Want It Bad (13 page)

“No, no.”

“But you’re apprehensive.”

“Yes.”

That’s the polite way of stating it. It’s actually more along the lines of scared shitless.

“Do you know what a safeword is?”

“If I want to stop, I say a word, and we immediately quit.”

“Right.”

“Why can’t I just tell you to stop?”

He placed his hand against the small of Carla’s back, and his eyes glinted. “Because begging for mercy is part of the fun.”

Carla shivered, and it went right down her spine and stopped between her thighs, making her tingle.

“My safeword is
injunction
,” she managed to say.

Jake raised an eyebrow.

“It’s the least sexy word I know. Besides sailboat.”

He grinned. “Yeah, we don’t want to go there.”

“No, we don’t.” Carla liked that they could joke about her meltdown. She still had the fear, but at least she’d gotten beyond the embarrassment. Yesterday had changed a lot of things, and she knew today would change more.

I just hope I can keep up.

“Okay, injunction it is. Here we go…” Jake opened the door and ushered her inside.

Carla hadn’t been sure what to expect when Jake had told her of his dungeon of pleasure. Perhaps something dark and medieval, like out of a horror movie. Or stark and clinical, like a dentist’s office. Instead, it resembled a home gym. Well lit, mirrors on the walls, one of those spongy mat floors, and equipment strewn about everywhere.

There was a large X frame, with shackles on it.

A pillory.

A massage table, with padded black leather and various restraints.

A rack filled with various naughty things. Dildos, paddles, cuffs, canes, whips, vibrators, ball gags, and seemingly out of place, a jar stuffed with a bouquet of peacock feathers and a row of candles.

But the strangest thing was a steel frame bearing a seat and strange, mechanical gears. To Carla it looked like one of those machines where you worked your triceps or quads.

“That’s the Stallion,” Jake said, obviously following her gaze. “It’s a fucking machine.”

“A fucking machine?”

“One eighth horsepower. Five-inch stroke. One hundred and eighty strokes per minute. You sit in various positions, I attach a dildo to the moving rod, and off you go on the ride of your life.”

Carla’s eyes widened. Math wasn’t her strongest suit, but one-eighty a minute equaled three strokes a second. “Is that even legal?”

“Want to try it out?”

A tremor seized her that had little to do with arousal and a lot to do with fear. For a moment, she wanted to return to the fruit salad and Jake’s mouth on her. This whole pleasure dungeon thing seemed like a mistake. “I don’t think I can handle it.”

Jake squeezed her hand. “You’re going to be surprised by how much you can handle.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“Okay, but before you get too worried, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to look around and tell me, on a scale of one to ten, which things scare you the most, and which turn you on the most. Okay?”

Carla nodded. She could do that. “Where do I start?”

“How about right here,” he said, gesturing to the apparatus in front of her.

“The Stallion…” Carla considered the thing. “I give it seven on the scare meter.”

“And the sexy meter?”

“Two. It seems like I’d be having intercourse with a Bowflex.”

“Okay. The pillory?”

Carla imagined bending over, her head and hands locked in the wooden device, while Jake took her from behind. Seemed like there were good points and bad points to that one. “Five scary, five sexy.”

The next device Jake indicated was the giant X. Carla considered that a moment and quickly deduced a person could be chained to it, arms and legs splayed out. After her adventure last night, the thought of standing there, legs spread, being at Jake’s mercy, seemed like it could be fun.

“Four scary, seven sexy.”

“How about the table?”

“It’s just a table, or am I missing something?”

“It has ten straps on it. You can be positioned on your back, or your stomach, and when you’re fully secured, you’re completely immobile.”

With the pillory or cross, it seemed she would have some wiggle room. She could handle that. But not being able to move at all—that was pretty frightening.

“Two sexy, eight scary.”

“Okay, let’s look at some of the toys.” Jake took her by the hand to the rack against the wall, and picked up a dildo the width of a soda can.

Carla laughed. “Is that a sex toy or a murder weapon?”

“It’s a sex toy.”

“It’s exhibit A for the prosecution. Three sexy, ten scary.”

