Daniel’s lips had tightened into a line. “And you think a single tail is the best way to get more experience?”
“No.” Lynne shook her head. “The Dom I’m with is doing a demo with the single tail and I want to do the demo with him.”
“And this Dom thinks it’s acceptable to jump from nothing to a bullwhip?”
Dammit. She couldn’t exactly explain that Simon didn’t know. If she told Daniel that, she had no doubt he’d refuse to move forward. From the corner of her eye, she saw Luke’s office door open, and she knew he’d be joining them in a matter of seconds. She needed this conversation over by the time he made it to them.
“We’ve discussed, at length, our plans and steps going forward. This is what I want.” It wasn’t a lie. Not really. It was just a creative way to avoid the question.
Daniel nodded in understanding, but he clearly wasn’t happy.
“Hello, Master Covington,” Luke said, walking up to them, and for the first time, Lynne noticed he wasn’t alone. Anna Beth was at his side. Her eyes were wide and her mouth went slack when she recognized Lynne, but almost immediately, she schooled her features into indifference. “This is a submissive from the club who is going through a retraining. I asked her to come in to observe, but she’s not allowed to speak.”
It was Lynne’s turn to stand in disbelief. Anna Beth was a member of Luke’s club? How did she not know that? That meant the Dom she wanted and the sub who supposedly told the lies about her were also members here.
Along with Simon.
Daniel nodded tersely. “If you could have her go with Julie and sit beside her.” He gave Anna Beth a look of warning that spoke more than any words he could have said.
Luke motioned with his hand for Anna Beth to go to Julie’s side.
Daniel turned his attention back to Lynne. “I’ll give you ten minutes to get ready. Meet me over by the St. Andrew’s Cross closest to the bar.”
“Yes, Sir,” Lynne said, and hurried off to the locker room to change. She didn’t have a lot of fetish wear, but she had a few items. For today, she changed into a short skirt and a tight tank top that showed off her midriff. She’d debated wearing high heels, but had eventually decided not to, thinking that she’d rather be barefoot for her first encounter with a single tail.
She took a brief glimpse at herself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction at what she saw. With a deep breath, she promised not to pay any attention to Anna Beth. This was an important step for her, and she was excited to see what it was going to feel like.
Daniel waited for her by the cross, and her eyes drifted up to a nearby clock to make sure she wasn’t late. Daniel smiled. “I’m horribly punctual. You’re not late.”
She swallowed her fear, slid to her knees before him, and bowed her head.
“I know this is new for you,” he said. “I need you to promise me you’ll use your safe word if anything becomes too much.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Stand up for me and take your shirt off.”
This was it. Arousal and anticipation pounded through her veins. She slowly rose to her feet and, keeping her eyes straight ahead, drew the shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor.
“Very nice, Lynne,” Daniel said. “Go face the cross.”
She was thankful she didn’t have to look at anyone to accomplish that task. This way she could concentrate on what she was doing and not on who was watching. In her mind, she made Daniel Simon and imagined that they were the only two people in the room.
With efficient fingers, Daniel secured her wrists and ankles to the cross. She closed her eyes and relaxed as much as possible.
“Everything feel okay?” Daniel asked. “Not too tight?”
She pulled experimentally against the bonds. Nope, she wasn’t going anywhere. “Everything feels good, Sir.”
“Thank you, Lynne.”
She was willing to bet he wasn’t so formal with Julie. But that was fine. She had zero interest in pursuing any kind of relationship after this with Daniel.
“I’m going to start out slow,” he said, and she exhaled, willing her body to go slack.
The first falls of the flogger surprised her. She’d prepared herself for them to hurt. But they didn’t. Instead, it was the strangest sort of caress. He probably wasn’t putting a lot of power behind his swing, and her body relaxed further.
He kept up the light strokes for quite some time. She wasn’t sure how long it was, but she grew accustomed to the rhythmic thuds falling, and at one point, she sighed because it felt so good. Her eyelids grew heavy, and it was as if she melted into the wooden cross.
“Still okay?” Daniel asked.
“Mmm . . . Yes, Sir.” She forced herself to answer his question before she slipped back into that dreamlike state where everything was so pleasurable.
She might have heard Daniel chuckle from behind her. She wasn’t sure, and the uncertainty didn’t bother her. Gradually, the strokes grew heavier, but she hardly noticed the change in sensation. In fact, it was as if she wasn’t standing in a kink club; she was racing down the corridors of her mind, looking this way and that. But no, she wasn’t racing; she was floating and it was the most magical feeling she’d ever experienced.
There was a break, and she almost told him not to stop, but the next thing that hit her skin had a bite. She sucked in a breath, and a peculiar warmth spread throughout her body. The bite came again, and she laughed.
“Lynne?” Daniel asked.
“Don’t stop, Sir.”
He didn’t, but she found she couldn’t help herself, and each time the whip made contact with her back, she giggled. She tried to stop, but the more she attempted to hold it in, the harder the giggles came. It didn’t make any sense. There wasn’t anything funny about the scene, and the whip actually hurt. Or at least it hurt more than the flogger did.
She was afraid Daniel might get the wrong impression, that he might think she was being disrespectful. The first time she laughed, he did hesitate before continuing, but he didn’t seem to mind or care after that.
Much too soon, he stopped.
“No,” she said, surprising herself. “Don’t stop, Sir. I won’t laugh anymore.”
But instead of starting again, a blanket fell around her shoulders and she was released from the cross. “I’m not stopping because of the giggles,” Daniel assured her, “though I’ve never had that type of response before. I’m stopping because I don’t want to push you too far your first time.”
“Will you do it again?” she asked.
Now it was Daniel’s turn to laugh. “I think you might have a streak of masochist in you.”
He took her by the elbow and guided her to the bench where Julie sat. As they approached, Luke tapped Anna Beth on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow him. They were halfway to Luke’s office before Daniel had Lynne situated on the couch between him and Julie.
Daniel kept one hand on her shoulder while he talked with her. “Everything okay? You feel all right? Any questions?”
She’d expected to be in pain when it was over, so she was surprised to find that she was not. “I feel a little weightless, and warm. Is that normal after a session with the single tail?”
“You’re probably still feeling the effects of subspace.” Daniel looked over her head and gave some sort of signal to Julie. “I’m going to put cream on your back. There are no open wounds, just some marks that will disappear in a day or two. You don’t need to do anything special. Just be aware of it and take some medicine if it hurts.”
Julie handed him the tube of cream, and Daniel had Lynne face away from him so he could take car
e of her back. His hands were knowledgeable and sure, but in her heart she longed for them to be Simon’s hands. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend he was there with her, but it didn’t work.
When he was finished, he had her put her shirt back on. After she was dressed, Luke came out of his office without Anna Beth and sat across from them. He passed her two extra-strength ibuprofens and a bottle of water. She swallowed the pills and drank half the water. She’d had no idea she was so thirsty.
“Everything okay?” Luke asked.
“Yes,” Lynne said. “It was so different from what I had expected. Not nearly as painful, and I’m sore, but everything has a pleasant sensation.”