An Expert in Domination Read online

  Why had Remy put her hand up? She glared over at him. He grinned back at her. She decided to ignore him.

  She folded the top neatly and placed it in a chair. There were plenty of people wearing less than she was. She took a deep breath and unstrapped her bra as well. I will not be ashamed. But she crossed her arms over her chest nonetheless. Naked when other people are naked is different from standing in the middle of the room and being the center of attention. She looked around. There were women wearing nothing, and at least one guy naked too. She decided to focus on them and ignore the rest of the audience. Colby kept talking. He had a nice, smooth voice, and even though she wasn’t really focused on what he was saying, it was relaxing to listen to him.

  He put the single tail on a small table that shared the stage with them and picked up a flogger from his toy bag. Sophia leaned to the side to get a better view. There were floggers, she could tell, of various colors, and canes and a black riding crop. Maybe other stuff too, but she could see all that clearly.

  “Most bottoms,” said Colby, “can take more pain if you give them a warm-up. And yeah, I know that most of you know this already. The point is Sophia isn’t an expert up here, and she needs some extra help. So I’m going to warm her back up while I talk about some heavier techniques.” He gave her a swat on her bottom and pointed to a wooden post near the center of the stage. “Go hug that, Sophia, like it’s your best friend. Something to hold on to will help.”

  The swat stung but didn’t really hurt. Maybe I should make Remy hold me, thought Sophia. But she was pissed at him, so no. She went over and wrapped her arms around the pole, feeling silly.

  Colby started talking about the technique of swinging a flogger, and Sophia zoned out. She had no intention of ever swinging anything at anyone. She closed her eyes and relaxed against the pole. Behind her, she could hear the swish of the flogger going through the air. Then she could feel the wind it created. It was getting closer. She snapped out of her reverie and tensed.

  “No,” said Colby. “Rule number one: don’t tense up.”

  She looked back. “Are you going to hit me with it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then of course I’m tense!”

  She heard a gasp from someone in the audience. Maybe one didn’t talk back to Colby Brock that way, but she’d never held her tongue for anybody. Still, she didn’t want to anger someone with a whip in his hand. Or a flogger. Whatever.

  His lips slowly curled into a smiled. “Perfect,” he said. He glanced back to the audience. “She’s right, isn’t she? That’s a perfectly natural reaction. The problem is it’s a natural reaction that doesn’t help, because tense muscles hurt more when they get hit. Soft muscles squish and absorb. As does padding, which is why I like playing with a girl with a little meat on her.”

  Oh, so that’s why he didn’t choose Ginger. Thanks a lot.

  “So, Sophia, since tensing is indeed natural, I’m going to ask you to do something else natural. Breathe.”

  “I think I’m breathing,” she said. Now that was smart-alecky, pure and simple. She had an idea what he meant. She’d taken enough meditation classes and done enough yoga. He meant breathe intentionally. Think about it.

  “Breathe in,” he said. She did. “Breathe out. In. Out. Good. Keep that rhythm. Concentrate on that; focus on it. And yes, I’m going to hit you. But keep doing it anyway.”

  She breathed. A couple dozen leather tails flew against her back, more a caress than a blow. Was it the breathing that caused that? She looked behind her and saw that he was swinging the flogger with only a fraction of his strength. He had said something about warming her up. She relaxed. She could take this. She didn’t need any special breathing techniques. It was even pleasurable, although she wouldn’t admit it to Remy. She was still pissed at him.

  “Sophia,” Colby said sharply, “keep paying attention to your breath. Your mind has wandered.”

  He was right. She breathed. He kept up a rhythm thudding against her back and started talking to the crowd again. “This is one way to use breath to help process pain, and it works pretty well, but in part it works because it moves the bottom’s focus away from the pain itself. Now, if the top gets off on just swinging a flogger, that’s one thing. I sometimes tell people who think I’m all about pain that I’m a sensuous player. The feel of the whip handle, the cool metal of clamps. Sensuous, right?”

  People laughed.

  “Well, it is sensuous on my end. But if it was really all about that, I wouldn’t need to play with another person. I could just happily caress my floggers at home. So there’s something else going on, which is that I enjoy the effect I’m having on my bottom. So if the way my bottom is processing what I’m doing to her is to ignore it or to feel it less, that defeats the purpose. It’s a good thing for a bottom to have in his or her toolkit, when things get too difficult to process any other way, but it’s not really the point of the exercise.”

  What a nice way to say you’re a sadist.

  “So, what I want you to do now, Sophia, is to continue to breathe, but rather than focusing on your breath, focus on the sensations you’re experiencing. Focus on the way the flogger tails feel on your back. And while I want you to breathe in and out the whole time, I want you to gather the image of each touch of the flogger building on the last, each time you inhale, and when you finally feel you’ve absorbed as much as you can, imagine yourself exhaling it all out. Can you do that for me?”

  Sophia nodded. Colby had the kind of voice that made her want to please him, but what he was saying made some sense to her too. He might be a sadist, but he’d obviously thought a lot about what the people he played with were experiencing. Had he ever been on the other end of the whip?

