Chapter 16

Kate felt the heated rush of desire as Alex knelt and bent over the wooden frame, pressing his chest to the black leather. His bare ass rose in the air, settling at the perfect height.

She strode to the cabinet sitting nearby and pulled open the drawers. Everything was the same as it’d been the last time she was here.

Paddles, floggers, ball gags, butt plugs and dildos all in their rightful place.

As she and Alex were.

She picked up one of the black leather paddles.

It felt good in her hand, felt right. The hard wooden handle wrapped with bands of supple leather caressed her palm as she took hold.

Matthew made sure to only have the best on hand.

She curled her toes, feeling the cool hardwood floor under her bare feet.

She didn’t feel underdressed. Or exposed.

She was right where she was supposed to be, doing what she was made to do.

Perfect.

Alex quivered as she approached him from behind, his back muscles flexing in anticipation. He didn’t turn.

Kate ran her hand down over his shoulder blades. Her fingers slipped under the collar and gave a gentle tug. “Say my name.”

“Katherine.”

He said it like a prayer.

She moved back and landed a hard slap with the paddle.

“Say my name correctly.”

“Mistress Katherine.” Alex corrected himself, and she could have sworn there was a trace of a laugh in his words.

“Better.” Kate leaned over and pressed her breasts against his bare back. “I believe we usually start with ten to warm up, yes?”

“Yes, Mistress. Please.” The throaty request sent her mind soaring.

He groaned as she laid into him with the paddle, his ass turning a delicious and deeper pink with each stroke. After ten, she stopped to catch her breath and to regain control. She should have put him in the cuffs, but she had bigger plans for this, their first time together.

This was just the warm-up.

He was gorgeous, sweat gathering on his exposed skin as he waited for her.

For me.

Another visit to the drawer retrieved a set of floggers, the varying lengths and materials sure to deliver different experiences.

“Stand up.”

Alex stood, keeping his hands to his sides.

Kate moved behind him. She reached out and ran one hand over the reddened skin, squeezing his ass cheek. His muscles twitched under her touch, adding to her own arousal.

“God, you’re beautiful,” she leaned in and whispered. “You can’t imagine how handsome you look. How strong you’re being. I see it.”

The answering sigh had her shivering with desire.

“There.” She reached out with her left hand over his shoulder and pointed to the St. Andrew’s cross in the corner. “Over there.”

He didn’t move.

Her stomach flip-flopped, tamping down her arousal.

“It’ll be just like in your house.” Kate placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. “Just the same except on a different frame. Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid. I want—” The whisper was so low she had to move in to hear it.

“What?”

“If my Mistress would allow it,” Alex rephrased it.

“Go on.” She frowned, trying to figure out what he was going to say.

The words came out in a tumble. “I want to be flogged out in the lounge. In public.” He stood up tall and puffed out his chest. “So everyone can see I’m yours. If it would please my Mistress.”

She almost broke right there.

Instead, she moved behind him and let the emotions roll over her, the love from him bringing her to tears.

Alex cleared his throat. “If it would please my Mistress,” he repeated.

Kate hugged him from behind, letting the flogger drop over his cock and balls.

He moaned and rolled his head back as she nuzzled the side of his neck, her eyes wet with tears.

“Yes. It would please me very much.”

Kate shut the door behind her and glanced at her watch.

It was after midnight.

From previous experience, she knew there wouldn’t be many people left in the lounge. Most of the new members would have gone home by now, their curiosity satisfied and their minds made up if they’d return or not. Some of the regulars would have already paired off for the evening and were busy in the back rooms or back at the bar to rest and chat, find another partner if that’s what they wanted.

There was still enough of an audience to fall silent when the two entered the main lounge.

Alex, still naked, led the way with his eyes downcast as he strode past the bar and toward the wooden cross. His bare feet slapped the dance floor in crossing, drawing even more attention. The metal ring at the front of his collar swayed back and forth with each step.

Kate was right behind him. She’d put her clothes back on, not wanting to distract anyone from appreciating Alex’s well-toned body.

She carried Alex’s clothing in a small pile, the floggers she’d chosen for the scene resting on top.

