Chapter 34: Snap
I am hot and sweaty, the beat of the music an additional heartbeat thumping through my body. I can feel Alex grinding into my arse behind me to the sexy Latin beats, his hands holding on to my hips firmly, as I lean into his body. We are in Floridita, a Latin American-inspired restaurant with live music in the heart of London's Soho, and for the first time in my life, I don't feel completely awkward in a club like this. It is so far from my usual scene—aka staying at home and reading a book—that usually the idea of getting dressed up and going clubbing like a twenty-year-old would fill me with dread. But instead tonight I feel a little like Cinderella, transported into an alternate universe.
When I woke up from my nap earlier to find myself still cradled in Alex's arms, it felt like I had slept for hours despite it only being around thirty minutes. I felt completely renewed, so when Alex suggested going out I agreed without hesitation. "I want to take you out dancing," he had said, and even though it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, I remembered how much fun we had at the ball, so I smiled and said okay.
It had taken me ages to figure out what to wear, not least because, in the two days that I had been gone, all my possessions had been brought down into his room and put away in his massive closet. I had been touched to find that he had even included things like the quilt my mother and I pieced together as a project while I was at school, which I found neatly folded over the end of Alex's bed. Our bed, I need to keep reminding myself.
In the end, I settled on a little black wrap dress in silk that I have had forever. It is sleeveless, with a sash that ties up at the waist and falls to just above my knee. I teamed it with a pair of Louboutin knockoffs that I found in Camden market—gorgeous booties with sheer lace over the top of my foot with lovely floral details. But the real surprise is underneath. Alex had been in the shower when I had gone through the packages we brought home earlier in the day. When I saw the set, I immediately knew why Alex had chosen them. The bra, thong and suspenders are all made of soft hand-woven elastic in a combination of thin and wide straps that crisscross my skin in a cage-like pattern. When I had finally got everything on and fastened my stockings, I had just enough warning of the shower turning off to quickly slip on my dress and heels. The last item that had gone on was a thick metallic bronze choker collar. I had tried to hide Alex's bite mark with makeup to no avail, and there was no way I could just leave it as it was, so I was glad to find the collar when digging through a box of old jewellery. The heat in Alex's eyes and his straining erection when he emerged from the bathroom were all the confirmation I needed to know that I had made the right choice.
The first hour in the club we dance non-stop. I wouldn't have a clue how to salsa, yet my body seems to tune into Alex's and before long I find a rhythm that doesn't make me seem like an ice-skating giraffe. Instead, in Alex's arms I feel sultry and sexy. I feel Alex's hand roaming all over my body and then sense him stiffen slightly. "Are you wearing what I think you might be?" he whispers into my ear, his arousal evident in the hoarseness of his voice.
"Uh-huh," I respond, and I can feel his mighty erection digging into my hip.
"Fuck this, Liv. We are going home now!" Alex orders. I think about arguing and playing games, but I know that Alex will win one way or another and I am not ready to make an exhibition of myself in the middle of the dance floor.
"Okay." I shrug and give him an innocent smile.
"Naughty girl," he murmurs into my ear, as he practically drags me out onto the street and into the first available taxi.
The journey is mercifully short and it seems like only minutes before we are standing in the hallway, looking at each other. I notice Alex taking a deep breath before looking me straight in the eye. "Do you want to play, Olivia?" Domly Alex asks, tilting his head towards the basement door.
My nipples instantly harden and my thong is wet with my arousal at his words. I am a little nervous about going back down there after last time, but I trust Alex and this is what this is all about. Submitting to him and trusting him to push my boundaries. I nod. "Say it, Olivia," Alex commands.
"Yes, sir. I want to play," I respond, slipping into the role.
"Very well. I want you to go down the stairs. Take your dress and choker off and kneel at the bottom. Keep everything else on." His voice is warm and deep, stoking something inside of me. A little devil, I think, just waiting to hear her master's voice.
"Yes, sir." I slowly walk down the stairs, not wanting to trip. When I reach the bottom, I quickly untie the sash and remove the dress, folding it neatly and placing it on the stair. I sink down onto my knees, adjusting myself to keep the heels from digging into my bum. It's only once I am in position that I look up and out into the room in front of me.
The lighting is dim, but I immediately see the changes that have occurred since the last time I was down here. The deep crimson walls are gone and instead, they are dark purple fading into a dark inky blue. Tiny LED lights are dotted everywhere, giving the impression of the night sky. The raised bed in the middle is now covered in a cream faux-fur throw along with a stack of cushions in grey, purple and black, in all different textures. The 'furniture', as I have come to think of the equipment, is all there, bar the whipping bench, but it has been shuffled around a bit. The racks that adorned the walls are all gone and in their place are huge black-and-white canvases of a woman asleep, her hair messy and falling over her eyes, as she lies naked on the bed. The pictures are a combination of long shots and close-ups of various parts of her body—a peachy arse, the elegant arc of her neck, swollen lips. She looks sated and relaxed in the close-ups and I suddenly gasp with shock when I realise that the woman is actually me. When I look closer, I can see the faint marks on my bum and realise that Alex must have taken these at some point after our 'vanilla' session.
"I thought we would start over," Alex says softly. His Dom is there in his stance, but the voice is all Alex.
"I like it, sir," I say softly, and honestly I do. It feels different down here now, but I can't quite figure out why…and it is not just a matter of a little redecoration. Maybe it's because I faced my biggest fear and somehow none of that matters anymore; only two people's pleasure in each other does.