She sobered as she said softly, “I’ve never found what I need. I’ve always been able to control the man I was with. I suppose it would look on the surface as if I were submitting to him, but in the end, I never did a thing that wasn’t really just for me. I could always get the man to back down, to give in, to stop whatever he was doing the moment he pressed my sensual envelope just a little too far.” She clasped her hands together. “I long to truly relinquish control to someone else. An honest exchange of power, not just a game for some short-term sexual thrill. I want something real.”
Liam was drawn to the young woman. She seemed to grasp at an intuitive level the potential of a truly romantic submissive experience. Until he’d met Daniel, Liam had nearly despaired of finding a submissive partner who wasn’t really just a masochist looking to subtly control his Dom, topping from the bottom to get his way. From what Alex was saying, she herself was guilty of the same behavior, manipulating her lovers into giving her what she wanted. It took a certain level of honesty and introspection to admit or even be aware of this behavior.
Yet she claimed to crave a deeper experience. Would Daniel and he be able to provide it for her, given that they were committed to one another? Could a woman really fit into their lives? Would she satisfy Daniel’s dominant needs without coming between them as lovers?
He looked at Daniel as Alex shared a funny story about a bully at a play club who tried to force her to kneel in front of him just by virtue of the fact that he was supposedly Dom and she was supposedly submissive. Daniel was smiling as he listened to her. His posture was relaxed. Sensing Liam’s eyes on him, he glanced his way, nodding slightly as if to say, “I approve.”
“Please stay for lunch,” Liam said, glancing at his watch. They’d been talking for over an hour and so far, it was going well. “Daniel’s made chicken pot pie and a salad from our gardens. He’s a great cook.” He couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice. Though they’d been together over a year already, Liam still sometimes had to pinch himself to make sure it was real. Daniel was everything he’d ever wanted in a partner. Surely, they could handle a third person in their lives—nothing permanent, just a way for Daniel to explore his dominant impulses in a safe, loving environment. Neither Daniel nor he much cared for the club scene.
“I’d love to,” Alex agreed. “I’m starving.”
They talked of trivial things over lunch, saving weightier matters for later. As Daniel served them, Liam asked, “How old are you, Alex?”
“Twenty-four.”
“You mention you’re a writer. What do you write?”
“Erotic romance mostly. Some straight romance as well. I’ve got four novels published and several more in the works. It’s my passion as well as my vocation.”
“You’re lucky. So you support yourself with your writing?”
“Well, not entirely,” she admitted. “I earn enough to get by, but I have this trust fund from when my dad died.” She looked embarrassed but continued. “I get an allowance from it once a month. It’s not a ton, but it enables me to cover the rent and food when royalties aren’t enough. My needs are modest. I live in the garage apartment of a friend of my mother’s. My old clunker of a car is paid for.”
“Tell us about some of your experiences in the scene. Do you still go to the BDSM clubs?”
“Not very often. In my experience, they’re mostly just a pickup scene with whips and chains instead of booze.” Alex entertained them with her lively stories about people she’d met in the scene, most of whom were little more than posers and wannabes. She made the people she was talking about come to life, painting an especially vivid picture of an odious little man she’d met at a club in the city. They laughed out loud as she described him strutting in black leather, metal cuffs dangling from his belt, snapping a whip to punctuate his conversation, which consisted of what he would do to her once he had her in his clutches.
When Alex excused herself to use the bathroom, Liam turned to Daniel. “What do you think? Should we give her a try?”
“I like her. She’s funny and she’s sexy. Whether she’s submissive or not remains to be seen.”
“Agreed. You’re in the unique position of a switch. You’ll probably sense, even better than I could, if she’s being sincere in her reaction or just playing us to get what she wants. Let’s give her a few tests and if she passes, we could invite her for a week’s stay, if you still want to.”