When he lifted his head, she nudged him back with the toe of one thigh-high, spike-heeled boot.
Another man took his place, wrapping his lips around the recently abandoned nipple.
“Auditioning,” Dominic said in my ear. “She does that a lot. She’s got a VIP membership and she can bring somebody up here with her, but she likes to play the new people. She won’t bring anybody to the third floor. She never does.”
The lights dimmed even more and I lost sight of the woman and the pair auditioning. I didn't try to look for them though as two people walked onto the stage.
It was a man. I squinted and realized I’d seen him earlier. The guy in jeans and t-shirt. He’d been talking to Natalie just before we'd come up to her. The woman with him wore a black silk cocktail dress and a mask.
He held rope.
Lots and lots of red rope.
As the crowd went silent, a low, melodic tune began to play. Weeping sax and rich violin, blended with the haunting strains from a piano. A pair of stage lights focused on the pair.
“What’s going on?” I asked in a whisper.
“The show.” Dominic leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. “Watch.”
The man looked out at the audience and gave a slow smile.
And then he got to work.
***
I was dazed and sweating by the time it ended.
She wore a cage of ropes. I didn't have any other word for what I was seeing. The red ropes crisscrossed her body all the way down, breasts framed perfectly. Even her legs were caged, the
x
’ing pattern of the ropes continuing until she was immobilized, only her head, hands and feet left unbound. Her skin glistened with sweat and she stared with intense focus at the man as he bent down and kissed her gently.
“It’s called shibari,” Dominic said, his voice husky in my ear.
I jumped and then swallowed. I'd almost forgotten he was there. Now, I could feel his hand burning through the thin material of my shirt.
“Does that interest you?”
“Um…” I glanced at his face and saw he was smiling. Even in the dim light, I could see his eyes practically glow. “Yeah. It’s well…” I struggled to find the right word. “Beautiful.”
Hot.
I looked back at the stage just as the man picked up his partner and carried her off the stage, still bound.
“It was…” Words escaped me.
“Erotic.”
No word had ever seemed more apt. “Yes.”
When he took my hand, I let him lead me away. My legs were shaky, as if I'd been teased to the brink of something. I understood, to some extent, the bliss I’d seen on the woman’s face although I realized some of what I was feeling was envy. I didn't quite understand it, but I wanted to.
Cool air brushed over me and I looked up, realized we were in a new room and we were alone.
My eyes shot to the bed, to the pole in the middle of the room, then the various instruments and devices left out for display. “Where are we?”
“One of the VIP rooms.” Dominic turned to face me. He frowned as he brushed back some hair from my face. “What are you thinking?”
I bit my lip nervously. “I’m afraid you’ll be upset.”
“No.” He rested his hands on my shoulders. “I want to know.”
I could feel the tension in his hands, in his body. “I…the woman on the stage.”
“His sub. I think they're permanent partners.” Dominic’s lashes lay low over his eyes, shielding his gaze from me. “Like us.”
My chest tightened at that. Permanent.
Like us.
He continued, “That sort of bondage takes a special degree of trust and training. If they aren’t partners, then she’s been topped by somebody skilled in shibari before and he's studied it as well. It’s an art form, one that takes practice on both sides.” He gave me a curious look. “You want to try it.”
“Well…” I was squirming now.
He cupped my face, not letting me look away. “What is it, Aleena?”
“It…” I blew out a breath. “Did you see her face? It was like she was somewhere else entirely. Only those two existed.”
“For her, at that moment, it was just her and just him.”
I still couldn't move my head, but I lowered my eyes. “I've felt that before. With us.”
His fingers twitched on my cheeks.
“But it looked like...more. To be able to get that way with all those people...”
Dominic's voice was soft. “She gave herself over to him entirely. There was no doubt, not in him or in herself.” He brushed his thumb across my bottom lip. “You've called me on holding back personally, but I think you've been holding back sexually.”
I jerked my head up at that. “I...the things I've let you...I mean...”
His expression was serious. “That's what I mean. The things you've
let
me do to you? You're still ashamed of what you enjoy.”
