Liability Read online

  Rethinking Landry’s proposition to loan him Cris was looking better every day.

  He had a toybag full of items that hadn’t seen the light of day in too damn long, other than to occasionally unpack and repack it so his floggers and other things didn’t get warped or folded.

  Ooh, need to take that Saturday.

  Show and tell. There was that, at least. He could have vicarious fun watching Kim and Cole learn and explore. He wouldn’t begrudge them that spark of exploration. He remembered it well. It was fun to help ignite and fan that spark in others.

  Just like Kaden used to do.

  If nothing else, helping newbies out helped Mason keep Kaden’s spirit alive, in some small way. That was a more than good enough reason for him to do it.

  Once Mason was full he put his leftovers in the fridge and walked to the bedroom.

  One more text from Freddie.

  He opted to ignore it.

  Freddie would have to take a hint.

  Mason headed for bed, thoughts of Cole’s blue eyes dancing in his head.

  Chapter Ten

  Kim could barely contain her excitement as Saturday dawned. She and Cole had another long talk the night before. She’d slept at his house Friday night so they could spend the day together and then take his car that evening.

  She lay there in his bed and stared at the ceiling, not wanting to get up and wake him yet.

  This is happening!

  The more questions Cole asked of her, the more he talked with her, the more she loved him and the more her heart soared. He’d once again helped crush the memories of what she’d been through with Craige, proved that her trust in Cole had not been misplaced.

  At that point, she didn’t care if he could be a “perfect” Dom for her. He had become the perfect guy for her. He was loving and willing to try. Or if he couldn’t do something, to let her do it with someone else, as long as she always came home to him.

  She thought he was still underestimating himself and his abilities, but that was okay.

  Today she’d be able to see, in person, stuff she’d only read about so far. It made her nervous to take this step, but she was reasonably sure that the class today would be a safe starting point. It wasn’t very likely that several people would recommend taking a beginner’s class if it wasn’t safe.

  The more time they spent talking to Mason, the more comfortable she felt with him. After what she’d been through with Craige, she didn’t trust easily.

  At all.

  It was odd that she did feel she could trust Mason. But unless she saw any red flags crop up, she’d trust her gut. It didn’t hurt that Cole appeared completely at ease with the man.

  He rolled over and hooked an arm around her waist from behind. His breath tickled the back of her neck.

  “Awake?” he mumbled.

  “Uh-huh.” He rolled her over to face him.

  His blue eyes still looked full of sleep. “At any time this evening, if you feel uncomfortable—”

  “I know. I promise I’ll speak up.”

  “And if at any time I feel uncomfortable, I’ll say so, too.”

  She nodded, hoping he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

  He stretched, offering her what still looked like a sleepy smile. “Let’s get a shower and go get some breakfast.”

  “I can cook for you,” she offered, hoping he’d accept.

  “I was thinking more of taking you out to breakfast.”

  “Oh.”

  Now he frowned. “What’s that look for?”

  Dammit. He really could read her well. “Nothing. Breakfast out sounds fine.” She’d already worked out a fantasy in her mind of cooking him breakfast, naked, and serving it to him.

  “Kim.”

  He didn’t say it harshly. There was a determined, quiet force to it. Like a velvet-covered crowbar. He’d eventually get it out of her, now that he’d determined there was more behind her answer.

  She knew it’d do no good to deny it, so she admitted her fantasy to him.

  He sat up. “Normally I’d say that’s a damn wonderful idea.” He captured her hand and pulled it up to his lips. “But we’re going to have a whole evening immersed in kinky stuff. Mason said we need to go at the slower partner’s speed. That’s me.”

  He held her hand pressed against his chest and she could feel his heart beating. “I love you, but I want to make sure I don’t go too fast, either of us, and get burned out. Okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “Besides, I’m being a little selfish. I was thinking we could go to that place not too far from that used bookstore we haven’t gone to in a while.”

  Ooh. That did sound good. They hadn’t had time to make it there in several months. Two stories and not too far from the main street in downtown Sarasota, it was in an old brick building and had a great atmosphere. They’d easily spend hours wandering through it.

  He smiled. “I saw that look. You like that idea.”

  Her face heated. “That’s spooky.”

  “I know.” He grinned. “Get used to it.”

  * * * *

  They had a wonderful morning together, returned to Cole’s place and grabbed showers and changed clothes, and got ready to go meet Mason at Venture. By the time they arrived at the club for the flogger class, Kim was glad Cole had made the suggestion about going to the bookstore.

  Her nerves had fled her while they’d eaten, talked, browsed.

  Not enough time to feel nervous.

  Plenty of time to remember all the reasons she loved this man, though. They’d first met at the bookstore, and on that day had ended up in one of the quiet alcoves there, sitting in chairs and talking and in general hitting it off.

  She’d noticed his blue eyes right away, and while it wasn’t something to base a full relationship on, the way he’d talked to her without pressuring her for another meeting, or for her contact information, she’d been willing to suggest they meet there again the next Saturday morning.

  Four Saturday mornings later, she’d not only given him her info, but had gone on a couple of “real” dates with him.

  Now, here she was, sitting outside a BDSM club with him.

