“What’s your safe word?”
If I say it, even in reply to his question, he’ll stop. Is that what I want with my body primed to explode? This is insanity. It’s the craziest thing we’ve done yet. My heart is beating so hard, I’m afraid it will burst, and my lungs seem to have shrunk, making me feel like I’m hyperventilating.
“Natalie?”
I remain stubbornly quiet. If he wants this, I’ll give it to him, even if I didn’t intend to.
My head starts to drop forward. I’m hiding behind my hair so no one can see me come apart.
“Lay your head back on my shoulder.”
I want to growl with frustration and embarrassment. Of course he knows I was trying to hide. Because I’m his submissive, I do as he asks and rest my head on his shoulder.
“Don’t ever be ashamed of taking your pleasure.”
“I told you I didn’t want this here.”
His finger grazes my clit as his erection bumps up against the plug. “You know how to make it stop.”
I’m not sure what makes me do it, whether it’s where we are or if I’m testing the system, but the word appears on my lips. “Fluff.”
He withdraws immediately, and the plug ceases vibrating. Only his arm banded around my midsection keeps me from toppling over when my legs want to buckle under me. “Well done, sweetheart.”
“So that was a test?”
“Of sorts.” Nuzzling my neck, he says, “I want you to remember always that you have all the power. You say yes, you say no, you say not here, you say not that. It’s all about you.”
“You’ve left me all revved up.”
“That was your call, not mine.”
“What’s the word for ‘game back on’?”
“There isn’t a word for that, but if you’d like to take this somewhere private and finish what we started, I could make that happen.”
I’m about to accept his offer when I see Kristian lead a naked woman to one of the crosses. He’s wearing only a pair of formfitting black leather pants, leaving his muscular chest, back and arms on full display. Part of me feels like I should look away, to respect the privacy of Flynn’s friend. But that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to watch, which is both titillating and embarrassing. I’m dying to see what will happen but embarrassed at the same time.
“What’s the verdict?” Flynn asks, his lips close to my ear.
“Could we find a private spot after we watch whatever Kristian is about to do?”
“Yep. Do you want me to talk you through what’s going on?”
Breathless and aroused and curious, I nod.
“The name St. Andrew’s cross comes from the crux decussata, or the diagonal cross that Saint Andrew was supposedly martyred on. A sub can be attached facing forward or backward, and some of the crosses spin, allowing the sub to be inverted.”
“I don’t think I’d like that,” I said.
“I wouldn’t either. It would make me feel seasick. So if they’re facing forward with their backs against the cross, like Kristian’s sub is going to be, that’s more about teasing and slow seduction.”
“What happens if they’re facing the other way?” I ask.
“That’s about whipping or flogging.”
I shudder at the thought of being whipped.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. That’s a hard limit for both of us. I don’t find whipping fun or arousing, although many people do.”
“How can they find that kind of pain arousing?”
“Some people get off on the pain of it, not to mention the humiliation.”
“Do I know her from somewhere?” I ask of Kristian’s sub.
“She’s been on TV.” He names a popular sitcom that has my mouth falling open. Of course! That’s how I know her. She’s tall and curvy, with long red hair and big breasts that look real, not that I’d know the difference. Since there’s no question I’m not allowed to ask, I pose that one to Flynn.
“Yep, they’re real.”
“How can you tell?”
“Please, sweetheart. I grew up in LA. I could tell the difference between real boobs and fake ones by the time I was eight.”
“Why am I not surprised? So what’s the difference?”
“Real ones,” he says, cupping mine in his big hands, “move the way they’re supposed to. They’re softer, more pliable. Fake ones are harder, closer together and don’t move like real ones do.” As he speaks, he manipulates my breasts to make his point.
I release a deep breath that I’ve been holding. His touch is always electrifying, but here, in public, it’s even more so. “Good to know.”
Kristian blindfolds his sub and secures her to the cross at the wrists, ankles and waist. We are far enough away from them that I can’t hear what he’s saying to her, but he’s speaking to her constantly as he prepares her for their scene. Her color is high, as if she’s nervous or excited or perhaps both. With her legs propped open, I can also see she’s totally bare between her legs.
He begins by stimulating her nipples with his hands and mouth, working on her until both nipples are tight and red. Then he affixes something to each nipple that makes her cry out.
“Clamps,” Flynn says from behind me. “They’re connected by a chain. See the third one, hanging from the chain?”