What if none of them want to play with me?
She tried not to think like that, but it was difficult not to think like that. She needed a good, hard, no-strings-attached, no-worries-of-sexual-assault beating.
Was that too much to ask?
Forget a fucking machine. If someone invents a machine that can spank my ass for me, I’d buy that.
She also couldn’t squelch the wistful feeling that she was here alone and not with Axel. The more time she spent with him, the stronger the pull in her heart. They’d actually talked on the phone earlier that afternoon during a break in his meetings, and he’d once again assured her he really was fine with her going and playing, if she chose to.
Whatever this was, it was, for her, dangerously slipping toward more than just friends.
It simultaneously scared and thrilled her.
The way he smiled when he saw her, easy and sweet and taking a few years off the lines at the outer edges of his eyes. Like maybe he hadn’t been smiling a whole lot before they reconnected.
They’d gone out to dinner last Sunday night, then they saw each other at gaming on Tuesday. On Wednesday, her mom insisted he come over for dinner and she cooked up a storm.
Her father even behaved himself, which Skye knew meant they were pulling for them. Especially after her father felt horrible for accidentally outing her. He hadn’t realized Axel didn’t know about her kinky side.
She texted Axel every morning, and now they also texted good night, too.
He had been researching, because he asked solid questions and had visited the websites she’d recommended.
He’d joined FetLife and friended her, although they hadn’t created a “relationship” between them yet. He’d also friended Rusty and the others on there.
It was ten minutes after the party’s listed arrival time. There were a few cars already parked along the cul-de-sac, and she remembered to follow the listed instructions from the party invite about where and how to park.
That’d suck if my first protocol violation was failing to park properly.
She shouldered her backpack and grabbed the wrapped pan holding the lasagna she’d made before she took a deep breath and headed up the walk.
Why does this shit always feel like the first day of tenth grade when I’m goddamned forty?
This would be easier if Axel was here.
Then again, maybe it wouldn’t. Since he hadn’t yet seen a real-life scene, it might freak him out. Definitely the first play party she brought him to she wouldn’t be playing that night, because she’d want to be able to narrate everything for him, talk to him about what he was seeing, and calm him down if there was a freak-out.
And tonight, after the stress of the divorce and move and everything else, she desperately needed a beating. A hard beating.
A brutal, borderline violent beating. It’d been going on the better part of two years since she’d played, and it’d become an almost painful physical craving to get one now that she was active in the lifestyle again. Seeing people playing at the club last weekend had felt like a gut-punch, because she couldn’t be one of them.
Forcing a smile, she rang the bell and tried not to hold her breath before the door opened and Cali’s smiling face beamed at her from the other side.
“Hey, welcome!” Cali gave her a one-armed hug, because under her other arm she held a black and white tuxedo cat. “This is Baxter, the bondage pussy star of our website. He’s about to get locked up for the night.” Cali closed the door once Skye stepped inside.
Skye reached out and scratched him under the chin. “Aw. That’s too bad. I love animals.”
“Well, so does pretty much everyone else who’s going to be here tonight. One night we literally had about twenty people gathered around a Sybian, watching him stalk it. Not exactly the kind of pussy play that thing usually sees.”
She snorted. “No!”
“Yeah. I wish I was making that up. It actually made it into one of Lynn’s books. Oh, Sean, can you show her where to put her dish and stuff?”
He turned from where he’d been talking to someone. “Sure. Come on.”
“Thanks.”
The fact that Cali hadn’t offered up either of her two men to top Skye, while offering herself up as a potential Top if Skye didn’t find one, didn’t escape Skye’s notice. She wasn’t about to press and ask Cali about it, either. Skye got it. In some dynamics, it was safest not to cross that line.
Although Skye wouldn’t mind having Cali top her if it got to that point, she’d prefer it be a guy she knew was totally into doing it. Not because she wanted to have some deeper bond with him, but because she didn’t want to have to worry about if whoever was topping her was enjoying themselves.
