Two Masters for Alex (8 page)

“What’s the snake?” Alex finally asked. She didn’t like the sound of that nickname.

Daniel grinned. “That was your first mistake, little girl. Never tell a Dom you hate a particular toy. You should know that’s the one he’ll choose! The snake is a nasty little single tail Liam uses when he wants to create some lovely welts. They’ll stay with you for a week.”

Alex shivered and hugged herself. “I don’t know, Daniel. I don’t do pain all that well. I’m really more into a sensual kind of whipping. I like a sexy spanking the best. You know, over a man’s knee, skin on skin. I don’t think I—”

Daniel interrupted her. “Remember, this isn’t about what you like.” He looked down at her, his eyes boring into her. Softening, he added, “Don’t worry. Liam is a Master in every sense of the word. He knows just how far to take you. He’s very sensitive to what a sub can tolerate. He’ll know better than you what you can handle. He listens to your body. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s almost as if he’s connected to you, physically connected. If you can trust him, you’ll have an amazing experience, I promise.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I thought he said you were going to, um, practice on me. Do you listen to bodies or whatever it is he does?” Alex had been with men who didn’t know what they were doing with a whip. One idiot she’d made the mistake of going home with from a BDSM club had used a bullwhip on her, cutting her skin, though that hadn’t been his intent. It was one reason she was hesitant about anything but the softest of sensual whippings, more of a leather massage.

Daniel raised his eyebrows and shrugged. “I’ve never practiced on a real person. Tonight will be my first time.” He must have seen her expression because he grinned and added, “Don’t worry. Liam says I’m a natural. I can’t wait.” He reached out, playfully ruffling her hair, which really didn’t make her feel much better.

Daniel led Alex upstairs. “Go freshen up and meet me here, outside this door,” he said, pointing to what Alex already knew was the playroom.

Alex hurried to her room. She used the toilet, washed her face and hands, brushed her teeth and stared at herself in the mirror. “What have you gotten yourself into, Alexandra Helena Stewart?” She’d been excited all day, waiting with eager anticipation for Liam’s arrival so the fun could begin. Half-formulated fantasies of the three of them tumbling between soft sheets, herself bound in silken ropes as they teased and sexually tortured her until she passed out from ecstasy, had been playing out in her head as she scrubbed, dusted and mopped.

She hadn’t been lying in the initial interview when she’d assured them she loved to be bound and sexually tortured, but she was realizing now perhaps her definition of a whipping—soft leather kisses raining sensually down—didn’t necessarily match theirs. Was she going to ruin everything her first day by wimping out? Absolutely not! She marched from the bathroom, feeling resolute. She had little idea of what was to come, but she instinctively liked and trusted both Liam and Daniel. She only hoped whatever Daniel lacked in practical skill, Liam would offset with his masterful control of them both.

* * * * *

“This is some setup you guys have,” Alex said, turning slowly.

“It is that. We’ve had some great parties in here. But mostly it’s just Liam and me. You can get lost in here. Lose all sense of time and place.” He stroked the smooth wood of the St. Andrew’s Cross as if stroking the skin of a lover. He looked up as he heard Liam’s soft tread nearing. “Hurry! He’s coming. In this room, we wait with our foreheads touching the ground, ass up. Just do what I do.”

He knelt, his heart speeding as Liam’s footsteps came closer. No matter how many times he waited for his Master to appear and for the sensual torture sessions to begin, he couldn’t help the patter of his heart or the rise of his cock in anticipation. Alex knelt beside him. He stole a glance at her as they waited. Her hair obscured her face and her pert little bottom was raised high. He knew she wouldn’t be permitted to keep that clingy dress on for long.

All day, even when she hadn’t been near him, he’d been hyperaware of her presence, falling constantly into fantasies of pulling her clothing from her body and whipping the delicate, feminine flesh until she cried for mercy. It was as if the dominant feelings that had only been half-formed bits of whimsy when they’d first discussed them had poured forth into his consciousness like water from a broken dam. The realization that in a few moments he would make his fantasies a reality had him nearly panting with anticipation.

