Ruby waved toward Taggart’s booth. “We have some of the finest gear available right there. I’m sure the Leather Master wouldn’t mind if we borrowed some. Let me just text Rylee real quick and see.”
“Great idea,” Evan agreed.
She grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone, shooting a quick text to Rylee. “Hey there. Would it be okay if we borrowed a few of Taggart’s toys for an equipment demo? We promise to use them gently and clean them thoroughly after use. If that’s not cool, no worries. We’ll improvise.”
In addition to designing and maintaining websites, Rylee also helped Taggart run his business. While she worked inside their home, Taggart worked in an outbuilding behind the house with his assistants, busily creating all his beautifully crafted implements.
Rylee responded a moment later with a thumbs-up emoticon. “You don’t waste any time, LOL. Tag’s right here with me at the moment and he says that’s fine. The pieces actually improve as they’re broken in.”
Ruby slipped her phone back into her purse. “Taggart says no problem.”
“Sweet.” Evan walked into the Leather Master’s booth and selected the luscious flogger he’d used on her the day before, along with a red long-handled riding crop. “These will do nicely. I’m looking forward to this.”
“You love giving them or getting them?” Ruby teased.
Evan laughed and shook his head. “Last night was fun, but don’t count on it happening again. My sub days are long over. In fact, that’s the first time I’ve let someone dom me in over a decade.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Ruby said with a grin. “You were into that whipping, boy.”
“I was into you, Ruby.” Evan replied. “And I agree with Tag. A Dom should be willing to undergo anything he expects of his submissive, even if it doesn’t float his particular boat. And you know your way around a whip, girl. Do you consider yourself a switch?”
“Not really,” she answered honestly. “I mean, it’s fun to dom someone as a kind of game, but I’m way too much of a sexual masochist to be a Domme.”
He moved closer to her, the sexual tension suddenly ratcheting up between them. “Just a masochist, Ruby?” He placed his hand on her throat again, and she melted in his grip. “I sense there’s more here than mere masochism. You need to submit to a Master. You were born to submit.”
She swallowed, her throat moving beneath his hard hand. Twisting from his grip, she forced a laugh. “I don’t know about that,” she said, trying for saucy but not quite succeeding. “I haven’t yet found a man who can truly master me.”
“Yet being the key word,” Evan replied, not smiling.
Ruby turned abruptly away, flustered.
~*~
“Let’s start with the Total Lockdown System,” Evan said. “We’ll keep it in the upright position for now.” He placed the impact implements on a table next to the lubricant and the water bottles. He couldn’t wait to get started.
“Okay,” Ruby agreed, eyeing the device with an expression that was part eager, part anxious. Her floor-length sundress was pale blue silk. She pushed the spaghetti straps from her shoulders and let the dress fall from her gorgeous body. Her breasts were bare, the nipples already erect. She was wearing a pair of white, lacy panties.
“Those, too,” Evan said, his cock stiffening in his jeans.
She pulled down the panties and set them, along with the dress, on one of the empty display tables. Evan badly wanted to fuck her then and there. He had a condom in his wallet. He could just lift her onto that table and do it, fast and hard.
But she had already walked over to the restraining device. She assumed the position, legs apart to accommodate the ankle cuffs at either end of the spreader bar, arms lifted high over her head to reach the wrist cuffs. She looked at him, her face now a mask of calm expectancy.
Evan stared at her, drinking in her beauty, admiring her poise. He’d scened with too many women to count over the years, and he’d never encountered one who was so self-possessed. It would be a challenge and a pleasure to tear down her reserve and reduce her to a wanton, begging, sexual animal that was his to control—his to claim.
He pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it aside. She licked her lips as she looked him over, and he smiled, moving close so he could properly restrain her. He wrapped the Velcro cuffs around her wrists, adjusting the cuff rings so her arms were raised, but not uncomfortably so. Then he crouched to secure her ankles against the spreader bar. Standing again, he attached the collar device behind her head, and brought it around her neck, noting the softening of her features as he tightened it around her throat.
