Bared (Club Sin 2)

Feeling better with each passing minute, Cora studied her friend. Even if Presley blushed, those cheeks weren’t nearly as bright as they’d been a month ago. Presley had walked into the dungeon a newbie, totally out of her element. Now she didn’t seem at all uncomfortable sitting in her lingerie and talking about Cora’s scene.

Things had settled for her friend, and that made Cora smile. Presley had snagged Dmitri as an exclusive Dom and she wore his collar. In the dungeon, her collar bore the same significance as—or even held more standing than—a wedding ring. The choker of diamonds and sapphires declared Presley belonged to Master Dmitri.

To be collared so early in the lifestyle was unusual. Cora touched her neck, wondering what a collar would feel like. It had never happened to her, even though she’d been in a committed D/s relationship before with her ex-boyfriend Porter.

She looked to Master Aidan across the dungeon as he stood near the Club Sin Doms’ lockers that contained all their toys. Everything seemed so different for Presley. Her friend had found the love of her life the second she walked into Club Sin. It’d been two years since Cora joined the dungeon and all she’d done was fall in love with a man shadowed in misery and in love with another woman.

The desire to be held engulfed her, and her mind raced. Relax. Calm down. This will pass.

“Cora,” Presley whispered.

She snapped her hand off her neck, discovering Presley staring at her. “Sorry, did I drift off there? I guess I’m still a bit out of it.”

Presley gave Cora a long look. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“Of course, always.”

Presley’s eyebrows furrowed as she scooted closer. “Do you notice the connection you have with Aidan?”

Cora cleared her throat and licked her lips, glancing down to the blanket. “Of course I see it.” Hell, she felt it in every molecule of her body. Though feeling something didn’t always mean things worked out how one wanted. “It’s expected. He trained me.”

When Presley shifted closer, Cora lifted her head to find her friend focused on her. “See, I thought that, too. Then I noticed how he looks at you.” She looked to Aidan, who was chatting with another Dom. Addressing Cora again, this time with a frown, she said, “Sometimes I see him looking at you like he does in a scene, but he’s not in a scene.” She paused, and finally gave a halfhearted shrug. “I don’t get why you guys aren’t a couple.”

You don’t know his pain. His demons were not for Cora to share. She never knew if it was her job that gave her insight into him or if it was their close D/s relationship, but some things needed to remain private. No matter how close she was to Presley. “First, our relationship isn’t like that. You’re reading into things that aren’t there. Master Aidan doesn’t look at me like that.”

If he did, things would be very different.

If he did, I could tell you that I love him.

Presley hesitated, tapping a finger against her thigh. “Well, I’m not sure

I agree.” She tucked her legs underneath her, sitting sideways. “Since I joined Club Sin, you’ve only played with him. If your relationship isn’t like that, why don’t you play with other Doms, too … I don’t know … find a boyfriend?”

Cora’s heart palpitated and her palms grew sweaty. While she wanted to be honest with Presley, it would open a doorway she couldn’t go down. If Master Aidan knew how she felt, he’d stop playing with her. It was the right thing for a Dom to do. He wouldn’t lead her on, and not playing with him was unthinkable.

She’d become okay with her decision to accept things for what they were. She didn’t need more than what Aidan gave to her. And she explained that in the only way she could. “I don’t want a boyfriend.”

“Why?”

With a grunt, Cora rolled her eyes. “You’re never going to let this drop, are you?” At Presley’s shake of her head and smirk, Cora figured she had to give a better answer or risk being asked the same question over and over again. Apparently, the I-don’t-want-one explanation wouldn’t cut it anymore. “I haven’t met anyone I’ve wanted to settle down with. I want it to be natural.”

Presley’s nose scrunched. “That makes no sense. You’re such a fantastic woman, and you’re only twenty-five. You’re too young to take the if-it-is-meant-to-be route.”

A lump formed in Cora’s throat and she snuggled into the blanket. This was going deeper than she wanted to go. Of course, her best friend would want to see her happy, but how could Cora explain that she already was content with her decisions. That even if it wasn’t a traditional relationship with Aidan, what she found with him was something so uniquely beautiful.

Something she couldn’t turn away from.

How could she explain all this without baring Aidan’s pain? Her insight into him wasn’t hers to share with his close friends. Her love for him was hers to feel alone. “The casual D/s relationship with Aidan works for me—why change something that makes me happy?”

Presley paused as a couple of Doms strode by, heading toward the spanking scene in the left corner of the dungeon. The soft rock music cut through the silence as Presley continued. “But you could have more.”

“You’re right—I could” was Cora’s hard reply.

I don’t expect more.

He can’t give it to me.

Presley gave a sad smile and said in a soothing voice, “Listen, I’m not trying to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong. It’s just, I love you … and, well, I see things.” She patted Cora’s leg. “I guess your uncommitted D/s relationship confuses me. You’re so good together. You both seem happy. I don’t know why you don’t pursue more from it.”