Two for Alex

Alex was staring at him, her eyes wide, though from fear or desire it was hard to say. “Yes, Sir,” she whispered.

Liam smiled. “Good. Though it wouldn’t have mattered if you’d said no. We’ll whip you because we want to not because you like it. I merely asked as a matter of interest. Which do you prefer, the heavy-tressed suede flogger, the sting of a crop or the bite of a single-tail whip?”

“Oh,” Alex said, her eyes shining. “The flogger. I love the feel of the soft leather warming my back and ass.”

“And the crop? The single tail? The cane?”

“I can handle the crop. I don’t like single-tail whips or canes. They hurt!” She made a face.

Liam laughed. “Of course they do. That’s the point.” He pushed back his chair and glanced at his watch. “I need about thirty minutes to take care of some work in my study. Once you’re done in here, take Alex to the playroom and get her ready for me.” He stood and added as if in afterthought. “Oh, and get out the snake, Daniel.”

~*~

Liam walked out of the kitchen. Daniel stood and quickly cleared the table. Alex automatically began to help him. Daniel rinsed the dishes, handing them to Alex, who loaded them into the dishwasher. They worked easily together, as if they’d done it for a long time.

“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.”