He took a deep, cleansing breath, making a conscious effort to slow his heart rate as Liam had taught him. Liam had been the first man to take him past the point of simple erotic play to a place much deeper. The path had not always been smooth. During particularly intense sessions Daniel’s breath would become so fast and shallow he would grow dizzy, once nearly passing out from lack of oxygen.

He recalled one time in particular, early on in their relationship. Liam had tethered him to the St. Andrew’s Cross, his wrists and ankles secured by the soft leather cuffs attached to the corners. He was facing the cross, his body a taut X, his back and ass crisscrossed with lines of fire. He’d lost track of time, marking its passage only by the changing implements of torture Liam chose to use. The stroke of soft, braided suede had given way to the slap of the riding crop. Daniel, who could take quite a bit of erotic pain and reveled in its delivery, hadn’t been prepared for the slice of the cane.

When it came, its warning whoosh singing in the air a split second before rattan made contact with flesh, Daniel screamed. When the second slice quickly followed the first, he knew Liam didn’t plan to stop. Liam decreed he could take it and so take it he would. Up until that moment he had been grace incarnate, exhibiting what Liam called “submissive courage”. Now he cried out, “No! I can’t!”

“Of course you can,” Liam said calmly. “Take it for me.”

Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, tensing so the next stroke hurt all the more against bunched muscle. It was then he realized he was gasping as if he’d been sprinting, running for his life. He felt lightheaded, his legs suddenly weak. If he hadn’t been bound to the cross, he might have slid to the floor.

All at once he felt Liam’s warm body behind him, pressing against his back and ass. He felt Liam’s hand cover his nose and mouth as he whispered softly into his ear. “Shh, slow down, Daniel. It’s only me. Take a deep breath. Breathe…slow down.” Daniel struggled to obey, his gasps subsiding in deep, shuddering breaths against Liam’s warm palm. Liam had continued to murmur, gently stroking Daniel as he held him steady with his body and his gentle words.

Finally Daniel calmed completely, his breathing deep and even. Liam reached around him, grasping his cock, which had remained erect throughout. Liam laughed softly and whispered, “Are you ready to continue, slave? I’m not done with you.”

This time when the cane drew its line of fire across Daniel’s ass, he’d hissed his response but remained still. Again and again the cane struck, marking his ass and thighs with welts that would remain visible for several days. It was the first time Liam had taken him to that special place in his psyche where pain and pleasure no longer existed except as part and parcel of pure, perfect sensation. Liam delivered several more strokes but Daniel no longer felt them—or more accurately he no longer experienced them as painful. He remembered his head falling back, his breathing so slow and deep Liam had stopped at one point and put his ear to Daniel’s parted lips, as if making sure he were still alive.

Daniel was literally unable to move by then, even if his wrists and ankles had not been secured to the sturdy cross. Yet he wasn’t unconscious by any means. It was almost as if he were in a swoon, his body paralyzed with pleasure, his mind soaring in a submissive state of altered consciousness. He was aware of Liam releasing his cuffs. He knew his lover would hold him as he fell back limp against him. He knew he was safe in Liam’s arms—it was the safest place in the world.

The door pushed open and Daniel heard Liam enter. He felt Liam tap 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 felt 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 felt his cock harden 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 felt the thrill of what he’d just done. He felt the power of wielding a flogger, of drawing a response from her.

He stepped back to get a better angle and began to flog her in earnest, covering her flesh from shoulder to thigh, watching it turn pink as it heated from his leather kiss. She was breathing hard, the sound of her gasps syncopated with the
thwack
of leather against skin. Daniel was exhilarated, nearly drunk with power.

“Daniel,” Liam said after a time. “Stop a moment. Give her a chance to adjust. Help her calm down.”

Though he didn’t want to stop, Daniel obeyed his Master, dropping the flogger and moving closer to the girl. He ran his hands over her back and ass. The skin was hot to the touch. He stepped in front of her. Her chest and throat were mottled pink, her breathing labored. Gently he gripped her wrists and said, “Put your arms down.” She obeyed, still breathing hard. He wrapped her in his arms. She felt so small and fragile compared to his tall, masculine lover. He was aware of his cock, hard and erect against her belly. Surely she was aware of it too.