Nick's Lady

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Nick’s Lady ISBN 9781419910876 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Nick’s Lady Copyright© 2007 Katherine Kingston Edited by Briana St. James. Photography and cover art by Les Byerley. Electronic book Publication May 2007 This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 443103502. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Content Advisory: S – ENSUOUS E – ROTIC X – TREME Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme). The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated E–rotic. S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination. E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. E-rated titles might contain material that some readers find objectionable—in other words, almost anything goes, sexually. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry in terms of both sexual language and descriptiveness in these works of literature. X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Stories designated with the letter X tend to contain difficult or controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

NICK’S LADY Katherine Kingston

Katherine Kingston

Chapter One If she hadn’t been so deeply engrossed in working on the spreadsheet, Andrea Fasselli would have seen him coming and dashed off to hide in the ladies’ room or the supply closet. But the formula for the loan-cost averaging refused to work properly and fixing it occupied all her attention. It distracted her from her usual careful attention to her surroundings. Otherwise, she might have looked out the front window when the door slammed shut and seen his truck in the parking lot. But she didn’t notice it. She didn’t even hear the door from the street open and close. It took the sound of Cal Hartman’s voice to jerk her out of the concentration and make her look up. His gaze locked on her as he said, “Here you are, bitch. Finally caught up with you.” Andrea drew a deep breath and straightened her spine. “Cal, I’m working. You don’t belong here. Go away.” They didn’t have cubicles, just desks, so all around the large, open work area, heads popped up, sensing something dramatic happening. Cal crossed the room to stop beside her desk. “Sorry, baby,” he said. “You’re playing hard-to-get just a little too hard. I understand why you’ve put on a show of resistance, but the game’s over now. I’ve got you.” He loomed over her so she stood up to face him. “Cal, you can’t just come in here and—” Something cool and metallic snaked around her wrist and then snapped shut with a loud click. She glanced down. Her heartbeat sped up and icy sweat broke out on her forehead at the sight of the handcuff around her wrist. “Cal! What are you doing? Get this thing off! Now!” Another snap and he’d fastened the other loop around his own arm. “Sorry, sweetheart. I know you think you don’t want it, but we know what you really want, don’t we?” He leaned toward her on the last words, his expression going lascivious. Her coworkers stood around watching, some with their mouths hanging open, others smiling, apparently thinking this was some kind of joke or prank. “Cal, this isn’t funny. It’s over between us. It’s been over. I mean it. Take them off! Now!” She shrieked the last word as he started to drag her away from her desk, toward the door. Her coworkers went from amusement to concern, and a couple started toward her. Another man came out of an office in the back and stood for a moment, looking around. Andi felt her stomach fold in on itself. The last thing she wanted or needed was for Nick Tysinger to see this show. Bad enough everyone else in the office witnessed her humiliation. Having him see it too was just more than she could take.

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Then it got worse. She snagged a foot around the corner of a desk for leverage against Cal. He stopped when he felt the resistance drag him back. He turned toward her again. “Come on, slave,” he said. “You know in your submissive heart you want this. You sure wanted it once!” Andi wished the office would catch on fire right then. Or a lightning bolt strike. Or…something. Where were those lightning bolts when you needed them? Anything to stop this, to shut him up. “Cal, you’re delusional! Get away from here and leave me alone. I’m not your slave or servant. I’m not your anything!” “Come on, baby,” he said. “You know I like a bit of protest, but you’re pushing it too far.” A new voice joined the contest. “Didn’t you hear what the lady said?” Her boss had come over to stand next to Cal. He put a hand on the chain between the cuffs, preventing Cal from dragging on it. Nick Tysinger was a couple of inches shorter than Cal, but broader in the shoulders. He was also a couple of years older and had the confident air of a man who could take care of himself in a fight. The dress shirt and chinos didn’t completely hide the muscles in his thighs and arms. She was glad to see him and wanted to die of humiliation at the same time. “Back off,” Cal told him, trying to shake Nick’s hand off the cuff. It pumped her arm up and down until she pulled her hand back to the desk and Nick added his own strength to get it there. “This isn’t your business,” Cal said. “The lady works for me, and she seems to have some objections to complying with whatever it is you’re trying to force her to do.” Cal let his arm drop and turned to face Nick. “Look,” he said, striving for a man-toman, buddy-buddy tone. “You know how it is with these submissive women. They say ‘No, no’ but they mean ‘Yes, yes’.” “No, I don’t,” Andrea said with all the force she could muster. “When I say ‘no’ I mean ‘no’. End of discussion.” “You heard her,” Nick said. “Which part of ‘no’ is confusing you? Where’s the key to these things?” He rattled the handcuffs. “What’s your interest?” Cal asked, suddenly changing to an aggressive stance with Nick. “You want her? She’s good, but not that good. Takes a lot of work to get her excited. Helps to beat her butt some, but even then she wants to be petted and all that stuff. Still, she’s mine. I’ve trained her and got her to respond to me.” “Cal, what the hell are you talking about?” Andi asked. “Trained? What’s gotten into your head? You haven’t trained me and I’m not yours. We’re done. We never were. Why can’t you accept that?” “Because it’s not so.”

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“Andrea said it was so. You better start accepting it,” Nick warned. “Now where’s the key to the handcuffs?” “Not your business.” Cal started pulling back again, trying to drag her away. “She works for me. I’m paying her for the time you’re wasting. That makes it very much my business. Besides,” Nick suddenly released the handcuffs and snaked an arm around Cal’s throat, “I have a thing about people who try to force others to do something they clearly don’t want to do. It offends my sense of what’s right and proper. My sense of Karmic justice and… Ah, here it is.” While he’d been talking, he’d also reached into Cal’s pockets and felt around until he came up with the single key on a metal ring. He held the key out to Sandy, the person standing nearest. “Come unlock it for us.” Nodding, the woman took the key and unfastened the cuff from around Andrea’s wrist. When she held it over Cal’s arm, Nick shook his head. Instead he took the key back and stuffed it into Cal’s pocket again. Then he turned Cal and pushed him ahead until he got to the office door. “Open it,” Nick ordered. Cal did so. “Get in your car and go. If you’re still here in five minutes, I’m calling the police and having you arrested for trespassing. And if you ever show up here or anywhere near Andrea again, we’ll swear out a warrant for attempted kidnapping. You know how long that could get you sent up for?” Cal shook his head. “I don’t either,” Nick admitted. “But I’ll bet it’s a sizable chunk of your life. You want to risk that?” “No.” “Good. Stay away from Andrea.” They all watched Cal stomp across the asphalt, yank open the door of the pickup truck, jump in and tear out of the parking lot as though a pack of demons chased him. Andrea didn’t start to relax until its taillights had disappeared. Then she sank into her chair and covered her face with her hands. She didn’t want anyone to see the tears of mortification she couldn’t hold back. Around her the office stayed very silent, except for the footsteps and the squeak of chairs as people returned to their desks. A phone rang. Someone began to pound on a computer keyboard. A warm hand rested gently on her arm. “Come into my office,” Nick said, quietly, so that no one else could hear. She wiped her hands across her face to clear away the tears and looked up at him. She couldn’t read anything in his green eyes as he handed her a clean, folded handkerchief.

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He’s going to fire me, she thought, although the expression on his face was carefully neutral. And I don’t even blame him. She mopped up and followed him when he turned and walked away. He closed the door behind her, and she braced herself. “Sit.” He waved toward the chairs facing his desk. Andrea sat. Her mind wandered off to filing unemployment and figuring out whether the temp agency would take her back. How would she survive? With her aunt’s needs to see to as well as her own, she barely made ends meet as it was. “Are you all right?” She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yes. Thank you for your help out there. Cal… I think he’s delusional. We went on a couple of dates. Almost a year ago. Ever since, he’s thought he owned me or something.” “This isn’t the first time he’s done this?” “No. I try to…be alert. Usually I see him coming and hide.” “You don’t strike me as the type who usually hides from problems. Why haven’t you taken out a restraining order?” Andi sighed. She really didn’t want to discuss this. “I tried, once. The people I talked to weren’t very sympathetic.” “Why not?” An edge of anger underlay the question. “I’d really rather not go into it.” “Andrea, if that man is harassing you like that, there’s no good reason why they shouldn’t issue a restraining order.” “It’s just that there were…things that made it look like I was asking for it.” His brows, a slightly darker blond than his hair, pulled together. “Things like what?” “Mr. Tysinger…” “Nick,” he corrected. “Nick.” It somehow made it worse to call him by his given name. “It’s not easy to talk about.” “I can tell. But I’m also betting that whatever you tell me won’t really make a difference.” “It might shock you.” “I doubt that too.” “Don’t be so sure. It was where we met. It did look bad.” “Well?” “If I said I first met Cal in a BDSM club, would you be surprised?”

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Nick’s answer came back without hesitation. “Not particularly. Most of the better clubs try to screen out the nutjobs, but they don’t catch all of them.” He paused a moment. “So it was the literal truth when he said you were a sub?” She shrugged. “Close enough, I guess.” He sounded almost impatient when he said, “It’s not a crime and nothing you have to apologize for. That’s why you couldn’t get a restraining order?” “Before we got through with the leering and jokes and suggestive comments, I’d given up on it.” “You remember their names?” “Who? The people at the courthouse? Um…no. I didn’t want to remember if I ever heard them.” “Understandable,” he admitted. “So what now?” “Would it help if we moved you to a back room where the receptionist could buzz you if she saw him coming? Check that. She’d better buzz me. And I’ll call the cops.” Andrea felt her eyes widen. “But… Aren’t you going to fire me?” “Because some nutcase is stalking you and found you here? Is that fair? What do you think I am?” “A businessman who’s had his work seriously disrupted for no good reason.” “Well, yes, true. But also a businessman who cares about his employees, especially one who shows as much promise as you do. So my next call is going to be to my lawyer, to find out about getting a restraining order.” “You shouldn’t have to do that.” “Neither should you have to put up with being stalked.” Andrea sighed. “No. But I guess in a sense I did ask for it.” “By going to a BDSM club?” “And letting myself be picked up by an obsessive jerk.” “You got dealt a bad hand in the dating game. It isn’t confined to places like The Pointe. Too many women, and some men too, get burned by pickups in bars or even people introduced by friends and relatives. The better clubs should actually be safer than most places because they try to screen the clients. Have you contacted the place you met him?” She needed a moment to absorb the fact that he knew about The Pointe and what it was. “CandlePower. Yes, I’ve told them. I was the second complaint about him, so they’ve banned him. But…” “It doesn’t really help you much.” She shrugged. “I’m working on it. It will help if I can get Cal to leave me alone. Then I can move beyond it.” “My threat, plus a restraining order should take care of it.” 8

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Andi nodded. “Good, then let me help you take the next step in healing. Would you accompany me to The Pointe this weekend?” For a moment she could do nothing but stare at him. She realized her mouth hung open and shut it so hard and fast her teeth snapped together. “It would be our secret, of course. And I’m taking a risk, even by suggesting this.” “I know. I don’t understand why you’re doing it.” He hesitated for a moment, but he kept his eyes on her face. “Because even before this, I…was interested. Considered asking you out. I would have, if you weren’t an employee of mine, but this…” He stopped and shrugged. “You’re attractive and I’m interested. On several levels. I just found another level, and it’s pushing me over the edge.” For a moment she couldn’t speak from the surprise. “You’ve hidden it well. I had no idea.” “You weren’t supposed to know. I had no intention of saying or doing anything about it. Until today.” Just as she had had no intention of admitting she had a crush on him. Her boss. It had seemed ridiculous and totally futile, so she’d admonished herself for it and made sure she never let her interest show. Even now, she wasn’t sure this was a good idea. Handsome, intelligent, successful and president of his own commercial real estate firm, Nick Tysinger was way out of her league. Was she jumping from the frying pan into a lobster pot? He seemed honest and upright too, but she didn’t really trust her own judgment in men since Cal. How could she know that he would respect the limits of her submission and her interest in playing BDSM games? Of course, he was giving her a handle by even admitting he knew about BDSM clubs and frequented them. If she were to let that out in the right places, he might well be ostracized or his business damaged. Not that she would do that, unless she absolutely had to. Up until today she’d have said he was a rather cold man, stern and solemn. He didn’t smile often. His very sternness was actually part of his appeal to her. But all of his employees admired and liked him. They universally described him as fair, honest and loyal. Her instincts said she could trust him. She didn’t trust her instincts. “Well?” he asked. “Will you?” “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” His expression didn’t change, telling her nothing about his feelings. “Is it that you’re not interested in me personally, or that you’re too afraid to try again?” One corner of his lips quirked, though she couldn’t read what that meant. “If you’re really not interested, tell me now. It won’t cost you anything related to the job—I’m not that

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petty. It might dent my ego a bit, but I can handle it and you’re far too good an employee to let go. I’d rather know, so I don’t waste my time.” Was she interested in him personally? Hell, yes. Unfortunately—not that she’d admit it—he was also right about her being afraid. It was true. She’d been trying to avoid it, but he’d put his finger right on the issue. Cal had robbed her of her confidence, and it was time for that to stop. Maybe Nick could even help her stop being afraid. If… She glanced at his fingers. He had nice hands, strong, well-shaped, with a light sprinkling of hair on the backs. It was the same color as the short-clipped hair on his head and shone gold against his tanned skin. He didn’t wear any rings. “You’re not married, are you? Or committed?” A bit of outrage colored his answer. “I wouldn’t be suggesting this if I was. I respect vows and promises too much to do that.” “I’m sorry. It’s just that… Not everyone is that honorable. I had to ask.” He nodded. As cool and confident a man as Nick was, it still must have taken some nerve to admit as much as he had and ask her to go out with him. It made her summon her own courage to match his. “It’s not you,” she said. “At least not personally. It’s just that you’re my boss, and that could be trouble all the way around.” “You’re grabbing for excuses. Or don’t you trust me when I say that any personal relationship will have no bearing on our business dealings?” “I trust that you would try to work that way. But you’re human, too.” “And if worse comes to worst, you have a sword to dangle over me. I really don’t like approaching it that way. I just want it to be low-key. A way to get you past the trauma and fear of Cal’s craziness, and see what, if anything, happens between us. How about a deal? A visit to The Pointe this weekend, a visit to CandlePower one night next week. Just as friends. No demands, no expectations. The first time we each play, but very limited and not with each other. We do agree to keep an eye on each other, though. After two nights, we do dinner and assess. How does that sound? Safe enough?” How could she refuse an invitation so carefully thought out and presented? “All right. Let’s do it.” For the first time, a small smile curved Nick Tysinger’s very nicely shaped lips. “Saturday, then?” It made her realize how rare that smile was. And how attractive. “Okay.” “Good. You okay to get back to work?” “I think so.” “I’ll let you know what my lawyer says about the restraining order.” “Thank you.” Andrea had to draw a deep breath and straighten her spine before she went out to face her fellow employees.

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Mary Ellen Carter, the office manager, stopped her as she walked by. “Andrea? Are you all right?” “Yes, thank you,” she answered. “It rattled me. I can’t believe what he did. I dated that guy twice, a year ago, and he thinks he owns me. He won’t leave me alone no matter how many times I tell him there was nothing between us. He’s delusional.” Mary Ellen nodded. “He seemed like he might be a few spoons short of a full service. He could be dangerous.” “I know. Mr. Tysinger…Nick is going to help me get a restraining order to keep him away from me.” “Good. He’s something, isn’t he?” “Mr. Tysinger?” “He prefers ‘Nick’. And, yeah. He seems kind of quiet and solemn and even a bit harsh until you get to know him, but he really cares about his people. You can tell. He doesn’t make any big deal of it, but he’ll help when you need it. Of course, he expects a lot, too. He doesn’t suffer fools, but if you’re good and you work hard, he’ll repay it.” “And on that note, I guess I’d better get back to that spreadsheet I was working on.” “Andrea?” Mary Ellen said, quietly, as she started to turn. “Don’t feel badly about it or be embarrassed. It wasn’t your fault.” “Thanks.” Nice to know Mary Ellen believed that. Andrea wished she could convince herself. But it had been her bad judgment to let Cal Hartman anywhere near her. To give him any encouragement on that first encounter at the club, or on their one subsequent date. “How’s your aunt doing?” Mary Ellen asked as Andrea turned away. They all knew Andrea went to the nursing home most days on her lunch hour. “Not great. But she seemed a bit perkier today. I even got her to eat all of the meatloaf and some of the green beans at lunch.” “Good. I’m glad.” Andrea got back to work on the spreadsheet, but managed to keep from diving so deeply into it she forgot to keep watch on the door. An hour later, Nick came out of his office and stopped at her desk. “My lawyer will meet you at the courthouse at nine o’clock tomorrow morning to help you file the papers,” he said, and went on to give her the attorney’s name and a description so she would recognize him. “I gave him the license number of that idiot’s truck in case they need to track down his address. Let me know how it comes out.” Then he said goodbye and went on out to his car. A little bit later, Mary Ellen stopped by her desk, and said, “I heard him talk about the lawyer. Didn’t I tell you he was a good guy?” “You did,” she said. “You were right.”

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But she couldn’t help asking herself, Is he good for me? Could I be making an even bigger mess of my life by accepting his offer?

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Chapter Two Her doorbell rang promptly at eight on Saturday night. Andi had to draw several long, deep breaths to calm herself as she walked across the living room to answer. Nick looked delectable in black leather pants and a lightweight, black cashmere sweater. His blond hair gleamed and the black clothes made his green eyes glow like gemstones. Every submissive female in the club would be falling at his feet and begging him to be their Master. She’d spent a long time debating what to wear. On her few previous excursions to the clubs, she’d generally worn modified fetish wear—a bustier over a loose blouse with a long black skirt, or tight black jeans with a tube top. After considering and discarding almost the entire contents of her closet, she’d gone with a black skirt so short it barely cleared her hips, a black tank top covered in glittering gold spangles and a seethrough black chiffon blouse over it. She washed her long auburn hair and twisted it up to dry. When released, it spilled down her back in a froth of curls. She applied makeup with a heavier hand than normal. His whistle repaid the effort. “You look spectacular.” He fingered her curls. “It’s a shame you keep this so tied up during the week.” “The hair gets in the way. It’s so long I sit on it if I’m not careful, and it tangles in machinery and clothes.” “On the other hand, I can now enjoy knowing it’s there, just waiting for someone to release the clasp holding it. By the way…” He brought a hand around from his back and presented her with a box an inch wide and six inches long, held closed by a gold ribbon. “For you.” He held it out to her. She hesitated a moment before taking it. “Thank you. Do I open it now?” He nodded. She untied the bow, pulled off the ribbon and opened the box. A fine gold chain, just long enough to fit snugly around her wrist, rested on a bed of cotton. “It’s lovely,” she told him. A surge of pure, bone-rattling joy shot through her while looking at Nick’s gift. “I’ll help you put it on. It will tell everyone at the club you’re a sub. Because you’re with me and wearing this, people will assume you’re mine, but there’s no token of ownership on it. I hope it will increase your comfort level with this visit. Of course, there’s no requirement that you wear it.” She lifted the chain out of the box and held it out to him. “Please, help me put it on?”

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His fingers were warm as they brushed her wrist in clasping the chain around it. His touch tingled against her skin. When it was fastened, he asked, “Ready?” “I think so.” He escorted her to his car. “Nervous?” “How could I not be?” In truth, her stomach was doing flip-flops and it took all her willpower to keep from shaking. It’s the first step in reclaiming my life, she reminded herself. “They have a show that starts at eight, which should be interesting. And I talked to a couple of my friends. They’ll be there tonight and we’ve got a plan. I think you’ll enjoy it.” “How… How long have you been into the scene?” she asked. “I’m not really all that into it, if you mean going to clubs and playing regularly. It’s just something I’ve done every now and then for the last five years or so. And I don’t always play Dominant, although I do more often than sub. I’m going to tonight. You’ll address me as Master Nick. Understood?” “Yes, Sir.” “Good.” They hit a spot of heavy traffic and Nick had to concentrate on driving for a while. Andrea’s fingers kept creeping to the bracelet, feeling the cool, smooth gold of the fine links. Ten minutes later, they got to more open road. The Point was the largest BDSM club in the area, and it was situated well outside the city, in the Maryland suburbs. People drove from up to a hundred miles away to visit, but it was only a thirty-minute drive for them. Once out of town and off the main highway, they left roadside lighting behind as well. The darkness was freeing. “How long have you known you were a sub?” he asked. “I guess most of my life. For as long as I can remember I’ve had fantasies… You know the kind.” “The kind you don’t dare share with anyone else because they’ll brand you a wacko, a monster, a pervert or something else equally obnoxious.” “Yeah, those.” “My favorite fantasy when I was growing up,” Nick said, “was that I had a slave girl always at my beck and call. She’d sworn an oath to do everything I commanded. Of course, she sometimes forgot or got sloppy and I had to punish her. I’ve never told this to another living person,” he admitted. “You can understand why.” “All too well. How would you punish her?” He hesitated before he answered. “I had a nasty imagination. Sometimes I’d make her stay in awkward positions for a long time. I tied her in others. But mostly I spanked or beat her. Or I made her do things to me. Take my cock in her mouth and suck me off.

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Of course, once the punishment was over, I made her feel much, much better, and she was devoted to me because of that.” “I dreamed of being that slave girl,” Andi admitted. “I wouldn’t want to live that way, in reality. I couldn’t live that way. But the dreams… I fantasized about finding a man who would take me under his wing, cherish me, train me, love me but who wouldn’t put up with any nonsense and would teach me how to please him.” She drew a breath. “I also dreamt of being sold into slavery to a stern Master, who would train me harshly, but who would also come to love and cherish me. Or being a stowaway on a pirate ship and the captain would find me and I’d have to be a slave to every man on the ship, but eventually the captain would claim me for his own. Of course, I’d make trouble among the men, and he’d have to whip me and lock me away to keep me for himself. The things he’d make me do to him…” “Of course.” His chuckle resonated warmly in the darkness. “I’ve never told these things to anyone else, either.” “Your secrets are safe with me,” he promised. “Though I don’t promise not to use them for inspiration.” “Inspiration?” “I won’t ever do or ask you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with,” he promised, as he turned the car into the parking lot of a sprawling two-story building illuminated by colored lights all around. The number of cars in the lot suggested plenty of activity already underway inside. The butterflies that had started to settle down roused and began a frantic dance in her stomach. Her chest grew tight as he parked, got out, and came around the car to open the door for her, showing impeccable manners. “Relax. It’s all under control,” he whispered, settling her hand on his arm as they made their way into the building. “I’m trying.” But something still seemed to be lodged in her throat. Once inside, Nick identified them both, they each presented ID and he paid. “You’re just in time,” the man behind the desk told them. “The show will be starting in a few minutes.” After having their hands stamped, they proceeded into an atrium wallpapered in gold brocade, lit by the most enormous and elaborate brass and crystal chandelier she’d ever seen. A few groups of people hung around the open area. A Mistress encased in black leather from the tips of her high-heeled boots to her zippered neckline held a chain attached to her submissive male partner’s collar. He wore a loincloth and an elaborate web of links that threaded through rings in the leather collar, wristbands and nipple rings, before they dove beneath the cloth at his navel, then emerged as strands running down his legs to rings in ankle bands. Despite all the hardware, he held a drink and managed to sip from it regularly. Nick led her to the left, toward one of the three theater areas. On the way they passed a male Dominant in a tuxedo. In one hand he held leather leashes connecting to two female submissives, who crawled behind him like dogs. He clenched a riding whip 15

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in the other. The two women both wore thongs, hoods that hid their faces and nothing else. Each had red welts across their bottoms and thighs. Andi leaned over to whisper to Nick, “Please, don’t ever make me do that in public.” “I wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want,” he promised. She nodded. They entered a theater that consisted of rising tiers of floors wrapped in a complete circle around a center stage. Nick stopped and searched the crowd, which took a moment since most of the tables were already occupied. He spotted the person he sought and led the way up a set of stairs to the third tier of floors, then a quarter of the way around to a table already occupied. The lone man sitting there stood up as they approached. Medium height, dark hair threaded with streaks of silver, light blue eyes, handsome in a rugged way, he radiated a strange mix of warmth, kindness and iron will. Unquestionably a Dominant, though he felt no need to flaunt it either in his clothes or manner. He wore a dress shirt open at the neck and khaki slacks. Probably in his early forties, but he carried no extra weight. Nick introduced him to Andrea as Master Charles. The man’s handshake enveloped her small palm with heat and controlled strength, in a gesture almost courtly. “Very pleased to meet you, Andrea,” he said. When they sat, Nick said, “Master Charles had a hand in training me.” The older man laughed. “Partly. I’m not sure anyone could fully curb that exhaustingly stubborn will.” Nick shrugged. “You’ve come closer than anyone.” Master Charles’ expression turned serious for a moment. “And that’s a responsibility.” Then he smiled again. “But tonight is about explorations and fun. I understand you’ve been here only once or twice before?” he asked Andrea. “Twice, but it was a year or so ago.” “So, what—” He broke off as the lights dimmed. A swell of music rose and crested and the room went full dark. The sound faded when spotlights snapped back on, focused on the round stage area in the middle of the room. The concentrated beam of light revealed a man now reclining on a bench off to one side of the stage. He ate from a tray of fruit, but he appeared alert, as though waiting for something. Within seconds there was a shout from the side, and two more men dragged a woman between them into the circle of light. A microphone somewhere picked up their voices. One of the newcomers said, “We found her, sir. The runaway slave.” The reclining lord stood up. The two guards continued to hold the woman. Artfully placed tatters of her clothing barely covered her breasts and groin. “Why did you run away?” the lord asked the woman, who now pretended to be shivering. 16

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“I saw you looking at her,” the woman answered in a wailing, anguished whine. “At that new girl they just brought in. I can’t bear to be here and know you’re with her.” The acting wasn’t great, but the tension of what everyone knew would happen riveted Andrea, and apparently everyone else in the theater. The lord smiled and walked toward the runaway slave. “My dear, I’m your Lord and Master. What I choose to do with other slaves is not your business. In this case, however, I’ll tell you that I have no intention of keeping her myself. She is a gift to Lord Magnus and will be leaving tomorrow to go to him.” “I’m grateful to hear it, my lord. And I’m very, very sorry for running away.” She cocked her head at a flirtatious angle. “May I do something to compensate my Master?” The lord smiled grimly. “Most certainly you will, slave. After you’ve been punished.” “Please, my lord,” she begged, none too convincingly, “spare me.” “I cannot allow word to get around that a slave can run away without being punished on her return.” He nodded to the two guards. One held her while the other dragged the remnants of her clothes off. The actress actually wore a tiny thong and pasties, but they were flesh-colored, giving the illusion she was totally naked. She might as well have been. They pushed her to a kneeling position at one end of the bench the lord had been reclining on, then pulled her upper body forward onto it. Her wrists and knees were tied to the legs so she still knelt at one end with her bottom well up in the air. From beneath their tunics each guard took a heavy leather strap about a yard in length. Seeing them, the woman began to cry and plead. “No, please, my lord. Have mercy.” He watched impassively then said to the guards, “Twenty strokes from each of you.” The woman screamed and cried and begged. The guards flanked her, one on either side. One held the strap in his right hand, the other in his left. The slave was still pleading when the first guard raised the strap and whipped the end down on her bottom. It made a loud crack that echoed around the theater, but for all that, it hadn’t been a hard stroke. More noise than impact. The guards began lashing her in orchestrated rhythm, with the strokes falling at five-second intervals. The woman squealed and moaned. With each subsequent lash her yelps grew louder, as did her pleas. Her bottom grew increasingly red, as the strikes the guards inflicted became genuinely biting. But her cries and protests still sounded stagy. An experienced sub, which she likely was, could take a far harsher licking than that, and probably without a murmur. It wouldn’t make as good a show, however.

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By the time she’d received fifteen from each guard, her bottom was very red. The last few times they struck more forcefully, creating a louder crack when the leather hit and provoking what looked like genuine jolts. The woman’s wailing screams still sounded exaggerated, however. Even though it was only partly real, it still had an effect on Andrea. She’d never seen the stuff of her fantasies acted out so vividly. Her pulse and breathing grew more rapid. Moisture oozed from her cunt, which swelled and pulsed in response to the show. The final four strokes were delivered with considerable force, and for the first time some of the victim’s cries sounded like genuine pain. At the last one she let out a long, loud scream that took a while to die down. The guards unfastened her and the lord came to her side. He turned her so that she faced him while still on her knees. Instead of rising, she wrapped her arms around his thighs and rested her head against his stomach. “Are you still willing to show how sorry you are, slave?” the Master asked. “Yes, my lord,” she said, sniffling loudly. “Yes, please!” “You know what to do then.” She lifted his tunic and rolled his leggings down. The tunic slid down over her head just enough to hide what she actually did, but the way she bucked up and down suggested she was sucking him off. He grew increasingly tense, his face screwing up into a frown. As she bobbed faster, his breathing grew noisy and his face got red. His body rocked in time to her rhythm until finally he froze for a moment with a grimace shaping his mouth, then pushed himself harder into her face and let out a yell of triumph and completion. Andi didn’t know if the woman actually did it or if he was just a better actor, but the blowjob looked pretty convincing. When it was over, they stood frozen in position for a moment. The lights dimmed and went dark as the slave drew back and her lord pulled her to her feet. The crowd clapped wildly, even after the room lights came up. Andi applauded as well. Her pulse continued to race, but she wasn’t alone. The smell of arousal permeated the room. “Wow, that was smoking,” she said to her male companions. “Is that it?” “No, there are usually three scenes to a show,” Master Charles answered, “with a few minutes— Ah, here she is.” A woman joined them. Though she was older than Andi by several years, she was still lovely. Tall, slender, with straight dark hair and dark eyes, the newcomer wore a deep blue satin halter dress. Leather bands around her throat and both wrists showed her sub status. None bore any tabs or charms to show ownership. “Cilla!” Charles said. “Thank you for coming.” He stood and held out both hands to her. She took them. “I appreciate it. Is this the first time since Edward?”

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“Since Edward died. Yes.” “Then I’m doubly grateful.” “When you told me what was wanted, it sounded like exactly what I needed to ease back in,” Cilla said. Master Charles introduced them to Cilla Renfield. Nick took her hand and thanked her for coming as well. The woman gave Nick a long look and finally nodded. “You’re going to be my Master tonight?” “That’s the plan.” She nodded again and turned to Andrea. “I understand we have something in common. We’re coming back here after a long absence due to a traumatic event. I hope we get a chance to talk later.” The last was said hastily as the lights dimmed again. The spotlights now revealed a man sitting at a fairly large desk. Andrea wondered for an offhand moment how they’d managed to get thing onto the stage so quickly and quietly. But then a woman appeared at the side and rapped on one of two vertical columns simulating a door. “Come in,” the man called. “You wished to see me, Sir?” The slender, blonde woman wore an abbreviated Victorian maid’s outfit. “Yes, Mary. I’ve been getting complaints about your work.” He went on to recite a list of faults that included sloppy dusting, failing to come when called and lack of care with china. “I’m afraid I must reluctantly turn you out of my employment.” Big tears appeared in the maid’s eyes and rolled down her face. “Oh please, no, Sir. I’ll mend my ways, truly I will. Just give me another chance.” “You said the same thing last time we discussed this.” “But, please, Sir, I mean it this time. Truly, I do. Punish me any way you please, but don’t turn me out.” Her begging sounded genuinely desperate enough to be moving. Andrea knew what had to be coming, which brought a frisson of tension and pity. The man hesitated as though considering and her pleas grew more urgent. Finally he said, “All right, Mary. If you’re willing to demonstrate your genuine interest in changing, I’ll keep you on for the moment.” “I will, Sir.” “You must show your remorse and intent to improve by accepting a severe punishment,” he warned. She drew in a harsh breath that must have been amplified somehow since everyone in the room could hear it. “Please, Sir, can I not just give you my word?”

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“You have offered words in the past. Too many of them. And failed to keep the promises you made. Now come. I’ve wasted enough time with you already. Either accept my offer or decline it. You have no other choices.” “Yes, Sir.” She lowered her head. “I’ll accept.” “Very well.” He stood up from the desk. “Come here and bend over the desk.” She shuffled forward with obvious reluctance. When he pulled a birch rod from what looked like an umbrella stand beside the desk, she sucked in another loud breath. Andrea’s own pulse jumped at the sight of that fearsome instrument she’d read about in some of the classics of BDSM literature. Her indrawn breath was not the only one that reverberated in the room. The young woman bent over the desk. The Master of the household flipped up her skirts and tucked them into the neckline of her blouse. Instead of drawers or bloomers, she wore a highly anachronistic thong. “Grab the edge of the desk and hold tightly,” the Master instructed as he positioned himself behind her. The birch made a sharp, swishing noise as it cut through the air and landed on the maid’s rear end. It made her jump and squeal and painted a network of fine red lines on her bottom. “Oh please, Sir,” she begged. “No more. I promise I’ll do better.” The Master ignored her and struck again. She sobbed aloud. The birch made a wicked whistle as it moved and a series of small splats when the twigs bit into flesh. On the fourth stroke the maid howled and began kicking and squirming. After the sixth she jumped up and began dancing around the room, holding her bottom with both hands, sobbing, and protesting she couldn’t take any more. “You may pack your things now or get back on the desk,” the Master said with uncompromising sternness. Though there was no obvious sexual reaction in the Master, Andrea felt it. She didn’t know that she could ever accept the birch, but she’d love to play at serving a Master like him. The maid sniffed but got back in position over the desk. The Master retucked her skirts. Her bottom was very red, showing a network of puffy weals. How would that feel? Andrea wondered. No doubt it stung dreadfully, but she saw the glint of moisture on the woman’s thighs and knew it was exciting her as well. The Master administered another half dozen lashes. By the end, the maid was squirming all over the desk, yelling, screaming and pleading. It took Andrea a moment to realize that the woman’s squirming and yelling weren’t due entirely to pain. The way she bounced up and down indicated she was having—or at least acting like she was having—a giant orgasm. When she finally settled down, the Master flipped her skirts down and helped her upright. As the lights dimmed again, he put his arms around her. His voice came out of the darkness as he asked, “Are you all right?”

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The houselights came up again showing an empty stage. Andrea clapped along with the rest of the audience. That one hadn’t excited her as much as the first because it lacked the sexual tension between the two characters, but it would have been a great scenario had it been there. A waiter came around to take drink orders. When he moved on, Cilla asked, “How have you been, Master Charles?” “Well enough, thank you. But we’ve missed you. I know it’s been a terrible time, but I hope you’re beginning to heal enough to move on.” The woman sighed and nodded. “One has to.” To Nick and Andrea she explained. “I met Ed Renfield here about eight years ago. We married a year later. We had six wonderful years together, before he was diagnosed with cancer. He died fourteen months ago.” “I remember Ed,” Nick said, “Though I only met him once or twice. He was a good man.” “And a terrific husband. This is hard, but it’s something I know I have to do.” “You’re an inspiration,” Andrea said. “I think that’s the idea,” she said, giving both Charles and Nick a dry glance. “Oh. Nonetheless, it’s still a compliment to your courage,” Andrea told her. Cilla brightened then looked a bit shamefaced. “You’re right, and I owe everyone an apology.” Charles and Nick both laughed. “You’ll give us what’s due later, but it’s not an apology,” Nick said. The woman colored but looked pleased as well. The waiter returned with their drinks. Right behind came another woman whose body and bearing screamed dominatrix. “Alexa,” Charles said in greeting to her. “Hello, Charles. You’re looking wonderful tonight,” the woman said. “And Nick! Good to see you here again. You don’t come often enough. Cilla! My dear, I’m so very glad to see you again. One never entirely recovers, of course, but you have to go on, and I hope we can all help you with that.” Her expression changed to something at once lighter and more self-serving. “You ever want to play, let me know. Same goes for you, Nick. Any time.” She turned to Andrea. “Is this your sub, Nick? She’s adorable.” The woman fingered Andrea’s curls. “Fabulous hair. Any time you want to play with me, darling, just let me know.” The last was addressed directly to Andrea. “Alexa.” Nick’s single word conveyed a definite warning. “It’s all right,” she said. “I’m just being me. I won’t poach. I promise.” The lights began to dim again. “Got to go,” Alexa said. “Nice to see all of you.” Andi looked at Nick. He shook his head as he watched the woman thread her way through the tables, but he looked more amused than angry. “Not to worry,” he told

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Andi. “Alexa is… A force of nature. But she really has a good heart. She won’t cause any trouble. She likes to stir things up, but she’s not malicious or covetous.” Andi just had time for a quick nod before the room went completely dark. When the stage lights came on again, instead of a glaring white spotlight, eerie bursts of red, blue and purple flickered over the stage. A woman in a red vinyl catsuit stood there, watching as a man and a woman were led toward her by another man in skintight, shiny red pants. The couple approaching each had chains binding their wrists in back, which were loosely connected to metal collars around their necks. Both wore the tattered remnants of jeans and t-shirts. “Here at last,” the demon woman said. “I’ve been waiting for you. Ever since we made the bargain that let the two of you have your ten years of marriage together.” The chained man, around thirty or thirty-five with curly russet hair, a handsome face and an impressive set of shoulders, said, “Take me, but let Kate go. She’s too young to be here.” The bound woman was about thirty also, dark-haired and lush-figured. “No, Kevin. I wouldn’t want to go back without you. It would mean nothing to me.” The demon woman laughed. “That is so sweet. I’m touched. Really. I might even consider letting you go back. Both of you. If you can entertain me well enough.” “What kind of entertainment do you want?” “I’m a demon. What do you think would make me happy?” “You already have our souls.” “But they’re worth nothing until I can torment them.” She smiled slowly, evilly. “I’ve just had the most delicious thought.” Kate shivered and moved closer to Kevin. “Oh yes. Wonderful!” Her smile broadened. “You’ll punish each other. You both signed the agreement. Now you know it was a bad bargain, so you’ll make each other pay. And pay dearly.” Her gaze sharpened. “If you want to win your freedom.” Andrea found herself shivering in anticipation. For all the sexual tension in the scene, it also had an edge of menace that brought a frisson of mixed excitement and fear. The male demon had quietly disappeared during the conversation, but he now returned, wheeling a cart ahead of him. It appeared to hold an assortment of straps, whips, paddles, rods, clamps and bindings. The bound man and woman looked at each other with apprehension. “Release them,” the woman told the male demon. “There’s no place for them to run to from here.” The demon removed the chains and straps from the couple, who put their arms around each other once they were freed.