Matthew stood at the bar, deep in a discussion with William. His head came up as the people nearby reacted, the whispers and murmurs a low hum under the music.

He looked at Kate as Alex stepped up on the podium. His right eyebrow arched as if to ask a question.

She nodded.

He smiled and gave his silent approval.

She wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d said no. The number of new members allowed to play in public on their first night was few, enough to count on one hand. She knew it by rumor—it was a rare occasion because of the emotional factor. Being flogged in public might be on someone’s wish list, but when push came to shove, or when slap came to skin, he or she usually broke and ran, unable to deal with it.

No one blamed them. The responsibility lay with the Dominant to decide if he or she could handle it.

She knew Alex could.

Matthew trusted her to know she was right.

His confidence in her abilities helped steady her as she readied both herself and Alex.

Alex stretched out his arms and legs. He leaned against the polished dark wood and turned his head to one side, facing the crowd with his eyes wide open.

The other way would point him toward the wall and offer some privacy, let him keep his emotions to himself.

He wasn’t having any of it.

Kate thought she’d burst with pride.

She stepped up behind him and reached around to fasten the leather straps.

Nervous tremors rocked Alex’s body as she worked on the buckles locking him in place. She drew her hand down his spine, feeling him settle under her touch.

“You remember your safe-word?” she murmured as she moved to the other wrist.

“Yes.”

“Say it.”

“Kill switch. But I won’t need it.” The confidence in his voice drove into her sharp and fast. “I trust you.”

She forced herself to continue, holding back the tears.

He’s giving this to me.

The ankle restraints spread his legs, forcing his balls and cock against the dark blue pad. She imagined the sweet torture, every move increasing his arousal.

And he was going to move, whether he wanted to or not.

This may be his first time doing a public scene, but it wasn’t hers. She knew what was going to happen to him, the emotional rush vastly different from hanging from his kitchen door in the privacy of his home.

“I’m going to start now.” Kate kissed the back of his neck just above the collar. “Thank you.”

He said nothing, but she saw his muscles tense, readying himself mentally for what he’d only read about in books and was now about to experience firsthand.

She stepped back and studied her target, noted the sweat trickling down his spine.

Yes.

Kate felt the curious eyes on her, the veterans wondering at her reappearance and the newer members enjoying the sight. You’d have to be dead to not appreciate Alex’s fine body, the slick skin already springing to life under her previous paddling.

She drew the flogger over the palm of her hand, feeling the tickle of the soft fabric.

She had no intention of tickling Alex with it.

Kate drew her arm back, feeling the surge of heat race through her body.

The first flogger she’d chosen was a lightweight, the long deer hide threads warming him up as she worked him over, crossing back and forth in an X pattern.

She spent some time on his shoulders, giving his ass a bit of a break.

But not for long.

Kate twirled the flogger around and moved down the naked body presented in front of her.

His already pinked butt cheeks tensed as he got into the routine, accepting the lashes without comment. Hands clenched and curled into fists, pulsing with every strike of the flogger.

Alex’s head lolled back, showing his mind was elsewhere, his body producing the chemicals to push him into a different reality.

In a way, she envied him. She couldn’t go all the way there with him, her responsibility keeping her grounded.

But she wasn’t immune.

The music receded into the background as she felt his emotional rush, his sighs and moans winding her up tighter than she’d ever been with Carl. Each gasp, each twitch of his fingers went right to her inner core, pushing her closer to the edge.

She paused to catch her breath and give Alex a short break. A water bottle had been placed near her feet, and she wrenched the top off.

Alex panted as she placed the bottle near his lips.

“Drink.”

It wasn’t a request.

He gulped at the small stream dribbling from the tilted bottle, the water splashing over his sweaty face and spotting the polished wood.

“You’re doing fine,” Kate murmured. “I’m so proud of you.” She nodded toward the audience. “They’re all proud of you. And in awe.”

She nudged him to focus in on the admirers, male and female, watching them.

One woman sitting on the floor curled around her master’s leg, licking her lips as she observed. He caressed her hair and smiled as he watched.

Time to up the game.

“Next stage.” Kate stepped back with the half-empty bottle.