  She made no move to open her car door. “Do we just go in?”

  Cole wore that amused little smirk he sometimes got. “I would guess so.”

  “I mean, I wouldn’t want to just bust in there and break a rule or something.”

  His smirk widened. “That’s Mason’s car over there.” He pointed. “And he told us to come in when we got here.”

  “Oh.”

  His smirk faded. “Second thoughts?”

  She unfastened her seat belt. “Just…nervous.”

  “How nervous?”

  “Not nervous enough to cancel.” She looked over at him. “I’ll be okay. Just can’t believe we’re here, is all.”

  “I would love a chance to punch Craige in the nose sometime,” he muttered.

  “You’ve said that before.”

  “I still mean it.”

  They got out and walked into the office. A young woman behind the counter offered them a friendly smile. “Here for the class?”

  “It’s our first time here,” Cole said, taking the lead. “Ever. We’re supposed to meet Mason.”

  “Oh, sure. He told me you were coming.” She handed them forms to fill out after checking their driver’s licenses against something in the computer. “I’ll go get him while you fill those out.” She walked around the counter and out through another door.

  Kim had kept her gaze focused mostly on Cole, but now that they were alone in there, she had a chance to really look around. Various things she’d read about, implements, paddles, collars—stuff from books and the Internet come to life—hung on the walls for sale.

  “Wow,” she muttered. “I thought it’d be…smuttier.” Unlike an adult toy store, which she’d visited a few times with Cole, there wasn’t a naked boob or bare ass to be seen.

  It was actually sort
of…boring.

  “Let’s get these filled out, sweetheart,” he said, pointing at the clipboard in front of her.

  They were ready by the time the woman appeared with Mason. “Glad to see you guys,” he said, shaking hands and then hugging them.

  “Can we just join now and not worry about it later?” Cole asked.

  Kim looked up at him. They’d talked about joining, because it was only a dollar more than the Saturday night entrance fee, and they’d get the night for free, but they hadn’t settled the matter yet.

  “Sure,” the volunteer said. “I’ll give you voucher cards in case I’m not at the counter when you come back later tonight.”

  Cole pulled out his wallet. “Then let’s do that.” She started to reach for hers in her purse, but he stopped her. “No, I’m paying for this, sweetheart.”

  She swallowed hard as she stared up into his intense blue gaze. “Yes, sir,” fell automatically from her lips.

  “Good girl.”

  Kim felt her panties instantly soak, and she was glad she had a couple of spare pairs in the duffel bag she’d brought with her.

  Mason smiled. “See? It’s easy.”

  * * * *

  This was the other reason Cole had wanted to skip a kinky breakfast. He didn’t want to end up wearing himself out by tonight, in addition to kinky burnout.

  The surprise on Kim’s face when she realized exactly what words they’d just exchanged tweaked Cole’s cock, getting its interest.

  Okay. That’s not so hard.

  Well, okay, I’m getting hard.

  He could step things up for her some when they were together, as long as she didn’t expect it all the time. They could even have kinky weekends.

  “I’ll give the tour and the newbie talk, if that’s okay?” Mason asked the volunteer.

  “Sure. Leah and Seth said they’d vouch for them, too.”

  “Thanks,” Cole said. It was definitely not the experience he’d imagined in his head. This could be a gym, for all he knew.

  Excluding the kinky paraphernalia hanging on the office walls.

  Once they were finished with the paperwork, and he’d handed over a credit card for their membership fees, he took the vouchers and stuck them in his wallet. Then they signed in and they followed Mason through the door to the dungeon proper.

  It was still early, another fifteen minutes before the class was due to start. They said a quick hello to Seth and Leah before Mason started showing them around. The two warehouse bays had a large door cut into one wall, connecting the two sections. Mason gave them a tour and explained all the rules, including pointing out the lists of “reminders” strategically placed all over. When he finished with the tour, he led them over to where Seth and Leah were setting up for the class.

  They had a wide variety of floggers hanging from a small equipment rack, as well as laid out on a table they’d pulled over.

  “You can touch them, if you want,” Leah said, picking one up from the table and passing it handle-first to Cole. “That’s one of my favorites.” It was long, the soft and supple falls feeling more like fine, expensive suede than an implement of torture.

  Kim fingered a couple of the falls. “This…doesn’t look like it hurts.”

  “It doesn’t,” Leah said, taking it back when Cole handed it over. “It’s a nice mop flogger. He uses it as a transition implement, either for warming me up or stepping me down.”

  “Unless you snag a piercing with it, or hit someone in the eye,” Seth said.

  “Or the balls,” Mason added.

  Seth held up a fist and Mason bumped with him.

  “Yikes,” Cole said, wincing at that mental image.

  “The goal isn’t automatically to inflict as much pain as you can,” Seth said. “It varies by partner, how much the bottom wants to take, how much the sadist wants to give. Some people want a more sensual level of play, and some people just want the crap beaten out of them.”

  “A masochist says, ‘Beat me!’ and a sadist says, ‘No,’” Mason joked.

  Leah groaned, a smile on her face. “That one’s old.”

  “But it’s still funny.”