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“Here’s how it works,” the demon woman said. “One of you ties the other to that.” She indicated a large metal hook on a line strung between the poles. Pulleys on either end of the rope let it be raised and lowered. “I’ll tell the free one what to do. Oh, this is going to be fun.” “Lady… Mistress… I can take all the punishment,” the man called Kevin said. “Are you questioning my orders?” “No, Mistress. Well, yes, I suppose I am.” “You’re a brave man, but not a very smart one. You get to go first. But before that… Undress each other. And make it snappy. Don’t waste any more of my time.” The man and woman both sighed, then turned to each other. The woman removed the man’s shirt, revealing an impressive chest, and helped him out of his jeans. He wore a flesh-colored athletic cup on a narrow band of the same color, giving the illusion he was totally nude. Then he helped Kate out of her clothes. Again she wore flesh-colored pasties and a string thong. “Roif,” the demon woman said to her servant. “Help her get him ready.” The lesser demon led the man to stand under the hook, cuffed his wrists and attached it to the hook. A switch somewhere activated the pulleys. His arms were raised over his head, and the hook kept rising until the man barely stood flat-footed on the floor. Although the demon woman’s evil glee was a bit overdone, the young couple conveyed fear and concern for each other brilliantly. Andrea found her stomach tightening and twisting in apprehension for them. The demon woman picked up a flogger from the cart, something not too heavy, and handed it to Kate. “Start with this. All down his back and legs. I want his buttocks very red. Understand?” Kate gulped and nodded. She took the flogger but stood for a moment staring at her husband’s back. The demon woman shook her head. “Don’t start whining about how you can’t do it. You can. You might even enjoy it. But whether you do or not, you can do it, to save both of you. But you have to satisfy me.” Kate nodded and raised the flogger. Her first effort made a weak little splatting sound and left no mark. “That won’t do.” With the next few efforts Kate figured out how to swing the instrument to make the lashes hit with force enough to bite into Kevin’s skin. He took it without a sound or murmur as she increased the severity of her strokes, egged on by the demon woman’s demands of “Harder” and “Faster”.

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Andrea found her breathing coming faster too. If she hadn’t been aware this was a play, if the situation were real, she’d find it tragic rather than hot. But they played it for sensuality and eroticism, and it worked. Oh yeah. It definitely worked. After a while Kevin began to moan and groan under the assault and his flesh did get very red. Welts showed all over him. Finally the demon woman said, “Enough. Release him.” The other demon did so. When he staggered, Kate rushed to his side and helped support him for a moment until he steadied. “Now her,” the demon woman said, and Roif fastened her to the hook just as Kevin had been. The demon woman handed the flogger to Kevin. He started out weakly too, until he was prodded and reminded that their second chance depended on his efforts. The playlet went on longer than the others, with the couple changing places several times and the instruments used becoming more severe, going to a heavier flogger and then a leather strap that made resounding cracks each time it connected and left wide welts. During the third round another man dressed in skintight red vinyl pants stormed onto the stage to interrupt the proceedings. “What are you doing?” he shouted. “You had no permission to remove these souls to play with them!” “But my lord,” the demon woman whined. “They’re so cute. I want them.” “They’re not for you.” He looked at the male demon. “Free them both,” he ordered. “They’re not yours to play with.” He sent a wicked glare her way. “In fact, now I’ll have to honor your bargain to let them go.” Roif let the man down and the young couple embraced. The newcomer gave them a quick glance. “Go,” he pointed off to the left. “That way. Now.” The couple wasted no time following his directions. As the lights went down, the newcomer demon said, “As for you, my dear… I think some punishment is in order.” A giggle sounded in the complete darkness, but that was all. When the lights grew brighter again, the stage was empty. Andrea drew a deep breath and forced her fists to unclench. “What did you think?” Nick asked. “Pretty amazing. That couple especially. They’re very convincing.” He nodded. “Kevin and Kate are the best actors here. Even if their scenario isn’t my cuppa, I still enjoy watching them put it across.” Andrea nodded. “It’s not really mine, either, but the way they convince you they care about each other really works for me.” “Which scenario did you like the best?” he asked. “That’s hard. There were aspects of each that I liked. I suppose if I had to choose, the first.” “Why?”

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Andrea took a sip of wine as she sorted her thoughts. “I guess because of the sexual tension between the two. It was obvious he cared for her even though he had to have her punished. If there’d been any suggestion of affection between the Master and the maid in the second one, it would have been my favorite since she was so turned on by the birching.” Master Charles and Cilla had listened to the conversation as well. “Exactly,” Cilla said. “But they cater to a range of tastes here, so they try to cover a lot in the scenarios they present. I’d forgotten how well they do them.” Both men nodded. “Drink up, ladies,” Master Charles ordered as he held up a key. “We have an appointment in a private dungeon.” Andrea felt her eyes open wide. Her pulse jumped and her heart started pounding. Her decision to take charge of her life met and clashed with her fear of trusting the wrong person again.

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Chapter Three Nick put a reassuring hand on her arm. “Don’t panic. Nothing will happen that you don’t want. I promise.” Master Charles added, “You have my promise on that as well. For you, tonight is more about education than anything else. For Cilla it’s reintroduction.” They all stood and Master Charles led the way out of the theater, down two flights of stairs and along a wide hall to a room numbered 22. Despite their reassurances, Andi still felt a bit freaked out by the word “dungeon”. She’d played with Cal in one the night they met. It had been an interesting novelty but less that satisfactory. Looking back, she thought the lack of chemistry between them and Cal’s own self-absorption probably contributed to the failure, though Cal hadn’t realized anything was missing. Master Charles opened the door and flipped on a light. A single, low-wattage bulb illuminated a room whose walls and ceiling were painted in a dark charcoal gray. Cabinets lined one wall, while various pieces of furniture had been pushed against the others. She made out a desk, various benches, chairs—plain, stiff ladder-backed types as well as upholstered armchairs—and tables at varying heights. Leather-covered cushions in all shapes and sizes were piled in a heap. Two doors opened off the room on the left, one marked for women, the other for men. “Your outfits are in there,” Master Charles said, pointing toward them. “You both have five minutes to change.” “Five minutes?” Andrea said as she and Cilla went into a boudoir-like powder room. “It starts to establish their dominance,” Cilla answered as she examined two outfits hung on pegs on the wall. “I assume the one marked ‘A’ is for you.” The only difference between the two was Cilla’s was a bit larger and black. Andrea’s was green. Both were silky camisoles just long enough to reach the tops of their thighs, but cut very low in both front and back. She had to watch Cilla to figure out the squared-off plunge went in front. The woman’s back was to her as she stripped off all her clothes and let the thing drop over her head. The shoulder straps had a fastener at the top of each. If they were opened, the entire thing would slide down and off. The back plunged low enough to reveal the crack of Cilla’s bottom. Then she turned around. The front edge went below the woman’s breasts, leaving them bare. “Better hurry up,” Cilla said. “You’ve only got a couple of minutes left.”

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Andi tore off her clothes and dropped the silky camisole over her head. Her breasts weren’t as substantial as Cilla’s, but the fabric running beneath them made them seem larger. “Let’s go,” Cilla urged. Andi was just as glad she didn’t have long to think about the spectacle she made. The men had rearranged some of the furniture. A straight-backed chair and a long, low padded bench had been moved to the middle of the room while a leatherupholstered armchair sat nearby but on the side. Neither man had changed clothes. They waited in the shadows for the women to come out. To her surprise, it was Master Charles who came to her, while Nick escorted Cilla to the center of the room. Master Charles took her to the armchair. A towel draped over it, covering the seat and back, but she soon learned that wasn’t the chair’s only unusual feature. “I want you to sit here,” the Master told her. “Hike up the skirt so that it’s not beneath you.” Andrea did as instructed. “Now pull the bottom edge up and spread your legs,” he ordered. She felt the heat in her face at the additional exposure of her body, but Master Charles seemed matter-of-fact about it. While she did that, she watched Nick help Cilla sit on the padded bench. He handed something to her and told her to put them on. Her attention was distracted when Master Charles pulled out straps fastened to the legs of the chair and hooked them around her ankles, holding her to the chair with her pussy exposed. A set of clamps came from hidden compartments in the arms of the chair and he closed those over her wrists. Andi had a moment of panic when the restraints took hold. Master Charles put one hand on her shoulder and a finger on her cheek. “It’s all right,” he said in a gentle, compelling voice. “Nothing will happen to you. You have my promise and Nick’s. In fact, for you, this is mostly about watching and learning. As a submissive, though, you must get used to the feel of restraints and offering complete power over yourself to someone else. But you get safe words too. ‘Red light’. Use them if you really can’t handle something. If this is too much. Say those words and we’ll free you immediately. Do you understand?” Andrea nodded. Master Charles looked at her, a stern expression in his dark eyes. “You must say it,” he instructed. “You must always answer a Master. And answer respectfully. Do you understand?” “Yes, Sir.” “And you understand the safe words?” “Yes, Sir.”

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He gave her a beautiful smile. “Very good. Now just watch and listen.” Nick looked over at them. He met Andrea’s gaze for a moment and offered a reassuring nod. Then he nodded for Charles to join him. Speaking to Cilla, Nick said, “You understand that you’re here for our pleasure as well as yours? You’ll have to earn your pleasure by bringing one of us to orgasm before you may enjoy your own. I don’t guarantee we will make it easy for you to resist it, but you know that if you have an orgasm before we say you may, you’ll be punished.” “Yes, Masters,” Cilla said. Her tone and even her posture were different, humbler, gentler, yet more resolved and controlled as well. “Good. Begin by undressing Master Charles. Slowly. Oh, but first… Hold out your hands.” She did as ordered. Nick put a pair of what appeared to be fuzzy mittens on her. “You may use your hands as long as you don’t remove these. You may also use your mouth and teeth as long as no part of your face touches a Master’s flesh. You’ll be punished if you do touch. Do you understand?” Cilla looked surprised. This must be a new game for her. “Yes, Masters,” she repeated. Nick nodded toward Master Charles, and Cilla began. Master Charles stood quietly, helping her only by holding his arms out or moving them back when needed. She had no trouble removing the man’s jacket and tie, but the buttons of his shirt presented more of a challenge. She dragged the shirt loose from his pants and started at the bottom, using teeth mostly, holding the fabric taut and away from his flat stomach with her mittened hands. After a bit of maneuvering, she got the bottom button undone. The next few took some struggling, but each one eventually gave way. He didn’t wear an undershirt. On the next to last button from the top, though, Master Charles held up a hand and said, “Her lips touched my chest.” Nick’s eyebrows went up and he shook his head. “You know the rules,” he said to Cilla. “On the bench. Legs spread.” The woman walked humbly to the bench, but a quick glimpse of her face revealed that she was neither chagrined nor unhappy. If anything, she looked satisfied. From a table on the side, Nick picked up a flogger. “Six this time,” he said. “We’ll add one more each time you fail. Count them for me.” He raised the thing and brought the tails down sharply on Cilla’s bottom. It imprinted a few light red lines on the flesh. Cilla barely wiggled. “One, Sir.” Nick was in no hurry, but set a slow rhythm. He also changed direction and target on each stroke so that her upper thighs and bottom were evenly marked. Andrea squirmed as the sound and sight sent heat coursing through her veins. She couldn’t help wondering what that would feel like. She wanted to find out.

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The sixth stroke was low down on Cilla’s rear end. With her legs apart, some of the tails struck her pussy. For the first time she gasped and wriggled, but a sheen of moisture showed her arousal. The scent of it began to perfume the air. After she said “Six”, Nick told her to stand and resume the task of undressing Master Charles. Cilla managed the remaining buttons without touching him and pulled the shirt off using her mittened hands. Master Charles had a nice chest, decently muscled, with good shoulders. His dark chest hair had smatterings of gray like the hair on his head. She had to use her teeth to undo his shoelaces. He helped her remove the shoes by supporting his weight on a table and lifting each foot. Once she had shoes and socks off, she tackled his pants. He didn’t wear a belt, but getting the button of his slacks undone without her face touching his chest involved considerable time and a few contortions. She managed that and bent to the zipper next, but within moments her forehead leaned against his chest. Nick saw it and ordered her back to the bench. “Seven this time,” he warned. He delivered the strokes harder, but cleverly spread out. It left a nice pink flush over her bottom and thighs, with a few darker streaks. As before, the last one was placed so that the ends of the tails struck around her pussy. For the first time, Cilla squealed aloud as she wriggled, but at the same time, she appeared to be rubbing her cunt on the bench. Nick’s hand slapped down on her bottom with a loud crack. “Stop that,” he ordered. The woman froze. “Yes, Master. I’m sorry, Master,” she said. “Do it again and you’ll be even sorrier,” Nick warned. He managed just the right combination of sternness, menace and warmth. Andrea shivered. She wanted that. Wanted it badly. She envied Cilla right now. The woman got up and went back to Master Charles. She knelt in front of him and used her teeth to draw down the zipper tab. It was a painstaking process, since she was careful to keep her face from touching him. When she finally got it released far enough, she pushed his slacks down his legs, revealing navy silk boxers. Those slid off easily enough. An impressive cock sprang loose as she rolled the boxers down his thighs. He stepped out of both those and the slacks. Cilla continued to kneel, watching him. Desire flamed in her eyes. Andrea felt the same hunger herself. As attractive as Master Charles was, though, it was Nick who continually drew her gaze and roused her longing. Andrea’s envy grew as Nick charged Cilla with the task of undressing him next. The woman had no trouble getting his sweater lifted over his head and dealt with the black T-shirt he wore beneath it the same way. Andi sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of Nick’s impressive chest and broad, strong shoulders. Who knew he’d been hiding that gorgeous array of muscle and tanned skin under the dress shirts and tailored business suits? He had only a light fuzz of pale hair on his chest and down his belly.

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While Cilla wrestled with the laces of Nick’s shoes, Master Charles came over to Andrea. If he felt the slightest bit self-conscious about being nude, not a bit of it showed in his bearing. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Yes, Sir.” “Is it getting hot in here?” A grin relieved some of the sternness of his features. “Yes, Sir,” Andrea answered. Even she was surprised by how emphatically it came out. His grin spread wider. “Good. Nick is very good at this.” “I know. Sir.” Nick’s shoes and socks were gone, and Cilla now struggled with the fastening on the tight leather pants. In the process she brushed her cheek on his chest, earning her another trip to the bench and eight strokes of his flogger. She squealed on the third one this time and groaned a couple of times thereafter. Master Charles perched on the arm of her chair. Despite the clamps on her wrists, she could have reached out and touched his tight, muscular butt. Probably not a good idea, though. “Are you jealous?” Andrea shrugged, then added, “Maybe a little bit. Sir.” “Your turn is coming. But not tonight.” She looked up at him. His gaze rested on Cilla, squirming on the bench, moisture glistening on her thighs. Andrea read his emotions in his eyes. A lot more than he realized. How long had Master Charles been in love with the woman? Then her thoughts turned back to the other couple as Nick delivered the last stroke to a moaning and wriggling Cilla. “Master.” A note of urgency sounded in the woman’s cry. “I’m close to coming. I don’t know if—” “You will not come until ordered,” Nick answered. “And it’s not time yet. You have a lot of work to do first.” Cilla sighed, “Yes, Sir.” “Now get these pants off. And no more touching.” “Yes, Sir.” She began working on the zipper again. Andrea wasn’t sure how the woman got it open without touching him, but she did. Then she used her mittened hands to roll the pants down his legs. Beneath it, he wore only an athletic cup that failed to hold his huge erection. Cilla dealt with that one remaining item by slipping her hands under the elastic strap and pulling it off. Andrea heard her own breath rasp in. Nick was beautiful. No other term really did him justice. The man defined masculine power and grace with his lean, muscular build.

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Nick turned toward them and for a moment, she met his eyes. His gaze flicked down to her cunt, exposed to view, and lingered for another few moments on her breasts. Then it returned to her face again. Heat smoldered in his expression. He made no effort to hide his desire and longing. Her pussy swelled and creamed just thinking about his hands following where his gaze had dwelt. It both shocked Andi and worried her. Why her? He was practically perfect— strong, handsome, well off and personable, as well as being a dynamic Master, the kind of Dominant most women only dreamed of meeting. What did a man like that see in her to catch his attention? No matter, though. Even if it was only temporary, she’d take what he gave. It was about rebuilding her life. Being free from the fear Cal had roused. If that was all he wanted for her, it was enough. Well, no, not really. But it would have to be. Her breath came in short, sharp pants. The heady perfume of arousal filled the room. She wished Nick would come to her and begin to stroke her, make love to her. But he’d warned that wouldn’t happen. Tonight she was to watch and learn. She was learning. Fast. She sighed when Nick looked away from her to Master Charles. “Would you join us?” Nick invited the other man. Charles stood and crossed the room to them. He leaned his back against one of two floor-to-ceiling pillars flanking the stage. “Cilla, your next assignment is to pleasure Master Charles. The rules are that you must use only your hands, and those stay in the mittens, and you must make it last longer than fifteen minutes. I’ll be timing it. If he comes sooner, you’ll get five strokes for each minute before the fifteen. I’ll also ask him to rate your performance when it’s over. For each point less than ten he awards, you also get five strokes. Understood?” The woman’s eyes widened and glowed with enthusiasm. “Yes, Master,” she answered. For a moment her gaze locked with Charles’. Andi felt like an intruder, witnessing something meant to be entirely private. Cilla wasn’t indifferent to Charles, but she was wary and hesitant to let it out. Then the woman’s gaze drifted down the man’s body to his cock. It jumped and quivered in anticipation of her attention. Nick drew a watch from a bag he’d brought. After glancing at it, he said, “You may begin now.” Charles leaned back while Cilla swiped the soft, fuzzy mittens that covered her hands down his cheeks and throat, over his chest. She stopped at his nipples, stroking and rubbing them until he sighed and his shoulders relaxed against the pillars. His cock hardened and a drop of pre-cum glistened at its tip. She moved slowly down his body, over his belly and along his hips, skirting his groin as she stroked down his thighs and legs. Cilla had a gift for grace and elegance, so that every motion had an intrinsic beauty. Clearly both men appreciated it. A pang of jealousy stabbed into Andi’s gut. Nick’s cock stood at rigid attention as he watched Cilla massaging Charles. No doubt he’d be next, and he’d revel in it.

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Charles’ breathing grew heavy and labored as she brushed those fuzzy mittens up and down his thighs. He sucked in a heavy gasp when one of them cupped his balls and began kneading them. Slowly, very slowly, she worked her way up to his cock and then brushed up along its hard length. Cilla had done this, or something like it, before. She expertly maneuvered Charles’ cock, rubbing, pulling, stroking, taking him right to the edge…and leaving him there until he came down from it some. Then she’d start again. The man groaned and squirmed and swore the third time she took him to the brink but not over. “Woman, you’re evil,” he growled. “I’m just following my Master’s orders,” she said. She did the submissive innocence very prettily. It had to have been more than fifteen minutes since she started. It might have been closer to twenty or twenty-five minutes when she finally put one fuzzy mittened hand on his balls and the other on his cock and began a simultaneous massage of one and hard stroking up and down the other. Charles groaned and muscles all over his body bulged with tension. His breathing grew faster and faster as Cilla increased the speed of her stroking, until he jerked, shouted and cum spurted onto his chest and dripped down his legs. Cilla drew back watching him in the aftermath. Her expression said clearly that she’d like to take him in her arms and hold him, but she wouldn’t defy Nick’s orders to do so. After a moment, Nick looked at his watch. “Twenty-six minutes. Excellent. No penalty for time. Charles, what’s your rating?” The man opened his eyes, but he looked at Cilla first, studying the woman with quiet intensity, before he turned to Nick. “She did a good job, paid close attention to what was pleasing me, was careful not to let me come too soon. My only complaint would be that she may have taken a bit too long. So, I’d give it an eight.” He looked back to Cilla and held her gaze. “I’d like to do the honors myself this time.” “Of course.” Nick handed him the flogger. “I’ll let you take it from here.” “On the bench,” Charles told her. Cilla went and positioned herself on it again, with her legs spread and hanging down on either side. “Count the strokes.” Nick came over to Andrea’s chair and stood next to it. His lovely cock remained engorged and she longed to put her hands on it, to have it inside her. He turned toward her and caught the look. “Are you jealous of Cilla?” he asked. She took a moment. “I have been. At times this evening.” A small smile crooked his lips. “You’ll have your chance. Watch now, and imagine yourself in Cilla’s place.” He sat on the arm of the chair, much as Charles had earlier.

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A series of snaps signaled Charles had begun. They both turned to watch him. He started light, just as Nick had, delivering four strokes that ran from the middle of her buttocks down to the tops of her thighs. “Charles is an artist with the flogger,” Nick said. “He taught me how to use it, how to flick the wrist to get just the right whippiness that will sting without biting too deep. Have you ever felt the bite of a flogger yourself?” She drew in a deep breath. “No, Sir.” Charles walked around to the other side of the bench and lashed four more times. Cilla had been silent through the first four, but she squealed with each of those. Red lines rose from her skin, over the pale flush from the earlier swats. “Do you wish you were feeling that right now on your own rear end?” Nick asked. “It stings like fire, but it’s getting Cilla very hot and excited.” Andrea nodded. Her throat had gone dry as she realized she did want it. Very much. And she wanted Nick’s hand to be the one wielding the whip. Taking her submission. Caring for her so intimately. “Yes, Sir.” “Now watch,” Nick said. “With these, he’ll take her to a new level. It will hurt, but the pain will heighten her pleasure.” For the last two strokes, Charles moved to the end of the bench where he had a good view of her pussy and the slick sheen of moisture that oozed from it. When he brought the flogger down on the tops of her thighs from that angle, a few of the tails slapped against her pussy. Her back arched, breath caught and then she let out a long, loud groan. She wriggled, hands clutching desperately at the legs of the bench. His last lash hit her upper thigh with a loud crack. Cilla screamed this time. Her back arched again and she stayed that way for a few moments. Then she lay back down, squirming frantically and sobbing. It took her a while to settle down. “That one set her on fire,” Nick said to Andrea. “She’s so hot and ready now, she’ll be on the verge of exploding. Watch how he handles it.” “Sit up, Cilla,” Master Charles ordered. “On the bench.” She rolled over and sat up. A tear slid down one cheek. “Turn around and face me. Spread your legs again.” Cilla obeyed, though she winced when the tops of her thighs touched the leather padding of the bench. Master Charles leaned forward and said something to her. They couldn’t hear the words, but Andrea thought he might have asked if she were all right. The woman nodded. The man brushed her hair tenderly and wiped the tear from her cheek. Then he stepped back. Meanwhile Nick stood up and released the clamps holding Andrea’s hands in place. It brought his face close to hers. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but resisted the urge. 33

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“I want you to do everything he tells Cilla to do now,” Nick said. “Only you’re doing it for me. Will you?” Andrea met his gaze. In the dimly lit room, his green eyes looked darker, shadowed, but also lit with a few sparks of pleasure and anticipation. She nodded. “Yes, Sir.” “Touch yourself,” Charles ordered Cilla, drawing her attention back to the other couple. “Your breasts. Cup them. Touch your nipples.” A smile curved the woman’s lips as she put her hands under her own breasts and lifted them, as though offering their charms to him. Andrea looked back to Nick, who watched her with an avid smile. He nodded. She followed Cilla’s example and put her hands under her breasts, lifting them toward Nick. Her stomach clenched into tight knots. It felt odd touching herself. She glanced over at the other woman to see her rolling her fingers around her nipples. “Andi! Don’t look at her. Look at me,” Nick demanded. “Listen to Charles and do as he says, but look only at me.” She nodded and kept her gaze on Nick’s face. That was no hardship. He was the most attractive man she’d ever met. Tingles ran up and down her body as she massaged her own breasts and touched her nipples. The hot, luscious look in Nick’s eyes blazed even more fiery when she took each nipple between her fingers and tugged them out, making them pebble into hard peaks. “Pinch them,” Charles said, from across the room. Andi didn’t take her gaze off Nick as she pinched her nipples between her fingers. Fiery streaks of sensation shot from her breasts through every nerve of her body. Her skin felt super-sensitized. The weight of Nick’s stare fell on her like a nearly physical caress. “Harder,” Charles said. Andi pinched harder. She gasped with the pain and panted as the streaks of pleasure lanced down through her belly into her cunt. Pressure built there, making it hard to sit still. Her body wanted, demanded, more. “Good,” Charles said. “Now keep your left hand on your breast. Take your right hand and run it down your stomach to your cunt. Stroke your labia. Feel how soft the skin is right there.” The man’s voice cast an odd sort of spell. Combined with the way Nick’s gaze held her in thrall, Andi felt odd, unreal, yet at the same time connected to her own body in an elemental, earthy way. It was almost as though the body that belonged to her was given to them as well, offered and accepted. She ran her hand down her stomach and belly, then down to her labia. Moisture slicked the skin there. It felt as soft, as satiny as Charles had promised. Shards of raw pleasure made her muscles tense and her cunt swell when she touched it.

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“Part the labia and stroke your clit.” Heat rose to her face, making her skin flush, when Nick’s gaze dropped to her parted legs and the hand she had there. Still, she did as ordered and pushed a finger between her outer lips to stroke her clit. Jagged arrows of pleasure stabbed into her as she rubbed the sensitive bud. She heard her own breathing get raspy and felt tight muscles harden into rigidity. The pressure built in her cunt as she moved her finger faster and faster over the bud. “Now take a finger and put it in your cunt,” he said. “Keep stroking your clit at the same time.” The first entry of her finger into her slick, hot passage nearly pushed Andi over the edge, but she fought it back. A tide of need was rising in her, going higher than she’d ever felt before, held back by the fragile dam of her own will. Apparently Cilla had the same problem. “Master, please,” she begged. “I can’t… I need, I need to come! Please!” “Not yet,” Master Charles said calmly. “Hold it back for a few more minutes. For me.” Nick’s gaze moved from her cunt to her meet her eyes again and his intense look told her to wait and hold on as well. Andi nodded jerkily, trembling all over with the urgency of the impending explosion. Her breath emerged in a series of harsh pants. “Move your finger in and out. Slowly.” Andi did it, keeping the pace deliberate despite her body’s frantic demand for more. It took every ounce of willpower she could find. A bead of sweat trickled down her temple. “Now speed up a little.” She was sobbing, the need to come so strong it hurt. Powerful waves of orgasm beat at her. “A little more,” Charles said. Andi wanted to scream and curse him. Only Nick’s face, and the joy and pride she saw there, kept her from it. Her body throbbed with raw lust, making her shake all over. “Five more seconds,” Charles demanded. “I’m going to count them down. Five.” She could do it. Her finger slid in and out of her cunt on a smooth glide. It was good, but it would have been even better if it were Nick’s cock in there. “Four.” He was going so slowly. She’d never hold on. Never. She couldn’t keep pinching her nipple or she was going over the top, so she just rubbed it gently. “Three.” Her clit throbbed and danced with each stroke, but she had to hold her body tighter and tenser to keep herself together.

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“Two.” She wasn’t even breathing anymore. She couldn’t move. Didn’t dare move. “One.” One more second. One more second. One more second. “Now. Let it go.” The orgasm started as a jolting, rocking release deep inside that built to a bodyshaking, teeth-rattling explosion. It blew her apart. Someone screamed, a long shriek of elation and pleasure. It might have been her. Waves of pure, thrilling, soul-searing joy rolled over her, crested, broke and rose again. Aftershocks kept jerking through her, one after the other. They went on and on, only gradually diminishing, until they finally calmed and she sank back in the chair, completely, thoroughly drained. When her breathing started to slow down and she’d mostly stopped shaking, she opened her eyes. The intensity of Nick’s stare unnerved her. The pride she saw thrilled her, the possessiveness disturbed her and the longing made her want to throw herself into his arms. Since her ankles were still fastened to the chair, she could only sit and stare back, and thank him with her gaze. He leaned forward to kiss her, just a quick contact of his lips on hers. His erect cock brushed her knee, sending a new set of electric tingles through her. Nick drew back. Charles held a still-trembling Cilla in his arms. Nick released the restraints on Andi’s ankles. She stood up, but stumbled from the remaining shakiness of the orgasm’s aftereffects. Nick put a hand on her arm to steady her. “I’ll help you to the dressing room,” he said. Her head jerked up to meet his eyes. “We’re done?” “Yes.” “No, we can’t be.” Nick stiffened. “Andi… This is how I want it.” She knew it stepped outside the scene they played, but she couldn’t help it. “It’s not right.” Charles and Cilla joined them. She looked at the others for support. “The three of us have each had an orgasm. Nick hasn’t. Is that fair?” “It’s his show, and what he wanted.” Charles sent a sharp look toward Nick. “But she has a point. None of us will feel comfortable about what happened here.” He turned to Andi again and his tone sharpened. “You’re defying a Master. If we accede to your demand, there will be a price to pay. Not tonight, because Nick has requested that you not be touched tonight. But the next time you come here. House rules demand it, but mine do as well. Are you willing to pay the price?” “What…” She swallowed hard. “What will that be?” “Whatever we choose it should be,” he answered. “But it won’t be easy to bear.”

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They watched her and waited for her answer. “Yes. I’ll pay the price.” Nick watched her with a stunned expression. “Andi… You don’t have to do this. I’m fine. Really, I am.” His cock, standing at stiff attention, made a different argument. A glistening drop of pre-cum beaded at its tip. Heavy veins on its surface throbbed with his pulse, making it looked almost painfully engorged. “I don’t have to. I want to. I don’t want to leave you as the only one unsatisfied.” “What makes you think I am?” She put a hand on his cock, squeezing gently, and he jolted so hard he nearly fell over. “That.” Charles smiled. “It’s your show, Andi. What do you want to do?” “Got another pair of those fuzzy mittens?”

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Chapter Four Nick’s eyebrows rose and he nodded Charles toward a box at the side of the room. The man returned with another set of mittens, which he handed to Andi. “Would you watch, Master Charles, Cilla?” she asked. “Seems fair,” Charles said and gestured for Cilla to take the seat Andi had occupied for the last hour or so. Nick backed up until he was leaning against the pillar Charles had used for support. Andi pulled on the gloves and approached him. Taking care to let no bit of her own skin touch him, she put her mittened hands on his cheeks. His eyes fastened on hers, watching her with a curious amazement. When she brushed her fuzzy-coated hands down his throat to his chest and over the solid pectoral muscles, he drew a sharp breath and closed his eyes. He moaned deep in his throat when she brushed over the light hair and rubbed across his taut, flat nipples. Andi had a moment of vertigo and unreality. Was it possible that she was here in a play dungeon, touching and teasing a naked Nick Tysinger? The man was her boss, a smart, savvy businessman. Handsome and built as well. How could she be here? With him? Those kinds of fantasies were in the fairy-tale category—they didn’t come true. And yet… He opened his eyes to meet her gaze for a moment and a light blazed in the green depths. She couldn’t read the emotion but it had a heat that warmed her right down to her toes. Still… This could prove to be a very bad idea. He could be bad for her in ways Cal couldn’t begin to touch. She pushed aside her doubts for the moment. The rest of this thrilled her too much to let her attention wander somewhere else. She drew the fuzzy surface of the mittens over his nipples again and again, drawing gasps from him each time. Then she brought her hands down over his belly and along each hip. Every muscle in his body went rigid. But she wasn’t going to do it fast, so she kept him waiting, rubbing along his thighs and hips and even around to his tight butt. Sweat broke out on his body and his breathing grew faster. He buried his fingers in her hair, holding himself steady but not forcing her into anything. He moaned when she cupped his balls with one furry mitten and kneaded them gently. She inched up his cock, going only a short way at a time, then retreating down again, dragging out the process for several long minutes. “Lord, Andrea,” he gasped out when she stopped just short of the head. “You’re killing me. Can’t take…much more.”

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“You can hold out a few more minutes.” “You’re an…evil, wicked wom— Ah!” She slipped her hand up his cock all the way to the top, wrapping her fuzz-covered fingers completely around the shaft. Just three strong pumps, up and down, bottom to top and back, and he let out a yell and his cum spurted from the tip of his cock, over his belly and her hands. They stayed that way for a few minutes while his breath panted in and out on great heaves. By the time it settled, her knees had gone numb and locked up, so she appreciated the hand he extended to help her up. He kept his gaze on her as he lifted her up. His green eyes blazed with passion and its completion. He released her hand after she’d steadied on her feet, but when she backed away, he put both hands on her shoulders and pulled her toward him. His head dipped and his lips came down over hers. He kissed her quick and hard, leaving a trail of fire across her lips when he pulled back, all too soon. Brief as the kiss was, she nearly drowned in it. She felt adrift and at sea, knowing the danger but unable to make herself care enough to grab a life preserver and haul herself out. The man turned her on. She liked him, admired him, respected him and desired him. She didn’t dare fall in love with him, though. He might enjoy playing with her and he was kind enough to help her out with her problems, but that gave her no right to read any more than that into it or expect anything more from him. But God help her, she wanted more. Nick looked at her and said, “Thank you. Now go get dressed.” They dressed quickly, said quick goodnights to Charles and Cilla and got in his car. She felt a bit awkward, but he said, “Feel free to put the seat back and doze. I know you’re exhausted.” “And you’re not?” “I’m the driver. I’d better not be. I’m still on an adrenaline high anyway.” To her own considerable surprise, she dropped off to sleep within moments and didn’t wake until the rhythm of the motor changed as he turned into her apartment complex. He escorted her to the door and waited while she unlocked it. “Thank you,” he told her when she turned back to smile at him, “for a memorable evening.” “I should be thanking you.” He smiled, something he really should do more often. It showed an appealing crease in his left cheek and lit sparkles in his eyes. “Let’s thank each other, then. And plan to do it again on Wednesday. We’ll go to CandlePower this time, watch and play, but only with each other this time. You game?” She considered the risks, weighed them against the potential gains and nodded. “What about work on Monday?” 39

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“What about it?” “How do we…act?” “No different from the way we’ve always acted. What happens between us outside of work stays outside of work. All right?” “All right.”

***** It wasn’t quite that easy, of course, but Nick did his part. When he came through the front door Monday, he greeted her with the same casual “Good morning” he gave everyone else, and he walked past into his office without a second glance her way. Any time he came through he treated her just as he had before, and when they met at the coffee machine a couple of hours later, he asked about the consolidation report he wanted in his usual polite, impersonal way. She found it harder to follow his lead, but in fact her own doubts about the situation helped her keep any emotional reactions in check. Then the visit to her aunt in the nursing home at lunchtime on Monday sobered her enough to drive even those memories from the top of her mind. Aunt Gwen had been mother and father to her after her parents died in an automobile accident when Andrea was eight. The woman was over sixty at the time, and her only son was in his thirties, but she gamely took on the job of raising her late brother’s daughter. She never once complained about what it must have cost her, both financially and emotionally, to be suddenly saddled with a child so late in life. Four years ago, just after Andrea graduated from college, Aunt Gwen had begun to show signs of deteriorating health. Two years later it had become clear the woman could no longer live on her own. Neither Andrea nor her cousin Phil could give her the kind of care she needed. Even Aunt Gwen had understood the necessity for her to move into a nursing home. In recent weeks, Aunt Gwen had looked frailer each time Andrea visited. On that Monday, Andrea found the woman in her bed rather than in her usual chair in the lounge. “Aunt Gwen?” The older woman looked up from the magazine she was attempting to read. The head of the bed was elevated to let her sit partly upright, but she’d slid down. Her skin had a grayish cast and her eyes didn’t focus as quickly as normal. She smiled when she saw Andrea, but the effort it took showed. “Hello, dear.” Even her voice sounded weaker, wavering where Aunt Gwen’s tone never had before. “Are you all right?” Andrea hurried to the side of the bed. “I’m fine, dear,” she said. “Just had a little incident this morning and the doctor wants me to get some extra rest for a couple of days.” 40

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“What kind of incident?” “I had a bad spell in the lounge. I began to feel faint. It was nothing important, but they insisted on carting me off to the doctor’s office. He thinks I need a bit of rest.” “I’m glad to see you’re following the doctor’s orders.” She kept her voice steady and made sure her face betrayed none of her worry. Aunt Gwen always underplayed any illness or pain. “What about yourself?” Aunt Gwen asked. “How did it go with your boss this morning?” She’d told Aunt Gwen about the outing with Nick, but she had called it a date and let her think it was just the usual dinner and movie scenario. She also confided her misgivings about dating her boss. “As expected. We nodded to each other in passing. He promised me it would be that way.” “He sounds like an admirable man. And I can see you like him. I should like to meet him. I would feel better knowing you had someone special in your life.” Andrea thought she would, too, but she wasn’t sure Nick was the man to pin those hopes on. Still, if it would give Aunt Gwen some peace… “I’ll see if he has some free time to visit one of these days. I’m afraid he’s very busy.” “Of course. It would be lovely if he could spare the time, dear. I’m feeling rather tired. I hope you don’t mind if I rest now.” “It’s time for me to be leaving anyway,” Andrea told her, though in fact she could have stayed another fifteen minutes. When she got back to the office, she found a message from her aunt’s doctor requesting she give him a call. Andrea wasted no time in doing so. “Thanks for calling so promptly,” he said, when he came on the line. “I need to discuss your aunt’s situation with you. I’ve already talked to her son about it, but I wanted to let you know as well.” “I just got back from visiting her,” Andrea told him. “She said she had some kind of fainting spell this morning. Did she have a heart attack?” “No. But she is suffering from progressive failure of the heart and other organs. I’m sorry, Andrea, but her time is limited, and there’s really nothing I can do except be sure she stays comfortable.” He paused and sighed. “I wish I had better news for you.” Andrea drew a deep, steadying breath. “It’s not…unexpected. She’s almost eighty.” “And has been fortunate to be quite healthy and vigorous for most of those eighty years.” “True. How long…how long do you think she has?” “Hard to predict. She could hang on for months, or it could be a matter of days. If I had to guess, I’d say you’ve probably got a month or so.”

