Sub for a Week (14 page)

He nodded, and she stepped away. She came back moments later with a book bag, and digging through it, she pulled out three different floggers, a bottle of lube, condoms, gloves and a butt plug.

"I thought this demo was about flogging," I said, not taking my eyes off Maddie's tools.

"It is,"
came
Daniel's response.

"Then why bring the lube, gloves, condoms and butt plug?"

"Because, Maddie isn't the only exhibitionist.
They'll probably play right there after the
demo's
over, so she wants to be ready. Her sub will fall into subspace pretty fast. After that, it's up to her to keep him there and to please him until they're sated for the evening."

"Now see, that's something I don't get. Any guy I've been with has always wanted to be pleased, more than pleasing his partner. So what's in it for Maddie? I get that her sub enjoys pain, but what about her?"

"You mean how does inflicting pain please her?" I nodded, and Daniel continued. "It's hard to explain unless you've done it. The other night right before you
came,
your moans were pushing me to the edge. Same thing happens when I'm flogging a sub. I don't need the physical contact to be aroused, and some Doms don't even need it to come."

"So Maddie can ... she could come just by flogging him?"

"She could, but she won't. She'll wait until they're home. She may even have a night where it's all about him, and she won't climax at all."

"That sucks."

"Not as much as you'd think. We love pleasing our partners. Watching you or any sub squirm is very arousing for me. And if I can make you come, then it's an evening well spent."

I shook my head. "I still don't get it. For me, I don't think I could finish off a night with you without coming."

"Not even if I told you not to?"

"That's different. I mean if I had a choice..."

"Remember, the safety of our subs always comes first. If after this demo, he feels okay to please her, he'll let her know. However, if he's crashing or if he's too sore, she'll guide him into a room and let him take the night off. The one thing you should know is that they switch all the time. She might please him to the end of this life tonight, but then tomorrow, it'll be her turn to reach subspace."

I watched Maddie as she rubbed her sub's back. "What's she doing?"

"Warming the skin most likely."

"Is she going to use all three floggers?"

"Yup."

"How come?"

"Even when a sub's experienced with pain, you always start with a soft flogger. You need to work the sub up to the stronger stuff. Anal works the same way. You can't just go right to fucking.
Most of the time, I mean.
First you use your fingers, maybe a butt plug, then you can go further. It warms up the body and for
anal,
it gets the sub ready to take more without inflicting pain that could cause permanent damage."

I winced when Maddie brought a flogger down onto her sub's back. He yelped, then relaxed. The room was slowly filling with people, and after glancing over my shoulder at the clock, I realized the demo was about to start.

"One thing you should know," Daniel whispered to me. "Anytime someone is using a play station and you're watching, you can look and whisper to me if you have questions. One thing we aren't allowed to do is judge. This is their play, and being allowed to watch is a privilege. Some couples don't realize this and take to making fun of the couple playing in front of them." He grabbed my chin and turned my head so I was looking at him. "Do you understand?"

I swallowed.
Client to Dom in .1 seconds.
"Yes, Master."

He let go of my chin and crossed his arms over his chest, nodding toward Maddie. I said nothing else, and did as he did. As the group of newcomers congregated around Maddie and her partner, I started to get the sense that the room was getting smaller. I reached for Daniel's hand and squeezed it.

He stood me in front of him and hugged his arms around me so they were resting on my stomach. He set his chin on my collarbone, and as he breathed calm reassurances into my ear, I began to relax.

I set my hands on top of his and kept my eyes on Maddie, doing my best to drown out the commotion around me. The music stopped, and she turned to face the crowd.

"Good evening," Maddie called over a series of whispers. "And welcome to Journeys. For those who have never been to the dungeon, we'll be having a demo tonight on flogging and what it means to keep your sub safe. I ask that you hold all questions until the end so as to not disrupt the scene you're about to see. At that time, I will pass the event over to our owner as I will be, shall we say, otherwise occupied."

The crowd around us laughed at that, and the lights above us began to dim. From where we were standing, I had a clear view of Maddie, the horse and her sub. Couples stood all around the room, leaning on walls for support. Many of them had dressed the same way Daniel and Maddie had. There were even some subs
who
were partially naked and sitting at their Master's feet.

I glanced back at Daniel, and as if he'd read my mind, he shook his head. Public submission wasn't something we agreed upon, but looking at the other subs, then myself, I felt out of place. I shivered.
Licked my lips.
Drew in a breath of air.
No one knows you here.
I'd be safe if I did what the other subs were doing. And when I checked them again, everyone was looking at Maddie.

Gathering my nerves, and pushing my normal life to the side, I slid down to the floor with my back against the bar. Daniel glanced down at me, but said nothing. Knowing he wouldn't come down to the floor to join me, I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head on top of them.

As Maddie explained the first flogger and its use, I thought back to the one I had at my apartment. I eyed the cuffs on the floor, untouched. Wrapping a hand around my wrist, I suddenly felt naked without the ones Daniel had lent me. I'd only worn them for a few nights, but their missing weight became even more obvious when I saw the pair just lying on the floor.

