“I’m sorry.” She gave him what she hoped was an apologetic smile. “I got us in trouble on the first day.”
His eyes pinned her. Those dark orbs were radiating authority in a way she’d never seen from him before. It reminded her that he hadn’t always been a chef. Once he’d led men into dangerous situations. “You got yourself in trouble, Deena. The next time it happens, I’ll be the one setting the punishment and it will be harsh. Your behavior reflects on me. Try to remember that.”
Wow, he was good with the icy cold commands. “I will remember that. So you have to spank me now. Should we talk about that?”
“We don’t have to talk about it. Was it in your contract that you would allow spanking? You should have signed a rudimentary contract with simple answers about initial play. We’ll go over a much more detailed contract tomorrow night.”
When they would sign the contract that would bind them together for the next six weeks. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. And she had signed that initial contract. Her first spanking. She’d never tried it before. She read about it in books and thought about what it would feel like. Her whole life was nothing but work and study. The days had become endless. She’d worked two jobs after her divorce to pay for the mountain of debt her ex had piled up. She was finally free and clear. She was about to graduate. It was time to move on. It was time to find out if this lifestyle that called to her was truly right.
Was she going to turn away because the man giving her this first experience wasn’t perfect? Or rather was far too perfect?
“Deena?” His voice had softened slightly. He was standing over her. “Are you going to submit or not?”
It probably wouldn’t even be that good. After all, superheroes didn’t typically spank bad girls. This was her element. He would likely discover it wasn’t his. She was safe enough. She tilted her chin up to look him in the eye. “Do your worst, Vail.”
His hand came up, catching her hair and drawing her head back. “That’s Master Eric or Sir to you. Don’t make this worse than it has to be. I’ll expect submission for the rest of the evening. Let’s not look like the bickering couple everyone loves to hate. There’s always one in any group. I would rather it not be us.” He leaned in and she could almost swear he was smelling her hair. It should have creeped her out, but she found it ridiculously sexy that Eric Vail was running his nose over her neck and up to her ear. “This can be easy between us or it can be hard. It’s all your choice, sweetheart.”
Her skin was already tingling. “I’m ready.”
His words were hot against her ear. “I doubt that very much.”
He released her and when she looked over, Tiffany was staring openly at them. Most of the group had been watching her and Eric. He was right. They were already the problem children of the group. She was screwing up and she wasn’t going to do it again. She wasn’t going to embarrass Eric again.
She could do this.
“I believe we’re ready for the impromptu show,” Master Alex said. He took a seat in one of the folding chairs they’d set up for the class.
Before she could take another breath, they had an audience.
She was not going to be self-conscious. Nope. No way. This was all part of the lifestyle. Quite frankly, the idea of being watched was tempting. She could get her toe wet with a very staid, over-the-clothes spanking. She would get it over with and see that she could handle Eric. It was nothing more than a classmate relationship.
Eric pulled up a chair and sat himself down. Even sitting he looked like a strong soldier, the type of man other men followed. The type of man women who were looking for an upstanding man would melt over. Not that she was doing it or anything.
She gave him a bright smile to try to make him feel more comfortable. He was likely feeling weird about spanking her. “Let’s get this over with. I do promise I’m going to be sweet as pie from now on.”
“Some of my favorite pies are spicy, sweetheart, so don’t think you always have to be sweet. Do you want to pull the skirt up or down?”
So he wanted to get a little saucy. Good thing she had on a pretty pair of panties. “Pull it up. Sorry. Hope you’re not embarrassed.”
His lips turned up in the sexiest grin and his eyes heated in a way that made her breath catch. “I’m not embarrassed, sweetheart. But I am eager to get through this. When we’re done, you will sit in my lap, as you will for the rest of the class. There is no chair for you. There is only my lap. Am I understood?”
Whoa. He had the Dom thing down. No doubt about that. He’d deepened his voice and his eyes were steady on her. She found herself nodding and unable to stop herself from moving toward him. He was waiting for an answer. She tried to remember the question. Understood? Did she understand? Nope. Not at all. She’d dreamed about this day for over a year and the last thing she’d expected would happen was being told by her work crush that she wasn’t allowed to sit anywhere except his lap. “I understand.”
She could handle all of this. She was strong and brave and she could handle a spanking and sitting on a guy’s lap. That was the whole point of this exercise. She was in control. It would all be fine.
When he patted his lap, she made the decision that she wasn’t going to drag it out. She was going to prove to all of them that she could hack this lifestyle. She moved with what she hoped was some grace and placed herself over his lap. She squirmed as she tried to find a comfortable place. She nearly gasped when she felt him pull at what little material made up her skirt. He was looking at her backside, at her silky black undies. At least they were the nice ones.
“Oh, this won’t do,” he said as she felt his fingers slide under the band of her bikini panties. “Here’s another rule. None of these. No panties. Tonight I’ll give them back to you at the end of the session, but if I catch you with them again, I’ll cut them off you. Is that understood?”
Cool air hit her skin as he dragged them down and over her cheeks. He was now looking at her ass, her too-big ass. Damn it. The man really liked to be understood. “Yes, Sir.”
Eric dragged them down to the knees. She could feel them there, almost binding her. One of his hands found the small of her back and held her there.
“Have you spanked a woman before?” Master Alex asked in an academic voice.
There was nothing intellectual and academic about this. This was visceral and real and more intimate than she’d expected.
She was laid out over his knee and waiting. She could barely breathe as she felt the warmth of his big palm cover her cheeks. He stroked her as he answered Master Alex. “Yes. I had a girlfriend who was into the lifestyle. I acquainted myself with BDSM. She was more of a masochist than I liked. I prefer the D/s end of the spectrum. I’ve been to several clubs but never had any formal training.”
He’d been to BDSM clubs? Eric Vail had spanked women before her. She always wondered how he wasn’t married with two point five kids to a woman who made apple pie and sewed all her children’s clothing herself. Now she knew. He was busy being a big old perv.
“Then proceed,” Master Alex said.
They were all watching. Anxiety knotted her gut and then she couldn’t get a breath in because Eric’s hand slammed down on her butt. The sound hit her first, a crack that split the air around her, and then fire licked her flesh. He brought his hand down again, four more times in rapid succession. Holy hell that hurt.
He kept his hand on her cheeks, holding the heat there. “How are you doing, Deena? Are you green, yellow, or red?”
In the homework she’d had to do before today’s session, she’d learned about the stoplight approach to Dom/sub communication. Red meant she couldn’t handle any more, needed the play or discipline to stop immediately. Yellow meant she needed to slow down and green was all is A-okay.
“Deena, I require an answer.”
She didn’t want him to know she was close to crying. She took a steadying breath. “I’m a yellowy green.”
His hand stilled on her, cupping her right cheek even as he steadied her over his lap. “Can I continue? Or do you need a break?”
She could likely get out of this. It was too intimate. She hadn’t expected the pain to be so…painful, or the fact that it was Eric giving it to her to be so meaningful. She could feel tears squeezing from her eyelids. How long had it been since she’d allowed herself to cry? She had to be strong. Since the moment Eddie had walked out, she’d told herself she wouldn’t shed a tear over what had happened, and she hadn’t.
“Please continue. I’m fine.” She’d held back for so long she wasn’t sure she could let go now.
His hand came down again, and she held on to his leg. The pain flared, flashing through her and making her shake.
“That’s right, sweetheart.” His voice was calm and flowed over her, reminding her that he was here with her. This wasn’t something she was alone in. This was the intimacy of D/s. “Hold on to me. You’re doing beautifully. Do you have any idea how gorgeous your ass is? It’s beautiful and round and now it’s a lovely shade of pink.”