A Real Page Turner (12 page)

“You ready?” Titan asked her after he’d parked the car.

“Sort of,” she said. She’d been so brave and ready for it, at first. The reality of the situation was not as easy to take.

“Trust,” he said.

“Trust,” she repeated. “It’s the only reason I’m going inside, because I trust you.”

Even in the darkness, with a little illumination filtering in from the outdoor lights around the structure, she could see the smile on his face. “Stay with me,” he said. “If you see someone you think might be the man you saw with Virginia that night in Charlie’s, let me know. Don’t approach him, just tell me.”

“Yes, Sir,” she said.

They exited the car and made their way to the house. Once they’d mounted the steps, a woman opened the door to invite them in. She was dressed in Daisy Dukes and a red halter-top. When she turned, April could see a few welts on the top of her thighs.

“Interesting costumes,” the woman said with a smile. “And you are?”

“A river boat gambler and his prize,” Titan told her. The woman laughed and asked their real names. Titan told her. She checked a list and nodded. Then she picked up a red strap of leather.

“For your lady?”

“Yes.” Titan took it from her and handed it to April. “Put it on.”

She did as he commanded, her hands trembling as she fastened the adornment. When it was secured, she looked up at him. The look of admiration on his face made her smile.

“Have a good time,” their greeter said. “All the rooms in the house are open.”

Her statement prompted April’s mind to whirl. Was this house occupied by people, or was it kept for events just like this? How would you clear it of personal items, hiding things you didn’t want to disappear when strangers were in your home? She wanted to ask Titan if he had asked Poindexter about this, but now didn’t seem the time to bring it up.

They entered the main space by way of a narrow hallway. The sounds of spanking reached her ears before they entered the room. What she saw there answered her question about the house. She doubted this was someone’s residence, unless they redecorated for the event. The room was huge, dotted with couches and chairs.

Each piece of furniture was being used, occupied by men with women over their laps, or women with men over theirs. Spectators watched as those in the seats administered spankings.

April’s mind whirled as she took in the scene. This was not Charlie’s, which featured scenes in different rooms, with one main stage in the main room that could be used by couples.

The sound of hands, belts, paddles and brushes slapping against flesh was almost too much for her to take. She stiffened, and Titan took her hand. “Easy,” he whispered. “Just relax.”

“Welcome,” Poindexter said as he arrived at April’s side. “I’m glad you found the place all right.”

“Not a problem,” Titan said as he offered Poindexter his hand. “This is interesting, to say the least.”

“There are other rooms, where you can place her in a stock, or bind her with her hands above her head. Take a look around and choose what looks like the most fun to you.” Poindexter leaned toward them. “There is also a stable outside, loaded with crops and whips. Some of our more—adventurous—friends go out there.”

“Adventurous?” Titan repeated.

“Yes.” Poindexter had a smile on his face. “It’s for the harder core BDSM players, single tails and the like. I’m telling you about it now for information purposes. You have to have a special invitation to get inside.”

April shivered.

“I take it sex is not prohibited out there,” Titan said.

“It’s outside the main house,” Poindexter replied. “It doesn’t really fall under the parameters of the main event.”

Out of sight, out of mind, April thought as she cleared her throat. The red collar seemed to have tightened since she’d fastened it around her neck.

“I’m keeping you from your fun,” Poindexter said. “Although, I hoped the spanking you and I had discussed could take place first, Titan.”

April’s ears perked up. The two had discussed a spanking?

“Definitely,” Titan said. “Do you have a spot in mind?”

“Follow me,” Poindexter said. He headed for the stairs. They followed him up a half flight. There was a turn to take a second half to another level. Instead, Poindexter went down a hallway. The sounds of spanking were a little muted up here, but still in full force. It came from behind closed doors, and April, despite her nerves, itched to open a few of the doors and see what was happening behind them.

They reached the end of the hallway and Poindexter opened a door. He indicated April should go in first. The room was empty, except for the spanking bench that sat in the center. One wall was full of crops, belts, floggers and other spanking devices.

“April, mount the bench,” Titan ordered as Poindexter closed the door behind them. While she was happy that she wouldn’t be spanked in public, she wasn’t thrilled with the thought that she didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. She wanted to ask, but then she remembered Titan’s last words before they came inside.

Trust. She must trust him.

The bench was simple, a large slab in the middle with a padded place to rest her torso when she bent over it.

She glanced at Titan. His expression was unreadable, and she wondered what he was thinking. Springing things on her was probably fun for him, and she had to remember that she could say no, and he would let her go. At least she hoped he would. She had never tried it with him. But she did trust him.

April took a step toward the bench, then another, and another. Her heart was pounding by the time she put one knee on the slab. She put the second one on there and inched forward. The movement pulled on the pants she wore, tugging them down just a little.