She moved to the second flogger, the horsehair delivering more sting than the soft deer-hide straps. Mentally, she thanked Matthew for keeping such a lovely collection on hand, allowing for such diversity.

A shudder rocked Alex’s body as the new flogger landed on already sensitized skin, adding to the red stripes crisscrossing over his broad shoulders. The thinner strands bit into his back, pushing him to a new level of tolerance.

She took longer between strokes, letting him wallow in the sensations.

Alex moaned as his back reddened under the assault. His entire body shook, and Kate paused, worried if she’d gone too far.

Too much?

He stared out at the audience, eyes glazed, and mumbled something.

Kate leaned in, listening hard for his safe-word.

Say it if you need to, she mentally whispered. I’m right here. No one will think any less of you if you—

“More,” he croaked. “Please, Mistress.”

She gasped, reenergized by his strength.

Kate needed it.

Sweat trickled down and pooled at the base of her spine. Her black blouse stuck to her skin, the silk unable to take the heat and perspiration. She stopped and gave Alex another mouthful of water before finishing the bottle off.

Whispers came from the audience, admiration for Alex and for her.

She knew why.

It was unthinkable for a new member to go this far on a first visit, no matter who was accompanying them on the trip.

Everyone would remember this.

Remember Alex.

“Last stage,” she said softly into his ear. “Time to face the boss.”

Kate stepped back and reached for the last flogger she’d chosen.

Bootlace. The light- and dark-brown laces hung down from the handle, knotted at the bottom.

Someone in the audience gave an orgasmic moan, but she didn’t look around, focused on the task at hand.

“Yes,” Alex murmured as if he had eyes in the back of his head and knew what she was doing.

This was one of the strongest floggers she’d used, too afraid to look at the scourges and other metal-tipped ones. This was as far as she’d go, as far as she’d take Alex.

Kate reached back and let it fly.

For you, Alex. All for you.

Alex gasped as the braided cords dragged across the inflamed skin, the red streaks growing and turning crimson with each strike.

She increased her speed, upping both her arousal and adoration for him.

He moaned again. His fingers clenched and unclenched, fists thrusting into the air.

He was burning in a white fire, consumed body and soul.

The pain subsided into a dull throbbing, the tentacles reaching deep into him and caressing every nerve ending, embracing him whole. Every stroke shot straight to his groin, pushing him against the smooth leather pad and raising his arousal another notch. The odd cord sliding under to snap against his balls made him jump even as the lightning blazed through his veins.

Alex ground his teeth together, fighting back the urge to explode. He wasn’t going to come and embarrass himself, embarrass Katherine.

Embarrass his Mistress.

No.

He locked his hips even as the next set of blows fell, the shockwaves rocking his body.

Alex moaned, forgetting everything except Katherine.

My Mistress.

The emotional connection brought him to tears, every touch of the flogger on his skin her fingers drawing over his body, reaching inside to stroke his soul.

Yes.

The fire splintered him into a thousand pieces and gathered him up to put him back together anew and complete.

He rolled his head back and sobbed, flying into that bright light he’d been hunting for so long.

Yes.

Kate felt redeemed, reborn by his gift. She’d left a beaten woman and returned with a wonderful submissive, a handsome and magnificent sub, a man all the Mistresses and Masters in the room would want and knew they couldn’t have.

He was hers.

As she was his.

Alex gasped as she landed another series of blows on his back and butt, the crosshatching marking his skin. His back bowed, rubbing his cock on the leather pad.

Kate stopped, suddenly out of breath.

Enough, her internal clock screamed. Enough.

She licked her lips.

She wanted him.

Now.

The flogger dropped from her hand as she stood there, frozen in place by her emotions.

Matthew appeared at her side. He touched her forearm, bringing her out of her reverie.

“You’ve done well,” Matthew said. He raised his voice so Alex could hear. “Both of you. But now it’s time to stop.” His tone left no room for discussion or argument.

Kate rushed forward to undo the restraints.

Heat radiated from Alex’s reddened back as she drew near, steam rising from the abused skin.

She reached out to touch him but hesitated, afraid of causing him more pain.

Instead, she knelt at his feet, focusing on the ankle restraints. She fumbled with the buckles but finally pulled them away.

