I take a deep breath, nodding to Axel when I’m ready to continue.
“There are little signs beside the door to each room that symbolize what’s inside,” he says, pausing next to a closed door to point out the small placard beside it. “The crossed-out lightbulb on this one indicates that it’s a dark room. For those who like a bit of surprise or are turned on by the vulnerability of darkness.”
I exhale softly, my mind briefly wondering what Axel would do to me in the dark. But he’s leading me to another room before the thoughts get very far. Eventually, we come to a closed door with a pair of symbols, handcuffs and a large X. I expect Axel to continue or to knock. Instead, he tries the handle, and the door opens.
My breath catches in my throat at the scene before me. Two men in leather harnesses are standing, facing a woman chained to a contraption in the shape of an X. Red lines criss-cross her skin, and I learn how as one of the men raises his arm and lashes her with a whip. She cries out, but there’s a note of ecstasy to her voice. It sends goosebumps up my arms.
Axel takes my elbow and leads me to some chairs on the far end of the room, near where some other observers are seated. I can’t take my eyes off the woman, my stomach clenching each time a whip makes contact with her skin. The crack in the air makes me jump, and I’m never sure if her cries are from pain or pleasure.
It’s intoxicating to watch, and it scares me at the same time. The men take turns, giving her contradictory orders, which then earns her lashes when she disobeys one to obey the other. But the way she begs and pleads when they touch her sounds too real. Whatever pain she’s feeling from the whips is overshadowed by the constant touching and teasing.
Or maybe the pain is a part of her pleasure. The thought makes me shudder and squirm at the same time. What is the line between pain and pleasure? It’s a sudden fascination, but I don’t want to be whipped to find out.
Eventually, she’s begging, though for what I don’t know, as the men’s demands increase and the lashings with them. Their cocks are at full attention, and somehow, I can’t tear my eyes from them.
Then they release the woman, who drops onto her hands and knees, and before she can crawl more than a couple feet from the cross, one has her head in his hands, stuffing his cock in her mouth, while the other shoves his into her pussy. They fuck her hard and fast, the sound of slapping skin mingling with her moans before they shout as they come.
The woman collapses once the men pull out, a smile on her face. It confuses me but also turns me on.
I jump when I feel a hand on my knee.
“You okay?” Axel asks.
I nod.
He motions to the trio still near the cross, then to the other couple leaving. “I think they are done in here for now. Shall we go find another group to watch?”
I lick my lips, feeling a thrill run through me. I shake my head. “No. I…I’ve seen enough.”
Axel turns my face toward his. “Do you want us to go to a private room?”
“Yes.”
His pupils dilate, and he pulls me close, his hand drifting down to squeeze my ass. “Okay.”
Axel links his arm through mine and leads me back into the hallway. We go deeper into the building, passing fewer open doors until he comes to one with another handcuffs symbol. He guides me inside, then closes and locks the door behind us.
I look around, seeing a large assortment of dildos, whips, and other things that I don’t recognize, and the unease from seeing the red lashes across the other woman come to mind.
“No whips,” I blurt out.
Axel looks at me and nods. “No whips,” he agrees, but a dark expression of what can only be disappointment crosses his face.
I don’t have long to consider the meaning of it. Within seconds he’s on me, plunging his hands into my hair and pressing his lips to mine. I moan into the touch, having wanted it since he brought me to orgasm in the conference room.
Then Axel releases me, and I shiver in anticipation. The man I’d walked in with was the Axel West I knew, but this one is darker, more demanding. The Axel standing before me is a man who won’t take no for an answer.
“Let me see you,” he commands, voice taking on a rumble that makes my knees weak.
I nod and reach for the zipper pull on my back, but before I can grab it, Axel has my chin in his grasp, dark eyes boring into mine.
“I will be obeyed and acknowledged,” he demands. “Is that understood?”
“Yes…sir,” I reply, my pussy clenching with sudden need.
Axel releases my chin, and I find myself needing just that small point of contact.
“Strip.”
“Yes, sir.”
I manage to grab the zipper and tug it down my back until the dress loosens. I then pull the dress down until it falls from my hips and pools on the floor. The way Axel looks at me is almost detached, cool, and evaluating, like I’m an option at the store and not a person standing nude in front of him.
“Turn.”
A shiver races up my spine. “Yes, sir.” I pivot slowly, giving him time to get as good a look as he wishes.
“Very good,” Axel purrs as I face him again, but the sound soon turns to one of displeasure. “Did I give you permission to cover yourself?”
“I…I don’t understand, sir,” I reply, trying to figure out what I did wrong.
Axel crosses to me with only a couple steps and grabs my wrists from where I decided to hold my arms in front of me. He pulls them over my head. “When I say I want to see you, that means you will keep yourself on display for my enjoyment, and not try to hide or cover yourself.”
He uses his size and grip to walk me backward until my back is against the wall. He then shifts so that both of my wrists are held in one of his hands, reminding me of the conference room, while the other grabs roughly at one breast.
“This,” he says, giving the breast a squeeze, “and this,” he continues, dropping one hand to cup my bare mound, “belong to me. You will neither hide nor cover them unless I command it. Is that understood?”
I nod. “Yes, sir.”
He smirks. “No, I don’t think you do. I believe you need a lesson in what it means to belong to me.”
One finger dips between the lips of my pussy and traces through the wetness. “So wet and so eager. But you’ll soon learn that you will only come when I allow it. Your pleasure, like the rest of you, is mine, and I’ll only grant it to you when I feel you’ve earned it.”
He trails the finger back up, leaving a cooling line of my own juices across my stomach. “You will keep your hands right here. If you lower them, you will be punished.”
My breath catches as he loosens his grip. “Yes, sir.”
Axel evaluates me for a second, then releases my wrists.
For a brief moment, I wonder what the punishment might be, but I decide I don’t want to know for this first time.
There’s the soft clink of metal, then I feel something hard and cool around one wrist. I glance up to see a cuff attached to a chain and Axel securing it to me. My eyes follow the chain to see it ends at a bar, which can be moved up or down to set a height.
Axel swiftly binds one wrist, then the other, leaving me unable to move away from the wall or do anything to cover myself. He takes a few steps back and admires his work.