“Scoot up,” Titan ordered. She did as Titan asked, placing her wrists near the open leather cuffs.

She murmured softly as he attached the bindings, first the left one, then the right. “Titan,” she said.

“She really isn’t used to this, is she?” Poindexter asked.

“I told you, we’re in the beginnings of our relationship. But she trusts me, and knows I would never do anything to harm her permanently. She loves to have her ass spanked, as you saw the other night.  She’s just not used to being bound.”

“It’s good for her,” Poindexter announced. “Reminds her that you’re in charge.”

“True,” Titan said. “But, there is the thrill, for me, that comes when she stays in the position I put her in and takes the spanking I give her, without moving. I rather enjoy that. But I also like this, seeing her bound, with her ass bared, ready to be spanked until she’s bright red.”

With that, he moved behind her and fastened the cuffs around her ankles. April wiggled, wondering what the hell was happening and why she was letting it. She gasped when Titan wrapped a thick leather belt around her waist, securing her to the bench. She started to sweat, ready to voice her objection.

Why was she allowing this? After all, she was the woman who had kept such a tight rein on her relationship with Tom. She should run screaming from the room, or at least she should have before the leather had come into place. It took her a few, long moments to remember that coming here had been her idea, at first. Sure she’d been nervous, but she was the one who had voiced the idea. If she objected now, Poindexter would question their motives.

When she was secured on the bench, Titan tugged on the pantalets, and bared her bottom.

“Very pretty, as I said the other evening,” Poindexter said. “I’ve thought about her since that night.”

“Don’t think about her too much,” Titan said. “She belongs to me. I agreed to this double spanking because I thought it would take her out of her comfort zone, and it will. But I’m not offering her for your use all the time. Tonight is a one night thing.”

Poindexter laughed. “I have a few friends who are as attached to their subs as you are. To me, they’re nothing more than play toys.”

There were two things from their host’s words that caught April’s attention. One was that Titan was attached to her. The other was play toys. It reminded her of Misty. She wondered if she should tell her friend about this place, see if she and Poindexter could hook up and have some fun together.

She was filing the idea away for future reference when Titan’s words pushed their way forward. Double spanking? What did that mean? “Excuse me,” she said. “Double spanking?”

“One man for each cheek,” Titan said. “You’re going to be nice and red when this is over.”

Rather than being repulsed by the idea, April felt a thrill run through her, from the tips of her fingers to the ends of her toes. The idea of two men spanking her at once had never occurred to her, and now that it was going to happen, she couldn’t wait for it to start.

The fact that Poindexter had never spanked her before didn’t bother her. Titan would keep things in hand.

“Leather? Hairbrushes? Crops? Floggers? What’s your poison?” Poindexter asked.

“She loves a crop,” Titan said. “But I think we’re going to go with floggers tonight. That way it will kiss her ass and thighs, make her really feel the sting.”

April turned her head to watch as the two men strode to the wall. They fingered the implements, each of them selecting a flogger.

Titan’s was brown, and she could see the ends were knotted. Poindexter’s was red, and the strands seemed to be made of something besides leather, but at this distance she couldn’t tell. She was just about to ask what it was when the door to the room opened.

It closed again and the unmistakable voice of Det. Threadway filled the room. “I hope I haven’t missed the fun,” he said, and April’s heart threatened to stop.

April pulled on her hands, but the cuffs held her in place. She was thankful, though, for Titan, who covered her bottom with a swift tug of the pantalets. She hoped they didn’t rip.

“What the hell?” She couldn’t see Titan, but the tone of his voice told her he wasn’t happy.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad,” Threadway said. April listened as he crossed the room, his shoes making a scuffing noise on the hard wood. When he was seated in a chair, he winked at her.

“I repeat, what the hell?” Titan sounded extremely mad now. “This is not what we discussed, and I don’t like surprises where my lady is concerned.”

April tugged at her wrists again. “Titan, please,
undo me.”

“Shush.” He caressed her back. “Easy, April.” Seconds later he did as she asked, undoing her ankles first, then her wrists.

“That’s disappointing,” Poindexter said.

“What’s disappointing is you blindsiding me,” Titan replied. “I don’t think I like your tactics.”

“Don’t blame him,” Threadway said. “It was the easiest way I could think of for the three of us to talk without someone seeing us. Everybody here knows I’m a cop.”

“So?” Titan helped April to stand, then took his place in front of her, as if he were acting like a shield.

“Dex is my friend,” Threadway said. “When he has newcomers that he’s not sure about, he checks them out with me. Imagine my surprise…” Threadway let the statement drift off.

“That doesn’t explain why you set us up,” Titan said. She imagined him glaring at the man she now knew was called Dex.

