Divine Solace: 8 (26 page)

“Are you playing tonight?” Lyda asked Regina.

“Hmm.” Regina glanced toward Marius. He was in the same alcove,
both feet up now, ankles crossed and heels propped against the wall. He had a
baseball and was throwing it up in the air to catch it. He didn’t look
frustrated by his lack of play. He reminded Gen of an amiable snake, sunning
itself on a rock while its slit eyes watched for a hapless mouse to scuttle
over it.

“I told Tyler I’d whip Marius’ ass for putting his feet on
the walls.”

“Good luck with that.” Lyda chuckled as the woman gave them
another cordial nod and moved off. Gen stared at the table.

“You think this is a pointless exercise. That I’m as much of
a Dominant as Noah is.”

Lyda’s brow creased. “No. And yes. No, it’s not a pointless
exercise. You have the desire to top, Gen, but in a very targeted way.” Lyda
touched her face, drawing Gen’s gaze back up. “The bull’s-eye has just
arrived.”

Following her direction, Gen saw Noah step into view from
the main hallway. A Domme in steampunk wear beckoned him over to the booth
where she was sitting. As Gen watched, she slid a riding crop down his chest and
used it to snag the T-shirt he was wearing, drawing him closer. Her other hand
latched onto his waistband, fingers teasing his navel just above it.

“He’s the one you want tonight, right?”

She looked toward Lyda. “Is it that obvious?”

“Pretty much. You were enjoying looking around the candy
store, but you were waiting for him. Right?”

Gen saw no reason to deny the truth, not when relief had
flooded her vitals at his appearance. She admitted she had been enjoying the
fantasies she could attach to something like Marius, but when Noah had arrived,
what she wanted, who she felt comfortable pursuing this with, was as clear as a
glass table top. “Is that okay?”

“I think if you’d chosen differently, it would have been
hard for Noah to watch. He’s becoming quite attached to you.” Lyda’s expression
remained neutral, but Gen sensed the woman was pleased by their mutual
attraction.

Noah smiled at something the Domme was saying. Though his
gaze never left her face, Gen was almost sure he’d already located Lyda and her.
When the steampunk Mistress ran a familiar hand down his hip, she looked at
Lyda. “Is
that
okay?”

“Noah is well known here,” Lyda said. “The other Dommes play
and flirt with him. It’s harmless fun, and I allow it. Some of the Masters and
Mistresses who don’t have the patience or take pleasure in aftercare for their
subs have him serve as an aftercare nanny. He’s very nurturing.”

“It doesn’t bother you, to see other women touch him?”

“The boundaries are very clear here. It’s outside that
things can get a bit more…muddy.” Lyda sent a pointed look at her hand,
clenching the edge of the table. “I can tell you don’t particularly like seeing
him being touched by other women. How about when I touch him?”

“That’s fine. I mean, he’s yours.” Quite frankly, watching Lyda
touch Noah aroused Gen greatly. Seeing this stranger touch him provoked a far
different reaction.

“It’s more than that.” Lyda leaned in, closing the personal
space between them and pulling Gen’s attention from Noah like a magnet. “What
about seeing someone touch me, Gen? How would you feel about that?”

“You’re playing with my head.”

“I like to play with my cake before I eat it.” Lyda ran a
fingertip over Gen’s bottom lip. “Put a bit of icing here, let it melt, tease
it off with my tongue. You’re such a confusing mix, Gen. It’s irresistible.”

“Watching me flounder? Learning my place?”

“No.” Lyda’s touch stilled, a warning look in her eyes.
“Watching you choose your path through the woods. Seeing how brave you are. In
Dominance and submission, a lot of layers come off. We get to see the soul
beneath shine or bleed.” Lyda gestured toward Noah. “You want to see how it
works, with the lines in place? Play with him here tonight, whatever way you
wish. I can help as much or as little as you want, though I will be present to
guide you on safe play. When it’s over, you can keep him overnight. My only
condition is that everything sexual with him happens here, at the club. You can
take him home as a cuddle toy, but nothing else.”

That first night, Gen had resisted the urge to use him that
way. A big, sexy teddy bear tempting her to do things she’d never consider with
a stuffed animal. There was probably a fetish for that, one she was sure she
didn’t want to know about.

“Why nothing else?” She was curious, not complaining—though
she expected at a certain point tonight she’d want to whine about the
stipulation.

