“The doctor said the possibility of that is very low.”
“The doctor can bite my ass.” He leaned over and Phoebe could only barely hear him. “The doctor has never had to mourn you, Charlie. So no. This is simply an exhibition. I took a class and I would like to practice and see if anyone else wants to learn how to do this. If they do, I’ll bring in an instructor. There is nothing intimate or personal about this scene. However, if your jealousy is so great you can’t allow me to even perform an exhibition on another person, I’ll skip the scene.”
She had to admit that Taggart had the intimidation thing down. She wasn’t sure what she would do if she were in Charlotte Taggart’s shoes. Charlotte merely rolled her eyes. “You are such a drama llama. Fine. But I get to pick your partner.”
“Drama llama?” Taggart’s jaw had dropped a little. “You do know I’m more like an elephant. I never fucking forget. The minute that boy is born, your ass is mine. I’ve got a list of punishments that will make your head spin.”
“I’ll look forward to it and she’s a girl.” She winked Taggart’s way and turned to the crowd. Phoebe nearly shrank back when she realized where Charlotte’s eyes had fixed. “Phoebe, I think my husband would feel infinitely better if he got to beat on you for a while.”
She shook her head and started to turn to walk right back upstairs. “Nope.”
“Chicken.”
Phoebe stopped and turned, staring at Charlotte and trying to judge if she was serious. “That is the most immature thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”
“Oh, then you haven’t been listening to her very long. Give her time. It gets way worse.” Taggart stood on the stage, his eyes lit with mirth. He did have the most bent sense of humor.
“Chicken shit,” Charlotte continued. “That’s actually what I meant to say. You’re a little chicken shit, Phoebe Graham. Or is it Grant?”
Taggart nodded. “See, there it is.”
“Do you really think calling me names is going to work on me?” Anger started to build in her system. She hated the bullying crap.
Charlotte stepped off the stage, moving carefully down the stairs. Phoebe was well aware that every eye in the dungeon was on them.
“Maybe we should go back to our room,” Jesse offered, looking between Phoebe and Charlotte.
“Maybe we should have this out here and now.” She wasn’t backing down from some pregnant chick. “You know it’s really unfair of you to pull this shit while you’re pregnant and I can’t show you just how chicken I’m not.”
Charlotte grinned as she approached. “That’s the best part of being pregnant. I can say anything I like and no one gets to punch me. As to why I’m being such a bitch, that’s easy. I’m doing that for you.”
“Well, don’t let me forget to send you a fucking thank you note.”
“If I don’t push you, you’re going to end up going back upstairs and you won’t have tried a damn thing. Jesse won’t push you. He’s too sweet, but I think you need a little shove because I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“Shouldn’t that be my call?”
Charlotte’s head shook. “Absolutely not because you’re a chicken.”
This was the most immature argument she’d ever been in, and she couldn’t seem to force her way out. “I am not. You know I spent time in a Chinese prison. It wasn’t exactly the Ritz and I’ve got the scars to prove it. I’m not some wilting flower.”
“Then you can handle one little flogging,” Charlotte shot back. “They’re not even stingy floggers. Are those deerskin, babe?”
Taggart held up a set of floggers. “Yes, two perfectly matching floggers. Same weight, same material. Deerskin. They’re soft and produce a nice thud.”
Floggers. Those were big old floggers and Ian Taggart would be wielding them. “I’ll do it with Jesse.”
“Uh, I’m not qualified to do Florentine,” Jesse said. “It’s two floggers working in time. If you do it right, you pretty much create a circle-eight pattern. It’s really cool to watch, but you have to be careful to stay on the big muscles, the shoulders, butt. You don’t want to hit the wrong place or you could damage the sub’s kidneys. I would have to practice on Darla for a couple of weeks before I would be willing to do it.”
“Who’s Darla?” She’d figured out that Sanctum was full of gorgeous, submissive women and they all seemed to want her man…well, they all seemed to want Jesse.
It was annoying.
Jesse’s hand found hers, squeezing gently. “She’s a life-size doll. We use her to practice on.”
She still didn’t like Darla. And she definitely didn’t like the idea of being at Taggart’s mercy.
Jesse let go of her hand. “It’s all right. We’ll go to the bar and have another drink or we can just call it a night.”