The Win Page 2

  “Depends on how well behaved you are.”

  “Look, I’m not sure about this.”

  “Before we begin, there is something you should know.”

  “What?”

  “You need a safe word.”

  “A what?”

  “Something you can say that will end things at once. Submission should only ever be done by consent. In the moment things can happen, you can scream no at the top of your voice and have it ignored. Some people at the club get off on having their requests ignored. But no one ever ignores a safe word. It is a law of nature, like gravity or the turning of the tides.

  You need a safe word. Once you have one, it is your power. Say it and all this ends. Whatever we are doing, whatever you are doing, stops at once, in an instant. What would you like your safe word to be?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t think.”

  “How about Wonderland? Suits you, I think.”

  “Is that because one side of me makes you bigger?”

  “You’re not a mushroom.”

  “No, but you’re a fun guy.”

  I winced and she giggled. “Sorry, ruining the mood, aren’t I?”

  “You are,” I said, swatting her behind. “So knock it off.”

  She seemed calmer now the talk about the safe word was out of the way. “What do you like about submitting?” I asked, reaching into the cupboard and bringing out a pair of scissors.

  She stared at them and then at me. “I like having my limits tested,” she said. “And I like pleasing you. It’s both I think.” As she talked, I walked slowly towards her. “I get scared but good scared. Like being spanked, it’s pain but a good kind of pain. And I know how much it turns you on to do it.”

  “Would you want me to stop if you cried?”

  “I don’t know. Are you likely to make me cry?”

  “I don’t know your limits yet.”

  “Can I answer that later?”

  “Of course.” I stopped in front of her, kneeling down and placing the scissors at the bottom of her dress. “Have you used sex toys before?”

  “I had a vibrator once, as a joke gift.”

  “Did you use it?” I asked, starting to snip slowly upwards.

  “A couple of times.”

  "Enjoy it?"

  "Yes." She sounded ashamed.

  “Anything else?”

  “Like what?”

  “Dildo? Nipple clamps? Butt plug?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  I had reached her hips. I paused to glance at her panties before standing up, leaving a huge panel cut out of the front of the dress. I tugged at the fabric over her chest, snipping two circles to expose her lacy thin bra. “Ever been caned or whipped? Tied down?”

  “Never.”

  “Do you think you would like it?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not even sure I like this.”

  “I think you do,” I said, plunging my hand into her panties. “I can tell by how wet you are.”

  “Am I?”

  I nodded, snipping at her shoulder straps until the dress fell to the floor.

  “Together we are going to do many things,” I said, cutting sections from her bra, doing it slowly, showing her I was in control. “But they all stop the moment you say the safe word. If I do not hear it, I will assume you are happy. Even if you say no, if you tell me to stop, beg me not to hurt you. I will keep going unless I hear the safe word. That way, you are free to explore who you are, what you are. Do you understand?”

  She nodded slowly. “I think so. I just hope I don’t forget the safe word.”

  “I don’t think you will.” Cutting the middle of her bra, the two halves fell away, revealing her breasts, the nipples rock hard.

  I leaned down, starting to cut away at her panties, taking my hand, letting my hand brush over her soft skin as I worked. “I have several things planned. They might come from nowhere. I might snatch you off the street, make you go out in public with no underwear, ask you to flash a stranger, anything that I think will bring me pleasure to see.”

  “I’m not sure about flashing a stranger.”

  “Then you will say the safe word.” It wasn’t something I was seriously considering, I just didn’t want her to think our life was going to consist of the predicable. I wanted to dominate her, I wanted to own her. I wanted her to find her sexual destiny, be the Goddess I knew she was. The only way to do that was to keep her guessing, keep myself guessing too. See what the future held for both of us.

  Her panties fell away. She was naked. Her hands were held in place. “Pick up the pieces and put them in the corner,” I said as I sat down in the chair.

  I watched her have to shift her body around so she could lean to get her hand on the cut portions of fabric littering the floor. Watching her make a neat pile of them just because I’d told her to made me harder than ever. My cock throbbed with desire as she moved back into place.

  I took the wand from the cupboard. It was fully charged and ready to go. I stood in front of her, holding it to her face. “Do you know what this is?”

  “No. Is it a vibrator?”

  “Good girl. It’s an extremely powerful one. I doubt you will last long.”

  I switched it on, running it down her chest, over her nipples. “Oh my,” she said, her voice fading into quiet moans as I ran the bulbous end of the wand down, down, brushing over her clit, making her shriek. “That’s so strong,” she said. “I’m not sure I can take it.”

  “You can,” I replied, playing it over her pussy. “And this is only the lowest setting.”

  I turned it up a notch, moving it back to her clit. She shuddered in place. “Oh my God,” she said. “I can’t take it.”

  “Yes you can,” I replied, pressing it against her. I plunged my tongue into her mouth as her orgasm hit her a second later. I swallowed her breath, exploring her mouth, staring into her wild eyes as her climax shook her body. When it faded away, I pulled back, switching off the wand.

  “That was so good,” she said, her voice weak. “I never thought I could come so fast.”

