The Keyholder (21 page)

Charles smiled and leaned down to kiss Nora’s lips. “You’re welcome.” He lifted his head and flashed a grin toward Jack before looking back down at Nora. “Now the question is, how do you repay me? In fact”—he fixed his gaze on Eva—“it seems to me both subs in this equation have had satisfaction. What about us Doms?”

Eva glanced at Jack’s crotch, which still sported a huge, telltale lump beneath the soft black leather of his pants, and said, “I have an idea. If Nora’s up to it, we could thank our Masters properly, on our knees.” She licked her lips suggestively. Jack laughed and winked at her, and she was certain he knew precisely what she was offering.

Nora, too, seemed to get it. She rolled from Charles’ lap and knelt up, apparently fully recovered from the erotic ordeal with the head cage. “That’s an
excellent
idea,” she enthused, rubbing her hands together in her eagerness.

Charles stood and reached for his fly, pulling the zipper down past his own sizable bulge. He looked at Jack with a conspiratorial grin. “What do you say, Master Jack? Care for a little friendly competition? The girls will service us without the benefit of their hands. Whoever comes first, wins.”

Jack moved to stand beside Charles, grinning broadly. “Sounds like a plan. Though somehow I think we’re both going to end up winners. This whole night has me so hot I’ll be lucky if I last thirty seconds.”

Charles replied with a grin, “I give myself twenty, max.”

Eva knelt beside Nora and placed her hands dutifully behind her back, her mouth watering in anticipation of worshipping her Master’s cock.

The men opened their pants and pulled out their erect shafts. At a signal from Jack, Eva fell hungrily to her task of satisfying her Master, Nora working busily beside her.

Life, she thought happily, was good. So, so good.

“That was fun. Maybe I’ll even win a set one of these days.” Jack grinned as he toweled his hair dry in the locker room. He enjoyed coming with Charles to his gym and was considering getting a membership of his own.

“Hey, you kidding?” Charles said, pulling on his jeans. “I can’t believe you’re new to the game. You got in some excellent slams today. I predict my days as the reigning racquet ball champion of the Hawthorne Dungeon Keyholders are numbered.” Charles looked at his watch. “I have a few minutes before I have to be at the office. You have time to grab something to eat before we head out?”

“Yeah, sure. Eva’s taking a jewelry making class all week through adult education at NYU, and I don’t have to teach until this afternoon.”

“Jewelry, huh? I thought she was into painting.” They walked together out of the locker room and into the club’s snack bar. They both ordered orange juice and an English muffin and carried their food to one of the small tables.

“She’s into everything—watercolor, oils, ceramics and now jewelry,” Jack said enthusiastically, unable to hide his pride. “She’s even interested in sculpting, and she’s really good. I’ve been working with her informally in our studio with clay. She’s got incredible talent. It’s gratifying to watch her develop as an artist.”

Charles smiled at him. “You do realize you’re beaming like a proud papa, right?” he teased. “Seriously though, in the fifteen years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you like this, Jack. Eva is it, isn’t she? It’s not just the D/s thing—she’s the one for you on every level, am I right?”

Jack nodded, a flush of warmth and happiness moving through him to say it out loud. “Yeah. I really, really love Eva.” He leaned forward, adding earnestly, “You know, I’ve spent my life devoted to my art. I told myself I had plenty of time, and someday, somewhere I’d find the right person. But I always secretly worried that she wasn’t out there. I mean, maybe she was, but I was never giving myself a chance to find out.”

Charles nodded. “It’s weird how things can work out. You never know what life’s going to throw at you. I guess what you do with it is what matters in the end. I met Nora on a subway platform on one of the hottest days of a very muggy New York summer. It was rush hour, and the train had broken down, and we’d been waiting like thirty minutes. She was standing there holding all these bags, and she looked really miserable, and exhausted, and gorgeous, of course. I’d just had a really rotten day at work, and my plan was to spend the evening alone drinking beer, watching the game and feeling sorry for myself.

“My girlfriend at the time and I had just broken up, and I’d sworn to myself upside down and sideways that no way was I going to get involved with anyone any time soon. I wasn’t interested in rebound sex, and I certainly had no plans to pick up a stranger on a subway platform. But there was just something about Nora. I kept stealing glances at her, and thinking,
should I say anything
? I remember looking at her ring finger and doing a mental fist pump when I saw no ring there.

