Walk Between the Raindrops Read online

  “They gave me a coaching badge so I could be on the floor with her.”

  “They did? Holy smokes.”

  “The guy in charge said Cara called him personally to tell him what happened.”

  “Oh…shit,” she whispered. “That’s right, I forgot she trained with him for a while. Well, use that to your advantage, if you can.”

  “How?”

  “June loves you. She’ll listen to you.”

  “She’s not listening to me so far.” He heard the toilet flush. “I have to go. We’ll call tonight.”

  “Thanks.”

  He hung up just as June emerged from the bathroom. “Ready to go?”

  She nodded.

  June started to reach for her gym bag, but he grabbed it first and shouldered it. “Nope. You enjoy having your own personal valet this weekend.”

  Fortunately, it made her smile. “Personal valet, huh?”

  “Mm hmm.”

  “Thanks…sir.”

  He grinned. “You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.”

  She turned and draped her arms around his neck, staring up into his eyes. “I know you’re not. That’s why I love you so much.” She rose up on her toes and brushed a kiss across his lips before stepping away.

  He gently caught her hand. “Please, for the afternoon session, do your routines. Your routines got you here.” He thought about May’s words. “July would want you to do your best, and you doing your routines is your best.”

  For just a second, he thought he’d screwed up. Her smile faltered then shifted back into place. “I need to represent her. She deserves that. She always had my back. This is the only way I can have hers now.”

  He couldn’t tell her what he suspected. If she’d wanted to tell him, she would. “By being here, you are. She’s always with you in your heart. And if she was standing right here with us today, she’d kick your ass for not doing your routines, and you know it. They’ve got that free session on Sunday, before the closing banquet. Do July’s routines then. You need to do yours now.”

  A long, ragged breath escaped her. “I know.”

  “Please, I’m afraid you’re going to hurt yourself. You almost lost your grip on that third bar routine, plus your timing was off. You nearly missed the change-over, or whatever it’s called. You never do that.”

  Today was all about the prep, the coaches working with the girls so that tomorrow afternoon during the exhibition, where the main selections would be winnowed down by the coaches, they could shine their brightest.

  “She should be here,” she whispered.

  He pulled her to him. “I know. I wish she was, too.”

  She pulled away and headed for the door. They had to get moving.

  Whether or not she’d follow through and stop trying to do July’s routines…

  Well, at this point, he wouldn’t harass her about it anymore. Whatever would be would be. She’d made it here, and that was the important part.

  If she failed…

  He’d be there to help pick up her pieces, if she’d let him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Recent history

  “Why do you need the practice?” June asked Mark. “You’ve literally done some of these ties hundreds of times.”

  “Because I don’t want to waste Kel’s time when we do the photo shoot tomorrow, and I need to perfect the instructions so we get the right pictures in the correct order. This is going to be our first book. I want it to be good.”

  “I’m going to kill Kaden for instigating this,” June muttered. “‘Scrye, dude, you should totally write a book,’” she imitated. “‘Derrick, dude, you should totally open a dungeon.’ I mean, I love that Dom to death, but damn, why is he always playing Huck Finn to y’all and instigating and then sitting back and laughing his ass off?”

  Mark arched an eyebrow at her. He couldn’t focus on her while he was driving. “For starters, you mean Tom Sawyer, not Huck Finn. Second, he wasn’t the only one saying I should do it. And third, you know as well as I do that he secretly kicked in a lot of his own money and attorney services to help Marcia and Derrick start Venture. Besides, weren’t you the one teasing me I should write kinky macramé books?”

  “I never thought you’d take me seriously.” It wasn’t that she minded it. She was actually looking forward to it. Especially since she would be the model, although dressed in a tube top, bikini bottoms, and wearing a mask over her eyes to conceal her identity.

  It was the fact that it was their first child-free weekend in two months, Mark had just wrapped up tax season, and she’d been planning on spending this Saturday and Sunday tied up.

  Literally.

  Alone with him.

  At home.

  While being well-fucked.

  Ironically, she’d get the tied-up part. Except because they were doing this at Venture, and since today Ross and Loren were going to help them, and tomorrow Kel would be doing the photo shoot for them, they couldn’t engage in the rest of it.

  Ross and Loren were meeting them at Venture with the key, and would be safety spotters for them. Plus, Loren was going to follow along with Mark’s laptop and the Word document and make notes where Mark wanted pictures taken. And she was helping edit the book. Once Kel took the final pictures, and they had the manuscript ready, they’d already found a professional formatter who would prepare it for publication for them for a reasonable fee. Then they could submit the electronic files to a printer to self-publish it.

  Pen names: Scrye the Guy and Little July.

  That had been June’s suggestion, and he’d immediately loved and latched on to it. The perfect way to protect their privacy and honor June’s sister, as well as he loved the rhyme.

  They’d be there at the club all day, because they were now also teaching a Shibari class at five he’d volunteered them for at the last minute. Then dinner at Sigalo’s. Then back to Venture for the evening.

  Meaning by the time they finally returned home late that night, June would likely be too damn tired to want to have an orgasm, and so would Mark. Plus they’d have to get up early tomorrow to meet Kel at eight in the morning.

