Authors: Lara Valentine
Tags: #Romance
“What? I don’t want to be spanked either. Honest!” Sara sported another blush.
Lisa stood and dropped her e-reader on the patio table with a dramatic sigh. “Well, I think this guy is delicious. What do you think, Bri?”
Brianne squirmed in her chair, trying to hide the effect the words had on her. She was very aroused at the thought of submitting, being spanked.
“He certainly is sexy. I like alpha males.”
Noelle burst out laughing. “This guy passed alpha in the first chapter. They don’t have a Greek letter to describe him yet.” She glanced at her watch and pulled a face.
“Shit. I need to get home and get to work. I have an order due at the end of the week—necklaces for a boutique on Bellaire Beach.” Noelle was a talented jewelry designer.
Sara rubbed her bump and smiled ruefully. “I need to get home, too. This baby wants dinner.”
Lisa drained her glass and started picking up plates and cups. The women joined in as they discussed next week’s selection—a vampire bondage novella
.
It sounded like another panty dampener.
* * * *
Brianne plopped down on the couch in the living room and propped her feet on the ottoman with a heavy sigh. It had been a long damn week.
“I could sleep for a week, Bri,” Lisa groaned as she stretched her legs onto the coffee table.
“Me, too. I swear Kade is kicking my ass on a daily basis. Who knew having a six-year-old and starting your own business would be so much work? Kick-my-ass work.” Brianne wriggled her toes and slumped deeper into the cushions. She could hear Lisa’s husband, Conor, and the kids playing Rock Band in the family room and wondered where they got their energy. She sure didn’t have any left. She swung her legs up onto the couch and picked up the throw pillow to give it a fluff.
“What is this?” Brianne held up a long strip of thick black material that had been tucked under the pillow. She held it closer to examine it and saw that it had Velcro on each end and was padded in the middle.
Lisa jumped from her chair and grabbed for the scrap of cloth, but Brianne pulled it back before she could.
“Is it a blindfold? Holy shit, Lisa, what are you and Conor doing these days? In the living room no less!” Brianne laughed and laughed some more at Lisa’s expression. It was hard to embarrass her friend, but it appeared that she had finally accomplished it. Lisa opened her mouth to say something then closed it.
“Come on, Lisa. I don’t give a rat’s furry ass what you and Conor get up to in the bedroom, or any room in the house for that matter. Considering our reading material, a blindfold is pretty tame stuff. Lord knows, it’s hard enough to keep a marriage hot. I would imagine a little kink now and then keeps him coming home.”
Brianne couldn’t help the thought that she hadn’t been able to keep her own husband coming home. He went home to someone else now.
Fuck! Stop thinking that!
Lisa held out her hand for the blindfold, and Brianne reluctantly handed it over. Lisa planted her hands on her hips, and a determined expression crossed her face.
Uh-oh, Lisa was pissed.
“Conor and I have been wanting to tell you this for a long time, Bri, but honestly didn’t know how to tell you. It seems that fate has taken it out of our hands, and I’m relieved. Keeping this secret has been difficult, and I don’t like keeping secrets from you.”
“Secret? You are freaking me out a little bit, Lisa. Are you dying of leukemia or what?” Brianne knew she sounded exasperated, but honestly, what could be that bad?
Lisa sat back down and took a deep breath. “Conor and I live the BDSM lifestyle. He is my Dom, and I am his submissive.” Lisa paused as if waiting for a reaction from Brianne. When she didn’t get one, she continued. “We have been doing this for about twenty years, since we were dating in college.”
Lisa paused again, and Brianne knew she needed to react. She would never judge Lisa and Conor. They were her best friends, had been unwavering in their support since her divorce. It was a surprise and yet not a surprise at all. Lord knew she and Lisa had kinky taste in reading material. It wasn’t a stretch that Lisa and Conor had taken the next step and started to live out some of the reading material.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say. I don’t care if you and Conor like to get kinky now and then. Really. It’s honestly none of my damn business.”
“Well, the thing is it’s not just now and then. We live this as a lifestyle. We have for many years, and it has been a little difficult keeping it from you since we spend so much time with you. I’ve wanted to tell you so many times, but I just couldn’t find the words.”
