“Sabine?”
“I’ll do it. I’ll be there in a month.”
“Yay! I can’t wait.”
As I end the call, I flop onto my bed and stare at the ceiling. Butterflies leap around in my stomach at the thought of visiting Abby. She lives in a world I’ve only dreamed about. Peripherally. What if I like it?
Chapter 1
Master Kellen
“What the hell is she doing?”
Master Roman, the owner of Surrender and a man I consider a close friend, turns toward me shaking his head. “Hey, Kellen. Yeah, she fancies herself a Domme tonight, so I set her up with Claudia to learn the ropes.”
I cross my arms, plant my feet, and smirk. “That fiery redhead is no more a Domme than I’m a sub. She’s not even a switch.” It’s not that her hair is exactly fire red. It’s more of a subtle auburn. But her personality is feisty.
Master Roman chuckles. “Agreed. But sometimes people need to figure these things out for themselves. She’s researching. I’m humoring her. We all are.”
I inch closer, curiosity dragging me in. I’ve been watching Sabine for a month since she first arrived in Seattle and started coming to Surrender. Her best friend is Abby Wise, the submissive to three members of the club—Julius, Beck, and Levi. I know Sabine is curious, but her tendencies don’t run toward dominance. She’s impulsive and flighty. Someone needs to take her in hand and teach her a few lessons.
I flex my fingers even though I know I’m not the man for the job. I’m not ready for a new submissive, and I’m certainly not ready for one who’s still learning about the lifestyle.
Claudia has a seasoned male submissive on a spanking bench. Ricky. I know Ricky thrives on letting new Dommes use him. He enjoys the unknown. He’s a bit of a masochist, and I’m sure Claudia would never let a newbie strike anyone too hard, but that makes him perfect for demos because if anyone did accidentally cause him pain, he would like it.
Claudia is holding a supple flogger in her right hand, adjusting her grip before she hands it to Sabine. She stands right behind Sabine, helping adjust her stance and giving her tips.
I can’t hear her soft voice, but I know what she’s saying. I’ve been a Dom long enough to know how to train a newbie. Granted, I don’t work often with new Doms, or Dommes for that matter, but I have in the past.
Sabine looks at Claudia with wide eyes, nodding as she lifts the flogger and then makes a tentative strike against Ricky’s naked rear. He turns his head and grins at her.
Claudia scolds him sternly and then swats his bottom with her hand.
I can’t help the smile that lifts my lips, partly because Claudia is a firm enough Domme not to let anyone top from the bottom in any fashion, let alone taunt her. She’s the one working with Sabine, so any reaction from Ricky is taken personally by Claudia.
Sabine takes a step back, the flogger loose in her hand. She’s biting her lower lip and holding the flogger away from her body as if it’s contaminated and she doesn’t want to risk touching more of it than the handle.
The truth is, Sabine is endearing. I get it. I’ve seen women like her before. Women who are dominant personalities in their regular lives who think that transfers to their fetish personalities. Sometimes it does. Often it does not.
In Sabine’s case, it’s more than that. The woman likes to point out that she’s neither a Domme nor a sub. She insists her entire goal here at Surrender is research. I’m not sure anyone has had the heart to point out to her yet that she’s submissive through and through.
I watch Sabine closely as she apologizes quietly to Claudia and returns the flogger. The pale skin of her cheeks is pink. She’s embarrassed and taken aback, which I’d bet money is rare for her. I wish I could hear what she’s saying. In fact, I have the sudden urge to intervene. Go to her. Convince her to see reason. Reason, in my opinion at this moment, being that she certainly isn’t a Domme.
I don’t interrupt of course. Claudia has this under control. She instructs Sabine to stand to one side as she expertly gives Ricky the flogging he expected. Sabine watches closely, eyes wide, wincing every time the leather strikes Ricky’s skin.
By the time Claudia is finished, Sabine needs aftercare worse than Ricky. And I need to adjust my cock.
This is Sabine’s fourth Friday night at Surrender. She caught my eye the first night and has held my attention every time since. I can’t put my finger on why I’m remotely interested in watching her. She’s not at all my type. She’s not even a little. And if she were, she’d probably be a brat.
“You’re interested.”
The voice that startles me from behind belongs to Julius, and I turn to find him looking at Sabine even though he’s speaking to me.
“No. Just watching. She’s gorgeous.”
“And feisty.” Julius smiles at me. “When I first met her, she put me in my place in two seconds. She was very protective of Abby and concerned the three of us were going to hurt her.”
“She may be feisty, but that doesn’t make her a Domme.”
Julius chuckles. “So very true. The thing is, she’s aware of the lifestyle, but can’t seem to wrap her head around the fact that strong women often also submit behind closed doors.”
I nod. Just as I suspected. Sabine not only craves it; she needs it.
“When she figures it out, she’s going to need someone to train her.”
I glance at Julius to find him staring at me pointedly and I shake my head. “Not a chance.”
“Why not? You said yourself she’s gorgeous. I’ve seen you watching her on more than one occasion. I think you’re perfect.”
“Not gonna happen, Julius. I don’t train women. You know that. I like them to come to me already familiar with the lifestyle.”
Julius shrugs as if my argument is flimsy. “I can tell you from personal experience that it’s very gratifying to train a woman to perfectly fit your mold. You know this. You’ve done it before. It’s what Levi, Beck, and I have done with Abby. Hell, she didn’t know the first thing about BDSM when she came to work for us. We’ve trained her to be exactly the submissive we want to spend our lives with.”
“The three of you got lucky. She was already inclined that direction, and you know it. You can’t convince someone to be something they’re not ready for. It will backfire.”
Julius glances at Sabine and Claudia and then back at me. “Well, I’m sure you agree she’s submissive. She’s not fooling anyone with her Domme exploration. She’s not even fooling anyone with her research argument. We’ve demonstrated a lot of different apparatus and toys for her in the last month. I know she’s at war in her mind, but she’s coming around. She watches us closely when we dominate Abby at the house.”
“I can see perfectly well that she’s submissive, and I have no doubt she’ll eventually see the light, but my tastes are very specific, Julius, and you know it.” Everyone at Surrender knows my story. Everyone knows I’m a Daddy Dom. Everyone also knows my little died of breast cancer three years ago. It took me over a year to return to the club, and though I scene with women, I haven’t let myself get attached to anyone, and I haven’t scened with any littles.