  Cole felt like his gaze locked with Mason’s for a moment, and he had to pull his focus away and back onto Leah and Seth. “That’s a heavy flogger, though,” Cole observed, pointing to the one they’d just fondled. “Weighs a lot.”

  “Yeah,” Seth told him. “Kind of like giving a massage with it.”

  Leah seemed to shiver with pleasure, based on her smile. “A sexy massage.”

  Seth shook his head. “Hey, at least you’re able to take your time and learn this at your own speed,” he said, hooking an arm around Leah and pulling her in close. “Some of us got tossed head-first into the deep end of a very cold lake and had to start doggy paddling.”

  The couple exchanged a glance Cole couldn’t interpret, but made him feel a little sad for them. When he looked at Mason again, that man had his gaze cast downward, a contemplative expression furrowing his features.

  Then Cole remembered the story he’d heard at the munch about Leah’s first husband and Master, Kaden.

  “I–I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “No,” Seth said. “It’s okay. We can all smile when we talk about him now. He lives on through all of us and this place. Through what we do here. That’s what he wanted. I can’t think of a better way to honor his memory.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Cole, Kim, and Mason settled into chairs as Seth and Leah got started. Cole watched, trying to focus on what Seth was staying, as Leah started stripping as if there wasn’t anyone else in the room with them. She ended up in a black thong and a black sports bra that almost looked like a bikini top.

  Umm…

  Mason softly snickered and leaned in. “I’m surprised he lets her strip down that much. Kaden used to let her do the classes naked. She spent most of her time at home naked. It’s been an adjustment for both of them. Leah told me Seth’s a little territorial but in the good ways.”

  “Huh.”

  Cole could have been sitting in a certification class for work instead of in the middle of a dungeon. Seth went over safety, differences in material, and demonstrated techniques on Leah.

  The floggers ranged all the way from—literally—bunny fur to heavy, braided leather, to wicked-looking black PVC material with the falls cut into sharp points at each end. There were also a variety of floggers made from oddball things like knotted paracord and window screen spline. Seth taught the class how to evaluate a flogger’s material and how to approach testing it without harming the bottom you were flogging.

  Cole also liked that Seth and Leah both emphasized things such as safe negotiation practices, how to recognize if someone you were playing with wasn’t being safe, and how to stand up for yourself as a bottom. Then there was giving valuable feedback to the Top so they’d know how the bottom was doing.

  Going through all of that took the better part of an hour.

  Seth called for a break for people to stretch their legs, grab a drink of water or snack, or use the bathroom. When they reconvened, they’d get to the actual hands-on part of the class.

  Cole finally noticed the bag Mason had brought with him, a large, black rolling suitcase. “What’s that?”

  “My toybag,” he said. “You’re welcomed to try out any of my floggers, although I don’t have nearly as many as Seth and Leah. Feel free to use anything in here tonight, too. Everything’s been wiped down and is clean.” He looked a little melancholy himself. “Not playing with anyone right now, anyway. So it’s not like I’ll be using them.”

  When the class started back up again, some of the people there began undressing. Mostly women, but a few guys, too. If not fully naked, at least from the waist up. Some of the people already had a flogger or two with them.

  Kim expectantly looked up at Cole. “I brought a bikini like Mason suggested.”

  Cole glanced at Mason.

  “It is easie
r to demonstrate without clothes on,” Mason said. “Not mandatory to get undressed, though.”

  “Just keep your jeans on and put the bikini top on,” Cole told her.

  She grinned and didn’t even bother to go to a changing alcove. She stripped her shirt and bra off like the other women had and donned the bikini top.

  Seth and Leah—who’d put on a long T-shirt that hung past her ass—walked through the students and helped people with their technique. Cole and Kim were lucky that they had Mason all to themselves, and Mason helped Cole figure out how to do it.

  Kim sat on her knees in a chair, backward, since there wouldn’t have been enough benches or crosses for everyone. Several others did the same, either on their knees or astride their chair.

  Cole tentatively started waving one of the leather floggers in Kim’s direction, but he was quickly finding that he wasn’t comfortable with the thought of actually hitting her with it.

  He turned to Mason and tried handing the flogger to him. “I’d feel better if you showed me.”

  Mason didn’t take the flogger. “Are you actually okay with that?”

  “I wouldn’t be asking you to do it if I wasn’t.” Mason still wasn’t taking the flogger yet, though.

  * * * *

  Mason walked around the chair and knelt down to talk to Kim. “Are you okay if I do this?”

  “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  She obviously wasn’t in subspace, because in the several swings Cole had taken in her general direction with the flogger, he’d succeeded in stepping farther away from her, not closer. Mason wasn’t even sure if any of the falls had actually touched her.

  “You’re okay with me demonstrating flogger techniques on you to Cole?”

  “Of course. I trust you.”

  He stared into her brown eyes. For some reason, he had a fleeting feeling that this was a big deal for both of them, a huge step, but he couldn’t understand why, exactly. Wasn’t like he hadn’t helped out with demos before.

  This felt…different.

  “This is called negotiation,” he reminded her. “Even for something as innocuous as this. I might be a sadist, but I need consent before I do anything.”