  “And we’ve only just begun,” I said, moving across to the cupboard. “What shall we play with next?”

  THREE

  ALICE

  The next few days were the happiest of my life. I was taken to new heights of pleasure, feeling things I didn’t think were possible. All because of him.

  From the moment he tied that metal bar to my wrists, I wondered what I had let myself in for. To think of the interview at Club Darkness. Do you know much about the BDSM lifestyle?

  I didn’t then but I learned quickly. I learned very quickly once I became part of Ethan Powers world. I was afraid when the bar was attached. I was completely in his control. There was no way I could take it off without his help. There was no way I could stop him doing whatever he wanted.

  I watched him cut my clothes away with scissors. I could do nothing. He used the thing he’d called a wand to give me the fastest orgasm I’d ever achieved. Not only that but it was one of the most powerful too, so intense I almost collapsed.

  He’d only just begun. By the time he removed the bar from my wrists and let my arms fall to my side, I was aching almost everywhere. He’d slid an ice cold and incredibly heavy butt plug into my ass. It had sat there while he licked my clit to yet another orgasm.

  He’d attached nipple clamps to my chest, a thin gold chain dangling between them, my sensitive buds feeling a mixture of pleasure and pain that was almost too much to bear. It was nothing compared to the plug in my ass. The thought of it had terrified me and when I’d bent over the table for him to insert it, I almost said the safe word, I almost called out. Almost.

  I didn’t say it. I wanted to know if I could do it, if I could take it. I also didn’t want to let him down. I had not been in his life long and I got the feeling he might be disappointed if I ended things so soon. He might even decide I wasn’t the right person for him and I wouldn’t be able to bear it if that we
re true.

  Most of all, I was curious. I wanted to know how it would feel. It did hurt, at first. But the pain was different to that of stubbing a toe or cutting yourself. It was a dull heaviness that lasted only a few seconds, like when he’d dipped his finger in my ass. It soon became a warming fullness, combined with a feeling that I was sexy as hell, that this was turning him on as much as me. I thought about his cock being in there in place of the plug and the thought, though scary, excited me more than I expected.

  I would have happily stayed in that room all day, having him worship my body with every toy he had available. I had no idea how long we had been in there but out of nowhere he had stopped, placing everything back in the cupboard before untying the wrist straps and taking hold of me, wrapping his arms around me, pressing his body against mine.

  He hadn’t even come. I had enjoyed more orgasms than I could count and he hadn’t put his cock in me even once.

  “Why did you stop?” I asked, breathing in the wonderful smell of him.

  “Because you invited me to dinner with your mother.”

  “Oh, no, I forgot about that.”

  “Relax. We have an hour to get ready. And for you to recover your senses. How was that for a first time?”

  He kissed me softly before I could answer.

  “It was wonderful,” I said, my whole body tingling with pleasure. “Absolutely wonderful.”

  Dinner was not wonderful. As we drove there, my stress levels were already through the roof. “Just relax,” he said. “Nothing’s going to go wrong. It’ll be fine.”

  “You’ve not met her.”

  But it turned out most of the stress was in my own head, the reality far calmer than the apprehension gnawing away at me.

  We arrived at the house just before six. I held his hand tightly as I pushed the door open. “You don’t knock?” he asked.

  “She’d kill me if I knocked,” I replied, calling out, “Hello, anyone in?”

  “Through here.”

  The TV was on. Mum had her easel up and was watching a recording of Watercolour Challenge. She had every episode on video. I had tried to persuade her once to upgrade to DVD but she wasn’t having it. “You can’t record like this,” she had replied, running her hand along the shelf of videos. “These don’t get scratched either. I’ve heard VVDs get scratched.”

  “DVDs mum.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “No you said, oh, never mind.”

  Technology and my mother didn’t mix. She didn’t even own a mobile phone. “Hey, sweetie,” she said, not looking away from her painting. “How are you?”

  “Mum, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  She glanced back at me over her shoulder, her paintbrush falling from her hand as she saw Ethan standing next to me.

  “Mum, this is Ethan.”

  “You, you’ve got a boyfriend.”

  “Just calm down, Mum, please.”

  “I am calm. It’s just, I thought maybe you were gay.”

  “Mother!”

  “Well, you never brought a boy home before. Then you had all those Katy Perry posters and I thought-”

  “Oh God,” I muttered. Beside me, Ethan was laughing. I turned to him and scowled, “You’re not helping.”

  She continued. “You know, I kissed a girl and-”

  “Mum, please, stop.”

  “I don’t mind. I’m open minded. You sang that all the time. Besides, the woman at the garden centre is one and she’s lovely.”

  “She might be.”

  “I was thinking of introducing you two.”

  “I’m not gay, Mum.”

  “Hi,” Ethan said, reaching his hand out as my blood pressure went through the roof. “Ethan Powers, delighted to meet you.”

  She took his hand, shaking it firmly. “I know who you are, Mr Powers.”

  “You do?”

  “I know more about you than you think.”

  “Tabloids don’t always tell the truth.”

  “Mum, don’t be rude.”

  “Sorry, where are my manners? Would you like a tea, Mr Powers.”

