Rock Bottom (Tristan & Danika #2)(41)

She shuddered, and I almost came right then.

I plucked at her br**sts as she started to move. “You realize that it’s just a prop at this point,” I told her as she rode me. It didn’t help make my point that I was panting out the words. “Just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it can give you what you want.”

She smiled and hitched up her shoulder in a sexy little shrug. “It’s giving me what I want right now. It’s a mighty fine prop. I’ll just make use of it while you lie there. I promise I’ll leave you alone after I get off again.”

I groaned, my hips bucking her. There was something so luscious about her taking her pleasure, with or without mine. But in the end, we both got ours.

I fell asleep under her, still buried deep, and woke up the same way.

This marriage business suited me just fine.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

FRANKIE

This was not your standard cheesy fetish ball. This was an exclusive gathering of BDSM practitioners, not as a novelty, but as a lifestyle.

Aside from the woman on my arm, there were no novices here. This was the hardcore scene. I was taking it very slowly with her, as she had never done any of this before, and I was more than a little hesitant to be the one to break her in.

Typically, I liked a seasoned sub, who knew how to act and what behaviors to avoid, but something about her drew me in, made me break my own rules, and indulge her whims.

Unfortunately, I had feelings for her, but the verdict was still out on whether she wanted me as a novelty or an actual person.

Estella was avidly curious about the lifestyle I led, and so, after a million questions, I’d decided to just let her see for herself. This gathering would undoubtedly shock her, but there was not a soul here that didn’t follow all of the necessary rules to the letter of the law. That was the important part, because here she could observe with no potential threat of harm to her.

It was held in the penthouse of an expensive, exclusive apartment complex just off the strip. I had no idea who owned the place, but it didn’t matter. If James was attending that meant it had been vetted well, since he would never attend a gathering that could potentially ‘out’ him. He was too public a figure not to be careful at maintaining his privacy.

A bald, muscular man met us at the door. Deuce. I knew him. I nodded politely at him as I walked through the entrance. He was a wealthy Dom, and we’d been attending many of the same functions for years.

I didn’t look back at Estella, expecting her to follow.

The decor was sparse but modern, almost every surface black. It was a very large suite and not overcrowded. These types of functions never had more than thirty participants, and even that high of a number was rare.

Generally, you could tell the Doms from the subs at a glance. Subs almost always wore less clothing. I was one of the few exceptions, with my ripped up jean skirt, and a shredded black half-shirt that showed off some serious under boob. Estella, in contrast, wore a rather conservative black dress that hugged her soft curves to perfection.

I’d never been a huge fan of covering up my ink. I saw it as art, and displayed it accordingly, my clothes framing my tattoos rather than covering them.

I smiled big when I saw James. I was blessed in the friend department, having many that I was close with, but James would always have a special place in my heart. There were few I admired more, or had so much in common with. I remembered him as a tortured teen, and now, at only twenty-four, a formidable man. I felt pride in him, like a big sister might.

He had Jolene with him. She was his go-to sub. I didn’t care for her, but they were compatible in the most rudimentary, base way, and so I understood his attraction to her. He’d never have a complication with that one that his checkbook couldn’t cure.

I gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, completely ignoring Jolene, as that was my prerogative. She was no conversationalist.

James had his eye on Estella the second he spotted her behind me, and it barely wavered as we made polite small talk. He wasn’t one to mince words, and quickly put the spotlight on her.

“Are you going to introduce us? Where did you find her?”

I smiled. I couldn’t really tell if he was interested in her on a personal level, or interested in my interest in her. You didn’t often see new faces at these things.

“This is Estella. She’s a…friend, who is curious about the lifestyle.”

He didn’t question if I trusted her. He had enough faith in me to know that my judgement was sound.

“Is she yours?” He sounded just a touch bored, as he often did. Some of that boredom was cultivated, but just as much of it was a sad sort of ennui.

I sent Estella a cursory glance. She was eyeing up James as most women did the first time they saw him. He was a God, even I could see that, but it still stung to see her display such blatant admiration for someone else, and a man, to boot.

“No. We have no ties. Not like that.” Especially if she was bi. Bi girls were nothing but walking heartbreak for girls like me.

“Well, that’s a pity. You two look good together.” His voice was amused.

I shrugged, looking around. “She’s new to this, and wants to experience the lifestyle. I’m just her guide, for the moment.”

“May I kiss her, Mr. Cavendish?” Jolene broke in, her voice low and throaty.

That had me clenching my teeth, but Estella wasn’t mine. She’d told me clearly that she wanted to experience the lifestyle, and this was certainly a part of that.