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  She rotated her hips, grinding down on it. Pleasure jolted through her, but it faded quickly, and she couldn’t get enough contact to give her what she really needed.

  She made a frustrated noise, and Dev shifted his hold, gently jamming the end of the handle up against her pussy, a millimeter too far back to be directly on her clit. But damn, it was close. She hissed out a breath of satisfaction and wiggled, needing to move just a fraction in order to get the handle right where…

  He withdrew the contact, leaving the space between her legs feeling empty and aching, her clit and labia throbbing.

  “I want your ass out.” He petted her butt, fingers tracing the line of her panties across her ass to her inner thigh.

  Sarah scooted her feet back, bending at the hips and hanging onto the ring, using her arms and core muscles to hold herself in place.

  The flogging started up again, this time the gentle thuds moving up the back of her leg to her ass, then down again. Her whole body was warm, though she was aware of the brighter spots of heat present on her left ass and sit spot where he’d flogged her good and hard.

  There was a pause, the briefest lull in the rhythm he’d had going, but it was enough to warn her what was coming.

  Crack.

  The flogger landed on her sit spot, bright pain and heat all coming together. Pressing her face to her arm, she sank her teeth into her own flesh, biting gently, not to muffle any sounds, but because she wanted to bite something. Preferable Dev but—

  Crack.

  Another brutal strike from the flogger, this time hitting her upper thigh, just south of the last blow. She cried out again, a high breathy scream, her knees buckling. He caught her around the hips, held her steady, his leather-clad lower body pressed against her hip. She twisted until she felt the ridge of his cock. She wiggled, wanting to grind against him, but he slapped her butt, a quick spank, then stepped back.

  Sarah groaned in frustration, the sound morphing into a scream when the flogger landed once more, striking dead center of her ass.

  It hurt. That beautiful, encompassing pain that faded all too fast, leaving heat and throbbing need in its wake.

  Dev’s arms came around her from behind, wrapping around her waist and helping ease her down to kneel on the wood. She dropped forward onto her hands, her head hanging between her arms as she breathed slow and deep.

  He stroked her, from shoulders down to the small of her back, before his hands veered out to caress her hips, avoiding her sore, aching bottom.

  She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, him stroking her while she was kneeling on all fours, all her doubts and insecurities wiped away by the impact play, leaving her floating in the dark, warm space behind her closed eyes.

  “Do you need more time to come down?” Dev asked in a soft voice.

  Sarah blinked her eyes open. It took a minute for the wood grain of the stage to come into focus.

  “Are we…done?”

  “With the warm up. Yes.”

  Sarah looked back over her shoulder, eyes open wide. “That was warm up?”

  Dev picked up the flogger, shaking it to detangle the falls. “Yes. Now it’s time to tackle the game.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Dev crouched beside the duffel bag and took a moment to admire Sarah. She was breathing at a more normal rate, not the deep, slow inhalations and exhalations that she’d been doing in the immediate aftermath of the flogging.

  Still on her hands and knees, Dev watched as she pressed her hips back and extended her arms in child’s pose. That caused the leather panties to ride up. Skin that had felt the direct touch of the flogger was pinker than the flesh that had been covered.

  She shifted forward, her head coming up, face to the sky above, her neck a long delicate column as she arched her back in cobra pose.

  He wondered if her muscles were the result of yoga, or maybe Pilates.

  He wondered what those lean muscled limbs would look like spread out on his bed, her arms and legs stretched to the corners held fast by ropes.

  It was time to acknowledge that he was deeply attracted to her. Sexual attraction wasn’t necessary, and was sometimes even detrimental, between BDSM partners. Sex could muddy the waters.

  Once he’d seen the letter O items, he’d factored in that there was probably going to be some sort of sexual contact necessary given what their specific items were. Unlike impact play, orgasms were by definition sexual. However, he had a plan for controlling, and denying, her orgasms without crossing that line into sex.

  His original plan had involved a wearable vibrator that he could control from an app on his phone. The only time he would have needed to have intimate sexual contact with her would have been to fit the butterfly vibrator to her.

  Sarah had intrigued him from the moment he’d seen her earlier this evening. Admittedly, she’d confused him along the way, but now, after that flogging, and her exquisite response, his primary emotion was no longer intrigue.

  Devin wanted her with a dark, possessive need.

  The question was, what was he going to do about it?

  He let himself savor the view for another moment, watching her work her way through a few more simple yoga poses, then forced himself to switch focus to the next phase of tonight’s planned scene.

  Digging into the duffel bag, he pulled out a handful of soft straps and one longer coil of rope. He was far from being a rope expert, but he was adept at the simple harness tie. The multi-use straps that he’d selected from the supplies he kept in his locker were soft enough and flexible enough to be used on wrists and ankles, without fear of damaging tendons or pinching nerves.

  Holding the supplies in his left hand, he stepped onto the stage and went to Sarah, running his right hand over the top of her head in a gentle touch. This was him being on his very best Dom behavior, because what he wanted to do was to grab a fistful of her hair, haul her up, and kiss her.

  “Can you stand?”

  She nodded, the curve of her skull sliding against his palm, her hair soft and cool.