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Andrea’s heart plummeted down to somewhere in the vicinity of her lower gut. She nearly couldn’t talk for the lump clogging her throat, but she managed to thank the doctor before he hung up. For a few minutes she just stared at the phone, trying to absorb the impact of the words. Her aunt, the only parent she had, was dying.

***** The next day Aunt Gwen seemed a bit better and Andrea decided the doctor was an alarmist. She couldn’t make herself believe she might have to part with her aunt in the near future. Her excitement roused anew and began to grow as she considered the next date with Nick approaching. Apprehension increased right alongside it, making it harder for her to eat and exercise. Time seemed to crawl, especially on Wednesday, when the hands on the wall clock moved in sluggish disdain of her impatience. It still took all the self-discipline she could muster to keep from staring at Nick each time she saw him and remembering what he’d looked like naked and aroused. She went to the nursing home early because it was her day to cover the office for lunch. The sandwich she’d brought back had mostly disappeared when the phone rang. Andrea answered, “Tysinger Management.” A pleasant female voice said, “Nick Tysinger, please.” She’d heard him rattling around in his office, so she knew the boss was in. “Can I tell him who’s calling?” “This is Caroline. He’ll know who I am.” “Hold a moment.” She put the call on hold and buzzed Nick’s office. “There’s a Caroline on the line for you,” she told him when he picked up. “My mother?” To her shock, he sounded suspicious and angry. “I don’t know. She didn’t say.” “Take a message. I’m too busy to talk to her.” “But she—” “Take a message. And don’t bother me with calls like that again.” “Yes, sir.” She opened the line to the woman again. “Mr. Tysinger is unavailable right now. Can I take a message for him?” The woman sighed. “No. He won’t return the call. But thank you for trying.” She hung up. Nick emerged from his office, his normally stern expression tightened into anger, and headed toward her desk. “Didn’t anyone tell you that I don’t take calls from my family?” Fortunately the other desks in the office were empty at the moment. “No. Why not?”

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The anger in his eyes flickered and abated but he paused for a moment before answering. “That’s not something we need to discuss here and now.” She wanted to protest, to remind him they were exploring a relationship, but he was right. This was office time, not personal time. Still, his attitude roused her curiosity. “All right.” He nodded and retreated back to his office, his shoulders and gait still stiff with tension. Though she felt a bit guilty doing it, later that afternoon, when Mary Ellen Carter joined her in the break room later, Andrea said, “A funny thing happened while I was covering the phones at lunch.” She went on to describe the incident and Nick’s reaction. “Oh drat,” the woman said. “I forgot to tell you about that. I’m sorry. Yes, if you get any calls from Caroline or Ed Tysinger, you just say that he’s busy or out of the office and offer to take a message. They’ve pretty much stopped trying, but I guess she thought she’d give it another shot.” Andrea felt a little sleazy, but still she asked, “He won’t talk to his own parents?” Mary Ellen shrugged. “I gather they had some kind of big blowup and there was a lot of bad feeling, at least on Nick’s side. Whatever happened, it hurt him really bad. He doesn’t like to talk about it.” “Yeah, I kind of found out. He wasn’t amused that I interrupted him with the call.” Mary Ellen’s expression of sympathy deepened. “I’m sorry. Did he give you a bad time about it?” “Not too bad. He’s too polite to get loud and nasty. But I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.” “No, probably not. But I bet he apologizes to you later. A dollar on it?” “All right. That’s horrible, though, that he won’t speak to his family.” The other woman shrugged. “Family can be a wonderful support, but no one can hurt you as much either.” “I guess so.” Andi remembered a couple of arguments with her aunt, but she couldn’t imagine anything that could have estranged them from each other as Nick was from his parents. “I’ll remember not to bother him with those calls in the future.” “Oh and if a woman named Emily calls, hers don’t go to him either.” “Sister?” Andrea asked. “Ex-wife. She hasn’t called for a long time, but just in case… It really upsets him.” “He sure has a lot of baggage.” Mary Ellen sighed. “Yeah. I feel bad for him. He’s a good man, but he’s got problems.” She paused a moment and then her expression lightened. “Oh well. Don’t we all? His just seem to have piled on a bit. Got to get back now.” Andrea also got her coffee and returned to her desk.

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By then the activities of the previous Saturday had started to feel like a distant dream. At four in the afternoon, Nick called her into his office to discuss a report she’d been working on. Before they started though, he drew a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat about the phone call. Mary Ellen must have forgotten to tell you.” “She did. She’s already apologized for it.” “And I do, too. Now about this report.” They spent fifteen minutes going over the numbers. When they finished that, he handed her a sealed envelope and said, “Don’t open it until you get home.” His expression and tone told her nothing. She took it and nodded. Mary Ellen’s eyebrows rose in question when she saw Andrea leave Nick’s office. Andrea went by without saying anything, got out her purse, extracted a dollar bill and put it on Mary Ellen’s desk. “You were right.” She smiled back. “I knew it.” Curiosity almost drove Andrea insane while waiting for five o’clock and then during the drive home. As soon as she got inside and closed the door, she dumped her purse, tore open the envelope and withdrew a single, folded sheet of paper. Andrea, she read. For tonight I’d like you to wear the prettiest dress you own, but with nothing beneath. With it, wear the chain I gave you, and your highest heels. Leave your hair loose. I’ll be there at eight o’clock. It didn’t seem possible time could move so slowly, though in fact she barely managed to shower, wash her hair and grab a quick dinner. She didn’t have much trouble choosing a dress. She only owned three, and two of them screamed business rather than pleasure. The third was a sundress in blue and white that buttoned all the way up the front. It wasn’t fancy or frilly but it looked good on her. She’d need a sweater over it for the evening, though. She’d have to ask him if she could do that. The bracelet went on her left wrist after some struggle with the clasp. He arrived precisely at eight o’clock, dressed all in black and looking so good Andrea had to restrain herself from rushing to him and throwing herself in his arms. Another black cashmere sweater, a mock-neck this time, paired with black slacks and a black sport coat. He looked casually elegant and sophisticated. Next to him Andi felt like a naïve schoolgirl. He might have sensed her thoughts. “You look lovely. But it’s a bit cool. Don’t you have anything warmer?” “I was going to put a sweater over it. With your permission.” Nick studied her face for a moment before he said, “Yes, of course.” She had the impression he might have guessed she had some wardrobe deficiencies but was tactful

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enough to leave it alone. “But in exchange, you have to undo the top two buttons of the dress.” “All right.” Opening those two exposed the tops of her breasts and made clear the lack of a bra. He handed her another long, slender box. It held another gold chain, but this one fit snugly around her throat. Again he helped her put it on. Then she grabbed the sweater and her purse, and they left. CandlePower wasn’t as far out of town as The Pointe, so it took them only ten minutes to get there. He kept the conversation light and general on the way. The club occupied a plain, boxy, two-story building identified by the sign at the front that bore the place’s name and the image of a single candle topped by a bright flame. The interior lacked the more glamorous appointments of The Pointe, but the patrons dressed and acted much the same. They passed a group of people gathered at one side of the lobby where a man had draped a young woman across his lap and was spanking her bare bottom with a heavy wood paddle. The victim cried dramatically, begged to be let up and apologized repeatedly for disrespecting her Master. Oddly, the display seemed to anger Nick. He shook his head as they passed and looked impatient. “What’s the matter?” Andrea asked. “That pair,” he said. “No finesse.” He shrugged. “I don’t suppose I have any right to criticize, but a display like that just seems to lack something.” “Ohmigod, you’re a BDSM snob,” she said, grinning at him. Nick stopped and stared at her, startled, before a slow grin transformed the solemnity of his normal expression into something lighter and almost frighteningly attractive. “I guess maybe I am, at that. I just think it’s too important to be done so carelessly.” “How was it careless?” “Did you see the awkward angle of her pose? She could barely stay in position and it had to be uncomfortable. Plus, he was just whacking away. No apparent concern for her. No subtlety. No connection between them.” “With that many people around, she could have gotten away from him if she wanted to.” “I know.” He shrugged again. “Forget it. Let’s go check out the Game Room. Have you been in it?” “With Cal, the night I met him. He wanted me to play, but I wasn’t ready for it. I enjoyed watching, however.” He nodded. “All right with me.” The game room resembled a large casino, with a bar along one wall and game tables scattered throughout the remaining area of the enormous room. Most of the tables had at least three or four occupants and crowds surrounded several, observing 45

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the action. Noise rose in a cloud of sound that seemed to settle around her and envelop her as they moved into the area. “Drinks first,” Nick said, leading the way to the bar at the far side of the room. Once they were supplied, she followed him to a roulette table, where several people stood around watching. CandlePower had two sets of chips. The ones patrons bet with were the standard casino chips. The ones they won from the house, however, bore a completely different set of designs and valuations. Those could be exchanged for money at the winner’s discretion but rarely were. Instead they were worth the number of strokes shown on the chip’s face with the instrument pictured, administered by the club’s professionally trained disciplinarians. Subs vied to collect as many as they could, while sometimes their Masters played for them. A series of raised booths along the far end, to the left of the bar, provided a working display area for the redemption of those chips. A corridor between the bar and those booths led to a group of small rooms for those who preferred to be more private. The pretty young man doing most of the betting at the roulette table wore only a few leather straps crisscrossing his chest, abdomen and thighs, and a leather collar that identified him as a sub. A gold plate hung on it, sitting right below his Adam’s apple. It bore the initials “TG”. Both nipples had recently been pierced, along with the head of his erect cock. Andrea couldn’t bear to think how painful that must have been. A larger man, a few years older, stood behind the seated sub. TG, she presumed. Occasionally he reached down and put a hand on the sub’s shoulder, chest or thigh. Once he tweaked the young man’s nipple, making him wince, but at the same time his cock hardened and rose in response. There seemed to be some buzz surrounding the young man and his play, but in her sub role, Andrea felt she couldn’t question anyone else about it. Nick might have, but a talkative woman standing beside him spared him the need. “He needs to get a hundred straps and crops.” Seeing their puzzled looks, she added, “It was his Master’s challenge. He gave him a hundred money chips and told him to win one hundred in any combination of straps and crops in return. The sub didn’t have to do it. Purely voluntary. Master asked if he thought he could and sub said yes. Told him he’d prove it. Looks like he’s close, too. Last count he had eighty-six. But he’s running low on money chips. Maybe got two more rounds at the rate he’s going.” “What happens if he fails?” Nick asked. The woman shrugged. “I heard his Master said he’d take it out of his hide. Give him five lashes for every dollar lost and deny him satisfaction afterward too.” Andrea squeaked in surprise. “That sounds harsh.” The woman, obviously a Mistress, gave her a disdainful look. “He accepted the challenge. No one forced him. I heard he proposed it himself.”

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Her tone grated on Andrea, but a squeeze from Nick reminded her to remain submissive. Because she was with him, poor behavior on her part would reflect badly on him. So she just nodded and turned her attention back to the table. The young man had twisted around to smile at her. “Thank you for the concern,” he said softly. “But it is my Master’s will and my own.” His smile broadened. “Stay and watch.” He glanced toward Nick for a moment. “If your Master permits. I think you’ll be my luck, lady.” Nick shrugged. “If you want to stay and watch, that’s fine with me.” Andrea nodded to him. At first it didn’t appear she’d grant him any particular good fortune. The sub lost another spin of the wheel. His hand shook when he placed all but a couple of his remaining chips for the subsequent try. This time, though, he won. Still, she wondered if he’d have enough remaining to gain his goal even if won the next spin. He turned to her again. “Pick a number, lady.” She sucked in a breath. “I can’t… I can’t take that responsibility.” “I won’t use your number. I’ll use it to generate others.” The large man standing behind him laughed. “My dear boy here is a math genius.” He said it with pride. Andrea shrugged. “All right. Fourteen.” The young sub split his remaining chips, putting two on number thirty-one and two on six. “How did you arrive at those?” she asked. “I applied a formula for deriving prime numbers from multiples of your number and then…” He shrugged. “Let’s see if it worked.” A couple more people placed chips before the next spin. Andrea’s tummy tightened as she watched the wheel go round and the little ball dance over the surface while it gradually slowed. Her pulse pounded and her breathing came faster as the ball settled into a slot, bounced out and settled again. She couldn’t read the number until it had nearly stopped. “Thirty-one.” Andrea let out a long sigh of relief, while the sub and his Master both bounced up and down and cheered. “Yes! Sixty-four straps and thirty-eight crops.” The young man embraced Andrea and added, “I knew you’d be my lucky lady.” After a few moments of celebration, the Master put an arm across the sub’s shoulder and said, “Shall we cash those in?” A flash of alarm crossed the younger man’s face before he smiled and said, “As you wish, Master.” He then said something to the other man that they couldn’t hear. The Master nodded. The sub looked back at her and then at Nick. “If your Master permits,” he said to Andrea, “I’d be honored if you’d attend the redemption of my chips.”

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It took her a moment to work out what that meant. She looked to Nick for his reaction. “I’m Master Nick, and this is Andrea,” he said to the other pair. “I leave her free to make her own decision in this.” “I’m Master Tobe,” the older man responded. “And this is my partner and sub, David.” The two Masters shook hands but apparently subs didn’t. All three looked at Andrea for her choice. She stared at David. “You want me to watch them…beat you? I don’t know if I can…stand it.” David stared at her for a minute, concern showing in his brown eyes. Then he turned to Nick and Tobe. “Master Nick, Master Tobe. May I speak with Andrea privately for a moment?” Nick looked surprised and less than thrilled for a moment. Then his expression lightened. “Yes.” David took Andrea to one side. “Whew, now we can speak freely without all that asking permission stuff.” He saw her surprised look and laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, I love being Tobe’s sub when we play, but sometimes it does get a bit…stuffy.” He laughed again. “You’re new to this, aren’t you?” She nodded. “Pretty much.” “I thought so. Listen, don’t take it too seriously. It’s a game. Even when they’re walloping me and it damn well hurts, it’s still a game. It’s what I want. And I’ve been with Tobe for a while now. I trust him. He won’t let them do anything that will really hurt or damage me. The truth is, I want it, even though I know it’s going to hurt. And since you’re here and wearing that,” he pointed to the necklace, “I’m betting you understand well enough where I’m coming from.” “I guess I do,” she admitted. “It’s just that…” She looked at the stack of chips. “More than a hundred seems pretty harsh.” He shrugged. “I’ve had more than that. I can handle it. I want it,” he repeated. “Okay, I’m convinced.” He looked very young when he grinned at her. “Good.” He nodded toward his Master. “I’m ready.” Nick joined her. “Are you going to watch?” “If we have time.” After a glance at his watch, Nick said, “Our private room is reserved for another couple of hours. We’ve got the time. But can you handle it?” “He swears he wants it. And he’s sure his Master will take care of him and make sure he isn’t hurt.” “You sound like you doubt it.” “I suppose I shouldn’t, but…”

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“Your experience hasn’t given you much reason to believe it. But I talked to Tobe and he really does care for David. You know why they come here? Tobe can’t always bear to be as harsh as David wants him to be.” Nick glanced over at the two men before he said, “It isn’t always easy for him to watch either.” “Oh.” She turned to stare at Tobe, as he escorted David over to the row of cubicles. One of the house disciplinarians was already working in one of them, paddling the naked bottom of a woman bent over a thigh-high stool. Her skin had turned from pink to rose and showed a few mottled darker spots. She jumped and yelped with each crack of the length of wood across her butt. Andrea could only see Master Tobe’s face in profile, but it was set and stern, showing no particular expression other than a serious resolution. It had never occurred to her that the Master’s role might be harder than the sub’s. It must take an extraordinary amount of love on Tobe’s part to let them do to David what he couldn’t bear to do himself. She and Nick trailed the pair as they headed toward one of the other cubicles. A woman waited in the one they aimed for. She was tall and strong-looking, more than capable of delivering the kind of discipline the club’s patrons wanted. The smile she gave Tobe in greeting suggested she knew him. Her greeting confirmed it. “How bad a boy has David been?” she asked. “Or is he just looking for a challenge?” “Actually, he’s been good, very good,” said Tobe, “So he gets an appropriate reward. After he pays the price for it, of course. Yes, he wants a challenge. I know I can count on you, Sal.” He turned to David. “Put them in.” The sub began feeding the coins he’d won into a slot. A digital readout on the machine kept a running total. The woman’s eyebrows rose when the final tally showed. “Someone’s been very busy or very lucky.” She gave David a stern look. “Get up and get in place.” She nodded toward the mechanism on the dais. At first glance it resembled an eccentric exercise machine, with the padded bench and bars at various angles around it. But the bench had features missing in most exercise equipment, including a sanitary plastic cover that could be replaced for each new user, a set of stirrups at one end and straps hanging off the sides. It also hinged in several places so that a sub could be made to kneel at one end and his upper body stretched out on it. Right before he stepped forward, David turned and winked at her. Then he put himself in the woman’s control. She unhooked the middle hinges of the bench and set it up so that the bottom part stood up almost straight with the top half angling slightly upward from perpendicular to the bottom. When they stood him next to it, she adjusted the height so he was bent forward at the waist with his upper body lying along the tilting bench. It pushed his buttocks out and presented them as an easy target. Straps went around his wrists and

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ankles, and then a wide padded belt went across his lower back, covering him from the top of the crease in his buttocks to a couple of inches above his waist. The woman moved back and dug into a cabinet almost hidden in the side wall of the cubicle. She brought out a leather strap about a yard long, two inches wide and the thickness of a heavy belt. Andrea’s breath caught at the sight of it. Cal had used something similar on her on their second and final date. At first it had felt kind of good, but then it had just hurt. He’d paid no attention when she’d said it was too much and just kept walloping until she screamed. What would it feel like in the hands of a real Master? Nick gave her a sharp glance and put an arm around her waist. Sal stepped back and to the side to give herself room and swung the strap hard, so that it landed with a crack across both cheeks of David’s bottom and painted a bright red stripe. He jolted and sucked in a harsh breath. The woman chuckled and rubbed at the welt she’d raised. “That was a good one, wasn’t it, David? Weren’t expecting it for your first. But now that I’ve got your attention, we can work on getting you warmed up.” As promised, the next few lashes delivered less heat, each one leaving only a faint pink mark that faded rapidly. David maintained a stoic silence through those. Tobe stood at the side, arms folded across his chest, his expression neutral. But his gaze never wandered from David, and Andrea understood David’s trust that Tobe wouldn’t allow him to be harmed. With each stroke delivered, Sal pressed a button that counted down the number of strokes remaining. A large display over the cubicle showed that figure. It didn’t take long for the high count showing to attract attention. A crowd gathered behind them to watch the show. Sal worked with clever rhythm, spacing out the strokes enough to make sure he felt each one, but keeping them irregular so he couldn’t anticipate the next bite. By the time the number displayed had been reduced to seventy-five, David’s bottom and the tops of his thighs showed a large blotch of deep pink blush. But after that first stroke he’d remained still and quiet, offering no response to each smack. Even as the strokes got harsher, cracking loudly when they met flesh, printing bands of red across his skin, raising welts, he made no sound for quite a while. Andrea couldn’t decide whether she felt sympathy for him or envy. By the time Sal finished with the strokes of the strap, she knew it was sympathy. His bottom practically glowed, shading from light pink around the edges to a large splotch of dark rose that covered the center of his buttocks and extended halfway down his thighs, with scattered purple marks. The skin looked raw and grated. But the stroke countdown still showed thirty-four to go. Sal tossed the strap aside, ducked into the cabinet again and emerged with a riding crop, two and a half feet of leather-covered rod, with a small leather flap at the end. Its very appearance made Andrea’s heart flutter and her stomach go queasy. It looked

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downright evil. Even a fairly light stroke from that thing on his already sore bottom would hurt like the fires of hell. The first five or so strokes were light enough to barely leave a mark, and the lines faded quickly into the general rosy glow, but then Sal struck harder, just above the crease where his bottom and thighs met. This time the line didn’t fade, but rose in a definite welt and turned purplish red. David gasped and grabbed at the handholds provided for that purpose. “It’s been easy so far, hasn’t it?” Sal asked him. “Barely enough to make you feel it. But now we get to the serious part. The part where you start moaning and begging me to stop. Eventually you’ll scream.” Andrea’s stomach turned over. She glanced at Tobe. His face showed the strain of watching in the tense set of his mouth and lines around the eyes. His hands clenched into fists. “Are you all right?” Nick asked quietly. “Want to go?” She shook her head. “It’s hard to watch in a way, but I can’t not watch either. I know he wants it, and…” Nick gave her an assessing stare. “You want it, too. Don’t you?” “Yes. No. I don’t know. Part of me says yes. Another part says I couldn’t handle anything this harsh.” “You don’t start out on this level,” he said. “Not if your Master has any sense at all. Not everyone needs it this harsh either. David does.” She nodded. After a few more strokes David finally let out a yelp and began to struggle against the bonds. The stroke count said twenty-two remained. His buttocks and to a lesser extent the tops of his thighs were marked with a web of welts and dark lines. Sal’s next couple of cuts were lighter, barely marking him at all, then she delivered a series of five rapid ones all on the backs of his thighs. By the fourth of those David let out a loud groan. He struggled and writhed. The woman increased the intensity of each subsequent stroke. With seven to go, one struck across the crease between legs and bottom with a loud crack. David’s body froze for a long moment, then he let out a long, low scream. The lash left a twin set of lines that started out white, turned to pink and then to purple, spanning both cheeks. His breath came loudly, almost in sobs. Tobe held up a hand and mounted the dais. He walked around so that he could see David’s face and exchanged a few quiet words with him. Then he went to Sal and whispered something to her. The woman nodded and Tobe came back to stand next to them. “He wants to finish it.” Pride warred with concern in his tone and in the expression on his face. Andrea shivered. She didn’t know if Sal sensed David reaching his limits or if Tobe had asked her, but her next few strokes weren’t as hard, though each one still made

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David jump and moan. On the third to last she started striking harder again, making each subsequent one more severe. He cried out with each. The final stroke cracked like a gunshot and laid a harsh dark line across the crest of his buttocks with the leather flap digging in deeply enough to create an immediate bruise in the shape of it. David screamed, a sound that went on for several unbearable seconds before fading into sobbing moan. Sal dropped the crop and released the bindings holding David. Tobe went to his side and supported the younger man when it looked like he couldn’t stand on his own. He helped him step down off the dais. Applause broke out in the crowd, saluting his endurance. After a moment of leaning on Tobe, though, David straightened up and grinned at the audience. Beads of sweat dripped down his face and his damp hair hung lankly almost into his eyes. The leather straps containing his cock strained to hold the erection. He looked around and spotted her. “You watched?” he asked. She nodded. “Your courage is amazing.” He smiled and shook his head. Tobe kept an arm behind him when he took a couple of steps toward her. “Not courage. Stubbornness. And desire.” He glanced at Tobe with his heart in his eyes. The older man nodded approval and said, “Come on. We’ve got things to do.” David’s grin grew broader. He saluted Andrea with a nod. Tobe continued to help support him as the pair turned and headed for a private room down the hall. Nick’s eyebrows rose as he watched them go. Then he turned to her and said, “We have a private room waiting, too.”

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Chapter Five Panic sent waves of cold washing down her spine, along her legs, making her knees go weak. Her breathing changed rhythm and her heartbeat sped up. Nick either saw or guessed at her reaction. “I promise I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. And we don’t have to do this at all, if you’re not ready.” She looked at him, staring into his green eyes. Her experience with Cal warned her to be wary, but everything she knew about this man said she could trust him. “I want to do it,” she said, putting all the firmness she could into it. “I’m just a bit…scared.” His lips twitched into a small, wry grin. “Actually, a little fear is good. It’s part of the experience. The anticipation. But do you trust me enough to take the risk anyway?” She studied him, trying to see beyond the strong, sleek body, blond hair, green eyes and handsome face to the soul beneath. He guarded his expression and kept his emotions under tight control. But he treated his employees with respect and even generosity. People who’d known him longer than she were devoted to him. Caution wasn’t a bad thing, but there were controls and he’d promised to respect them. She believed he would, too. Only her own fear made her hesitate. She wouldn’t let fear rule her. She said, “Yes.” And, dear God, she hoped she wasn’t making another horrible mistake. He nodded. “Let’s go then.” Their room was in a different section of the building. They went up a flight of stairs and along a long hall. The series of numbered doors, secured by key-card locks, reminded her of a hotel. Nick stopped in front of 214 and pulled the card from his pocket to open the door. He reached in to flick on the light in the entrance area. She’d expected something similar to the room she and Cal had used, a Spartan cubicle with little beyond a bare bed, a couple of benches and a serviceable bathroom. It shocked her to walk into that room’s high-class cousin. The space she entered suggested a mating between a luxury hotel and a decorator’s dungeon. No bed like this one had ever graced any of the hotels she’d stayed at. Fullsized and pillared but with no canopy, a satin duvet cover and satin-covered pillows offered luxurious comfort, but it also had an ominous series of hooks inserted into each post as well as in the headboard and footboard. A peek into the door near the entrance to the room showed a luxury bathroom with a whirlpool tub, glass-enclosed shower, sink with gold fixtures, toilet and bidet. Her breath caught again as she took a few steps into the room. Aside from the bed, the space held a padded leather chair, which also had straps and hooks in various

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places, a low table, an adjustable bench similar to the one they’d put David on and a large wardrobe-type cabinet. In a normal hotel, the cabinet would have held a television above and a mini-bar below. This one had racks of floggers, straps, whips, paddles, rods and other things whose function mystified her. She didn’t have the nerve to open the drawers. No doubt the nipple clamps were in there. And lots of other stuff she didn’t want to think about. She trusted Nick. She trusted Nick. He must have paid a small fortune to rent this room. His footsteps sounded behind her and a hand touched her shoulder. He turned her toward him. She looked up into his face. “I told myself I wouldn’t,” he said. “But I can’t resist a small taste, a small touch.” He put his hands on either cheek and tipped her face up then his head dipped to hers. The touch of his mouth sent tingles like small electric shocks racing through her. She stiffened as a moment of panic twisted her stomach, but the steady pressure of his lips pushed warmth into her and through her, loosening the tight muscles, melting her tension. It felt good. She put her arms around his waist, leaned into him. The fragrance of his cologne surrounded her, along with the aroma of the wine they’d drunk, and the essential maleness of him. His back muscles twitched. He felt strong, solid, intensely masculine, especially the hard jut of his cock that poked into her stomach. His tongue swiped across her lips then pushed between them. Everything inside her fluttered, twisted, grew cold then hot then cold again. She could melt into him. Too soon, though, he pulled back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” “I didn’t notice I was resisting too hard.” “I know, but it’s too soon. I don’t want to push you.” “If it’s not too soon for what comes next, I don’t see how it can be too soon for that.” He froze for a moment, then his expression lightened and he laughed. Nick didn’t laugh often, which was a shame. It did really nice things for his face, including showing a gorgeous dimple in his right cheek. “You’ve got a point,” he admitted. The grin faded shortly and his expression grew serious again. “Enough of that. We’ve other things to do. From now until we leave this room, I expect you to follow every order I give promptly and with no objections or comments. Understood?” Excitement sent shivers up and down her spine. “Yes, Master Nick.” “Good. Your safe word is ‘red light’. Say that and I’ll stop everything. Understand that, too?” “Yes, Master.”

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He nodded. “Take the sweater off and put it over there.” He pointed to the low table in the corner. Andi did as ordered. “Now unbutton the dress to just below your breasts.” She did so, letting the material flop back so that her nipples peeked out above the fabric. Small flames ignited in the depths of his eyes as he looked at them. “Beautiful,” he said, almost too low for her to hear. “Turn around.” He pushed aside her hair and unhooked the gold necklace. She started to protest but thought better of it. “It’ll be in the way,” he said. “And I’m going to replace it with something more useful for now.” She caught a brief glimpse of the replacement when he lifted it over her head and brought it to her throat. A leather band, half an inch or so wide, it had what looked like eyehooks embedded in it. He brought it to her neck and fastened it so that it fit snugly but not tight. He turned her around. “Hold out your hands.” She extended her arms and he buckled similar straps around her wrists after removing the gold bracelet. He held out another pair and said, “Put these on your ankles. You may sit to do that.” Andrea restrained an impulse to offer a sarcastic thanks. She sat in the chair and put the straps on her ankles. When he said, “Come here,” she got up and walked over to him. The leather moved against her skin, reminding her that she was offering complete control of herself to him. “Undo three more buttons and pull the straps down off your shoulders.” She wiggled the straps down along her arms and then unfastened the buttons. The closure now stopped just above her navel. Freed from anything holding it up, the bodice slid down and left her nude from the waist up. A flash of delight gleamed in his eyes for a moment, before he resumed the stern expression. His fingers twitched as though he wanted to reach out and touch but restrained himself. Instead, he said, “You’re here because you want to explore your submissive side. To do that effectively you have to wear the marks of a submissive. But I want you to choose what marks those are. Before we’re done I’m going to give you ten strokes each with three different implements. I want you to look at what’s available and decide which ones you want me to use.” She drew a deep breath. “I have to choose, Master?” “This is about you and what you want and need. So, yes. You choose.” “Yes, Sir.” She went to the cabinet and began fingering the various implements. A few she eliminated right away, knowing they would be too much for her. The heavier straps, some of the whips, the crop, those she couldn’t handle. Most of the floggers were 55

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much too harsh as well, but there was one that had tails soft enough she thought they would only sting a bit rather than rip her to shreds. “If you’re not sure, try them out on your hand,” he suggested. She nodded. The flogger’s tails felt almost luxuriously sensual when she slapped her palm with it. She chose that one. One of the leather paddles didn’t have an unbearable bite either. For her final choice she decided to be a bit more adventurous and chose a light single rod. Only a quarter-inch in diameter, it stung a bit against her palm, but nothing she couldn’t handle. She laid it with the flogger and paddle. Nick surveyed them and nodded. “Good choices.” He set them aside for the moment though and said, “Time to undress me. Touch me or not as you want, but hands only. Whatever pleases you.” He chuckled at her expression. “I’m your Master. I have the right to give you a choice when I want to.” “Yes, Sir.” The thought of undressing him again, but this time without fuzzy mittens to prevent contact with his skin, made her jerk with excitement. The intimacy of it daunted and thrilled her at the same time. Her hands shook as she took the jacket from his shoulders and lifted the sweater over his head. He wore a black T-shirt beneath. It outlined his broad, solid chest and muscular arms. Andi pulled the bottom of the T-shirt from the waistband of his trousers and rolled it up his chest. Slowly. As slowly as she could manage. And she let her knuckles and fingertips graze the skin of his stomach and back as much as she could in the process. His flesh was warm, firm, rough with hair in places and smooth in others, but no matter where she touched, the contact sent surges of heat rushing through her veins. The shirt rolled up his chest, revealing a hard, muscular stomach and solid pectorals and biceps. She let her fingertips brush across his nipples. His gasp of pleasure echoed inside her where it turned into a bubble of delight. He ducked his head so she could pull the shirt over and off. His body still overwhelmed her and compelled her to ask, “How do you stay in such great shape?” “That’s a somewhat impertinent question to ask your Master,” he said. “But I’ll let it go this time. I’ll even answer. I was blessed with good genes and a fast metabolism, and I like running and mountain biking.” Andrea blushed at the mild rebuke. “My apologies, Master.” She made it as humble as she could. “You haven’t been properly trained. We’ll have to work on that.” A surge of excitement replaced the chagrin. It sounded like he wanted to continue the relationship. Oh God, she hoped so. To hide her expression, she looked down and began to unbuckle his belt. Her hands shook. The belt made a swishing sound against the fabric when she pulled it free of the loops. She fingered the leather.

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As it occurred to her to wonder, he said, “Treat it with respect. At some point your bottom will likely have a close acquaintance with it. In fact, I suggest you give it a kiss right now.” Her heart skipped a beat and then began to pound harder. As she lifted the belt to her lips, she drank in the slide of its sleek, smoothly tanned surface on her fingertips and the intoxicating aroma of leather. It felt cool against her lips. On impulse she let her tongue slip through her lips and touch the surface, printing her own mark of possession on it. If he saw, he made no comment. When she set it aside on the table, however, she could still see the damp spot. A shiver of pride raced down her spine. Her shaking fingers fumbled with the button of his pants. Once it was open, she lowered the zipper carefully, worried about not letting it catch the hard bulge of his cock that strained against the metal and fabric barriers. The pants slid down his lean hips when she let go. He wore black briefs beneath. Her breath sounded thunderously loud in her own ears as she considered the size of the bulge barely contained by the dark cotton fabric. She waited while he toed off his shoes. He stepped out of them and his pants at the same time, and then she knelt down to slip off his socks. Still kneeling, she put a hand on the bulge in his briefs, tracing its outline with her fingers. It took an effort to resist the urge to lean forward and put her lips on it. Instead she reached for the top edges of the briefs and began to peel them down his hips. The material caught on his cock and she had to lift it over to get the briefs off. The fabric slid down his hips and left her staring at a mouth-watering stretch of masculinity, long, thick and straining toward her. It felt like a commitment of sorts when she reached out and put her hand on his cock. He allowed her to trace its length with her fingertips. The varying textures delighted and intrigued her, from the smooth, hard shaft, to the extraordinary sleek softness of the head. He gasped and moaned deep in his throat as she explored all its folds and creases. She looked up and saw his face taut with tension and pleasure. His balls fascinated her as well, their rough, hairy surface making an interesting contrast with his cock. “Oh dear heaven,” he said, when she cupped them and squeezed gently. He reached down and threaded his hands through her hair, bracing himself. The rhythm of his breath changed to an increasingly rapid pant and his cock began to jerk and throb in her hand. “I didn’t…plan for this…to happen,” he gasped out as she rocked her hand up and down, trying to keep time with the pace set by his cock thrusting into the circle of her fingers. Elation filled her with a heady, frothy feeling to know she could give him so much pleasure.

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The muscles in his thighs went hard as he approached his climax, and his breath heaved in and out on a series of pants. He fisted his hands in her hair, tugging on the strands, but the small pain barely registered as his cock jerked once, twice, and then his seed jetted from it. He leaned over her for several long moments as he recovered breath and strength. His fingers loosened their hold of her hair but didn’t release it. Instead they began combing gently through the strands as though he savored the texture of it. “Andrea.” His tone turned her name into an endearment. When he recovered enough to straighten up, he lifted her hands off him, and said, “Wait here.” He disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a damp cloth that he used to wash the sticky remnants off her hands and arms. “Now it’s time to show how much you’re willing to submit,” he said when that was done. He reached down a hand to help her stand up and said, “Take off the dress.” She’d all but forgotten she still wore it. Her fingers shook as she undid several more buttons, enough to let the material finally slide down her hips and land in a heap on the floor. She picked it up and put it on the table with his clothes. The homey intimacy of her dress resting on top of his trousers gave her an odd pang. He didn’t give her time to indulge it. “Come here and stand still.” He walked around her, examining her body from top to bottom. She had a pretty good figure aside from the few extra pounds at her hips. He stopped behind her and then he moved closer, his chest touching her back, his rising cock pressing into her buttocks. His arms circled her and hands rested just below her breasts. Warm breath whispered against her throat moments before his lips began to explore there. She melted against him as jolts of sensation rocketed through her. It got worse when his hands crept upward to cup her breasts. Fingers explored the curving mounds. Fire erupted inside her, the heat creating a pressure in her gut and a burn in her cunt. She whispered, “Dear heaven,” and leaned back against him. Then he touched both nipples simultaneously and shards of pure pleasure ripped through her. “Nick… Oh dear Lord, that’s…impossible.” Nothing in her life had ever felt this good, this right, this exquisite. “It’s just the start,” he said. He toyed with her nipples a few minutes longer. Andrea sighed and groaned and squirmed as the pleasure drove a growing pressure in her cunt. Need rose and clamored…demanding he claim her, make her complete. Her breathing came in pants as one hand left her breast and brushed down her stomach and abdomen, approaching her pussy, which pulsed and oozed moisture in anticipation. Before he touched where she most wanted it, though, he withdrew and stepped back. “Over to the bed,” he ordered. “On it. Facedown.”

