by Sophie Stern
You would never talk about it.
“It was fun,” Zoey finally said.
“I’m glad you thought so.”
“I took my panties off tonight in case we want to have fun like that again.”
“Well, we’re certainly in the right place to have a good time, princess.” I stroked her cheek and she nuzzled against my hand. It was a soft, intimate gesture that almost felt out of place at a club like this. Classified was a place full of sex and ropes and people crying and people groaning. It was the ultimate sex dungeon, and there I was, sharing a tender moment with the woman I loved.
Liked.
The woman I liked.
“I feel bad about what happened between us,” Zoey told me. She wasn’t looking around the room at any of the scenes. She wasn’t dancing to the music. She was just looking up at me. “I was thinking,” she let her voice trail off.
“Thinking?”
“I was thinking that I kind of owe you, you know.”
“You don’t owe me a damn thing, Zoey.”
“I do, though. I betrayed you on some level. I didn’t trust you to be truthful with me. I didn’t even give you a chance.”
She was right on that count. We’d both screwed up. I’d given up so easily, pretending that I was just being respectful and giving her space. Maybe what she’d needed was for me to fight for her. Was that what my mistake had been? I hadn’t fought for her. I’d given up. I’d given her space.
“It’s forgotten,” I told her honestly.
“Not for me. I want to pay you back.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some Doms and subs use punishment as a way to reset things between them,” Zoey said slowly. “To absolve each other of guilt when something goes wrong in their relationship.”
“Darling, are you explaining BDSM culture to me?” I chuckled. Zoey was not the first submissive I’d played with.
“A little,” she said, nodding. “It’s just that I was thinking that maybe you could, you know, spank me.”
“You’re asking me to spank you?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “Here,” Zoey gestured around, as though I hadn’t figured that part out. “Here at the club.”
“Why now?” I asked her. “Why tonight?”
“Does that matter?”
“A little,” I nodded. “Is this just something you want because big brother is getting married tomorrow and you want to burn off steam?”
“You mean, or are you special to me?”
“Pretty much.”
“I’ve been trying to get you out of my head,” she whispered.
I knew what she meant. For months now, I’d been trying to live like what had happened between us just didn’t matter. I’d been trying to survive in a world where Zoey and I weren’t together, and where it was fine. Only, that wasn’t exactly working for me. I’d missed her. I’d missed her laugh and her playfulness. We’d only spent a weekend together, but it hadn’t been enough. Somehow, I’d gotten addicted to Zoey Lane, and I didn’t want to let her go.
“How’s that working out for you?”
“Not so well.”
“Have you tried to fuck me out of your system, princess?” I didn’t care if she’d slept with other people. We weren’t together officially. I cared far more about whether the people she’d been with had treated her right than if she’d been with anyone at all.
“I tried,” she said. “I went on some dates, but I didn’t sleep with anyone.”
“That’s what happened to me, too.”
“You didn’t want to have sex?”
“I wasn’t saving myself, if that’s what you mean, but I’m a bit enamored with you, Zoey. Nobody else really compares. That’s beginning to be a bit of a problem as far as my dick is concerned.”
She laughed loudly, throwing her head back, and then she grabbed me and hugged me. I hugged her back, of course, and I spent a moment just breathing her in. She felt so good in my arms. She felt right. This felt right. Zoey looked up at me, and I claimed her mouth in a soft kiss. It was short and sweet, but I felt like it said everything I wanted to. Finally, I nodded.
“All right, princess. I’ll spank you.”
“Here?”
“Here.”
“In front of everyone?”
“Is that what you want?”
I wasn’t one of those dominants who was bossy. At least, I didn’t like to think of myself that way. Sometimes, if I was with someone who was into hardcore BDSM and wanted someone who would tell them how everything was going to be, then sure, I could boss my partner around. BDSM was all about a mutual meeting of needs, after all. Right now, though, I wanted to be the partner that Zoey needed more than anything else. The partner she needed tonight was someone who would listen to her needs and then provide for her in that way.
She thought about it for a minute, but then she nodded.
“Yes,” she finally said. “That’s what I want.”
“You want everyone to watch me pull your skirt up and spank you until you cry?”
“Is that what you’re going to do to me?”
“Yes,” I said. She was right when she said that she’d been naughty. I wasn’t without fault, and I fully planned on making it up to her. This was what she needed to feel better, though. I understood that. Many times in life, even if you felt like you’d made something up to another person, you hadn’t. Not really. Not until there was some sort of give and take. People didn’t like to consider the idea of “punishment” because it was punitive and patriarchal, but sometimes it had its place. Receiving a spanking, even a public and slightly embarrassing one, could be cathartic.
“Okay,” she nodded. Then Zoey took my hand and gave it a little squeeze. I understood her well enough to know that there was a lot contained in that gentle pressure. She was telling me that she trusted me. She was telling me she cared about me. Most of all, she was telling me that she was excited about everything we were about to do.
It was wildly exciting, wonderfully erotic, and I couldn’t wait to get started.