“I want you to act as a spy, April. There is a man out there, blond hair, jeans, and blue shirt. He is the one who came into your store looking for Regency romance novels. Do you remember him?”

“Yes.” She frowned. “How do you know he’s the one?”

“Because I looked at the security tapes from the store next to you,” Threadway said. “I matched the dates and the times, and then showed the photo to Dex. He recognized him immediately. I haven’t been sitting around twiddling my thumbs, you know. I’ve been looking for the person, or persons, responsible for Virginia’s death.”

“He was just a customer,” she said. “What made you suspect this man?”

Threadway shook his head. “April, you may have bought his story, but I thought it was a little too coincidental. From information I discovered from Virginia’s files, I’d say she and this guy had known each other for a while, and that night at Charlie’s wasn’t their first meeting. I think they were blackmailing people.”

“No way.” She stepped in front of Titan. The corset seemed to be tighter than it was before. “Virginia wasn’t that type of person.”

“And you know this from the extensive amount of time you spent with her?” Threadway leaned forward in his chair, his elbows propped on his knees. Dex leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

“She was so nice.”

Threadway smirked. “We found a hidden space under the boards in her bedroom. There was a lot of cash, a few guns, and some tapes of people in masks having really kinky sex. And I mean really, really hard core stuff.”

“Guns?” She turned to look at Titan as she spoke. He was staring at Threadway.

“Really?” the detective asked. “That’s what you got out of that?”

“Well, we know Virginia wasn’t vanilla,” she answered.

“The things on this tape made me sweat,” Threadway said. “They were—intense.”

April’s stomach turned. She was about to ask what they were, but Threadway held up his hand, and she knew he wouldn’t tell them.

He stood and pulled a photo from his back pocket. “Is this the man who came into the store?”

April took it and sighed. “Yes.” She handed it to Titan.

“Go look at him from behind,” Threadway said. “Then come back here and let me know if you think he’s the same person she was with that night at Charlie’s.” Before she could move, Threadway stepped in front of her. “Don’t approach him. Your mask will hide your face, so I don’t think he’ll recognize you. But if he thinks you’re studying him, he’ll be suspicious.”

“I’ll be behind him, remember?” She tried not to laugh.

“Don’t give it away,” Threadway said. “I’m counting on you.”

April took a deep breath. She headed toward the door, stepping aside quickly when Titan rushed in front of her. “You’re not going without me,” he said.

“Definitely not,” Dex said, breaking his silence. “When you come back, we’ll talk about that double spanking.”

Titan opened the door and she went into the hallway. Once they were outside, he shut it behind them. “April, you have to believe me, I didn’t know—”

She put a finger against his lips. “I believe you. But you shouldn’t apologize to me where some of the harder core people can hear. They’ll think we’re square.”

“You mean vanilla?” He reached behind her and smacked her ass. “Not a chance. Plus, there’s no one up here. Let’s go see if we can find your phantom blond.”

They made their way to the main room. April hated to admit she was nervous. She wanted to grab Titan’s hand and hold on to it, but she knew the people here would think that was strange.

“You should have me on a leash,” she whispered as she leaned into him. Most of the attendees had their subs attached to leads.

“Wait here,” Titan said. April hugged a wall as he walked toward the table where they had registered. He was back moments later, a black piece of leather in his hand. He attached the end of it to the red collar she wore.

“Let’s go,” he said. He moved into the room, tugging on the leash. April put her hand up to tug on her collar, which made her feel as if she would choke. She stayed close to him, since he’d let very little of the leash dangle between them.

The sounds of spanking once again filled her ears, but April tuned it out, searching the crowd for the blond man Threadway said was here. One turn around the main room turned up nothing.

They were on their second pass when a man stepped in front of them. “If you want to spank her here, you can use this chair. I’m done for a few minutes, and I’d like to watch you whip her.”

April looked at him, and then looked down at the woman who knelt by his side. Her cheeks were stained with tears, but she was smiling.

Titan sat down in the chair the man indicated. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, since they had specific orders from Threadway about what they were
supposed
to be doing.

But then she reasoned the motives behind his action. If they continued to circle the room, people might become suspicious. It was best to do a spanking, and then they could start back on their rounds.

“Come across my lap,” Titan ordered her harshly. She hurried to do his bidding.

“Can I get you anything?” their new friend asked as she settled herself across Titan’s thighs. “Brush? Paddle? Belt? Or are you just going to use your hand?”

“A hairbrush would be good,” Titan responded.

April couldn’t see what happened, but she heard the woman groan. She thought the man might have slapped her ass, but it was hard to distinguish sounds with so much going on in the room. “Go get the man a brush, and be quick about it.”

“Clive,” the man said. April imagined Clive offering Titan his hand to shake.