  When she reached out, he dropped the supplies he was holding without hesitation, taking her hand in his and helping her to her feet. His other hand, the one that had been on the back of her head, that hand he slid down her body as she rose. His fingers dancing down her spine came to rest at the small of her back.

  “Do you want to go to the bathroom before we continue?”

  “No, thank you though.”

  Giving in to his own need to touch her, Dev applied pressure to the small of her back, pulling her in against his chest. Hugs were common, and encouraged, between scene partners. BDSM scenes could get dark and intense, and most people liked and needed affection and reassurance to balance the scales.

  But this hug, it was dual-purpose. As her Dom, he needed to touch her. As a man, he wanted to. Sarah leaned into him, and he accepted her body weight while one hand roamed up and down her back.

  She made a small sound, somewhere between a moan and a sigh.

  It was a contented sound, not overtly sexual, yet his cock twitched. Hearing that small sound made him wonder what noises she would make when they had sex. He wondered how loud he’d be able to make her scream.

  He needed to get his cock under control, and this scene back on track. No matter what, there would be no sex tonight. It would be irresponsible of him to initiate a sexual relationship once the scene had already started. Adding sex into a scene in progress was a non-starter, because he’d never be sure if the desire for intimacy was because the sub actually wanted to fuck him, or if the sub was caught up in the power exchange.

  “Water?” he asked, his own voice rough.

  “Oh, yes, please.”

  She sounded so surprised by common courtesy. Maybe she had a degradation kink, and normally played in ways that were much rougher and demeaning.

  He thought about asking, but that was only one of many questions he wanted to ask her. And all those questions could wait.

  Releasing her, Dev went to a small water station set up in the corner of one of the hallways. He poured them both glasses of water but chugged his and put the used glass in the dirties bin before bringing the second glass to her.

  “No ice?” She smiled, looking up at him from under her lashes as she took the glass.

  He grabbed the hem of her cropped, halter top, giving it a friendly tug. She inhaled sharply and had to stop and cough.

  “I’d suggest drinking the water, not inhaling it.”

  “That would be easier to do if you weren’t pulling on my top.”

  “And why is pulling on your top a problem?” He meant the question to be teasing, but the words came out rough and demanding.

  She lowered her gaze to the glass, turning it between her palms. “Because my nipples are hard and even the fabric rubbing on them a little bit is making me crazy.”

  Dev’s cock twitched and he realized he had no one but himself to blame for the sudden spike in his arousal. After all, he was the moron who’d asked, knowing full well what the answer was. What he hadn’t been prepared for was the effect of hearing her say the words, of hearing her admit to a kind of soft, sexual vulnerability.

  Needing space, he took a knee and started sorting through the straps and ropes that he had dropped earlier. By the time she finished the glass of water, he had finished most of his prep.

  When she set the empty glass aside on the corner of the stage, he crooked a finger silently commanding her to join him.

  Dev watched her gaze dart from him to the hanging bondage setup he’d been working on to the pile of restraints still on the stage at his feet. She came to him with a soft yet eager energy that made him feel both protective and a deep need to ravage her.

  Holding her by the hips, he positioned he
r directly under the dangling ring. He’d shortened the strap. The bottom of the ring was now several inches above her head.

  Sliding his hands up the side of her body, he let his fingers dance along her skin all the way to her wrists. Wrapping his fingers around the delicate bones, he raised her hands, pressing them palm to palm in the center of the metal ring.

  “Hold that position.” He remembered too late that she didn’t want, didn’t react well to, those types of sharp commands. He checked her expression but her features were soft, her eyes half closed.

  Dev grabbed one of the soft straps and began weaving it between and around her wrists, fastening it in place when he was done.

  “Relax your arms.”

  She did, her bound wrists now trapped in the center of the ring. When she relaxed her arms, her wrists rested on the curved metal. He checked the positioning, then had her hold her hands up a bit so he could wrap another strap around the bottom of the ring, creating a pad to protect the insides of her wrists.

  “Top on or off?” Phrasing it as a question took every ounce of his control. He’d planned to leave her mostly clothed for tonight’s outdoor scenes, since despite the heat lamps, the nights were cool.

  “What would you prefer, Sir?”

  His cock twitched, and the softness of her voice, the submission in her body language, satisfied his dominant side. “You don’t want to give me that choice.”

  She raised her head, a smile touching the corner of her lips. “I quite literally do want to give you that control, have you make the choices.”

  Dev snorted. “Fair enough. But we didn’t talk explicitly about what level of sexual touch and intimacy you’re ready for.”

  “Uh, doesn’t ‘orgasm control’ predispose…”

  “That’s not what we're doing tonight, hence we didn’t have a discussion about it for this scene.”

  “You actually thought about this, about scening with me.”

  He ran his thumb over the knuckles of her bound hands. “You are going to tell me why your standard seems so shockingly fucking low—”

  Sarah inhaled sharply.

  “—but not right now.” He deliberately crowded her, forcing her back a half-step, her arms straightening thanks to the restraint. He reached up and grabbed her upper arms, squeezing gently, feeling the muscles under her soft skin.

