-eyed man met her gaze, gently brushing back her hair. “Is that right? Are you Bas’s girl?”

  Drew bit back tears and shook her head. “No. I’m not. I…” She wanted to say she wished she was, but maybe she d
idn’t wish that anymore. Not if he’d lied to her. Not if he’d used her like some pawn in a game she didn’t even know was being played.

  But the man didn’t believe her and looked back at Summer. “Go find him. Hurry.” Then back to Drew with his gentle eyes. “Did somebody hurt you, darlin’? Tell me what happened.”

  Oh god, she felt so foolish. She swiped at her cheeks, ashamed to realize the tears still fell, and climbed shakily to her feet, shaking her head. “No. No, I mean…well, yes, but not like you think…” Her heart was hurt, her pride, but she knew that wasn’t what he meant.

  “Drusilla!”

  Oh god. Bas. She cringed and covered her face with her hands as he strode down the hall and pushed past the other man to envelope her in his arms. Ten minutes ago it’d been the place she felt safest, in his arms, but now all it did was remind her what a fool she was. Some masochistic part of her demanded verification of that foolishness, had to know just how deeply she’d been played.

  She shrugged out of his embrace and side-stepped when he would have drawn her close again. “Stop it!” She barely managed to not make it a shout. She made herself meet his eyes. His beautiful blue-ice eyes, so confused right then, so concerned. Was that a lie, too? “Tell me about Katie, Sebastian. Tell me she isn’t the reason you chose me at the auction. Tell me!”

  He went stone-still, awareness dawning on his face and guilt following close behind. The guilt nearly brought her to her knees, because it was confirmation of Chad’s story. Why else would Bas feel guilty? “Drusilla…”

  She shook her head, shoving his chest hard, anger filling her. “No! Don’t do that! Tell me the truth. Sebastian. Is that why you picked me? Because of her? Because of what Chad did?”

  His jaw clenched, and then he nodded. “Yes. But there’s more to it than…”

  She didn’t let him finish. She couldn’t, her heart was breaking and god help her, she couldn’t stand to let him see it happen. She slapped him, hard, and turned to bolt – from the hall, from the club, uncaring of the cold outside as she waved down a passing taxi. She choked out her address and curled in the backseat against the door, trying not to fall apart.