Followed by Vance, Sally walked in, attired in a long fleece robe.
Her flushed cheeks and swollen lips looked as if she’d been nicely aroused. Galen gave his partner a nod of approval and tried not to grin. Bet his jeans had been difficult to zip up over that hard-on.
“This is a great place.” Sally spun in a circle and came to a sudden halt. She’d spotted the paddle on the table, the crop on the bed. “You’re going to punish me? But…I just graduated.”
“I heard a rumor to that effect.” Galen stepped closer and undid the ties of the robe. As the sides opened, he caught the fragrance of aroused woman, soap, lotion. “You smell good, pet.”
“I’m not wearing any perfume.”
“You don’t need any.” He pushed the robe farther back so he could caress her soft breasts. When he scraped his thumbnail over one pointing nipple, her sharp inhalation was his reward. And, as he’d expected, she automatically tried to step back. Already standing behind her, Vance blocked that retreat.
“Do you run away because of instincts, or do you really not like my hands on you?” Galen asked. He curved his fingers under her breast, feeling the heavy roundness. Her spiked nipple, her response to his touch had already told him the answer, but she needed to acknowledge it to herself.
“I-I guess instincts.”
She’d even dodge verbally. “Do you like my hands on you?” he asked her directly.
Her gaze dropped. “Yes.”
And even though he knew her answer already, hearing her admit it made him feel like he’d reached a mountain peak. He cleared his throat. “All right. Do you like Vance to touch you?”
“Yes.” Her voice had lowered, as if she were confessing a crime.
“That’s good, pet. We plan to do a great deal of touching tonight.” Time to rev up those nerves a bit. “Some you’ll like. Some you won’t.”
His fingers on her breast registered the increase in her pulse.
Very nice. “Now, before we do anything else, let’s get your punishment out of the way.” And start her off on her journey to another plane.
She jolted slightly. “I get punished because I graduated?”
“Sally. You get punished because you had an extra drink after I told you not to,” Vance said.
“B-but it was a party. My party.”
“We wanted to play with you afterward,” Galen replied.
Vance said, “And we didn’t want you breaking your neck if your ankle gave out.” At her flush, he added, “Alcohol and gimp legs don’t mix well.”
Wasn’t that the fucking truth, Galen thought sourly. But his mood lightened as he looked at the imp. Even subdued, she still seemed filled with joy. By God, she was something. He smiled and touched her cheek. “Ready, imp?”
When she raised her big brown eyes, Vance grinned at Galen over her head and tugged her robe completely off.
Galen doubted he’d ever get tired of seeing her without clothing. The faint moonlight slid across her bare skin like a lover’s stroke, highlighting areas he planned to touch, shadowing those where the scent of woman would be strongest.
Vance curled his hand around her upper arm. After taking his seat in the chair next to the table, he firmly pulled her down over his knees.
The moonlight turned her full round ass to a marble white.
That skin was just begging to be pinkened.
SALLY SPLAYED HER hands on the floor, trying to stay balanced on Vance’s very muscular thighs. Her pulse had sped up; her skin felt overly sensitive, as if even the air was scraping across it.
When she shifted uncomfortably, he ruthlessly arranged her position so her bottom rose higher in the air. “You know why you’re being punished. Do you have any questions?”
Had she ever seen the guys doing a punishment scene? How bad was this going to get? She turned her head so she could see Galen’s face. “What are you planning to do?”
His expression hardened with disapproval. “I’m not impressed with Z’s lessons for the trainees.”
God, no trainee would ask a question like that. Why did she keep forgetting her self-discipline with these guys? “Sorry, Sir.”
Galen leaned his hip on a corner of the table and regarded her with a grave expression. “Is obedience too much to ask of you?”
The question took her breath away. “No, Sir.” Knowing she’d disappointed them created an ugly feeling in her chest. They’d been kind to her, she’d asked them to be her Doms, and then she kept smarting off. And deliberately disobeyed a direct order.
Did they even like her anymore? She swallowed past a tight throat.
After a minute, Vance laid his hand on her bottom. The warmth sank into her cold skin. “Pretty little ass, don’t you think, Galen?”
“Ayuh.” Galen pulled the empty chair out from the table and moved it so he could rest his injured leg on the bed. Obviously settling in for the show.
She gritted her teeth and prepared for the worst. At one time, she’d thought Vance was the easygoing one. That assumption might have been incorrect.
He stroked and massaged before slapping lightly all over her bottom. She closed her eyes as a kernel of worry sprouted. The care he was taking meant he planned a longer session.
She started to smile. That wasn’t bad at all. Almost erotic. She’d been right after all; Vance wasn’t into dispensing pain. She relaxed, enjoying the slight scrape of his calloused palm over her tenderized flesh.
He leaned forward, reaching toward the table. But the surface had been empty except for…that narrow wooden paddle.
The paddle smacked her right in the sweet spot, the rise of her cheek from the crease of her thigh. The sound was startling, the bite meaner.
She gasped, and her fingers curled, finding only cold wood to hold.
Oh God, he really did plan to punish her. Her breath shuddered into her lungs as his words registered. She’d been the one to ask them. “Y-yes, Sir. I did.”
The pain crept in; the blows blurred together, leaving the burn and pain behind. He’d paused so she could answer. What could she say? She hadn’t even tried to obey them. She closed her eyes, feeling like a failure.
Her relief actually overcame the pain for a second.
“We try not to give many orders. But you’ll learn that we take obedience seriously.”
Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. He’d been so good to her. Caring for her after she’d been hurt.
“If you disobey, you get punished. And not in a sexy, fun way. Is that clear?”
