The Masters of Falcon's Fantasies [BDSM Menage Fantasies 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (17 page)

When she came back after changing and getting her hair and makeup touched up, Finn was sitting where she’d left him, staring glumly at a bowl filled with chips.

“What’s that?” Daphne asked, tossing one into her mouth.

“God only knows. Didn’t you just brush your teeth?”

“Oops, I forgot. Yes,
D
addy,” Daphne gave him her best little-girl voice and a pretend guilty grimace before grabbing three more. “Ooh—they’re good, once they quit fighting with the toothpaste. Garlicky!”

He seemed to be back into his disapproving parent mode, but Daphne was feeling too good to let it get to her. She planted herself directly in front of him, hands on her hips.

“Cheer up. Things are going well today
,
and I won’t have you ruining it by getting all Eeyore on me.”

Finn squinted at her face and then where her hands were resting. He
looked like he was about to ask
a question, but then he
closed his mouth
and smiled instead.

“Nope. No Eeyore. Let’s get back to work.”

The rest of the day was spectacular. Daphne could tell that Finn was a little nervous about their new relation to each other, but she was determined to show him that it could work. She deferred to him on almost every decision, and to her surprise, he listened more carefully to her ideas than he normally did. It was as if
knowing that
she would allow him the final say made him more open to her input. When he did shoot down an idea from her, he actually took the time to explain why, and she forced herself to listen without argument. In the end she had to admit that he had been right. She’d been so desperate to prove her own value she’d ignored his. It was a revelation.

* * * *

Decker was sitting on the back porch drinking lemonade and holding a book when the barn door burst open
,
and a laughing, chattering crowd emerged. Daphne was at the front of the group, the center of attention as always. He could feel the energy radiating off her as she crossed the backyard, bounced up the steps
,
and planted herself near his feet, a wide smile on her face.

“Productive day?” He glanced between her and Finn, a couple of steps behind.

“It was fantabulous!” Daphne turned her shining face to her manager, obviously expecting some praise for her efforts.

“Yes, everything went great.” Finn nodded at Decker as he joined them on the porch, but there was an odd expression on his face. He only spared a glance for Daphne as he went past.

“Would you like a drink?” Daphne offered, starting to get up. Finn waved a hand at her.

“No, thanks. Stay there. I’m going to go wash up for dinner.”

Daphne slumped back onto the deck
,
and her hand moved up to start winding pieces of her hair into tight spirals. She suddenly looked like a young, uncertain girl. Decker sighed. Why couldn’t these two ever be on the same page? “So tell me about this scene you want to do.”

She seemed to make an effort to pull herself back into the happy mood she’d been in a moment before. Leaning forward, she put a hand on his knee, rested her chin on top of it, and grinned at him. “You’re the Dominant, aren’t you? Don’t you decide what we’re going to do?”

“Oh, no. Of course I might have my preferences, but it would be stupid of me not to design a scene around your interests.”

She looked puzzled. “But I thought—”

He chuckled. “You thought Dominants dictated everything? No, babe. Well, yes and no. They should know how to do lots of different things, but if they paid no attention to what the submissive enjoyed, they wouldn’t have anybody to play with after a very short time. Being dominant doesn’t give anyone the right to be selfish or an asshole. It means you have to be responsible and make decisions that are good for everybody involved. Sometimes they are tough choices and people may not understand your reasons, but the good ones are always looking out for their people.”

She considered that. “But what if I don’t know what I’m interested in?”

He gave her a sly smile as he pulled a paper out of his pocket. “You’ll tell me what you’re not willing to try, then Finn and I get to have some fun.”

Daphne took the sheet from him and began to look over the list he’d compiled of possible ways to play. As she read, her mouth opened in an expression of shock. “I have no idea what most of this shit is!”

“Pick something and I’ll explain it.”

She looked up with huge eyes and then frowned down at the paper. “Okay, let’s see. ‘Puppy play,’ ‘pony play,’ ‘wax play,’ ‘fisting,’ ‘fire play,’ ‘cupping,’ ‘electric play,’ ‘gas masks’—really?”

Decker had to laugh at the expression on her face. “How about this? After dinner Finn, you
,
and I will sit down and go over the list and decide what things you might want to include. Then this weekend, if Finn is on board, we can go to
The Keep
and do a scene. Would you like that?”

The crease between Daphne’s eyebrows disappeared. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Dinner was over and the dishes cleared away when Decker, Finn
,
and Daphne sat down at the dining room table, each with a copy of Decker’s list and a pen.

“What I want you to do is read through the list, marking 1 for ‘Not in a million years,’ 3 for ‘Maybe at some time in the future but not this weekend,’ or 5 for ‘Hell
,
yes! What are we waiting for?’” Decker told them, smiling at their bemused expressions. “Or any number along that continuum. Finn, yours will be for doing the activity and
,
Daphne, yours for receiving it. If you don’t understand what something is, ask me and I’ll explain it, if I can. There are a few things I am not willing to do, but I seriously doubt they will come up in a discussion of your first scene.”

Finn gave him a sardonic look. “Care to bet on that? It is Daphne we’re talking about here.”

Daphne stuck out her tongue at him as Finn went on. “I want to know what ‘zippers’ are. I assume it’s not referring to clothing.”

“No, it isn’t the normal meaning,” Decker agreed. “A ‘zipper’ is usually a string connected to a line of clothespins. They are attached to the skin at various places, then the string is yanked to remove them all at once. It’s a fairly intense feeling, but not one I would necessarily recommend for a first-time experience.”

“Mm-hmm.” Finn hastily made a note.

Daphne looked up. “What are ‘vampire gloves’? They sound cool.”

