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“You never know, you may like it,” Sydney
returned with a sly look in her eyes. Stuffing the last bite of blueberry muffin into her mouth, she washed it down with a sip of tea before saying, “Let’s go shopping.”
Friday night, Avery parked in front of The Barn again, this time knowing what to expect. So, why were her palms just as clammy and her heartbeat racing just as fast as last week when she slid out of the car? She wanted to be here, that much she knew for certain. Last week, Master Grayson had expanded on what he’d started during their phone conversation, opening up something inside her, a part of her she never imagined existed. If only she could get past the fear of putting her trust into the wrong man again. That barrier kept her from fully relaxing around the one man whose complete sexual dominance she could envision herself welcoming. Geeks were not brave or adventurous, at least she’d never been.
With a tight grip on the bag holding her change of clothes, she dashed inside the double doors before she could chicken out. Avery relished the rush of heat as she hung up her coat, wishing she had asked either Nan or Sydney to meet her in the foyer again. Squaring her shoulders, she recalled the way Grayson had brought all her senses alive with that simple example of bondage and one, searing kiss. Yes! she crowed silently when her nipples grew taut just from the memory. That’s why I’m here, what I want more of along with his trust.
Slipping into the restroom on the other side of the foyer from the coat closet, she changed out of her jeans and into the calf-length, pleated gray skirt she’d chosen over Sydney’s pick of a much shorter, tighter black one. As she exchanged her sweatshirt for the red camisole top that didn’t allow for a bra, she wondered why she’d caved to her friend’s insistence on this garment. When she’d tried it on in the shop, she didn’t remember seeing every bump on her areolas outlined by the satin or the noticeable sway of her full breasts as she moved. Nothing I can do about it now, she thought. With a deep inhale, she padded barefoot back out to the foyer and entered the club, not expecting the surge of excitement tickling her abdomen at hearing the tormented cries of slapping flesh and soft moans of pleasure wafting down from the dimly lit loft and breathing in the pungent mingling odor of leather and sex.
Avery paused in the doorway, scanning the lower floor for a familiar face when her eyes landed on Grayson, the sight of him seated by a table, bringing his hand down with blistering force on Sue Ellen’s bare butt freezing her in place. The poor woman’s husband, Master Brett stood to the side in a rigid stance of anger, arms folded, a dark scowl on his face. Avery couldn’t budge or look away from watching a side of Grayson she hadn’t witnessed before. Even though Sue Ellen’s buttocks were already glowing bright red from his spanking, he continued to smack the abused globes with repeated swings of his arm, not leaving one inch of skin untouched.
She cringed and took an automatic step back as he moved to the under curves, his swats so hard they shoved the tormented girl forward, almost landing her on her head, she dangled over so far. Sue Ellen’s hair obscured her face, but Avery had no trouble seeing her white-knuckled grip on the chair legs or hearing her sobbing breaths.
That is not what I want, who I want. Just as Avery made that acknowledgement and pivoted to leave, Grayson halted his punishing hand, his face softening as he gently lifted and turned Sue Ellen on his lap. Tipping her face up to his, the look of remorse on Sue Ellen’s face instead of reflected on Grayson’s, as she would have expected, confounded Avery. After whispering a few words to her followed by a soft kiss, he nudged Sue Ellen up. She wobbled, and he aided her with a tight hold on her hips and that same piercing, steady gaze of close scrutiny that had ensnared Avery when they first met at the diner and then again up in the loft last week. When Sue Ellen steadied, Grayson nodded and turned her toward her husband, baffling Avery further as the woman slid to her knees and bowed her head.
Confused and unsure of both herself and this harsher side of Master Grayson, she decided to leave, but Grayson looked over and snagged her in his vivid gaze and she found herself unable to look away as he pushed to his feet. His face etched with purposeful intent, he ate up the space between them with long, determined strides.
Of all the fucking luck, Grayson groaned when he released Sue Ellen to finish making amends to her Master and husband and caught sight of Avery standing near the entrance. He’d been so immersed in first, administering the submissive’s punishment as directed by Master Brett because he’d been too angry with her to risk raising his hand, and second, with ensuring Sue Ellen’s well-being before turning her back over to Brett that he’d forgotten to keep an eye out for Avery’s arrival. He didn’t have to guess at what she was thinking; her expressive face depicted her every thought and emotion. Uncertainty backed by a sliver of fear clouded her eyes, her face turning even paler as he moved to stop her from running away. He couldn’t let her leave now, not without explaining the difference between his friend’s twenty/four seven, sub/master lifestyle and what he could, and would introduce her to here.