“Brandon,” Titan replied, and April bit back a laugh. Brandon was the name of a character in his most recent book. He was a rake, and had taken many lovers, and spanked them all. The preview of the next book showed that Brandon would find his one true love, and she would reject him, until he won her heart, after he’d reddened her bottom a few times.

It was, she supposed, something like what happened between her and Titan, only in the book it had gone on for chapters. In real life, she and Titan had connected within days.

She heard Titan say thank you, and she supposed the woman was back with the brush. April shivered as he raked the bristles against her ass. She still wore the thin pantalets, and truthfully, she was happy about that. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about being half naked in front of total strangers.

“Oh come on,” she heard Clive complain. “You’re going to let her get away with the pants?”

“Don’t try to control the situation,” Titan answered. “This is our first time here, and I know my lady. I know what is right for the moment, and what is wrong.”

She waited for Clive to apologize, but he didn’t. Titan continued to stroke the bristles across her ass. April tuned out the sounds of other people being spanked, and concentrated on the feelings building inside her. She wanted him to smack her ass, now.

But he didn’t. Instead he turned the brush over so the smooth wood was now rubbing against her bottom. She closed her eyes, wishing they could communicate silently. She wanted him to…

“Oh,” she groaned as Titan smacked her ass the first time. As was his custom, it was immediately followed by a second strike, and then a third one. He rubbed her bottom again, and then started spanking her, the brush coming down harder and harder.

April bit back a moan of pleasure, trying to listen to what was happening around her. What would these people expect? Were the other people being spanked crying out in pain, or pleasure? She tuned in, and all she could hear were cries asking for more.

So she decided to join in the fun. “Please, Sir, please,” she cried out. “Harder, harder. You know I love it when you smack my ass.” It sounded so contrite that she almost laughed. But it got immediate results. Titan slapped her ass harder than he had before.

“More, more!” she screamed.

“Are you telling me what to do?” He smacked her ass harder. “Are you?”

“No, Sir,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry, Sir.”

“Do it again and it stops, understand?”

April shivered, and didn’t immediately respond. Titan slammed the brush down on her ass and she yelped. “Yes, Sir, I understand.”

Five more hard smacks and it was all she could do to hold back her pleading. It felt incredible, the warm feeling building inside her as he slapped the brush against her bottom. She was surprised to find out that despite her earlier misgivings about being spanked in front of people, the thought that she had an audience made the spanking more intense. It made her enjoy the spanking more, if that were possible.

Titan delivered ten more delicious swats, and then he barely tapped the brush against her ass. “Stand up,” he commanded.

She did as he asked.

“Over the chair,” he said after he’d stood. She bent over the well-cushioned arm, gasping a little as she felt him tug on the pantalets to bare her ass.

“Will someone get me a riding bat?” he asked the crowd. All thoughts of what they were supposed to be doing fled from her mind as the delicious idea swept through her. She was about to taste her favorite implement. Well, a shorter version of a crop, but still just as tasty. The leather-covered fiberglass would leave welts on her bottom, and she would savor every strike he delivered.

April kept her gaze down, but from her position she could see there were quite a few pairs of feet gathering around the chair to watch as Titan delivered her ‘punishment.’

She wanted to look around, see what was happening behind her. But she got her answer soon enough. Titan rubbed the riding bat against her ass.

“Not one word, or sound,” he said, his voice level and soft. And then he started to spank her.

April pressed her lips together so she could follow his instructions, but it was difficult. The swats were hard, but they were not fast, or even. One minute he delivered two in direct succession. Then it seemed as if forever passed before he swatted her ass again.

The urge to plead for more was strong. It was as if he were teasing her, goading her into disobeying him. Maybe that’s what he wanted. If she were a brat, breaking his command, would he give her more of what she desired?

Time to find out. “Wimp,” she whispered, hoping he would hear it above the noise in the room. The man who had been sitting in the chair, what was his name again? April couldn’t remember, but she knew he’d heard her, because he whispered and said, “Wow, what a brat.”

Titan must have heard her, too, because the bat came down harder, and harder. April totally ignored his order to stay silent. All memories of the spankings earlier in the week were gone, and she knew she would pay for this in the morning. She moaned and whined as the bat bit into her skin.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she called out. But Titan didn’t answer her. He continued to abuse her bottom, and the painful pleasure she’d felt before was now turning into just pain.

“Please, please stop,” she whispered. He ignored her, delivering a rapid succession of slaps until she cried out one last time.

Seconds later, the bat was in front of her face. “Kiss it,” Titan demanded. She did, wondering how something so small could deliver so much pain. He dropped it from his hand, and she could see that he’d wrapped the leather strap near its handle around his wrist. Titan held out his hand and she took it.

After he’d helped her to stand, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry if that was harder than usual, but I wanted the man standing over my left shoulder to stay. Look at him, but don’t focus too hard.”