The flogger came down, and Maddie's sub whimpered. My clit throbbed from the delicious noise, and I shifted on the floor. Maddie made sure to keep a certain distance away from him, always bringing her arm down in the same arc as before.
Always at the same speed, and probably with just the right amount of force.

She hit her sub's left shoulder, then the right.
Left.
Right.
Her partner's head lowered, and he thrust his hips back in her direction.

Daniel squeezed my shoulder. "Looks like Chris is about to hit subspace."

Chris?
So that's his name.
I couldn't tell if it was the lighting or not, but his skin glistened from what must've been sweat. Maddie paused, rubbed his back and said something in his ear. I thought I heard Chris say something close to mistress, and Maddie set her flogger on the floor.

But she wasn't done yet. She grabbed another flogger that was more than likely stronger than the first. And after rubbing her sub again as to not startle him, she brought the tails down on his back. Chris cried out, whimpering between strikes.

The cries were getting so intense, that I wasn't aroused by them anymore. I was concerned. I glanced up at Daniel, but his eyes were elsewhere. When Maddie stroked him again, I went to stand up.

Daniel held me still and knelt beside me. "It's okay. It's not how it sounds."

By now I was shaking. "How ... he's in pain, Master."

He lowered to sit beside me and pulled me into his lap. "I know Maddie, and she knows her subs. Chris just gets very vocal, that's all. Besides, he can still use a safe word if he has to. You might not be able to see it, but he's just entering subspace. He's still alert and is aware of what's around him, but he's leaning into the pain. See that?" He pointed when Chris arched his back, almost as if he was trying to get closer to the flogger before it came down on him again. "If it hurt, he'd pull away, but he's doing just the opposite."

I looked up just as Maddie was getting the strongest flogger out of the bunch. My body tensed as I studied the tails. On the ends were a series of knots, and it didn't take long for me to realize exactly what kind of flogger it was.

"That's a—"

"Cat o' nine tails, yes." Daniel was nodding before I could finish. "It takes a lot of work to get a sub up to that point, and it can cause a lot of damage if the Domme doesn't know what she's doing."

"But Maddie does..."

"Yes. Will you be okay here for just one second?" Daniel asked, preparing to stand when I moved from his lap. "I want to check something."

I bobbed my head and watched as he made his way over to Maddie. She kept her strokes even while he spoke with her, and when she offered him a nod, he smiled before returning to the bar.

Once he was back on the floor beside me, I spoke. "What was that about?"

"I want you to see that he isn't in any pain and that she's a good mistress."

"What do you mean?"

"Just watch."

He patted his lap, and I accepted the invitation. Maddie paused and leaned over to say something to Chris. When he nodded, she set the cat o' nine tails down.

"While my sub takes a short break, I want to talk about the difference between pleasure and pain," Maddie began, her eyes focused on her sub. "Some of you new subs might hear his cries and think he's doing this against his will. You might be asking yourself why he hasn't called out yellow or even red. That's because it isn't the pain he's responding to." She pulled back on Chris's hair. "Do you want me to stop?"

"N-no, Mistress," Chris slurred, bowing his head even further.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No, Mistress."

"Do you want the softer flogger?"

"No, Mistress."

"Tell them what you want."

"More, Mistress."

"Good boy."

I furrowed my brow at their brief exchange of dialogue, and even though I'd heard it, I still couldn't believe it. There was no way—

Smack.
Down came the cat o' nine tails. I flinched, and Daniel held me close. Looking at the other subs in the room, I wasn't the only one who had reacted. The only difference was that they were squirming for their Dom's attention. I was the only sub—the only person—in the room who was having a negative reaction.
That's because you haven't experienced it yet.

I was not a fan of pain. Hell, even the slightest headache warranted a full dose of aspirin. So how in the world was I going to enjoy the pain if and when Daniel finally flogged me?

"That's my cue," Daniel said, lifting me up out of his lap so he could answer questions while Maddie tended to her sub.

Looking at Chris, I couldn't tell if he was just dizzy, or drunk. I'd expected him to walk with a limp, or to even whimper, but he did none of these things. Holding his arms behind his back, he lifted his head, but just long enough so Maddie could clip a leash on his collar. It didn't take either of them long to step into one of the nearby playrooms.

So much for liking public play.
Then again, Daniel did say that her finishing Chris off in pubic would all depend on how they both felt after the demo, and seeing how many hands went up any time Daniel asked about questions, it was no wonder.

Some of the guests asked about the force used with a flogger. Others had questions on training. To that, Daniel mentioned the use of a pillow and instructed them to practice until they could hit the same mark over and over from any distance.

One by one, the couples dispersed, either into one of the playrooms or back to their respective vehicles so they could play in the comfort of their own homes. The few couples that remained kept to the walls, completely lost in their own world.

I jumped when Daniel yanked on my hair.

"Get up," he ordered, locking his jaw.

Looking around the room, I froze. There were too many people. This was too public.
Too soon.
But at the same time, something in the back of my mind clicked, and instead of protesting, I did exactly as Daniel asked.