And she personally wasn’t into girls as anything but friends. She’d had women top her before, years ago, and it just…wasn’t the same, for her. Nothing against them.
Sean showed her where to drop her bag, too, and where the cups and markers were for drinks.
When Cali returned from her errand, she offered Skye a smile. “One pussy securely locked up.”
“Won’t be the only one tonight,” a man snarked from where he sat perched on the arm of the couch.
“True. Gilo, Abbey, this is Skye. She’s not new to the lifestyle, but a recent returnee to Sarasota and new to the scene here. She’s one of our newest suckers—I mean volunteers at the club. Gilo and Abbey are regulars, so you’ll probably see them a lot, here and there.”
Gilo held the end of a leash attached to Abbey’s collar. He stuck out his other hand to shake. “Nice to meet you. Welcome to the family, as it were.”
“Thanks. Nice to meet you, too.” Abbey didn’t extend a hand, so Skye didn’t, either, but she did tip her head to the woman and got one in return.
“I’m going to introduce her to Landry and Cris,” Cali said. “She’s looking for a service Top to play with tonight.”
Gilo winced. “I’m sorry.”
Skye perked up, concerned. “Why?”
Gilo snorted. “Say good-bye to your ass. I wouldn’t even scene with him, and I’m a damned SAM who’s scened with Tilly in the past.”
“Gilo and Abbey are both switches,” Cali explained before Skye could even process his comment.
“Ah.” The picture slipped into place for her. He was just joking around. “I’m a really heavy masochist looking for a good, hard, strings-free beating that I’ll feel for days. I haven’t scened in over a year and I really need it.”
He shrugged. “Oh. Well, in that case, enjoy. He’ll be the perfect sadist for the job.” Smiling, he held up his red plastic cup in toast.
She held up her cup. “Thanks. I think.”
Cali started leading her toward sliders that appeared to open onto a pool deck with a screened lanai. “Walt and Holly will be here tonight, too. Sometimes he’ll play with people. And maybe Keith, if they come. Scrye, Ross, Leah, and Kel will suspend other people. They’re rope riggers, but they don’t do impact play with anyone but their own partners.”
She stopped and turned. “Landry and Cris, their wife, Tilly, she’s out of town again right now with work, but sometimes she tops others, too. They have full communication. She actually spent a couple of years as a pro-Domme before she met Landry.”
“Wow. That’s interesting.” Now Gilo’s comment about her had better context.
“Yeah, she said it wasn’t as much fun of a gig as people think it is. They’re actually good friends with one of her former clients they still play with. In fact, he’s supposed to be here tonight, too.”
They crossed the lanai and walked around the pool, to where two men Skye didn’t recognize stood talking to Tony and Shayla. Skye hugged both of them in greeting.
“Hey, Lan, Cris, this is Skye,” Cali said. “She’s the one I talked to you about.”
The older man, Landry, was a little shorter than Cris by a couple of inches, dark hair peppered with grey at the temples, and green eyes possessing the good k
ind of calculating look about him. Cris appeared slightly younger, brown hair brushing his shoulders and brown eyes that appraised her. While they both wore jeans and button-up shirts, Cris was barefoot and wore a leather collar around his neck. They had money, that much she could tell, from their expensive, designer shirts and jeans, and the perfect haircut on Landry, but they looked like the kind of men who wore it in a subdued kind of way.
“How do you do?” He held out a hand. “Landry LaCroux. Pleasure to meet you.”
She thought she caught the hint of an accent but wasn’t sure. “Skye Bauer. Nice to meet you, too.” She shook with him, and that’s when she got a good look at his watch, which he wore on his right wrist. “Holy crap, is that a Blancpain?”
She realized she was still holding his hand and finally remembered to let go.
Even more embarrassing, she realized she’d spoken the question out loud.
Damn, can’t take me anywhere.
