Read Online Red Handed by Shelly Bell - Free Book Online Page A

“Stop! Didn’t your mother ever teach you ‘no means no’? She’s crying, for heaven’s sake! Why are you just standing there? What kind of monsters are you?”
    The room grew eerily quiet. Cole’s body was stiff and his jaw rigid, as if he were angry with her.
    Too bad. Since the dungeon monitors had failed to do their duty, someone had to step in and protect the woman.
    Gracie suddenly appeared and grabbed Danielle by her arm. “I’m sorry, Master. I take full responsibility for Danielle’s outburst and will take any punishment you believe I merit.”
    Cole’s eyes narrowed on Danielle. “While I appreciate the defense of your new friend, I will deal with Danielle.” He turned to the man. “Jaxon, please forgive me for the interruption. Feel free to use your choice of private room for Kate’s after-care and keep it for the rest of the night.” Jaxon went to the woman on the cross, where he proceeded to remove the cuffs from her ankles.
    Danielle folded her arms over her chest. “She’s not safe with him.”
    He splayed his hand on her lower back and led her through the club. “Come with me to my office.”
    Several of the people in the dungeon watched them with interest, but most of them had returned to their scenes.
    â€œDo you know what ‘Safe, Sane, Consensual’ means?” Cole asked as they climbed the stairs. “It means the members of my club are held to a strict set of rules they must follow in order to sustain their membership. Let’s start with ‘consensual.’ Everything that happens in this club is negotiated and agreed upon by the parties. Nothing will happen without consent. Every person in Benediction may utilize the club-recognized safe word, ‘red,’ to terminate a scene and face no repercussion. Kate and Jaxon negotiated their scene prior to its commencement, whereby she consented to the whip.”
    She’d read about consent, and Gracie had mentioned it as well, but it was a difficult concept for her to understand. “How can someone give consent to being hurt? That’s crazy.”
    â€œI assure you, it’s not crazy. Only the sane can legally give consent, thus the ‘sane’ component to the standard. You may not get off on pain and I may not get off on giving it, but there are those like Kate and Jaxon who do. Benediction provides them a safe place to meet those with compatible sexual interests and indulge in the practices. It’s not your place to judge or impose on others’ sexual expression.”
    â€œShe was screaming and crying. How was that sexual expression?”
    â€œIn some, pain enhances the pleasure. Whether she chooses the pain because she’s a masochist or because she wishes to please her Master by taking the pain he wants to incur, it has nothing to do with you.” He frowned at her as he unlocked the door to his office. “You obviously failed to read the books I provided to you.”
    â€œI read them, but reading about it and the reality of it are two different things.”
    He waved her into the room and followed, circling behind his desk, then taking a seat behind the computer screen. “Go on.”
    She twirled a piece of her hair around her finger and sat in the chair in front of his desk. “Before I interrupted, I couldn’t tear my attention away.”
    â€œWhat did you feel as you watched?” he asked, softening his voice.
    She thought about her body’s response to the scene and how she’d been only seconds away from shoving her hand between her thighs to ease the ache. “Hot. Tingly. Breathless . . . ” That wasn’t all she’d felt. Her chest had tightened at the sight of Cole with Jaxon and Kate. “Jealous.”
    He shifted in his chair and ran his hand down his scalp. “Jealous?”
    â€œOf Kate,” she said, immediately kicking herself for admitting it.