He got to his feet and stepped out of her limited line of sight.
Another whistling stroke made contact just where her ass met her thighs. The pain was intense, but was instantly enveloped in the warm, buttery embrace of submissive need.
“More,” she entreated, the word barely a whisper.
He struck again, this time catching both thighs at once.
“Ah,” she cried. Blood was pulsing at her temples, her hair hanging wild in her face, sweat breaking out beneath her extended arms.
When the timer dinged, it took Sophia a moment to process the sound. The cane fell away. The brake was released and Lord Brandon slowly righted the wheel until Sophia was again upright.
As the blood rushed away from her head, she was suddenly very dizzy. “Oh,” she grunted as she regained her bearings. “Wow.”
She heard Martin’s voice behind her. “Hey. Nice marks, dude. You know your way around a cane, that’s for sure.” She felt a hand on her shoulder. “You good, Sophia? The handsome Brit treat you right?”
“I’m great,” Sophia replied, still riding high from the endorphins released by the erotic pain.
“We’ll just get you down from there so the next couple can take their turn.”
They released her quickly and helped her from the wheel. “Aftercare is in that back room behind the stage,” Martin said to Lord Brandon. Glancing at Sophia, he added, “She knows where it is.”
Sophia crouched by her gear bag. Unclipping her cuffs, she dropped them inside and then unzipped the side pocket. She pulled out the knee-length cotton robe she had brought for the purpose and slipped it on.
“I’ve got a marvelous balm especially compounded by a chemist’s shop I frequent in London,” Lord Brandon said. He waved a hand theatrically toward the back of the club. “Lead the way, lovely lady.”
Sophia allowed Lord Brandon to smooth the ointment, which smelled of lavender and eucalyptus, over her ass and thighs. As he worked, she said, “That was really a wonderful session, Lord Brandon. The wheel made it especially intense. Thank you for the scene.”
“You’re most welcome,” Lord Brandon replied. “But we’re only just getting started, I hope? Do you enjoy hot wax? Medical play? Or, we can cut directly to the chase. I have a delightful suite booked at the Four Seasons. It would be my pleasure to take you there and make love to you until sunrise.”
Before Desire Island, Sophia would have agreed in a heartbeat to all of the above. After all, the guy was handsome, a skilled and attentive Dom, and she loved hearing him talk, even if the constant “lovely lady’s” were a tad annoying.
Just then, she heard the faint but unmistakable sound of her cell phone dinging in her bag. Had Nick landed in New York? Was he, even now, on his way to see her? His image rushed into her mind’s eye—his dark, lovely eyes, strong features and engaging smile. The warm curve of his body curled around hers their last night together, and that first time he’d kissed her on the beach under the sparkling stars…
“Sophia?” Lord Brandon prodded gently, his face quizzical.
“I’m sorry,” Sophia said with a small shake of her head. “You were truly wonderful. But my heart belongs to another.”
She’d used the line before as a way to let a guy down gently. But this time, as terrifying as it was to admit it, the words were true.
The next morning, naturally, Laura and Sophia dissected every detail of the previous evening with Lord Brandon. “Okay, I have to ask,” Laura eventually said. “Where does Nick fit into all this? How can you pursue true love with one guy while scening with another?”
“True love?” Sophia attempted a dismissive laugh but wasn’t sure she’d pulled it off. “I’ve decided we’re just friends with benefits. ” Maybe if she said it aloud, she could convince herself it was true.
But Laura, who knew her better than anyone, did that nose wrinkle thing she did when she wasn’t buying it. Before she could express her skepticism, Sophia added, “It’s easy for you to talk about true love. You and Ben are perfect for each other. You’ve made the ultimate commitment with marriage. With Nick and me, it’s different. We’re still so new. We were together all the time at the resort because we were on vacation, and not just any vacation. Desire Island is the kind of place that fosters intense and immediate connections.”
She sighed, missing their time on the island more than ever. “But now, back in the real world, things are more complicated. Nick’s made it pretty clear that his business comes first and foremost. I need to be careful about getting too involved with a guy like that. He has so many irons in the fire that there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of time for anything—or anyone—else. I’m not ready to hand my heart over to someone who’s only around every so often to accept it.”