“You might like that. They’re gloves, sometimes with fur, that have little spikes embedded into them. Very popular with people who like to be scratched.”

“Wait, wait.” Finn was shaking his head. “Spikes? That sounds a lot more serious than simple scratching.”

Decker shrugged. “They’re just little spikes
,
and like anything, it depends on how it’s used. Some people like being scratched until they bleed while others enjoy the sensation of a light scratching. Either way, it’s fun to have something that looks like it could draw blood, even if you don’t ever use it that way. It’s like knives. ‘Knife play’ usually only refers to drawing a dangerous-looking knife across the skin, maybe threatening the bottom with it, cutting off their clothes
,
or scraping off wax, but doesn’t usually involve breaking skin. That would be called ‘cutting’ or ‘blood play,’ depending on the intent. Cutting is often done for scarification purposes, while blood play is pretty much just that.”

They both stared at him for a moment, then Daphne let out a breath. “Wow. I had no idea of the things some people were into. What is ‘ritual play’?”

“Rituals are usually done more in the context of
D
omination/submission, rather than sadomasochistic play,” Decker told her. “Of course, many people combine them, but either can be done without the other. There were probably people at the club when you went before that weren’t actually playing. They may have been sitting at their Master’s feet or getting them snacks, or even just standing quietly a pace behind and to the left of their Dominant. It’s a way to express the hierarchy of their relationship in public, in a place where they won’t be judged for it.”

“Okay. That’s logical. What about ‘electrical play’?” Finn asked.

“That is usually done with what’s called a ‘violet wand.’ Some people love the feel of a mild electrical shock. I can borrow my cousin Dave’s unit if you’re interested in trying it.”

Daphne looked up from the list. “Is that—do they—would that include
,
like
,
getting tattoos?”

Finn sighed heavily. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Daph. Tattoos aren’t something you do casually like that.”

“But they’re so cool!”

Decker patted her hand. “People don’t usually do tattooing as part of a scene. It does happen occasionally, but that’s often part of something bigger. There are related things that you might enjoy, like play piercing.”

They spent the next two hours discussing the possibilities. Finally Decker stood up, collecting his notes. “Finn, you and I will need to sit down and talk about what we’re going to do on Saturday, if you’re still interested. Do you trust us, Daphne?”

Daphne’s face was radiant as she nodded. There was a playful, sexy innocence about her enthusiasm that made him want to carry her upstairs to his room, throw her on the bed
,
and rip her clothes off. But instead he forced himself to give them both a businesslike nod and go up alone. He had a book to read, and they had a relationship to work out—one that didn’t really include him.

Decker
had just settled himself down with his novel when there was a soft knock at the door. He got up and went to open it, trying to ignore the foreboding stealing through his stomach.

It was Daphne, as he’d known it would be. He wasn’t normally susceptible to women who did the “helpless little girl” look at him, but on Daphne it was almost irresistible. The problem was that he didn’t think she did it consciously to manipulate people, at least not in the way many other women did. Of course Daphne knew it was cute, which was why she didn’t break herself of the habit. It was an expression that came naturally to her.

She was doing it now, testing his resolve not to get involved with her. Sidling apologetically past him, she came into the room and perched on the edge of his bed, plucking the quilt lightly then smoothing it down again. Her eyes flickered to his and dropped back down, as if she wanted to seduce him but didn’t quite know how. That was just stupid. If there was one thing Daphne Monroe knew how to do, it was to be seductive.

“Can I talk to you?”

He sat at the desk, not pointing out that it was going to be a very uncomfortable visit if she didn’t. “Of course.”

She was quiet for a minute, and when she did speak, her voice was surprisingly unsteady. “I know this is silly, but I was wondering—”

“Yes?”

She finally looked up at him, and he swore there were tears glittering in her eyes. He opened his mouth and then shut it again. There was no point in asking if something was the matter. She had come here to tell him about it
,
and she would, in her own way, although it wasn’t coming easy. He would just have to be patient.

“What’s wrong with me?” A tear spilled over and made its way down her cheek
,
and Decker’s legs jerked, as if they were going to take him over to her whether he wanted to go or not. He gripped the arms of his chair to keep from moving, reminding himself that he needed to stay detached and calm. It wasn’t his place to comfort her.

“What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with you as far as I can see.” He tried to keep his voice light, but his hands were beginning to twitch and he had to concentrate on keeping them still.

She gave him an anguished look before throwing herself down on the bed. She turned over so that he had a nice view of her cute little ass. That wasn’t helpful, but he couldn’t stop himself from staring. Hiding her face in her arms, she mumbled something that he couldn’t catch.

He had to move now. There was no way he was going to get her to talk loud enough to hear from where he was, and it would be absolutely ridiculous to sit over here making her repeat everything she said.

Slowly and carefully he moved to the bed and perched as close to the edge as he could without falling off. Leaning over her head but not touching her, he said softly, “Tell me what happened, babe.”

Daphne hiccupped and raised herself up, scooting toward him and wiping at her eyes. She looked miserable and adorable at the same time. Decker reached out a hand and brushed the hair out of her face
,
and she leaned into his touch, sending a wave of heat flashing through him.

“I
–
I don’t know why Finn hates me so much,” she whispered. She seemed to be trying to control her emotions
,
but they overcame her
,
and she bent over, sobbing into her hands. Decker handed her a wad of tissues from the side table and reminded himself again to be detached. He couldn’t stand watching her hunch into herself as she gave way to her despair. He moved closer and pulled her in, his arms going around her the way he’d fantasized about a hundred times since their first meeting. He let her cry for a few minutes then wiped the tears away himself and tilted her head up so she had to meet his eyes.