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Fighting an urge to cry over the unrelieved need pulsing through her, she did as ordered. She had to push aside a couple of pillows. The satin covers brushed her bare body with cool, sleek caresses. It felt both maddening and exciting on her sensitized nipples. When she’d stretched out on the bed, he brought over a handful of leather straps with clamps on either end. He clipped one of those to the eyelet on her left wristband and the other to a hook on the left corner of the headboard. After repeating the process with her right wrist and both ankles, he had her spread-eagled on the bed. She tugged at the bindings but her wrists would only move a few inches. Helplessness flooded her, followed by a wave of panic. He heard the alarming increase of her breath, saw her wriggling and deduced its source. A gentle hand brushed over her head, through her hair, soothing her, and he said, “Don’t panic. Remember your safe word? What is it?” “Red light.” “Good. I promise, if you say it, I’ll stop whatever I’m doing and release you or give you a break…whichever you prefer. Also…” He leaned down and brought a box up. He sat it on the table beside the bed, close enough for her to reach it with the little bit of slack in the cords. “That’s a panic button. Push it twice and an alarm goes off in the main office of this place. People will come running to find out what’s going on.” Guilt lanced through her when she considered how much lack of trust her panic suggested. “I’m sorry.” “For needing reassurance? Given your history you’d be stupid not to. And you’re anything but stupid.” “Thank you.” He nodded, dismissing it. “Okay with where we are?” She grinned at him. “Yeah.” “Yes, Master.” “Yes, Master,” she repeated. “Better. Five extra strokes for forgetting to address me properly and delaying things.” Her stomach clenched with excitement and anticipation, drawing her back into submissive mode. The combination of restraints and safeguards freed her. Freed her from fear and doubt. But only because Nick held the key to them. “I promised you ten from each instrument you chose, but I’m making it fifteen with the paddle. Right now. Get ready.” How did one actually do that? She braced herself against the satin sheets and clenched her muscles. The first impact of paddle on her bottom made a surprisingly loud noise but generated little heat. The barest of stings fizzed where it struck, but so mild it barely registered. What fire there was faded quickly. Disappointment followed the surprise. She’d expected more.

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A few strokes later, disappointment got swallowed up in a rising burn in her bottom. He increased the force with each stroke so that by the time they’d gotten to eight by her own count, each spank landed with a resounding thud that fired the skin. The burn sank deep into her, warming her blood and sending a sizzle of desire into her cunt. Somewhere around a dozen she forgot about the count. Each smack of the paddle zipped through her with a sparkly radiance that lit fires in every corner of her body. The last couple struck hard enough to hurt a bit, but it was far from unbearable. She wanted more. A gentle hand rubbed over the roughened flesh of her bottom, kneading away some of the sting, but raising the pressure inside her. The low moan came from her need and growing desire. “No screams or cries for mercy?” he asked. “No, Sir.” “No real marks yet, either. But we’re not done.” She wanted those marks. His marks. Even though she dreaded the pain it would cost to have one. She wanted to be his, to wear the sign—temporarily, anyway—that she belonged to him. She turned her head in time to see him put down the paddle and pick up the flogger. Her bottom tingled in anticipation. If the skin hadn’t been a little sore from the paddle she might not have felt the first stroke of the flogger at all. It felt more like a tickle than a sting. But on the next one, he must have used more force. Each of the many strands bit in just enough to twinge, and together they sent a jolt through her. She drew in a sharp breath and exulted. It held a taste of the deep fire she sought, the one that could swallow her up in its flames. He backed off on the next couple, making them almost more sharp caresses than swats. But then on the fifth, he stuck harder, right across the crease where her bottom and thighs met. The lashes bit into tender skin like fire-tipped fingers. She yelped and wriggled. Heat sizzled through her, going straight to her cunt, which swelled and seeped moisture. She sank into it, moaning with each following strike, though none roused as much fire as that one—until the very last one with the flogger. He changed direction with the last stroke, moving around the bed and striking upward rather than across her bottom. Most of the tails landed on the insides of her thighs, but a couple struck her cunt. It wasn’t a hard hit, in fact it was fairly light, but the sensitivity of where they landed ensured it would have her squealing and writhing from the different and unexpected pain. As before though, after a minute or so, the worst of the sting faded, transmuting into a powerful pressure in her womb, a pulsing need for completion. A small clatter from the handle signaled when he put down the flogger. Again he came to her and rubbed her throbbing bottom. It felt like heaven, especially when his 60

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fingers walked down to her thighs and approached her center, where she burned and ached for his touch. Her cunt wept for it. But she didn’t get it. Instead he ran his hands up along her sides, grazing the edges of her breasts, then back down. “You’re beautiful, you know,” he said. “And your bottom is beautiful with that rosy pink glow. But…” He rubbed a hand across her buttocks again. “You have no real marks yet. I’ll have to be harsher. You remember what to do if you can’t handle it?” “I remember. Nick. Master Nick…” She waited until he bent down so he could meet her gaze without making her crane her neck too far. “I want marks. I want your marks.” His eyes widened and a flame ignited in the green depths. “If you’re sure.” “I am.” He nodded. His expression remained solemn, but the way his eyes focused on her and the muscle tensed in his cheek told her it had meant something to him. Maybe as much as it had meant to her. She could hope, anyway. When he stood up and turned to pick up the rod, she closed her eyes and clenched her muscles, trying to prepare herself. He’d have to strike harder to leave marks. She braced herself for the pain. Pain she wanted and dreaded at the same time. How mixed up was that? The rod felt cool and slender and scary as he laid it across her buttocks to measure his range. Then he lifted it off and that terrified her even more. It made a nasty whizzing sound as it cut through the air, but the splat when it struck wasn’t as loud as either the paddle or flogger. It left a concentrated burn along a strip of her buttocks that started as a shock of impact, but then rose to a more intense fire for a few moments before settling into a deep, sort of itchy sting. She couldn’t hold in either the gasp or the moan that followed as the fire dug deeper. As before it changed as it sank into her core, becoming a bright, intense, scraping need that swelled her cunt even more. For the next few minutes he rained fire on her bottom and the tops of her thighs. The strikes were hard, biting and they made her squirm uncontrollably while she squealed and groaned. Pain and pleasure mixed so thoroughly she couldn’t separate them. Each lash drew a sharp line of fire on her skin, but when that burn ran deep inside, it grew the pressure until she became a huge ball of desire and need. She wondered if she could handle much more, even as a gift to him. Still, she restrained herself from using the safe word. She had no idea how many she’d taken when one crashed down on her harder than all the previous ones. The fire ignited and spread until it all but consumed her. A second fiery lash followed quickly. The scream rose inside until it broke free in a yell she couldn’t restrain. Tears leaked out as she squirmed and wriggled, trying to cope with the overwhelming intensity of the sensation.

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Then he was there, beside her, rubbing her bottom, which helped to ease the pain but ignited that other fire. She wiggled some more, this time straining to get his hand down farther. He chuckled softly at her efforts and said, “You’ll have your marks now, and you’ve earned your reward.” His fingers moved downward, brushing over her labia and parting them. Pain disappeared and shards of raw, pure pleasure ripped through her. “Nick.” His name came out as a long groan. He found the nub of her clit and stroked it. Tension bunched all her muscles into tight, straining hardness. Moisture poured from her cunt, making easy passage for the finger he inserted into her opening, even while he continued the assault on the center of her pleasure. A volcano rumbled within her, with fire building inside, straining toward an explosion that might blow her apart completely. It took only moments for the pressure to grow past bearing, and then her world did burst open in a shower of stars and wrenching spasms. Nick continued to stroke her gently while the jerking aftershocks jolted through her again and again. After a while, they calmed down and her breath and pulse began the descent toward normal. She’d sprung open and poured herself out for him, but the need hadn’t abated entirely. Deep in her womb, a yearning kept her cunt weeping, a desire for a final completion that only he could provide. “Lie still now,” he said. “I’m going to get some cream for your bottom.” Given the bindings, she had little choice in the matter, but in truth she felt no inclination to move anyway. The peace after the storm was dear. The cream felt chilly at first and stung a tiny bit, but after a moment, it worked its way into the skin and soothed it. The gentle brush of his hand felt good too, and she sighed in disappointment when he stopped. Nick set the jar of cream aside, and then shifted, levering himself up on the bed. His cock had risen to glorious life again. He crawled across to kneel between her legs and lean over her body. She waited for him to enter her, wanting that long, lovely length inside. He didn’t. Instead he supported himself on his hands as he draped himself along her back, with his cock tucked into the valley between the cheeks of her bottom. He moved up and down, simulating intercourse. The motion rubbed against sore places on her bottom. Knowing it brought him pleasure to use her that way, she didn’t mind. She rejoiced in it, though she’d rather he took her in a more traditional way. His balls slapped gently against her cunt as he rocked. Warm lips touched her back and his harsh breaths puffed against her skin when he leaned down to kiss her. His mouth tracked up her back and along her neck. He caressed the hollows at the sides of her throat with his lips. She felt him getting tense again as he neared climax. His pants and groans swished into her ear from just above. Sensory overload set in, fueled by his closeness and the feel of his skin against hers, the aroma of his cologne, his body and sex, the grating of his

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hair-roughened flesh against her sore bottom, the warmth of his breath and the music of his low murmurs telling her how beautiful she was, how delightful he found her. The exhilaration of wearing his marks brought on a flash of possessiveness and the odd realization that those bruises made a connection between them that worked both ways. She wore them, but he’d put them there. With her consent. He’d been careful to give her plenty of opportunity to object or stop it. He froze for a moment, his breath coming in quick, sharp pants. Then he let out a sound halfway between a growl and a roar. The warmth of his seed spread over her lower back. He let out a long, sighing breath that whispered across her ear, then let himself down until his skin touched hers from knees to her upper back. He kept his weight on his arms, though, to avoid crushing her. The intimacy of the position made her blood fizz with excitement. She wished she could move enough to touch him with her hands or roll over and look him in the eye. Finally, he sighed gustily and moved off. Using a corner of the sheet, he wiped most of the sticky residue from her back before he got up. Once away, he released her ankles and wrists. He must have realized she’d be stiff, since he rubbed her arms after he unhooked the straps and helped her to sit up. She winced when her backside pressed against the sheets. “How bad is it?” he asked. “Not bad. I’ll have some bruises—the marks I asked for—but there’s almost no soreness left at all. That cream of yours did a good job.” He shrugged. “The soreness usually fades quickly anyway. But…how was it for you? Too much?” She stood up and pressed herself against him, pushing her breasts into his chest and her belly against his. Reaching up, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed his mouth before releasing him and saying, “It was damned near perfect. Except for one thing.” “What?” “You didn’t come inside me. Why not?” He raised a hand and traced her lips with a gentle finger. “I didn’t want to push you too far, or into something you weren’t ready for. As it was, I was afraid I was too harsh.” “No. I’ll need some time to get used to it, but I think I could take a lot more than you dealt today. I might even need a lot more.” “I wouldn’t be surprised. You remind me of someone else I know.” “A woman?” “Yes.” “A former lover?” “Not exactly. Andrea…” He made her name a warning. 63

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She nodded, respecting his implied request—or demand—but her heart skipped as a knife thrust of pain sliced into it. The obvious implication suggested a current lover. Which made she herself…what? A charity? A friend he intended to rescue from the aftereffects of a bad relationship? He’d said he wasn’t married or committed, that he respected promises. That might not cover a more casual arrangement. Damn, but he had a lot of areas he designated off-limits. “There’s a really nice whirlpool tub in there.” He pointed to the bathroom. “What do you say we make use of it? It’ll help soak away any remaining ache.” “Sure.” She tried to sound enthusiastic and heard it come out sounding pathetic. He heard it, too. “It’s not exactly what you think. And we’ll talk about it, but not here, not now. Rest a few minutes while I get the water going.” She stayed right there, wondering what he meant and whether it was good or bad for her. By the time he returned, she’d decided only that this night belonged to her. Nothing and no one could change that, and she wouldn’t let anything ruin her enjoyment of it, not even herself. He returned after a few minutes and helped her up. Water swished around in the whirlpool tub. He’d added some sort of scented oil that bubbled and emitted a fragrance of roses. With his assistance she stepped in and lowered herself into the bath. He got in with her and maneuvered them both so that he sat behind her, legs splayed to either side, her back to his chest, her bottom between his legs and resting against his cock and balls. For a while they just relaxed that way, content with the closeness and comfort of the warm water swirling around them. After a while he stirred and said, “Our time will be up soon. I hate for it to end. But we both have to go to work in the morning. Of course, if you’re too sore and want to call in sick, the boss will understand. You’ll have a couple of bruises and it might be uncomfortable to sit for a few days.” “I’ll manage,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage of any personal relationship with the boss. Anyway, I get totally bored sitting around at home, so I don’t take off work unless I’m really sick or have some other good reason.” “Our chairs have pretty good padding anyway.” He drew back and stood up. After helping her out of the tub, he handed her a fat, fluffy towel from a heated rack. They dried off, retrieved their clothes, dressed, combed hair and Andi applied a bit of makeup. Nick dropped the key card in a box at the end of the hallway. They both remained mostly quiet through the drive home. She didn’t know about him, but Andi had a lot to absorb. When they got to her apartment, he escorted her to the door. As she dug in her purse for the key, he said, “I have a meeting tomorrow night, but would you like to do dinner and a movie on Friday? No play, no sex, just a traditional sort of date so we can get to know each other.” “A date?”

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One tawny eyebrow rose. “Why not?” “Because you’re my boss?” “Didn’t stop you from going to the clubs with me.” “I know, but that was different.” “Different how?” “That was…more like therapy.” “Therapy?” He put an ironic spin on the word. After a quick pause, he added, “I think you’re being afraid again. Only this time it’s not about sex. It’s a dinner invitation, not a marriage proposal.” She looked down at the keys she’d pulled out of her purse. “Nick… It might not seem like it after this past week, but I’m not… I’m not a casual relationship sort of person.” “Now tell me something I haven’t already figured out.” She raised her head to stare into his green eyes. Their serious expression held all sorts of emotional echoes—need, desire, interest, fear, hope and pain, too. Andi couldn’t even say how she read all those things, but she’d bet her last dollar on every one of them. He was an intelligent man. He understood the implications. Did she dare accept the invitation and all it implied? He’d said what happened in their relationship wouldn’t impact her job status, and she believed it. But the risk to her job concerned her less than the risk to her heart. That risk could prove considerable too. Mary Ellen had mentioned his previous marriage, and that the experience had left scars. Add in the problems with his family and it suggested a complex and potentially difficult man, with a lot of emotional baggage. Could she deal with the darkness beneath the surface charm? No matter how good the sex was—and it looked like it could be very good indeed—could that compensate for the problems in other areas of their lives? He drew a breath and let it out. “Andrea, if you don’t want to do this, that’s fine. Just tell me straight out.” She studied his face, taking in the serious expression, the hope and the doubt. “My friends call me Andi. Dinner and a movie sound like fun.” He hesitated for a moment. “Andi, I won’t lie to you. You may have good reason for your doubts. I’m not an easy person to get along with, and I’m pretty commitmentphobic as well. I don’t do casual relationships either, but I’m wary as hell of long-term ones.” Oddly, the fact that he felt it necessary to offer that warning reassured her. “Hey,” she said. “It was a dinner invitation, not a marriage proposal.” A corner of his mouth crooked into a near-grin. “Oh. Right. Friday night then? I’ll pick you up at six.”

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She agreed and said she’d see him in the morning as she opened the door to let herself in. He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, no tongue, before he left. Andi went straight to her bedroom, stripped off the dress and went to the fulllength mirror. She had to twist to see her bottom. The welts had all disappeared and not even a trace of pinkness remained. But down low, where she had to really stretch and twist to see them, two faint dark lines still showed. It wasn’t much, but a surge of pride and elation filled her at the sight of them. Nick had put those there, and they signified her submission to him. Those two small bruises didn’t interfere with her sitting or working the next day. She noticed them when she first sat down, but once she got involved in work she didn’t feel them again. When the call came at two-thirty, she forgot about everything else.

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Chapter Six Two of the leasing agents had left her a pile of listings to update. The ring of the phone jarred her out of trying to decipher a particularly cryptic bit of handwritten note. “Hey, bitch, what’re you doing dating your boss, when you’re mine?” He didn’t identify himself, but she recognized the voice. “You’re just messing around with him, right? ‘Cause you want me to punish you for it.” “Cal, you’re not supposed to have any contact with me. That includes calling me.” “Quit messing around with me, bitch. I’ve been patient with you ‘cause I know you’re new to things, but it’s starting to run out.” “Don’t call me again, Cal. I’m warning you. Next time I’ll call the cops.” She slammed down the phone. She shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she realized everyone in the room stared at her. Nick stood in the doorway to his office watching as well, then he crossed to her desk. “Your stalker?” he asked. She nodded. “Call the police.” “Not this time. I told him if he called again that I would.” “Why wait?” Irritation roughened his voice. “I don’t want to hurt him if I don’t have to.” “Hurt him? Andrea, he’s hurting you! He’s stalking you. You need to call the police and—” He stopped and his tone gentled on the next words. “I’m sorry. I’m as bad as he is, telling you what to do. It’s your decision.” She shook her head. “You couldn’t possibly be as bad as he is. But if he does it again, I will call the police. Promise.” She looked up into his green eyes. She wanted to keep looking, to lose herself in the care and concern she saw there. But if she didn’t drag her gaze away soon, the entire office would know she had more than businesslike feelings about the boss. With an effort of will, she turned her gaze to the stack of work on her desk for a moment. He nodded. “Let me know if he does.” “I will,” she promised. The rest of the day stayed quiet with just the comforting routine of updating files and massaging spreadsheets and processing lease orders. Friday lasted forever—not because anything terrible happened, but only because she spent the entire day anticipating that evening. She visited her aunt at lunch and the 67

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time crawled there. The rest of the afternoon at work was worse. The hands of the clock moved in slow motion and nothing held her attention for very long. Of course, when Nick walked through the office, that riveted her in a way she couldn’t afford to indulge. A good long stare or two, though horribly tempting, would have the office tongues wagging for sure. They didn’t miss much. She suspected rumors had already begun to circulate about her and Nick, based on his helping her get rid of Cal. She refused to give them any more fuel. Of course, if they decided to continue the relationship, word would get out, and probably sooner rather than later. How would her office mates react to that? She could foresee it getting sticky. Eventually the clock wound its way around to five o’clock and she headed home. With traffic and a few minutes to check her mail, she had only thirty-five minutes to get ready. She’d washed her hair that morning and only needed to take it down from the chignon and brush it out. She pulled it back off her face and fastened it with a pair of jeweled clips. The clothes dilemma struck again, but she opted for a plain black skirt with a more glitzy beaded and sequined sweater. Fortunately the weather had turned cooler so the sweater wasn’t out of place. The doorbell rang just as she finished redoing her eyeliner for the second time. Nick looked as good in a dark suit, blue shirt and red tie as he had in the black leather pants and cashmere sweater. He wasn’t unusually tall, probably a hair under six feet, but his broad shoulders, solid, muscular chest and lean, graceful waist and hips meant everything he wore hung beautifully. “You look wonderful,” he said, staring as freely at her as she did with him. “I have a couple of questions for you. First, do you like Chinese or would you prefer something else? Then the movie—romantic comedy, historical drama or science fiction adventure?” “I’m fine with Chinese and would prefer the science fiction adventure. But I’m open to just about anything.” He looked surprised. “I would have sworn you’d go for the romantic comedy.” “Which shows you don’t know near as much about me as you think you do.” “Apparently.” “Which would you have chosen?” she asked. “Guess.” “Science fiction.” He shook his head. “Probably the historical.” “I guess neither of us knows the other all that well.” “So let’s go feed two appetites at one restaurant,” he suggested. “Two appetites each? Hunger and curiosity.” “It’s efficient.” 68

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“Efficiency is good,” she agreed. “So is food. I’m starving.” The restaurant was lovely, decorated with good taste and a generous budget. The hostess escorted them to a booth in a corner. Soft Oriental music played in the background and mouth-watering aromas swirled around them. Only after they’d chosen their dinners and Nick had ordered glasses of wine for each of them did he say, “You go first. Tell me about yourself.” That took her by surprise and caught her unready. She shrugged one shoulder. “There’s really not a whole lot to tell,” she admitted. “Born in Roanoke, Virginia, but I don’t remember much about it. My parents were both killed in a car accident when I was eight and I went to live with my aunt here. Went to UNC, got a degree in economics, moved back here because my aunt’s health was getting fragile and got a job, first at a bank and then with your company. Honestly, that’s pretty much it.” “Boyfriends?” “A few during college and after, but nothing serious. Then there was Cal…and I kind of went off men for a while.” “Understandable. What made you decide to major in economics?” “I don’t know. Numbers just seem to make sense to me. They’re predictable. You know what they’re going to do.” He nodded. “Given your background, I suppose it’s not surprising that would appeal to you.” He went on to question her further about her college experiences and working in the bank, then they discussed their tastes in movies, music and books. Servers arrived with food and wine while they talked. They found some shared interests and some interesting differences. Conversation flowed easily. She learned he’d gotten a degree from the University of Virginia and then did a year of law school. “Why’d you quit?” she asked. “It wasn’t what I wanted. In truth, I’d never really wanted it, but my parents…” “Pushed you into it?” “They wanted a doctor and a lawyer in the family. That was all they talked about when we were growing up. Their two sons becoming a doctor and a lawyer. Cam, my older brother, is a doctor. I didn’t even think about wanting anything else until I was in college, but I was so indoctrinated I was sure I was meant to be a lawyer. I didn’t realize how wrong that was until I was actually in law school.” “It must have disappointed them when you dropped out.” His mouth crooked, but it wasn’t into a grin. “Yeah.” The one word, backed by the grim expression, spoke volumes about the pain and heartbreak that decision had cost him. He took a long drink from his wineglass. “It wasn’t pretty. They didn’t understand my reasons and they weren’t amused. In fairness, I’ve always been a bit on the impulsive side and my decisions haven’t always been the smartest. But they wouldn’t listen when I explained that quitting law school wasn’t an impulsive move at all.” “You tried to explain to them?”

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He shrugged. “They couldn’t see past their own disappointment to even try to understand my reasons. I knew what I had to do, though, and I’ve never looked back.” “That’s why you don’t want to talk to them? That was…how long ago?” “Seven years. I’m thirty, by the way. Thirty-one in a couple of weeks.” He stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. “On top of the law school thing, there was Emily.” “Emily?” “We dated in high school and off and on through college. We got married when I graduated and separated shortly after I quit law school.” “She disapproved too?” “Yes, but that wasn’t the real reason. It was one of the symptoms, though. We weren’t compatible on so many levels, I’m amazed we stayed married as long as we did.” “Your family wasn’t happy about the breakup.” He shrugged. “They adored Emily and thought the separation was another one of my impulsive decisions, like quitting law school.” “It wasn’t, either.” “I knew almost from the start it was a mistake. I probably knew going in but I didn’t want to know, just like with the legal career. We hadn’t made love before the wedding, because she wanted to save herself. I respected that. I should have realized from the start. The way she reacted to even heavy kissing should have told me she wasn’t much interested in the physical side of it. I didn’t find out until too late that her idea of sex was three kisses and a five-minute fuck. When I wanted more than that, she…freaked. Called me weird and perverted. And she didn’t know even a quarter of it.” “I wonder what she’d have thought about what we did on Wednesday?” Andi said. His mouth quirked into a near-grin. “She’d probably have run from the place screaming.” His expression grew solemn again. “But that wasn’t the only thing wrong between us. Our priorities were different. Hers didn’t include a husband taking a lowly job in a real estate office to learn the business, and having to live carefully. She’d pictured herself as the wife of a high-powered attorney with a high-powered income and a high-powered social life. That scenario still gives me nightmares. But my parents loved Emily and had a fit when I told them we’d decided to call it quits.” “Don’t you have to do some schmoozing in your business? You go to meetings and receptions and stuff pretty often.” “I do, and I don’t mind that kind of thing sometimes, but I wouldn’t want to have to do it every night. Emily saw herself enjoying a constant social whirl with the highpriced crowd.” “Your parents haven’t accepted it yet?” He shrugged. “I don’t know.” 70

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“Don’t you ever talk to them at all?” “Sometimes on holidays. At my brother’s place.” “You’re still close to him.” “Not close,” Nick said. “But we do talk. And I go to his place for holidays and special occasions…birthdays and such.” “It’s a shame to be so…cool with your family. I’ve never really had much of one… It seems like something too good to waste. Even if you don’t get along with them all the time.” “Since you don’t have one, you have no idea how much damage they can do, sometimes without even meaning to. Nor do you understand just how stubborn and unrealistic they can be.” She drew in a breath and kept still, trying not to let him know how much that hurt. She kept her voice even when she answered. “No, you’re right. I don’t understand. All I know about family is what I got from watching other families—neighbors’, friends’ and some on television—and what I got from my aunt. It wasn’t much but the best she could do. I know they’re not all the same. I know some are better than others and some are pretty close to intolerable. But most people seem to think it’s better to have one than not.” He stayed quiet a moment before his expression softened and he said, “I’m sorry. That was unkind of me. It’s the impulsiveness my parents were always accusing me of. I sometimes react before thinking.” “We’re all guilty of it at times.” “I know, but I seem to be more guilty more often. I’m working on it.” “That counts for something.” The waiter brought their check and Nick handed over a credit card. “I do have another sort of family,” he said with the sort of studied casualness that told her this was important and he wasn’t sure how she’d take it. “A pair of very good friends.” Andrea nodded. “Dave and I shared an apartment our last couple of years in college, and he moved here after I told him about an opportunity at an architectural firm I knew. He and his wife, Julie, are my best friends.” The waiter returned with the credit card and slip. Nick didn’t say anything more until he’d taken care of the receipt, they’d left the restaurant and were back in his car. He didn’t turn on the engine right away. “There’s something you need to know about Dave and Julie. Our relationship. It’s…closer than a normal friendship.” “Closer?” “We share…more.” He drew in a breath and let it out on a hiss. “We do threesomes. And we all play spanking games.” He looked at his watch, twisting his arm so that the light from a lamp fell on the face. Apparently they had enough time.

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He tapped lightly on the steering wheel before he continued. “Dave and Julie met two years ago and fell in love, almost at first sight. A few months later the relationship was in trouble, mostly because Julie seemed to be frigid. No matter what Dave did, she just didn’t get aroused, even though she loves him and he loves her. He tried everything you can imagine. I offered Dave a couple of ideas that didn’t work, until I noticed that when I mentioned certain things in her presence, she blushed and seemed interested but uncomfortable. I suggested that she might need some extra stimulation to get her excited. Neither of them was sure about it, but they agreed to try it out for a weekend at a beach house my family owns.” “Extra stimulation?” “The same kind that gets your juices flowing. Submission and harder stimulation. It worked, and we had a pretty memorable weekend. I… They included me in the activities. It was an amazing privilege. Since then we get together pretty regularly for similar sorts of recreation. They got married last year, but they still let me share in a special relationship.” “You have… You have sex with them? Both of them?” “Dave and I both have sex with Julie, often at the same time.” “A ménage?” He nodded. “And Dave doesn’t mind?” “There are limits and I respect them. Only he gets to penetrate. We’re both okay with that. They’re a pair of the most extraordinarily generous people I know.” “Would you…want me to participate, too? Is that why you’re telling me this?” “I’m telling you this because they’re two very important people in my life. And because you’re becoming important to me too, so you deserve to know about it. As for participating…I’d be honored if you wanted to, but I’d never force it on you or even ask you to do it if you’re uncomfortable with it. I’d have to check it out with them first, anyway. They gave their permission for me to tell you about it. And by the way, they’ve invited us both for dinner on Tuesday, if you can make it.” “Tuesday’s okay with me, but… I’m being vetted for membership in the ménage?” “No.” He made the one word very definite. “You’re meeting my dearest friends. That’s all.” “Okay. I can do Tuesday, and I’d love to meet your friends.” He nodded. “Are you shocked out of your mind that I share my best friend’s wife?” “No. Well, maybe just a little. But if all three of you are okay with it, I guess I should be too. I don’t know how I’d feel about doing that myself, though.” “No one’s going to ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with.” He leaned forward and turned on the car. “Time to get going.” That marked the end of that conversation. He asked her about other movies she’d seen similar to the one they headed toward and they discussed films for the rest of the 72

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trip. They both enjoyed the show, which featured intriguing characters, a decent plot and several satisfying space battles, and talked about it on the way home. “Tomorrow night?” he asked when they stood outside her apartment. “Go with me to CandlePower again?” “May I play one of their games?” she asked. “But does the redemption have to be public? Can you redeem them for me privately?” His lips quirked. “Redemption can be in any form you want.” “Yes, I’d like to, then.” “Do you have a garter belt and stockings?” “No, but I’ll get them. I have to do some shopping tomorrow anyway.” “High heels?” “I have one pair.” “Good. Wear those too.” He kissed her, long, hot and with lots of tongue. It set her head spinning. When he finally pulled back and broke the contact she fought the desire to cling, to drag him inside with her and beg him to do more. “Patience, love,” he said. “We’re getting there.” She stared at him. “Did you read my mind?” “Didn’t have to. It’s written on your face.” He ran a gentle finger across her lips. “Tomorrow.” He turned and left. She expected to have trouble sleeping that night, but didn’t. The next day she spent the morning cleaning the apartment, which gave her plenty of time to brood on how she felt about Nick’s relationship with his friends. The idea of the ménage didn’t bother her in principle, as long as everyone was willing and happy with it. What troubled her was his participation. It didn’t take a long leap of logic to realize the fundamental issue. Jealousy. She didn’t want to think about him having sex with anyone else. Not even the wife of a good friend. And that led to the further acknowledgement she’d been avoiding. The crush that had turned into a bad case of lust was becoming more. She was falling in love with him. It had probably been inevitable since the moment he’d asked her to accompany him to The Pointe. Until then, she could tell herself he lived in a different world from her and those worlds didn’t intersect. Even if their worlds did intersect, that didn’t imply they could overlap. He’d been on his own, without a serious continuing relationship other than his close friends, for a long time. What should make her think he’d be interested in anything deeper than a casual fling with her? She visited her aunt that afternoon, bringing some favorite foods, trying to tempt the elderly woman’s flagging appetite. But Aunt Gwen looked even thinner and frailer than she had the previous day. She kept falling asleep during the visit. She recognized Andrea but didn’t seem to be aware of much else. Even Andi had to finally admit that 73

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her aunt was failing and probably didn’t have much more time. She left feeling so depressed that not even the prospect of seeing Nick that evening could bolster her spirits. Andrea did her best to put it aside before that evening so it wouldn’t cast a pall over their time together. Enough excitement crept through her to lift her spirits. When she stopped by the shopping center later to get the garter belt and stockings, she indulged in a pretty new blouse to go with the black skirt. It stretched her poor, moaning credit card out even further, but she’d come to a détente with debt. The gold chain necklace he’d given her worked well with it too. His reaction made it worth adding to the load on her card. He looked up and down with glowing eyes and finally smiled, a brief but full smile that transformed his face. “You look gorgeous,” he told her before they went out to his car. Andrea took a deep breath to steady herself. She planned to challenge herself and him in ways she never had before. Go deeper into submission than she’d even thought she would dare to. It scared her to death, and excited her so much her panties would be getting damp already…if she were wearing any. She hoped it wouldn’t show on the dark skirt.

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Chapter Seven Drag your eyes away, Nick told himself as they walked out to the car. And stop imagining what’s under the dress. You’ve seen it before and you’ll be looking again soon enough. He already had an erection straining uncomfortably against his pants. Each time he saw her it got harder to restrain himself from tossing her down on the nearest flat surface, ripping her clothes off and burying himself in her. He wanted to claim her, to make her his in every possible way. Did she have any idea the power she had over him? How she held him enthralled? Probably not, and probably just as well. Since the moment he’d first seen her, when she came to interview for the job in his office, he’d had to work extra hard to keep his mind, his eyes and his hands off her. She got the position on qualifications and enthusiasm, not because of her sex appeal, but he couldn’t deny it had been a factor in the decision. Even though he forced himself to keep his distance, he’d become fascinated by her air of wary emotional fragility. Coupled with her decided competence at the job, the pleasant, low-key, helpful manner that endeared her to her coworkers and her somewhat unusual prettiness, it added up to a package that sorely tested his long-held resolve not to get involved with an employee. Small clues and a well-honed instinct led him to believe she had submissive tendencies also. Until the incident with the maniac in the office, though, he’d resisted her appeal. The astonishment on her face when he’d asked her out after that indicated he’d done a good job of hiding his interest. But then a combination of diffidence and cautious pleasure in her acceptance of his offer also told him she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she might like to pretend. She hadn’t freaked out completely when he’d told her about Dave and Julie. He expected some surprise and shock. It wouldn’t have totally stunned him if she’d been disgusted or even despised him for it. But she accepted it. As long as everyone was comfortable with it, she’d said. A better reaction than he’d dared hope for. She’d surprised him in other ways. Instead of being turned off the BDSM scene by her bad experience with Cal, she remained curious and interested in experimenting with it. The light spanking of last Wednesday had turned her on. He thought he’d burst with pride when she told him she wanted marks—his marks. A traffic light turned yellow as he approached an intersection, forcing him to return his attention to the road. Andrea seemed comfortable with the silence between them, so he didn’t feel compelled to make conversation. Another thing he liked about her. Too many women couldn’t stand quiet and insisted on filling it with inane chatter.

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At CandlePower, they checked in and Nick bought two stacks of chips. He also brought Andrea a sheet that showed what the symbols on each of the house-return chips signified. The paddles came in three sizes, the straps and canes in two each, several varieties of floggers ranged from light to serious. A few items had only one image—the birch, the crop and a single-tailed whip. He pointed to those last three. “If you get any of these we’re trading down. They’re all too harsh for you right now. You don’t want to get too many of the canes or the heavy flogger either.” He went on to explain the exchange ratio for the cash chips he handed her before he escorted her to the same table David had played at on their previous visit. Only a few others stood there at the time. While they waited for her chance to get into the game, he glanced around and noted how many people watched the two of them. Nick had gotten used to drawing hungry looks, mostly from female subs, but from some of the men as well. It didn’t surprise him that Andrea collected quite a few admiring gazes herself. A place came open at the table and she settled into the seat. Nick looked around again. A man he’d seen there before had a laser gaze fixed on Andrea and started to approach her, but Nick moved closer to her, enough to catch the other man’s attention and make it clear she belonged to him. He stopped, stared a moment then turned away. Nick didn’t think she’d even noticed, as she studied the layout of the board and considered her first move. Her first two bets were losers. But on the third spin, she won on red and on an even number bet. The croupier returned half a dozen chips marked with the number one and a light paddle. Andrea set those aside and made her next bet with the cash chips. After a couple more rounds, he realized she’d already worked out some kind of system in her head. He leaned over and said, “Are you playing the odds?” She looked surprised. “Pretty much. Doesn’t everyone?” “Mostly no.” Her brow wrinkled. “Then how do they win?” He shrugged. “Luck and persistence.” “David was playing the odds, but not doing too well.” “Until you came along and luck began rolling his way too.” “I can’t account for that.” He couldn’t either, except that a sort of magic seemed to surround her. While she played, Nick went to the bar and bought them each a glass of wine. He set hers down beside her and stepped back to watch again. She sipped at it each time she stopped to think about her next bet. She didn’t win every round, but she steadily collected what she wanted. Forty chips represented what she’d apparently decided she

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could handle. Once she had those, she handed both her winnings and the remaining cash chips to him. He pocketed the cash chips and counted out the others. “Ready to redeem these?” She nodded. A momentary flare of panic crossed her face, but she conquered it quickly. He led her to a different room along the same hallway as the one they’d used the other night. This one had much the same appointments. Once they were inside with the door locked behind them, he said, “Drink up the rest of the wine, then take your skirt and blouse off.” He made his tone hard, one that demanded obedience. Andrea finished her wine and unbuttoned the skirt. He watched but made no comment as she removed the clothes. It took all the selfdiscipline he could muster to refrain from gasping when she stood in front of him in only her garter belt, stockings and high heels. God, she was beautiful. Gorgeous breasts…not large but perfectly shaped, and nice round hips below a slender waist. His cock got rock-hard, straining uncomfortably against his clothes. He controlled his reaction and managed a neutral tone when he said, “Very nice. Put these on.” From the supply cabinet, he dug out a set of leather straps to go around her ankles and wrists and handed them to her. When she struggled with the clasp on the second wrist strap he helped her get it fastened. “Over to the chair.” He pointed to the padded upholstered armchair in the corner. “Kneel on the seat, facing the back.” A pillow fastened to the back of the chair offered a place to rest her head. Nick drew her arms around behind the chair, fastened her wrists to strategically placed handles along the back, and pulled her ankles apart, clipping them each to a side of the chair. It left her bottom presented nicely and at a convenient height. She turned her head to watch as Nick sorted through the chips. “Twenty-two paddles, ten floggers, six straps and two with the cane.” He hesitated on the last. “Andi, are you sure you can handle it?” “I’m sure I want to try.” “Okay. Your safe word is still ‘red light’. Repeat it to me.” “My safe word is ‘red light’.” “Promise you’ll use it if you need to?” “I promise.” “All right. Let’s get started.” He went to the cabinet and rummaged around for a moment before he extracted a leather paddle, about ten inches long and three inches wide. It had several layers stitched together to make it firm. He smacked it against his own palm to test its weight and she jumped at the noise.

