Hanging On 2: Surreal Neal [Awakenings 6] (Siren Publishing Menage and More) (18 page)

Mistress sprang to her feet, threw another furrowed brow in Drew’s direction, and headed for the stage.

Drew rose to his feet reluctantly and pulled me with him. “Come on. Sophie with her panties in a twist is never a good thing.”

“I don’t blame her,” I said. “None of this has been run by her first.”

As we followed in Mistress’s wake, Drew blew out a breath. “We’re scheduled to sign papers at the end of the month, so we don’t technically own it yet.”

When she was angry, Mistress walked with an extra firmness to her step. It made her curvy ass sashay from side to side a little more. “You think that’s going to stop her?”

“No,” Drew laughed. “When Sophia has her mind made up, she’s stubborn as all get-out.”

We made it up the steps in time to hear her speaking to a bodyguard standing near a bound woman. “Can I touch her?”

Up close, the man looked even larger and more imposing. From the way he reacted to Mistress’s authoritative tone, I surmised that he was a submissive. “No, Mistress. You may look, but you can’t—” He broke off and his hand flew out, grabbing the wrist of a nearby man. “No touching, Sir.”

The would-be inspector narrowed his eyes at the bodyguard, but he did not challenge him. Mistress watched the altercation with her lips pursed. I knew she was not impressed with the setup. She might approve of vulnerability in a submissive, but she didn’t like the fact that these slaves were put in this position. They should be in a roped-off area or behind glass.

Whirling, she beelined for Mistress Heather. I glanced at Drew, noting the worry lines forming around his mouth. He managed to stay at Mistress’s elbow, grabbing her arm to slow her progress. Once again, I trailed behind them. He spoke into her ear, but I wasn’t close enough to hear what he said.

Mistress Heather smiled a greeting at Sophia. She couldn’t have missed the alarm radiating from Sophia’s body, but she didn’t seem affected by it. She opened her arms in greeting, and I was struck anew by her regal bearing. Though she was almost as tall as me, she seemed larger. Her build befit a taller woman. I could see her easily forcing one of the bodyguards to his knees. Yet for all that, she was shapely and attractive. The red-orange dress she wore mimicked the dancing of flames and highlighted her creamy, milk-chocolate skin. Someone had twined fabric of similar colors into the tight braids cascading down her back.

Sophia ignored the friendly gesture. “Heather, please explain to me what is going on.” Though she phrased it politely, there was no missing the fact that it was a command.

Mistress Heather hugged Sophia anyway. “These four submissives asked for this experience. You’ve seen the pamphlet?” At Sophia’s nod, Mistress Heather continued. “All precautions have been taken, and none of the slaves will be left alone. The monitors will be with them at all times. Discreetly, of course.”

“Even after the auction?”

Mistress Heather nodded.

This seemed to mollify Sophia somewhat. Stiffness eased from her spine and shoulders.

Drew also relaxed, but he still kept a vigilant eye on Sophia. “What happens with the money?”

Though Drew had asked my question, Mistress Heather directed most of her answer to Sophia. “The money is used to pay for the rooms, the toys, the outfits, and the monitors. Any extra will go into a fund for upkeep and maintenance.”

Sophia regarded Mistress Heather with a neutral expression on her face, and the manager slipped a few pegs in my esteem. I would never disrespect or defy her, but until she had my Mistress’s stamp of approval, she was nothing in my eyes.

“I’m not sure I’m crazy about this scenario.”

I wandered away. No order had been given requiring me to stay close to Mistress or Chef, and nobody called after me to correct my behavior, so I kept going. All the slaves had their wrists bound above their heads. The rope was attached to a chain that disappeared into the rafters over the stage. Shackles, spreader bars, and chains moored to the stage floor kept their feet in position. Other than that, the slaves wore minimal clothing. The women were dressed in lacy panties and bras, and the men wore leather shorts. Nothing was truly left to the imagination.