  “When you play with me, any exposed skin is fair game.” He turned his head to the side, gently closing his teeth on her forearm, which was raised and extended alongside his head.

  He noticed another faint bite mark on her upper arm beside his hand. Frowning, he traced it with his finger.

  “I, uh, got a little too…into it…and bit myself.”

  He met her gaze. “You mean just now?”

  She screwed up her face in embarrassment. “Yep. During the flogging.”

  “That—” He leaned in. “—is the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

  She turned to him, their faces only inches apart.

  I’m going to kiss her.

  No, you will not kiss her. His personal rule for not adding sex into the mix once the scene had started, once power exchange was initiated, applied in the case of kisses too.

  She tipped her head back just a fraction. A silent invitation to close the distance between them and close his lips over hers.

  He should pull back, but didn’t want her to think he was rejecting her. Dev ran his fingertips along the seam of her lips. They parted under his touch. He ran the tip of his finger along the inside of her lower lip, then stroked her chin, creating a faint, damp line.

  “I’m asking you again, now that you understand the rule. Top on or off?”

  Sarah’s gaze skimmed down his face, pausing to linger on his lips. Then she glanced away, gaze submissively lowered.

  “Off please, Sir.”

  Dev clenched his teeth, fighting back the fresh surge of arousal. His cock was going to poke a hole through his pants he was so fucking hard.

  It took him a minute to figure out that there was no hidden button or fastening on the halter top. He lifted the neck strap of the stretchy fabric up and over her head, releasing it while he stood behind her. Grabbing the narrow band across her back he slid it down her midsection, over her sweetly curved hips and then released it where it fell to the floor, joining the rumpled discarded fabric of her robe.

  Still behind her, he slid his hands up her now bare back.

  “Now you’re just being mean,” she gasped.

  “Who, me?” Dev tugged until her ass was against his hips, forcing her to stretch out her arms even further. If not for the leather of his pants muting the sensation, he might have come the instant she wiggled her butt against him.

  With her back against his front, he spread his fingers over her belly. She arched her back, thrusting her breasts forward in silent invitation.

  Tormenting them both, Dev slid his hands up until his fingers just brushed the undersides of her breasts.

  She wiggled, trying to slide down, to force him to touch her where she wanted.

  “No,” he scolded, voice sharp. “I’ll play with your tits when I’m ready. Not when you want.”

  She froze and he winced, remembering again her dislike of one word commands, but it seemed like that wasn’t a problem once a scene was in progress.

  Her head bowed and she sighed softly. “Sorry, Dev.”

  “Don’t apologize,” he said. “If subs never misbehaved, I’d never have a chance to do this.”

  He cupped her breasts, thumbs rubbing gently along the sides, but avoiding the nipples.

  “That’s just mean,” she breathed. “Sadist.”

  “And you like it,” he murmured. “Masochist.”

  He released her, then nudged her forward until Sarah was standing directly under the ring.

  She adjusted her arms, sliding one through the ring to the elbow so that she could rest that forearm on her head, her bound hands, fingers laced together, beside her temple.

  Dev circled around to face her, finally getting to take in the sight of her naked breasts. They were lovely, soft, except for nipples that were hard and tight, even the areolas ruched.

  Sarah’s gaze was lowered, so he touched her cheek, stroking it until she looked up. He held her gaze as he reached out with both hands cupping her breasts, this time rubbing his thumbs firmly across both nipples. He got to watch her eyes widen and her lips part. She made a needy little gasping sound and leaned into his hands.

  He rewarded her by releasing her breasts only to pinch the nipples between thumb and index finger rolling them back and forth in a gentle rhythm. Her eyes fluttered closed and her back arched, yet another sign of offering.

  Reluctantly, Dev released her. As much as he would enjoy playing with her breasts for the next hour, he had plans.

  The bindings around her wrists were only the beginning.

  Dev hopped off the stage and went to the observation room located between the two closest playrooms. Here in the Constellation Court, most playrooms had observation rooms attached. The narrow observation rooms could even be used as small playspaces, especially for voyeuristic activities. In his case, before heading to the Iron Court to work with the whip, Dev had gathered the items he would need for tonight’s outdoor scene and stashed them in the closest observation room, using it as a storage closet.

  He hefted the wood and vinyl Spanish donkey over his shoulder and hauled it back to where Sarah waited.

  When she saw what he was holding, she first smiled, but that quickly turned into a frown of confusion. It made sense, because on first glance the Spanish donkey looked relatively familiar, like the padded pommel horse-style pieces of equipment that were common in BDSM dungeons.

  However, there were a few key differences between the modified pommel horses and the Spanish donkey. Unlike a pommel horse which was, in profile, roughly square with rounded corners, with a flat top at least several inches wide, this piece of equipment supported a triangular shaped upper.

  Instead of a flat top, the top of the Spanish horse was a pointed ridge, the top of the long, heavy wood prism upper. On this particular piece of equipment the ridge had been smoothed and rounded down so it wasn’t sharp, then covered with a thin layer of dense padding, topped with vinyl.

  “Take a couple steps to your right,” Dev told her.