“Your neck is a major erogenous zone, am I right?” he asked, spanning her throat with thumb and forefinger above her collar.
“Yes, Sir,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice.
He tightened his grip, cutting off her airway. Her eyes widened, her face reddening. “You like to feel the power of a man’s hand on your throat, to know your very life is in his hands,” he said softly, his eyes boring into hers.
She grunted, the only sound she could make. She was trembling in her restraints.
He let her go, and she drew in a deep breath, a tremor moving through her entire body. “Fuck,” she breathed. “Jesus.” Her nipples rose from her round, high breasts, her cheeks flushed, her eyes wild.
Evan reached into his jeans and rubbed his cock, which was hard as a bar of iron. He wanted to feel her hot mouth on his dick. He wanted to ram it down her throat and hold her head in place until he shot his load. Forcing himself under control, he pulled his hand from his pants and turned to the table where he’d set out the other toys they would sample together.
She wasn’t in the right position for the anal probe, but the rack compactor looked promising, as did the vaginal e-stim device.
“So many wicked toys, so little time,” he said, chuckling. “Before we really get going,” he continued, “I know your safeword. You obviously enjoy breath play and can handle a considerable amount of erotic pain.” He held up the rack compactor. “Any issues or sensitivity with your breasts I should know about?”
“No, Sir. My nipples are very sensitive, but I can handle compression toys.”
“Excellent.” He placed the contraption carefully over her breasts, positioning them between the crossbars. He slowly tightened the screws, careful not to make them too tight, as he planned to leave the rack in place for a while.
“That looks so hot,” he said, standing back to admire her bunched breasts, the nipples red and engorged. She looked incredibly sexy, arms high overhead, legs forcibly spread, her head held in position by the restraint collar. “I wish I had my nipple clamps with me.” He lightly twisted the hard, spongy nubbins until she moaned. He glanced around, wishing he’d brought his gear bag. “I’ll just have to crop them instead.”
Her eyes were blazing, her tongue visible on her lower lip, her chest rising and falling. She was ready.
So was he.
Chapter 4
Evan picked up the crop and drew it slowly down Ruby’s cheek, sending a shudder through her body. “Slow your breathing,” he said gently. “Calm yourself. We’re only just getting started.”
She tried to comply, closing her mouth and drawing air in through her nostrils.
“Better,” he murmured. He lifted the folded rectangle of soft leather on the crop to her lips. “Kiss it,” he commanded.
As she brushed her lips against it, breathing in the erotic smell of leather, he added, “I’m going to hurt you, Ruby. I’m going to make your suffer.”
His words ricocheted through her like a handful of marbles flung against a wall, and she actually moaned aloud. Her clit was swollen and her nipples throbbed.
He started lightly, tapping the crop against her compressed breasts. He smacked her belly and along her inner thighs, slowly increasing the intensity. Moving behind her, he struck her ass with some force, a sudden, rapid flurry of stinging swats that made her jerk in her res
traints.
Returning to stand in front of her, he struck her right nipple. An explosion of pain hurtled through her nerve endings, erupting from her mouth as a scream. He struck the second nipple, and she screamed again, unable to help herself.
“Good girl. Breathe through it,” he said, now tapping lightly over her purpling breasts. “You’re doing really well. You’re fucking awesome.”
In spite of the pain and discomfort, his words soothed her like a balm, and she relaxed in her restraints.
“I want to push your boundaries. I want to challenge you.”
“Oh,” she breathed, drawing out the syllable, but she didn’t protest. On the contrary, her body and soul thrilled to his dark promise.
He moved behind her, snapping the crop against her bottom in a series of sharp, slapping strokes until she whimpered. He focused on the tender spot where her ass met her thighs, painting searing lines of delicious, stinging pain over her flesh.