  “Good girl. Here we go.”

  He built up intensity, and while he kept talking, it wasn’t to her. He was speaking to the tops now, describing the different ways to swing the flogger efficiently. She didn’t really pay much attention to what he said, although it seemed as much about saving wear and tear on the top’s muscles as it was about maximum force.

  The flogger thudded hard against her back, and she decided it was time. She exhaled, but it wasn’t quiet. She told herself she hadn’t screamed. It wasn’t that the last blow had been so hard, although it had been the hardest, but that everything had built up, just like Colby had said.

  “This is energy work,” Colby said to her. “Energy building up, energy releasing. That was lovely. You held all that within you and let it go. How’d it feel, letting it go?”

  It felt good, she realized. It was more than just that it felt good to have the building-up stop, although that was part of it. It was like a weight off her shoulders. She didn’t know how to describe it, though. “Good. I think.”

  Colby smiled. “Does that make you a masochist?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “You’re right. There are people who just enjoy the pain, but they are the minority. Well, in most crowds.” He grinned. “Maybe not this one. But most people enjoy the release. They can learn to enjoy the energy. And that’s what this is about. We did it with breathing, but there are other ways, although I think it’s important to maintain even breathing through a scene regardless. Some bottoms wiggle the whole time, and that’s how they are letting off the energy.”

  “Like dancing,” said Sophia, although she wasn’t sure she was supposed to talk. She wiggled against the post. She didn’t know if he intended to demonstrate, but she was interested if he did.

  “Yes, like dancing. Any bottoms here like to do that?”

  A few people in the audience raised their hands.

  “It can be sexy to watch. I get that.” He stepped back. “Actually, rather enjoying watching Sophia right now myself.”

  Sophia blushed, suddenly aware of all the attention, but especially Colby’s. She wondered whether Remy was getting jealous. She kind of hoped he was. It would serve him right.

  “But I want to suggest
another approach. Try staying still, and then releasing that energy all at once when you need to. Don’t spend that energy as you get it, but save it up and spend it all at once. When you do, it will be more intense. And if you need to move, visualize that you’re moving not to release the sensations but to capture them, as if some of the pain is just to the left of you and one good move of the hip will get it and keep it contained. Try it, and I think you’ll get more out of your scenes.” He turned back to Sophia. “Do you think you can stay still, Sophia?”

  “I can try.”

  “Okay, let’s do this. And this time, rather than letting it go when you’re ready, if you can, hold on to it until I say to let it go.”

  He flogged her in silence. She turned away and couldn’t see his face, but it felt different. The fact that he wasn’t lecturing made her feel like he was focusing his energy on her. Or maybe he’s just whacking me harder. But it all felt more spiritual than she’d expected.

  And it felt something else too. There was a pleasant tension in her core. And moisture between her thighs. I am so turned on. Pain doesn’t turn me on. I’m not a masochist. What’s going on?

  She visualized not only holding the pain but pushing it around her body. Into her breasts. Into her belly. All the way to her pussy.

  “Now, Sophia.” He accentuated the word with a hard thud against her back that almost knocked the wind out of her. She grabbed the post hard and shook it. She moaned. The release that flowed through her body was almost like an orgasm, although it left a tension behind that still needed to be satisfied. Oh, I’d love to be made to come right now. But still, it felt good.

  Colby leaned over to her and touched her shoulder, just above where it stung most. This time, he muted the microphone. “You have fantastic energy. Did you know that?”

  She shook her head, not sure what to say. What did he know about energy? Yet he had taught her something. She imagined it flowing back and forth between them.

  He caressed her, running his hand all over her back. Her back was so warm, and his touch was cool. She closed her eyes and relaxed into it, feeling softer inside. And when his hand moved, it felt so soothing. It did nothing to ease the ache in her hard nipples, and she found herself wishing he would put his arm around her and play with her breasts.

  She had imagined herself as a cat before, and a wolf. Reached deep inside her to peel away the effects of civilization and find the animal inside. But now she felt like water, flowing, even as she was hyperaware of the details of her own human body.

  And he had gotten her there. Even though he left her erogenous zones alone, his touch felt too intimate for the public space. She craved more. She was floating. Maybe I’m not water. Maybe I’m air. Or water vapor.

  “Just a moment,” he said.

  He backed away, and she wondered if he was going to strike her again. Instead, he started talking with that smooth voice of his. He could have done commercials or recorded books. He was saying something about technique that sounded cold to her and lifeless and empty of passion. But his touch had been anything but cold.

  He returned to whisper in her ear. “Is that okay?”

  She hadn’t heard a word he’d said. Had no idea of what she’d be agreeing to. She hesitated.

  “You’ve been zoning out, haven’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  He ran the tip of a riding crop along her shoulder. “I’d like to see how you go with this. May I?”

  No, said her fear. But what came from her mouth was, “Yes.” She wanted to know how it would feel. She was sure she would hate it. She loved the feeling he’d given her, but she hated that he’d done it by flogging her. If he hurt her enough, she’d be able to push him away without a worry. Be able to mark the whole thing down as a bad experience and never go back again.

