MasterinMelbourne (5 page)

“You want to sleep with me.”

“Sleep?” He grinned broadly. “Yes, I guess sleeping would be
nice too. But I was also hoping that after dinner you’d let me take you back to
Indigo.”

“I thought it only ran the two nights.”

His eyes twinkled. “Yeah, that’s all they tell people about
in the papers. Lots of new people come every year, and that’s a good thing, but
those that hang back and watch or act like assholes generally don’t find out
about the third night. It tends to wind down earlier too, although there’s
always a few who stay until late. Most of us have to get up Monday morning and
go to work.”

“You’ll want more than you got last night.”

“I’ll want to explore something different, for sure. You’ll
have to trust me, and I know that trust doesn’t come easy to you. I don’t blame
you for that, but I can’t tell you we don’t need it either.”

We. He says that as if we’re a couple.
How lovely
that sounds. And impossible.
“I haven’t a thing to wear.” She knew that
wouldn’t stop him, but at least it might give her a moment to come up with
another reason not to go.

“Perfect.”

It took her a moment to process the quick and unexpected
response.
He can’t mean… He does.
“You just want me naked?”

“I did admit to ulterior motives, didn’t I? What man
wouldn’t want you naked?” He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I
actually did bring one thing for you to wear. A collar. Not as a sign of a
commitment, but because if you’re wearing one the other Doms will know you’re
taken, and I don’t think either of us wants someone trying to cut in. And
hopefully it will remind you that I’m going to protect you.”

She stared at him. He met her gaze, a soft smile playing on
lips that had touched her far too briefly. She hadn’t had a man lust after her
so frankly in a long time. “What are we going to do there?”

“Nothing that will damage you, bruise you or mark you in any
way. Nothing that will require you to be out of sight of others. And nothing
that will require you to be restrained or unable to get away.” He glanced at
her food. “Say the phrase ‘pad thai’ and I’ll stop. Other than that, you’re
going to have to leave it up to me.”

“We don’t get to negotiate?” She frowned.

Nick shook his head. “Darlin’, if you were any other sub,
I’d negotiate until the sun set, and it sets pretty late this time of year. I
don’t enjoy starting a scene and having someone safe word out of it if I can
avoid it by some good conversation beforehand, and you’ll have your safe word,
always. But the fact is, I don’t think that’s what you need. I think you need
to learn that it’s okay to trust again, as well as that it’s okay to play
again. And I intend to fulfill your needs as best as I can.”

Her needs had been fulfilled last night. It had been his
that she figured had been ignored. She wanted so badly to say yes to him, and
yet part of her wanted to yell no way and run. She took a breath and gave him
the most positive answer she could. “I’ll think about it.” She took another
bite of her pad thai. Prey needed to eat too and the food was yummy.

“Good.” He took hold of her hand, the one that wasn’t
holding a fork, and said, softly, “Dinner will be genuine Australian food.
Pizza.”

She didn’t recall saying yes to dinner either, but she was
distracted from objecting to the supposition by the incongruity of what he
said. “Pizza is Australian food, is it?”

“We have our own take on it, I think it’s fair to say.”

Chapter Five

The pizza was yummy. Zoe had never thought of having smoked
salmon and capers on pizza before, but she had to admit it went well. She
passed on the idea of egg pizza, however. That was too strange. But now she was
standing in front of Nick near the coat rack at Indigo. He’d ordered her to
strip, which she’d been dreading for hours.

“Do I have to?” She made a face at Nick, but she knew the
answer already. She sounded like a spoiled teenager, even to herself, begging
for something she knew she wasn’t going to get. All she had to do was walk out
or say her safe word. On some level, she knew she didn’t have to do anything he
told her to, and asking the question was an admission that she was going to
obey.

He chuckled. “No, not at all.”

She blinked. The music at Indigo was much quieter than it
had been the night before, instrumental rock with a hint of classical music in
it, dark and haunting. She’d definitely heard him correctly.

“Just stay still.”

He put his hands behind her, unfastened her bra and slipped
it off over her shoulders. Oh. She’d taken the blouse off without protest, and
then she’d balked. He hadn’t seen her breasts before, hadn’t seen the little
marks on them, and she didn’t know what he’d think. She liked rough treatment
there, but as with most things, Stu had overdone it in a big way, all the while
claiming it was what she liked. Or if not, then what she deserved. Her breasts
had received special attention from him, with needles and cigarettes; it always
seemed as if that was where he got his most sadistic kicks, as if there was
something about her curves that offended him. Her chest still looked fine in a
bra, she thought, but outside of one, she wasn’t so sure.

“You’re gorgeous.” He hung the bra on the rack, then
caressed her breasts briefly, cupping them and then letting them go. He stepped
back. “And now for the rest. And yes, you do have to, because while I’d enjoy
undressing you, I’ll enjoy watching you more.”

She blushed. “Bastard.”

He raised his eyebrows, but the slight upturn of the corner
of his lip reassured her.

“Did I confuse my m’s and b’s again?” she asked innocently.
“I hate it when I do that.”