“A ten? Really? If you were really turned on, plenty of lubrication, you don’t think you could handle this?”

That sounded like a challenge. “You’re saying it wouldn’t rip me in half and hurt like hell?”

“It wouldn’t.”

“Okay. Seven scary. But it seems more like giving birth than having fun.”

Jake picked up a paddle.

“One sexy, five scary. I’m not into pain.”

“No one has ever spanked you?”

“Not even when I was a child and I intentionally spilled cherry Kool Aid on my parent’s new white couch.”

“Intentionally?”

“They wouldn’t let me stay up past my bedtime to watch a movie.”

Jake cupped her ass and pulled her into him, and Carla felt herself pinned by his stare. “You
are
a naughty girl. Maybe a spanking would do you some good.”

Carla might have found the whole talk of naughtiness and spanking funny if she couldn’t feel his erection pressing against her. As it was, his hard length pressing against her pantyless crotch was all she could think about. And even though she knew his one rule was not to touch his cock, she was feeling playful, and defiant, and she ground herself against him, thrilled by how his eyes widened.

“Yes,” he said. “You’re very naughty. I bet you’ll be begging to be spanked by the end of the day.”

“Not going to happen,” Carla said. She continued to rub herself against Jake’s bulge. Carla had done it to see his reaction, but she was beginning to really enjoy the sensations and revel in taking control. She wanted to feel it with her dress off. Or with his jeans off. Or both.

“I still have that hundred dollars you lost. Double or nothing you’re going to beg me to spank you.”

“Deal,” she breathed.

Jake pulled away from her. She tried to hide her disappointment, but could feel the pout on her face.

He held up a candle.

“Romantic,” she said. “Unless you intend to stick that up my ass.”

“I have other toys for that. This is to drip hot wax on you.”

“Ouch. That doesn’t seem like fun. Two sexy, seven scary.”

“Afraid it will hurt?”

“I’m not afraid of pain. But I don’t find it to be a turn on.”

“It isn’t about pain, Carla. It’s about testing your limits. Surrendering yourself to sensation. Letting someone have control over your body.”

She shook her head at that last bit, fighting the urge to take a step backward. “I like to stay in control.”

“You misunderstand,” Jake said. “Are you here against your will?”

“Of course not.”

“Can you stop anytime you wish?”

“Yes.”

“Then you are ultimately in control. It’s your car, Carla. You’re just allowing me to take the wheel for a little while.”

It was an interesting analogy. And Carla was anxious to let Jake drive again. “Actually I’m paying you to take the wheel.”

“Exactly. I’m your chauffeur.”

She liked the sound of that.

“All right, so how about this?” He held up a Hitachi vibrating wand, identical to the one Janet had bought Carla.

“One sexy, two scary.”

“Only one sexy?”

“I’ve tried it. Didn’t do anything for me.”

“Interesting.” He said it like a doctor analyzing a patient’s chart. “And this?” It was a piece of rubber that looked like a miniature football on a stand.

Carla almost groaned, not at all enthused. “Is that a butt plug?”

“Yes.”

“What if I just wanted to go back into the bedroom and have you do to me what you did yesterday?”

“We could do that. But that wasn’t your goal.”

“Maybe I’ve changed goals.”

“That would be fine. But I don’t believe that’s true. I think you’re just scared.”

“Maybe. And maybe I just don’t find this stuff all that arousing.”

“Listen, you trusted me to show you a good time, right?”

Carla nodded.

“Would you trust me if I said you’ll have even more fun today?”

She searched his face. He seemed to be sincerely concerned about her. He was the expert at this. This was his world. And at least last night, she’d decided she wanted to know more about his world, and in turn, learn about herself. “Yeah, okay. I trust you.”

“So rate the butt plug.”

“Two sexy, seven scary.”

He laughed, apparently liking her answer.

“What’s funny?”

“I’m glad you’re finding so many things scary, and so many things unsexy.”

“Why?”

He winked. “Because it’s going to be so much fun changing your mind.”

She was about to protest when Jake ran his hand down her leg, bringing it up under her skirt. Lightly, so lightly, he stroked Carla between her legs, driving everything else from her mind. She pressed against his hand, but he pulled away. Then he dangled something in front of her. A rubber ball on a leather strap.