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Could she have any idea how nervous he was about this? Probably not. He tried to make sure he came across as completely in charge, disciplined, authoritative but not tyrannical. He slapped the paddle down on her bottom, careful to keep the first stroke fairly light. It left only a faint mark that disappeared within seconds, and she didn’t even flinch. He increased the force a bit on the next few strokes, but didn’t let them get too harsh. Warming her up gradually would let her bear the pain of later blows more easily and increase the pleasure she got from them. A faint pink flush began to stain the skin of her bottom by the time he’d delivered ten strokes. She still hadn’t made a sound, so she likely they didn’t do more than sting briefly. Time to make her feel them a bit more. He raised the paddle again and brought it down harder, aiming for the crease between her bottom and thighs this time. The crack of contact echoed around the room, almost drowning out her soft indrawn breath. A deeper pink ribbon flashed across the pale rose-hued flesh. After half a dozen at that level, she began to squirm and made the occasional soft cry. The familiar pride roused, pride in both his ability to satisfy the women he Mastered and in the feeling of power it gave him to do so. Something more joined it now though. He felt bigger somehow, enlarged, more of a man because Andrea trusted him to train her and take care of her. The responsibility weighed on him as much as the privilege elated him. A Master always walked a fine line between being harsh enough to satisfy a sub without going too far, too fast or beyond her limits. He delivered the rest of the smacks with the paddle hard enough to sting, but not brutally. By the last one, her bottom showed a large patch of deep rose that spread down over the backs of her thighs. She moaned aloud a few times and squirmed. He set down the paddle and chose one of the lighter floggers. Even with that one, ten strokes would challenge her. He struck carefully the first time, across the crest of her bottom, watching her reaction and the marks it left. The tails made a series of small splats as they landed and left a few pink streaks that faded fast. Andrea wriggled but made no sound. Relieved that the bite didn’t seem too harsh, he lifted it again and brought it down sharply, slightly below the marks left by the last strike. She sucked in a breath but didn’t move or groan. Nor did she on the next two. He increased the force on the fifth, making her jump and moan softly. The sixth and seventh he laid across the tops of her thighs and the second of those brought a definite squeal as her bottom swung around, trying to avoid another blow from the flogger. He waited for a moment and noted the way her moans took on a different sound…not pain, but arousal. A sheen of moisture on the tops of her thighs confirmed her reaction. His swollen cock got painfully harder. It took all his willpower to keep

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from climbing on top of her right then and burying himself deep in her body. She’d be so gloriously hot and tight and slick. Frustration lent him a bit of extra strength, and the next blow came down harder, across both cheeks of her bottom. Somehow, she kept still and quiet. Following his usual pattern, he moved slightly and brought the flogger down on the top of her left thigh, with a flick that landed a couple of the tails near her pussy. He moved to the other side of her and the last stroke of the flogger went on the top of her right thigh. One tail must have caught her cunt directly. Her back arched and she squealed loudly. He dropped the flogger and went to her side. He stroked her hair while she panted and sobbed. “Are you all right?” he asked when she started to settle down. “Shit, that last one was wicked.” She turned and gave him an amazing grin. “Maybe a bit more than I bargained for, but still…” “You want to stop now and save the rest for later?” “Heck no.” He shrugged. “If you’re sure. These next won’t be easy.” “I know. I’ll use the safe word if it’s too much.” “Make that a promise.” “Promise,” she said. He nodded at her and went to get a strap for the next six strokes. “Get ready,” he warned after he chose a medium-weight length of leather from the cabinet and brought it back. The strap cracked loudly on her skin and painted a bright pink stripe. Andrea gasped and let out a couple of harsh breaths while her bottom jerked. He waited until she’d calmed down before administering the next. It angled upward across the highest part of both cheeks. Again she jumped and let out a series of gasping pants. He waited, wondering if she’d use the safe word, but it didn’t happen. In fact, he could see more moisture between her legs. The way she wriggled suggested it wasn’t just from pain. He delivered the rest of the strokes at the same pace and the same level of heat. The fourth painted a vivid red line across the backs of her thighs. It drew a loud squeal from her but nothing else. By the time he cracked the sixth stroke on the area where bottom met thighs, she was moaning even before it landed and screamed when it did. She jerked and continued to moan for a minute or so afterward. The line where the stroke had hit turned puffy and bright pink. Nick couldn’t resist the urge to caress the vivid rosy flesh. He dropped the strap and put both hands on the mounds of her bottom cheeks. They felt hot against his palms, engagingly rough where welted and sweetly round and soft. She wiggled again as he rubbed, but this time it was pure sexual invitation and showed mounting desire.

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His cock strained uncomfortably against his pants, begging him to fill her…right now, right now. He ignored it and gave her bottom one last pat. “You’ve got two more coming. With the cane this time. Andi, are you sure? Even a light one is a stern test. It stings like a sonofabitch and leaves marks. Are you sure?” “I can do two,” she insisted. “I want to try.” “So be it. But you have to thank me after each one. You’ll have ten seconds after the stroke falls. If you don’t thank me within that time, you’ll get another. Understood?” “Yes, Master.” “Good.” He turned and went to the cabinet. Even the lightest of the canes felt ominously heavy and whippy. He tried it out in the air a couple of times to get a feel for its heft and slash. It made a nasty whizzing sound. Andrea shivered, and his own stomach did a couple of flip-flops. He’d done a stint as a sub under Master Charles, who’d become a friend as well as a teacher. The man insisted that a good Dominant needed to understand what it felt like to be a sub, to get into the sub mindset. Nick tended to agree. In fact, he still liked switching and playing sub occasionally, though he wasn’t a fan of heavy pain. On one occasion Charles had insisted he get a few strokes with the cane. It hurt like blazes, but it roused a fiery ache of need as well. So strong and hot, it took only a touch on his cock afterward to make him explode in an excruciating orgasm. Only one of the subs he’d played with had ever really wanted the cane, and the one who did wanted a lot of it. More than he felt comfortable delivering. It seemed to be a love-it-or-hate-it sort of thing. As thrilled as he was with Andrea’s responsiveness and enjoyment of this scene, he kind of hoped she wouldn’t develop any love for the thing. “Get ready,” he warned, as he cocked his arm, getting the cane poised and ready. It made that alarming whizzing noise as he brought it down. He ended the downward motion of his arm with a flick of the wrist and it cracked across her bottom with a sound like a firecracker. Her reaction was just as explosive. For a moment she stayed frozen, soundless, then her body arched and a plaintive squeal grew into a shriek. Deep-red marks rimmed the welt that formed where the stroked angled down from the center of her left buttock to just above the hip joint on her right. After a couple of seconds the squeal died down to a series of pants that sounded almost like sobs. “Don’t you have something to tell me?” he asked. “Oh.” She drew another breath. “Thank you, Master.” “I won’t prompt you next time. You’ll have to remember on your own.” “Yes, Master.” He went around to the other side so the stroke would angle across her buttocks in the opposite direction. The cane whipped down even harder this time and the results were as electric as on the previous stroke, except she arched even higher and jerked harder. The squeal came out louder as well and lasted longer.

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“Thank…you, Ma…ster,” she managed on a series of pants. “You’re welcome,” he said. He released her ankles and wrists. She reached back and began to rub her bottom, trying to soothe away the sting. “Stop that,” he ordered. “That’s my job.” Andrea removed her hands and he put his own on her bottom, rubbing the rough, grated skin to remove some of the ache. The cane had left a pair of welts in the shape of a flattened X. His cock strained again, threatening to explode out of his pants or just inside them. He quickly shucked them off, taking shoes, socks and underwear along with them, then stripped off his shirt as well. Andrea had turned around to watch. Her smile of appreciation made his straining rod jerk again. Damn, but he needed to bury himself inside her. Not yet, he told himself. Not yet. If he didn’t do something soon he would explode. “Can you stand up?” he asked. She nodded. He helped her up with a hand on her arm and kept it there until he was sure she wouldn’t faint or fall over. Then he sat down, pointed to the floor and said, “On your knees.” She sank down and knelt before him. God, she was beautiful. Her auburn hair fell over her bare shoulders and down her back. Her breasts weren’t huge but perfectly shaped, perfectly sized to fit in a man’s hand. That temptation he couldn’t resist any more. He cupped one in each hand. Satiny skin caressed his palm. She drew in a sharp breath as his fingers slid over the soft surface, exploring the spectacular curves and moaned softly when his thumbs brushed over the hard beads of her nipples. Her face lifted to him and a sheen of moisture brightened the hazel eyes. He leaned down to kiss her luscious lips, his tongue plunging into the hot recesses of her mouth. She tasted of wine and woman and Andrea, a heady brew. After a moment he drew back again, afraid of losing himself entirely to that intoxication. She let her head droop and her gaze fixed on his rigid cock. “Master, may I touch it?” she asked softly. “You may touch it. With your lips.” She looked startled, then her lips curved into a sensuous smile. She dipped her head and pressed a gentle, hesitant kiss on the head of his cock. It took all his selfcontrol to keep from jamming himself between her lips and into her throat. “Master? I’m not sure what to do to please you,” she said after raising her face again. “Run your tongue up and down the shaft,” he suggested and then gasped aloud when she did it with so much enthusiasm he barely held himself together. “Now take it in your mouth, as deeply as you can.” She tried and gagged a couple of times. “Only as far as you can take it comfortably,” he grated out through his clenched teeth. His breath pumped in and out on huge heaves. “Suck on the tip.” 81

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What she lacked in skill she more than made up for in enthusiasm. His entire body thrummed with need as she exerted a soft but increasing pressure on the top two inches of his cock. Her lips were soft as angel wings and her mouth hot and slick around it. She smelled of some floral perfume and the juices of her own desire. He trembled on the edge of exploding. Between pants he said, “Release it and wrap your hands around it. Pump. Hard.” She pumped, harder than necessary, but it only took two before the pressure released and his cum spurted. The intensity of the pleasure shocked him. Even without being inside her it qualified as one of the two or three best orgasms he’d ever had. Of course, the one a few nights ago with her was right up there, too. It was going to be something spectacular once he did get inside. Andrea Faselli could spoil him for other women. He let his head sink back against the headrest while he recovered. Andrea continued to kneel between his legs, a hand on each thigh. He opened his eyes and met her gaze, studying him. A soft flush suffused her skin, and her expression combined tenderness with lust, both directed at him. “Get up and go over to the bed,” he ordered, then watched as she rose and sashayed across the room. Her bottom still bore a bright pink sheen, with the two cane welts darkening into bruises. “Lay down. On your back.” He had to force his superbly relaxed body to move, but he followed her to the bed once she’d draped herself along it. Using the straps still on her wrists, he fastened her wrists to the bedposts but left her legs free. Then he went back to the cabinet and sorted among the things in the drawer until he found what he wanted. Her eyes widened when he returned with the nipple clamps. “Have you ever tried them?” He held them up. She shook her head. “These are adjustable. We’ll start them at just a light grip.” She drew in a breath but didn’t object when he kneaded her breast and pulled on the nipple until it stood out enough for him to get the clamp on it. A soft, sighing moan emerged when he released it to tighten on the tip but she didn’t object. She jerked and gasped when he put on the second one. “Part your legs as far as you can, and keep them that way,” he ordered as he turned and went back to the cabinet. He found a blindfold and a set of feathers in another drawer, selected one and held both behind his back as he took them over to the bed. Setting the feather down on the table, he put the blindfold on her. “Are you comfortable?” he asked. “Fine. Sir,” she answered. “Good. You’ll be less so in a moment.” He picked up the feather and ran it gently over her breasts, circling the clamped nipples and brushing over the tips that peeked out. She jerked and moaned. Her legs

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moved together and he tapped on her thighs. “Keep them spread. If they close again, I’ll have to punish you for it.” She nodded and the legs moved apart. When he smoothed the feather across her breasts this time she gasped and wriggled but the legs remained apart. The aroma of her arousal teased his nose and made his cock begin to take notice again. The feather moved down her abdomen, slowly, painstakingly, dipping into her navel and then skimming down almost to her slit. He swished it down the front of one thigh, stopping at the top of her stocking and ran it back up the inside. By then she was breathing hard, almost sobbing, and he could feel the tension in the muscles, the effort she made to hold her legs in place. He spent several minutes taking the feather up and down her thighs, moving closer and closer to her pussy until she was writhing with tension and need. She squealed when he finally ran it along her labia. Using a finger, he gently pulled them back so he could stroke it across her clit. Her prolonged moan and the way her fingers clutched at the straps binding her told him how much it aroused her. Moisture slicked the tops of her thighs. He teased her with the feather for a few minutes more until her breath came in sobbing pants and her body quivered with tension. He set the feather aside, leaned over her again, dipped his head and touched the tip of his tongue to her clit. She screamed at the contact and her body jerked. Her leg muscles stiffened as need and tension built. Reaching up, he took the nipple clamps off first one breast and then the other. She yelped with the removal of each one, but he took a moment to soothe each nipple with gentle strokes of his tongue before he moved back down her body again. He ran his tongue down the length of her slit and dipped it into her passage, then retraced the way back to her clit. She grew so tense her entire body vibrated like the strings on a violin. His tongue was the bow, drawing a moaning song from her, making her muscles clench unbearably. He licked across her bud again and again until she arched her back for a long moment then screamed and jerked repeatedly as the waves of orgasm rolled through her. After a few more strokes, he stopped and released her arms, then lay down beside her and drew her against him. Spasms continued to jerk her for a few more minutes, gradually calming. Murmuring a few incoherent words, she burrowed her head into the hollow beneath his chin, resting her cheek against his chest. He held on to her as a wave of possessiveness shook him. She belonged to him. She might not know it yet, but she was his woman. They belonged together. She’d better eventually recognize it or it would take everything he had to keep from turning into another Cal and stalking her. He hoped to heaven she would click with Dave and Julie, too. Choosing between her and them was not something he wanted to do.

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After a while he drew back enough to kiss her and say, “Our time’s running out.” She nodded and kissed him again before he rolled over to the other side of the bed and then off onto his feet. They cleaned up and checked out. Andrea asked him about how he’d started the business and they discussed it as he drove to her home. She had a solid understanding of economics and finance, less about the entrepreneurial side. The level of risk he’d taken seemed to surprise her. When they approached her apartment, though, she changed the subject and said, “Can I ask a favor of you?” “Probably. Depends what it is.” “I’m not asking for a raise or a promotion.” She said it lightly. “You probably should.” He made it serious. “You undervalue yourself. You’re already becoming essential to the company.” “I’ll tackle that at my six-month review. This was a more personal thing.” “Go ahead.” “I told you about my aunt, how she raised me, and now she’s in a nursing home. She’s…” She stopped for a moment and swallowed hard. “The doctor says she’s dying. I didn’t want to accept it, but I’m afraid he might be right. She’s looked so frail these last couple of weeks.” She stopped and drew a deep breath. “Anyway, I told her about you, though I just said we’d had a couple of dates. I didn’t go into detail… She’d like to meet you.” “You want me to go to the nursing home with you?” “If you wouldn’t mind? We could do it some evening so no one at work would see us leave together. Or you could meet me there during lunch break one day.” He considered which time would make more sense and how much longer they could keep their relationship secret at the office, but she misinterpreted his silence. “You don’t have to,” she said. “I’m going,” he answered. “I was reviewing my schedule for the coming week. What about tomorrow? Will you be visiting her?” “Yes, but it’s Sunday. I hate to take up your day.” “Actually I’d love for you to take up my day. I have an idea. There’s something I’d like to show you. Why don’t we see your aunt in the early afternoon, go see the place I want to show you, and then do dinner afterward?” Though it was dark, enough light shone from the lamp poles around the parking lot to let him see her face clearly. A bright, glowing smile gave him all the answer he needed, even before she said, “Yes, I’d like that.” They got out of the car and walked up to her apartment. “Would you like to come in?” she invited.

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He grinned but shook his head. “Not tonight, but I’m going to take you up on that offer one of these nights.” Instead he pulled her into his arms and kissed her as thoroughly as he knew how. By the time he pulled back, his cock screamed for more action, and Andrea wore a dazed but happy look. “Tomorrow,” he promised. As he walked back to the car, though, and while driving home, he wondered how she would react to what he wanted to show her.

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Chapter Eight Andrea had no trouble sleeping, but she woke earlier than normal. Anticipation of the day ahead had her almost shaking with excitement. She got through the laundry, bill-paying and other Sunday morning chores in near-record time. Nick pressed the doorbell right on time. He looked as wonderful as usual in khaki slacks and a dress shirt but no tie. When they were in his SUV, he said, “I got some flowers to take to your aunt, but I didn’t think that they might not allow them. Is it okay?” “It’s okay. It’s more than okay. It’s very sweet of you.” He just shrugged and looked uncomfortable. “Tell me about your aunt. Is there anything I should know? Any topics of conversation to avoid?” Andrea considered. “I don’t think so. She’s pretty straightforward, but a bit oldfashioned. She’ll probably ask you a few embarrassing questions, like what are your intentions toward me. You can just say we’re friends, or we’ve just gone out a few times and not sure if it means anything at all yet.” He turned to her for a moment with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll come up with something.” She laughed. “I’m sure you will.” Aunt Gwen sat in a wheelchair in her room, watching a nature show on television, when they got there. She wore a nice dress and her hair had been washed and combed out. When she looked up and saw them she remarked, “Did you know there are beetles as big as a man’s hand in South America?” she asked. “I wouldn’t want to meet one of those.” Her aunt’s gaze turned to the man who stood behind her. “You must be Andrea’s young man.” “He’s not my young man,” Andrea protested. At the same time, Nick advanced to take her hand and said, “Yes, ma’am. Nick Tysinger. You’re Gwen Mitchell, Andrea’s aunt?” “Nice to meet you, Nick.” She eyed the flowers. “Are those for me?” He handed her the mix of roses, carnations and a few other things Andrea couldn’t name, all arranged in a pretty glass vase. “You’re a sweet thing,” she said. “Would you put them on the table over there for me? Thanks.” Nick took them over to the table. “Now come closer over here, so I can see you. My eyesight’s not what it used to be.”

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He picked up a chair and carried it across the room, setting it down right in front of the wheelchair, and sat in it. He reached out and took Aunt Gwen’s hand. She studied him for a moment before she said, “You’re quite good-looking, but what’s inside is more important. What’s inside you, young man?” Andrea had never seen Nick rendered speechless before. It didn’t last long, but she found it amusing to see his confusion. After a moment, he said, “I hope all the right stuff, ma’am, but can one ever be an accurate judge of oneself?” Aunt Gwen smiled and put her other hand on top of his. “Good answer. You like my niece? She’s a good girl. Woman, rather. A bit too into her numbers and spreadsheets and such. You’ll have to broaden her horizons and make her get her face out of the computer for a while.” “I’m trying, ma’am. Believe me.” “Good. Now tell me about yourself. Andi tells me you’re in commercial real estate?” “Yes, ma’am.” He went on to describe the business, how he got started in it, what the challenges were now, what he enjoyed most about it and which parts he didn’t like. Andrea learned quite a bit about him too, in the course of the conversation. He didn’t like the number-crunching part of the job and was grateful she’d arrived to take over that aspect of it. She hadn’t known that and blushed when he told her aunt how valuable he’d found her assistance and how much he’d come to rely on her for accurate information on the financial parts of his enterprise. A clatter in the hall just outside the door heralded the arrival of her cousin Philip and his wife, Jeannie. Once the hugs and introductions and handshakes were done, Andrea and Nick took their leave. It shocked her to look at her watch and realize they’d been there over an hour and a half. “Thank you for being so nice to her,” Andrea said when they were back in his SUV and pulling out of the parking lot. Nick looked surprised. “Why wouldn’t I be?” “I don’t know that everyone would have had as much patience with all her questions.” He shrugged as he turned onto the street. “She’s a sharp old gal. I liked her.” “I’m glad. I think she liked you, too. Where are we going now?” “I have something to show you, but I’d rather not tell you anything more until we get there.” “A hint? A clue, even?” “Nope.” And he remained stubbornly recalcitrant as she made wild guesses and presented off-the-wall, nonsensical possibilities. She concluded with, “A cruise to the Bahamas? A spaceship to Mars?” “We’re packed kind of light for trips to either of those places.” 87

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“Only way to go. Pack light, travel fast.” “That’s a different sort of outlook for you.” “But I’m learning to be braver and bolder. You’ve been teaching me. And you’re a very good teacher.” She made the last sentence husky and seductive. “You’re impossible. Now stop trying to wheedle it out of me before I have to stop and give you a spanking.” “Ooh, would you?” “Yes. Right by the side of the road.” “Well, shoot. I’m not into putting on public displays.” “I know. You want some music? I’ve got some CDs in the box there.” She picked up the box and began to go through it. From there he turned the conversation to their likes and dislikes. She found several artists she enjoyed, including a couple of lesser known singers and groups. Their taste overlapped in several places but wasn’t identical. After traveling through town for a while, they emerged in the suburbs in a northwest corner of the city and turned onto a newly paved road. Construction sites lined the road on either side, new houses in various stages of emergence sitting on them. Nick drove through until they got to a cul-de-sac with four houses, all near completion, in an arc on its perimeter. On a Sunday afternoon, the sites were mostly quiet and still aside from the occasional squirrel running over piles of wood. But another SUV sat in front of the place on the far right-hand side, and as they drove up a man emerged from the front door and jumped down off the porch. The shell of that house was mostly complete, and the builders had begun putting in windows and adding siding. Nick stopped the car at the curb and got out. He helped Andrea alight before turning to greet the other man who’d come up. “This is Dave,” Nick said to her. “The ‘Dave’ half of my friends Dave and Julie. Dave, Andrea.” Dave extended a hand to her and offered a warm smile. He was taller than Nick but thinner, with dark hair and dark eyes. “We’ve heard a lot about you. Julie’s going to kill me when she finds out I met you first, but she’s off shopping with her sister. She’d already left when Nick called and said he wanted to have you look at the house.” “I hope this isn’t inconveniencing you.” He shook his head. “Nope. Had to come check things out anyway. I’ve gotten backed up a bit and haven’t been out here for a while.” “Dave’s the architect who designed these places. I’m thinking of buying this one.” Nick gestured toward the structure. “You are?” Andrea stopped to consider the implications. Buying a house could mean he planned to settle down, maybe start a family. The size of this place definitely implied family. From the outside she guessed it had at least four bedrooms. Family meant getting married, and as far as she knew he wasn’t dating anyone else but her.

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And he’d brought her to see this one. “It’s going to be a beautiful place,” she said. Even without all the finishing details it had graceful lines and an attractive front. “Thanks, I think so too,” Dave said. “Come inside and have a look. There are a couple of things I’d like to ask you about.” “Me?” Dave glanced quickly at Nick then back to her. “Yeah. Some things only a woman can really answer.” They followed him up the steps and across the covered porch, which was floored but the wood not yet painted or treated. The interior was framed and most of the rooms had drywall up. They walked through a spacious entrance hall. A curving staircase led up to the second floor, but they stopped at the archway leading to the formal living room on the right. It featured cathedral ceilings and a fireplace on the wall opposite, with a door to a sunroom going off on the left. On the opposite side of the central hall, the dining room was just a plain boxy room. Dave led them farther down the hall to the kitchen. No appliances had been installed as yet, but the cabinets were in place along with the plumbing. It would be a cook’s dream kitchen, but one that anyone could enjoy using. “I was thinking of building in a bench around the bay window here,” Dave said. “That way the owner could put in a table if they wanted or just leave it as guest seating. What do you think?” He’d directed the question at Andrea. She walked over to the bay window and glanced out. It overlooked a deck that was just a skeleton frame at the moment and a spacious backyard. “Yes, put in the bench. It’s going to be a lovely view.” Dave smiled at her. He had a natural warmth and lightness of manner that stood in contrast to Nick’s reserve and the shadowy hints of pain or darkness that always lingered in Nick’s expression. “Darn right it is,” he said. “Wait until you see what I’ve planned for the landscaping.” “I’d love to.” “Don’t have it with me today, but I will on Tuesday. I’ll show you then.” “That would be great.” “Let me show you the rest.” A large den/family room went off the kitchen on the left. It had a bay window that also looked out over the back yard along with a set of French doors that gave access to the deck. Another fireplace surrounded by built-in bookshelves formed the far wall. “Nice,” she said, resisting the urge to be more effusive. This wasn’t just a nice place, it was a wonderful house, a near-perfect place to call home. She could imagine Nick romping with several miniature versions of himself on the floor of this room. It scared her. She didn’t want to indulge in too much hope. Things didn’t always work out. 89

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Following Dave, they proceeded down a hallway that led off from the far end of the room, heading toward the door to the attached garage. Before they got there though, several doors opened to additional rooms. The first one on the left let into a nicely sized office with a window that looked out the front. More built-in bookshelves lined one wall and it had dark paneling on the walls. Dave waved at the office but walked into the room opposite it on the right side of the hallway. “This is one of the unique features of the house, though I know where Nick got the idea.” Raised eyebrows accompanied his smile. “Music room. Or an exercise room, if you prefer.” The window at the far end looked out over the back but the deck ended before it reached here. Dave continued, “Put blinds or heavy drapes over the window and you can be completely private. Plus it’s soundproofed, so whatever kind of noise you’re making won’t disturb the neighbors or the kids.” “A must-have for any couple whose…exercises are likely to get noisy.” Nick’s wry tone drew a laugh from Dave. “Right. Know any of those?” he asked. The crease in Nick’s cheek flashed as his mouth curved into something approaching a one-sided smile. “There is this one damned loud couple I know. They definitely need a soundproofed room.” “They have one. It’s all that affection.” “And the way they show it to each other.” “Jealousy, jealousy,” Dave warned. “I’m so far beyond that—” “Now.” Dave looked toward Andrea. She felt the heat flaming in her face. Nick turned to her and said, “Sorry. We got carried away.” “You do this often?” Dave shrugged. “When we get together? Yeah. I like giving Nick a hard time. He needs it. Keeps him grounded.” “We each have our own way of getting our kicks. Some go lower than others.” Dave clapped his hands to his chest and rolled his eyes. “Ouch. I’m wounded.” “Drama Queen,” Nick said. Dave looked outraged. “Not that. Never that. Ask my wife. She owns the title and is not letting it go.” “Like she’d tell me anything else.” Andrea shook her head. “Boys! Behave.” It came out a bit louder than she’d planned. Both men gave her surprised glances. Dave grinned and said, “Yes, Mom.” Nick raised an eyebrow. After a moment, he said, “So much for submissives.” Dave shook his head. “You know Julie, and you expected something else?”

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Nick froze for a moment, then smiled, a real, full smile this time, though it was brief. “I should have known better. Anyway, let’s get on with the tour. I’m getting hungry.” Dave looked at his watch. “Julie will be getting back soon, too.” They went upstairs and checked out the four bedrooms. As she expected it had a grand master suite, complete with paired walk-in closets and a bath that featured a whirlpool tub, separate shower enclosure and twin sinks. They gave the other bedrooms no more than a cursory glance before heading back downstairs and outside. At the curb, they said goodbye to Dave, who jumped in his vehicle and drove off. Nick helped her back into the SUV. “Italian tonight?” he asked before switching on the motor. “Sounds good.” “So, what do you think of it?” “It’s fabulous. So much space and light. A great place for a family.” He looked at her, searching her face, before he changed gears and drove away. “That’s what I thought,” he said. Then he switched the subject abruptly, asking, “There’s a play at one of the university theaters tonight. Interested?” “Can we get tickets?” “I already have them.” “You took it for granted I’d say yes?” “If you didn’t want to go, I’d keep them in my pocket. They were a freebie anyway. I help support the theater group.” “Oh. Sorry.” “Forgiven this time. Don’t let it become a habit.” He meant it as a joke, but she though she heard an undertone of…hurt feelings? Surely not. The rest of the evening went smoothly. They got to the restaurant a bit before six, beating the rush by a hair, had a wonderful dinner, laughed over school memories and favorite pranks for most of the meal, went to a surprisingly good play and had a thoroughly good time. When he brought her home to her apartment, he accepted her invitation to come in for a cup of coffee. They drank the coffee she made and talked for a while and cuddled on her couch until he drew her into his arms and kissed her. His lips on hers drowned out all thought, all other feeling, all awareness of where she was or what was going on. Only the two of them existed. Her senses reeled as she looked into the depths of his green eyes. The aroma of his cologne mingled with something more essentially male, more essentially Nick, overwhelming her. His lips explored hers, licking, tasting, sucking gently before he pushed his tongue inside. Shivery thrills ran up and down her back as need roused and roared in her gut. Somehow his hands got under her blouse and pushed the bra aside. His fingers kneaded her breasts. A desperate urge to touch him had her yanking his shirt out of his 91

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pants and working her hands beneath it. Warm, hair-roughened skin covered firm, hard muscle on him. He drew back sharply and sucked in a harsh breath when her fingers rubbed across his nipples. She pursued the advantage, leaning into him and pressing her lips to his throat, tasting the salty masculine taste of him, drinking in the pleasure he took in the contact. His breathing grew harsh. She kissed him on the mouth and aggressively parted his lips, using her tongue to explore him. He trembled in her arms and when she moved against him, the hard length of his cock pressed into her belly. She reached for his belt, but he put a hand on her wrist to stop her. “Not yet,” he said. “Not tonight.” Andrea drew back, but frustration made her testy. “When? I know you want it. I want it. So what’s wrong? You know I’m healthy and I know you are, too. What’s the matter?” He stared at her and then he put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her very gently, very sweetly on the lips. No tongue, light pressure. He drew back. A steady flame burned in his green eyes as he said, “It’s just that… I want it to be special when we do. I want… It’s going to be important for me, and I want it to be right and perfect. This Wednesday, when we visit The Pointe again, Master Charles will be there, and you’ll have to pay the debt you owe. But afterward, I want to make it so right for you. So worth it. And it’s going to be right for me, too.” He stopped and drew a deep breath, calming himself, as he waited for her response. For a moment or two, she couldn’t talk, could barely even think, she was so stunned by his reason. That it could possibly be so important to him, so meaningful, he wanted to wait for the right opportunity… Amazing. “All right,” she said. “Until Wednesday. But if it doesn’t happen then, be prepared to be seduced and ravished.” “Is that a threat or a promise?” “Which would you prefer?” “Either’s fine. In fact, I’d like to try both. But it won’t be necessary on Wednesday.” “All right. I’ll give you ‘til Wednesday.” His lips curved in the lovely half-smile that showed the dimple in his right cheek as he continued to watch her. After a long, silent moment he said, “You have no idea how special you are, do you?” “I can’t be, compared with you.” “Compared with me?” “You’re handsome, successful, well-off, charming… Oh heck, I’m just giving you a big head. The point is I’m none of those.” “Well, I’m glad you’re not handsome,” he said. “I like you as you are…pretty instead. And successful? You’re far better at numbers than I am. Someday you could start your own accounting practice and you’d do very well. Well-off…okay, not so

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much. Now why is that important? Are you after my money? I have to tell you that most of it is tied up in the business.” “Idiot. I’m not interested in your money, though that house we looked at this afternoon…” She sighed dramatically. “Anyway. Where were we?” “Special. Why you are. To me, anyway.” “Why?” “Because you’re kind, pretty, charming, intelligent, generous, brave and just about the most attractive woman I’ve ever met.” He drew back and stood up. “I’d better get going before this conversation deteriorates even further.” “I think I’m insulted.” “Don’t be. It’s been a long time since I’ve let myself go like this.” She followed him to the door. He stopped there. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work. Tuesday evening we have dinner with Dave and Julie, then Wednesday, The Pointe. Oh, and next Wednesday my brother and his family are having a birthday party for me. Would you come with me?” “I’d be honored. Will your…? Will your parents be there?” “Probably. It’s not like I shun them. We’re just not close.” She nodded and kept her reservations about that to herself while he kissed her one more time and left. It would be interesting to watch his interaction with his family.

***** Monday meant business as usual and the struggle to hide her feelings every time Nick walked through the office. She visited Aunt Gwen at lunch time. Her aunt talked a good bit about Nick and how impressed she was and how much she liked him and hoped their relationship would work out. “I do, too, Aunt Gwen,” she admitted. “I’m falling in love with him. And I think he is with me too, but there are still some issues we have to figure out.” The day also brought an unpleasant surprise when she got home from work that evening. She collected her mail from the box, but found a manila envelope had been left standing on its side leaning against the apartment door. She picked it up, put it with the mail and dropped it on the side table as usual, leaving it until she’d changed clothes. Once she was comfortable in old jeans and a t-shirt, she sorted the mail in the usual way—junk right into the trash, bills in the box, anything else opened right then to check out. She rarely got letters or personal mail and wasn’t expecting anything so the large envelope intrigued her. It was the only thing that remained when she’d sorted out the other stuff. She slit the top. The slick paper inside told her it held photographs. When she reached in and pulled them out, though, she almost dropped them on the floor as the

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images and what they meant drilled into her brain. All three of the pictures showed her and Nick together—getting out of his car, crossing a parking lot and going in the doorway at CandlePower. From the way they were dressed, the shots had been taken last Friday. Cal. It had to have been Cal. A sticky note was plastered to the back of one of the pictures, with a note scrawled on it. Not a good idea to date the boss. She debated a moment, then dug her cell phone out of her purse and called the police. After being redirected, a nice woman asked her to bring the envelope to them, though she couldn’t guarantee it would be much help. Still, they’d check it. If there were fingerprints or anything definite they could tie to Cal, it would help, otherwise there wouldn’t be much she could do. On her way to the station, she called Nick and filled him in. He offered to join her. It tempted her, but it would have wasted his time, so she declined. Stubborn man that he was, he didn’t take “not necessary” for an answer. Moments after she was escorted back to an office to fill out paperwork, he joined her. “I wanted to see them for myself,” he said. The evidence specialist objected, but Nick could be an irresistible force when he wanted, and he got his way. The specialist held them for him in gloved hands and wouldn’t let him get very close. But he got enough of a look at the photographs to make his eyes and lips narrow in anger. He waited while Andrea dealt with the paperwork, then asked if she’d eaten yet. “No, I kind of forgot about it when I saw the picture,” she admitted. “I haven’t either. Want to go get something? We can have a drink, too, to calm the nerves.” Her nerves did feel stretched by the experience, but she accepted mostly because she loved spending time with Nick. She followed him to a place he knew and parked beside him. Once inside the dim room, they settled in a quiet corner and studied menus until the server came to take their orders. When he’d departed, Nick asked her about the envelope, finding it at her door and if she’d checked with any of the neighbors to find out if they’d seen anything. When she admitted she hadn’t, he decided that would be the next thing they did. Neither of them could remember seeing anyone on their way into the club the other night, but Nick also planned to talk to the personnel there to see if they had surveillance videos or if someone had noticed a man with a camera lurking. When she objected that it wasn’t really his problem and he didn’t need to go to that much trouble on her behalf he said, with devastating logic, “There were two people in those pictures. What are the odds I get some kind of blackmail demand from him?” “Oh hell. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. What can we do?” He shrugged. “We can’t keep our dating secret much longer anyway. For the rest… Those pictures were taken with a digital camera and printed on a cheap photo printer. We can always claim they were digitally manipulated. And if we can get him for violating the restraining order, he won’t have much credibility anyway.” 94

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“I suppose. When do you want to tell everyone?” “Not yet. Give it a few more days.” “You want to see how I react to Dave and Julie?” “That’s part of it. Can I ask a favor?” His expression was serious, a little troubled. “Sure,” she said. “Let me do the announcing. Keep it secret until I do.” She wondered if there might be some other reason for not telling his employees but had no idea what that might be. Most likely he still wanted to see if she could accept his odd relationship with his friends. She wondered about that herself. “All right.” They finished their dinner and departed, heading back to her apartment complex. At eight-thirty twilight had settled in but it hadn’t quite reached full darkness. Her apartment was one of a block of eight, but though they rang the doorbells of every other apartment in the building, only three people answered, and of those, none had seen or heard anything unusual. Eventually they gave up. Nick said he had things to do and turned down her invitation to come in for coffee. Too much temptation for him? She hoped so. She didn’t sleep well that night, worried about what Cal would do, about Nick’s intentions and about meeting his friends.

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Chapter Nine Nick spent most of Tuesday meeting with representatives of various planning boards, developers and his lawyers concerning the business park he wanted to put on a tract of land he’d acquired several years ago. He had in hand spreadsheets of figures Andrea had worked up, showing the economic feasibility of the project, but it still took a lot charm and effort to get everyone on board. By the end of the day things were starting to come together. In fact, his only regret about the day was that he hadn’t seen Andrea at all and talked to her only briefly when he called to tell her he’d pick her up at six that evening. It disappointed but didn’t surprise him to learn the police hadn’t gotten any useful evidence from the photographs. “Cal will make a mistake one of these days and then we’ll have him.” She sighed. “I hope so.” Her voice, sweet, low and sexy, washed over him like a roll on silk sheets, putting all his nerve endings on notice and bringing his cock to life. He wanted to keep her on the line just to listen to her. Then he berated himself for acting like a raw teenager with a crush, though that wasn’t so far from the truth. He’d never met a woman who just seemed as right and perfect as Andrea. Or so pretty. They shared interests and tastes, but more importantly, she shared his interest in dominance and submission games and sexual punishment. Lots of women did, of course, and he’d met more than a few over the years at the clubs, but none of them clicked with him on all levels the way she did. Tonight would be a real test for their relationship. From her reaction when he’d told her about Dave and Julie, he knew she had doubts. He couldn’t tell how strong they were and what form they took, whether the whole idea of it repelled her or whether she was just a bit jealous. It would tear him apart if he had to make a choice between a relationship with Andrea and his special closeness with Dave and Julie. It would hurt all of them. Once he finished the last meeting, he had to rush home to shower, change clothes and get back to Andrea’s apartment, making it with just a few minutes to spare. He hated being late. As usual she looked gorgeous in casual black slacks and a lightweight blue sweater with beads around the top. The pants clung closely to her slender frame, following the curves in all the right places. He escorted her out to his SUV and helped her in but paused before he turned on the ignition.