“Did you honestly think I would judge you? Don’t you know me better than that?” Brianne couldn’t help the trace of hurt in her voice.
“No! I didn’t think you would judge us, but I also wondered if you would feel comfortable around us going forward knowing how we live. I don’t want to lose you as a friend. You’re my best friend, and I want it to stay that way.”
Lisa sat back in the chair with a heavy sigh. Brianne stayed silent, knowing Lisa felt the need to explain.
“One of the guys I dated back in college, he was kind of adventurous. He and I played at a few of the things that you and I have read about. Really mild stuff, honestly. It was Bondage 101. But I knew that I liked it. So when I started dating Conor, I got him to experiment a little, too. We had fun, and we both really enjoyed it. It kind of grew from there, I guess. Then I told Jennifer about it, and she wanted to try it, too. She pushed Nate into it, and he even trained at an exclusive BSDM club as a Dom. When Jen and Nate started living it 24/7, Conor and I started to also. It seemed so natural, we all kind of fell into it. Of course, when the kids came along it became tough to live the lifestyle, but we do the best we can. We feel really fulfilled living this way, and it makes us very happy.” Lisa looked cautiously at her, and Brianne was slightly shocked.
“Nate’s a Dom? Holy shit, Lisa! Nate does this, too?” Brianne fell back on the pillows.
Lisa laughed. “That’s what you got from that explanation? I just spilled my guts about my sex life, and all you hear is that Nate is a Dom!” Lisa laughed until tears ran down her face. Brianne blushed. She had a tiny crush on Lisa’s divorced brother-in-law, Dr. Nate Hart. Lisa was constantly trying to push them together, but it was just too soon after her divorce.
“Of course I heard you, Lisa. It’s just I had no idea about Nate.” Brianne bit her lip as she studied her best friend. “Is Nate going to be okay with you spilling his secret? I don’t want him to think I was prying.”
“He will be fine with it. We have talked about telling you, and he wasn’t against it. He was, of course, worried that you wouldn’t want to hang around us anymore, just as we were. But Nate should be proud of his accomplishments. He is an extremely well-trained and disciplined Dom. He gives lessons to other people at the club and is well respected in the BDSM community, not just locally but throughout the US. Subs throw themselves at his feet and beg him to train them.” Lisa rolled her eyes.
“We are okay, right? Has anything changed?” Brianne could see the worry in Lisa’s expression.
“No, nothing has changed. You and Conor are still my best friends in the whole world.” Now that the shock had worn off, she wasn’t all that surprised. She felt closer to Lisa than ever. She knew that it was a big deal for them to reveal this to her.
“What about Nate? Do you still want to be around him?”
Brianne was shocked that Lisa needed to ask. “Of course! This doesn’t change anything. I like Nate. I enjoy his company, and he is a lot of fun. Nothing has changed. I swear.” Well, it had changed a little. Now she would be fantasizing even more about Nate than before.
Oh hell.
* * * *
Nate Hart held his hand out to Brianne. She and Lisa were sitting on the back patio watching the kids play when Nate had joined them. Brianne gave him a perplexed look.
“C’mon, Brianne. We’re going for a little walk.”
“I’ll watch the kids, Bri. You go for a walk with Nate.” Lisa smiled encouragingly at her. Brianne felt a moment of trepidation. Perhaps Nate hadn’t been as okay with her learning about him as Lisa said he would.
Brianne placed her hand in Nate’s and let him tug her from her chair. It was large and warm, and Brianne couldn’t help the tingle that ran up her arm at his touch. He held her hand as they walked down the tree-lined street toward the park at the corner of the neighborhood. Brianne didn’t speak and neither did Nate as they strolled toward a bench in the shade. It was already hot and muggy, and it was only ten in the morning. Brianne peeked at Nate’s expression from under her lashes. He didn’t seem angry. On the contrary, he seemed quite calm. She liked looking at him, she had to admit. He was handsome but not a pretty boy. His dark brown hair was cropped short with just a wave falling over his forehead. His piercing blue eyes were framed with dark lashes any woman would die for, and his jaw was square and strong. At six feet tall, he towered over her, but then just about everyone did. He kept himself in good shape running and playing tennis but wasn’t a fanatic about it. He smiled easily and had a relaxed, laid-back personality that seemed to pull people toward him. Well, at least she seemed to be pulled toward him.