She was just about to beg him to stop when he moved again to stand in front of her. His eyes were glittering with lust, his erection clearly visible in his jeans. “You good, baby?” he murmured, his face close to hers.
“Yes,” she replied breathlessly. “Yes, Sir.”
His leaned closer, kissing her lightly on the lips, pulling away when she opened her mouth, eager for his tongue.
“Time later for sweetness,” he said, his smile cruel. He returned his attention to her tortured breasts, snapping the crop against her nipples in a rapid tattoo of stinging swats as she jerked and twisted in her restraints.
“No, no, no, no,” she chanted, barely aware she was saying the words.
“What is it, Ruby? Do you need me to stop? Just say your safeword.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. No fucking way.
He struck her again, and she gasped with pain.
“Say quicksilver and I’ll let you down.”
A trickle of sweat rolled down her right temple. She was dizzy, her heart pounding, but she felt wildly alive and powerful, as if she’d snorted a line of the best coke on the planet. She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “No,” she said, not ready to capitulate.
“You want more?” He lifted his eyebrows with surprise. “You sure?”
“Bring it.”
He focused on her breasts, covering every inch of them with stinging fire. Each time he struck her nipple, an agony of raw pain exploded in her brain, but her soul was singing, her spirit soaring. This was what she needed, needed, needed…
Ruby opened her eyes and stared up into Evan’s handsome face, completely disoriented. “Wha…?” she managed. “Huh?”
“Welcome back.” He was sitting on the floor, cradling her in his arms as he’d done the night before. “You okay?”
“I think so,” she said, still not quite sure what had happened. “How did I get from there to here?” She lifted her chin toward the rig where she’d been tethered. “Last thing I remember, I was up there, biting a hole through my lip to keep from saying my safeword.”
“You scared the shit out of me. Safewords exist for a reason, you know.”
“I didn’t want to use it,” Ruby said stubbornly. “I wanted to power through it.”
Evan shook his head. “Well, one minute you were there, staring me down with this badass expression on your face, and then suddenly your eyes rolled back, your head fell forward and you went completely limp. You’ve never seen anyone move as fast as I did to get you down. I should have reminded you to breathe. You were hyperventilating.”
“Not your fault,” she said, managing a smile. “I know better. I can get really stubborn. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I was a mule in another life. I can never resist a challenge.”
Evan smiled, relief evident on his face. “I can relate. But seriously, are you okay?”
Ruby shifted in an effort to sit up, and Evan helped her, lifting her and setting her down gently beside him. She moved her arms and legs, and touched her tender breasts. “I’m fine, as far as I can tell.”
Evan held out a bottle of water, the cap already off. “Here, drink some water.”
She took a long swig and set the bottle down.
He got to his feet and held out both his hands. “There’s a comfortable couch in the back office. Let’s take a quick break before we try the next contraption.”
Ruby was both exhilarated and exhausted, as if she’d just won a marathon. A break was probably a good idea. She put her hands in his and allowed him to hoist her upright.
He brought her close and held her, gently swaying. She relaxed into his comforting embrace. Eventually, she pulled away so she could lift her face to his. “Kiss me,” she commanded.
He smiled down at her. “You’re a bossy little thing, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told,” she said, managing only a weak laugh, still spent from the experience. Circling her arms around his neck, she pulled him down to her.
His lips parted, his tongue entering her mouth. He held her carefully, clearly mindful of her still tender, sore breasts. He cupped her ass with his hands, his cock like steel between them as they kissed.
When they eventually parted, they walked arm in arm back to the office. It consisted of a large room with a workstation in one corner, an arrangement of second-hand living room furniture in the other. Evan sank onto a large, worn leather couch and patted the spot beside him.
But Ruby had a better idea. Evan’s obvious erection had been distracting her since their first hello, straining against the faded denim of his jeans like an invitation she was eager to accept.
“I want to thank you properly, Sir, for the amazing session just now.”