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“We don’t plan to do anything tonight but eat dinner and maybe play a few games afterward. Nothing sexual. This is just for getting to know each other.” “Oh. I’d kind of hoped… I wondered what you did. If it was like at The Pointe, with Charles and Cilla…” “You want a demo?” He started the car and pulled out of the parking place. “I don’t know. It sounds kind of cold like that. I guess I just wanted to get an idea how it works among you.” He laughed. “What’s so funny?” “Everyone’s trying so hard to be nice to each other that we’re blowing past. They didn’t want you to feel like there was any pressure to do anything you didn’t feel comfortable doing, or even watching. Julie’s pretty nervous about meeting you, you know.” “She’s nervous about meeting me?” “She knows this is important to me and she doesn’t want to blow it.” “If she feels like that, it’s pretty much guaranteed she won’t.” “Also, she’s worried that you’ll think…less of her because of our activities.” “Does she know about Cal and how I met him?” “Yes. I hope you don’t mind.” “No. She can’t have done anything more stupid and embarrassing than that.” Nick shook his head, restraining a laugh. “You two are going to get along fine.” He pulled into the driveway and parked in front of the garage. Dave and Julie both waited at the front door, watching as Nick helped Andrea out his SUV. They were all nervous about this meeting, but Nick realized he might be the most concerned of them all. He could hide it better than any of the others, but he had a lot at stake. Julie greeted Andrea with her usual warmth and enthusiasm, and Andi responded with her customary reserved cordiality. A buzzing sound from the kitchen interrupted the greetings. Julie threw a hasty “Excuse me” at them and ran to answer it. “She’s been jumpy as a kitten in a box full of mice all day,” Dave said, smiling after her with obvious affection. “I offered to do burgers on the grill, but no. She was doing a full-course dinner. I think that means vegetables on the table at the same time as the meat, but I won’t swear to it.” “I smell rolls too.” Andrea said. “And it’s making my mouth water.” Dave turned his smile back to Andrea. “I’d offer to give you the quick tour, but I think Julie wants to handle that too, so how about a glass of wine while we wait? There are crackers and cheese in the den, too.” “You pulled out all the stops for us,” Nick said. 97

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“Not me. Julie. I’m just pulling the cork. I’ve got a nice Chardonnay or a brilliant Merlot. Take your pick.” “Chardonnay sounds good,” Andrea said, and Nick chose the same. When Dave headed back to the kitchen, Nick led Andrea to the den, a comfortable room furnished with leather sofa and chairs, an armoire that hid the television, and an eclectic assortment of tables and odds and ends. Dave came back in with the wine and handed glasses around. Julie called from the kitchen, “Dinner in ten minutes.” “Can I do anything to help?” Andrea asked. “Heck, yes, please!” A tinge of desperation underlined the sincerity of the words. Dave chuckled as Andrea followed Julie’s voice back to the kitchen. “I hope she knows how to cook. Julie might just burn down the house.” “She does it with enthusiasm, though.” Dave nodded. “Yeah. She does lots of things with enthusiasm.” Nick grinned too. After a moment, Dave’s expression got serious. “I like her.” Nick knew he referred to Andrea. “Julie’s going to like her too. But…?” “I was going to bring it up. Would you believe, on the way over here she told me she’d like to get an idea of how things worked?” “Did she? You want to do it? Julie’s due some punishment, but it better be your call.” “Let’s do it, unless I get some signal from Andrea to stop it.” “Think she’d like to participate?” Nick considered a moment. “I’ll play it by ear, but I doubt it. Not this time.” “This one’s your show,” Dave said. “Julie and I will follow.” Nick’s friend studied his face. “She’s the one, isn’t she? The way you look at her… It’s all over you.” “Far as I’m concerned, yes. But I don’t know if she can accept all of me.” “Meaning us?” “Partly. There may be other issues, too.” “Hope it’s nothing that can’t be worked out.” “So do I.” A call to dinner interrupted the conversation. Julie had outdone herself with a roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, fruit salad and rolls. Andrea carried the green bean casserole dish to the table and then poured water into the glasses for everyone while Julie got the rolls and brought the potatoes. Finally the women settled into place. They said a quick blessing over the food and began to pass dishes.

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After the initial compliments about delicious aromas and great flavors were passed around, Julie said, “I’m so grateful for the help, Andi. It always seems like I need at least four hands to get everything done in the last fifteen minutes before dinnertime.” “I’ve never even tried to cook a big meal like this,” she said. “Wouldn’t know where to begin, so I admire you for doing it. If I ever need to do it, can I call on you for help?” Julie looked pleased and said, “I don’t know how much it’s worth, but of course I’d be happy to help out. Speaking of helping out, Nick tells us that you’ve become nearly indispensable to him at work. That you’re great with working on the numbers.” The conversation flowed smoothly through most of dinner. One of Julie’s gifts was a near endless reservoir of small talk and the ability to draw others out. The only rough spot came when the conversation turned to families. After Julie told them about her own raucous family—mother, father and three sisters—Andrea shared about her aunt and the woman’s fragile health. Julie’s family had gone through something similar with her grandmother, so she sympathized. Dave’s parents had retired to Florida and his two sisters lived about an hour away. Nick didn’t want to say anything at all, but everyone else had. They all knew about the rift with his parents. Dave and Julie had always supported him and been family for him when he needed it, but he knew they worried about his cold relationship with his parents and wished it could be healed. “I’m fortunate to have you guys as my real family,” he said. “You’ve accepted what I am and what I do in ways my own parents couldn’t begin to deal with.” Dave gave him a wry look. “I suspect none of our families would exactly approve if they knew all of what we do.” “Nobody’s family would ever approve if they knew what was in the depths of our psyches,” Andrea said. “That’s true,” Julie said, slowly, nodding. “And a little scary.” “More than a little,” Dave said. “We’re probably all glad that no one else can actually read our minds.” “But we all sometimes wish we could read others’,” Nick said, trying to slide the conversation away from the topic of families. It worked, as they started sharing stories of situations where mind-reading ability would have helped them cope. That carried them through the rest of the meal and into dessert. Afterward, they all helped clear away dishes, though Julie shooed them out of the kitchen, only letting Andrea stay to help her load the dishwasher and put away leftovers. He and Dave talked sports for a while until the women returned with a tray of coffee. The baseball discussion continued for a while as they sat comfortably and drank Julie’s very good brew.

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Eventually Dave stood up and put his empty cup back on the tray. He looked at Julie, and said, “It’s time.” For Andrea’s benefit, he added, “Julie is due some punishment today. We don’t need to go into why. She knows. Since Nick tells me you understand some of what we do and wouldn’t object to Nick helping, as he often does, or to the aftermath, which he is also a part of, you’re welcome to come and watch. You’re welcome to take part also, if you’re comfortable with it, but it’s not necessary.” He turned back to his wife and said, “Go, get ready.” Julie nodded but she looked at the other woman and hesitated. “Can I have a word with Andrea for a minute? Privately?” Dave looked at Nick. Nick saw the doubt on Andrea’s face, too, and hoped Julie could reassure her. “Sure.” They left the room. Andrea returned ten minutes or so later, looking much less concerned. When Dave went to be sure things were ready, Nick lingered. “Okay?” he asked Andrea softly. “I think so.” He leaned over to kiss her quickly, running a hand down her cheek. “Remember this. I love Julie,” he said, softly. “But I’m not in love with her. It makes a difference.” He didn’t dare say it yet, but he hoped she could read it in his expression. I’m in love with you. Andrea’s eyes were wide, but he saw shades of excitement and anticipation replacing the doubt of earlier. He held out a hand to her and led her back to the exercise room. Dave waited there with Julie, who now wore running shorts and a tank top with nothing underneath either. She’d pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail. Andrea stared at them for a moment, then gazed around the room, taking in the assortment of exercise equipment, and the cabinet on the far side that looked much like the armoires in the guestrooms at CandlePower and held much the same items. Dave smiled at her. “Welcome and come in. I think you know that we sometimes use our equipment in unconventional ways. As I said earlier, Andrea, you’re welcome among us as someone who is important to Nick, so I invite you to join us should you feel so inclined or just watch to get an idea of what we do. If you have any questions, ask anyone at any time. You can use the armchair,” he pointed to the single, comfortable chair in the room, “or the bench, or even the floor, if you prefer. Feel free to get comfortable in any way that suits you. As it’s likely to get hot in here, Nick and I will be shedding clothes as we go. Feel free to do the same or not. If any of what we do upsets or concerns you, you can stop and ask any of us questions, even Julie. Although, there might be certain times when we won’t appreciate interruptions.” He grinned. “I’m sure you understand. If you’re uncomfortable with the whole thing and need some time to recover, feel free to go. We’ll understand.” Now was one of those times when Nick envied Dave’s ease with people and his ability to say just the right thing at just the right time. Nick had never had his gift for making people comfortable and anticipating what they might need or want.

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“One more thing,” Dave said. “It might look like we’re hurting Julie a lot more than seems fair or that she can bear. It’s not so. She can stop everything at any time with just a word.” He glanced at his wife and she nodded agreement. “She likes a lot of what looks like harsh stimulation.” “It’s all right,” Andrea said. “I understand that part well enough.” “Good. Julie’s going to get a workout tonight. In more ways than one.” He turned to his wife. “You start on the elliptical. First ten minutes with pants, then fifteen without. Swat every twenty seconds.” He went to the machine and pushed buttons to produce a series of beeps and buzzes. While he did that Nick went to the armoire and pulled out a pair of leather paddles whose business surface was about ten inches long and two inches wide. He came back and handed one to Dave when the latter finished with the settings. “On,” he told Julie. Once she was in place on the machine, he pushed the “Start” button. “Go.” She began walking with the device. Dave and Nick took up positions on either side of it, behind her. Her motions remained smooth as she started, legs pumping, hands moving the long handlebars back and forth. Then the machine pinged and Dave drew back his arm and swung the paddle, catching her full on the bottom with the stroke. It wasn’t all that hard, but the noise was startling. Nick got ready for his turn. The next time the machine pinged, he swung. Without using anywhere near all the strength of his arm, he cracked a good shot across Julie’s rear end. He watched the flesh compress and jiggle a bit under the skintight shorts. For the next ten minutes, he and Dave alternated swats each time the machine sounded. A few of the strokes caught her on the upper thighs below the shorts, and a red flush began to show there. They stopped when the machine buzzed and halted. Julie panted lightly as she stopped. “Pants down now,” Dave said. She sucked in a breath, pushed the shorts down and stepped out, one leg at a time. A faint blush of pink colored her bottom. After a couple of minutes’ rest, Dave started up the machine again and Julie began moving. The swats landed on her unprotected bottom now. Each cracked loudly and left behind streaks of rose. Between a couple, Nick looked over at Andi. She watched, wide-eyed, and appeared to breathe harder. She met his gaze and her eyes crinkled in a not-quite smile. He almost missed his next turn as a result. He and Dave both increased the severity of their strokes as the time ticked off. Sweat began to gather at his temples and trickle down, and his cock had long since thickened, straining against the zipper of his pants. His arm began to ache. Welts striped Julie’s bottom and the tops of her thighs. When she started to slow down, they made their blows even harder until she squealed and moved faster again. Finally the timer buzzed. Julie stopped and sagged a bit. Dave unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. Nick pulled his over his head and dropped it onto a bench. 101

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“A special treat for you today,” Dave said. “Nick, if you’d get on the bench and sit back. And you’ll probably be more comfortable without the pants.” He pointed to the bench part of the all-purpose exercise machine with its pulleys, weights and handles. Nick didn’t know what this was about, but if Dave had come up with it, it would be interesting. The man had a fiendish imagination, something Nick had never guessed when he’d first suggested that Julie’s apparent frigidity might be a result of not getting the right kind of stimulation. Nick shucked off his khakis and sat on the bench in just his briefs, his back to the main tower part of the machine. “Now, Julie, if you’ll sit in front of Nick on the bench, your back to him. Oh and take off the top.” She pulled the shirt over her head, then moved to take her place in front of him. It wasn’t a wide bench. The only way there was room for them both was for her to squeeze back as far as possible against him. His cock ended up squished between his body and hers. It was entirely thrilled with the position. Dave handed him a blindfold, which Nick put on Julie, then he said, “Hold her arms back and out of the way.” When Dave walked to Julie’s feet, lifted her legs, separating them as widely as he could and hooked them in the handholds of the machine, Nick began to get a glimmer of what his friend planned. He wondered what Andrea was thinking. Was this too much for her? Once Julie had resettled against him, her legs lifted high and parted, he turned to look at her.

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Chapter Ten Andrea had never seen anything like this, had never even imagined anything like it. It fascinated her. Where on earth had Dave gotten the idea to use his exercise equipment this way? To use his friend this way too, for that matter? A twinge of jealousy shot through her as she watched Julie resting against Nick’s chest. She wanted to be there. For that matter, she envied Julie the warmed-up bottom and the attention of two handsome men as well. Even so, she had doubts about whether she’d want whatever came next. Blindfolded, arms held almost behind her by Nick, legs raised, separated and held in place by the handholds of the bars, all of Julie’s most sensitive places were left open and frighteningly vulnerable. The aroma of excitement and sexual arousal permeated the room. That and the fantasy enacted in front of her had its effect. Her pussy was hot, swollen and moisture oozed from it, making her panties damp. She closed her eyes for a moment because a cloudy mist swirled around her head. When she opened them, Nick looked straight at her, his expression drawn into a worried frown. Andrea smiled at him and put a thumb up. He blinked, looked surprised then his expression lightened and one side of his mouth crooked into the near-grin. Dave noted the interplay between them but didn’t say anything or acknowledge it. He went to the armoire and selected an instrument from it. He returned holding a thin, whippy rod a yard long and maybe half an inch in diameter. It looked scary. Used too hard or the wrong way it could probably slice flesh. She realized she’d never thought to ask how far they’d go. She didn’t want to disturb them, but Dave had said she could ask any questions she had. It would be hard for Nick to get up, so instead she said, “Dave?” He turned toward her and she waved him over. As he approached she realized what an attractive man he was. Taller and slimmer than Nick, Dave had dark hair and dark eyes, a graceful build with strong shoulders and dark chest hair. Though he could manage to look and sound stern, harshness had no real part in his personality. Unlike Nick, who had a streak of granite, dark granite at that, beneath the surface charm, Dave’s easy, cheerful disposition leaked through even when he frowned. “Problem?” he asked. She stared at the rod he held. “Will that…draw blood? I’m a bit squeamish that way.” His frown dissolved into a grin. “You and me both. I guess this thing could cut, but I’ll never use it that way. At least not deliberately. We don’t go there. Too dangerous.

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Once or twice it’s happened accidentally—not with this, though. Our rule is everything stops when that happens. We patch up the damage and call it quits for the day or night. It makes a very…unsatisfactory end, so we damn well try to avoid it.” Relief made her relax and smile. “Thank you.” “No problem.” He returned the smile, then walked back to the exercise bench and lifted the rod. Nick glanced from Dave to her. She nodded to let him know it was okay. Dave brought the rod down, without much force, on Julie’s chest, across both breasts. She jerked but more from surprise than pain. He tapped it against the tops of her breasts, the undersides and twice across the nipples. The second time she let out a huffing noise. Then he moved around the bench to stand between her legs. Andrea felt her own breath catch as he brought the rod down on the inside of her right thigh. Julie didn’t flinch or make a sound. Dave alternated sides as he continued to lash her upper legs, moving slowly upward. When he neared her pussy, he moved away and started on her breasts again, slapping a little harder, just enough to leave faint pink traces on the surface. When the rod landed on a nipple the second time, Julie wriggled and moaned. He moved back to her thighs and went over them again, a little harder. He rotated through breasts and thighs a couple more times, the strokes becoming rougher with each pass, until Julie began to moan and jerk with each one. It took some effort on Nick’s part to keep her in place. Her wiggling also appeared to be causing him problems since their position ensured his cock pressed against her writhing bottom. Andrea watched the strain in his face as he struggled to hold on to her while fighting the effects of the stimulation. And of course, as Dave struck harder, she squirmed more, and Nick got sucked closer to the edge. By the time Dave started his fifth go at her breasts, they were already flaming pink with a few darker streaks across the surface. When he whipped the rod down hard enough to crack against the underside of her breast, she squealed, jerked and bounced around so much, Nick finally lost the battle. He never let go of Julie, but his face screwed up into tense lines that froze for a moment, then he groaned aloud and jerked repeatedly. Dave waited a moment before he resumed. He went back to Julie’s thighs and this time he struck hard enough to sting considerably. The woman jerked and moaned with each stroke, her cries turning from squeals to yelps to near-screams. From her vantage point, Andrea couldn’t quite see all the way into the crease between Julie’s legs, but it appeared the last stroke went down right on her pussy. The woman’s back arched and she screamed. It trailed off quickly to a sobbing wail but the way she squirmed seemed to be more from unbearable arousal than pain. “Dave,” she moaned, begging for the first time. “Please. Take me. Please!” Dave dropped the rod and reached down for the blindfold. After taking it off, he helped her to her feet. Julie fell against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Nick 104

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stretched and got to his feet. His cock had recovered from the earlier orgasm and stood up again. “Take my pants off,” Dave said to his wife. She wasted no time following that order. Her breasts and the insides of her thighs bore a mass of weals and streaks of pink, a few already darkening to blue and black, but it didn’t seem to bother her except that she could barely stand the wait to have her husband inside her. When she lowered the zipper on his jeans, Dave’s cock leapt out, erect and eager for fulfillment. He stepped out of the pants, went to the flat bench at the side of the room, sat down and leaned his shoulders back against the wall. Julie and Nick followed him. Clearly they’d done this before. Both knew what to do without anyone saying a word. Julie climbed up on the bench facing Dave, straddling his abdomen and positioned herself over his cock. Nick stood behind her and helped her balance as she lowered herself onto the shaft, taking it deep inside. Dave let out a sharp sigh of pleasure and Julie squealed hers. Andrea found it hard to watch. As fascinating as it was, she almost couldn’t bear the jealousy. She wanted Nick in the same way, and if Dave had a part in it, she wouldn’t object to that either. Julie was one damned lucky woman. The rhythm of the bouncing got faster, and panting breaths heaved from all three participants, along with a few huffs and moans. The smell of sex filled the air. Skin squealed as it rubbed slick skin. Her cunt ached for relief. Finally she couldn’t stand it any longer. She got up, shucked off her pants, sweater and underclothes and crossed the room to stand behind Nick. The earthy, masculine scent and the hard muscular feel of his body filled her senses when she wrapped her arms around him. She worked her fingers between his body and Julie’s, finding the hard shaft of his cock. He sighed and put a hand over hers for a moment, caressing the top surface in appreciation. He also deliberately moved his bottom back and forth against her. Andrea wrapped a fist around his cock and pumped. Without trying she matched the rhythm of his movement as he supported Julie during her up-and-down bouncing on Dave. After a few minutes the group moved almost as one unit. They all tipped nearer and nearer to the edge of orgasm when their rhythm grew harder, faster, more frenzied. Even Andrea felt the building pressure in her pussy, though she wasn’t as close to exploding as the others. Panting breath, the squeak of flesh, moans and groans filled the room, getting louder and more urgent with each passing second. She had no idea which one of them came first, but she felt the stiffening of Nick’s muscles in that instant before release and then the expanding pleasure that made his breath heave. His throbbing cock stilled for a moment, pushed harder into her hands and released his seed. At almost the same time Julie screamed with her completion and Dave let out a prolonged groan.

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The four of them collapsed together into a pile of bodies supported mostly on top of Dave, who had to be in danger of being crushed. Andrea couldn’t see much of him save the top of his head and his feet. He didn’t complain, but after just a few moments of recovery time, Nick stirred. He straightened and turned to face her, then dragged her into his arms and kissed her. “You want?” he asked quietly. “Yes, please.” His green eyes lit with pleasure. He steered her back toward the bench, sitting her on it as Dave and Julie untangled themselves and got up. Nick nudged her legs apart and knelt between them. His head dipped. A jolt of electric energy shot through her when his face moved lower and his tongue made a long, leisurely swipe down her abdomen and into her pussy. The real shock came when, moments later, Dave and Julie sat on either side of her. Julie stroked her hair while Dave put a tentative hand on her breast. When Andrea didn’t object, he caressed gently. Nick’s clever tongue probed her labia, parted them, dove deeper and found the bud of her clit. Breath went out of her in a long sighing moan when his tongue circled and flicked it. Dave pinched her nipple, just enough to send shards of sensation ripping through her. They met the bright, sharp blasts of pleasure from her clit and exploded into heat that brought every nerve ending in her body to attention. She sobbed, writhed and groaned, harder and louder, until Nick sucked forcefully at her bud and she shattered into jerking spasms of release and completion. For a while she rolled with it, heaving with the occasional aftershock and soaking in the peace. Returning to awareness, she realized Dave and Julie both had arms around her. They backed off when Nick reached for her again and drew her up and into his arms. She rested against him, enjoying the feeling of safety and peace and love that surrounded her as well as the sheer physical pleasure the contact of his skin on hers always brought. It didn’t last long enough. Dave interrupted to say, “You guys can have the guestroom bath. Julie, you’ve got ours. I’ll clean up in here.” Nick collected their clothes and led her to the guestroom. “You’d better go first. If we go in together we’ll never get home tonight.” “Would that be so terrible?” “Only when we have to lie to our coworkers about why we’re both late…or arriving together.” “Point taken,” she admitted and headed into the bathroom to shower. Three-quarters of an hour later, they met again in the den. Even Dave had cleaned up by then. He offered more drinks, but Nick looked at the time and said they’d better get going.

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In saying goodbye, Andrea hugged Julie and asked, quietly, “Are you okay?” The woman smiled. “Much, much better than okay. Really. I’ll have some bruises and sore spots tomorrow and I’ll be damned proud of them.” Andrea nodded. “I know. And thank you for including me tonight.” “It’s been our pleasure. Nick is special to us and I really want to see him happy.” “I’m doing my best.” Dave interrupted to claim his goodbye hug. In the process, he leaned closer and said, quietly enough to ensure only she could hear, “I think you’re just what Nick needs. I hope to God he doesn’t screw it up. But if he does, come talk to us about it. He can be a pain in the rear when he gets his back up about something, but there are ways around him.” She nodded and embraced him before Nick escorted her out to his car. Her watch said it was near midnight. They didn’t see another vehicle on the road until they got to the main highway. For a while they drove in a silence broken only by the hum of the SUV’s engine. It surprised her when Nick asked, from out of the darkness, “What made you decide to join us?” She wove her fingers together as she considered how to answer. “Got horny?” “I’m sure. Nothing else?” “Was anything else needed?” He paused for a moment and drew a breath before he let it out on a sigh. “No.” She hesitated again before she said, “Crap, Nick. You don’t ask for much, do you? All right. I liked them, I was fascinated and I was jealous. I wanted to be a part of it. Part of you. The collective ‘you’.” She waited for him to make a smart comment but all he said was, “Thank you.” He let it hang in the silence for a few minutes, but then he ruined it by asking, “Why was that so hard?” “It’s not exactly something I’m going to go bragging about to my friends and relatives.” “It’s not their business anyway.” “True.” By the time they got back to her apartment she was all but asleep.

***** The next day it was harder than ever to keep her eyes and mind off Nick and concentrate on work. She couldn’t decide if she was more relieved or disappointed when he called her into the office in midmorning to say, “Charles just called. He’s got to go out of town on

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a business emergency, so he won’t be able to do tonight. He wants to reschedule it for next week, if that’s okay.” “I don’t see why not.” “I’ll tell him. We’ll just have to make our own fun tonight.” He gave her one of his rare, wicked grins. Something lurched painfully in the area of her heart. She had it bad. And now that they’d gotten over the hurdle of her accepting his odd relationship with his friends, could there be hope for something more between them? She didn’t dare indulge that sort of hope but she couldn’t entirely avoid it either. At lunchtime, she did her usual run to the nursing home to spend time with her aunt. The woman looked frailer than ever, something she mentioned to Nick later, on their way to the club. “You’re worried about her and feeling guilty at the same time,” he said. “That’s not fair.” “What?” He sounded confused. “Reading my mind. Or is it my emotions?” “Nothing that fancy. Just putting myself in your place and trying to figure out how I’d feel. It sounds pretty normal to me. What would she say about it if you told her how you felt?” “She’d probably tell me to stop being silly.” “Sounds like good advice,” he said. “Impossible to follow, but good advice. Can you let it go for tonight?” “I’ll try.” “Good enough.” Andrea was delighted to learn the club had a display of BDSM art on a traveling exhibit. Nick indulged her when she said she wanted to check it out. The level of expertise of the works displayed ranged from the obviously amateur to some pieces that looked very professional. A few were wildly outlandish, including several that depicted inventive versions of a spanking machine, and some went too far into pain or humiliation for her comfort, but there were also some very graceful and appealing images. Her favorite by far was one that wasn’t even obvious about its meaning. It could easily hang in any art museum in the land. It was an oil painting, done by a very good artist. A man dressed in cowboy garb stood in the foreground, facing away from the viewer so only his back was visible. In one hand he held a bridle, and in the other a coiled whip. But he walked toward a two-story Victorian-style house rather than a barn or stable. A woman sat on the steps leading up to the front porch, her gaze trained on the approaching man. Barefoot, slender, with long reddish hair, she wore a sundress with the narrow strap falling off one shoulder. She didn’t look fearful or apprehensive. Rather her expression said she anticipated the man’s arrival with serene delight.

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To Andrea’s eyes, something about the picture caught the essence of a BDSM relationship at its most rewarding and powerful. The man embodied strength and mastery, but courage and honor as well. His rugged build and the blond hair that showed below the brim of his hat reminded her of Nick. Something of his stance as well. Not that she could even remotely picture Nick as a cowboy, but he was the business-suited version of the same man. That particular piece had a sign noting it wasn’t for sale, but a rack below it held the artist’s business cards. She took one, intending to look him up on the web later. Nick noticed her interest. “You like that one?” “It’s subtle but powerful. And he reminds me of you.” “He does?” He sounded shocked by it. She explained the resemblance she saw. “I’m flattered,” he admitted, when she finished. “And a bit intimidated. Shall we go find our room?” At her request, Nick tried her hard that evening, taking her to a deeper level of submission and acceptance. She wore nipple clamps and endured a prolonged session with the paddle and strap, a shorter but memorable beating with a flogger, and three strokes of a cane. Those stung like blazes and left marks she’d have for several days. She wanted that reminder of his mastery. But the most memorable part of the evening came after he’d caressed her warmed bottom and removed the nipple clamps, making her scream in the process. Instead of coming outside her or having her suck him off, he removed a condom from a drawer, put it on and climbed up on the bed to position himself between her legs. He entered carefully, mindful of her inexperience, and stopped a couple of times to let her adjust to his size. It started uncomfortable, but after a few moments, the pleasure crept over her and drove out everything else. The thrill of having him moving over her and inside her, of wrapping her arms around his strong chest and digging her fingers into his smooth back added to the ecstasy that each rough stroke of his plunging cock roused. She looked up into his green eyes. The pleasure and love glittering in them roused a storm of tenderness and longing inside her. They moved together, matching rhythms for thrust and withdraw, kissing occasionally, searching for what gave each other the most pleasure, the touches sure to draw groans, the place inside her that made her jerk and spasm when his cock found it. “Nick, Nick, Nick,” she moaned over and over. She’d never felt this fierce tenderness and possessiveness about any man before and doubted she ever would again. This man owned part of her soul and most of her body. His thrusts grew faster and harder, his muscles getting tenser. A spring coiled inside her, drawing tighter with each rough thrust until it finally broke free and sent her spinning into ecstasy, just as she heard him roar with release.

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Afterward, they lay together, panting in each other’s arms. He let himself down carefully over her so that their bodies pressed together, but he still supported most of his weight on his arms. He said the magic words, the ones her heart hungered for. “Andrea, I love you. God, how I love you.” “I love you, too, Nick,” she admitted. “No woman has ever… I feel like the strongest, proudest, luckiest man on earth.” He rolled onto his side, keeping her wrapped in his arms. Andrea pressed her lips to his chest, tasting the wild tang of the man. She’d never get enough of holding him, being close to him, loving him. They lay together for a long time, enjoying the contact, the sense of completion, the peace. But after a while they had to get up, clean up and face the real world once again.

***** Thursday and Friday went by in a blaze of work as Nick prepared to pull together an investment group for an important land deal and needed all sorts of spreadsheets and documents showing parcel sizes, allotments, costs, estimates of resale value and tax projections. It kept them both so busy they had little time to worry about anything else. That was a good thing for Andrea who had plenty to concern her. She couldn’t deny her aunt was failing. The woman looked and sounded weaker each time she visited. Plus the dinner with his family was coming up. Knowing how cool his relationship with them was, she worried about how it would go, and how they would react to her. On Friday evening, Nick invited her to dinner and a movie again. To her surprise and gratitude, he suggested they stop by and visit the nursing home first. Aunt Gwen looked a little better that evening, though still frail. She did her best to be lively and gracious to them, however. A big smile creased her face when she saw Nick with Andrea. Once again, he answered her aunt’s questions openly and easily. Andrea expected that to change, when Aunt Gwen said, “I know this is an impertinent question and an impolite one as well. But I claim the privilege of an old woman who hasn’t long on this Earth and loves her niece dearly. I can see that Andrea is in love with you, young man, and I think you love her too. She’s far too discreet to tell me, but I rather suspect you are lovers as well. So I have to ask. What are your intentions?” Andrea’s face flamed with heat. “Aunt Gwen!” she protested. Nick actually blushed a bit, too, but he laughed. The smile—that rare, gorgeous smile—showed the creases in his lean cheeks and lit the green eyes to dangerous beauty. “It’s all right,” he said, and reached over to take Aunt Gwen’s slender bony hand in his strong, square one. “My intentions are honorable, Aunt Gwen, but Andrea 110

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and I still have a few things to work out before we’re ready to make a commitment to each other.” Aunt Gwen nodded. “It’s enough, though it would be very satisfying to know Andrea was happily settled before I die.” She saw Andrea’s look. “Yes, child. No beating around it now. I haven’t much time left. I’ve made my peace with it. I hope you can make yours.” She looked at Andrea’s clothes and then Nick’s. “You’re going on a date tonight?” “Yes.” It seemed somehow wrong and she flushed. Aunt Gwen shook her head. “See, that’s what I mean. You’re feeling bad about it, aren’t you?” “Yes.” “Well, stop it. Go out and have fun. You’re young and pretty and in love with a nice man. I had my time, and it was good. It’s your turn now and there’s no reason why you should waste it worrying about me. In fact, I’ll be very unhappy and miserable if I’m getting in the way of your having a good time with your young man. Don’t make me miserable.” Nick smiled at her again. “You’re a wise woman, Aunt Gwen.” “And you’re a charming scoundrel,” she told him. “Take my niece out and show her a good time. She’s too serious.” “Yes, ma’am.” Nick was as good as his word. They enjoyed dinner and the movie. Afterward he invited her back to his place for the first time. He had a two-bedroom condo in a gated complex, nicely decorated with comfortable and attractive furniture, matching drapes and matted pictures hung in groupings in all the right places. “Julie did it,” he said as he noted her eyeing the curtains. “She got tired of staring at blank walls and bare windows. Asked me what my budget was, then she went out and got all the stuff.” “She’s got good taste.” He shrugged. “And I don’t. No taste at all. In decorating, anyway.” “I don’t either. I’ll have to consult her when I’m ready to decorate a place of my own.” “She’ll be delighted. She loves any excuse to shop. Come on in the kitchen.” She followed him into a nice but somewhat cramped cooking area. “I’ve got a white zinfandel or, if you want to try something stronger, an orange liqueur.” “What’s an orange liqueur?” “Try it and see. But I warn you, it’s strong.”

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He pulled out a bottle and two tiny glasses shaped like wineglasses but a third the size, poured a thick, sparkling liquid from the bottle into them and handed her one. “Take a tiny sip and be prepared for it to burn.” Following his advice, she sipped carefully, getting only a small taste of the liquid. As promised, it sizzled on her tongue, but once she got over the shock of that, a rich, sweet orangey flavor lingered. When she swallowed the sip, it felt warm all the way down to her stomach. “Wow!” “Good, isn’t it? Let’s take it in the living room.” They sat on his couch, talking and drinking the powerful liqueur. He refilled her glass a couple of times. Twenty minutes later they were giggling and laughing like children, giddy with alcohol and emotion. An impromptu pillow fight, conducted with throw pillows from the couch, led to a more closer and personal wrestling match, and then inevitably to kissing, touching and loss of clothes. How they got there she didn’t remember, but they ended up on Nick’s queen-sized bed, making love. It felt different when it started with talk and laughter rather than orders from a Master and punishment, but no less sweet. The buildup took longer, but Nick stroked and caressed her into readiness, and the orgasm rocked her just the same. They lay together afterward and she fell asleep in his arms. Andrea woke the next morning to the feathery touch of Nick stroking her cheek. She blinked up at him. Even with tousled hair and whisker-stubbled cheeks, he was almost unbearably handsome. “Hey, sleepyhead. I wondered if you planned to sleep all morning,” he said. “What time is it?” “Almost nine.” “Almost nine. Yikes. I’m late.” She started to jump up and he held her down. “Oh, it’s Saturday, isn’t it?” she said. “Yup.” He drew a breath and let it out on a sigh. “Unfortunately I’ve got to go out of town this weekend. I’m meeting that group of developers down in Richmond for golf. I wish I didn’t have to go, but I promised.” “And you’re the kind of man who keeps promises. It’s good.” He smiled and kissed her. “Have you got plans?” “No. Just visiting my aunt.” “Julie left a message. She wondered if you’d like to go shopping with her? She said something about needing appropriate clothes?” “Beats me, but it sounds like fun.” “I’ll give you her number.” They both showered. Andrea didn’t like having to put on the same clothes, but had no alternative. Fortunately Nick had a few spare toothbrushes around. Once they were both dressed, Nick put an overnight case in the SUV and they went to a nearby coffee

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shop for a dose of caffeine and scones. He dropped her off at her apartment on his way out of town. After she’d changed, watered her two scraggly houseplants and collected clothes to take down to the laundry room, she called Julie and agreed to the shopping trip. Then she went to the nursing home. She found Aunt Gwen sitting in a wheelchair, looking a little stronger and more cheerful than on recent visits. “I can see it in your face that your date went well,” her aunt said. “It did. We had a good time.” “He’s a nice man. And seems like a good one. I hope it will work out for you. But even if it doesn’t, treasure the time you have together as a gift.” “I will.” “Did Phil tell you about what John did yesterday?” her aunt asked. “No.” “Scored thirty-five points in a basketball game! Isn’t that remarkable?” The conversation veered off onto her cousin and his family as Aunt Gwen recounted Phil’s high-school-age son’s sports exploits. Andrea spent an hour with her. Julie picked her up at her apartment at one. Her initial greeting was warm and enthusiastic, but when they got into her car, the woman turned quiet for a moment. “Andrea?” She sounded surprisingly hesitant. “My friends call me Andi.” “Andi. You’re probably going to be furious about this. But Nick said he thought… Heck, he said to put this diplomatically because he didn’t want you to take it the wrong way. I don’t know what the hell made him think I could do that.” “Just spit it out and let me get mad at him. He wants to buy me some new clothes, doesn’t he?” “Yikes, he said you were smart. Yeah. Please let him do it. I can imagine how it feels to you, but Nick really means well. He doesn’t mean it to be an insult or like payment or anything. He likes you. A lot. Loves you, I think. And he wants you to feel…special.” “Actually you’re doing pretty good at that diplomatic thing,” she said. Julie laughed. “Thanks. It’s so not my gift. But I do know Nick and his heart is in the right place. Please let him do this? It’ll hurt him if you don’t.” Andrea hesitated. “My pride is getting a bit steamed, but my brain is trying to ignore it. It’s not easy. I’m not his toy.” “No. And he doesn’t see you that way. Truly. He said to tell you it was just money.” “Just money. Something he can spare easily enough.” “No. Most of his money is tied up in his business ventures. He can’t spare a lot. But for you he will. It’s a gift, Andi.” “A guilt offering? Because he can’t quite bring himself to give something else? Something that does matter.” 113

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“The money matters to him, more than you might guess. Think of it as a step in the right direction.” “Oh. Oh hell, why not? Let’s do it.” Julie let out a long breath. “Thank you. I told Nick I wasn’t sure I could do it.” She laughed. “Me, the diplomat. Hah! Anyway, let’s hit the mall first. Get a couple of dresses and some sexy lingerie. Spend Nick’s money. Then… Oh geez, I’m glad you agreed to do this. I’d never have the nerve to do it all by myself. You know Nick’s birthday is next week. We’re thinking of having a party, maybe next weekend? I know his brother’s doing something for him on Wednesday. We were thinking next Saturday, maybe. A small, private party…just the four of us, if you’re willing. Anyway, I’d like to get him something…well, you know, not the usual gift type thing, so I wanted to go to the adult books and gifts shop.” “Oh. That kind of not the usual gift.” Pink color stained Julie’s cheek. “Right.” “Why not?” She grinned. “Let’s do it.” They spent an hour and a half shopping for clothes at the mall, and Andrea emerged with a new skirt, several blouses, a sheer top with a camisole to wear beneath, and a dress that cost way too much but was too gorgeous to ignore. She could wear it to the upcoming birthday celebration with Nick’s family. They stopped into a lingerie store and each of them bought a bag’s worth of risqué panties, camisoles and bras. Because she would need a gift she could give him in front of others, Andrea bought Nick a bottle of expensive body fragrance and a new belt. He’d get the irony of both but no one else would. When they parked near the adult book and gift shop, Andrea and Julie both had to spend a few moments working up their nerve to get out of the car and go inside. It proved far less intimidating than Andi expected, though the lingerie on display made her blush, and she couldn’t bring herself to look too closely at some things. “Any ideas for Nick?” Julie asked. “I was hoping you had some.” “Err…these?” Julie held up a butt plug. “I don’t think so. I know they’re all the rage in the BDSM world, but not for me.” Julie shrugged. “Dave’s got a couple. They’re…interesting but not thrilling.” “Oh these!” Andrea picked up a long glass object billed as a “massager”. It looked like a string of clear glass beads melded together, but it had directions about inserting it in various orifices as well as rubbing it over tense muscles. “Definitely want to try it.” “I think maybe I’ll go with the massage oils,” Julie said. “We can do a ‘pamper the boys’ thing sometime.” “Sounds good. Oh wait. No. Why don’t you give him this too?” Andi handed the massager to Julie. “I’m doing these.” 114

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“Pussy sleeves?” “Super-stretchy material, ribbed and with pieces that simulate lips and tongue for his supreme pleasure. Oh yeah. Oh and this too. A cock ring.” Julie shook her head as she watched Andi collect things. “A kid in the adult toy shop,” she said. “Yeah, well, I was out of circulation for a bit.” They paid for their purchases. On the way home, they stopped at a coffee shop for cappuccinos and a shared piece of cheesecake. They also exchanged funny stories from their background, amusing relative anecdotes and amazing school pranks, though neither had actually participated in any of them. Both admitted some regret now that they hadn’t. Andi found the other woman easy to talk to and one of the most comfortable persons to be with she’d ever known. When they finished, Julie took her home and departed, thanking her for the help. The rest of the weekend was quiet until Sunday afternoon when she got the phone call from Cal.