Landry glanced at the timepiece, one eyebrow sliding up in a most Domly way if she ever saw it. “Yes, but I am particularly curious as to how you know that. Most people never notice, and by most I mean pretty much everyone except jewelry store clerks. Even then, it is hit and miss, as they say.”
She swallowed. Obviously, this guy didn’t just have money, he had Money. At least he didn’t sound snooty and judgmental about it, more like he was genuinely curious.
“I have one. I mean, a ladies’ one. It was a wedding gift from my father-in-law. Ex.” He’d given all the daughters- and sons-in-law one when they married Carling siblings.
And she’d worn it precisely eight times, all at Carling family events. Once she discovered how much the stupid thing was worth, she’d nearly had a panic attack. She wasn’t even sure her parents’ first home when they’d gotten married nearly fifty years ago had been worth as much. It was definitely worth more than any car they’d ever owned. Only Kelly ordering her to wear it to an event, in the context of being her Master, had gotten the dang thing on her wrist and out of the townhouse.
Currently, it sat in her new safety deposit box, where she’d dumped it that first Monday morning after she arrived in Sarasota, along with a couple of other pieces of jewelry. Kelly’s father had been a huge believer in dressing the part, so her Old Navy and Target fashion sense had probably gone a long way to fostering their disdain of her.
She’d held on to it just in case, because if she ever hit true financial rock bottom, she knew she could sell the stupid thing. Even a fraction of what it was worth would help, but she didn’t want to make that decision lightly or in haste.
And she also knew her watch, brand new, wasn’t worth a quarter of what Landry’s watch was worth.
She might have hated Kelly, but she didn’t hate the few fringe benefits she did get to enjoy. And the prenup specifically said any jewelry or gifts she was given during the marriage, she was free to keep.
She’d sold her wedding and engagement rings to pay for attorney number two.
Landry and Cris exchanged a glance.
“Cris Guerrero.” He extended his hand and they shook.
“Nice to meet you. Thanks for agreeing to talk with me.”
“Our pleasure, my dear,” Landry said. But the way he said it sounded sexy, not condescending.
Must be the accent.
“Just to be clear,” Cali said, “I personally vouch for both of them. I’ve known them for several years. Landry is a sadist, though, and can play heavy, but as a service Top he never violates a safeword. If y’all decide not to play, let me know, and I can see who else I can scare up for you.”
“Thanks, Cali. I appreciate it.”
Cali headed off to greet other guests.
“We’ll let you get to your negotiations,” Tony said with a smile. “Have fun.”
“Hopefully,” Landry said before returning his attention to Skye. “Well, I had a brief and interesting chat with Cali earlier. Perhaps you’d like to elucidate?”
“Ex-husband-slash-Master was a cheating asshole. Divorced and moved back to Florida. Just looking for a good, hard beating tonight. No orgasm play. No hand between my legs, but I’ll play naked and you can torture my breasts with hands or implements, or between my legs with implements. But no groping. Heavy impact is desired, restraints are fine. I have my own cuffs, collar, ball gag, and blindfold.”
“You’re single?”
“Um, it’s…complicated. Kind of. We’re sort of dating. We used to know each other when we were in high school. He’s not really vanilla, but he’s not kinky. He’s in the learning stages. We’re literally less than two weeks into whatever this is going to end up being. He has no problem with me playing, as long as it’s not sexual. He was going to come with me tonight but he had to be out of town at a seminar for work.”
“I think we just saved about ten minutes of negotiations,” Cris joked.
“Yes,” Landry drawled, “but let’s go talk anyway, shall we?”
They headed inside, Skye following the men to a far corner of the dining room area where people hadn’t yet filtered into. Landry tipped his head at Cris, who pulled out a chair for her, holding it while she sat.
She didn’t miss that while Landry sat, Cris stood behind him, to his right.
A wistful pang of envy curled through her.
He’s a good slave.
“Now then, my dear, let’s back up. What is your experience in the lifestyle?”