  “Please, call me Ethan. And yes, I’d love a tea.”

  We stepped apart and she walked through the middle, heading off to the kitchen. “So,” Ethan said as I paused the video. “Something you want to tell me?”

  “I didn’t just have Katy Perry posters on my wall.”

  “This is going to be so much fun. I can see why you didn’t want me to come.”

  Dinner consisted of me curling my toes under the table but she was on pretty good behaviour for the most part. I got interrogated about how we met but luckily Ethan didn’t contradict me when I said, “At work.” It wasn’t a lie either. Technically, that was how we met.

  “I wish your father was around to see this,” Mum said as she dished out the potatoes. “Our little girl growing up.”

  “I’m twenty-four, Mum.”

  “I know how old you are, Alice. You seem to forget I gave birth to you.”

  “Oh, no, don’t.”

  “Fourteen hours it took, Ethan. I’ve got some photos if you want to see?”

  “You don’t,” I said. “Not if you want to keep your appetite.”

  “Maybe later,” Ethan said. “So, are you an artist, Mrs Lawson?”

  “In a manner of speaking. I teach it.”

  “Oh, right. That must be interesting. Do you exhibit at all?”

  “Not anymore. The galleries aren’t interested in landscapes, they want fecal matter smeared over tampons. Gravy?”

  “No, thank you, I’m good.”

  “Mum, will you please stop being gross.”

  “I’m not, am I?”

  “Yes!”

  “Sorry, dear. Anyway, dig in. We don’t stand on ceremony here, Ethan.”

  We managed to get through the rest of the meal relatively unscathed. She asked about my new job, I stuck to the line that it was bar work, giving Ethan a kick under the table when he tried to laugh next to me.

  After we’d eaten, she insisted on giving Ethan a rundown on all the reasons why Watercolour Challenge shouldn’t have been cancelled. To his credit, he listened and nodded in all the right places.

  Just after eight as she went through to boil the kettle again, Ethan leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I want to fuck you.”

  “Right, Mum,” I said as she reappeared. “We need to get going.”

  “Already?”

  “Yep. Got work tomorrow.”

  “Well, you will come again, won’t you Ethan?”

  I stifled a laugh as he said, “I hope so.”

  “It’s been lovely seeing you, chicken,” she said, giving me a hug. “Don’t be a stranger.”

  “Of course not, night, Mum.”

  In the car outside, I put my head in my hands. “I’m so sorry about that.”

  “You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” he replied, squeezing my knee at the same time. “She was lovely.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. I had a great time. When you went to the loo, she even offered to teach me to paint.”

  “She did?”

  “I might take her up on it.”

  “You’re teasing me.”

  “I’m not. I’ve always wanted to learn.”

  "Your funeral," I said with a shrug, secretly glad he wasn't running for the hills as fast as he could.

  We drove home and he took me to bed as soon as we got in. We didn’t get out of it until noon the next day and by then I was barely able to walk. I was still feeling the effects by work that night.

  It wasn’t the same working behind the bar without him there. I caught Rowena halfway through the night and asked her if there was any chance of him getting his membership back. She shook her head. “There’s only one way and it’s not something he can do.”

  “What? What is it?”

  “I’m sorry, Alice. I shouldn’t have got your hopes up. He’s not going to be allowed back.”


  “Oh.”

  I thought about quitting. But I liked having my independence. He might have all the money in the world but I wouldn’t have dreamed of asking for any.

  I needed to earn my own way in the world and this was the only place willing to take me on. Maybe once I sold a painting or two, I could quit, but for now, I needed the money.

  “Do you know what happened to Jason?” I asked, thinking about the police coming to the house to interview Ethan.

  When Jason had tried to take me home from the club, he’d not taken well to me saying no, doing his best to drag me to his car. Ethan had stopped him, giving him a punch to the nose for his trouble. Jason had threatened to sue. The police had come to Ethan’s house while I was there, taking a statement from him. But since then, I’d heard nothing.

  “No idea,” Rowena said but there was something in her voice. There was something she wasn’t telling me but I had no idea what. I was distracted when we started getting busy at the bar. Rowena headed off to the office, leaving me and the team to it.

  I was glad when the night ended. It hurt to be away from him for so long but the one positive was the warm fuzzy feeling I got when I got home and threw myself into his arms.

  I had the next night off and we spent it together in the room downstairs. After a day out together at the seaside like normal respectable people, we’d come home and he’d made me strip on the doorstep. I had to walk naked through the house, knowing one of his staff might appear and see me at any moment. The thought excited me as much as it frightened me.

  In the room, he hadn’t used the bar this time. Instead he’d shown me the straps he’d added to the table. He tied me to it on all fours, a blindfold over my eyes. In the enforced darkness all I could do was listen as he pulled something from the cupboard.

  A plug was in my ass a moment later, pushed straight in as I screamed in shock. But soon I couldn’t scream at all, his cock in my mouth, filling my throat.

  I rocked in place, thinking how it was lucky I didn’t want to say the safe word, I couldn’t say anything with him slamming back and forth into my mouth.