  It would be so easy to hate him. What kind of man wanted to whip women anyway? And yet Colby sounded like such a perfectly reasonable, even compassionate human being.

  “May I take your skirt off?” The microphone was back on, she noted.

  She shrugged. “Sure.”

  Her skirt was held on by elastic at the top. He caressed her sides and then slipped his hands under the band. He pushed down. His touch on her hips was electric. She wanted those hands on her ass. Or on her pussy. What am I thinking? He is so not my type.

  Chapter Two

  Colby Brock knew what he liked in women. He wanted curves. He wanted lust. He wanted an ability to handle and eroticize pain. And he wanted to keep them at a reasonable distance.

  Dylan had tried to steer him to a slender redhead, and he wanted someone who had a bit more padding. When the man he presumed was Sophia’s boyfriend put her hand up, he figured she’d be perfect. She was already in the kind of relationship where she could be volunteered for things like this, for one thing, so he didn’t have to worry about emotional attraction. He shouldn’t, anyway, when he was just doing a demo, but it had happened before. And Sophia was the perfect shape—both for his own personal enjoyment and for taking what he had to give. She had a nice big ass that would cushion the blows, and her back was broad.

  He’d been careful not to show his surprise on finding out she was a complete novice. He’d have a talking-to with the boyfriend who thought it was smart to stick her hand up. But he was enjoying working with her. She was alive, vibrant, and fresh. It had been a long time since he’d played with a newbie. Due to his reputation in the BDSM scene, there generally wasn’t a lack of experienced subs who wanted to play with him. He preferred them because they were less likely to try to get involved with him; they wanted a hot scene and nothing more.

  In any case, he’d return Sophia to her boyfriend, give the man a few tips on how to play and how not to treat a sub, and hopefully they’d be off to a better life together.

  In the meantime, he was going to enjoy the feel of her skin.

  His hands lingered on her legs a moment longer than was strictly necessary to remove the skirt, and he smiled at discovering she wasn’t wearing any panties. He let the skirt drop to the ground and stooped to pick it up as she kicked it back.

  He wasn’t going to start her ass on the crop. Maybe with a very experienced masochist, but not with Sophia. He hadn’t been lying about her energy, and she’d taken everything he’d been dishing out remarkably well, but still. He picked up the flogger again and swished it against her backside. “We’ll start you off gentle,” he said.

  “Gee, thanks.”

  He suppressed a chuckle at her response. No Thank you, Sir from her.

  Despite his direction, she wasn’t perfectly still. She swayed from side to side as if hearing her own private music, and he took the rhythm of that and incorporated it into his flogging. He’d beaten so many asses he could do it by rote, so his gaze drifted over her body briefly. God, she was distracting. For a moment, he’d been caught up in what they were doing as if it was their own private scene, but he had teaching to do. That was what Dylan and Alex had flown him out for, and he wasn’t going to disappoint. He started talking about warm-ups and rhythms, and how to build intensity, keeping an eye out to make sure Sophia was doing okay.

  When her ass was nicely pink, he picked up the crop. “This could leave a mark, depending on your skin. Do you have any problems with that? Or should I ask your top?”

  “He’s not my top,” replied Sophia. “Just met him a few weeks ago. No, I don’t have any problems with that as long as they don’t show when I get in the pool with my kids. Do what you need to do.”

  “Do what you need to do.” Not exactly beat me harder, Sir, but it would do. He started to wonder why Sophia was here at all. She wasn’t a masochist. She wasn’t a submissive as far as he could tell. A bit of a hedonist, and a free spirit, although perhaps he was reading too much into the lack of panties. But not a BDSM player, or she’d have either experienced floggings or decided it wasn’t for her. So why had she come to Bondage Ranch?

  And if he’s not her top, then maybe I can play with her more a
fter this is done. Colby brushed the thought from his mind. He sometimes played with a sub repeatedly. Sometimes he even signed a contract with a woman to make her his slave for a month, but that was back in LA. Not since his wife had left him and used his involvement in kink to justify taking the kids and cutting off all visitation rights had he let anyone get too close. And he was always quite clear. When the month was over, that was it.

  Here on the East Coast, he should be careful not to play with anyone twice, because he definitely wasn’t taking any girl back home with him, even if she had an ass as cute as Sophia’s, and even if he found her sass a challenge that he wanted to conquer.

  He tapped the crop against her backside while addressing the audience. “Let the person you’re topping feel what you’re going to be mean to them with before the going gets fun. I mean nasty. Well, both.”

  Sophia tensed briefly, and then let out a breath. Good girl.

  He resolved to focus on the demo. He tapped harder and then finally flicked the crop at her bottom with force. She shrieked in surprise.

  “They’ll come in threes from here on, Sophia. Take the first two, and then let your energy out on the third if you need to.”

  She nodded. “That fucking hurts.”

  “Do you need me to stop and get someone else?” He knew it was manipulative, but at the same time, for the demo to work, it was good to have someone for him to whack. He’d detected a stubbornness in her, though, and he was willing to bet she wasn’t going to surrender her place. He hoped she wasn’t.