  Ross and Loren drove up just as Mark and June were unloading his rigger bags from the trunk of their car.

  “Hey, guys,” Ross said. “Sorry about that. Hope you weren’t waiting long.”

  “Just got here.”

  With everything toted inside and set up under the A-frame, they quickly got started. Loren dragged a table over from the social area to make it easier on her to work on the laptop.

  June started stripping and stood there, waiting.

  Mark frowned. “Well?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He pointed at her. “Where’s your stuff?”

  “This is just practice.”

  “Uh, it’s dress rehearsal, as we call it in theatre, and that means you wear what you’re wearing for the real thing. That’s why I told you to bring them.”

  Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the bag, rummaged through it, and pulled the top and panties on. “Better?”

  “No. Where’s the mask?”

  “That thing’s stupid. I feel like a kinky Robin.”

  “Nana-nana-nana-nana…bon-dage!” Loren sang out, giggling and cracking Ross up.

  Mark gave June the look.

  Finally, she let out an aggravated sigh and pulled the mask from the bag, putting it on. “There, Sir.”

  His arm shot out and he grabbed her braid, wrapping it around his hand and pulling her in close. “What was that?” he whispered.

  She swallowed hard. “Sorry, Sir.”

  He pressed a kiss to her lips, a long, sensuous one that told her she wasn’t in serious trouble, no matter what his tone. He released her braid and gave her a smile.

  “I’ll make this up to you, baby. I promise.”

  A tired sigh escaped her. “I know. Sorry I’m bitchy. I just reeeaally wanted alone time with you this weekend.”

  He smiled as he str
oked her cheek. “I know, baby. I’m sorry.”

  After he tied the hard point ring in place, he lifted June so she could test it with her weight. She immediately swung herself up and onto the top of the A-frame where she perched, smiling down at them, making both Ross and Loren laugh.

  June wiggled her fingers in a wave. “Hiya.”

  Scrye gave her the look again. “You stand up on that thing, and you’re getting caned in the bad way. Down. Now. You know it scares me when you do that.”

  She pouted. “It’s as wide up here as a balance be—”

  “Down. Now.”

  “Fine.” She lowered herself, expecting it when Scrye caught her by the waist and gently set her on the ground.

  Ross shook his head, still chuckling. “Even knowing she was a gymnast, it still surprises the hell out of me when she does stuff like that. It’s even funnier watching your big sadist self get scared.”

  “You think that scared me? You should have seen her at the gym camp.”

  * * * *

  Scrye cut their evening short at ten. He wanted to salvage a little of the night for June. He got it—she was caught in a cycle of teaching kids at her sister’s gym, he’d been stuck in tax season hell, and then there were Girl Scouts and Maren’s swimming lessons and Sonya’s tennis lessons and practices and juggling schedules and…

  He got it.

  She literally worked harder than he did, all things considered. To him, this weekend was actually play and relaxation, even if it was “work.”

  June wouldn’t even be able to enjoy the full benefits of the bondage tomorrow, the shutting off of her brain.

  She was quiet during the ride home, and he knew she assumed they’d be going to bed without any play time.

  He had saved some energy for her, though.

  And as soon as they were through the front door, he dropped his bags and grabbed June by the hair, leading her to their bedroom.

  “Someone needs to pay for her mouthiness today, and for scaring me with their little acrobatic stunts.”

  During the class, while he wasn’t looking, several times June had jumped up, caught the ring, and struck a funny pose while sticking her tongue out at Mark’s back, which had cracked everyone up.

  He didn’t let go of her hair as he rummaged through their top dresser drawer with one hand. “Mmhmm. There they are.” He didn’t let her see what he grabbed, shoving them into his pockets. Then, he let her go. “Strip. Hands and knees on the bed.”

  While she did that, he prepared a few other things, knowing she thought this would be an easy, sensuous play session, since he didn’t want to cane her the night before a photo shoot.

  Oh, how wrong she was.

  He retrieved one of the rope bags from the hall and brought it to the bedroom, noting June had stripped in record time. Sticking two fingers into her pussy proved she was already dripping wet and ready. He worked a third in, which made her moan as he slowly finger-fucked her, driving her crazy.

  She moaned again when he withdrew his hand and made her suck his fingers. “Yeah, you’re going to earn that orgasm tonight, baby. I’m going to teach you that Daddy doesn’t play around when he wants you to behave.”

  He tied her like that to the bed, her upper arms and thighs connected by ropes keeping her on her hands and knees, and four ropes to the four corners to keep her in place. After blindfolding her, he pulled the hidden items from his pocket and laid them on the bed before he started stripping.

  More fingering of her pussy and clit, to get her moaning and rocking against him, driving her need higher, shoving her thinking mind out the door for a few minutes.

  Then he put the nipple clamps on her.

  She whined but she took them, especially once he started playing with her clit again for a moment to take the edge off.

  “Promise Daddy you won’t do that again,” he said. “No more climbing on the top of the A-frame.”

  “Y-yes, Sir. I promise.”

  He smacked her ass with his bare hands, not enough to leave marks, just enough to sting and keep her subspace rolling. “I’d be caning you if we weren’t doing pictures tomorrow, you know that, right?”