“Then, when the train finally came, Nora hoisted her sacks and started to move through the throng to get closer to the door. I knew right then I just couldn’t let her disappear. I struck up a conversation with her and somehow convinced her we should go out for a coffee. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Jack nodded, smiling indulgently at his old friend, who had told him this story more than once. “Pretty amazing that you share the same kink, huh, meeting the way you did?”

“You got that right,” Charles said emphatically. “Nora actually had more direct experience with BDSM than I did at the time, but we’re both hardwired that way, no question about it. If one or the other of us hadn’t been, it wouldn’t have lasted. It’s too essential a part of who we are.”

“I get that,” Jack said. “Same with Eva and me. D/s is at the core of our relationship, but it’s not the only thing. To have someone I love share my passion for art is just amazing. I keep encouraging her to apply to the fine arts program at NYU, but so far she’s just not ready, I guess.” He shrugged. “I mean, not that I can blame her. Choosing art for a career is kind of insane. But really, you don’t choose it, it kind of chooses you, if you follow me.”

“I do,” Charles replied. “When something is right, it’s right.” He patted Jack’s arm. “I think I’ve been with Nora long enough that her sixth sense about people sometimes rubs off on me. And I sense you’re talking about more than just art school. Here’s my advice, not that you’re asking.” He grinned. “But seriously, when the time is right, you’ll know. Trust Eva, and trust yourself.”

That night over dinner, Jack asked, “How’s the jewelry class going?”

It was the only opening needed. Excitement bubbled through her words as Eva eagerly related the latest techniques she’d been learning for working with gold.

When she finally paused for a breath, Jack said in a deliberately casual tone, “You know, the new semester starts soon. I just happen to have an application to the Tisch School handy. It’s not too late to apply. With the portfolio you’ve been amassing, I’m telling you, you’d be a shoo-in.”

Eva glanced up sharply, though Jack could swear her eyes were twinkling. She giggled suddenly, and then covered her mouth with her hand.

“What?” Jack demanded with a smile. “You’ve been looking like the cat who ate the canary all night. What’s going on, young lady? Do I have to spank you to get a straight answer?”

“Ooooh,” Eva replied with a saucy grin. “That might be just the thing.”

Jack hit his forehead in mock exasperation. “I should know better than to think you’d see that as a punishment. Maybe I should have said I
won’t
spank you if you don’t tell me what’s up.”

“Well, since I don’t want to
not
be spanked”—Eva reached underneath her seat cushion and held up an envelope—”I guess I’ll ‘fess up. I got this today. Want to see it?”

Confused but intrigued, Jack accepted the envelope. He saw the return address and his heart skipped a beat. He slipped out the single sheet of paper and read, his eyes widening with each word. Leaping from his seat, he gave a whoop of delight.

Eva jumped up too, clapping her hands, and Jack caught her in his arms. Lifting her, he twirled her around and then danced his way to the sofa. Collapsing back into the cushions, he pulled Eva onto his lap.

“When the heck did you even apply?” he queried. “A full scholarship? Oh my god, you amazing, wonderful woman!”

“I didn’t want to say anything until I heard back from them. I just got the letter this afternoon. I’ve been bursting to tell you. I wanted to wait for the right moment.”

“Congratulations, Eva. I’m so very proud of you.”

“Thank you, Jack,” Eva said, her voice cracking with sudden emotion. “I really, truly could not have done it without you.”

“Sure you could have,” Jack replied. “But I’m glad you didn’t.”

~*~

Eva nestled against Jack’s chest and smiled. She had been so excited to tell him about her scholarship and was gratified at his encouraging and supportive response.
So, this is what love is
, she thought happily.

She was drifting in a contented peace in Jack’s embrace when he shifted behind her, his arms falling away. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and applied a gentle but firm pressure. Though he hadn’t said a word, the sudden shift in the mood was palpable. It was as if the air had thickened with crackling electricity, like the atmosphere just before a summer storm. Eva’s entire body pinged with anticipation, though she didn’t yet know what her Master intended.