His word choice hit me. I'd accused him of being ashamed of me, but I'd never once considered that I was really the one ashamed. Not of him or of being with him. Not even of what we did, but rather the fact that I enjoyed it. All of it. I enjoyed him spanking me, using a flogger, restraining me. I loved the way he fucked me, the way he made love to me. How his cock felt in my pussy...in my ass.
“Aleena, darling.”
His voice brought me back to him.
“Let go.”
As I nodded, I felt as if something had broken free. Relief flooded through me. I didn't have to be ashamed of what I wanted, what I liked. I was safe with him.
He dropped his hands from my face, reaching down to lace his fingers between mine. “Now, be honest, do you want to be bound like that? It’s something that has to be learned.”
I thought about it, thought about how the ropes caught her breasts, ran between her thighs. I was tempted to say yes. “Do you know how?”
“No.” He squeezed my hands. “Like I said, it’s an art form. It takes practice. I know people who practice and it can be learned. I'll learn it, if that’s something you want.”
“I…” Blowing out a breath, I shook my head. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
He nodded. “We'll put it aside for now then.” He let go of one of my hands and curled his hand around the back of my neck. “But I don't ever want you to feel like you have to be embarrassed to ask for something you want.”
I smiled as I turned my head and kissed his wrist.
“Are you ready for something new though?”
I nodded and he turned me to face the pole, his body a hard, warm presence behind me.
“I do know my way around ropes, Aleena.”
***
He hadn’t lied.
He’d handcuffed me before, used various types of cloth to tie up my hands and legs. Nothing as elaborate as the shibari we’d witnessed on stage, but I knew the feel of restraints against my skin.
But this was different.
My hands were tied to the pole rather than to each other, the right just an inch above the left, with just enough give that I could hold on to the cool metal. When he'd done that, I’d thought that would be it, but it wasn’t. He’d taken my left ankle and brought it up, tying it to my thigh, leaving me precariously perched on one foot. He wasn't finished even then. He pulled my left leg to the side, somehow fastening the rope to the pole in such a way that it left me exposed.
“You know the nice thing about the VIP rooms?” he asked as he finished checking my bonds.
I shook my head.
“They offer a selection of new tools, new toys, and anything I like, I can take home. There’s a crop here I’m going to try on you, Aleena. Would you like that?”
“Yes, sir.”
I gasped when he brought it down on my butt a moment later, sending a streak of pain through me. It was intense, a hot lick of flame up across my flesh. He repeated it, lower along my thigh, a lighter blow but still enough to burn. When he reached my ass again, he plied the crop with more force and I was whimpering by the time he stopped.
“What do you think? Should we keep it? Or try something else?”
Panting, I pressed my head to the pole. My ass felt like it was on fire. I could still feel each stroke.
“We’ll try something else.”
There was a pause, and then another type of pain. I heard the crack before I felt the heat bloom across my already sore ass. I cried out, my back arching as I fought my body's natural instinct to turn away.
“This is a paddle.” He paused and came up behind me, stroking a hand up my back. “You remember your word, Aleena?”
“Please…Dominic, please…”
“Do you remember?” He demanded it now.
“Yes!”
“Good.”
The next few minutes bled together, a hot miasma of pain, followed by a rush of relief that left me feeling like I was just going to drift away. He alternated between using the paddle on my ass and trading it out for the crop, which he used on my butt and thighs. Between
my thighs. The first strike with the crop against my pussy sent me screaming into a nearly painful orgasm. As I came, I panted and begged for more in one breath, then in the next, I pleaded with him to stop.
He didn’t though, timing his hits so that just as my climax was fading, he pushed me into another, this one even more intense than the last.
I wasn't sure at what point he released me, only that the ropes were gone and he was massaging my ankle and then my wrists as he held me up. Everything felt so surreal, but all that mattered was the stark, hungry look on his face.
He kissed me, hard, his tongue demanding as he plundered my mouth. His hands tightened around me until I knew I'd be bruised, but I didn't care. Then, suddenly, he was straightening, leading me somewhere. I barely registered that it was a table, only that he was bending me over it. The wood was cold against my hard nipples and I shivered.