12
Zoey
I was a fool.
Shit.
I realized halfway to the empty stage that I didn’t really want this. Not really. Not like this. Did I want a spanking? Yes. Totally. I wanted a spanking. Had I scened before? Also, yes. Also, with spankings and sometimes without. Playing at the club was a safe way to express yourself sexually. It was the kind of place where you could have sex and explore your kinks without suffering any social consequences, but right now...
Well, now I was starting to panic.
I was walking around Classified with David Walker: sex god. I was walking around the club like it was no big deal that I was with him, only it was a big deal. He was a big deal. He had the power to save me or break my heart, and I didn’t know which it was going to be. Was David going to make me soar? Or was he going to crush my soul?
We made it to the stage. It was empty, which meant that anyone was allowed to use it. You didn’t have to reserve stages at Classified. Sometimes, a club made you make reservations in order to perform a scene. Other clubs only let specific people perform. It was a way of making sure the club catered to a certain clientele. If a club brought in a couple of popular Doms, for example, they might want the stage to be just for those people.
Classified had no such policy. Anyone could play on any stage, provided it was empty and had been cleaned prior to use. We paused beside the side, and David looked down at me. He cupped my face. It was a tender gesture he had used many times with me, and it never felt any less wonderful. When he touched me like this, I felt totally safe. I felt like everything in the world was going to be just fine as long as he kept touching me.
“Please don’t stop,” I whispered.
“Zoey,” David said my name like it was a damn promise. How did he manage to do that? And why was I so crazy about him?
“Yes?”
“Are you sure about this?”
&nb
sp; “About what?”
“Us on stage,” he said. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, princess. We’ve never played together like this. I know that the last time we were together, in the same place, we sort of played in public. This is going to be more intimate than that.”
At Felix’s party. That had been incredible. The rush of fooling around right in the hallways coupled with the fact that it was so forbidden to be touched by David was insane. I had felt like I’d come alive in ways I never could have dreamed of. There was the thrill of knowing that anyone could see, but that aside from a random security guard, nobody really would. Here, though, everyone would see. In this place, everyone was going to see everything.
Even though I was wildly turned on, and I knew that David was, too, he was giving me a choice. An out. He was giving me a chance to walk away from everything we were thinking of doing, and he was politely letting me know that there were no hard feelings. Not this time. Not from him.
David might have been the kind of guy who picked up girls in sex clubs. He might have been the kind of guy who would fool around in public. Maybe he was the kind of gentleman who even slept with someone on the first date. None of that mattered because he was also the dude who was giving me a chance to say no.
And he wasn’t going to judge me if I took him up on that escape.
I’d been with enough people to know that turning someone down for sex was a fast way to upset them. Even guys who were otherwise good and kind would be irritated if you promised them sex, but then changed your mind. A guy like David was rare. Finding him was like finding a diamond in your backyard.
It just didn’t happen.
And when he looked at me like that, I realized something else. I realized that I did want this. I did want to show off for him and with him. I enjoyed playing publicly, and I enjoyed being a bit naughty. I’d grown up in a quiet, sheltered world, and I hadn’t started exploring my sexuality until long after all of my friends had.
I wanted this.
I wanted him.
“I’m ready,” I told him, and I knew in my heart that it was true. I was ready. Whatever happened next was going to be fun. We were in a safe, comfortable space. Nobody here was going to judge us. Nobody here was going to point or laugh or tease. Classified was a space where you could do anything, be anyone, and nobody was going to put you down for that.
“Let’s go,” he offered me his hand, and I took it. Carefully, he led me up the three steps to the stage, and then to the center. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. The club was playing music loudly. It was wild enough, loud enough, that nobody expected to hear what we were talking about. Still, a few eyes swung toward us. People knew we needed time to set up the scene, so no one paid close attention just yet. Soon, though, we’d attract an audience. Then people would be watching us.
They’d look at us to see what we were doing and what we were up to, and they’d watch to see whether I’d been a very, very bad girl for David. They’d look at us to see whether he was going to torture me in a wonderful way. The audience would watch to see if I came apart despite being watched. Somehow, David and I both knew that was exactly what was going to happen.
He positioned me in the center of the stage with my back to the crowd.
“You don’t want me watching everyone?” I asked.
“I just want you focused on me,” he explained. The music was loud, so he had to get close to my ear to tell me. I could feel his breath on me, and then he bit, nipping at my earlobe. He tugged, and the sensation was wildly incredible.
I bit my lip, trying not to get too excited too fast. I knew that whatever happened next was going to change things between us in a big way. Maybe it would be a good thing and maybe not, but it was going to be a wild ride. When you scened with someone, you opened yourself up to them. You let them into your heart, and you let them use your body. With the right person, you’d feel like a million bucks when you were done.
David was the right person.
“Close your eyes,” he said. I did. Closing my eyes was an easy request. I knew that whatever happened next would be harder and more difficult. David never half-assed anything, and since he was, apparently, an experienced top, he wasn’t going to hold back.
