Little Tease (3 page)

It took my mind off all the stuff I’d been obsessing over since I met Josh. My role was clear, as was Tamara’s, and the charge between us was intoxicating. I taunted her affectionately, made her beg for pain, held back until she relaxed into it and then shocked the breath out of her with harder strikes.

We had fun, and by the end of the scene I felt surer of myself than I had in a while. When I finally untied her and guided her to the couches reserved for post-play recovery, she curled into a ball with her head in my lap, dazed and smiling.

I glanced around at the spectators’ area, stroking her hair, and… Oh, god. Josh was there. How long had he been…?

He was watching another scene happening nearby, but then his gaze snagged on me and he nodded a greeting, smiling faintly. Then, before I could decide how to react, he took a step back and disappeared into the social area of the club.

Well, at least he wasn’t jealous.

* * * *

Josh

I got to Rack and Ruin a couple of hours later than I’d planned—I’d had paperwork to finish, and had figured I might as well get it done while I was motivated to do so.

When I arrived, Heidi was the first to notice me. “Hey, there. Guess who’s in the dungeon right now?”

“
I’ve been working late. Don’t make me play guessing games,” I told her, then ordered us both a drink.

She sipped her martini when it arrived, not taking offence at my abrupt manner. I’d known Heidi long enough that she was used to me by now. “Lena. And before you ask, no—she’s not submitting.”

It didn’t surprise me. I’d known before that she was struggling against the urge to submit to me; that she had chosen to assert her Dominant side seemed natural. And I was more than a little curious to see what that intelligent mind of hers could devise when she played.

“
Hmm.” I sipped my bourbon, glancing over to the dungeon entrance. “That’d be something to see.”

With a wicked grin, Heidi offered me her arm. “Shall we, then?”

I took it, and we headed through to the spectators’ area of the dungeon. “You placed your bets yet?”

The words startled a laugh from her throat. “You know about that?” Then, answering her own question: “Of course you do.”

I waited her out, scanning the various playing couples and threesomes around the dungeon. Lena was easy to spot, and I couldn’t help but smile—the boots she was wearing probably made her taller than me, and she was circling the girl in her thrall—Tamara, if I remembered rightly—with confident grace.

She leaned down to whisper something in the girl’s ear, and the sub bit her lip, trembling a little, and nodded. Lena grinned, lifted a paddle into view and sent it down with efficient accuracy, watching Tamara carefully for negative reactions.

“
To answer your question,” Heidi said dryly, “no, I haven’t. And watching
this
makes me glad of that.”

I raised an eyebrow at her, and she elaborated, “I hadn’t seen Lena play before, and I wasn’t sure what your reaction to her playing would be. Now I know.”

“
Is it what you expected?” I watched as Lena took a couple of minutes to let her sub breathe, smoothing away the hurt with her palm and leaning in to say something that was bound to be provocative.

Heidi thought about it. “I expected you to be more possessive.”

I shrugged. “Known the girl all of five hours over six weeks, Heidi. She isn’t mine to control right now. And you can learn a lot about a person from watching them play.”

She cocked her head at me, smiling. “You’re serious about this one, aren’t you? What is it about her?”

Yeah, she knew me, all right. “Hard to say. For one thing, I like a challenge. But more and more, it’s because there’s something about
her
. Can’t pin it down.”

“
And for you, that’s positively poetry,” Heidi teased.

Before I could respond her cell phone rang, and she excused herself. I was left to watch Lena finish her scene; she ended with a barrage of hard, rapid bare-handed spanks that left Tamara gasping, and then some gentle words before she uncuffed her sub.

I didn’t know what I’d expected Lena’s approach to aftercare would be, but she was good, offering lots of physical contact as well as some water. Tamara put her head in Lena’s lap, and Lena looked up, as if sensing my gaze on her for the first time.

She seemed startled to see me there, as if she’d already decided I wasn’t going to show. It would be interesting to see how she reacted when I complimented her on her technique.

I left her to tend to her sub in peace, returning to the social space and joining Heidi and the rest of the group. It was a little while before they emerged, but when they did I moved over to give them room to sit.

Lena was still riding her Domme-high; she met my eyes without difficulty. “Hey. Didn’t think you were coming by this week.”

“
Been working late. I see you’ve been keeping yourself occupied.”

Her expression surprised me; pure, flirtatious mischief. It was as though she was letting me see a part of her I hadn’t even been sure existed. “I saw you seeing. What’s the verdict?”

“
Seventy-one point two points,” I told her, and she laughed softly, exchanging a glance with Tamara. “I’d need to see more than fifteen minutes to give a proper critique.”

Lena shrugged. “You show me yours; I’ll show you mine. Anyone for a drink?”

She headed off to the bar, and as I watched her go, Tamara touched my arm. “Different, huh?”

“
You could say that.” I focused on the petite blonde girl, sensing she was in a talkative mood. “There a reason for it?”

“
She got real defensive around you, since you got off on the wrong foot. And she knew people were watching you both. It made her throw her guard up. But that?” She gestured toward the bar. “That’s the
real
Lena. The one the rest of us see. I guess that’s a good sign for you guys. Well, unless it’s just the prickly side of her you want.”

Filing away the information, I shook my head slowly. “Good to know. Thanks.”

Tamara grinned. “Don’t thank me yet. Lena flirts with pretty much everyone without even thinking about it, but if she puts her mind to it… wow. You might find yourself outclassed.”

“
We’ll see.” Watching Lena lean across the bar to order our drinks, I asked the only question that mattered. “There a reason why she’s loosened up tonight?”