He laughed. “Off with the pants. And your knickers too, if
you’re wearing any.”

“Knickers? Oh, panties. Of course I’m wearing some.”

Getting her jeans off wasn’t so bad. She hesitated before
she took off her panties, however. He was watching her with frank appreciation,
and that didn’t bother her. But while the crowd was thinner at Indigo, there
were still plenty of people around. Some significant minority of them already
had their clothes off, which was some consolation but not a lot. The threat of
punishment had usually compelled her obedience in Texas. This time, it was up
to her.

She wasn’t going to disappoint him. She looked down and
hooked her thumbs under the elastic in the waist and pulled them down quickly
before she could change her mind. She picked up her purse from where she’d left
it on the floor. Naked or not, she couldn’t be without her passport, not to
mention her wallet. When she looked back up he was there, a thin strip of black
leather in his hand.

Meeting her gaze, he fastened it around her neck and buckled
it in the back. It felt snug, and the inside was butter-soft. But the
narrowness of it worried her. A wider collar distributed pressure more evenly if
he wanted to tug on it and pull her by it, especially important if he grabbed
her from behind. Even a wide collar could take her breath away if pulled
suddenly. She nibbled on her lip, not sure whether to say something or not.

“Out with it, darlin’.”

“This collar is too thin.”

“It would be, if I was using it as a restraint. But I
promised not to do that. It’s a symbol, to stop you from getting hit on.”

“But won’t you be right there the whole time?”

He smiled. “Most of the time, yes. I’m going to push you,
Zoe, because you need it. Follow me, please.” He turned around and walked
across the room and she hurried to keep up.

Most. She didn’t like the sound of that at all. She was
about to say so when she stopped herself. To raise a safety concern was one
thing, but she didn’t want to be ruled by her fears. He seemed as trustworthy a
Dom as she was likely to find, and whoever saw her here would never see her
again. She could paint herself with giant polka dots and it wouldn’t matter,
because none of these people would affect her real life in Texas. The thought
of polka dots brought a smile to her face, and she had to hold back a giggle.
She didn’t want him to ask her what she was thinking, for fear he might do it.

She wasn’t going to tell him he was already pushing her
either. She was pretty sure he knew it.

He pulled a blue folding chair into position and sat down on
it. It was at an angle to the round table, but there wasn’t quite room to kneel
directly in front of it, and she wasn’t sure she was allowed the chair either.
So she stood, waiting and feeling embarrassed. Any seated or kneeling position
would cover her up better than standing did.

“Now there’s a bar over in that section of the room,” he
said, gesturing to the right of the exit. He got out his wallet, pulled out an
orange twenty-dollar note and handed it to her. “I’d like a mineral water for
myself, but you’re welcome to get anything you want. I’d suggest avoiding any
strong alcohol, and in any case you have a one-drink limit tonight.”

So that was what he meant by most of the time. He certainly
wasn’t wasting any time, and his tone didn’t imply she could argue with him.
She took the bill and walked toward the bar, passing another naked woman
carrying drinks on the way. The other woman wore heels at least five inches
high, and she was tottering in them. Zoe was glad Nick had let her go barefoot,
because she’d feel far more self-conscious in shoes like those.

She bought herself an overpriced soda and carried the two
drinks and his change back to the table. The collar had worked quite nicely to
warn people off. She’d been aware of a few stares, but no one approached her.
She set down the drinks on the table, along with a violet five-dollar note and
a couple two-dollar coins.

“Drinks cost a lot here.”

“The profits on Sunday go to benefit an organization that
works for sexual freedom in Australia, so I don’t worry about that. Thank you,
you did that well. I know you weren’t eager for a stroll. Have a seat, Zoe.” He
tapped a chair with his foot.

“Yes Sir.” She sat down, barely suppressing a yelp at the
feel of the cold metal on her naked back and bottom.

“The chair will get warmer.”

She started to make a face and then thought better of it.
He
knew the chair was cold, and had me sit in it anyway. Sadist.
“I could get
a cushion. Stu never let me use the furniture at clubs and parties.” She
crossed her arms in front of her breasts, aware of his gaze on her.

“You know better, Zoe. If I wanted you covered, I’d have let
you wear clothes.”

She gulped, uncrossed her arms and grabbed her soda, her
grip a bit tighter than it needed to be.

“I’m not Stu. For which I think we can both be grateful.” He
leaned back. “I thought I’d tell you what I have in mind, and we’ll have our
drinks. When we’re done drinking and talking, you’ll go get a cushion.” He
nodded over to where a handful of hucksters had tables set up to sell their
wares. “Garvin over there sells floggers, very good ones, actually. We’re going
to go over there and test them, and see what will work best for a scene between
the two of us. As I promised, there will be no restraints involved, and the
flogger will be light enough that we don’t have to worry about bruises.”

“Test them how?”

“On your back, of course.”

“Right there? Where people are shopping?”