“Because it will keep you both aroused, knowing you can’t
touch one another until I say so. That gives me pleasure.” She extended a hand.
“Deal?”

Lyda was right; Gen had a confusing mix of emotions to
juggle right now. The deal Lyda was offering was a clear act of submission,
Gen’s to her will. Yet it was the reward for “allowing” Gen to dominate Noah.
Reaching out, she clasped Lyda’s hand. Lyda held onto it, firm and tight.

“That prohibition goes for self-pleasuring as well,” she
added, her mouth getting a stern look that sent crazy thrills through Gen. “You
save that sweet fountain between your legs for me.”

Gen swallowed. “Deal.”

* * * * *

Confirming Gen’s theory of where Noah’s attention really
was, the instant Lyda gestured in his direction, his eyes were on them both. As
he came toward them, he gave Gen his serious smile. Yet when he reached out to
take her hand, Lyda lifted a palm.

“Gen is your Mistress tonight, Noah. Not your equal. You
understand?”

“Yes Mistress.” He stepped back, giving Gen an intriguing
look before his dark eyes lowered, sending a startling bolt of anticipation
through her. All the things she’d seen here or imagined flashed through her mind.
Yet she honestly wasn’t sure how to start. She looked toward Lyda. Fortunately,
the woman did as she’d promised. She helped, becoming Gen’s Domme 101 personal
tour guide.

“How about a semiprivate area? One of the cubicle areas that
can still be viewed from the upper levels, but feels a little more sequestered,
like a corner table in a restaurant.”

Gen nodded. “I like that.”

Lyda scraped a nail down Noah’s arm, making the same spot on
Gen’s arm tingle. “I’m thinking Gen would like to learn more about how pain and
pleasure work. You did keep her waiting, Noah.”

“Yes Mistress. My apologies.”

“Oh, I…” At Lyda’s look, Gen let that trail off. She took
her lead from the other woman. “That’s true. And you missed a spot on my
stomach with the sunscreen.”

The red area was the size of a penny. The evidence of how
thorough he’d been everywhere else had made the spot endlessly fascinating to
her.

Lyda’s reaction surprised her. Reaching over, she lifted
Gen’s shirt. Gen shivered as that fingertip slid over the abraded area. No nail
this time, just a light caress. Dropping the shirt back in place, Lyda leveled
a steely gaze on Noah.

“You’ll get a severe punishment from me later, Noah. I made
it clear that you were to protect every inch of Gen while she was in your
care.”

“Yes ma’am.” Noah looked genuinely chagrined. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Gen hastened to tell him. “It doesn’t hurt at
all.”

His look broke her out of any role-playing, because for
Noah, it clearly wasn’t a game at all. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

Lyda touched her arm, drawing her gaze with the caress. The
woman’s direct look was reassurance and admonition both.
Don’t pussy out of
this. Don’t doubt yourself.

The night at her house, Lyda had made it clear Noah needed
heavy handed. Even on her best day, Gen couldn’t give him that. So she really
couldn’t go too far. It was okay. Lyda had said she’d keep Noah safe, and Gen
wanted to try being a Domme. She firmed her chin. “Can we… Let’s go to the
cubicle.”

Lyda rose. With Noah following behind, she led Gen to the
far side of the large public play area on the main floor. The cubicle area was
called “The Maze”. It was designed so people could walk through and see what
was going on in each space, but only four or five could stand in the opening of
any given cubicle. A red line was drawn at that threshold to keep them outside
the space itself.

The only place for large gatherings of viewers was in the
distant upper mezzanine, lacing the privacy Lyda had mentioned with the thrill
of exhibitionism. Some of the cubicles only had a chair and a scattering of
restraint and flogger options on the walls. Others had equipment in them,
pillories, a St. Andrew’s Cross, and things Gen couldn’t identify but which
made her intensely curious as to their purposes.

Lyda took them to a cubicle on the edge of the maze,
partially hidden from above by the mezzanine overhang. A rectangular frame with
a thick, padded top piece was anchored to the floor. The top piece was a few
inches above Noah’s head. It also had rings embedded in it. On the wall was a
selection of cuffs that could be attached to them. On the floor, about two feet
in front of the frame, she saw a pair of steel boots, also bolted to the floor.