He drew his legs together with a grunt and drew his hips back from the padded cushion.

Kate couldn’t help staring at him. He was harder than she’d ever seen him before from any of their sessions, more than she’d thought possible. It took all her self-restraint to not reach out and touch him, dab her finger in the teardrop of moisture gathering at the tip of his cock, suspended in midair.

She drew a finger down his leg, invoking another grunt.

His unfocused gaze settled on her, his tearstained cheeks red and flushed.

Kate smiled and stroked the back of his leg.

Alex grunted, and she saw him come back to himself, return to their shared reality.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Thank you,” Kate replied.

The applause started as she got to her feet and started on his wrists. It grew in intensity, finally a deafening roar.

“Do you hear that?” She leaned forward and murmured in his ear, careful to avoid touching his raw back. “All for you.”

“No.” Alex winced as she entwined her fingers with his and slowly brought his arms down to his side. He turned his head and smiled at her. “For us.”

Kate almost lost it right there, the emotional storm breaching the last of her barriers. She let go of him and stepped back off the pedestal.

Alex turned his head and reached out his hand toward her.

She took it and smiled, unable to find the words.

“I’m a little—” He let out a deep sigh before slumping against the cross, eyes closed. “I’m a little tired.”

Someone handed Kate a damp white towel, which she threw over his shoulders. Alex began to shake, the rush of adrenaline that had carried him so far almost finished.

She knew he was close to collapsing, the rush of emotions dragging him down to earth with a painful snap.

Kate could take him to one of the booths until he recovered enough to travel, maybe back to the room, but her gut told her they needed to leave the club. It was time for some personal aftercare, not an improvised moment in a strange place.

Besides, as she squeezed her thighs together to quell her shivers, she wanted their first time together to be in her bed—not sprawled across a couch in the club.

But their options were limited. She didn’t see any car keys among his clothing, so he’d taken a cab to the club as she had.

Her hands were trembling. They could rest in the locker room until the cab showed—but it’d be a long wait. At this time of night, it’d be tough to get fast service.

Kate snatched up his pants from the pile on the floor and held them open. She winced inside with each pained movement as he slowly stepped into them.

She didn’t dare try to put his briefs on.

He wrestled with the zipper and finally pulled it up with a shaky smile and an annoyed grunt, keeping the towel on his shoulders.

Matthew came to her side. “No shoes, no socks, no shirt,” he said. “He can travel like that.”

He handed the rest of Alex’s clothing to a woman beside him who placed them in a plastic bag. “There’s a tube of lotion in the bag. Use it on his back when you get home, after you shower. It’ll help with the healing.”

Kate nodded.

Matthew looked up and caught Alex’s attention, locked eyes with him. The club owner reached out with both hands and snapped the two wristbands off Alex’s right wrist with hard, fast twists. “Well done.”

Alex nodded and lowered his glance, accepting the praise.

“I have a car waiting out front with instructions to take you home. Go take care of business,” Matthew addressed Kate. “Don’t even think about coming back for a week at least—you both need the rest.” He smiled. “Glad to have you both as active members.”

Kate took the bag and took Alex’s hand. He followed her off the podium to silence. The audience had thinned out or turned away from the pair, allowing them the privacy to retreat from the public display.

“Can you walk?” Kate asked.

Alex nodded. His stiff, awkward steps soon became less so until he was walking slowly but steadily beside her.

They went through the door into the entry area. The hallway was empty, Jackie having long ago departed her post.

Ed and Eddie opened the door before they got there, obviously warned by Matthew beforehand. They didn’t bat an eyelash at Kate’s disheveled appearance or Alex’s half-nakedness.

The two bouncers formed a protective barricade around them as they walked to the car. Kate recognized the sedan, one of Matthew’s personal fleet. He kept them on hand for special occasions or VIPs.

Ed opened the back door of the waiting car, giving them both a slight bow.

Alex nodded as he half-fell into the car, keeping the towel on his shoulders. Kate smiled and slid in beside him.

“Until next time.” Ed shut the door.

The car had tinted windows and a silent driver who looked once in his rear-view mirror and put up the privacy wall, cutting them off from him.

