Enraptured Read online

  “Diet Coke would be great,” she said. “I’m not twenty-one yet.”

  Roman smiled as the caterer poured the soda into a plastic cup with ice and added a lemon wedge on top.

  “Thank you,” Jessica said, taking a long sip.

  “You keep reminding me you’re not legal. Are you trying to tell me you’re too young to be here, or are you trying to get me to give you alcohol?” Roman asked.

  Jessica blushed. “I’m sorry. Neither, sir.”

  He liked the way she sounded when she called him sir. Her lips, covered only in a bit of gloss, parted beautifully when she spoke, revealing straight, white teeth.

  “Here,” he said, handing her his beer. “I haven’t actually had any of this. I don’t care for beer.”

  Jessica took the beer carefully, as if wondering if he were testing her. “Thanks.” She took a sip. “I’ve had beer before, obviously. I mean . . . you know, keg parties and stuff in high school.”

  Roman nodded. The beer she now drank cost as much as an entire keg of whatever piss she’d drunk in high school, not that it mattered.

  “This is much better than that, though,” she murmured, and took another sip.

  “Don’t get drunk,” he said. The words came out harsher than he’d intended them to.

  “I won’t, sir. I promise.” She set the beer down on the deck by her chair and picked up the sunscreen again.

  “Let me help you with that.”

  Without a word, she handed him the sunscreen and slowly undid the towel from around her chest. The gray fabric dropped to the chair, revealing her thin, muscular body and pert breasts.

  He focused on not smiling, because he knew if he smiled it would come across as leering. He didn’t want to scare away the girl, not now.

  “Noon is peak time for sunburns,” he said, squirting some of the thick white cream into his hand. He rubbed his hands together to warm the sunscreen before bringing his hands down on her back. Her skin was soft and smooth, with tan lines already in place. Running his hands firmly over her shoulders, he covered her upper back in long, deft strokes.

  “Yeah,” she said, and sighed as he rubbed her muscles a bit, massaging the cream into her skin.

  With two fingers he lifted up the bikini string across her back and made sure to cover the skin underneath as well. How easy it would be to pull the string and make the bikini top fall to the chair alongside the towel. He imagined what her nipples might look like—small and pink, most likely.

  “Almost done,” he said softly, and rubbed the sunscreen down her lower back, covering her completely.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Do you want to use some for yourself?”

  He wiped his hands over his face and ears, enjoying the scent of coconuts. “I had some left over. That’ll do for now.”

  Jessica took another sip of her beer and looked out across the deck at the other guests milling around. “I think I said the wrong thing to Elisabeth.”

  At the mention of her name, Roman turned his head sharply to Jessica. “What did you say?”

  “Oh! Nothing. I don’t know. I asked her if it was true that . . . you trained her. Before she married Trevor.”

  “And what did Elisabeth say?”

  “She said yes. That she’d tell me about it another time. But then she sorta . . . ran off.” Jessica gestured to the outdoor bar area, where Elisabeth was chatting amiably with Andrew, her former Master’s current lover.

  “Hmm.” Roman followed her gaze over to Elisabeth. She seemed so happy with Trevor.

  Good. Good for her, then. He didn’t need her anyway, there were more fish in the sea. A different lid to his pot.

  “I shouldn’t have said anything,” Jessica said, looking down at her hands.

  “I don’t mind talking about it,” Roman said. “Trevor sent her to me to be trained, and so I did. Then she went back to Trevor. Happens all the time.”

  “What happens all the time?”

  “I train submissives, and when they are ready, they move on to wherever they’re meant to be. And Elisabeth . . .” He sighed. “Elisabeth is meant to be with Trevor.” The words felt good coming out of his mouth, as if he’d lifted a burden by saying them.

  “They’re a great couple,” Jessica agreed, “but I can’t imagine anyone being dominated by you and then wanting to leave.” She laughed, as if it were a joke.

  Was it?

  “You’d be surprised. I’m not exactly what you’d call an easy Dom. I require complete submission. And I’m sure you’ve heard I’m a sadist.”