“Right there. Where people are shopping. If I thought you
needed options, darlin’, I’d give them to you, but I don’t think that’s what
you want. Or what you need.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

He looked very serious. “Then I suspect you’ll get up, fetch
your clothes and walk out. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t certain. The
question is whether you have the courage to get what you crave. Only you know
the answer to that, but my bet is on yes.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she didn’t. He
was right, and yet how could she still want Domination so much after seeing how
things had gone with Stu?

Ten minutes later, in spite of her doubt, she was holding
his hand while he looked at floggers. He took his time, and she was very
conscious of her nakedness, but eventually he narrowed his choices down to two.
One had thinner tails, but more of them. She remembered from her limited
experience that the thinner the tails, the more a flogger hurt.

“Mind if I try them out, Garvin?” he asked.

Garvin, a tall, beefy blond, shook his head. “Have at ’er. I
see you found yourself a nice target. What’s your name, sub?”

She looked at Nick and he nodded for her to answer. “Zoe,”
she said. “You must be Master Garvin.”

“I must be.” Garvin chuckled. “Thank you for advertising my
products.”

“Uh, sure.”

“Stand up straight, Zoe, and face the table. Hands behind on
your head, that’s a good girl.”

Facing the table meant facing Garvin, and she wasn’t at all
sure she liked that. But it also meant facing away from most of the club, so
that was good. Garvin sat down and gave her another look over, long and slow,
the kind of look that told her that if Nick ever set her free she’d have other
options. It was annoying, but flattering too. He could see all her scars and
blemishes, and yet he wasn’t turned-off.

If men imagined what clothed women would look like naked,
maybe they also mentally Photoshopped naked ones. She wasn’t getting the
disgusted reactions she’d expected. Then again, maybe it marked her as an edge
player, and that was somehow attractive to Garvin. She hoped not. She didn’t
want anyone to think she’d wanted those marks on her body.

“Would you mind giving me a little room?” Nick asked an
older man who was standing close. The man took one look at what was going on
and nodded. People were forming a half circle around them, giving Nick room for
a backswing.

“Stop moving your head, darlin’. You don’t need to see this
time. Just feel.”

She faced front, where she’d been told. Now she couldn’t see
what was going on at all. She could hear the sound of the flogger passing
through the air. She’d seen Doms do that before, getting the feel for their
instrument before they used it on a sub’s back, so she could visualize what was
going on behind her. She felt a slight, cool breeze on her back as the leather
fanned the air. She relaxed. He knew what he was doing, and he was being
cautious. She’d taken much worse.

Still, she was startled when the flogger finally smacked on
her back. It took her a moment to process that it wasn’t pain, just surprise.
The second blow was easier to take, even though it wasn’t any lighter. He was
definitely pulling his strokes though, because the weight of the flogger alone,
with his full strength behind it, was probably enough to make her lose her
balance. She wasn’t worried about falling. She wanted to do him proud. The last
thing she wanted was to embarrass him in public. She wouldn’t even mind if he
swung a little harder, or a lot harder, as long as she didn’t embarrass him.

After a dozen or so strokes, he stopped. He set the flogger
down on the table. To her surprise, it was the thinner-tailed one, each tail a
half-inch across. Yet it didn’t feel bad at all. Part of that was his strokes,
but she could feel the weight of them, especially the last ones.

She pushed aside the conundrum of the flogger to try to sort
out her own feelings.
Why do I feel so strongly about not letting him down?
We’re just passing ships, really. No future, no past. All about the moment. And
yet I don’t just want him to do kinky bad things to me. I want to serve him. He
sure deserves it more than Stu ever did.

“Now the other,” he said. Again, she listened to a few
strokes through the air. She wanted to be present and focused, to let him know
which one she liked better. But instead she was getting aroused. Her nipples
were stiffening and tingling even in the warm air of the club. She realized,
suddenly, that she was proud to be seen with this strong man. As messed up as
she was, she could still get a hunky guy, even if only for a moment.

She didn’t think he’d take too kindly to being called a
trophy man though. And she wanted to be careful not to get carried away. She
had been proud of how deep she’d been able to go with Stu too, of how total her
devotion was. It hadn’t led her to a good place. But she couldn’t help the
physical reaction. It was her.

The leather tails whacked her, feeling sharper than the
narrow strips of the first one despite their width. It was still gentle
compared to a cane or a riding crop even, but it gave her the sting she’d
expected from the first. She leaned back into it, conscious of how stretching
her shoulders pulled at her chest. She didn’t look at Garvin, even though he
was in front of her. He was just occupying the space where she was gazing. It
was the man behind her for whom she was trying to look perfect.

Nick put the other flogger on the table and picked up the
one with lots of narrower tails again. “I’ll take this one.”

“Don’t you want my— Sorry, Sir.” The fact was, it was as
well she didn’t ask, because she’d not been focused on which one she preferred.
One was more thud, one was more sting, even if it hadn’t been the one she’d
expected doing the stinging. He looked at her, not angry but clearly surprised.

“I saw your feedback, Zoe.”

“Yes Sir.”
At least one of us was paying attention.
She didn’t know what to do, to show him that despite her runaway mouth she
really did trust him to make the selection. Either would have been fine, and it
was his money, after all.