As the car started to move, Kate found her own coat on the seat, pulled from her locker.

Of course Matthew would have a master key for all the lockers, she said silently.

Common sense demanded it.

Alex looked around the interior of the car with a dazed expression. A water bottle sat in the cup holder in front of him. He winced as he reached for it.

“I’ve got it.” Kate took the bottle and twisted the cap off. She put it to his lips and tipped it slowly. Water dribbled free from the corner of his mouth and trickled down his chin and neck, mingling with sweat.

She pulled the edge of the towel over to dab at his lips before handing him the bottle. “Don’t gulp it,” she warned. “You’ll make yourself sick.”

While he worked on the water, she reached in her pocket and retrieved the tiny key.

He looked at her with wide eyes, and for a second, she was afraid he hadn’t come all the way back yet. This was hell and gone from snuggling on the couch in his living room.

“We need to both clean up. You can’t take a shower with this on.” She tugged at the leather strip, her heart racing at the way he tensed under her touch. “Off.”

His frown made her giggle.

“Don’t be sad. We can put it back on tomorrow, if you’d like. Right now it’s the right time to take it off.” Kate stroked his face. “Thank you.”

He paused for a second, and she saw the conflict in his eyes, the urge to stay her submissive just that bit longer.

Then she saw the Alpha coming out, the urge to take her to bed in his way, possess her in a way he’d never been able to do before. Laid open and bare to her, he needed to show his love and devotion to her in a way that went further than a leather collar would display.

He wanted the woman now, not the Domme.

Something she was ready to give him.

“Okay.” He tilted his head down to allow easier access to the buckle.

Kate carefully pulled the collar free and clipped the lock back on before placing it in the bag.

Alex rolled his shoulders, flexing the muscles. He took a deep breath and sat a little straighter, letting out a satisfied grunt.

“Are you good?” She watched him finish off the bottle and place it back in the holder.

“I’m good.” He licked his lips and grinned. “I’m good and ready.”

“For a nap?” Kate couldn’t help teasing him.

He reached for her free hand and placed it on his crotch. “Not right away. Time for the bonus round.”

She couldn’t help returning his smile with interest, giving him an appreciative squeeze through his jeans. The answering gasp went straight to her core, increasing her desire tenfold.

“Aren’t you the forward one,” Kate said. “I should punish you for that.” Her voice caught on the last sentence.

Alex smirked. “Not until tomorrow.” His voice was hoarse and rough. “Just so you know, I’ll be on top for the first five or six times.”

She was about to berate him, tease him for his comments, but the rush of need surging through her made it impossible.

Instead, Kate snatched up the chocolate bar sitting in the second cup holder. She ripped the wrapper off and devoured the sugary snack in a rush.

Suddenly, the tables were flipped, and he was leading her.

“We’re going to your place,” Alex said. “Because I sure as hell don’t know where we are.”

“Yes.” Kate risked a glance outside and saw the familiar scenery. They were only a few minutes away.

“Good.” He gave her an impish wink. “Did I please my Mistress?”

“Very much so.” She leaned in and kissed him. “Very much so. But now I’m going to take you upstairs and tend to your back. Shower first to clean up, then a good application of lotion, then to bed to rest.”

“You think that’s going to happen?” He gave her a wide grin. “I wasn’t joking.”

“Let’s get through the shower, and we’ll see what you can handle.” She gave him a gentle squeeze, delighting in his sudden intake of breath. “We can sleep in tomorrow if you’d like. Stay most of the morning in bed.”

The car came to a stop as Alex nodded. “At the least morning. I was thinking late afternoon. And evening if we order in pizza.”

Alex didn’t look at the security guard on their way through the lobby. He suspected he wasn’t the first man coming in looking like he’d been on an all-night drinking binge, bare-chested and without socks or shoes.

The burning on his shoulders and ass had subsided during the car ride, the damp towel offering some sort of surface medication to soothe and dull the pain, at least on his back. He arched his back, feeling the abused muscles beginning to stiffen up.

They weren’t the only things getting stiff and hard.

Alex growled as he studied the flashing red numbers over their head.

