The Reluctant Dom Read online

  “Aw, fuck, no puppy-dog eyes. You’re not playing fair.” Early on, years ago, she’d learned he was a sucker for “the look.” She never hesitated to mercilessly skewer him with it to get her way.

  “Please, Seth?”

  “You’re not fucking playing fair.”

  She added a pout and dropped her voice a little. “Please?”

  He closed his eyes. “Fuck. That is so not fair.”

  “Thank you!” She continued the lesson. Thud versus sting, floggers versus cats, crops and quirts and bats, oh my! Singletails came in different flavors, from Australian to signal to snake whips and even more. Canes and birches, straps…he neared information overload. By the time Kaden got home, Seth knew much of the basics.

  Whether he wanted to or not.

  * * * *

  Seth wasn’t sure he wanted to go but knew he had to. He bypassed Leah’s attempt to catch him in the shower by getting up early Saturday morning and rolling the lawn tractor out of the garage. He’d already put his foot down and insisted on doing those kinds of chores around the house. He was a third of the way through the front yard when she walked outside with a playful smile on her face and carrying a travel mug.

  He pulled up to her and shut the tractor off. She wore a long T-shirt, the heavier collar, and a pair of sandals. Since the house couldn’t be seen from the road there was little chance of anyone else catching sight of her.

  “You’re sneaky,” she said.

  He stuck his tongue out at her and accepted the mug of coffee. “Grass to mow and all that. I want to study a little bit for my finals before y’all put me through the wringer and fry my brain tonight.”

  She looked like she wanted to say something. He finally asked, “What?”

  “Besides the obvious, are you happy here?”

  His heart twisted. Or was it his gut? He’d managed to make it through most of the morning without thinking about after.

  “Yeah. I wish it was under better circumstances though. Besides the obvious, are you happy to have me here? Honestly?”

  She nodded and looked up at him, her voice soft. “Yes.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek, then turned and hurried back to the house.

  Fuck.

  He started the tractor and went back to mowing the yard while he tried to sort out his conflicting swirl of emotions.

  * * * *

  Looks can be deceiving. Tony lived east of Sarasota on five acres, a few streets off of Bee Ridge Road, east of I-75. The community was comprised mostly of larger homes on several acres of land each, many with horses or cattle or both grazing in pastures.

  They arrived an hour before class was to start. Tony invited them into his home. With Seth’s nerves stretched to the limit, he mostly stayed silent and observed. Tony’s house was tastefully decorated but nothing unusual to indicate a Dom lived there.

  It was the large garage workshop where the differences became apparent.

  He had his own personal dungeon, three times larger than the playroom at Kaden’s home, with more equipment. Some of the items Seth wasn’t sure he wanted to know their purpose, but he was relieved to learn the evening’s class would be limited to basics. Leah jokingly referred to it as the Impact 101 class.

  It also surprised him to learn Leah wouldn’t be totally stripping for this class the way she had in the club or at home.

  “Why is that?” he asked. It startled him to realize he was a little relieved. He knew she wasn’t wearing underwear, because she’d taken great pains to flash him several times at the house. Somehow, the thought of people seeing more of her than they had to close up and personal in an intimate setting twisted his stomach in an unpleasant way.

  “It’s a class, not a scene.” Seth mulled that over. “Confused you again, didn’t I?”

  He nodded.

  Her smile faded with concentration as she tried to figure out how to explain it. She turned to face him and dropped her voice so the other two men couldn’t hear. “This isn’t a session for me, although frankly, I’ll enjoy it. What we do when we scene, whether in private or public, it’s different. It’s for us. Us including you, too. It’s not for anyone else, even though in public others see it happening. Does that make sense?”

  “Not really.”