“About that spanking,” Jack murmured in a low growl.

“Oh,” she breathed, recalling their earlier playful banter on the topic.

Jack tightened his grip on her neck and pushed her gently but firmly from the couch to the floor. She started to kneel up as a matter of course, but he stopped her with a shake of his head. “Strip and then lie on your back right there on the floor. Keep your hands at your sides and arch your hips up so your ass is off the ground. Spread your knees as wide as you can and hold that position. I’m going to spank that sweet, hot little cunt of yours. You will do your best to maintain your position throughout the session.”

Eva, who had already stood and was stripping off her shirt and jeans, asked in a breathless voice, “What happens if I move out of position?”

“You’ll be punished, of course,” Master Jack replied, though his eyes were twinkling.

Naked, Eva lay back on the hardwood floor, which was cool against her bare skin. Jack stood, a throw pillow from the sofa in his hands. “Use that under your head,” he instructed as he slipped it into place. He watched as Eva positioned her feet flat on the floor and lifted the lower half of her body. A current of air ghosted over her bared cunt and, though she trusted Jack more than anyone she had ever known in her life, she couldn’t stop the faint heat of embarrassment that moved over her face and chest at the splayed exposure of her position.

Jack, meanwhile, had removed his clothing as well. The sight of his strong, lean body distracted her. There was a drop of pre-come on the tip of his hard cock, and her pussy throbbed in anticipation.

Naked, Jack crouched in front of her. “Beautiful,” he murmured, his eyes hooding with lust as he stared at her arched, exposed body. He shifted his hot gaze from between her legs to her face. “Are you ready, sub Eva? Are you willing to suffer for me?”

“Yes, Sir,” she breathed, a gush of desire melting her from the inside out.

He started lightly, a gentle, steady slap against her pussy. It stung a little, but wasn’t anything she couldn’t easily tolerate. After a minute, though, the slaps intensified to smacks. Eva began to breathe rapidly as she struggled to handle the pain.

Oh, stop, stop, stop, stop!

She knew if she could just get through the initial pain, she might ascend into the pure heaven that awaited her, a heaven only Master Jack could give her.

“Yes,” her lover said, his voice deep and soothing as he continued to smack her wet, swollen cunt. “That’s it. You’re nearly there, I can feel it. Let go. Hold nothing back from me. Give me it all. Everything you have.”

His stroke changed just slightly, the smack still hard as ever, but now his fingers were doing a kind of sensual glide over her hard clit at the start of each slap, the result an explosion of pleasure followed instantly by searing pain. Her silent protests evaporated, leaving behind only sizzling lust and aching need.

Don’t stop, don’t stop, oh, don’t ever stop!

Her cunt was on fire, every nerve ending screaming in a confusion of pleasure and pain. She was panting, her body sheened with sweat, her muscles burning with exertion. She teetered on the brink of collapse or orgasm. Her lips parted as she tried to form the words to beg him to stop, or to never stop.

At that moment his blistering palm fell away. He leaned over her and pushed her gently onto the floor with his body until he lay fully over her. She groaned as the head of his cock slid between her legs. Her labia stung from the spanking and her clit, though hard as a marble, burned.

Jack pushed himself slowly but steadily into her wet, willing heat. He pulled her against him until he was buried to the hilt. She began to tremble as he moved inside her. The pleasure was immediate and intense, obliterating the tender, stinging pain of a moment before.

She climaxed again and again and again as he thrust inside her, his mouth locked on hers, his hands cupping her ass. Finally, with a single cry, he exploded and then collapsed, his masculine weight heavy on top of her. She could feel his heart pounding like a captured bird between their breastbones.

They lay still, the sweat cooling on their bodies, their limbs entwined, their breathing slowing and easing as they drifted together in a shared post-orgasmic fog.

Finally Jack lifted himself onto his arms. Eva opened her eyes. He was smiling down at her, a devilish glint in his eyes. “That was just a warm-up for tonight when we go to the dungeon,” he informed her.

“A warm-up?” she squeaked, the fog quickly burning away.

“Haven’t you always said you want to be paddled?”

“I guess it’s true what they say, right?” Eva said, trying for a light, playful tone, though her heart was thumping.