  “I . . . may have heard something like that,” she admitted. “What does that mean, though, really? I mean, I know that BDSM stands for bondage, domination, submission, and sadomasochism, but what’s the difference between all of that? Or is it just a bunch of words all meaning kink?”

  Roman smiled. “There’s definitely a difference. Take bondage, for instance.” He looked at her, practically naked in front of him in her tiny patriotic flag bikini. The all-American girl with wheat blonde hair. She certainly didn’t look like a kinkster, not like Elisabeth with her wry smile and black hair, or Mistress Lauren with her corsets and Dominatrix-inspired haircut.

  “Bondage,” he continued, “would be if I tied you up.”

  “I see,” she whispered, looking around as if to see if anyone could hear them.

  “Everyone here is in the lifestyle, so there’s no need to be shy,” Roman said. “Unless I’ve offended your sensibilities?”

  “No! No, of course not. I asked, after all. I want to learn.” She sat up straighter and looked at him.

  “Then domination. Domination is when I am in control of what happens in a scene. I choose how things go, what boundaries are pushed. The submission involved is necessary, because I can’t dominate someone who doesn’t want to submit to me. It would be pointless.”

  “But you said you trained Elisabeth, so was she not submissive?”

  “When I first met Elisabeth, she purposefully disobeyed in order to be punished. She’s a masochist at heart, and loves pain. It matched well with my sadistic streak, I’m afraid.”

  “How so?”

  “I get off,” he said, looking into her chocolate brown eyes, “on hurting a woman who desires to be hurt. It turns me on. Spanking, for example. I love to spank women.”

  “Why?” Jessica’s face was full-on pink at this point, but she seemed to be trying to hold her own in the conversation.

  “It’s part of my kink. Spanking is the least of it. I imagine I shouldn’t tell you more or you’ll get scared off.”

  “I won’t. I’m fascinated by all of it, honestly. It’s . . . it’s part of the reason I chose to work at WhipperSnapper. I could’ve gotten a job waiting tables or selling jeans. Not everyone chooses to work at a BDSM club. But . . . I did.” Jessica laughed nervously. “You’re the first person I’ve admitted that to, by the way.”

  “I have ways of making people talk,” Roman said, and smiled.

  Lauren ambled over with Marc to where they were sitting. “What are you doing to the poor girl, Roman? She’s red as a beet!”

  Jessica felt herself blushing even harder. “We were just talking. Roman was explaining some things to me.”

  “Did he explain that he’s a freaky dude?” Marc asked, rubbing his shaved head with a grin.

  “That I did,” Roman confirmed. “Amazingly, she hasn’t gotten up to walk away yet.”

  Lauren sat down on the same chair as her, her warm skin touching her thigh, and put her arm around Jessica conspiratorially.

  “You know, the best way to learn more about BDSM is to try it with someone you trust.” Lauren’s mouth was so close to Jessica’s ear that her breath tickled her, making Jessica smile.

  “That makes sense,” Jessica said, looking at Lauren’s pale white hands. Her diamond engagemen
t ring sparkled in the sunlight, glinting tiny rainbows across the deck.

  “Do you trust me, Jessica?”

  She could feel everyone’s gaze on her—well, Roman and Marc’s, anyway. Did she trust Mistress Lauren?

  Yes. Of course, yes. Lauren was a girl, which helped a lot. And she was famous at the club for being an incredible Domme. If anyone could introduce her to the lifestyle, it was Mistress Lauren.

  This was why they invited her. Jessica looked up at Lauren in surprise. “What do you want me to do?”

  Lauren smiled and smoothed her long red hair over her shoulder. “Come swimming with me!”

  Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. Not that she was against doing something, it just seemed kinda . . . soon. She’d spent so much time denying her interest in the scene that to admit she was curious and then immediately be propositioned surprised her more than she cared to admit.

  At least it made sense now—she thought she had nothing to offer the BAD Boys’ crew. But she did. She had herself. She could offer them herself.