Searching face after face, I found that none of the slaves were afraid. Each had that look of anticipation and fear that slaves had when they didn’t know exactly what was about to happen. Dominants found it sexy the same way I was drawn to a firmly set jaw.

I stopped at the last one, a woman who kept her eyes downcast. Whenever a prospective Dom got too close, her guard intervened. He let them close enough to sniff her hair, and one Dom knelt to sniff her pussy, but he didn’t let them come into actual contact.

The slave never once lifted her gaze. She had been trained by an exacting Master, and she was probably looking for more of the same. Geordie had been exacting. Mistress was not. She had demands and rules, but she didn’t try to obliterate my identity. Some of that may have had to do with the boundaries I’d set, but I honestly couldn’t see her ever going that far.

That meant a lot to me.

“Do you want her?”

Mistress’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. Aunt Danielle had remarked several times that I had moments where I appeared dark and brooding. Since I had been brooding, I wondered if it had shown on my face and if Mistress had misinterpreted it for an interest in the slave on display.

I shook my head. “Thank you, Mistress, but I don’t want anybody except you and Chef.”

She put her hand in mine and tugged me around to face her. She wore a curious expression, and I had the feeling of being dissected by her for the first time. Perhaps I had been wrong about how exacting she could be. Drew had said that Sophia wanted to ease into the dynamic. Perhaps her lack of demands meant she was taking her time?

“Neal, if you want her, I will get her for us.”

Behind her, Drew let loose a long stream of air, and I figured that he liked girl-on-girl action. It held no appeal for me. I bit my lip, torn between giving Mistress an honest answer and getting a second woman for Drew.

At last, I made my decision. No lies. “I do not want her, Mistress. I came over here to see what was going on, to make sure the slaves here truly wanted to be here. You were upset, and I wanted to do what I could to help.”

She slid her arms around my neck and brought me closer for a kiss. The glide of her lips over mine made me tingle. She kept it light, a reward, perhaps, for being concerned about her feelings.

We stayed for the auction. The actuality of it was quite uneventful. With so few people in the audience, only two of the slaves were purchased. I felt bad for the two who hadn’t garnered a single bid. To be publicly unwanted had to suck big time.

Mistress followed the male and female who had been purchased to a nearby building. From the outside, it looked like a swanky house. Dual staircases curved up to a large verandah. The double doors of the entrance had been flung open. Light and music spilled outside, but the sound of voices was muted.

“There’s nobody here,” Drew said, voicing my thought. “Sabrina is going to have to work miracles with the marketing.”

Sophia shrugged. “Once it’s remodeled, she can publicize that and the fact it’s under new management. Ellen and Jonas are known in BDSM circles around the world. It’s not an insurmountable task.”

I remembered Ellen from Sensual Secrets and Jonas from the time he’d brought his wife over to be flogged by Mistress.

The slaves were led to different rooms. One disappeared into a private room with his new Master and the monitor. The female slave’s Master chose a room that had a glass wall and a dungeon theme. He buckled leather cuffs onto her wrists and ankles, then he used snaps to attach them to the wall. Her naked body, which was sexy enough, but not in comparison with Mistress’s, faced the Dom. The small crowd that had gathered on our side of the glass had a clear view. Once he started flogging her, Mistress rolled her eyes and pushed her way out of the crowd.

When we were out of earshot, she shook her head. “He’s harmless. Not much of a sadist. He knows what he’s doing. I think he knows her. They must have an exhibitionist thing going on.

She ran her finger down my chest. “Drew, I think we should see if there’s an open room here and try out the facilities.”

Drew nodded. “That’s an excellent idea. I want to flog him.”

Mistress whipped her head around and regarded him open-mouthed.

With one finger, he pushed her jaw shut. “You can teach me.”

I didn’t need to be consulted on this new development. If I had a problem with it, then I had a safe word I could use.

The private rooms, it seemed, lacked the panache of the exhibitionist rooms. A monitor had unlocked the room and left us inside. It featured a cheap hotel bed, a spanking bench, an old Saint Andrew’s cross, and various places to attach bondage gear. The red-and-gold color scheme complimented the dark wood of the floors, but its heyday had long ago passed.