“Hands,” he ordered.
I obeyed and in short order, my hands were tied behind my back, forcing me to lay with my chest and cheek against the table.
“You’ve been a good girl, Aleena.” His fingers brushed my hair out of my face. “I’m going to reward you now. Would you like that?”
“Yes, sir.”
He buried himself inside me, no teasing, no warning. Just one hard, fast stroke. Even as I was still crying out from the sudden intrusion, he was pulling out and slamming forward again. He pounded into me, relentless, each stroke deeper than the last. The pressure inside me was building quickly, but as I tensed, my body ready for the next stroke to push me over the edge, he stopped.
He pulled out completely and I shuddered, trembling, clamping my thighs together against the ache of unfulfilled release. I felt so empty that I almost wanted to cry.
When he touched me again, I jumped. His fingers were cold.
“Relax, baby.”
He slid his finger inside my ass and I gasped at the sharp burn. Biting my lip to keep back the whimpers, I tried to twist away. He brought down his hand on my left cheek and I made a pained sound, but I stopped trying to get away. When he added a second finger, I moaned but forced myself to take it. I closed my eyes, absorbing the sensations of his fingers twisting inside me, preparing me. I let the sound of his voice wash over me.
“That's it, baby. Just like that. Get ready to take my cock. So beautiful like this.”
His hand caressed my ass and I shuddered. Between the paddle and the crop, my skin was so sensitive that the slightest touch made my nerves sing.
“Ready?”
I nodded, unable to speak.
When he started to push his cock inside me, I jerked against the ropes holding me and twisted, shuddering in need, shaking with mixed pain and pleasure. He kept his rhythm slow, working past the muscle, teasing it into relaxing. I whimpered as the pain tried to swallow me.
He spanked me three times in quick succession. When he did it a fourth time, I cried and twisted, forcing myself all the way back on him. He grunted as he filled me. I gasped.
He slid out and I tried to pull away, briefly wondering if I should use my safe word. No. I would trust him to know what I could take. I closed my eyes and completely gave myself over to him.
He fisted a hand in my hair and yanked, forcing my head back, my body bent at a nearly impossible angle. As he rode me, his free hand slid around to my breast and he took my nipple between his thumb and finger. He pinched and twisted and I came.
I screamed his name and I heard him swear even as I felt him come, his cock pulsing in my ass, throbbing in time with my own body.
***
Exhausted didn't even begin to cover how I felt. I couldn’t even lift my head.
We were on the bed and I had no memory of getting here. My cheek was on Dominic's chest and I could hear the steady beating of his heart. I wanted to look at him, needed to see his face.
I tried to raise my head and groaned.
“Stop,” he said, his hand pressing my head back down. “Your body needs rest.”
“What the hell was that?” I mumbled.
“You got your first glimpse at what some people call subspace.”
I rolled my eyes up toward him.
He combed his fingers through my hair. It was a mess. I couldn’t see it, but I knew. And I didn't care. The expression in his eyes was a lambent, happy one. Funny. A few weeks ago, I would have expected him to look smug after he practically screwed me into catatonia. Now, though, he just looked sated. Like a big cat.
“Subspace?”
“Hmmm.” He shifted, bringing my body more upright. Then he rubbed his cheek against mine, again reminding me of a cat. “It’s brought on by a rush of endorphins, adrenaline. Pain brings on endorphins and adrenaline. Then it drains away.” He kissed the top of my head. “That's what happened on the stage.”
Oh.
“You finally let yourself go completely.” He sounded pleased...and happy. Genuinely happy.
I was glad he was happy and sure that if I thought about it, I'd be able to understand the whole subspace thing. If I could think. But I couldn't right then and I really didn't want to.
“Thinking’s overrated,” I announced, snuggling closer to him. He felt really, really good.
He might have laughed.
I didn’t know and I didn’t care.
I was so blissed out and happy, I didn’t care about anything but staying right there.
Who knew that letting go could feel so good?
Chapter 10