Cowboy Casanova (Rough Riders #12)(168)

been kicked in the teeth and kneed in the nads.


“I’ll be honest, Bennett. Your blows sting like hell. I’ve been tempted to run,

especially in the beginning. Me getting whipped does nothing for Cliff, but he

understands it does something for me.”


“Would you miss it if you didn’t have it?” Ben asked.


“Maybe. Would you miss it if you didn’t do it?”


I don’t know.


But he hadn’t missed it in the month he’d been involved with Ainsley.


Cliff said, “We hoped to utilize your whip skills tonight. But given what you’re

wrestling with, we’d understand if you opt not to.”


In his frame of mind, he’d take validation where he could get it. “Which room?”


“Seven. In about thirty minutes?”


“I’ll be there.”


Sending out bad vibes kept subs at bay as Ben attempted to get his head in the game.

Holding his whip, he bypassed a public scene where the woman getting flogged looked

totally bored.


Ah hell. Was that…Zoe?


He ducked from view and hustled down the hallway. He peeked in the window to see if

they were ready for him and stepped inside.


Mary Jane was blindfolded, naked and secured facedown to the bed.


Cliff gave Ben the instructions in low tones. The scene went better for Mary Jane if

she didn’t know where the blows would strike or how many.


Ben walked the perimeter of the bed. That too, heightened her senses. The fall of his

boots on the carpet. The jostling of the bed as he bumped into it. And then that first

whip crack. Rarely did he land the first blow. He loved the sound it made, the leather

whistling through the air before the end connected with solid mass and a sharp crack.


That’s when he found his headspace. The intense focus needed to keep his aim true and

please both Cliff and Mary Jane.


But what had he gotten from the scene?


Ben’s shirt was sweat-soaked and he floated on the buzz of adrenaline when Cliff said,

“Red. She’s done in, Bennett. Thank you.”


He nodded and slipped from the room, the edgy feeling still riding him hard. As he

skirted the crowd, he couldn’t believe Zoe’s scene was still playing out. Their eyes

met.


Hers held a look of frustration. She said, “Please. Bennett. Show him. Help me.”


The weight of onlookers’ stares didn’t faze him. He crossed his arms over his chest

and let the whip dangle. “Say your safe word.”


“No. Just help me.” She didn’t even flinch when her Dom landed two hard swats on the

backs of her legs.


“Rules are rules. Say your safe word and I’ll step in.”


Zoe screamed, “Red! Red! Goddammit!”


The guy halted mid-swat. The same frustration burned in his eyes as in Zoe’s when Ben

stepped from the edge of the crowd. “You’re in charge of this scene?”


“Yes. Who the hell are you?”


“Bennett. And you?”


“Brian.”


“Well, Brian, I hafta ask. Have you played in public with her before?”


“Only once.”