The door pushed open and Daniel heard Liam enter. Liam tapped his shoulder, signaling him to stand. Daniel did so. Liam took him in his arms, his tongue leisurely exploring Daniel’s mouth as he held his face in both hands. When he let him go, Daniel’s cock, which had begun to rise in anticipation of the evening, was jutting hard against his shorts. “Take those off,” Liam said. Daniel obeyed, suddenly self-conscious though Alex remained in position, her forehead still touching the floor.
Liam moved to her, touching her shoulder with his bare foot. “Stand up and strip,” he ordered. Alex stood slowly, her face flushed from its position below her heart while she had been kneeling. “When you are in this room, you are a slave in every sense of the word. You have no will, no opinion, no power. You will not speak except in answer to a direct question. You belong to me and to Daniel. Tonight is an audition, if you like. A chance to show us what you’re made of. If you please us, you’ll be rewarded. If you don’t, you may find yourself in there.”
She followed his finger, her gaze lighting on the large steel animal cage in one corner of the playroom, a padlock dangling from its hinged door. It wasn’t large enough for a person to stand in—one would have to kneel or lie down. She turned back to him, her eyes as big as plates. With trembling fingers she pulled her dress over her head.
Liam turned to Daniel. “Shall we warm her up with the flogger or go straight to the snake? It’s your call.”
Daniel watched Alex’s face. Her emotions were so transparent—both fear and desire flickering over her features as she turned toward him with a mute appeal. His fingers actually itched to whip her soft flesh. Still, he didn’t want to scare the girl to death. She was obviously nervous about the single-tail whip. Truth to tell, he was a little nervous himself, aware of the skill needed to deliver the stroke properly—leaving a mark without breaking or damaging the skin.
“I think I’ll start with the flogger,” he said, turning to Liam for approval.
Liam nodded. “Stand at attention, Alex.” Daniel watched as she obeyed, lacing her fingers behind her head so her breasts lifted nicely, the nipples jutting out. He walked over to the wall where they kept their whips and crops, selecting the heaviest flogger, its broad, flat tresses deceptively soft.
Liam sat down in the one chair in the room, a large leather recliner from which he would watch his lover perform. Daniel had imagined this scene a thousand times, and while he was eager to begin, his mouth was dry, his heart fluttering. Alex was still an unknown. Perhaps it would have been better if Liam had started the action. He was the experienced Dom—he could gauge what Alex could take much better than Daniel surely.
Yet Liam had reminded him that morning at breakfast, “I’ll be right there, Daniel. I’ll be watching you and her. Just trust your instincts. Trust yourself.”
Daniel walked over to Alex and said, “Stand this way.” He positioned her so she was in profile several feet in front of Liam. “Keep your hands behind your head and stay as still as you can. I don’t think you’ll need it, but your safeword is butterfly. If you can’t handle what’s going on and we don’t seem to be getting the message, just shout the word butterfly, okay?”
Alex nodded. They’d discussed safewords during the interview. Liam had given Daniel the safeword of lemon when they’d first become lovers but he’d never had to use it. Liam had sometimes pushed him to the edge of what he could take but never beyond.
Poor Alex—she looked so nervous. Impulsively he leaned down and kissed her cheek, saying softly, “Relax. This is supposed to be fun.” She nodded again, her lips curving up in a hint of a smile.
“Good girl,” he said. He turned to Liam. “Should I begin?”
“Yes. You know what to do.”
Daniel dragged the tresses of the flogger over Alex’s back and down to her ass. She emitted a deep sigh as the leather moved sensually over her flesh. He drew back his wrist and let the strands land with more force. He could feel her body tense. Once again, he dragged the tresses over her skin until she relaxed. He struck with slightly more force than the first time. Again she tensed.
He glanced at Liam, who was leaning forward, watching his naked lover and the naked girl standing at attention in front of him. Daniel’s cock hardened under his Master’s keen stare. He turned back to Alex and struck her hard, almost feeling the dozen strips of leather stinging across her ass himself. Alex gave a small yelp but stayed in position. Daniel thrilled at what he’d just done. He loved the power of wielding a flogger, of drawing a response from her.