“
This is just a guess, but partly because she’s got her Domme head on. And partly because you’re not charging in and trying to subvert her to your will, I think. You didn’t go nuts when you saw her playing with someone else. A lot of guys would have.”

It was something to mull over, and I fully intended to do just that.

Lena returned, and I took the drink she slid over to me and sat back to watch the club go by. It was getting late, but there was still plenty to see.

Beside me, Lena chipped into a conversation going on within earshot, simultaneously beginning to tie a simple rope gauntlet around her own wrist. She then extended it up her arm in an elaborate pattern, pulling the rope through loops with her teeth in place of a second hand.

She fumbled the rope a couple of times, then glanced up and saw me watching her. “Feel like making yourself useful, Josh?”

“
You asking me to tie you up?” I let my eyes wander from her face down to her arm, then back up again, taking my time.

Lena met my gaze with a look that was the perfect mix of innocence and heat. Then, attempting the knot for the third time, she pulled the rope through successfully, tightened it and tucked the ends away, neatening the makeshift garment. “Nope. Could you nudge Izzy for me? I wanna ask her if she’s got any more rope so I can do the other arm.”

Yeah, that would have been too easy. With permission to touch her, even just her arm, I probably could have broken down at least some of her resolve.

“
Gonna say the magic word?” I ask.

“
Scarlet.”

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation for her strange reply. After a couple of seconds, she relented. “It’s my safeword.”

That was more than I’d thought I’d get, by a long way.

“
Hmm.” I leaned over to lay a hand on Izzy’s arm, then directed her attention to Lena. While I sipped my drink, Lena wound up with another coil of rope in her lap, and she unravelled it slowly, her focus on me even if her eyes weren’t.

My poker face was pretty good, and I used it now, tuning into other conversations and contributing every now and then. Inwardly, though, I was mulling over my next step, and I got the distinct impression that Lena was doing exactly the same thing.

Around an hour after she completed her second rope gauntlet, she sighed and rummaged in her purse, drawing out her cell phone. “I’m gonna call a cab.”

“
Live anywhere near Lincoln Park?” It was a long shot, but I had nothing to lose by asking.

She stared me out for a long moment, trying to work out my motivation. “Not too far from there. Why?”

I shrugged. “I can give you a ride, if you want.”

Lena considered it, a little hesitant. It didn’t bother me; I’d have been worried if she hadn’t been cautious. Finally, she said, “I’m nowhere near drunk enough to invite you in, if that’s your angle.”

Amused, I flung it straight back at her. “Yeah? That works out, since I’m nowhere near irresponsible enough to play a first scene with a sub when she’s drunk.”

There was a flash of something in her expression, there and then gone again in the blink of an eye. It hadn’t been strong enough to interpret; it could have been anything from admiration to irritation. “Not to mention I don’t play with guys I haven’t negotiated with.”

This was getting interesting. “Then I guess we’re just gonna have to talk some more.”

Lena couldn’t hold back a smile. “Guess we are… but I’m calling a cab.”

With a wink, she got up and headed off to find a quiet spot to make her call. I looked from her retreating back—and distractingly swaying hips—to Tamara, who was busy trying to look like she hadn’t been eavesdropping.

“
Think I’m outclassed?” I asked her, referring to our earlier discussion.

Tamara pondered for a second, then shook her head. “She gave you her safeword without you even asking. I’d say you’re doing something right.”

Scarlet.
I was betting Lena could take quite a bit before she’d choose to safeword. Maybe one day I’d even find out.

* * * *

Lena

It was about a month after I gave him my safeword that I got to see Josh in action. Smurfette had been pretty vocal about missing the exhibitionism side of kink lately, not to mention flirting with Josh.

“
I figure this way,” she’d told me a week ago, “if you get jealous enough you’ll stop playing this stupid game with him and just fuck him, already.”

“
I like the game,” I’d responded, but she’d just laughed and shrugged, telling me that until I claimed him, Josh wasn’t off-limits.

Claim him? I wanted him to claim
me
. But he wouldn’t, I knew he wouldn’t… not until I went to him the way he’d asked the first night we met.
When you get back, if you sit on the couch, we’ll get to know each other as friends. If you sit on the floor…
the offer’s there.

I was having fun resisting him, but part of me still wanted to rest my cheek against his knee and wait for his first instructions. A really big part of me.

Sighing, I took my drink from the bartender and headed back to my seat—on a couch, though the spot at Josh’s feet was still free. It always was.

Josh murmured something I couldn’t catch, and Smurfette stuck out her tongue at him. “Bet you wouldn’t.”

He shrugged. “You can bet all you want, but you’ll lose. Question is, Alex… can you take it?”

It annoyed me that he called her by her real name. And then it annoyed me that I was annoyed.

Smurfette glanced from him to me, then back again. “You serious?”

Josh didn’t speak, but his body language was expectant. She looked back at me again, reluctant to cross the line in case it damaged our friendship. “Lee?”

On the one hand, I wanted to get possessive, but on the other, I knew that it was unjustified of me to be jealous. If I’d sat at Josh’s feet right then, all negotiation with Smurfette would have stopped. It was my choice to stay where I was. “What are you asking
me
for?”

Smurfette hesitated for a second longer, then nodded at Josh. “I can take it… Sir.”

I watched his fingers, curled around the curved glass surface of his drink, and wondered what they’d feel like curled lightly around my throat. It helped distract me from the spike of illogical hurt that she got to call him–