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Chapter Eleven “Bitch, I can’t believe you’re still seeing that guy,” he said, without bothering to identify himself. “And I can’t believe you’re calling me again. I told you what would happen if you did. Oh, and I took those pictures you left to the cops, too.” “You want I should send copies of those to the people where you work? Do they know you’re fucking the boss?” “Cal, you’re crude. I don’t want to talk to you again. Stop calling me.” She pressed the off button on the phone to end the call. She immediately called the police. They took her information, but the officer who had charge of her case wasn’t in right then so they couldn’t tell her much. Nick didn’t call until nine o’clock that evening to say he was finally home. When Andrea mentioned Cal’s message, he offered to come over, but she told him not to bother. They both had to work the following day and Nick sounded exhausted. He admitted to being tired but insisted she call him right away if anything else happened or she needed reassurance. Nothing much occurred the next few days, except that she got increasingly nervous about Wednesday night and meeting Nick’s family. She heard nothing more from Cal during those days, and despite her fears of it, no copies of the pictures arrived in the office. Her aunt held her own, even getting into an argument with an elderly man down the hall about some political issue that got loud enough to draw the nurses in to break it up. Andrea had little time to talk to Nick except to answer requests for bits of information or statistics. Negotiations with the group of people he wanted as partners for the development project had reached a furious level. He spent most of his time on the telephone. On Wednesday he finalized an agreement with them that let the entire plan start the march toward construction. He bought doughnuts for the office to celebrate. Nick picked her up at six that evening, still in a good mood from the breakthrough in the deal. The new dress drew an admiring whistle. “Glad you like it,” she told him. “You paid for it.” “Julie told me. Money well spent. You look like a goddess.” He escorted her to the door and waited while she locked up. “I hear goddesses are uncomfortable companions. They turn you into animals and stuff if you make them angry.”

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“You turn me into a raging beast.” To prove it, he nipped at her ear as they stood next to his car. “But goddesses can tame the beasts too.” They spent most of the trip to his brother’s home trying to one-up each other on the risks and rewards of courting minor deities. His brother had a large home in a swanky suburb. An elegant woman in her midthirties greeted them at the door and put her arms around Nick in a hug that took care not to risk makeup or hair. A man came up behind her while Nick was introducing Andrea to his sister-in-law, Jessica. “Call me Jess,” she invited. Cameron Tysinger looked enough like Nick that no one would have any trouble guessing they were brothers. He was an inch or two shorter, some thirty pounds heavier and his hair a darker blond, but their eyes and the shape of the faces proclaimed the relationship. Two smaller versions of Cameron, one male, one female came running into the room yelling “Uncle Nick” and tackled him around the legs while he attempted to introduce Andrea to his brother. “This is Jason,” he said, disengaging the male half, who appeared to be about eight. “And this is Danielle. My favorite monsters.” It must have been an old joke. They both responded, “We’re not monsters,” with the perfect pitch and timing of a well-rehearsed choir. The girl was five or six. Nick swung her up in his arms and she giggled furiously. An older couple joined them. She didn’t need Nick’s introduction to recognize his mother and father. The resemblance as well as the change in Nick’s demeanor told her. The humor fled his face, which tightened into a frown as he greeted them with chilly politeness and introduced Andrea. He called her a friend. Andrea waited to be blown off, snubbed or at least given a cool, no-germsexchanged handshake, but it didn’t happen. Instead, Caroline Tysinger pulled Andrea into a hug warmer and more genuine than the one Jess had given her. “I’m so glad to meet you,” the older woman said. “Cam told us Nick had a new girlfriend. It’s certainly past time.” There might have been a slight dig there, but if so regret followed immediately, judging by the small frown forming on her face for a moment. Nick and Cam both favored their father more than their mother in looks. He took Andrea’s hand and shook it, but she couldn’t gauge anything at all from his greeting other than it was polite. Apparently Nick got his ability to mask his emotions from him as well. Cam and Jess served cocktails in the den. Although the conversation flowed, it had awkward pauses and occasional pointed comments about lack of communication. Fortunately the children helped rescue the situation by keeping up lively banter with one adult or another most of the time. It shocked Andrea when Nick’s mother drew her off to a corner of the room and began asking questions about how she’d met Nick, what she did, her family and schooling. For a while she thought the woman sought to gauge her suitability for any 117

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sort of relationship with her son. But her anxious expression and almost apologetic demeanor caused Andrea to change her mind after a bit. Something more complicated and enigmatic motivated the woman. Nick’s mother struck her as more tense and worried than arrogant. It appeared she really did want to get to know Andrea, to establish a connection with her. Before they had much time, Jess announced that dinner was ready. Though everyone, including Nick and his parents, made an effort to be polite, even cordial, during the meal, the strain at the table stretched everyone’s nerves. On the surface they gave the appearance of a family having a relaxed and pleasant gathering, but tensions ran taut just below the surface. Andrea found it an effort to maintain the conversation with Nick’s father to her left and his brother to her right. Cam and Jessica both worked hard to keep the talk light and constant, and in general they succeeded. How much time had they spent over the past few years working the middle between Nick and their parents? It couldn’t have been easy for any of them, and Andrea’s respect for the couple grew. Not everyone would have tried as hard. One of the odder features of the meal was that Andrea looked up on several occasions to find Nick’s mother staring at her with a peculiar expression. It combined worry, speculation, hope and even a hint of longing. Strange. Andi had no idea what to make of it. Eventually the awkward dinner ended. Andrea ate her fill with very little memory of what foods had been served. Jess recruited her children to help her clear away the dishes, then a few minutes later they returned bearing a cake with a few lit candles stuck in it. A highly off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday” followed. Nick blew out all the candles in one breath, prompting applause around the table. The cake was cut and the children proudly transported a piece to each person. Then Nick opened his gifts, a hardback copy of a recent mystery by a popular author from his brother and sister-in-law, a CD from a currently hot pop group from Jason and Danielle—“We picked it out ourselves,” they informed him proudly—a sweater from his mother and another book, a well-known business management tome, from his father. And of course, her own gifts of fragrance and leather. Nick gave her a wicked, sideways grin when he opened the latter, then thanked everyone for their thoughtfulness. They had coffee in the den and sat around talking for a while. When Jess said it was time for the kids to go to bed, Nick took that as his cue to say he needed to be going also. Andrea breathed a sigh of relief when they were back in Nick’s SUV and headed home. “That bad?” he asked. “Sorry to inflict it on you, but you had to meet them sooner or later.” “Not bad. But kind of intense. I think…” “What?”

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“You’re not going to like it.” “Should that stop you?” “No, but it does make me think harder about it before I start. I think your mother, at least, regrets the rift between you and would like to mend it.” “Maybe. But that doesn’t necessarily imply she’s accepted that I’m not going to turn into the perfect little son that Cam is.” “No, but I’m not sure why you’re assuming she hasn’t, or at least that she’s not trying to move past it. Do you really know?” He remained quiet for a moment, considering, before he replied. “I’m not sure I want to know.” “You’re afraid to take the risk of knowing.” That hit a nerve. “You have no idea what risks I’m willing to take or not take. And you haven’t walked this particular walk, so you have no right to talk about it.” It cut and she had to take a moment to blink back incipient tears. Fortunately it was dark in the car so he couldn’t see them. She made sure her voice was steady when she said, “I haven’t lived your situation, no. But I’ve lived mine, and I’m facing the emptiness of having very little family left. I love you and I don’t want to see you going through that pain too.” “But you haven’t experienced the pain of a family who refuses to accept that what you are is worthwhile even if it’s not what they want you to be.” “True. But it’s been—how many years now? They’ve had time to realize their mistakes and maybe regret them.” “Maybe. Why should I take a chance on it?” It took her a moment to find an answer. “Because life’s too short and too full of risks to waste it holding grudges and being fearful?” Silence followed, but not an easy, comfortable one. Finally he said, “One of the risks is that the people you love and respect will convince you you’re not worth shit because you don’t meet their expectations.” “It’s a risk, but wouldn’t you want to allow for the possibility that people can change.” “You don’t know these people as well as I do.” “True, but—” “Andi? Let’s leave it there, or we’re likely to end up saying things we’ll both regret.” That stopped her and made her draw a breath to calm herself. “All right. Did Julie mention this weekend to you?” “Yeah. She wants to have some kind of party for me too. Probably be a lot more fun than tonight was.” Andi thought about arguing but decided to leave it alone. “Probably.”

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The next couple of days dragged as she anticipated Saturday night. She didn’t see much of Nick since various things kept him out of the office a good bit of the time. She wondered when he planned to let everyone know about their relationship. Although no one had mentioned it to her, she’d gotten looks from some people in the office that made her wonder if there were rumors going around. When she caught Mary Ellen alone in the break room, she said, “Can I ask a delicate question? I’ve seen people giving me odd looks and sometimes shutting up very quickly when I come into a room. Is there something I should know about?” The woman rolled her eyes. “It’s just the usual crap in an office. And maybe some jealousy because you’re so smart and pretty. You know how it goes. Yeah, there are rumors. Main one is you have a crush on the boss and have been trying to seduce him.” She laughed. “See what I mean?” “Yikes. Have I been acting all…flirty and…seductive? That’s such a joke. I don’t know how to be seductive. I don’t even think I know how to flirt.” Mary Ellen nodded. “I know. If there was anything between you and Nick, it would be because he instigated it. They’re just jealous. Pay no attention.” “I don’t want to cause problems in the office,” she said. “You won’t, hon,” she said. “It’s just the gossips always need something to chew over. You’re currently on the menu, but tomorrow it’ll be something else. Don’t worry about it.” Andi thanked her, hoping the woman understood her gratitude was not just for the reassurance, but for the fact that Mary Ellen obviously knew or suspected something was going on between her and Nick and didn’t condemn her for it or appear inclined to discuss it. Time slowed even more on Saturday, though she had plenty of chores to catch up on before the evening. She bathed and washed her hair in the late afternoon, rushed through a light supper and dressed in a pair of barely there lace panties she’d bought with Julie, and the new skirt and camisole, putting the sheer white blouse over it. Dave and Julie had hung a huge banner at the front door wishing Nick a happy birthday. The dining room table was set up for games rather than for a meal, with bowls of snacks set out on the cleared surface, decks of cards and a couple of other boxes on the sideboard. Heavy drapes closed over the big window made the room private and cozy, helped by the candles scattered around the area. A few wrapped presents sat on one end of the sideboard. Andrea added hers to the stack. “Go on into the dining room and sit down,” Julie urged. “We’ll have cake and coffee first.” They sang “Happy Birthday” again, rather more tunefully this time since it turned out both Dave and Julie had decent voices. Julie poured coffee for each of them and Nick opened his presents. She’d seen all of them, other than the book Dave gave him, a mystery thriller from an author they both liked.

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Nick’s eyebrows rose at each of the other gifts, and finally he said, “I hope there are a lot of promises coming along with these.” Julie shrugged and Andrea didn’t say anything. One package remained but Julie said that particular one was for later. Once they finished their cake and coffee, the women cleared the dishes away, while the men got wineglasses and poured some for each of them. Julie brought in a coffee can full of slips of paper and set it on the table. She smiled at Andrea’s puzzled look. “For a lot of the games we play, we have a winner each round rather than adding up points to see who takes the whole thing. The winner each round gets to pull a slip of paper from the can. A reward or a penalty is written on each one. The winner gets to choose whether to keep the paper or give it away to someone else. Once you’ve received it, though, you can’t give it away again. At the end of the game or the end of the night, we have a settle-up period when all the slips are redeemed.” The first game involved rearranging letters displayed in a grid to make words, with points assigned to the number of letters in each word each person found. Nick won the first two rounds and elected to keep one piece of paper and hand the other one to Andrea. Scribbled on it were the words, Wear nipple clamps, one minute. A thread of heat twisted its way through Andrea’s system and into her core when she looked up and met Nick’s eyes. Devilish little sparks danced in his green eyes. It made it harder to concentrate on the next round of the game. Julie won that one and chose to keep the slip of paper she pulled out. It took three more rounds, with the others each winning one, before she finally got a high score and got to pull a slip of paper from the can. It read, Give five strokes with paddle. She passed it over to Nick. They actually had fun playing the game as well as accumulating rewards or prizes. Scoring involved a lot of good-natured bickering over whether something was really a word, a proper noun, archaic, slang or just a shot in the dark. About an hour into the game, a timer pinged. Julie pushed a button to shut it off, reset it and said, “Shirts.” Dave and Nick each took off their shirts. Julie unbuttoned her blouse and took it off. She wore nothing underneath. They looked at Andrea. “You don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it,” Nick said. “I’m okay. I just didn’t know what was happening.” “Oh rats, I forgot to tell you,” Julie said. “This is something we do to add to the heat. At timed intervals we undress. It’ll go off again in half an hour and then it’s shoes and socks. Half an hour after that, pants, and then the last one is for anything else you’re still wearing. Nick’s right, though. Don’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

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“I’m okay with this.” She took off the overblouse and then the camisole as well. Like Julie she hadn’t worn a bra since the camisole had one built in. She’d always been a bit on the thin side, and didn’t have Julie’s lush figure. They went back to playing the game. None of the others seemed to find it too distracting to be topless so she struggled to go along with it. Julie kept their wineglasses full and bowls of pretzels and snack mix handy. Andrea collected a pile of paper slips, some won herself, others handed to her by Nick and occasionally by Dave. It seemed like almost no time at all elapsed before the timer pinged again and they removed shoes and socks, then again, signaling the removal of pants, or in Andrea’s case, her skirt. It felt odd to be playing a game like that in nothing but their underwear. They couldn’t help staring at each other on occasion and it was disconcerting. Looking at Nick distracted her from play as well. She could stare at him for hours and not get tired of it. The timer went off again and all the rest of the clothing came off. The feeling of unreality grew. For half an hour they rearranged letters into new words while sitting around in the buff. The timer finally called a halt to it when it pinged for the last time. “Into the exercise room,” Dave ordered. Once there, they sorted out the slips they’d received. Nick and Dave each ended up with two piles that they sorted further. Then Dave adjusted the long arm on the exercise machine to its maximum height and had both Andrea and Julie stand beneath it, facing each other. He lifted Julie’s arms above her head and fastened her hands with straps to that arm. He did the same to Andrea. It forced them to stand close together. Nick got another, longer leather strap, put it around both women’s waists and pulled it until they had to move close enough to touch. Because Julie was a couple of inches taller, Andrea’s breasts slid beneath hers. She could just barely rest her chin against Julie’s shoulder and the other woman did the same. She’d never been pressed so intimately against another woman’s body. “This feels really weird,” she said quietly. “I know,” Julie answered. “Does to me too. I’ve never done anything like this. Interesting, though.” “May get less interesting when they start whipping us.” “True,” she admitted. They found out pretty quickly. Dave said to Julie, “You’ve got three of these slips for five with the strap. Let’s get those done.” He lifted the strap and swung. The blow drove Julie’s body against Andrea’s and drew a faint gasp from each of them. Before he could swing again, Nick leaned over to say to her, “You’ve got two for five with the paddle.” He slapped the leather down on her bottom. It drove her back

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against Julie. The other woman braced herself to help support them both. The men alternated swings for a bit, changing instruments as they read the various penalties off the slips of paper. The first few strokes hit without too much force and Andrea didn’t find them hard to tolerate. As it went on they got harsher and her bottom began to sizzle beneath the assault. Without any effort or communication about it, she and Julie developed an ad hoc method of supporting each other when one or the other was rocked by a hard swat. Julie gasped occasionally, but on the whole, she took it better than Andrea, who began to squeal and groan when the burn built up to the point of discomfort. But the fire in her backside also heated her blood and sent the pressure straight to her core, making her pussy swell and cream. Nick finished before Dave, which gave Andrea a few moments to recover her breath. Dave stopped but he wasn’t done, and neither, it turned out, was Nick. For the next stage, Dave lowered the arm on the machine about a foot and told both women to spread their legs. They each stepped their legs wide and then even wider when he told them it wasn’t enough. It left Andrea feeling vulnerable in a new and different way. She could barely support her weight there, but more than that, it left her pussy open to whatever fiendish things Dave and Nick might conceive. Her fears were confirmed when the two men went to the cabinet. Over Julie’s shoulder she watched them remove a pair of floggers. Each man tested the weight and striking force on his palm before returning to their positions. Nick used the instrument he held to caress her back and bottom with a series of light, almost tickly swishes. They packed just enough crackle to send tingles racing all through her. After three or four he began striking her bottom, a little harder but still bearable. Until he started on the insides of her thighs, slapping it on one side then the other. She hadn’t realized how sensitive that area was. Each time the tails of the flogger landed, they bit into the tender flesh like claws. It sent lightning bolts of pain-pleasure zinging along her nerves, increasing the pressure in her cunt. Because Dave did the same thing with Julie, his strikes occasionally reached across the gap and got her too. Probably some of Nick’s were tormenting the other woman as well. The lashes from the flogger climbed up the insides of her thighs toward her pussy. Would he strike her there? The anticipation, the wondering, the fear created a delicious agony of tension each time the tails landed ever-so-slightly higher. Until one did land right in the crease between thigh and pussy. A couple of the tails trailed into her cunt. She squealed as waves of heat and ice and pain and unbearable pleasure twisted into her gut and drew her muscles into straining tension. A second stroke landed in the crease on the other side, allowing a few of the leather thongs to dig into her cunt again. A thin scream leaked out as the sensation built into a 123

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fireball of heat and pain and longing and need, growing until she could barely contain it. She hovered right on the brink of orgasm. Nick must have recognized it and he had no intention of letting her come yet. He backed off and allowed her to cool down, while Dave continued with Julie. For a moment, while her body throbbed with need and frustration, Andrea hated Nick for the control he had over her. She loved him even more for it. When Dave finished, they released the women, but only long enough to turn them around again, leaving them back to back, sore buttocks bumping against each other. She faced Nick and watched him with dread as he approached holding the nipple clamps. She couldn’t decide how she felt about those things. They hurt going on and hurt even more coming off, but they left behind the most delicious ache and made her nipples supersensitive to touch. Not that it mattered how she felt. He put them on her without asking whether she wanted them or not. She’d had a choice, of course. She could have passed that slip of paper off to someone else, but she hadn’t. She yelped when he put each one on. They bit into the tender nipple with a fierce initial sting that settled into a throbbing ache. Nick picked up the flogger again and began to use it lightly on the fronts of her thighs, her abdomen and her breasts. Sensation swept over her in tingling, burning waves that again built the flame of need in her cunt. Finally he decided the time was up and pulled off the clamps. She screamed as the pressure released and a ferocious stab of intermingled pain and pleasure shot through her. Even as she yelled she heard Julie do the same, though she couldn’t see what caused the other woman’s distress. Nick undid the strap that held the two women together, moved a pair of leathercovered foam cubes about a foot square into place between her legs and then lifted her up, leaving her hands bound above her head, and slid her down his body until his cock found the entrance to her cunt. The blocks helped support her weight, but Nick did his share. His hands on her waist helped guide her up and down and kept her steady. Amazingly, she felt Julie behind her being lifted in the same way and with the same rhythm. Their butts, upper backs and shoulders rose and fell in almost synchronized rhythm. The sensory banquet all but overwhelmed her with Nick in front, his blond hair gleaming in the light, sparks of joy and pleasure glowing in his narrowed green eyes, the creases showing in his lean cheeks, his strong chest and shoulder muscles flexing. The masculine scent of him surrounded her, the feel of his skin wrapped her like a silk robe. His cock filled her and elicited the most stunning sensations when it hit that place deep inside. If it were possible to drown in sensation and die of pleasure, her life was forfeit. A rising tide of heat, pressure, love, desire and sheer throbbing need swamped her. The pressure grew like a balloon inflating inside her, expanding into impossible dimensions,

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creating a strain that could only end in explosion. But still it kept growing, stretching, filling until it became beyond the capacity of a body to bear. It was Nick behind it, around it, filling her, holding her, bringing her to those heights of joy. The release was as startling and explosive as a balloon bursting. The orgasm crashed over her in a gigantic initial jolt that rocked her to the depths of her soul and started a chain reaction of aftershocks. It joined with Nick’s release and at a remoter distance with Julie’s and Dave’s, to create a shared cataclysm. They formed and were at once engulfed by something bigger than each of them individually. They shared a moment of the purest, most essential power in the universe multiplied by four. She’d never experienced anything remotely like it before and might never again. But the privilege of taking part in it even once filled her with a profound joy and gratitude. She leaned against Nick, panting and wrung-out in the aftermath. He held her securely wrapped in his arms. Her back still pressed against Julie’s. For the longest time she stayed that way, at peace as never before in her life, even when her arms began to ache from the strain of being pulled over her head. Finally Nick roused and moved her off him. He reached up and released her hands, catching her when she half fell into his arms and rubbing her sore shoulders. Again he held her until enough life and energy returned to her body to allow for some movement. An exhausted-sounding Dave said, “Guest bathroom. You know the way.” After they showered, dressed and cleaned up, they gathered in the dining room again. Once they were all there, Nick stood up, went to the sideboard and got the last wrapped present. To Andrea’s astonishment, he handed it to her. “I sometimes like to give presents as well as get them on my birthday,” Nick said to her. “This one is for someone who has become very special and important in my life.” Curiosity ran rampant. She pushed to the far depths of her mind a tiny bit of disappointment that this box was far too large and the wrong shape to be a ring. Still, it was a gift from him so it would be something special. The box was fifteen or so inches long, about three inches wide and maybe an inch and a half deep. It didn’t rattle when she shook it. Puzzled and excited at the same time, she tore off the paper and prized up the lid of the box. The aroma of fine leather hit her nose even before she lifted the tissue paper covering the object. She sucked in a breath. The flogger that lay there, tucked carefully into a cardboard nest that held it firmly in place, was so beautifully made it almost qualified as a work of art. Finely tanned leather wove around the handle and formed a fall of maybe two dozen tails about eighteen inches long. When she started to lift it out, Nick said, “Wait. Look at the tails more closely before you take it out.”

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Perplexed, she dug her fingers into the fall of leather and lifted a few of them. In the process she hit something harder than leather and caught a gleam of metal. A little more digging and she found something strung on one of the tails, pushed up almost to the handle. A ring. A gold ring with a large, sparkling diamond flanked by two smaller ones. She looked up at Nick in time to see him go down on one knee in front of her. “Andrea Faselli, will you do me that great honor of consenting to be my wife?” he asked. For a moment she could only stare at him in stunned amazement. Then she leapt off the chair and into his arms, ending up on the floor, kneeling next to him. “Yes. Ohmigod, yes!” She barely remembered how they got home and she was sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep for the excitement, but in fact she conked out the moment her head hit the pillow. The next morning she found a couple of small, smudgy bruises on her bottom and a few more on the insides of her thighs. She also still had a ring on her finger, so it hadn’t all been a dream. When she answered the only phone call she got on Sunday afternoon, the woman on the other end identified herself as Caroline Tysinger and asked for her. Andrea had already recognized her voice. “What can I do for you?” Andrea asked after they’d observed the polite niceties of asking how each other was doing. “I have a favor to ask,” the woman said. “But first, I understand that you and Nick are engaged? I’m so happy for both of you! Congratulations, and welcome to the family, even though Nick doesn’t really acknowledge us as such. Which is what I’d like to talk to you about. Would it be possible for you to meet me somewhere? Maybe for coffee? I would prefer Nick didn’t know about this.” Andrea thought about it. “Mrs. Tysinger, I wouldn’t feel right about doing something like that behind his back.” She sighed but said, “I understand. Maybe we can just talk about it now. Surely he wouldn’t object to that.” “I don’t know, but I’ll risk it.” “Thank you. And may I say how delighted we are to have you as a future daughterin-law? I know Nick might not believe it, but it’s true. He still holds it against us that we were so bitterly disappointed when he and Emily divorced. We’ve come to realize that they were never right for each other, and we really are glad he’s found someone who is.” “Can you tell me…how were he and Emily all wrong for each other?” 126

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She hesitated as though weighing her answer. “They wanted different things. Emily… Emily was a lovely girl, very decorative and very gregarious. She loved parties and social occasions. I didn’t realize back then… It took me a long time to understand that Nick hates those sorts of things. He’d much rather spend his time with a small group of close friends and dislikes having to make small talk with strangers.” She sighed again. “I wish I’d figured that out sooner. There are a lot of things I wish I’d figured out sooner.” “You have learned a few things. You’re right, he much prefers to be with a few good friends than a lot of acquaintances.” Since she’d gone that far, she added, “He hated law school, too, you know.” Another short silence greeted those words. “I know that now too.” She paused and drew a breath. “We were wrong to push him into it so hard, and we came down on him way too hard when he quit. At the time, we thought… Well, you know him. He can be impulsive sometimes. And stubborn. Lord, that boy could be stubborn. Still is, I guess. We thought he was just going through a rebellious streak and doing it to spite us. When we opposed his decision that made him dig his heels in even more. We really didn’t understand. And now… Well, we wish there was a way to let him know how much we regret the mistakes and we’d like to be on a better footing. Even more so now that he’s getting married.” “What do you think I can do about it? The fault isn’t only yours, you know. Nick is a difficult and stubborn man. When he’s made his mind up about something, it takes more than a few mules pulling to change it. I love him and he loves me, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have that kind of influence on him.” She thought about what Julie had said about Dave and her trying to convince him to improve his relationship with his family. If they couldn’t do it in all the time they’d known him and the things they’d shared, what chance did she have? “I understand,” Caroline said. “I just ask that you try. Oh and one other thing. Please make sure we’re invited to the wedding.” “Of course, you’ll be invited to the wedding. You are still his parents. Of course, that’s unless we decide to run away to Bora Bora and get married by the captain of a tramp steamer on the way. Given Nick’s tolerance for the sort of stuff wedding preparations involve, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised.” His mother laughed. “I wouldn’t either. But I hope it won’t come to that. Thank you for anything you can do to help. And if you need anything, anything at all from us, please ask.” “I will, thank you.” Andrea spent a lot of time musing on the conversation the rest of the afternoon and evening, wondering what she might do to move Nick out of his deeply dug rut on the issue. He wasn’t a man who forgave slights or injuries quickly, even when they came from his own family. Maybe even more so when they came from people he cared about.

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If she tried to push too hard, it could cause a rift in their relationship too, and she wouldn’t risk that. Monday morning she went to work wearing the ring on a chain hung inside her clothes, respecting Nick’s wishes that he make the announcement to his staff. He was late getting in, but something must have shown on her face or in her bearing that morning because a couple of people mentioned she looked particularly happy. Nick arrived at nine-thirty, carrying bags from a local bagel place. He immediately asked everyone to join him in the conference room. It was the largest single space they had, but even it was crowded with nine staff members in addition to Nick. The minute he set the bags down, a couple of the guys started in. “Hey, we got more good news to celebrate? Another deal?” “Of a sort,” Nick said. “Stick around if you want to find out.” After he’d put the food out, he turned around and scanned the room. “Everyone here? Good. I’ve got an announcement to make.” He looked at each person for a second. “We had a major victory last week on the Kendall Rivers project. I’ve had another deal in the works for some time now, a very important one, but of a more personal sort. There’s been a breakthrough there too. The day before yesterday I screwed up my courage and asked Andrea Faselli to marry me. Much to my relief she agreed to it.” The expected fuss broke out then, with people congratulating both of them. She had to pull out the ring and put it on her finger so she could show it off to everyone and accept their compliments and congratulations. She tolerated being fussed over and struggled to stay gracious in the face of one or two snide comments about supporting the boss. It was nearly lunchtime before they managed to get back to work. Ten minutes before she left for the nursing home, Nick came to ask if she planned to visit her aunt. When she said she did, he asked if he could go with her. On the way there, he told her he’d talked to Charles and they’d rescheduled their visit with him at The Pointe for that Wednesday. Aunt Gwen was in bed again, but sitting up, picking at the unappetizing stuff on her lunch tray. She looked happy to see Andrea and happier still when she noticed Nick with her. Without making any fuss about, Andrea held out her left hand, showing off the ring. “Oh!” Aunt Gwen let out a whoop. “You’re engaged. I’m so glad. So very glad.” She speared Nick with a stern look. “Young man, I expect you to take care of her. And make her happy.” “I’ll do my best,” Nick promised. “Good.” With that all the energy and spirit appeared to desert her. She leaned back against the pillows, looking pale and fragile. “I’m sorry,” she said, after her eyes slipped closed. “I get tired so quickly these days.”

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Andrea held her hand and sat quietly for a while, but stood up when it became clear her aunt had slid into deep sleep and wouldn’t waken again for a while. The next day passed in ways closer to normal, until that evening when Andrea was alone in her apartment while Nick went to a zoning board meeting. Her phone rang. She recognized Cal’s voice immediately when he said, “You’re not listening to me. You’ve got to—” “Cal, I’m engaged to him, so don’t bother me again.” “You can’t. Break it. You belong to me and you know it.” “I don’t belong to you. I’m going to marry Nick and you can’t stop it, so just go away and leave me alone.” She hung up on his continued protests and called the police to let them know he’d contacted her again. Wednesday morning she woke thinking about what might happen that evening with the rescheduled appointment at The Pointe. By the time she got to work, she’d managed to work herself into a state of nerves about the visit to the club that night and what Master Charles might demand of her. She didn’t get a chance to find out. At just before ten she got a phone call from her cousin that changed everything.

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Chapter Twelve “Mom’s had a heart attack,” her cousin Philip said. “I just got a call from the nursing home. Since we had a DNR order, they elected not to take her to the hospital. The doctor’s with her now.” “How bad is it?” Philip drew a breath. “I don’t know much, but I think it’s bad,” he said hoarsely. “I’m on my way over there now.” “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she said. Andrea went into Nick’s office and told him what had happened and how bad Phil said it was. “Let me grab my phone list so I can make some calls on the way.” “You don’t have to come. I know you have work to do.” “Nothing more important than this.” When they got to the hospital, Phil was consulting with the doctor outside Aunt Gwen’s room. He saw Andrea and held out an arm for her. She went to him and let him fold her in an embrace. “It’s bad, hon,” he told her. “The doctor was just telling me that she’s in a coma and probably won’t come out of it.” Her stomach twisted and flipped. A lance of pain shot through her chest. “How…how long?” The doctor shook his head. “No way to be sure, but I would guess a few days at most.” “Oh God.” She buried her face in Philip’s shoulder, fighting the tears she didn’t want to let fall in this public hallway. “Can we see her?” she asked when she had some semblance of control again. “Of course,” the doctor said. “Touch her. Talk to her. Tell her how much you love her and will miss her. We don’t really know, but there are indications that people can hear and feel even when in a coma.” She went into the room with Philip and Nick. Aside from the machines monitoring her condition, her pallor and thinness, her aunt might have been asleep. Then the level of stillness pushed past the disbelief in Andrea’s brain and she realized that Aunt Gwen’s respiration was very shallow. For the next two days, Andrea and Phil spent as much time as possible sitting with Aunt Gwen. Sometimes Phil’s wife, Jeannie, came in his place, if he had to work. Nick stayed with her as often as he could, given that he had to spend time with his business.

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His development project was in a critical phase, submitting land-use reports, zoning and easement applications and other paperwork. Around noon on Friday a surprise visitor showed up. Andrea was singing a couple of silly songs to her aunt, so she didn’t hear the footsteps approaching until they were right outside. Julie knocked on the open door and walked in. “Hope you don’t mind,” she said. “Nick told us about your aunt. He thought you could use some moral support.” She held out a bag from a local burger place. “I thought you might need something more substantial. Can we eat in here?” Andrea’s stomach rumbled as the aroma hit her. She laughed for the first time in several days. “Yes. And, yes, I’m starving.” “I figured you wouldn’t be eating much. I remember going through this with my grandmother a few years ago. It was a rough time. She knew about your engagement to Nick?” Andrea nodded. “She was delighted about it. She likes Nick.” “No surprise there.” Julie spent a couple of hours with her. She asked questions about her aunt and growing up with her, what the woman had been like, good times together, and let Andrea reminisce at considerable length. When she finally said she needed to go and stood, Andi stood with her then hugged her. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it,” she said. Julie said, “It’s a family thing. We’re Nick’s other family, so now we’re yours too. Families support each other in times like this.” Andrea couldn’t keep back the tears this time. Julie held her as they fell, until she was calm enough to resume her vigil. Nick came in later to sit with her until Phil got there, then he took her to dinner and home again. Phil called her at six o’clock Saturday morning. When Andrea answered, he said, “She’s going. Better get over here.” Andrea called Nick as she was climbing into her clothes, waking him as well. “I’ll meet you there,” he said. The room was crowded with Phil and his wife and two nurses when she arrived. Aunt Gwen’s breathing was very shallow and made an odd, rattling sound. After a few minutes of looking at the patient and the monitors, the nurses left. Nick arrived a few minutes later and stood behind the chair she sat in. Andrea took Aunt Gwen’s hand and prayed. The priest from Aunt Gwen’s old church came in a few minutes later and gave her aunt the last blessing. Andrea was still holding the old woman’s hand when she noticed the intervals between breaths growing longer and longer, until they finally stopped altogether.

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***** She’d never helped plan a funeral before and it proved more complex than she realized. Though her aunt had made some plans and left directions, there were still papers to be signed, decisions to be made and people to contact. Fortunately Phil, as executor of his mother’s estate, did most of the work, and Nick stayed around to help support her through the rest. He helped her survive the next few days as well, when she and Phil sorted out Aunt Gwen’s things, took care of a bunch of paperwork and made hundreds of decisions about the minutiae of the services. A small crowd showed up at the church on Tuesday morning for the funeral. The size of the group stunned Andrea, given that Aunt Gwen had outlived most of her friends and family. Phil’s family and a few of his friends attended, of course, as well as a couple of nurses and coordinators from the nursing home. But most of Nick’s office staff came, Dave and Julie showed up, and to her complete astonishment, Nick’s mother, father and brother were there as well. Andrea was grateful for them all, though it was Nick who supported her through most of the service. Dave, Julie and Nick’s family went to the cemetery for the interment service as well, though they all declined the invitation to return to Phil’s house for lunch. Only Nick accompanied her to that, which gave him a chance to talk more to her cousin and his wife and meet his three kids. Nick stayed with her for the rest of the day, taking her to dinner later at a quiet restaurant and then back to his place, where they made long, slow love to each other, spending a lot of time kissing, stroking and exploring each other’s bodies. When he took her home, he told her not to come into work if she didn’t feel up to it. But Andi already knew she would go. She’d taken care of cleaning out Aunt Gwen’s things from the nursing home and disposing of them. She and Phil had to meet the lawyer handling the will on Thursday. There wasn’t anything left for her to do and she’d go nuts sitting around with too much time to think. She had to accept all the condolences at the office, but after an hour or so that died down and she could get back to work. Nick had left her notes on creating a spreadsheet for a land-use analysis. It proved complicated enough to distract her thoroughly for most of the day. There were more projects for her to work on, enough to keep her busy for the week, leaving her little time to think or brood. In the evenings, Nick took her to dinner, and to movies or plays on the evenings when he didn’t have other meetings. On Friday he called her into his office at ten. They left the door open, but he spoke so low no one else would hear. “What do you think about going back to The Pointe tomorrow night? I checked with Charles. He’ll be there. Are you ready for it?” Part of her wanted to say no, the part that still felt guilty about enjoying anything when her aunt no longer could. But her aunt wouldn’t want that for her. Aunt Gwen

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had enjoyed her life for as long as she could and she’d want Andrea to do so also. “Yes, let’s do it,” she answered. He smiled. “I’ll let Charles know. Also, about this report you did here? I found an error in this column.” He pointed to the offending figure. “What were you thinking here?” She frowned at the number and wondered the same thing herself. “I don’t know. It was a stupid mistake. I guess I’ve been kind of distracted this week.” “Not surprising. So I won’t spank you for it. This time.” He said that at just above a whisper. “I’m disappointed.” His eyebrows rose. “If you really want it, I’ll be happy to oblige.” “Can I go over your knee?” “Absolutely.” “Please?” She gave him her best imploring look. “I can never refuse a lady who asks so nicely. I’ll see you tonight. Now go get this fixed.” He handed the report back to her. Later that evening, she did indeed find herself draped facedown over his lap, while Nick sat on one of the straight-backed chairs in the kitchen of his condo. The position proved more awkward than she expected. But the rest of it was just as rewarding as she hoped. He pushed up her skirt and rolled down her panties, then rubbed her bottom for a couple of minutes before he lifted a hand and brought it down on the flesh. The crack it made startled them both. It didn’t hurt much at first, but after a while the small burns accumulated to a major sizzle. It fired from her buttocks into the core of her being, and from her pussy into her heart. She loved Nick Tysinger more than she’d ever thought possible. He continued spanking until she began to squeal and yelp and beg him to stop. Then he rubbed her bottom again for a few minutes to soothe away the ache before he carried her into the bedroom and laid her on his bed. He stripped away her clothes with almost reverent care and let his tongue rove over her throat and breasts, abdomen, thighs, even down her legs to her feet. He rolled her over and licked across the welts his hand had left before he moved down and stroked his tongue over her pussy until she cried for him to enter and complete her. They spent part of the next day moving some of her stuff into his condo and then went to look at the house again. It still struck Andrea as the most perfect home she’d ever seen. When he told her he’d made an offer for it, the idea that she might actually one day live in the place began to take root. After a quick supper, they both showered and dressed at his home to get ready for the trip to the club. Andi’s stomach began to tighten up as she prepared.