“I’ve been kinky pretty much my entire adult life, and I’m forty. Discovered kink was a ‘thing’ in college, and messed around for a while. Mostly up in Tampa. Then I met my ex, thought he was the Dom of my dreams, and…”
She shrugged. “Fifteen years later, I’m single again, back in Florida, and while I definitely want to play, I am in no hurry to find a ‘partner’ because Axel and I are still trying to figure out if there’s something more than just friends between us. I can take care of my own orgasms, thank you very much. I promise no boiled-bunny stalkage from me. I can give you the names of some people from Pennsylvania who’ve played with me or seen me play, although I’ll warn you now that I prefer you not reveal my current location or FetLife name, because I don’t want my ex snooping on me. My ex and I didn’t attend events together in the last year we were together.”
“Why’s that?” Landry asked.
“Because he was too busy screwing around on me and telling people he didn’t have a wife. If he’d shown up with me, I found out later, it would have blown his whole ‘I’m single’ story out of the water.”
“Ah. Yes, I suppose that would prove rather problematic.”
“Yeah. I always wondered why he was okay with me playing with others. I mean, I didn’t have a problem with him topping others. And he claimed he wanted to be ‘fair’ to me since he worked a lot, frequently on the weekends. I didn’t have a problem going to events, because I knew who I could trust to play with and who I couldn’t.”
She sighed. “I just never processed that he was actually cheating on me until I had to use his laptop one day and he’d left himself logged into FetLife and I saw messages from other women who were definitely not ‘just play partners.’ I think he was hoping I’d cheat on him with someone so he could kick me out without penalties from our pre-nup, but I caught him in the act. I do have my latest test results with me, though, if you’d like to see them. No STIs, no hep, no HIV. Got them last week.”
Working for a doctor did have its privileges.
Having a cheating ex also made for an easy excuse to ask for them.
“Well, we are also neg, although I don’t have results with us. Since there won’t be intimate contact, however, I don’t suppose that will be an issue, unless you’d rather wait until you can see those?”
“I’d rather not wait. If Cali trusts you, that’s enough for me. If we were sleeping together, yeah, that’d be different.”
“Sorry, but my dance card is already full when it comes to intimacy.” He smiled. “Second important point, would yo
u mind if Cris also helps?”
“That’s fine.”
“Red, yellow, green?”
“Yep. And, fair warning, I’m a bit of a drooler. Hope you understand gag speak.”
He smiled. “I am quite fluent. Restraints?”
“Feel free to tie me down with rope, or use clips on my cuffs.”
“Very good. Do you tend to go deep into subspace?”
“I’ve never become nonresponsive, although sometimes I lose track of time when it’s really, really good.”
“I should hope so.” He smiled, making her laugh.
“If you ask me for a color, I can tell you. I’m not afraid to yellow or red. But if I red, it doesn’t mean I want to stop the scene, unless I specifically say that. It means whatever you’re doing at that moment, stop doing that particular thing and check in with me.”
“Understood. We will be playing with a friend of ours tonight, he will be here shortly. He had to stop by home and take care of something, so we rode separately. Perhaps it’d be best you watch us play with him, then you can decide if you still want to play with us. Of course, we will obviously negotiate separate limits from what Bob uses. And, fair warning, we do orgasm play with Bob. Keeping that in mind, I would prefer not touching you between the legs at all, and I’ll avoid touching your breasts with my hands tonight to avoid…complications. Perhaps we can renegotiate that in the future.”
She shrugged. “That’s fair.”
“Anything else you can think of?”
“Please don’t mark me below the knees, below the elbows, or above my neck. I prefer no deliberate skin breakage, but I know sometimes shit happens and blood welts pop up. Floggers, paddles, crops, cane, straps—I’m good with all that.”
“Edge play?”
“Such as?”
“Violet wand, knife play?”
“I like both, but knife play for sensation only. Not wet play. I loooove knife play. It’s one of my favorite things.”
“Excellent.” He looked up at Cris. “Go bring the other bag in, please.”
“Yes, Master.” He headed off to get it.