“Yeah?” Evan replied, a sexy half smile moving over his lips. “And how do you propose to do that?”
“I’d like to worship your cock, Sir,” she said sweetly, dropping to her knees in front of him. She placed her hands lightly on his strong thighs. “That is, if that’s all right with you.”
The half smile broadened into an all-out grin. “That would be just fine and dandy with me.” Evan slipped off his shoes and reached for his fly, yanking it open. Getting to his feet, he shucked his jeans and underwear, kicking them away. He stood naked, hands on hips, smiling down at her.
Her mouth watering, Ruby leaned eagerly forward. She curled one hand around the base of his hard shaft and gently cradled his balls with the other. He sighed when she closed her lips over the head.
She took him in deep, loving the weight and heft of him in her mouth and hands. He groaned as she milked his cock with her tongue and throat muscles.
“Jesus,” he breathed, twisting his fingers in her hair. “Christ, you are fucking perfect.” He held on for a few minutes, but finally gave in to the inevitable. His body stiffened as his jism shot down her throat in a hot stream.
She kept her mouth locked on him as he shuddered his way through a series of aftershocks. His hands fell limply to his sides as he collapsed back onto the couch with a long, satisfied sigh.
Ruby climbed up beside him, as satisfied as a cat that just licked a bowlful of cream. Which reminded her… She snuggled against him and stroked his cheek. “I hate to ruin the mood, but I have to go take care of my hosts’ cats. They’re due for their walk and lunch.”
Evan lifted his head and scrunched his handsome face into a comical scowl. “Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say your hosts’ cats need a walk?”
Ruby laughed. “I did. I know it sounds kind of nutty, but it’s really a pretty sweet gig. I have the run of a huge, gorgeous house and use of their very nice car for the time I’m here, in exchange for spoiling the crap out of their two prized Russian Blues. Part of the long list of requirements includes a lunch of fresh salmon and then taking them for a walk around the very posh neighborhood in their rhinestone-encrusted harnesses.”
“Seriously?”
“As a heart attack,” Ruby said solemnly. But then she grinned. “They’re actually really cool cats.
They were wary of me at first, but I think we’re starting to bond.”
Evan shook his head, smiling. “Hand me my jeans, will you?”
Ruby got to her feet and grabbed Evan’s jeans and underwear. She really did have to take care of the darn cats, but she didn’t want to leave Evan—not yet. Handing him his things, she said, “Want to come with me?”
“Sure. But I still need to test out the prison stockade. It seems a little complicated. We have to get the kinks out,” he added with a wink.
Ruby laughed. “Okay, but what if we take it with us?” She put her hands on her hips. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten your end of the bargain. No way am I going to pass up the chance to use that Zeus electrosex band on your cock.”
Before he could respond, she ran from the room, laughing, her heart soaring like a balloon.
~*~
Evan broke down the prison stockade and packed the pieces into a large gear bag he found in the warehouse office. On an impulse, he grabbed another whip from Taggart’s booth. He put the whip—a pretty short-handled single tail—into the gear bag along with the flogger and riding crop, making a mental note to properly clean and replace the borrowed items.
He followed Ruby to her place, eager to continue the fun. The house was in a high-end neighborhood, with large, pristine homes fronted by emerald green lawns and huge shade trees. The inside of the home was just as lavish, with lots of polished wood and raw silk upholstery, tasteful oil paintings on the walls.
She led him through to a small, bright room with much shabbier furniture and lots of cat trees in various configurations set up around the room. “Hi, Binky. Hi, Cuddles,” Ruby said as she entered the sunny room.
Two elegant cats with silvery coats and light blue eyes turned their attention from the large window, on whose broad sill they had been perched, and jumped gracefully down. They both made a beeline for Ruby, one of them rubbing luxuriously against her leg while the other butted her gently with his head.
Ruby squatted down and stroked the one tangling in her long skirt. “I know. I’m a little late. You guys ready for some awesome fish?”