“How about this?”

“A gag?” Carla instinctively pulled away. “No.”

“Rate it.”

“Zero sexy, ten scary.”

“Seriously?”

“I learned to talk before I learned to sit up. It’s who I am. As a lawyer, I make a living with my voice. Taking it away would be awful. Like… like…”

“Like falling overboard and being all alone in the water?”

Carla didn’t want to think about that. “Yes. Worse. Maybe not worse. But bad.”

“Interesting.”

Jake brought it up to Carla’s face, as if intending to put it on.

She backed away. “
Injunction.
No. That is not going to happen.”

Jake immediately raised his hands. “Understood. It’s going back on the rack. But do I have your permission to ask you about it again?”

“It won’t matter. I’m always going to say no.”

“So I don’t have your permission?”

“You can ask. I’m just telling you in advance that it’s never going to happen. I’ll get paddled on the sex machine and covered with hot candle wax with that monster dildo up my ass before I put that thing in my mouth. How would I even be able to say the safe word while I’m gagged?”

“There are other ways to handle that. Hand signals. A bell you could ring. We could—”

Carla held up her hands. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. I’m never putting that thing in my mouth anyway.”

“It’s not that complicated to—”

“No. Let’s move on.”

“Understood.” Jake’s tone changed, becoming cooler.

Carla frowned. She was the one paying, and while she wanted to try new things, that didn’t mean she had to do everything he suggested. Pushing boundaries was not the same as giving them up altogether. “So do you have anything else you want me to rate?”

“This should suffice for now.”

“So what happens next?”

“You get on the table.”

Carla turned to stare at the padded table. The one with all the straps that would keep her completely immobile. Was he not listening? “I said that was an eight scary.”

“I know. That’s why we’re starting there.”

She eyed him. While it wasn’t as bad as the ball gag, being immobilized didn’t sit well with her. “I’m not going to like it.”

“I bet you were the kind of kid who refused to eat certain foods, saying you hated them, without ever tasting.”

Carla didn’t want to admit it, but he’d guessed correctly. “Eggplant looked gross. My parents made me try it. And I was right. It was gross.”

“So there was never anything they forced you to try, and they were right?”

Carla was a finicky eater as a child, but when forced to try something, she liked it more often than not. Her mother used to say Carla’s taste buds weren’t the problem; Carla’s attitude was the problem. It was an attitude perfect for an attorney. Stubborn. Willing to fight. Knowing you were right. But perhaps it wasn’t conducive to being sexually adventurous.

“I can just say the safeword, right? If I don’t like it? And then we move on to something more my style?”

“Yes.”

She took a fortifying breath then climbed up on the padded table.

Jake approached her, running his hands up her knees, her thighs. Carla wanted to kiss him again, to taste him, not only because she liked it but to reassure her about what was to come. But he was already lifting her dress up over her head, the fabric blocking her view of his face, and then she was naked and being laid back on the cool leather.

He strapped her ankles down first, feet together, which seemed strange.

Doesn’t he want my legs open?

Apparently not, because another strap went over her calves, then her thighs. He stopped at her pelvis, running his hand over her recently shaved smoothness. Even with her legs closed, Carla felt uncomfortably exposed. As if this was a trip to the doctor, rather than to an escort.

As he stroked her, so lightly she could barely feel it, Carla watched the erection in his jeans twitch. Though this was work to Jake, it obviously turned him on. And after seeing the evidence of his arousal, Carla was getting turned on as well. Her nipples tightened, and she arched her pelvis to have firmer contact with his fingers. Then Jake was securing a strap around her waist, and she couldn’t move her lower body at all.

Her wrists went into padded leather cuffs that were attached to the table’s sides. As soon as the cuffs closed, a hot panic centered in her chest.

Jake tightened another strap just under her breasts.

“It’s okay to struggle and be afraid,” he said, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. “That’s part of the fun.”

Carla thought he was completely wrong. How could feeling scared and trapped be fun?

A final strap was secured above her breasts, across her shoulders, and Carla blew out a stiff breath.