Mastering Lexie (Stronghold Book 4) (5 page)

It was one thing to come home to see her in an established
relationship, where she could say without hesitation that Patrick and his
particular kinks were what she wanted, rather than Jake having to sit back and
watch them make those awkward first steps.  She didn't want the awkward
first steps of a relationship to be complicated by her brother breathing down
their necks, watching their every move.  Everyone else was already going
to be.  Not that it was really anyone's business but hers and
Patrick's.  This was just another step in her plan to make him notice her
as a woman, rather than as a little sister, and she knew it was working. 
She just had to get him to admit it.  Preferably soon, so that she could
show him that she could handle his lifestyle before Jake returned.

She had no doubts about what she wanted.  At the very least, she
needed to try, because all she could do was fantasize about Patrick, and it
ruined every single relationship she'd ever tried to have.  None of the
guys she dated ever had the same kind of confidence or sexy authority that he
did.  Not even the other Doms in the club interested her as much, although
some of them did get her kind of hot and bothered.  But she knew Patrick,
so her emotions were all tangled up in her attraction.  She was tired of
dating guys, constantly comparing them to Patrick, and finding them
lacking.  Maybe if Patrick would just give in, they'd find something
amazing.

Patrick watching her scene, rather than butting in caveman style
and carrying her off to perform his own, kind of chafed, although she supposed
it was better than him storming off to his office and ignoring her
completely.  Who knew, maybe she'd find out tonight that it was BDSM
itself, more than Patrick, which got her motor running.  Master Michael
was supposed to be one of the best Sadist Doms in the club, although he rarely
came in to play.  Even the submissives who were supporting her tonight
seemed a little jealous that she'd taken his services off the table for anyone
else, for the evening.  

None of her boyfriends had ever been able to really do the
dominance and submission thing with her, although a couple had been willing to
try spanking her.  Unfortunately, it had only reiterated the difference
between a guy who was willing to try spanking and the authoritative dominants
who came to Stronghold.  If Patrick was just going to watch, then at least
she'd be able to find out if she could hack it in the club.  Maybe this
was better anyway, she could have a scene with a seriously hot alpha Dom and
see what she enjoyed without wondering if she was enjoying the scene for itself
or because of Patrick.  It's not like being touched all over by Michael
was going to be a hardship.  His deep, soulful eyes, framed by the hair
that brushed his cheekbones, and his lean muscles made him a major hottie by
her standards. 

"Come on, sweetheart," Master Michael said, his fingers
stroking her neck again as he started forward.  She knew the guy was an
actor, but his complete nonchalance was still kind of astounding.  There
was nothing in his voice to suggest that Patrick had at all intimidated him;
not even his hand trembled.  Lexie felt like trembling, just a little bit.
 "Let's go introduce you to the Dungeon."

Because she was peeking at Patrick, she saw his eyes flash at
Master Michael's eager tones.  She bit her lip, to keep from saying
something snippy.  Like, if he was jealous, then he should man up. 
Definitely the kind of thing she needed to hold back while she was in the club.
 

The gentle sway of Lexie's skirt as she moved down the stairs was
almost hypnotic.  Although Patrick would have enjoyed the view more if it
hadn't included seeing Michael's hand on the back of her neck.  His own hands
stayed clenched at his side, keeping him from reaching down and pulling the
other man's hand away.  Or punching him in the face for daring to touch
her. 

Behind them, the submissives were already dispersing back to the
Lounge.  Patrick glanced over his shoulder in time to see Andrew pointing
firmly at a table, gathering his friends’ girlfriends there.  Angel tossed her
hair but obeyed; the other three sat more quickly.  Reassured that Andrew was
going to handle them and contact their men, he turned his attention back to the
woman in front of him and had to stifle a growl.

Lexie was pushing the envelope, but Patrick had to stay hands
off.  He was definitely going to be e-mailing Jake tonight, begging him
for a definite return date.  Although he'd have to wait a day or two to
let Jake settle in once he got home, before asking how Jake would feel about
his best friend dating his little sister. 

Dating her.  Tying her up and spanking her hot little
ass.  Again.  Only this time with a more satisfying finale.

He was so attuned to her that he heard her soft gasp, despite all
the other noise, as she got her first good look at the full Dungeon.  The
only other times she'd seen it had been when she'd decorated the club for a
theme night party, one of her better ideas even if he hated to admit it. 
She'd never seen the Dungeon when it was being used.  Patrick looked
around the room, trying to see it through the eyes of a newcomer, rather than
as the familiar scene he was so accustomed to. 

