Liability (Suncoast Society #33)(26)

Going through all of that took the better part of an hour.

Seth called for a break for people to stretch their legs, grab a drink of water or snack, or use the bathroom. When they reconvened, they’d get to the actual hands-on part of the class.

Cole finally noticed the bag Mason had brought with him, a large, black rolling suitcase. “What’s that?”

“My toybag,” he said. “You’re welcomed to try out any of my floggers, although I don’t have nearly as many as Seth and Leah. Feel free to use anything in here tonight, too. Everything’s been wiped down and is clean.” He looked a little melancholy himself. “Not playing with anyone right now, anyway. So it’s not like I’ll be using them.”

When the class started back up again, some of the people there began undressing. Mostly women, but a few guys, too. If not fully naked, at least from the waist up. Some of the people already had a flogger or two with them.

Kim expectantly looked up at Cole. “I brought a bikini like Mason suggested.”

Cole glanced at Mason.

“It is easier to demonstrate without clothes on,” Mason said. “Not mandatory to get undressed, though.”

“Just keep your jeans on and put the bikini top on,” Cole told her.

She grinned and didn’t even bother to go to a changing alcove. She stripped her shirt and bra off like the other women had and donned the bikini top.

Seth and Leah—who’d put on a long T-shirt that hung past her ass—walked through the students and helped people with their technique. Cole and Kim were lucky that they had Mason all to themselves, and Mason helped Cole figure out how to do it.

Kim sat on her knees in a chair, backward, since there wouldn’t have been enough benches or crosses for everyone. Several others did the same, either on their knees or astride their chair.

Cole tentatively started waving one of the leather floggers in Kim’s direction, but he was quickly finding that he wasn’t comfortable with the thought of actually hitting her with it.

He turned to Mason and tried handing the flogger to him. “I’d feel better if you showed me.”

Mason didn’t take the flogger. “Are you actually okay with that?”

“I wouldn’t be asking you to do it if I wasn’t.” Mason still wasn’t taking the flogger yet, though.





Mason walked around the chair and knelt down to talk to Kim. “Are you okay if I do this?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

She obviously wasn’t in subspace, because in the several swings Cole had taken in her general direction with the flogger, he’d succeeded in stepping farther away from her, not closer. Mason wasn’t even sure if any of the falls had actually touched her.

“You’re okay with me demonstrating flogger techniques on you to Cole?”

“Of course. I trust you.”

He stared into her brown eyes. For some reason, he had a fleeting feeling that this was a big deal for both of them, a huge step, but he couldn’t understand why, exactly. Wasn’t like he hadn’t helped out with demos before.

This felt…different.

“This is called negotiation,” he reminded her. “Even for something as innocuous as this. I might be a sadist, but I need consent before I do anything.”

She smiled and nodded. “I consent to you flogging me.” She grinned, making him chuckle.

“You’re a little bit of a smart-ass, huh?”

“You got that right,” Cole said.

Mason looked up and caught Cole’s gaze again. Those damned blue eyes.

Cole was smirking.

Mason fought the urge to reach down into his jeans and adjust his cock, although it was starting to throb more than a little. “And you’re okay with me flogging her?”

Cole nodded, still holding the flogger out to him. “I would prefer that you flogged her.” His smirk faded. “Give me time to adjust to this, please? Taking charge in bed is one thing. Once I see how it’s done and she’s liking it, maybe I’ll be able to handle it.”

“Okay. Fair enough.”

Mason stood and walked around behind Kim, this time taking the flogger from Cole, who acted like he couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Cole stepped back out of the way while Mason leaned in to talk with Kim again.

“You’re okay with me touching your back, shoulders, sides, and arms?”

“Anywhere you want.” She grinned up at him.

He felt his inner Dom and sadist, which had lain dormant for far too damn long, wake up and lazily stretch. He arched an eyebrow at her and dropped into Dom tone. “What was that?”

The smile froze on her face, adorable. When she spoke again, she sounded more subdued.

Subby.

“You can touch my back, shoulders, sides, and arms, sir,” she softly said.

“And your hair?”

“Hair?”

“Hair.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He arched his eyebrow again.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

So fast it probably surprised her, he reached out and grabbed her ponytail, not roughly, but firmly, and eased her head back.

Now his cock was definitely stretching and waking up, too. He leaned in, his lips close to her ear. “Good girl,” he whispered before shifting her hair off her back and over her right shoulder, so he’d be less likely to catch it with the falls. Then he put a hand on the back of her head and lightly pressed forward, getting her to put her head down.