The Reluctant Dom (12 page)

Lucky woman?

He wouldn't deny the fantasy had crossed his mind on more than one occasion about a three-way with Leah, but those were limited to his solo sessions when he needed a little extra umph over the hump, so to speak.

Never something he would have seriously contemplated.

He started swimming again, trying to drown Leah's words out of his head.

* * * *

A little after eight Saturday morning, Seth rolled out of bed. He stumbled into the shower and stood under the spray, trying to wake up. The week had taken a toll on him and despite swimming for over an hour after Leah and Kaden went to bed, he'd still had a hard time getting to sleep.

He gave up fighting his morning boner and fisted his cock, let his mind drift to the fantasy of having Leah in his bed. Why the fuck not? Might as well.

He should have expected the tap on the bathroom door. He jumped, startled. “Yeah?”

The door opened. “Coffee.”

“Thanks,” he said, his voice choked.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.” His cock didn't wilt. In fact the sound of her voice made him stiffer.

Fuck.

“Bacon or sausage? I've got links.”

He pressed his forehead against the tile, his cock still throbbing in his hand and demanding attention. “Surprise me.”

“Seth?”

“I'm okay. Just not awake yet.”

“Okay.”

He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the door shut. He frantically pounded at his cock, closing his eyes a moment later as his climax took him.

He showered, shaved, and found she had once again made the bed.

* * * *

He beat Kaden to the kitchen. Leah refilled his coffee and studied him.

“I'm fine.”

“You sounded weird. What was going on?”

He felt his face redden.

Leah's eyes widened. “Whoops. Sorry.” Her playful smile told him she was anything but sorry.

He had a feeling she would now play some sort of “Catch Seth Jerking Off” game in the morning.

“I told you I'd help you with that.”

He grabbed the newspaper and buried himself in the A section while she fixed his plate. Every time he glanced at her, he spotted her playful smile.

Terrific.
That's all he needed.

Kaden appeared a few minutes later. Leah went to get fully dressed. She reappeared a few minutes later, wearing her silver necklace and a conservative short-sleeved shirt and shorts. An hour later, the three of them were browsing through furniture in Sarasota.

Seth felt guilty enough over what was going on, he didn't want them spending more money on him. He was smart enough however to not fight Leah. Kaden had apparently turned this task over to her. She was bound and determined to get something Seth liked.

Later that afternoon, the men had the pieces spread out on the living room floor with the instructions, trying to assemble everything. Once they were in place, Leah made the men leave Seth's boxes in his room and she took over unpacking and arranging.

Kaden drew Seth back to the den and closed the door. “Let her do it. It distracts her. We'll have whip practice after dinner.”

“Basic Carpentry in the afternoon, and Sadomasochism 101 in the evening. Terrific.”

“You can't tell me she wasn't damn sexy the other night.”

“What do you want to hear me say, man? ‘Hell yeah, I'll do your wife.'”

Kaden grinned. “That's a start.”

Seth shook his head. “Fucking whacked. Jesus H. Christ, you're fucking bonkers.”

* * * *

They met on the lanai after dinner. Kaden had set up an archery target with some balloons taped to it. On the outside table lay several whips of various lengths and styles. Leah was dressed in jeans and an oversized heavy denim shirt Seth suspected was Kaden's. Kaden took a few minutes to explain some of the basics and differences of the various whips to Seth. When he finished he said, “I don't expect you to remember all that now but do you have any questions?”

“Dude, why is she dressed like that?”

“Because I don't like hurting myself with the whip,” Leah said.

Seth scrunched his eyes shut. “You're confusing me again. I thought that was the whole freaking point.”

Kaden smiled. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. “Explain it, honey.”

“I'm not a pain slut. Depending on what's happening, I don't want to feel it anywhere but on my ass and thighs, and preferably only when in subspace. Trust me, getting nailed in the boob with a singletail would be like you getting nailed in the nuts with it.”

He winced. “Ouch.”

“Right.”

She handed him a pair of protective goggles. Kaden was now wearing his glasses, Seth noticed.

“Why weren't you wearing them the other night?”