Nate laced his fingers through hers and gave her a grin.
“Lisa and Conor tell me you and I are going to have an awkward conversation.”
Brianne blushed and hoped Nate would blame it on the infamous Florida heat.
“Seriously, are you okay with this? Lisa said you took the news very calmly and that it didn’t make any difference to you. I don’t want this to affect our relationship.”
Brianne could see that her reaction was important to Nate. She certainly didn’t want to tell him about the fantasy she had the night before.
“Really, Nate, I’m fine with it. I would hope you would know by now that I’m really open-minded. As far as weird stuff, this is actually pretty low on the creepy meter, if you know what I mean. It’s not like you run about in a red cape and talk to animals.”
Nate chuckled. “Well, that’s true. I am completely out of red capes, and I gave up talking to animals when they didn’t talk back.” Nate leaned back on the bench.
“Knowing you as I do, Brianne, you probably have a lot of questions. I would be happy to answer any that you have, if you are curious. In fact, I encourage you to ask any questions you may have. I know about your and Lisa’s reading material, so you know some, but books don’t always tell the real, or whole, story.”
Brianne rolled her eyes and dropped her head into her hands, hiding her face, at Nate’s revelation that he knew about the books she liked to read. Nate tipped her chin up so she was looking into his warm blue eyes.
“Hey! There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re only reading about it. I read about horror, but I wouldn’t necessarily want to meet a vampire or a crazed serial killer.”
Brianne had to laugh at Nate’s analogy. He did have a point, but after all, he usually did. He was smart, and she had always been attracted to very smart men.
“I’m afraid I might ask you something too personal. I’m not sure where the line might be here. This is something pretty personal.”
“I’ll make you a deal, Brianne. You ask your questions, and if you ask something too personal, I will let you know.”
Brianne took a deep breath.
“How did you know you were a Dominant?”
“You mean did I wake up one day and know? Kind of. Jen wanted to try some things she and Lisa had talked about, and I was immediately intrigued. There was no hesitation on my part. When I was at UCLA, me and some of my friends went to a BDSM club. I was floored when I saw what was going on, but I somehow knew it was something I needed to do. Then as I learned more, it was as if a missing part of me was found. I guess I never went through the denial or the shame that some people go through. I need this. It’s who I am, Brianne. It’s what I am. I couldn’t be anything else. I know that after all these years.” Nate smiled a gentle smile as he swept her overlong bangs out of her eyes.
“That question wasn’t too bad. What else?”
“Do you ever have just regular, um, you know, oh hell.”
Nate laughed at her embarrassed expression and stammering.
“Do I have vanilla sex? Is that what you are asking?”
“Um, well, yes.”
“Sure. You know how it is when you’re married with kids. You can barely get time alone when you are both awake and in the mood. But even when I am having so-called vanilla sex, I am in charge. But please understand that this is not just about sex. A person can be in a Dominant/submissive relationship and not have sex. I have helped train subs for other Doms and not had sex with them. I have dated women since my divorce, had a sexual relationship with them, but not dominated them in the sense you think. I am in charge, but I can only push it so far with them.”
“Oh. I guess I just assumed it was all about sex.”
“Yeah, most people think that. But Jen was not just my wife, she was my submissive. We had a 24/7 relationship. That means that I was in charge in the relationship, not just in the bedroom. She turned all decision making over to me. I chose her clothes, gave her a daily agenda, and even made the decision about what she would make for dinner. While it was very satisfying to take care of someone like that, it was also fucking exhausting. It was like having a second full-time job. But having a 24/7 relationship was very important to Jen. She needed to serve me. That’s how she defined herself. And a Dom’s most important responsibility to his submissive, besides always keeping her safe, is to give her what she needs, whether it is what he needs or not.”