“The boots can be adjusted to lock onto his calves, so he
can’t move his feet,” Lyda explained. “You put his hands in the cuffs attached
to the top of the frame. Because of the position of the boots to the frame, his
forward weight rests on his palms. It helps him brace himself while you’re
punishing him. Or fucking him.”

Fucking him?
Gen followed Lyda’s attention to an
array of packaged strap-ons, in various sizes. “Oh. I don’t know if I could…”

“You’ve never thought of fucking a man the way he fucks you?
Feeling the power that comes from thrusting into him, taking his surrender?”

She’d just wanted a man who treated her decently. Who loved
her. She hadn’t given anything else a lot of thought, not until recently.
Fantasizing about things like strap-ons fed her newly discovered prurient
imaginings. What was even better, she was being encouraged to pursue the
prurient imaginings. Gen didn’t look up beyond the cubicle walls, though. She
didn’t want to know who might be watching on the mezzanine, didn’t want to lose
her courage.

“Does this work?”

At Gen’s nod, Lyda touched her hand. “He’s yours to command.
What would you like to do first? You can tell him to kneel until you decide. He
waits on your pleasure.”

Noah was standing so close to Gen’s back that his breath
stirred her neck hairs. He’d never stand this close to Lyda without her
permission. But he knew she and Lyda were different. She wasn’t trying to be
Lyda. She was trying to be who Gen would be in a Dominant role. That felt right
to her, as did drawing reassurance from his proximity. “Noah, go to the corner
and kneel until I call you. Um…take off all your clothes first.”

Lyda gave her an approving nod. His fingers brushed Gen’s
hip, maybe because of the small space, or maybe he just took advantage of that.
She didn’t mind that, either. With a sinuous twist of his upper body, he pulled
the T-shirt off his head, then shucked off jeans, underwear, shoes. He put it
all in a neat pile under one of the two chairs and then knelt, balancing his
ass on his heels, placing his hands on his knees, his eyes directed to the
floor. His thighs were spread, giving her full access to a stiffening cock.
From direct experience she knew the testicle sac hanging beneath was
substantial and pleasing in the grip of her hand.

With an amused, conspiratorial look, Lyda drew Gen to the
implements on the wall, picked up a flogger. “This is a good weight for a
novice. If you hit hard with it, it will sting, but it can’t do any damage, not
if you’re aiming at back, ass and legs. Even if you slap his testicles some,
he’ll jump in a pretty delightful manner, but you’re still not endangering him
in any way.”

His genitals? “Should I have him put the cuffs on first?”

“I don’t know. Should you?” Lyda gave her a teasing look,
not unkind. “It’s up to you, but I often like to do the cuffing. There’s
something about a strong man letting himself be bound that gets all the juices
flowing. Literally.” Her voice dropped lower, though Gen assumed Noah could
still hear them, given the small area. “He’ll probably behave himself tonight,
but he can get feisty. He’s not a brat, but it’s his subtle way of asking for
the noose to be tightened. Watch his cues.”

Lyda nodded toward him. “He’ll also pull shit if he thinks
that’s what you want and need. He anticipates and he’s a nurturer. Sometimes he
messes up that way, but he’s digging deep for what you want and need from him.
Like I said, he’d be a good Dom if he ran that way. But he doesn’t. Watch his
face, body, everything, and follow your own instincts, what you desire. I won’t
let you hurt him or yourself. All right?”

“Is that what you look for from a sub?” Gen asked
impulsively. “Or is that what drew you to him?”

“He was given to me to protect,” Lyda said.

Noah’s head came up at that. Rather than his usual easy
expression, or slumberous sexual promise, Gen saw a flash of something else.
Offense. Anger. Here then gone, but his back had stiffened.

“You want to argue about it, Noah?” Lyda’s tone went sharp.

Though Gen was still learning a lot about this world,
whenever the two of them hit this area, it was clear that things moved quickly
out of sensual play into a far darker realm. It caused a tense ball in her own
stomach, a swirl of feelings like a fight-or-flight instinct, except it wasn’t
her in danger. It was the special, unexpectedly fragile connection between
Mistress and sub.

Gen expected Noah to respond with a “No Mistress,” in that
wooden voice he used whenever Lyda touched a nerve of that enigma Gen hadn’t
yet deciphered. Instead he turned his gaze back to the floor and said nothing.
That ball in her stomach grew spikes, because she knew Lyda wouldn’t let it
pass. And she didn’t.