  She leaned so close he felt her breath against his cheek when she softly spoke. “I belong only to Master and Sir. No one else. I enjoy teaching others about the lifestyle. When Master and Sir scene with me in public, I’m only focused on what They tell me. No one else. No one else exists. This is different, because it’s a class, and I will be participating and giving my input. I’ll enjoy it, but I’m hoping later tonight that Sir will take what He learns here and practice in private with me.” She stepped back, watching his eyes.

  Seth’s throat had gone dry. His cock stiffened, painfully throbbing in his jeans.

  I belong only to Master and Sir.

  Fuck.

  * * * *

  Before the first students arrived, Kaden sent Leah to the bathroom and turned to Seth. His eyes playfully gleamed. “What did she say to you earlier?”

  “Huh?”

  “She said something to you. While Tony and I were talking.”

  Admittedly, Seth was still in shock. “She explained why this is different from a scene.”

  “And?”

  Seth reddened. Well, Kade wanted honesty, he’d get it. “She was telling me she belonged to Master and Sir, and hoped I’d practice with her later.”

  Kaden grinned. “Great! Well, not too great. She’s getting pushy and borderline bratty. We need to have a talk with her about that.”

  “Huh?”

  “That’s almost topping from the bottom.”

  Seth closed his eyes and quietly swore. “I have no idea what the fuck you just said.”

  Kaden laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll explain later.” He leaned in closer, his face momentarily sad. “But it’s okay. This is good, buddy. Seriously. It’s keeping her mind off…other things. Having you around has been really good for her. I knew you would be.”

  kaden’sdying

  Seth didn’t want to think about that tonight. He wasn’t sure he’d enjoy what he was about to learn, but he damn sure knew it was a more pleasant subject than the alternative.

  * * * *

  Seth and Kaden wore black jeans and dark button-up shirts. Their students were dressed in a wide variety of attire, from vanilla street clothes to one guy who was sub to a Domme, and he wore nothing more than a leather harness around his crotch.

  Helluva wedgie.

  Kaden introduced himself, Leah, and Seth, and briefly explained ground rules for the class. Including that, while unlike in a normal scene, students were welcomed to gather close to watch, but they were not allowed to touch Leah. Also, that for the duration of the class, students were only allowed to touch the partner they were taking the class with.

  There was also to be no body fluid exchanges, something Seth was still trying to wrap his head around. To learn that a group of activities he’d always thought were centered around sex were usually not sexual in nature still blew his mind. He thought that was the whole point.

  He had a lot to learn.

  Kaden had tried to explain it to him while Seth helped him pack equipment for the class. “There’s a difference between getting someone off and getting it on with each other. There’s a bunch of legal issues. I mean, you can’t allow public sex. And most pro Dominants for hire won’t perform sexual services.”

  “Dude, what do you call what you did to her at the club?”

  “That’s different. I couldn’t, in a situation like that, drop my pants and fuck her. I mean, if we’re at home or at a small private party somewhere, sure. But not in a public scene. Never. I mean, some people might do that but I won’t. Most places don’t allow it anyway.”

  “Well, isn’t it sex if someone comes?”

  Kaden smiled. “Not necessarily. That’s incidental.”

  “You guys
are fucking killing me.”

  Seth gave up trying to understand the technicalities. He could wrap his head around it on a health and safety basis, but he knew it would take a while to fully comprehend what Kaden tried to explain.

  Seth nervously stood to the side while Kaden gave the first part of his lecture, explaining the different implements, why they differed from each other, how to use them, safety issues. Then he turned to Leah and nodded. She hiked her skirt up over her hips and lay down on what Seth now knew was called a spanking horse.

  He’d softened a little during Kaden’s talk. The site of her twin, pale cheeks exposed like that instantly hardened his cock again.

  Fuck.

  Kaden’s smile took on a mischievous twist. He handed Seth a soft leather flogger. “Let’s start with the easiest one first.” He turned to the class. “Remember, you’ll all develop your own style and routine. I personally like to go through a warm-up. It makes the experience, in our case, more satisfying.”