The elevator ride up to Kate’s apartment was too long, too long for what he wanted to do. What he needed to do.

Fuck it.

Now.

He grabbed her around the waist and pressed her against the wall, letting the towel slip off his shoulders.

She dropped the coat and the bag with his clothing, her left hand clutching his hip in an attempt to avoid grabbing his back. Her right hand instinctively clamped on the back of his neck, squeezing where his collar used to be as he nipped and bit along her jawline and pulled her down to him.

“Only yours,” he rasped, the words surging out from deep inside, the emotions battering his body and soul. “No one else’s. Only yours.”

He couldn’t believe what he’d just done. A public scene in a BDSM club, up on a pedestal spread-eagled with everything hanging out for everyone to see.

For her.

All for her.

He grabbed her hips and moved her up the wall, urging her legs around his waist as he rocked against her. Her answering gasp drove him on, and for a horrifying second, he thought he’d come in his pants like a horny teenager on his first date.

“Down,” she ordered with a chuckle. “Down, boy.” Kate slapped his forearm.

He continued to sway against her, pushing his self-control to the edge.

Kate threw her head back and whimpered, driving him onward.

The elevator doors opened, freezing them in place for a second.

Kate was the first to move. She slid out of his grasp and snatched up the towel. She threw it back over his shoulders before leading Alex out by the hand, dragging the bag behind them.

He kept grabbing at her, stroking and touching as much as he could. He stroked her arms, tugged at the buttons on her blouse, ran his fingers down her back and dipped into the hollow at the base of her spine as he pulled her damp shirt free.

Kate reached into her coat pocket and pulled her keys out. She fumbled with her keys, making ineffective jabs at the opening.

“Stop it.” She slapped his hands away. “I can’t do this with you pawing me.”

He licked his lips, drawing his tongue slowly over the dry skin.

She giggled. “Don’t do that. We won’t be doing anything if I don’t get this damned door open.” Kate finally slipped the right key in. “There.”

She pulled him in after her and locked the door out of instinct. “Right. Bathroom’s down the hall, first door on the left. You go start the shower,” Kate said before shrugging him off. She shook the bag at him. “Let me put this stuff away and hang up my coat. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

She trotted down the hallway and went to the right.

Alex watched her leave, admiring the tight fit of her jeans.

Soon.

He wrinkled his nose, catching a whiff of his own stink.

Shower first.

He wasn’t going to climb into bed with her, smelling like a dirty sock.

Alex went to the bathroom and pulled the white towel off his shoulders. He inspected it, expecting to see bloodstains.

Nothing.

He folded it into a square and placed it on an empty shelf.

Alex rolled his shoulders, flinching as the abused skin flexed. He twisted to see himself in the mirror hung on the back of the door.

The full-length showed red raised marks on his back but no open wounds.

Alex couldn’t help grimacing as he shifted to try to get a better view.

Damn. Going to be wearing her marks for a week or more.

The thought filled him with a sense of pride mixed with the desperate need to show her how much he loved her for this, for giving this to him.

“I don’t hear the water running.” The shout down the hall snapped him out of his inspection.

It took a few minutes of fumbling with the taps to get the water to the right temperature—below scalding but not ice-cold. Folding his pants and placing them to the side was an effort, but he managed.

He was caught between bone-deep exhaustion and raging desire.

All he wanted to do was find a balance between the two.

All he wanted was Kate.

Alex stepped inside the shower stall. He turned slowly as the hot water ran over his skin.

Not too bad.

He winced as the spray hit one sensitive spot on his right ass cheek, the pain flaring up.

Okay, not totally too bad.

Alex picked up the bar of soap and lathered it in his hands, the familiar routine settling him even more.

What I did—

What I’m going to do—

He ducked his head under the unrelenting spray, letting the water stream over his face and drip down over the rest of his body, the muscles loosening under the barrage of hot water. A roll of his head, and he felt the last of the tension wash away, the flogging retreating into a pleasant memory.

A very pleasant memory.

Never going to forget this night.

Neither will Kate.

Finished with his own business, Alex picked up the washcloth. He doused it under the spray before adding a dollop of body gel from the conveniently placed container sitting on the small shelf.

He waited.