  “Yes, S-sir.”

  He pulled on a glove, picked up the butt plug, lubed it and her ass, and started working it inside her. “Going to fuck your pussy tonight, baby, but you will be wearing this.”

  She moaned, rocking against it, trying to take it in despite how big it was. He’d decided to go with the largest one they owned, and it took her a couple of minutes of fucking her ass against his hand to finally make it past the widest part, where it slid home snugly against her crack.

  “Good girl.” He stripped off the glove inside out and dropped it to the floor.

  Then he picked up the Hitachi, plugged it in, and turned it on. She jumped even as a moan escaped her.

  She knew what was coming next.

  Or so she thought.

  “Yes, I know what my baby wants.” He ran it over her ass, even pressing it against the base of the butt plug, between her legs, which she couldn’t close because of how he’d tied her, along her pussy lips.

  Everywhere but against her clit so she could get off.

  He switched it off, silently giggling over her forlorn moan. Her juices were dripping out of her now, running down her inner thighs.

  “Someone needs to beg if they want to come for me.”

  “Please, let me come, Daddy! I need to come.”

  “What will you promise me if I let you come tonight?”

  “Anything! I’ll do anything for you!”

  “Anything?”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  He picked up the four clothespins he’d kept concealed from her. “You’re taking red off the table?”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “I want fifteen minutes of no red, unless you get a leg cramp or something. And then I’ll make you come nice and hard.”

  She knew he would never violate her hard limits. And she knew he wouldn’t cane her.

  “Yes, please, Sir!”

  He grinned as he reached under her and located her labia. “Good girl. Starting…now.”

  He clipped two of the clothespins to each of her pussy lips, now loudly giggling at her pained moan as she realized exactly what she’d gotten herself into.

  Her personal best for taking the clothespins was three on each side for thirty minutes. He’d let her trade minutes for cane strokes several times.

  And as he knelt behind her and carefully aligned his cock with her pussy, he was cautious not to rub his dick against the clothespins as he slowly fucked her.

  She squirmed and moaned and whined, knowing he wasn’t going to fuck her hard enough to get off yet. “You sound uncomfortable, sweetheart,” he teased. “You still have thirteen minutes left.” He stopped with his cock buried deep inside her pussy. “Meanwhile, I have a nice cunt to fuck. I love it when you have a butt plug in.”

  June moaned, torn between trying to fuck herself against him and not wanting to move, because of the clothespins and nipple clamps.

  “Repeat after me, baby,” he said. “‘I will obey Sir.’”

  “I will obey Siirrrr…” She devolved into another moan. The irony, he knew, was that the pain was making her hornier, combined with the butt plug in her ass and his cock in her pussy.

  “‘I will always obey Sir.’”

  “I will a-always obey Sir.”

  “Say it.”

  She struggled to make it all the way through her mantra, made even more difficult when he leaned in and started gently tugging on her nipple clamps to distract her.

  Once she’d finished, he took another stroke inside her. Now his dick felt like hot iron, throbbing, loving this.

  He thought about the kid he was who’d been in love with June in high school and college. Back then, he’d thought wanting to pull her over his lap and spank her was naughty and hot.

  Oh, how innocent we were.

  “Eleven minutes, baby. You’r
e doing great.” He pressed on the base of the butt plug. “Will someone get mouthy with Sir tomorrow?”

  “No, Sir.”

  “Why does Sir order you to behave?”

  “So I don’t get hurt.”

  “I also would have accepted keeping you safe. That’s my job, and it’s always been my job. Who’s in charge?”

  “Sir’s in charge.”

  “And who wanted it that way?”

  “I do, Sir.”

  “So are you going to be my good girl if I let you have an orgasm?”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “Good.” He slowly fucked her, struggling to hold his own release in check. “New punishment rule, baby. For the next six months, instead of cane strokes, I’m going to issue minutes spent with clothespins on your pussy and standing in the corner. The worse the infraction, the more clothespins you’ll get, and the longer time you’ll get. Understand?”

  Another moan, a mix of pain and pleasure, escaped her. “Yes, Sir.”

  “And then to get free from the clothespins, you’ll have to present yourself to me for fucking. Once I come, I’ll let you come and then I’ll take the clothespins off. Understand?”

  She nodded her head, her pussy throbbing around his cock. He suspected she was close to orgasming. “Yes, Sir!”

  She still had five minutes left, but he knew he was too close to last the rest of the time. Grabbing the Hitachi, he felt around under her with both hands and got it pressed against her clit before turning it on.

  She dropped her face to the bed to muffle her shriek as she came. He held the Hitachi with one hand, her hip with the other, and started fucking her orgasming pussy.

  “This is my pussy, baby. Remember that. I own it, I own you. My job is to keep you safe and take care of you and when you try to fight me, it makes my job harder.” Another wave of orgasms rushed through her, marked by the way her muscles contracted around his cock. “So now you’re going to have to sit here and think about that for a few minutes.” He thrust one last time, his balls contracting and filling her with his cum, the pleasure intensified by the vibration he could feel through her from the Hitachi.

  Still he kept her coming. She had two minutes left.