Read Online Rich Tapestry by Ashe Barker - Free Book Online Page B

the way you mean.”
    “But, he’s going to, to…” I hesitate, not sure what Nicholas Hardisty’s plans for Freya might consist of. I hardly dare think. “I don’t exactly know what he’s going to do, but I know she expected it to hurt.”
    “She was probably right. But it’ll be done with by now. And neither of them has come back down to the bar. What does that suggest, do you think?”
    I have no idea. My expression must have betrayed my confusion. He smiles, shaking his head. “Either they’re still in room nine upstairs—that’s where Nick told her to go and wait for him,” he adds helpfully, “or they might be in one of the public areas. My money’s on the dungeon. Shall we start there?”
    The dungeon . Just the name is enough to send shivers down my spine. Incredibly, I’d prefer to head on up to wherever he intends to deliver my spanking than brave that place. The choice is not mine, though, and it never occurs to me to refuse as he opens a door at the end of the corridor and gestures for me to precede him. We descend a wide staircase, passing two other couples on their way out. The first pair—two men—is dressed entirely in leather. They are both wearing tight, black trousers, and one of them is bare-chested, his only other clothing—if you could rightly describe it as that—is a thick collar around his neck. His companion is wearing a studded waistcoat, open to display well developed pectorals. He’s leading the bare-chested man by a dog leash attached to a ring in his collar.
    I manage not to stare but can’t entirely take the credit for my success. My attention is distracted by the outfit being worn—almost—by a young woman following them up the stairs, her Dom’s arm slung possessively across her shoulders. He’s smartly dressed in a sharp, dark gray suit, and wouldn’t look out of place in a bank or a solicitor’s office. She looks like something straight out of a baroque show. Her bright scarlet corset is laced at the front, but doesn’t cover her nipples. Her exposed breasts are criss-crossed by the lacing, which vaguely matches the fishnet pattern of her stockings. Her thong is narrow, cut away, and it’s clear that she’s shaved her pubic hair. She smiles up at her Dom as they pass us, clearly delighting in his company. As they ascend the stairs behind us, I can’t resist glancing back. I find the deep red stripes slicing across her pale buttocks both intensely shocking and deeply arousing. And, most unsettling of all, I’m impressed by the perfect symmetry of the marks. Her Dom has a very accurate eye.
    I turn back to Dan to find him eying me in dry amusement. “Don’t look so worried, Summer. That’s not what I intend for you.”
    “No? Thank God for that.” I hesitate then blurt out my confusion, “Christ, he’s really hurt her. But she seemed so—happy.”
    “She is happy. She loves him. And he adores her. Steve and Georgia have been together a long time. He knows what she wants, what she needs. And she trusts him to deliver. That’s how a Dom/sub relationship works.”
    He lets me consider that as he reaches around me to open the door at the foot of the stairs. “Ready?”
    As I’ll ever be… I nod and follow Dan into the dungeon.
    My first impression is that it isn’t dark. Well, not very. I somehow expected a place not unlike a cave—or a torture chamber. I suppose this room bears a passing similarity. Some of the many and various pieces of apparatus ranged around the large space have a certain medieval quality to them, but the atmosphere is not oppressive or menacing. Couples and groups are sitting around, chatting, drinking, watching. Some are playing. There are lots of comfortable sofas strategically positioned to enable easy viewing or more secluded intimacy, if required. The light falls in pools, illuminating items of equipment in use, spotlighting the figures as their audience looks on.
    My next impression is that I am dreadfully, painfully