He reached her as she gave in to panic and pivoted, but he halted her with a one-word command. “Stop.” The sexy thin top couldn’t hide Avery’s delicate shudder or the instant rigid outline of her nipples. A foot away from her, he waited for her to face him and then held out his hand. Patience was a trait he’d mastered years ago, but at that moment, it took every ounce of his control to keep a hold on it. “Good girl,” he murmured as she slipped her trembling fingers into his grip, the extent of relief easing his tense shoulders better left for later to analyze.
“Let’s talk.” Peering around, he opted for the privacy corner for what he had in mind following their discussion. A four-foot, half wall topped with an array of indoor plants partitioned off the cozy nook from the rest of the room. Other than the one, open side where people could enter or get a glimpse of who needed a quiet moment of aftercare, the secluded space offered a combination of privacy and risk of exhibitionism that suited his purposes.
“I didn’t notice this last week,” Avery whispered, as if speaking louder would land her in trouble.
Grayson paused in front of the small sofa to give her time to look around before tossing a small pillow on the floor. Taking in her skirt and breast-clinging top, he found the sight of her bare feet peeking out below the hem both sexy and cute, kind of like her.
Settling on the sofa, he was aware of the fine line he was straddling between showing Avery his preferred, stricter dominant self as opposed to the milder instructor he’d portrayed last week while alleviating her misconceptions about the scene she’d just witnessed. Pointing, he watched her face as he instructed, “Kneel there.” His cock stirred as she faltered and then obeyed, sinking to her knees at his feet, her skirt spreading around her bent legs. She opened her mouth then clamped it shut before shifting her eyes away from his.
“No.” He used two fingers under her chin to turn her face back toward him. “Talk to me, I insist. I might be stricter than you first thought or care for, but I want any sub I play with to feel free to express her concerns, and her pleasures without fear of reprimand. I’ll let you know when I want you to remain quiet.” Releasing her chin, he sifted his fingers through her loose hair, enjoying the way the dim lighting brought out the red and blonde streaks woven in with the light brown.
Fisting a handful of the thick mass, he tugged her head back. “You witnessed a punishment scene just now, and yes, I made sure Sue Ellen would hurt for the next few days, just as her Master and husband asked me to. I will treat any woman who puts herself into my hands the way her submissive nature demands, and that sometimes might be at odds with what they think they want. That’s where trust comes in.” He released her hair and reached down to haul her onto his lap. With one arm wrapped around her waist and the other draped across her lap, he held her close enough to see the rapid flutter of her pulse in her neck and feel her warm breath tickle his neck. “I can see the questions in your disbelieving eyes. Ask.”
“Okay, why? A husband is supposed to love his wife.” Avery’s quizzical tone had turned accusing with the second line, her slim brows dipping into a frown behind her lens.
“Why, because she’d done something before arriving tonight to displease him so much, Master Brett was too angry to discipline her himself. And, he does love her, very much. Did you see her struggling to get away from me, hear her cry out for me to stop or run away when I released her?”
Avery shook her head and Grayson knew the second she remembered the look of chastisement crossing Sue Ellen’s face as she knelt in apology before Brett. It’s too bad she missed the contentment the other woman exhibited when her husband lifted her for a hug.
Watching her closely, he slid his arm over her thighs and down her legs, sliding his hand underneath the skirt to inch it up. “Last week, you watched two other subs getting spanked on the benches, but this time was different because it was me, the one you agreed to explore your interest with. Correct?”
“I… guess that was it,” she admitted in a subdued tone. “It… you took me by surprise. You looked so…” She shivered and clenched her fists, her eyes following his hand gliding along her leg under the soft material. “Mean, I guess is what I want to say.”
“There’s a difference between mean and strict. Doms can look formidable, but that doesn’t make them mean. You know I’m not, right?” He reached her thigh and kneaded the tight muscle.
Avery tried to shift her leg, but he clamped down, holding her still. “Answer me, Avery.”
“If you want honesty, then… I’m not sure. You’ve been nothing but nice to me, but people aren’t always what they appear.”
He nodded. “You’re right.”
“I am?”
He squeezed her soft leg, getting a kick out of the astonishment lacing her reply. “You are. Actions speak much louder than words. In fact, a demonstration of the difference between a punishment spanking and a playful, stimulating one is in order.”
Grayson didn’t give Avery time to think, just flipped her over his lap, pinned her legs with one of his and pressed her shoulders down. “Relax,” he coaxed, rubbing his hand over her ass in a soothing caress. “You know the safeword. Use it if you have to. I’m betting
you won’t, though.”