How had I not known before that he was interested in the same things as me? Oh yeah, because I hadn’t bothered to ask. I’d been too caught up in my own shit. Well, that was all changing really fast, wasn’t it?
I heard the sound of wooden furniture sliding across the floor, and then David positioned me over a table of some type. I kept my eyes closed, as he’d asked me to, and I was still wearing my corset top and my skirt, albeit without panties. The way I was bent over let me know that the audience could now see my bottom and, if they were looking closely enough, the puffy lips of my pussy.
I was wet. Already, I was wet and turned on. There was a part of me that wanted David to take me right here. We could skip the spanking and he could just slide that thick cock into me. That could be really, really nice.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered to me again.
“Thank you.”
“Keep your eyes closed,” he said.
“Okay.”
“I’m going to push your skirt up, and then I’m going to spank you,” David explained. I appreciated that he was telling me exactly what to expect. Keeping my eyes closed was easy if I knew what was going to happen. It was the not knowing that was hard.
David ran his hands over my skin. He pushed his hands up my skirt, massaging my bottom, and then, true to his word, I felt him push it up to my hips. I was exposed, bared to the world. Normally, before you did a scene with someone, you talked through the whole thing. You planned it all out carefully. We weren’t doing a full scene, though. We were just doing a public spanking, and that was something I could handle.
He used his hand to smack my ass, and I cried out with the first smack. I felt him tug my hair back, and he spoke to me. Having my hair pulled like that made me even more excited.
“Ten swats,” he murmured. Ten swats. I could handle ten. That was nothing. “Then I’m going to carry you off this stage and have my wicked way with you, princess.”
I could live with that.
He swatted me again, and again, I cried out. I didn’t usually consider myself to be loud, but something about the entire scene was just overwhelming to me. This was David that I was with. I was with David, and he was spanking me in front of a crowd. There were undoubtedly people gathered around, but he’d allowed me to close my eyes, so I didn’t have to look or see who was watching. I didn’t have to feel embarrassed.
All I had to do was take my spanking like a big girl.
That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
David kept spanking me. He hit me in time with the music, so it was easy to know when each swat was going to come. What wasn’t easy was figuring out where he was going to hit next. He sprinkled my entire backside with swats. He hit my ass cheeks and my upper thighs, and once he even smacked my pussy. That was slightly painful, but also exciting. I’d done a lot of things, but I’d never been spanked there before. I didn’t even know that I liked that.
Soon I was wet. Dripping. My thighs were slick with my own arousal, and David ran his hands up my legs, touching me there. He knew this had turned me on. He had to know. He tugged my hair back again, pulling me to my feet, and he spun me around and kissed me. The entire time, I kept my eyes closed, but I reached for him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and I kissed him back. I had cried a little, and my cheeks were wet with my tears. I wasn’t embarrassed about that, and David didn’t seem to mind.
“How was that?” David murmured.
“It hurt like hell.”
He only laughed.
“Open your eyes and come with me,” he said. I opened my eyes and allowed David to lead me off the stage and to a nearby chair. He sat me down and someone came by and handed me a water bottle and a piece of chocolate, which I accepted.
“Don’t move,” David warned. He went back up onto the stage to move the table we’d used and to wipe it down. Then he came back to me and pulled me up into his arms.
“That was fun,” he murmured, kissing me.
“I liked it, too.” My ass was still stinging. It might have been our first time scening together, but he hadn’t held back. I had to respect that about him. I felt like some people would have gone easy on me, but he hadn’t. He’d given me just what I’d needed, which was a nice, hard spanking while a bunch of random strangers watched and enjoyed the view.
I felt like a damn goddess.
“You looked fucking gorgeous,” he told me.
“Thanks. I felt pretty good.”
“Have you had a scene like that before?”
“Yes,” I told him. It was different with him, though. It had been more intense. Often when I was with people, it was more like a sexual exchange. I would submit, and they would dominate. With David, the experience had an emotional element I wasn’t used to. “I liked it better with you.”
“You flatter me.”
“I’m not trying to. It’s just that when it was you, I just really felt like I trusted you, and like you were paying attention to me completely. I didn’t have to worry about you like, losing yourself, you know?”
“Have you been with a top before who lost himself in the scene?” David’s eyes narrowed. He looked concerned. He didn’t have to be. I was a pretty big girl, and I could take care of myself, but I liked that he was taking care of me now.
“No, but I have friends who have. Everyone’s heard a horror story about a Dom who just wouldn’t back down, you know?”
“I do know. That’s one of the dangers of the lifestyle, and it’s one of the reasons I think people should only play at reputable clubs.”
“Yeah?”
“At a club like this, everyone is screened. Everyone’s monitored. Everyone’s watched. If something were to happen, or someone were to get a little carried away, there are safety measures in place.” David gestured around the room, and I glanced to where a few dungeon monitors were watching. He was right about the oversight. Classified was great about keeping a staff of support people around. The type of people who worked here were really good about making sure that everyone stayed safe and in control.