Divine Solace (Nature of Desire 8)

A black woman, nearly six feet tall, had arrived at their table. Her long, dark-red braids were sprinkled with silver glitter. Her crimson corset and black leggings with beautifully crafted red-and-black boots made her formidable, as well as out-front sexy.

"Regina, this is Gen. Gen, Mistress Regina. Gen is still learning her place in our world," Lyda explained. "And deciding if it's her world at all."

When Regina shifted her weight to one hip, Gen expected her to pull a sword from a back harness and test the blade with a fingernail. The woman projected off Amazon warrior queen without any problem at all. "Well, child, you'll either find it's Disney World, a bunch of fun rides and then back to normal life, or you'll never want to leave. Course, Disney World can be like that too." Regina said it pleasantly enough, though her eyes were measuring. Gen wondered if every Domme she met tonight was going to make her feel like she was just pretending at what was so natural to them. Even petite Violet had that measuring look when she gazed at her husband. The tilt of her head and her posture broadcast what she was, again making the bracelet irrelevant.

"Are you playing tonight?" Lyda asked Regina.

"Hmm." Regina glanced toward Marius. He was in the same alcove, both feet up now, ankles crossed and heels propped against the wall. He had a baseball and was throwing it up in the air to catch it. He didn't look frustrated by his lack of play. He reminded Gen of an amiable snake, sunning itself on a rock while its slit eyes watched for a hapless mouse to scuttle over it.

"I told Tyler I'd whip Marius' ass for putting his feet on the walls."

"Good luck with that." Lyda chuckled as the woman gave them another cordial nod and moved off. Gen stared at the table.

"You think this is a pointless exercise. That I'm as much of a Dominant as Noah is."

Lyda's brow creased. "No. And yes. No, it's not a pointless exercise. You have the desire to top, Gen, but in a very targeted way." Lyda touched her face, drawing Gen's gaze back up. "The bull's-eye has just arrived."

Following her direction, Gen saw Noah step into view from the main hallway. A Domme in steampunk wear beckoned him over to the booth where she was sitting. As Gen watched, she slid a riding crop down his chest and used it to snag the T-shirt he was wearing, drawing him closer. Her other hand latched onto his waistband, fingers teasing his navel just above it.

"He's the one you want tonight, right?"

She looked toward Lyda. "Is it that obvious?"

"Pretty much. You were enjoying looking around the candy store, but you were waiting for him. Right?"

Gen saw no reason to deny the truth, not when relief had flooded her vitals at his appearance. She admitted she had been enjoying the fantasies she could attach to something like Marius, but when Noah had arrived, what she wanted, who she felt comfortable pursuing this with, was as clear as a glass table top. "Is that okay?"

"I think if you'd chosen differently, it would have been hard for Noah to watch. He's becoming quite attached to you." Lyda's expression remained neutral, but Gen sensed the woman was pleased by their mutual attraction.

Noah smiled at something the Domme was saying. Though his gaze never left her face, Gen was almost sure he'd already located Lyda and her. When the steampunk Mistress ran a familiar hand down his hip, she looked at Lyda. "Is that okay?"

"Noah is well known here," Lyda said. "The other Dommes play and flirt with him. It's harmless fun, and I allow it. Some of the Masters and Mistresses who don't have the patience or take pleasure in aftercare for their subs have him serve as an aftercare nanny. He's very nurturing."

"It doesn't bother you, to see other women touch him?"

"The boundaries are very clear here. It's outside that things can get a bit more...muddy." Lyda sent a pointed look at her hand, clenching the edge of the table. "I can tell you don't particularly like seeing him being touched by other women. How about when I touch him?"

"That's fine. I mean, he's yours." Quite frankly, watching Lyda touch Noah aroused Gen greatly. Seeing this stranger touch him provoked a far different reaction.

"It's more than that." Lyda leaned in, closing the personal space between them and pulling Gen's attention from Noah like a magnet. "What about seeing someone touch me, Gen? How would you feel about that?"

"You're playing with my head."

"I like to play with my cake before I eat it." Lyda ran a fingertip over Gen's bottom lip. "Put a bit of icing here, let it melt, tease it off with my tongue. You're such a confusing mix, Gen. It's irresistible."

"Watching me flounder? Learning my place?"

"No." Lyda's touch stilled, a warning look in her eyes. "Watching you choose your path through the woods. Seeing how brave you are. In Dominance and submission, a lot of layers come off. We get to see the soul beneath shine or bleed." Lyda gestured toward Noah. "You want to see how it works, with the lines in place? Play with him here tonight, whatever way you wish. I can help as much or as little as you want, though I will be present to guide you on safe play. When it's over, you can keep him overnight. My only condition is that everything sexual with him happens here, at the club. You can take him home as a cuddle toy, but nothing else."

That first night, Gen had resisted the urge to use him that way. A big, sexy teddy bear tempting her to do things she'd never consider with a stuffed animal. There was probably a fetish for that, one she was sure she didn't want to know about.

"Why nothing else?" She was curious, not complaining--though she expected at a certain point tonight she'd want to whine about the stipulation.

"Because it will keep you both aroused, knowing you can't touch one another until I say so. That gives me pleasure." She extended a hand. "Deal?"

Lyda was right; Gen had a confusing mix of emotions to juggle right now. The deal Lyda was offering was a clear act of submission, Gen's to her will. Yet it was the reward for "allowing" Gen to dominate Noah. Reaching out, she clasped Lyda's hand. Lyda held onto it, firm and tight.

"That prohibition goes for self-pleasuring as well," she added, her mouth getting a stern look that sent crazy thrills through Gen. "You save that sweet fountain between your legs for me."