  Seth nervously stared at the flogger in his hand, then at Leah’s ass. He didn’t want to whip her—he wanted to fuck her.

  Kaden looked at Seth again and nodded. “Go ahead, Seth.”

  Leah looked over her shoulder at him, a playful grin on her face. “Anytime, Seth.”

  Kaden had already warned Seth he wouldn’t be putting Leah in formal mode for this, wanting her to stay mostly out of “subspace,” another term Seth didn’t quite understand yet.

  Seth took a deep breath and swung. At least it was easier to use and not nearly as frightening as the singletail.

  Leah didn’t flinch.

  Kaden nodded. “I’d say another nine, at least.” He turned to the class and started talking to them, explaining why it was important to have some sort of warm-up routine and how it related to subspace.

  Seth finished the set, feeling marginally more comfortable. But his cock throbbed in a nearly painful way.

  “You okay, Leah?” he asked.

  She winked at him. “Fine and dandy.”

  Next came a paddle. Kaden took the first two demonstration swats with it, scaring the crap out of Seth with how loudly it sounded when he smacked her.

  Leah not only enjoyed it, she wiggled her hips at him.

  Kaden handed the paddle off to Seth. “Finish with another eight.”

  Seth numbly nodded. After the first two, Leah looked back at him and dropped her voice so only Seth could hear.

  “Swat me like you mean it, sweetie.”

  Fuck!

  He added more force to his swing. By the time he finished, her ass was red and she squirmed on the bench.

  Not counting the night at the club or the initial session he witnessed at the house that first night, it was the weirdest experience of Seth’s life. When they left Tony’s and headed for home a little after ten, Leah was happily stretched out in the backseat with a content smile on her face. Kade hadn’t let her climax during the class. Seth had a feeling she would get a helluva good fucking when they got home.

  Seth was also harder than he thought he’d ever been in his entire life.

  Kade looked at him. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That was fun,” Leah said from the backseat. “I can’t wait to get home.”

  Kaden glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Don’t get pushy, love. You’re treading into bratty territory.”

  Leah dropped her voice. “Sorry, Master.”

  But when Seth glanced over his shoulder, he noticed she wore a playful smirk.

  Kaden spotted it, too. “You could easily spend the rest of the weekend tied to the bed with a vibrator up you and not a single orgasm in sight.”

  Seth swallowed hard.

  Holy fuck!

  Leah leaned forward between the seats, apparently genuinely sorry now. “I’ll behave, Master. I promise.” She looked at Seth. “Did you have fun?’

  He dumbly nodded. What the hell else could he do or say?

  “Is Master going to let Sir practice on me more tonight?”

  Kaden looked at Seth, noticed his expression, and waved her back into her seat. “That’s for Me and Sir to discuss, none of your business, love. Behave.”

  When they returned home, Kaden helped Leah out of the car and whispered something to her. She nodded and immediately disappeared into the house.

  Kaden grabbed the duffel bag from the trunk. “Well?”

  “Well, what?”

  Kaden grinned. “Ready to help reward a good girl for her assistance tonight?”

  Seth’s cock screamed, “Fuck yes!” and tried to drag him into the house. However, his mind and conscience hadn’t yet reconciled the situation.

  Seth shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” he hoarsely said.

  Kaden hesitated before he closed the trunk. His face clouded. “She’ll be disappointed.”

  “I know. Tell her I’m sorry.”

  Kaden waited for a moment before starting for the front door. “You coming in?”

  “In a little while. I…need some air.”

  When he was alone he squatted in the driveway, head between his knees, and took deep breaths. Fuck!

  Fuck fuck FUCK!

  After twenty minutes he felt steady enough to walk again and went inside. Both the master bedroom and playroom doors were shut.

  Where would they be?

  He heard a sharp crack.

  Playroom.

  Part of him wanted to go join them, take pleasure in making her squirm and reddening her ass. It was something she enjoyed, something to, for a little while at least, take her mind off…after.

