23

    I can take your pain

    RAMPAGE

    Damien is waiting when we arrive at Club Sin a few hours later.

    “What’s with the ballcap?” He snorts a laugh as I make my way down the hallway to the private members’ play space. Penny is waiting in my room. I haven’t asked her to remove any clothing because she’s never played in public before. And even if she had, I would make her wear her dress. Only Penny would wear a soft, white lace dress to a death metal bar.

    I pull the cap off my head and run my hand through my hair, now damp with sweat. “Pen asked me to wear it. She said she was worried I would be recognized going into the club. I told her we’ve never had an issue, but she wouldn’t let it go, and frankly I wasn’t about to start a fight about a cap when we’ve got bigger things to work out.”

    “I got your text,” Damien says. “Everything’s ready for you. Peter is going to be your sub tonight. He’s waiting for you in the alcove. He wasn’t happy about the shorts-on rule, but he says he’ll make an exception for the opportunity to scene with you.”

    I nod, approving Damien’s choice. Peter is a hard-core masochist and one of the most experienced subs in the club. Although I prefer women, I scene with men when I really want to let go. I can push them harder, take them higher, and in this case, I can avoid any suggestion of intimacy that might make Penny uncomfortable because I have no sexual interest in men.

    After meeting with Peter to discuss the scene and go over his limits, I call for Damien to bring Penny to the alcove while Peter gets ready. I haven’t discussed what we’re going to do, but when she sees a chair and the St. Andrew’s Cross, she clues in pretty fast.

    “You want me to watch?”

    I nod and point to the chair Damien has placed in the corner. “I’m going to restrain you right there, and you’re going to listen to Peter scream and think about the pain I’m going to give you when I’m done. Not pain like that and not more than you can take, but I will push you so we can find out just how much you need from me and how far I can go. Are you good with that?”

    Her eyes sparkle and she answers without hesitation. “Yes.”

    I shove my hand between her legs, spread my fingers so she is forced to part her thighs. Her breath catches, and her cheeks bloom. My girl is so damn responsive.

    Pushing aside her panties, I slick my finger through her folds and shove it deep inside her. “Already wet. You like the idea of watching.”

    She grips my shoulder to steady herself. “I thought it was so incredibly hot when I saw you in the alcove the first time. So hot, I…” Her blush deepens, and I frown.

    “From now on, if you have needs of any kind, you come to me.” I push a small bullet vibe inside her and show her the remote. “I’m gonna enjoy watching you squirm.”

    “You wouldn’t.” Her face pales. “Peter will be here. The alcove is open.”

    “You got a problem with that, tell me now. You’ve got your safe word. I expect you to use it when you need to. No lies.” I flick the remote switch, and her eyes widen as the vibrator comes to life.

    “I’m good.” She hisses out a breath. “I can take it.”

    I brush a kiss over her cheek. “I know you can.”

    Peter arrives after I’ve secured Penny to the chair, her wrists cuffed to the arms and her ankles to the legs. I introduce her to Peter, and we talk about the scene and their experience in the club. Although Penny is just watching, she will be as much a part of the scene as Peter, and I want them to feel comfortable with each other. Finally, I take Peter over to the cross and fasten cuffs around his wrists and ankles. He’s a welder, in his mid-forties, his skin bronzed by the sun, his muscles thick and hard. I won’t have to hold back anything tonight. I can let it all go so I can be with Penny the way she needs me—fully, completely, and totally in control.

    “You okay?” I turn up the vibrator with one hand and grab a flogger with the other. Penny makes a noise that sounds halfway between a grunt and a whimper, and I turn the speed back down. I don’t want to get her too worked up too fast. I have plans for her tonight.

    * * *

    PENNY

    Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. I watch Jack’s muscles ripple as he cracks the whip over Peter’s back, already red from his earlier flogging. Peter screams, his back bowing inward to get away from the sting of the lash, but there is nowhere to go.

    Jack raises his arm again, and I tremble in anticipation. I have only ever seen him this focused and intense in the cage, his muscles taut, jaw clenched, body vibrating ever so slightly before he unleashes his power with each brutal strike. His skin is slick with sweat, and his black T-shirt clings to every ridge of his muscular torso. His is breathtaking and terrifying, fierce and furious, and yet every time he stops to allow Peter to catch his breath, his gaze is warm on mine.

    Deceptive. Because beneath those icy-blue depths lies the heart of a true sadist.

    The vibrator kicks up a notch, and I glance over to see him watching me, one hand in his pocket, the other dangling the whip on the floor. He knows how close I am, how much I ache, how desperate I am to come. And yet he keeps me on edge, brings me up and takes me down, making me whimper for his sadistic pleasure.

    His biceps flex and strain, and then he releases his next strike with such incredible force the crack of the whip explodes through the alcove. Peter howls in anguish, yanks against the restraints, thick muscles straining with the effort to get free. Energy pulses between us, binding us all together. Jack is clearly in his element—his face is dark with power, alive with pleasure. I think of all that intensity focused on me, and I feel my knickers dampen.

    I could never take that much pain. There is a freedom in knowing that no matter how I tried, I would never be able to give Jack this. I am limited by biology and not by the lack of strength or courage or fortitude. Maybe this is what he wanted me to see.