It wasn't as full as it normally was at this time of night,
probably because people had been drawn to Lexie and Andrew’s standoff upstairs,
but more than one submissive was bent over a spanking bench.  One was
being spanked, another flogged, and the third was being fucked hard from
behind, her glowing red bottom indicating that she'd already been thoroughly
worked over by her Dom.  The glazed ecstasy on her face was breathtaking,
exactly the kind of thing that a dominant wanted to see.   There were two
more submissives across the room, restrained by the Saint Andrews crosses that
were set up.  One of them, Frank, was panting as Mistress Lisa snapped her
crop at his dark red balls, which were tightly wrapped beneath his straining
cock.  

Michael came to a halt, letting Lexie get in a good look of the
room.  Even from behind, Patrick could see her hesitation, and he
remembered that Jake wasn't the only reason he’d been holding himself back from
Lexie.  She might think she was submissive, but it was one thing to
fantasize about it and another to face the reality of submission.  The
trust necessary to give over control to someone else and let them take charge
was easier in a fantasy.  Lexie had taken the spanking in his office very
well, and she'd done everything he'd told her to, but that didn't necessarily
mean she'd be able to go deeper than that.  A spanking now and then wasn't
going to be good enough for him.  

As much as it was truly going to suck giant monkey balls to watch
her scene with Michael, maybe it was better this way.  If she safe worded,
if she couldn't handle it, if it turned out she was just acting submissive
because of her crush on him, then it would come out when she scened with
someone else.  Not being involved in the scene himself, Patrick would be
able to watch every flicker of her expression, every nuance of her body
language, as an objective observer rather than a participant.

If she wasn't into it, if she freaked out, then they were never
going to work anyway.  

After a good long look around the room, she nodded her head firmly
and looked up and Michael, completely ignoring Patrick, who had moved to the
side of them so that he could see her face.  She still looked
determined.  But was her reaction that of a submissive who had been overwhelmed
by the sudden visual stimuli, or that of a young woman who was determined to
prove she was into kink because she had feelings for someone who did?

He almost groaned aloud as Michael approached one of the chains
hanging from the ceiling.  Patrick had supposed that the Dom would put her
on one of the benches or crosses, since this was her first time, rather than
exposing her completely to the rest of the room.  Of course, he'd only be
able to access one side of her if he did that, which was probably why he'd
chosen the chains.  Setting down the bag he was carrying, Michael gave
Lexie a reassuring wink. 

"Don't look so scared, honey.  I'm not going to hurt
you.  Much."  The leer that came at the end of his sentence was
much less reassuring than his wink, but it seemed to ease her tension as
well. 

Patrick
ground his teeth, positioning himself about ten feet away from them along the
wall in between the doors to the private rooms.  Close enough to see and
hear everything, but also remain outside of the scene.  As Michael pulled
some cuffs from his bag, Lexie fidgeted and glanced at Patrick.  Something
about the way she looked at him made him think that she wanted him to come
barreling into the scene.

Was that what this was about?  Making him jealous?  If
so, it was working, but he had more self-control than to ever hijack someone
else's scene.  Especially if he kept reminding himself about all the
reasons it was better to let Michael continue to handle this.  Patrick
honestly wasn't sure if Lexie would safe word if he’d been the one in charge of
her first scene.  She had a crush on him, and she wanted to prove herself
to him.  Not exactly the best combination for introducing her to
BDSM.  Maybe it would be better if he retreated to his office, and watched
from a true distance, but he just couldn't convince himself to move that far
away from them.

In case something went wrong, in case she was frightened by
something, he needed to be
right there
 to take care of her. 

"Okay, honey, hold out your wrists."  Michael held
up the leather cuffs, lined with fur.  Patrick's spine stiffened.

******

"Did you go over limits?"  The harshness in
Patrick's voice made Lexie look at him, even though she was a bit insulted by
the question. 

She wasn't an idiot, of course she and Master Michael had gone
over limits for the scene before they'd come to Stronghold.  They'd talked
extensively in fact.  Restraints, erotic pain, exhibitionism, and some
contact were all okay.  Real pain, edge play, humiliation, and sex were
not.  Dammit, Patrick thought she was a total noob, didn't he? 
Which, okay, yeah, she was when it came to actually doing things, but she
wasn't entirely new to the dynamics of a scene. 

"Yes," Master Michael said, giving Patrick that same
bland look that he had upstairs.  It made Patrick scowl even more fiercely,
and Lexie had to stop herself from giggling.  Michael's indifference to
Patrick's growling was pissing him off more than anything Lexie could have
said.  The Dom’s dark eyes returned to her, assessing and authoritative,
but also with a little twinkle of amusement at Patrick’s expense.
 "Hold out your wrists, honey."

Lexie held out her wrists.  Even if she didn't have feelings
for Michael, she found him attractive, and having him wrap the leather
restraints around her wrists made her breathless.  Especially since
Patrick was watching.  Up until now, she had thought that being on display
in the Dungeon was something she would have to tolerate, not enjoy... but
feeling Patrick's eyes on her was turning her on.  Maybe she had a bit of
exhibitionist in her after all.  

Or maybe it was just because it was Patrick.