  The thought excited her. Jessica laughed and followed Lauren into the pool, gasping at the chill as the water splashed around them.

  Lauren twirled, weightless in the water. She reached her hand out to Jessica. “Come on, cutie!”

  Cutie. Jessica smiled and swam an easy lap around Lauren before coming up to her from under the water. “Boo.”

  “You’re terrifying,” Lauren said. “Like a sea monster.”

  “That’s what I was going for. Or I could be a shark.” Jessica dunked back under the water and put her hand up like a fin.

  Before she could come back up for air, though, Lauren ducked her head under and looked at her through the clear water. Her red hair floated around her like a pillow. She looked like Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

  It seemed to Jessica that they shared a secret moment then, with everyone splashing and laughing around them, they were silent together. Staring at each other in the cool water, holding their breath.

  Jessica popped her head above the surface and took a deep breath. When Lauren came up, she was right next to her. So close.

  “You’re so pretty,” Jessica whispered. “And yes, I trust you. I don’t think I said that before, but I do.”

  “Thank you,” Lauren said, and reached out her hand as if to touch her. But before she did, she stopped. “May I touch you?”

  “Of course.” Adrenaline rushed through her. What was she consenting to? But Lauren just stroked her cheek, caressing it almost.

  “Have you ever kissed a girl?” Lauren asked.

  “Yes.”

  Lauren laughed. “I wasn’t expecting that. When was this?”

  “You know, high school. And college, before I left. Everyone does at parties and stuff. Guys love it. We’d get free drinks.” Jessica widened her eyes. “I totally sound like a slut.”

  “No, no you don’t. You sound like a fun girl to hang out with. I’m glad you came today.” Lauren wrapped her arms around Jessica’s waist, and they swam together, kicking their legs until they reached the stairs.

  Lauren sat on one of the pool steps, her body still under the water, and Jessica sat next to her.

  “I’m straight, though,” Jessica said. Ugh. Now she sounded even worse. “Obviously I have nothing against gay people.”

  “Obviously,” Lauren laughed. “I’m straight too. But sometimes it’s fun to kiss a girl. It’s different.”

  “Yeah.” Softer. Sweeter, somehow.

  “Ever since Marc and I got together I can only Domme women. No boys allowed.” She sighed dramatically. “He’s such a party pooper.”

  Jessica didn’t know what to say, so she just poked her toes out the water and looked at her purple pedicure. It looked pretty good considering she’d done it herself. And she didn’t really believe that Lauren could miss other men when she had a guy as hot as Marc Wilde.

  “Look,” Lauren said, and nodded her head to the other corner of the pool. Two men were making out, grinding against each other as if no one was watching. Or maybe they just didn’t care.

  “Nice,” Jessica said, and looked around, hoping to find something she could point out to Lauren, to make it even. A woman was lying facedown on a lounge chair, not far from where she and Roman had sat earlier, squealing in delight as her Dom snapped at her bare skin with a wet towel. “Look at them.”

  “What do you think of that?” Lauren asked.

  “She doesn’t seem to mind, I guess.”

  “Look closer.” Lauren put her hand on Jessica’s thigh and stroked it under the water. Jessica stilled, not wanting her to stop. She still couldn’t get over the fact that Mistress Lauren had chosen to befriend her—to flirt with her. “She likes it. It turns her on. Does it turn you on?”

  Jessica couldn’t tell if the scene on the lounge chair was arousing her or Lauren’s soft hand on her thigh, but she felt needy, like she wanted to get off. “Yes,” she said. “I . . . I think it does. Or maybe it’s just that thing you’re doing to my leg.”

  “Can I spank you, Jessica? Pretty please?”

  The question hung in the air for a millisecond.

  “Okay. Where?” Jessica laughed, surprised at her own answer.

  “Well,” Lauren said, “let’s go find Marc. As my Dom, he insists on watching whenever I scene with a sub.”

  “Oh. I didn’t realize it would be like a whole scene. Can’t it just be a little spanking?” Jessica laughed nervously, wishing she’d had more of that beer before she’d set it down.

