Sanctum (Masters and Mercenaries #4.5)(8)

Not physically. Nope. He would never do that. Now casually ripping her heart out of her body and tossing it around like a football—that was another story.

Everyone was looking at her. She was brutally aware that if she didn’t get her ass up quickly, it would make Ryan look bad. It would make her look bad.

She got to her feet though her knees suddenly felt a little wobbly. This hadn’t gone exactly as planned. Joe had mentioned that Adam would need a partner, and she was the only female around for another thirty minutes. It had seemed like a good experiment. She wanted to dip her toes back in the D/s pond, and Adam was perfectly safe.

Ryan wasn’t. He wasn’t safe at all.

But maybe this was the perfect way to prove that she was over him. She’d been in love with Ryan. That was what had made the sex so good, the attraction so heady. She wasn’t now. She’d moved on, so she could handle this.

Maybe. She moved to his side.

“Excellent,” Ryan said. “I’m going to demonstrate on the lovely Jillian, and then we can all practice. Jillian, remove your clothing and kneel.”

Jill felt her eyes go wide with panic. He wanted her to get naked? In front of a room full of strangers? In front of him? She swallowed. The last few weeks had gone a long way in making her comfortable around him, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for this.

“Is there a problem with my instructions, Jill? Was I not clear?”

It was a challenge. A momentary anger flared up. What right did he have to challenge her? Then reason took over. This was D/s. This was BDSM. Nudity was accepted, even expected. If she wanted to get back into the lifestyle, she couldn’t be squeamish. Besides, it wasn’t anything Ryan hadn’t seen before. No one was going to laugh, and no one was going to jump her hot body.

She shakily pulled off her T-shirt and jeans and handed them to Adam. He gave her a little thumbs-up. Hell, she’d seen Adam naked a couple of times. Everyone got naked here. It was normal. It was fine. When her bra came off, Ryan walked over and fingered the little gold rings at her nipples.

“You kept them,” he growled and tugged one lightly. He’d been the one to talk her into her piercings.

It was like there was a direct line from her nipples to her *. She immediately softened as she whimpered, remembering all the times he would run a delicate chain between the rings and a longer one that ran down to the piercing above her clitoris. He’d held her hand as the piercer had done her job, but only after assuring her that the woman touching her had been the very best.

Jill could barely breathe, but something deep inside her was relaxing. This was where she had lived when she was with him. Nothing had mattered but pleasing Ryan.

Ryan turned, giving his attention back to the class. “You see, this sub is very sensitive. Her skin is fine and fair. The key is to give only the stimulation needed to produce the appropriate result. Why do we spank subs?”

“Because they like it,” someone answered.

“Precisely,” Ryan replied in a distinctly academic tone. “Off with the panties, pet.”

It was easier to get rid of the undies than it had been the bra. Somehow she was comfortable. She’d missed this, missed how free and accepted she’d been in clubs and around people in the lifestyle. She’d started out as curious and rapidly had found her place in the Dallas club scene. She’d had a ton of fun with Doms, playing and performing scenes with the ones she’d trusted. She’d even gone so far as to have sex with two of them, and then Ryan had walked into the dungeon. She’d been submissive sexually before, but one look at him and she’d lost her damn brain.

She wasn’t going to lose it again, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun.

Ryan’s deep voice could still get her heart racing though. “The outcome we are attempting to produce is heightened pleasure for our submissive partners or as a disciplinary measure. A Dom who spanks his sub simply for his own pleasure is not a Dom who is welcome at Sanctum. Knees, Jillian.”

Jill managed to drag in a breath as she sank to the proper position. Ryan had been very particular about how she was to greet him. Early on, he’d taught her how to sink back onto her feet and place her hands on her thighs, palms up. She remembered how pleased he’d been when she’d gotten it just right. She forced her knees open, displaying her * for all to see. She might not have kept up her diet, but she still followed a grooming routine, so she was perfectly shaved. She felt a wash of nerves until Ryan placed a hand on her head, acknowledging his pleasure in her submission.

“Lovely, Jill,” Ryan breathed. “Do you wish to serve your Master, slave?”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied quietly. This was what she craved. She didn’t have to be insecure here. There was no place for it. She let it go. Eighteen months she’d been without this. She had thought all she’d missed was Ryan, but it wasn’t true. She missed playing. She missed being able to throw off all her inhibitions and just feel.

Ryan sank down to his chair in a graceful move. He reached out and took her hand. She was trembling as she allowed herself to be laid over his lap.

Ryan’s big hand caressed the cheeks of her ass. She fought hard not to groan.

“As with everything in our world, the key is control,” Ryan explained.

His hand came down with a smack. Jill gasped as the pain bloomed across her skin. Ryan murmured to her as he gently rubbed the spot he’d spanked. The pain subsided, and a sweet heat bloomed across her. There was another crack as Ryan struck again, but Jill just waited for the pain to change to something sweeter. She knew it would happen now and didn’t fight it at all. She stopped counting after the seventh swat and simply sagged across Ryan’s lap. He carefully placed the blows, never striking the same spot twice.