Mistress pursed her lips at the decor. “In the morning, I’m going to have Heather take me around to see the rest of the rooms. For what we’re going to be charging, accommodations like this are a rip-off.”

Drew sat on the bed, a licentious grin curving his sinful lips. “Our room isn’t much nicer. I sent someone for your bag of tricks.”

Sophia jumped on him, flinging her arms around his neck and straddling him. He held her so that she didn’t bounce and fall to the floor.

“You are the most awesome husband in the world.” She peppered his face with kisses. “What would you like to do with Neal first?”

He shrugged, but I could tell it wasn’t the real deal. He had definite ideas. “The cross. A blindfold and a gag. And that thing with the plastic plates.”

She cupped his face in her hands. She had done the same thing with me, but on Drew it seemed different. Where it calmed me and showed her possession, with Drew, it just looked like a loving gesture.

“This is what you want?” As she had done with me, she was making sure he truly wanted to top me.

He nodded. “I want to make him come with the flogger. I’ll probably need your help.”

Hearing him say that made me hard. Though nobody had told me to, I sat down on the bed next to them. Mistress kissed Drew, and when she finished, she leaned over and kissed me. As she plunged her tongue into my mouth, I felt Drew’s hand caressing my dick through my shorts.

When Sophia pulled away, Drew groaned and pushed me onto my back. “That is so fucking hot, Sophie. I could watch you guys kiss all day. No, scratch that. You’d have to take fuck breaks.”

She laughed and rolled so that they flanked me. “Sounds like a plan.” Together they stripped me of my modest covering. I was already hard, and neither of them bothered to untangle me from the fabric. I hissed through my teeth as they scrunched my cock, enjoying the pain spreading through my lower regions.

A knock on the door didn’t pause the action. While Chef answered, Mistress raked her nails up my chest and twisted a nipple. “Clamps,” she whispered. “You’re going to make a lot of noise.”

“Kneel on the floor,” Chef said.

“Yes, Chef.”

Mistress released her hold on my nipple, and I scrambled to obey. We hadn’t established protocols for how he wanted me to kneel, so I chose the position that let me rest my ass on my heels. I spread my knees apart and linked my hands together behind my neck.

“Nice posture,” Mistress said. “Now kneel up. No rest for you.”

“Yes, Mistress.” I preened under the force of her compliment.

Chef took something out of the bag, and I recognized a vise. It had a hole in it, so my cock would not be squeezed, but my balls were about to be tortured. They knelt in front of me, and Mistress talked Chef through the process of threading my cock through and positioning my scrotum.

Mistress tapped the front, and the whole thing rocked. “Turning this knob controls the force of the squeeze. It has a safety feature that won’t let you squish him flat, but you can cause some serious pain with it.”

Chef went to turn the knob, but Mistress halted him with her hand on his wrist. “You should experience it first so you know what he’s feeling.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’ve used these things before?”

She nodded.

“You don’t have balls to test it on.”

Mistress lifted a brow. “I have breasts.”

The image of Mistress testing a vise on her breasts made a drop of pre-cum leak from the tip of my cock.

Chef scowled. “The flogger?”

“I’ve flogged you,” she said. “You know what it feels like. You’re familiar with the paddle and the crop too.”

His scowl disappeared, replaced by his signature cocky grin. “Okay, then you squish his balls.”

She turned the knob. At first, I felt nothing. It didn’t take long for the constricted feeling to begin—like a good stretch of my ass and inner thighs. I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensation. Hands caressed my chest and back. A tongue licked the tip of my dick and swirled around to dab at the sensitive underside.

My legs trembled with the effort it took to stay still.

Mistress nibbled at my lower lip and then soothed the stings with the heat of her tongue. She wrapped her hand around my cock and squeezed until I moaned, then she backed off a bit on the pressure.