The restraints on her wrists were warm, snug.  Michael
tightened the buckles, checking the entire time to make sure that they weren't
too tight.  She smiled at him when he looked at her questioningly, taking
the nonverbal cue that she was still doing good.  Sure, she had her safe
words of yellow and red, but she'd told him beforehand that she really didn't
want to use them during her first ever scene, and he'd reassured her that he'd
check in constantly with her throughout the scene.

Safe words meant different things to different couples. 
Sometimes it meant the end of the scene.  It could also mean the end of a
relationship.  Or some Doms liked to push their subs into safe
wording.  As long as both parties were on the same page, that was all well
and good, but Lexie didn't want Patrick to think that she couldn't handle
something.  It was as much about that as it was her pride.  

Putting a chain through the D-rings on the wrist cuffs, Michael
pulled her arms up above her head to attach them to the chain dangling above
her from the ceiling.  Lexie's breath caught at the sudden movement, the
way her new position thrust her breasts out, and the very intimate knowledge
that she was now trapped.  There was just enough slack in the chain that
she could spin around or even move about half a foot in any direction, but that
was it.  

Fuck that was hot.

Heat seemed to spread through her, from her pussy up to her face,
making her cheeks pink.  She was so entranced by these new sensations,
especially the excitement that rippled through her when she tugged her wrists
and reinforced her helplessness, she actually forgot Patrick was there. 
At least, she forgot until he shifted his weight, the movement catching her eye,
and when their gazes locked, she really did feel helpless. 
Vulnerable.  Like an animal caught in a trap being circled by a hunter.

"Are you ready for me to take this off?" Michael asked,
his question and his finger sliding along the edge of her bustier distracting
her from Patrick's hot gaze.  Fortunately, Master Michael didn't look too
upset at her unfocused attention.  Although he didn't show any expression on
his face, looking into his eyes, Lexie would swear he was amused.

"Aren't you just supposed to do what you want, Mr. Dom?"
she asked, a little haughtily.

Michael chuckled.  "Oh, honey, are you trying to rush me
along?  Because it's not going to work, you know, no matter how bratty you
are.  Now, I want to hear you say that you'd like me to take off your
clothes and expose you to the whole club."

Her heart seemed to beat in triple time at his words as a rush of
excitement went through her, followed swiftly by trepidation. 
Geezus.  No wonder the subs upstairs had been jealous that she was here
with him tonight.  If Patrick had said something like that to her, she
probably would have exploded from lust.  Was it the domination that was
getting to her, or was she more of an exhibitionist than she'd realized?

Licking her suddenly dry lips, Lexie cleared her throat.
 "Please take off my clothes, Master Michael."

"Good girl."  

Even if it wasn't as good as hearing Patrick say it, it was still
hot. 

Master Michael was obviously pretty familiar with bustiers. 
It took him only seconds to unhook all the clasps along the front of the
strapless contraption, which was kind of annoying considering how long it had
taken her to hook them all together.  But the rush of sexual excitement
quickly dimmed any annoyance, as her nipples puckered in the open air. 

Holy
fuck.  She was topless, in Stronghold, with nothing at all covering her
nipples for the first time.  Hands above her head, breasts thrust out,
with her shiny rings glimmering in the light.

"Very pretty," Master Michael said, tugging on one of
the rings.  Lexie stifled a moan.  Raising one eyebrow, he pulled it
a little harder, making her gasp.  "That's right, honey, I want to
hear every little whimper, every moan."  He leaned in, his lips right
next to her ear so that no one else would be able to hear his words.
 "And I'll bet you the big man standing off to our side wants to,
too."

Now she did moan again, her pussy clenching at the reminder that
Patrick was watching this.  Watching her.  Hearing her.  She was
going to make it as fucking hard as possible for him to stand off to the side,
in his determined hands-off position.

Michael's hands ran down her sides as he went to his knees in
front of her.  Funny, that he could be on his knees and still retain his
utter authority.  His fingers curled over the waistband of her skirt as he
looked up at her and winked.  

Damn.  If she wasn't already in love with Patrick...

The skirt fell to the floor, leaving her in nothing but the little
lacy thong.  She could swear that she heard Patrick's swift intake of
breath.  Not like he'd never seen her naked body before, but it still felt
good to know that he was affected.  She refused to look at him though,
concentrating on Michael.  Even though she knew that part of what he was
doing was putting on a show for Patrick, Master Michael still deserved her
attention.  He was the one acting as her Dom right now, after all. 

Slowly, his eyes locked with hers, Master Michael peeled her thong
away from her pussy and down her legs so that she could step out of it. 
She could see him assessing, gauging her reactions and her comfort level. 
Lexie didn't mind being naked, even with the room slowly filling up with other
people.  Most of them weren't looking at her anyway - or were pretending
not to - because of Patrick standing off to the side.  Such a
Sentinel.  Ha.