“I always wear eye gear for training.” Leah also put on a pair. “You first, sweetheart,” Kaden said.

“The family that flays together, stays together,” Seth snarked, making his friends laugh.

She picked up one of the whips and expertly uncoiled it, flexing her shoulders and neck much the same way Kaden had.

Kaden pulled Seth back a few steps. She looked around as if judging her clearance. When she was satisfied, she sent the end of the whip at the target and took out one of the balloons on the first try.

“Shit!” Seth exclaimed.

Kaden proudly grinned. “You ain't seen nothing yet.”

She proceeded to hit every balloon without missing. When she finished, she coiled the whip and smiled at the men. “Nothing to it.”

“Bullshit,” Seth said. “I'll end up taking off my own goddamned nose.”

“Hopefully not. Maybe just an ear.”

Leah was usually a bit of a gentle, playful ballbuster with him. It was nice to finally see that side of her personality again. If nothing else, Seth was willing to work with them to keep her pulled out of her emotional cesspool. She reset the target with more balloons while Kaden showed Seth the mechanics of throwing the whip. He then proceeded to take out all the targets without missing a single time.

Leah reset while Kaden practiced with Seth at the far end of the lanai. It didn't feel smooth and fluid the way both his friends had thrown it. In his hands it felt like a lethal weapon, able to kill without warning, and he felt terrified of it.

“You need to relax into it. If you're stiff you won't throw it right. Worse, you'll hurt yourself.”

“Fuck, I'm going to hurt myself anyway.”

Leah finished resetting the target and walked over to stand behind Seth. She wrapped her arms around him, gripped his hand, and showed him the movement without him holding the whip. He tried to focus on her words and not the feel of her body pressed against his. After a few minutes, she handed him the whip and slowly repeated it.

“Don't worry about force. Worry about accuracy at first. Force will come after you're accurate.” Then she stepped back with Kaden, out of the way. “Go ahead.”

Seth nervously stared at the target, did a few test flips with the whip to get a feel for it, and threw.

He missed the target, and on the return he threw up his arms and screamed as the end nearly wrapped around him.

Leah and Kaden both laughed. “See why we wear safety goggles for this?”

Seth glared at her but let her step in and tell him what he did wrong and work with him again for a minute. He tried again solo. That time it felt more controlled even though he didn't come close to hitting the target.

After twenty minutes he felt like his arm was going to fall off.

He handed the whip to Leah. “Can I take a break?”

“Not as easy as it looks, is it?”

“No. I'm going to be fucking sore tomorrow.”

“Get used to it,” Kaden said. “It takes a lot of practice. Lots of blisters, too. We need to get you some gloves.” He picked up another whip and took out the balloons on the target. Seth had managed to strike the target a total of three times but never hit one of the balloons. With each hit, the whip cracked.

“Show off.”

“Think he's had enough for tonight, honey?” Kaden asked Leah.

As crazy as this was, Seth felt almost like his friends were back, before the news—

kaden'sdying

—drop-kicked his world on its ear.

Leah smiled. “I think he's had enough for his first lesson.”

In addition to a sore arm, he'd worked up a hell of a sweat. Maybe a swim would do him good. He helped Kaden return the target to the storage shed and changed clothes. When he returned to the lanai they were gone, probably in their bedroom. Seth turned on the pool light and slowly lapped the pool.

He didn't bother counting, just took his time, his mind spinning. He rested for a few minutes at the shallow end, his eyes closed, head on his arms.

“How's the arm?” Leah's voice startled him.

“Jesus, hon, don't do that.”

She sat near the steps, back in her T-shirt, feet in the water.

“Sorry.”

He flexed his arm. “Going to hurt like a sonofabitch in the morning.”

“Why don't you let me fire up the hot tub? You can soak and I'll rub it out for you.”

Danger, Will Robinson!

“That's okay. I'll take a couple of Tylenol.”

“Don't be silly. I've given you neck rubs before.”

“Yeah but that was...”

Before.

His entire life would now be comprised of a series of benchmarks he'd rather not consider. Before and After Kaden told him he was dying.