  Yet he felt guilty. This should be Kaden’s time with her. Time alone with her. He didn’t have much time left.

  Seth knew he could have his time…after.

  He poured himself a stiff drink and took it into his bedroom. Then he turned on the TV and pulled the pillow over his head and tried to get the image of Leah’s sweetly red and delightfully dancing ass out of his mind.

  Chapter Eight

  Seth awoke Sunday morning to bright daylight streaming through his window and hitting him in the face. He was surprised to see it was after eight. Leah hadn’t brought his coffee in yet, even though he smelled it brewing.

  His TV was still on, too.

  He got out of bed, used the bathroom, and shut off the TODAY show while Lester Holt was in the middle of talking to someone about innovative pet accessories.

  Sudden, irrational fear flooded him. He hoped Leah wasn’t upset at him for not playing with them last night after class.

  That’s stupid. She’s not yours to play with, dude. No matter what the two of them say. This should be Kade’s time with her.

  It still disturbed him.

  He walked out to the kitchen and didn’t look into the living room as he passed. He poured himself a mug of coffee, debated whether to shower or go jogging, finally opted for a shower. He could spend time swimming that afternoon. Frankly, it was probably too hot already for a good run. Dropping dead of heatstroke wouldn’t help anyone.

  He turned to walk down the hall and froze as he passed the living room doorway.

  Kaden was stretched out on the couch, reading the Sunday paper and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.

  Leah was…

  Holy fuck!

  She was…

  Fuck!

  Kaden had bound her to the sturdy coffee table.

  Not on.

  To.

  The rope harness formed intricate patterns around her torso. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she was trussed on her knees, ass in the air. Kaden had looped the rope around her legs in such a way that they were spread, leaving Seth staring at her open and defenseless shaved pussy. The rope was looped multiple times around her legs, forming another intricate pattern.

  Seth’s jaw gaped.

  Kaden looked up and reached for his coffee mug. “Oh, good morning.”

  Seth stared.

  Kaden took a sip of coffe
e, put his mug down, and went back to reading his paper.

  Seth stared.

  He didn’t know how long he stared, only that not only was his morning boner back with a passion, it was probably standing straight out in his boxers. He couldn’t bother looking. The sight of Leah tied to the table…

  Holy fuck!

  Seth slowly walked around the back of the couch. Kaden continued reading the paper, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. When Seth finally made it to the other end of the couch, where he could see Leah’s head, he realized she had a pillow beneath her and she lay with her left cheek against it, staring at him and Kaden. She was also gagged. When she caught Seth’s eye, she winked.

  Holy freaking fuck!

  Kaden read the paper.

  Seth swallowed hard. “Um.”

  Kaden nodded. “Shibari. Also known as kinbaku, depending on who you talk to.” He held up the rest of the paper, offered it to Seth, who numbly shook his head.

  Kaden went back to reading the paper.

  After more long, silent minutes, Seth managed to form vowels. “Is she…comfortable?”

  Kaden didn’t look up from the paper. “Are you comfortable, sweetheart?”

  Well, they obviously weren’t formal this morning.

  She made a sign with her right hand. From this angle, Seth could also see the harness formed a sort of bra around her boobs, pushing them out in a way that didn’t help things on his end.

  Kaden glanced over the top of his glasses at her hands. “She’s comfortable.”

  He went back to reading the paper.

  Seth stared. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there and stared. He was sure, however, that if Leah didn’t have the ball gag in her mouth she’d be smiling. He knew that playful look in her eyes.

  Seth walked around the couch and sat at the end, near Leah’s head, staring at her. The knot work looked intricate, amazing.

  That was when he noticed the paramedic scissors and Leatherman tool for the first time. Kaden had laid them on the table, near Leah’s right knee.

  “What are those for?” Seth hoarsely croaked.

  Kaden looked to where Seth pointed. “Just in case. Never do rope bondage without them.”