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“Any idea what Charles is likely to do?” she asked. He must have heard the panic stirring in her voice. “Nothing you can’t handle. He’ll likely experiment with your limits, maybe try to expand them. But you’ll have a safe word and he’ll respect it. Don’t hesitate to use it if anything is too much for you or even getting close.” “I can’t believe I got myself into this.” “I haven’t forgotten why,” Nick said. “Oh. I think I had. But it was worth it.” They met Charles in the lobby, where he’d checked in just ahead of them. He shook hands with Nick and kissed her on the cheek, with an old world sort of graciousness. “May I buy you both a drink?” he asked. “I understand both congratulations and condolences are in order.” They sat in the lounge area for almost an hour, drinking wine and talking. Andrea had just begun to relax when Nick nodded to Charles and both men stood up. “We have work to do,” Charles said. Andrea’s chest tightened and her pulse leapt as she followed him out of the bar and down a couple of hallways to the private rooms. This room was similar to the one they’d first used here, more like a small dungeon than the luxurious hotel-playrooms she and Nick had used at CandlePower. Dim lighting didn’t entirely hide the various benches, chairs, racks and other things along one side. Once the door was shut behind them, Charles said, “Nick and I have had a couple of long talks about what he thought tonight should be. My suggestion, and he went along with it, was to see if we could push things a bit further than you’ve gone before. If you recall, the first time we met, when we watched those vignettes, Nick asked which one you liked best. You told him it would have been the second one if there had been any sexual connection between the leads. We’re going to replay that one tonight. You have a safe word from Nick?” “Yes, Sir. Red light.” “Good. I expect you to use it. Because I’m not going to stop until you do. This session is mostly for you to learn about yourself. To explore your own limits. To help you with that, I’m adding another phrase, ‘Yellow light’. You use that one if you don’t want to stop everything, but you need a few minutes to recover or to decide whether you can continue. You can use it as often as you need to. There’s nothing wrong with using it. Do you understand?” “Yes, Sir.” “Good. Your outfit is in the dressing room. You have five minutes.” She got right to it this time, hustling into the dressing room and getting out of her own clothes in record time. The black maid’s outfit she found hanging there had a lowcut short-sleeved blouse of lacy material that didn’t hide her breasts and a short, flouncy skirt that came to mid-thigh. Stockings with elastic garters to hold them up and

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pumps with five-inch heels completed the costume. No real maid had ever worn anything remotely like this. She’d never worn heels that high and had to take care walking in them. When she walked out, she found they’d moved a large desk to the middle of the space. Nick sat in a chair behind it, looking stern. His expression didn’t soften when he looked up and saw her and his words were harsh. “There you are, Andrea. You know I’ve had some complaints about your work lately.” “I’m sorry, Sir. Truly. I’ll try to do better.” “Not enough. I’m going to have to let you go.” She tried to make her tone suitably pleading. “Please, Sir, give me another chance. I’ll do anything. Please?” He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “Perhaps, if you’re willing to accept some chastisement for your laxness, I could let you stay on. But you must mend your ways.” “Oh I will, Sir.” He stood up. “Very well. But your punishment will be severe. Bend over the desk. My assistant is going to administer your chastisement.” Charles stood in the shadows at the side of the room, holding what looked like a birch rod in his right hand. Andrea sucked in a sharp breath and wondered why she’d thought this was a good idea. Had she made a terrible mistake again? Could she stand this? Nick must have seen her panic. He came around to her side, took her hands in his and whispered, “Remember, you have safe words.” Then he helped her bend down until her torso rested on the cool, smooth surface of the desk, her feet on the floor. He returned to the other side of the desk, sat in the chair and took her hands again. She heard Charles move up behind her and to one side but she couldn’t bear to look. A moment later she felt the odd, tickly brush of the twigs over her bottom as he laid the rod against it. Then it drew away. A whizzing sound preceded the splat as several of the twigs landed on her buttocks. It wasn’t a hard stroke and she felt only the barest heat. In fact, it took almost a dozen, increasingly firm lashes before she noticed the burn starting to build. A dozen more and her bottom sizzled. She began to jerk with each stroke, and a couple were hard enough to draw gasps or moans. A harder cut painted a ribbon of fire across the lowest curve of her rear end and it burned almost unbearably. Nick hung on to her hands, helping her to cope with the next few as they zipped across the tops of her thighs, leaving rivers of fiery burn behind. Charles moved higher for the next couple, swatting across the crest of her bottom with considerable force. She

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almost jerked off the desk after the second. Nick leaned over and brushed his lips across her cheek. She wanted him to be proud of her. Finally after two more, the blaze in her bottom overwhelmed her. She hated to do it, but forced herself to call, “Yellow light.” She lay there and drew several deep breaths, calming herself. Nick brushed her hair with his fingers and kissed her a couple of times. The fierce sting in her bottom and thighs diminished some. “I think I’m ready to go again,” she said. “Sure?” Nick asked. “Yes.” She could handle this. She’d told him she thought she could take a lot more than he’d given her. Now she had the chance to find out. Still… The rod crashed down on her bottom again. For a moment she just felt the impact, but then a fiery, acidic burn rose to the point of making her squeal and gasp. Three more of those and all thought died in a combustion of fire and pain. Still, it was sinking into her core and rousing that wonderful pressure, the longing. He struck her thighs again and a few more times on her bottom before one really harsh stroke made her kick and twist and struggle to get away. Only Nick’s hands holding her kept her from jumping up and racing around the room, desperately trying to rub away the pain. “Enough,” she gasped. “Red light.” Charles dropped the rod and Nick stood up. They came around the desk to help her up. “I need…” She could barely get the words out. Her body throbbed with desire, with the desperate urge to completion. “Over here.” Charles rolled out a mattress pad the size of a queen-sized bed while Nick led her to it. Both helped lower her onto it then shucked off their clothes in a tearing hurry. Nick lay down next to her and drew her into his arms, pulling her onto her side. Charles stretched out on the other side of her. It took some awkward maneuvering before Nick’s cock finally slid into her. Charles’ arms went around her, closing over her breasts and his shaft brushed up and down against her buttocks, grating against the welts there in a way that sent more razor-edged slices of need into her. Every nerve-ending in her body vibrated to the excess of stimulation. Closed between two men, folded in the loving embrace of both, she wanted to hold back, to savor the joy of it, to make it last. But need rode her too hard. It took only a half dozen thrusts before her muscles clenched so hard she grew rigid, then the explosion of climax sprung her loose and sent her into a bliss too grand to endure for long. She heard herself scream, something she’d never done in orgasm before. She presumed the men came at some point in there. When she finally regained enough sense to know where she was, they all lay quiet, breathing heavily, touching or stroking tenderly.

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They stayed that way for a while, until Nick finally stirred and they forced themselves to get up and clean up. She and Nick slept late on Sunday morning and had a pleasant, leisurely day. Until Thursday, the rest of the week was dominated by work and sorting out Aunt Gwen’s financial matters with Philip. On Thursday evening, she and Nick went to a concert by a singer they both liked. When they got back to his apartment, a call waited on his answering machine. Cam’s voice said, “Nick? Hi, it’s a little after nine. Give me a call when you get in. Doesn’t matter what time. Dad’s in the hospital. He woke up feeling sick this morning and by lunchtime he was so out of it someone drove him home from work. Mom called me to check him out and he’s in the hospital now. It looks like pneumonia.” Nick stopped the message and deleted it. He picked up the handset and held it for a moment before he pressed in his brother’s number. A brief conversation followed. Nick asked for details and got them at some length. In answer, apparently, to a question posed by his brother, he said, “I’ll consider it.” The call ended soon thereafter. “How is he?” “He’ll survive.” Nick’s tone indicated he didn’t want to discuss it, but Andrea decided to give it one shot anyway. “Will you go see him?” “I doubt it. It’s not like he’s dying or anything.” “Would it hurt? You never know what might happen.” “I’ll tell you the same thing I told my brother. I’ll think about it.” She had to be content with that. His mother called her at work the next morning. “I already know Nick is out of the office at the moment,” the woman said. “I really wanted to talk to you anyway. You know his father is in the hospital? It would mean so much to Ed if Nick would come and see him. Not that he ever talks about it much, but every now and again he’s said some things. He misses Nick.” “I’ve already tried to convince him,” Andrea admitted, “but he’s very stubborn. I’ll try again, but I doubt I’ll have much luck.” “Thank you.” She brought up the topic at dinner that evening. “Have you decided about going to see your father?” “Not yet.” “I really think you should,” she told him. “What if something happens? What if you don’t get a chance to talk to him and he…dies? How will you feel? I can’t believe you’re just blowing off your family, when…” She drew a breath and had to clear the obstruction from her throat.

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He narrowed his eyes. “Are you really concerned about my feelings or are you just trying to maneuver your way into a new family of your own?” For a moment she couldn’t even talk as pain speared into her chest. “Nick! That’s cruel.” His fist clenched around the stem of his wineglass, threatening to break it. Then he set the glass down hard but carefully, and sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” “All right.” She let out the breath she’d been holding. Nick remained tense, however, his movements jerky and his expression tight. Shadows in his eyes and the tension in his bearing suggested a struggle raged inside him. She hoped that meant some part of him actually did want a reconciliation with his family, but that part warred with his stubborn obstinacy. And it would have a hard time battering down the wall he’d built to protect himself from the hurt his parents had done with their earlier rejection. Maybe, with some time, he’d find a way past the pain to forgiveness. Nick turned the conversation to business, but the strain hung over them for the rest of the evening. When they made love, it felt more mechanical than loving. The subtle tension between them continued Saturday morning. Andrea had to run some errands right after lunch. When she got back to his apartment at four, she knew right away something had happened. His expression looked thunderous with anger. His body almost vibrated with it. She didn’t have to wait long to find out what was bothering him. “You’ve been talking to my mother behind my back,” he accused, moments after she’d come in and set down a couple of bags. “Conspiring with her without telling me.” Her temper rose to meet his. “I’ve talked to your mother on the phone a couple of times. Why is that a crime? And, yes, she asked me to try to get you to speak to them, and to go visit your father in the hospital. I don’t call that ‘conspiring’. She asked for a favor. I said I’d try. I don’t think it’s good for you in the long run to have such hard feelings with your family.” “It’s not your problem.” The words came out in a low growl, from between clenched teeth. A taut muscle pulsed at the corner of his jaw. “I asked you to marry me, but that doesn’t mean you own me. Nor does it give you the right to interfere in my relationship with my family. I can’t believe you went behind my back. You never told me you’d talked to my mother about it.” “No, and that was a mistake. I should have. But I was afraid I’d get just this reaction.” “You’re not that much of a coward.” “Maybe I am. But it didn’t seem like the right time to tell you.”

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“There never would be a right time. And you know it.” He shook his head with a jerky motion. “How do I trust someone who’d do this? How could you betray me like this?” She sucked in a sharp breath as a knife-thrust of pain stabbed into her chest. “You think it’s a betrayal when I talk to your mother without telling you? How did I miss that you were so…paranoid?” “Paranoid? You think it’s paranoid to be upset when your fiancée conspires with your mother?” “You really don’t trust me because I talked with your mother? Without letting you know? Nick, that’s…” Her stomach locked up into painful knots. She looked at him, searching his face for…understanding? Something to give her hope that this was just a whim or temper tantrum? It wasn’t there. And wouldn’t be. Stubborn and unforgiving. His mother had said so. Even Julie had said something like that. Andrea wrapped one hand over the other. A corner of the diamond poked into her palm. It felt like shards of glass sliced up her gut and her heart. She was bleeding inside, hope, dreams, even life draining away with it. She tugged the ring off and put it down on the nearest table. “You won’t forgive me for it, will you? Or even consider that I might have a point worth thinking about. Because then you’d have to give an inch or two, and you don’t do that.” His expression changed as he watched her set the ring down and turn to leave. “Wait, Andi, I didn’t mean we couldn’t work something out.” “No, I know. The problem is it would only be on your terms. Does the word ‘compromise’ mean anything to you? Or trying to see things from someone else’s point of view? I sort of suspect not. You don’t even get forgiveness, except on your own terms.” “I…” He stopped and apparently couldn’t find the words to answer. Of course not. He didn’t have them. She left, shutting the door carefully behind her and went to her car. Somehow she made it back to her apartment, even though the tears all but blinded her. Once she got there, she made herself a cup of coffee, trying not to think too much, and curled up in her favorite recliner for a while. When she finally got calm enough, she called Julie. “You’ve done what?” Julie said, after she’d told her she’d given the ring back to Nick. “Broke it off.” “Why?” She sounded indignant. Andrea told her the whole sorry story, trying not to break down again as she did so. When she’d finished, Julie said, “Oh crap. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” The knock on the door came just ten minutes later. 139

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But it wasn’t Julie. Cal stood at the door to her apartment. When she tried to slam it on him, he stuck a foot in the opening. He reached inside, grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door before she had time to brace herself to resist. She screamed and struggled as he dragged her to his truck, until she felt the point of something sharp nudging at her side. Cal twisted it a bit to drive his point home. “Shut up.” He pulled her around to the driver’s side door of the truck and made her climb in, keeping the knife close to her side even as she stepped up and slid across the seat. As Cal got in and settled into the driver’s seat, Andrea reached for the door handle on her side. Cal extended an arm toward her and she got a look at his weapon, a wicked-looking hunting knife with a sixinch blade and a curved point at the end. As Cal started the truck, she saw through the side window another car approaching the front of her apartment. Julie. She stared at the car and willed the woman to look up at her. Julie glanced at the truck. Andrea risked making a slicing gesture with a finger across her throat. She prayed the other woman got the message as Cal started the truck and they roared out of the parking lot. She might be in as much danger from an accident as from his knife, since Cal drove one-handed, at a reckless rate of speed, holding the weapon so that he continued to threaten her with it.

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Chapter Thirteen Nick couldn’t quite figure out what had happened. He stared at the door for several long minutes after Andrea walked out, waiting for her to come back and tell him it had all been a silly mistake. It took a while to penetrate that she wouldn’t return. Ever. He felt weird. Numb, adrift, not sure what to do next. Why had it happened? Why had she suddenly gone all stiff-necked and stubborn on him? Granted that she probably had thought she was trying to help, why couldn’t she see it from his point of view? Okay, he hadn’t done a great job of trying to see it from her point of view while they’d been arguing, but still… Women were supposed to be better at that sort of thing, weren’t they? And she was a submissive, wasn’t she? No, he didn’t want to go there. She was a submissive, just like Julie was a submissive. A submissive who knew what she wanted and was willing to ask for it. A strong submissive. A strong woman, one who’d survived a lot of bad breaks. And learned a few lessons from them about what was important in life. Lessons she tried to share with him. At his mother’s urging. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was figuring out how to get her back. He could barely imagine life without her anymore. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a beer to help him think, plan. Before he managed more than a single swallow, though, his cell phone rang. “Nick, you idiot, we’ve got problems,” Julie said, without identifying herself. “I know, Andrea and I had an argument.” “Forget that right now. Did that jerk who was harassing her drive a pickup truck? Big blue monster?” “Shit. Yes. Why?” “I think he just kidnapped her.” The glass hit the floor and smashed, sending beer and slivers in a wash over the kitchen. Fortunately it spilled away from him and mostly missed his clothes. “You saw them?” “I was going over to talk to her. As I pulled up to her apartment the pickup truck rushed off. I saw her in it, and she made this odd gesture, you know the throat slitting thing?” 141

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“I’m getting in the car now. Did you see which way they went?” He grabbed his keys and wallet and rushed out to his SUV, still holding the phone to his ear. “Better. I’m following them.” “You’re kidding. Have you called the cops?” “Wasn’t sure enough about the guy. Maybe you should.” “I will. Tell me where you are.” She gave him her location and the direction they were traveling. “I don’t know how long I can keep up. He’s driving like a maniac.” “We know he’s got a few screws loose. Let me hang up and call the cops and I’ll get right back to you. Try to keep up with him.” “Will do.” She hung up. Nick called the police and explained they had a likely kidnapping in process, relaying what Julie had told him. “We’ve got a couple of units in the area. I’ll have them get there as quickly as I can. Do you have the license number?” “Not right at hand, but Andrea gave it to someone there when she got the restraining order.” “Good enough. We can get it. And with your description of the truck, I think our guys will find them. Can you give me the cell phone number of the lady following him?” He gave them the number and asked them to keep him apprised of the location. He called Julie back for an update on where she was and told her the police would be calling her to get her location. “Dave’s on his way, too,” she told him before she hung up. He fought traffic on one of the main roads to get to the highway Julie had followed Cal onto. His stomach twisted up on itself like someone used a torque wrench on it. He tried to visualize ways this could end and too many of them made him clench his teeth or wince with fear. He prayed as hard and as deeply as his unpracticed soul could manage. The phone buzzed and Julie quickly updated him on the turn they’d made off the main road onto a smaller one. Fortunately he knew the area well enough and could get there a quicker way. As he got to the road they were on, he tried to call Julie again. Her phone was busy. He did get Dave and learned that he was about a minute behind them. Nick didn’t just break the speed limit in an attempt to catch up, he left it so far behind he couldn’t see it in the rearview mirror. Within a few minutes, he caught up with Julie. A highway patrol vehicle, siren blazing, passed her as he drew close, and then another police car overtook him from behind. The pickup truck was a couple of hundred yards ahead. They were all going way too fast. His phone buzzed again. 142

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“The cops are asking us to back off,” Julie said. “They’ve got him. There are a couple more units up ahead of him.” “Will do.” Julie slowed and so did he, but he tried to keep up enough to at least keep them in sight. The farther it got out of town, the more winding the road became. His breathing got rougher and fear made his fists clench around the steering wheel, every muscle in his body tense. The wails of the sirens faded and grew, then he heard several more join the chorus. He lost sight of the vehicles ahead. Moments later, an agonizing squeal of brakes and skidding tires made his heart jump into a hammering beat. The crash that followed, with the sound of an impact and the scream of metal made his stomach churn and brought sweat streaming down his temples. It took only moments to reach the site. Several police and highway patrol cars already parked on the verge of the road with lights blazing. The pickup truck sat next to the tree it had rammed into. The driver’s side had apparently taken the brunt of the impact, but still… Deep furrows showed where the vehicle had left the road and plowed through underbrush for some twenty feet until it hit the tree. Police and highway patrol officers ran to the truck. One already there tugged at the passenger side door. He prayed under his breath as he parked on the shoulder, jumped out and ran to join them. The smell of gasoline teased his nose and added urgency as he began helping the officer attempting to pull open the door. The frame must have been bent. The door didn’t want to give. He yanked desperately at it, continuing even when two more police officers joined them. One had a crowbar that he wedged in the door and finally got it to pop loose. He didn’t dare look up, until he heard Andrea’s voice responding to a question from one of the officers. “I’m okay. I think.” She sounded dazed, shocky and weak. He lifted his head. “Andi?” She turned her neck gingerly to look at him. “Nick?” He tried to get closer to hold her, but one of the officers held him back. He spoke to Andi, though, when he said, “Please, miss, don’t move until the paramedics check you out.” “All right.” Nick reached up to touch her hand. “Are you hurt?” Blood stained the sleeve of her blouse and ran down the right side of her head, but she didn’t have any obvious serious injuries. Her seat belt was still fastened around her. “I…don’t think so. Not bad. Cal…” She didn’t turn. “I think he’s bad.” “Don’t know yet,” one of the other officers said. “He doesn’t appear to be conscious.”

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More sirens sounded, getting rapidly closer. Within moments a group of firefighters and paramedics descended and Nick had to move back to give them room. Dave and Julie joined him. He told them what he knew and they all watched as the paramedics got Andrea out of the truck and onto a backboard. When they loaded her into the ambulance, Nick asked where they were taking her. All three of them went to the hospital and sat in the waiting room for several hours while Andrea had X-rays, a CAT scan and a few other tests. Several police officers came to take her story and spent an hour or so with them, getting Julie’s and Nick’s stories. Finally at eight o’clock a doctor came out to talk to them. “I understand one of you is her fiancé?” the doctor said, looking from him to Dave. “I am.” “Good. She’s actually in pretty good shape, all things considered. Minor head injury, lots of bruises, but no broken bones or serious injuries. We’ll keep her here overnight for observation, but I expect to let her go in the morning.” Nick let out a long breath of relief, releasing some of his tension with it. That night he spent a long time wrestling with himself. It burned inside him to think how close he’d come to losing Andi, the person who’d brought so much light and joy into his life. He might yet lose her, if they couldn’t patch up their differences. But they would. He’d see to it. If he had to choose between having her or staying in his comfortable rut where he kept at arm’s distance the people who’d once rejected him, he now knew which was more important. He acknowledged his stubbornness and fear had kept him from taking the risk of forgiving and trying to forget for far too long. For her sake, if for no other reason, he’d give it a try. But there were other reasons. He’d seen for himself how quickly things could change, how easily you could lose someone you loved. If Andi had died, he’d spend a long time regretting the things he’d said to her, the way he’d treated her. And if his father died, he admitted, he’d regret the hard feelings between them. He still had a chance to try to convince his parents he hadn’t ruined his own life with impulsive actions. Andi had suggested they were willing to meet him halfway. Compromise. Andi had said he wasn’t capable of it. But he was. He did it in his business dealings all the time. He’d just never been good at it in his personal life. It was time to start learning. With that resolution made, he finally drifted off to sleep. The next morning he called his parents before he left for the hospital to get Andrea. They talked for a while and he promised to see them within a day or two to talk some more.

***** Andrea spent a restless night in the hospital. It seemed like every hour or so someone came in, usually just after she’d dozed off following the last interruption, and

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woke her to take her temperature or bring her a pill or get a sample of something. It was almost a relief when morning came. The nurse helped her take a shower and wash her hair. The breakfast tray didn’t excite her, though the coffee was hot and welcome. The doctor came in and said she could go, though he counseled taking it easy for a few days, and he gave her a list of bad things to watch for. She’d just gotten around to wondering how she’d get home, when Julie came into the room, followed by Nick. “Hey, girl,” Julie said, “You look a lot better than yesterday, though it looks like you’re working on a good shiner there. Figured you’d want some fresh clothes. I got them from your place. Didn’t lock up behind you when you left yesterday. I brought your purse too, and locked your place up when I left last night.” She stopped to draw a breath and finished with, “Oh and you get your choice of which of us you go home with. Him or me.” She pointed to Nick. “I think he has a few things he wants to say before you make up your mind, but let’s get you cleaned up first. Okay?” “You’re a lifesaver,” Andrea told her, putting every ounce of sincerity into it she could. Her abused body had stiffened up considerably overnight, making her grateful for Julie’s help in dressing, getting her hair brushed out and a bit of makeup on. Then the other woman retreated to let her talk to Nick privately. Nick came in and sat on the bed since she occupied the only chair in the room. He looked different somehow. Serious. Worried. Unsure of himself. “I called my parents this morning,” he said. “I’m going to see my father in the hospital later today. I won’t say we’ve resolved all our differences. I don’t expect it to happen quickly. But it’s a start.” He looked down at his hands, then up at her again. His expression was sad, the green eyes shadowed by regret and worry. “I had too much time to think while we chased after you yesterday and then in the waiting room at the hospital and last night. I realized a few things, including what a jerk I was about your talking with my mother. What an idiot I was to let something so stupid destroy the special thing we had. I broke it. I know that, and I’m sorry. I want to mend it. Please tell me it’s not irreversible.” It almost hurt to see him so humble and unsure of himself. Andrea reached out and took his hands, holding them in her own. “It’s not irreversible,” she said. “I made mistakes too, not trusting you enough to tell you about the phone calls. It was stupid.” “Nowhere near as stupid as my reaction.” She laughed. “Nope. Not hardly.” His mouth crooked into the half-grin she loved. “I plan to… Well, you’ll see tonight. But right now…” He withdrew a hand, dug in a pocket and brought out the ring. “Would you consider wearing this again?”

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She took it from him and held it in both hands for a moment before she slid it on her finger. “Yes.” She leaned forward for a kiss but somehow ended up on his lap. Their lips were still locked together when Julie came back into the room. “Hmm, looks like you get to go home with Nick,” she said. “Break it up, kiddies, they’re kicking Andrea out of here. Your wheelchair awaits.” They parted reluctantly. She went home with Nick to his condo, where he tucked her into his bed, made her drink a glass of juice, take one of the pain pills the doctor had prescribed and settle in for a nap. Between the pill and the constant interruptions the previous night, she ended up sleeping until two-thirty. A few minutes after she woke the doorbell rang. Shortly after that Nick came into the room to ask, “You up for visitors?” “Give me a couple of minutes to straighten myself out.” She expected Dave and Julie. Instead the guests were Nick’s mother and brother, come to see how she was doing. They talked for a while before the doorbell rang again. It was Phil this time. Obviously Nick had let everyone know what had happened. While Phil stayed with her for a while, Nick went off with his family to the hospital to visit his father. Her cousin had already left by the time Nick returned. “Dave and Julie want us to come for supper if you’re up to it,” he said, before she could ask about his visit. “I’m up to it. I really got off lucky in the accident. Probably because of my seat belt. I was so scared by his driving I put it on. I’d thought about trying to jump out, but he was going so fast…” “You’d have been killed. You did the smart thing and it worked out for you.” “Have you heard…how Cal is?” “I asked about him this morning. He’ll live to stand trial for kidnapping.” “That won’t be fun.” “No, but necessary. The guy’s a menace.” “I know. How’d it go with your father?” He drew a breath. “Okay. We’ve got work to do.” “How is he?” “Sick but improving. They’ll probably send him home tomorrow.” He glanced at his watch. “We leave in ten minutes.” It actually took her fifteen to get ready, mostly because she moved slowly due to the stiffness and watching out for the various bruises. The dark spot at her left temple hadn’t quite made it to full black eye status, but it wasn’t pretty. She still shuddered every time she remembered that nightmare ride with Cal.

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Dinner with Dave and Julie was fun. Even Nick joined in the joking laughter and general rejoicing, though she occasionally caught a worried shadow in his eyes when he thought others weren’t watching him. She found out why once they’d finished dessert and coffee. Nick stood up, but gestured for everyone else to stay seated for a minute. “I have something I want to say to the three of you,” he started after drawing a deep breath and visibly bracing himself. “First an apology. I’ve been a stubborn fool for a while now. All of you, Andrea especially, have tried to tell me that family is too important to waste. I’ve refused to listen, and I’ve been ugly about it at times. I’ve hurt you for trying to help me. It took a terrible accident and nearly losing Andrea to make me understand what you all tried to tell me. I let my pride and stubbornness rule me for too long. As a result I’m going to do something I never imagined I would do even two days ago. I’m going to ask you to punish me for it.” Silence reigned in the room for a moment. Then Dave said, “Seems fair to me.” He looked at the women for their reaction. Julie nodded. Andrea stared at Nick, trying to move past the shock and decide how she felt about it. He was her Master, the one who punished her for transgressions, real and play. But this was very real to him, and it mattered a great deal. He wanted it and it finally occurred to her why. He felt guilty for more than just the hurt that brought on their brief breakup. He felt responsible in some sense for allowing Cal to kidnap and nearly kill her. This was a way to deal with the guilt. Without moving her gaze from him, she nodded. Dave stood up too, and said, “Into the exercise room.” They all followed him there. Dave looked at Nick and said, “Clothes off.” He didn’t ask the others to undress, a calculated move. Nick did as ordered, with some visible reluctance, and finally stood in front of them, naked. Dave watched impassively as he said, “This is your show. We’re not going to spare you, but you get to call when it stops. You say ‘Stop’, it ends.” Nick kept his eyes on his friend. “A request. After I tell you I’ve had enough, give me five more.” Dave’s expression didn’t change. “We accept the right. Whether we decide to do it is our decision.” Nick nodded. Dave adjusted the exercise bench so one end stood a foot and a half higher than the other and told Nick to get on it, facedown. Andrea’s stomach did a funny twist, forcing her to draw a deep breath. Julie heard and put a hand on her arm. “I don’t know if I can handle this,” Andrea said. “If you love him, you will,” Julie answered. “He needs it.” She hesitated. “Didn’t he tell you he plays as a sub sometimes?” “This is so not play.”

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“In a way it is. We all know that we’re going to hurt him but not harm him. Plus basically he controls it. Keep that in mind. You should be participating but given your physical condition, we’ll give you a pass. I’ll give him your licks for you.” Andrea drew another deep breath. “Hard?” “Hard.” She nodded. Dave had already gone to the closet and extracted a heavy strap. It looked way too harsh to start with, but she had to assume he knew what he was doing. Nick lay on the bench and wrapped his hands around the legs to hold on. He turned his face away from them. Dave raised the strap and brought it down, hard. The crack raked across her nerves. Nick jerked, and a pink stripe rose across his fair skin where the leather had landed. Dave struck again and again, trying to avoid a set rhythm. Throughout it Nick made no sound, though he did occasionally flinch. After fifteen minutes or so Dave stopped and looked at his wife. “Your turn.” By then Nick’s buttocks and thighs were very red. “I’m doing Andrea’s turn, too,” Julie announced. “She’s a bit too banged up for this right now.” From the cabinet Julie selected what looked like a riding crop with a small leather loop on the end and whipped it down on Nick’s bottom, painting an immediate red stripe on a surface already raw and sore from the strap. It made a wicked hissing noise as it cut through the air and a nerve-grating crack as it bit deep into the target flesh. With surprising firmness, Julie struck over and over, striping his buttocks, thighs and even his shoulders with the mark of the crop. The loop left distinctive oval-shaped welts, some of which would darken into bruises. As before Nick made no sound, though the taut lines of his body and the way his hands clenched around the legs of the bench indicated how much effort that took. She was just as glad she couldn’t see his face. After a while Julie put down the crop and went to the closet, returning with a flogger, a fairly heavy-looking one. “This is for Andi.” She raised the flogger and brought it down, causing a wicked series of smacks. Did Dave do a submissive thing sometimes, too? Julie looked awfully skilled at this. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to see her doing a scary dominatrix. Andrea glanced at Dave and met his gaze. He gave her an odd half-shrug that told her nothing. Julie delivered a nasty series of lashes on Nick’s bottom, thighs and shoulders. One that crashed across the area where thighs and buttocks met drew the first sound from him, a sharply indrawn breath. Two more strokes on the same place and he let out a small moan. Finally Julie dropped the flogger and nodded at Dave. Her husband took a much nastier-looking flogger from the cabinet. It had longer, thinner tails and more of them. They made a different, whizzing sound, more like a whip, when he lashed it down. The first stroke had an almost electric effect on Nick. His body arced up off the bench for a 148

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moment and he groaned loudly. The second time it struck he had better control and only panted harshly as he struggled. The flogger left ribbons of thin, deep-red welts where it hit. After a dozen strikes Nick wore a dense webbing of them from his shoulders to his knees. It looked brutally painful. Andi had no idea how he could possibly be bearing so much. Dave didn’t increase the intensity. He didn’t have to. Those tails dug in deep. Nick swore out loud a couple of times and let out one long yell when the flogger came down on an angle across his bottom and some of the lashes hit his balls. “Enough,” he said. “Stop.” Andi let out a long sigh of relief, until she remembered his request. Dave remembered it, too. “Three more,” he said. “And I want to hear you yell with each.” He moved to Nick’s side and shifted so that he brought the flogger down from the tops of his buttocks onto his legs instead of across. That ensured the lashes raced across his bottom and the ends dug into his upper thighs or balls. At least one of the tails dove into the crease between his butt cheeks. Nick yelled again and then swore gustily. Dave did it again, raised the flogger and brought it down again for the final stroke with no interval in between. Nick howled. His torso rose from the bench in a tight arc for a moment. When he let it down again, he rolled from side to side, trying to bear what must have been excruciating pain. Dave tossed the flogger aside and watched his friend wriggle for a moment before he came over to where Andi and Julie stood. He addressed Andi, when he asked, “Are you all right?” She let out a long breath. “That was…” “Intense,” Dave finished for her. “And what he wanted. Now I want you to take him to the guestroom and let him know it was all worthwhile.” “You think I can?” He smiled. “I know you can. I’ll help you get him there.” Nick still lay on the bench. He’d folded his arms on the padded surface and had his face buried in them. Sweat darkened his hair. The welts continued to rise and darken. He had so many, she was almost scared to touch him. Dave put a hand on an undamaged stretch at the top of his shoulder, and said, “Up.” Nick heaved in a breath. “You’re a nasty son of a bitch, Dave.” “I know and you love me for it. Anyway, Andrea has promised to kiss your booboos and make them all better.” That made Nick lift his head. He smiled up at Andi and it all but ripped her guts out. “Promise?” “Absolutely.”

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He pushed up off the bench. Dave helped, particularly when Nick swayed as he got to his feet. Between them they maneuvered him into the guestroom. Andi drew back the coverlet on the bed and Dave more or less upended his friend onto the bed. Nick gasped as his backside hit the sheets and rolled onto his side. Andrea stood next to the bed for a moment, unsure what to do next. “I’ll leave you guys to it,” Dave said. “I have some work to do with Julie. No need to rush out, but if you do decide to leave tonight, don’t disturb us. Let yourselves out. I recommend you stay here and call in sick to work tomorrow. Andi would anyway. You can stay home to take care of her.” Nick chuckled. “Thanks, mom.” “Any time.” He left, shutting the door behind him. Andrea stared at Nick, horrified by the damage. Bruises darkened everywhere from his neck down to his calves. “Nick…” He put out a hand and dragged her down onto the bed beside him. “Don’t. It’s what I wanted. Catharsis. Now, about that kissing it and making it better deal…” “I’m not sure I dare touch. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you more.” “Hey, you promised. I’ll let you know if you’re hurting me.” He rolled onto his belly. Andrea started at his shoulders and caressed the sorest-looking places with her lips and tongue. She shifted carefully, to keep her own bruises and sore muscles from protesting the exercise too much. He didn’t object and in fact groaned in pleasure several times. She worked her way down his back to his buttocks, where the bruises and welts were so dense they coalesced into two mounds of sore, swollen flesh. Still she kissed and licked along lines and weals. The changing rhythm of his breathing told her that it aroused him. She nudged apart his thighs and began to run her lips over the marks there, working her way up to his balls. She maneuvered a hand beneath his hips and wrapped her fingers around his cock, pumping as she licked over his testicles. “Andi!” It was an urgent plea. The tension in his body told her he couldn’t hold it much longer. She rolled over and lay on her back. Before she’d even spread her knees, he was there, ready to enter her. Opening herself, she accepted him in, then drew him ever more deeply to the core and center of her being, moving up to meet each thrust of his cock as it found that special place inside her. Urgent need sprang from the emotional and physical traumas of the past two days driving them together with fierce determination. It didn’t take long before the pressure drove them to the cliff edge of release. They hung there a moment, suspended, and then rolled off into the winds of an orgasm that

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carried her almost out of herself, sending her into a jerking and shuddering state of bliss she’d just touched on before. It took a while to come back down from it. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hoping she missed the worst bruises, and dragged him down onto her so she could feel his skin clinging to hers from top to bottom. She didn’t want to let him go. If there were a way to keep him there, against her, inside her, forever, she’d give everything she owned for it. Maybe he felt the same way. Without withdrawing he rolled onto his side and pulled her into his arms. “I’m the luckiest man alive,” he whispered. “You may not feel that way tomorrow.” “Yes, I will. However sore I am, it will have been worth it.” “Neither one of us is going to be able to move tomorrow,” she said, fighting back a yawn as exhaustion set in. “Good reason to stay in bed all day.” “Sounds like a plan to me.” Andrea snuggled against him and drifted off into sleep.

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About the Author Email: [email protected] Website: www.katherinekingston.com Katherine welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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Also by Katherine Kingston Binding Passion Daring Passion Dominant Boys of Summer Equinox anthology Gargoyle’s Christmas Glimmer Quest: Bronzequest Glimmer Quest: Silverquest Healing Passion Holiday Heat anthology Pleasure Raiders anthology Ruling Passion

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