  “It will be. But I still need to make it good for you.” Lauren stood up and held her hand out to her. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Jessica took her hand and stood, water dripping down her body in rivulets. “I’m soaking wet.”

  “Me too. It’ll feel good in the breeze. And I can spank you lightly and with a wet ass it’ll still sting.”

  “Oh my God.” Jessica followed Lauren across the deck, shaking her head and laughing. She saw her beer near the chair and quickly reached down and took a long sip. “Liquid courage,” she joked.

  “You don’t need that. I’ll take good care of you for your first ever spanking.” Lauren winked, then called across the deck to her fiancée. “Marc! Would you like to join us for . . . a chat?”

  Marc stood and stretched, as if he’d been dozing. His shirt was off, revealing full sleeves of tattoos down his arms and even more across his muscular chest and back.

  Lauren caught her staring. “I know. He’s like a walking work of art.”

  Jessica could only nod dumbly. He was going to watch her get spanked? The idea gave her a little thrill. But if she could pick one man to watch, it wouldn’t be him. It would be Roman Chase.

  Something about him turned her on even as it scared her. Or maybe it was the fact that he scared her a bit that turned her on. She glanced around, but didn’t see Roman anywhere.

  “Second thoughts?” Lauren asked. “It’s okay, either way. No big deal.”

  “No, I’m not looking for an escape or anything,” Jessica laughed as Marc strolled over, his shorts hanging low on his hips. Wow. “I was just wondering where our host went.”

  “Roman’s probably inside, hiding. He always does that during his parties,” Marc said. “Not exactly a people person.”

  Jessica could relate to the need to get away when things got overwhelming.

  “Can we go inside, too?” she asked.

  “Do you want Roman to join us?” Lauren asked. “I’m sure he’d love to.”

  Oh my goodness. Would he? The idea of Roman standing over Lauren while she spanked her made her breathless with anticipation. “I wouldn’t mind,” she whispered. “I mean, it is his house and all.”

  “What’s your safeword, Jess?” Marc asked.

  “I don’t have an offic
ial safeword,” she said. “I’ve never . . . played . . . before.”

  “But you’ve thought about it,” Lauren replied. “How could you not, working at WhipperSnapper?”

  Jessica blushed. “Yes. I always imagined that if I ever did need to pick a safeword, I’d pick ‘margarita.’ It’s my favorite drink.”

  Marc and Lauren spoke at the exact same time, surprising her. “You’re too young to drink.” They burst out laughing, and Lauren smacked Marc’s arm.

  “Jinx!” she said. “Margarita it is. You won’t need to use it, though, I promise. Let’s go find Roman.”

  “We’ll get his house all wet,” Jessica said, staring up at the intimidating mansion.

  “Then Mistress Lauren will have something to spank you for,” Marc said, and gave Lauren a smack on her wet bottom. The sound was loud, like it stung, but Lauren just yelped then blew him a kiss.

  Marc walked through the front door without knocking, clearly knowing his way around. It was cool and dark inside, and Jessica shivered, feeling very undressed in her tiny string bikini.

  “I don’t think we should be in here,” Jessica whispered. “It’s so dark. Are you sure he’s even inside?”

  “It’s always like this,” Lauren said, rolling her eyes. “Roman’s house is as moody and chilly as he is.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Roman said from somewhere above them.

  Jessica gasped, then laughed. “You are always sneaking up on me.”

  Roman smiled down at them from the second floor, which looked down over the stairway and grand foyer. “To be fair, I think this time you guys sneaked up on me.”

  “Can we use your dungeon?” Lauren asked, and Jessica shook her head instinctively.

  She’d thought she wanted to see Roman’s dungeon, but now that she was there, in his house, wearing what amounted to four small triangles of clothing held together by strings, it all seemed like too much, too soon.

  Lauren must have noticed the expression on her face. As Roman came down the stairs, Lauren said to him, “Actually, we don’t need the dungeon for just a little spanking. Where would be a good place for that, do you think?”