He leaned a hip against the counter. “Sure. What can I do?”
“Julie’s been up all night, throwing up.”
“Sorry to hear that. Hope she gets better soon.”
“I’ll tell her, but listen, about tonight.”
“The play party?”
“Yes, would you mind taking over? Since it’s at my guesthouse, I’ll serve as dungeon monitor, but I need someone to do the demo.”
Daniel wouldn’t play with anyone except Julie now that he’d collared her, so Jeff wasn’t surprised he was looking for someone to take over. He just wasn’t sure he was in the mood to be that person.
“I thought Nathaniel and Abby were doing the demo?”
“They are, but they’re doing a more advanced session. Julie and I were going to do something less intense.” His friend sighed. “Didn’t you hear anything at the meeting?”
Jeff decided not to answer the question. Hell no, he hadn’t been paying attention at the meeting. He’d been watching Dena. “You sure Julie’s really sick and it’s not just nerves at playing in public for the first time?”
“I should be offended you even asked me that, but I suppose it’s a reasonable question. Yes, I’m sure she’s sick. I was with her all night, holding her hair back for her.”
With Daniel’s words, a memory threatened to wash over him, and he grabbed onto the counter to steady himself.
She was on her knees on the bathroom floor, rocking back and forth. Between bouts of vomiting, she held her lower abdomen. She hurt and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do. She wasn’t even happy he stayed in the bathroom with her. He’d never felt so helpless in his life.
“This isn’t normal,” he said as another spasm hit her. “You need to call the doctor.”
“I’m fine. It affects everyone differently.”
“Not like this. Either you call or I will.”
She mumbled something that may have been in agreement with him, but then a particularly hard wave of nausea overwhelmed her and, no matter what her wishes, he moved behind her. Gently, he pulled her hair back while she emptied what was left in her stomach. Afterward, she collapsed into his arms and he silently cursed himself for being useless. It wasn’t something he was used to, and he hated that he couldn’t take her pain away. So instead he held her, stroked her hair, and whispered that everything was going to be okay.
But when she moved, there was blood between her legs and they both knew things would never be okay again.
“Jeff?”
He shook his head. “Huh? Sorry. What?”
“This is starting to become a bad habit. I was giving you a rundown of what I’d planned to demo. Did you hear any of it?”
“No.”
Daniel sighed. “Maybe we should just cancel the whole thing.”
“No. It’ll be fine. Repeat what you were saying.”
“We were just going to do a light flogging scene. I thought we should offer something more basic, especially with the increased interest in the lifestyle.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Who have you lined up to sub?” The silence from the other end of the phone made him suspicious. “Daniel?”
“I haven’t called any subs yet. I wanted to discuss it with you first.”
“I’ll call. Who’s on the list?” He wasn’t all that happy to potentially be playing with someone new. But it’d be a light scene, and as long as they were able to talk some beforehand, it’d be okay. Besides, once he found out who was free, he could probably pick someone he knew.
“Well, funny thing.” Daniel cleared his throat, and Jeff had a feeling what he said next wouldn’t be funny at all. “There’s only one sub available, and it’s only because she had a business conference fall through at the last second.”
“Lucky for us. Who is it?”
“Dena.”
Jeff arrived early at the party the next night. His demo with Dena was scheduled after Nathaniel and Abby’s. Since they were using the same room, he couldn’t set up yet. To pass the time, he found a seat and settled in to watch the couple he’d met in Delaware.
He’d seen Abby three times. The first time, she’d been drunk at a nightclub and found herself in trouble. Jeff had been the one to help her and get her home to Nathaniel. And hadn’t that been a surprise? He happened to be in New York only because of a meeting he had scheduled with Nathaniel West.
When Nathaniel found out he was a Dominant, he’d invited Jeff to participate in two scenes he had planned. One was just the three of them, but the second involved two other men.
In the far corner of the room, Nathaniel was setting up for his demo. Tonight the scene would involve the two of them only. Though the two scenes he’d been in with the couple hadn’t involved much participation on his part.
He still smiled remembering how Nathaniel had made clear in no uncertain terms exactly what he was allowed to do with Abby and what he was not. Jeff respected that. It was a Dom’s responsibility to ensure his submissive was treated appropriately. For Abby, that meant he’d been invited to watch and there would be no sexual touching. He’d heard Nathaniel West was a hard businessman to deal with, but he had the feeling that was nothing compared to Dominant Nathaniel.
Right now he had Abby bound with her arms above her head, held in place by chains bolted to the ceiling. They had their eyes locked on each other and he spoke softly to her. Abby nodded at whatever he said, but a noticeable shiver shook her body. Nathaniel kissed her briefly and then blindfolded her. It wasn’t until he slipped earplugs into her ears that Jeff understood the shiver. Sensory deprivation could be intense, especially in a strange place.
Nathaniel ran his hands over her body a few times to ground her and then addressed the growing crowd. “As you can see, I’ve used both a blindfold and earplugs on my submissive. By taking away her ability to see and hear, I’ve put her in a very vulnerable position. And she’s bound, which further intensifies that vulnerability.”
Jeff glanced around the room. Nathaniel had certainly drawn a crowd. In addition to Daniel, who was overseeing the demo, there were about ten people in the room watching from an appropriate distance. A fairly high number for this early in the evening. Dena, he noted, wasn’t present.
“What are some things I need to keep in mind as the scene continues?” Nathaniel asked the crowd. Several people replied back, and he acknowledged each person’s answer. Yet even though he spoke effortlessly with the group gathered, he remained by Abby’s side, completely aware, it seemed, of her every move, no matter how slight.
“I haven’t gagged her for two reasons,” he continued. “One, she needs the ability to safeword, though I could have given her a bell to drop. And the second reason is I want to hear her, because my Abigail makes the most delightful sounds when I have her like this.”
Jeff noticed additional people had entered the room. He stood up and walked toward the back in case Daniel needed help.
“With her sight and hearing gone,” Nathaniel said, stepping behind her, “her sense of touch is heightened. Keep in mind, she hasn’t heard any of what I’ve been saying.” Then, to prove his point, he addressed her. “Abigail, if you can hear me, say, ‘Yes, Master.’”
There was silence from the bound woman.
“When you have your submissive in a position like this, you need to remember that sensory deprivation can be very scary. Of course, it’s up to you if you choose to alleviate that fear or ramp it up.”
There were chuckles from the Dominants watching and mumbled protests from the submissives.
Nathaniel grinned. “I?
?m not opposed to a good mind fuck, but Abigail has been a good girl this week.” He cocked his head. “Mostly. So I won’t be too mean. Regardless, she always yelps the first time I touch her when she’s like this.”
As if proving his point, he ran one finger down the inside of her arm, and there was a faint murmur from the crowd when Abby squeaked in surprise.
“So deep inside her mind,” Nathaniel said, continuing to run his hands up and down her body. “She expects my touch, but isn’t sure when or where it’s coming from. Every move I make is so much more intense because it’s the only thing she has to focus on.”
He had captured the attention of the entire group. No one moved as they watched him stroke the beautifully bound submissive. He moved his hands against her in a slow and sensual manner, eliciting a low moan from Abby.
“One downside of removing your submissive’s hearing is the inability to talk with her. She can’t hear your questions. It seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many Dominants forget this in the middle of a scene.” He placed a kiss on the nape of Abby’s neck and she sighed. Nathaniel continued speaking with a smile. “She won’t be able to hear you give permission for her release. Again, play that any way you want. I told Abigail before we started that she could come whenever she wished. She replied that she didn’t think she’d be able to come at all. I’m taking that as a challenge.”