Then Before and After Kaden died.

“Please?” She looked sad, nearly desperate.

He finally nodded. “You stay out of the hot tub though.”

She smiled. “You don't trust me?”

“Oh, I trust you all right, to get my ass to a point where I can't back out.” He dropped his voice. “I'm serious, Leah. I'm not ready to jump into this with both feet yet. I need more time to ease into this. I'll get there but you gotta let me dip my toe in and get used to the water.”
God, that sounded lame.

“I'll go get it ready.” She pulled the cover off and turned on the jets. She walked inside the house for a moment and he quickly got out of the pool and transferred to the hot tub.

He sank into it, the perfect temperature for the warm night after the cool swim. Leah returned a moment later with a glass of water and two Tylenol. “Here.”

“Thanks.”

He relaxed as she sat on the edge of the hot tub and worked over his neck, arm and shoulder, her skilled fingers knowing exactly how to soothe his muscles.

“God, that's good, babe.”

“It's supposed to be.”

“I guess you do this a lot, huh?”

She shrugged. “It won't hurt so bad tomorrow morning. If you'll not be stubborn, let me work on it for you when you get up.”

“We'll see.”

That was apparently good enough for her. He closed his eyes and let her massage his sore muscles. He didn't know how long she sat there with him when she gently patted his shoulder. “How's that?”

He'd nearly fallen asleep. “Real good,” he mumbled.

She left her hand resting on his shoulder for a moment. Then he felt her place a tender, lingering kiss on the top of his head. “Thank you.”

He reached up and patted her hand. “Why don't you go on to bed? I'll be fine. I'll turn the hot tub off when I get out.”

He finally heard her leave. He didn't open his eyes until the sliders to their bedroom opened and shut. He didn't want to watch her walk into that room.

I'm such a fucking dumbass. How the hell did I let myself get talked into this?

He already knew the answer to that one.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Chapter 7

Seth groaned when he rolled over. His arm and shoulder felt nearly dead. Between assembling and moving the shelving units, then the whip practice, he was in serious. Fucking. Pain.

It was nearly eight o'clock. Fortunately he hurt too bad to wake up horny. He suspected he couldn't have done anything about it anyway, unless he managed it southpaw.

He didn't bother closing the bathroom door all the way. Sure enough, Leah showed up a few minutes after he climbed under the hot spray.

“Is it safe?”

“You'd better have Tylenol with that coffee.”

“I do.”

When he realized she'd left, he stuck his head out of the shower. Yes, there were two capsules laying on the counter next to his mug.

Day-amn.

When he finished he heard her outside the bathroom again. “Is it safe?”

He wrapped a towel around his hips. “I guess.”

She pushed the door all the way open. “Go lay down, let me work on your shoulder.”

He wasn't going to argue. She'd left the bedroom door open, which actually made him feel better.

Less like they were doing something they shouldn't be doing. Which was stupid, because they were doing exactly what Kaden wanted them to do.

It didn't make Seth feel any better.

Whatever she used to rub him with smelled like mint and burned like hell at first before warming up, then cooling off. And it felt wonderful when combined with her talented fingers.

Fuck, there was his woody, making a late appearance.

At least he was laying on his stomach and she couldn't see it.

He heard Kaden in the doorway. “You alive in there?”

“Yeah, you're trying to kill me, all right.”

He leaned against the doorway and laughed. “The more you practice, the less it hurts. You should work up to four or more times a week, about an hour each. At that point you'll be in good shape.”

Leah finished and patted Seth between the shoulders. “All done. That'll help. Let me do it again at lunch. Between that and the Tylenol, it'll be okay. I'll get breakfast ready.”

It did feel a little better.

He waited until he heard the door close to move. He was alone.

It was tempting to roll over and jerk off but he didn't want to get caught in the act. He still had his dignity, at least.

* * * *

“Son of a
BITCH
!” Seth hopped around and rubbed his inner thigh where the whip had stung him, even through his jeans. Missed his balls by mere inches.

Leah sat off to the side. “You tensed on the swing.”