Liability (Suncoast Society #33)(11)

Another thing that was a not uncommon issue with some guys. Sometimes, when it was the woman bringing the couple into the lifestyle, the vanilla male partner felt threatened and saw any male Dominant as an automatic threat, real or perceived, to their relationship. Usually perceived and not based in any reality other than the guy’s already shaky ego and inherent insecurities.

It was refreshing to not only have an in-depth conversation with someone this new to the lifestyle, but who was openly looking for guidance and advice without any kind of defensive mode being engaged.

At one point, when Kim had left the table to go use the restroom, Cole took the opportunity to ask Mason a question he sensed had been on the man’s mind all evening.

“What happens if she ends up wanting to do stuff I just…can’t do? I love her, but I don’t want to make her miserable.” Cole’s focus was on the hallway where Kim had gone. “Do I just make the decision to let her go so she can be happy and find what she needs?”

Wow. Had Freddie only been this open-minded and not a jealous sandspur, maybe they’d still have something resembling a relationship, albeit a long-distance one.

“For starters, don’t panic,” Mason reassured him. “It’s not automatically an either-or situation. It’s common for people to start out overwhelmed in this and then quickly grow into loving things they’d been terrified of at the start. It’s also very common for couples to have agreements where one or both partners can play with others. Not every person knows every technique. Like fire cupping. Not everyone does that. So if someone wants to get that done, it’s okay for them to go play with someone who does it. Or if one partner is Dominant, but they’re not a sadist, they might green-light their masochistic submissive partner to play with a sadist under certain rules.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s all about communication and trust.”

Cole slowly nodded. “I hadn’t thought about it like that before. I mean, about…division of labor, so to speak.” He smiled again, and Mason couldn’t help but smile back.

“Take me, for example,” Mason said. “I’m not a service Top. Not my thing. Before I moved away, there used to be a friend I’d meet at the club, and she liked to be caned. Really heavy play. Lucky for her, I enjoyed the hell out of caning her. Her husband didn’t like doing that, but he let her play with me. I wound her up, returned her to him, and he got to do whatever it was they did after they left the club.”

“Are they here tonight?”

“No, unfortunately they moved to Washington state a few years back. And nothing against service Tops. In your case, it might be a good idea to get to know some reputable ones who frequently play at the club. They can help you and Kim figure out what it is you do and don’t like.”

After Kim returned, Mason was curious to see how Cole would handle their conversation in her absence.

Again the man surprised him. Cole immediately summarized their conversation to her, finishing with, “So what do you think?”

She looked a little like a deer in the headlights. Adorably overwhelmed. Enough so it turned his sadistic crank another notch.

That wasn’t a gay or straight thing for him. It was completely related to the situation and individual people for him, not tied to a gender or sexual orientation at all.

“I…I didn’t know that was a thing,” she said, looking to Mason. “How would we go about doing that?”

“I think the safest thing is to start by coming to the club on a regular basis and attending classes. I’m planning on being there this coming Saturday afternoon for Seth and Leah’s flogging 101 demo, if you’d like to go. It’s free, and you don’t have to participate. You can just watch. Some of us are going out to dinner between that class and the evening play session, too, if you’d like to join us. And you can come back with us later to the evening play session.”

“We’re not members, though,” Cole said.

“The classes are open to non-members. You can attend that night as my guests, or you can join.”

Kim still looked a little terrified. Like maybe she was beginning to think she’d gotten in too far over her head. “I thought it’d be hard to join.”

Mason grinned. “Naw, it’s easy. They dropped the blood oaths and new-moon goat sacrifices a few years back.”

Cole immediately laughed, but Kim’s eyes widened, like dinner plates, before she realized he was teasing and started laughing, too.

Another half turn of his sadistic crank.

Hmm. This could be fun.

Cole looked down at her. “It’s up to you, honey. I’m fine with going, if you’d like to.”

She looked like she was trying to decide if the net positioned just below where she was about to jump off the cliff was real or not.

Finally, she turned to Mason and nodded. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you. Yes, I’d like that.”





That morning, after Mason had gotten up and found another text from Freddie, he’d set the man’s number to mute all activity. Calls, voice mails, and texts. Later that evening, once the munch had broken up and after exiting the restaurant, Mason sat in his car and scrolled through his phone.

He had four texts from Freddie and a missed call where the man hadn’t left a voice mail.