clawed his hair again. “I’m at least ten years older than her.”
“Doesn’t fly in my book, Tieri. Look at the woman who put this bastard’s ring on her finger.” He thumbed his chest.
“Yeah but you didn’t throw Rose over the bed and whack her ass to—” He stopped when he focused enough on Mark’s face to see the affirmative glints in his eyes and the growing grin beneath his gold beard. “Holy shit.” Both words came out as growls. “Hell. We’re a couple of goddamn perverts.”
“No, my friend. We’re a couple of Doms.”
He raised a brow. “What?”
“Doms, Dante. Dominants . People who enjoy being in control. Men who like nothing better than taking the lead during a sexual sequence and controlling every second of a woman’s pleasure. And for many of us, when that woman makes us earn the privilege of her submission, the experience is even more…errmm…addicting.”
Dante dug a hand into his hair again. He stopped when his palm hit his forehead. “Addicting,” he echoed. “Jesus. That’s a good way of putting it.” And a lousy way too. He needed another hit of Celina Kouris and highly doubted there was a detox program for shit like this.
“I’m just a little stunned you didn’t know this about yourself until now.”
“And how long have you been doing this shit then, spanky?”
Mark shrugged. “I was about twenty-two when I discovered the lifestyle. I was just damn lucky Heather liked it too. Of course, the Dom/sub world wasn’t what it is today. Clubs were still in people’s basements. There wasn’t as much education about things, and—”
“Wait. Back the truck up. Clubs? There are clubs for this stuff?”
Mark chuckled. “Yes, my friend. With my public profile, Rose and I can’t exactly keep a spanking bench and a St. Andrew’s cross in the corner of the bedroom. We’re fond of a few private places in town known for their discretion and private rooms.”
Dante let that sink in while he ordered a glass of water. Sobering up fast became a priority. He was exhilarated and perplexed at the same time. So much of the way he was wired now made sense. He was Italian, for Christ’s sake; sex had been part of his vernacular since he was a kid. But until Friday with Celina, it had also been a simple physical act he could leave behind as easily as a used condom. Now, he couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d done and how they’d done it. With this new chunk of knowledge, he felt like Columbus in the New World. Terrified to stay. Terrified to leave.
“And Rose goes to these places with you?” he queried. “Willingly? Knowing what she’s going to let you do to her?”
“What I’m going to do with her, yes. She’s my collared submissive as well as my wife.”
“Collared…” Recognition flared. “You mean that little choker she wears around the house—”
“Signifies that she’s committed to me as a sexual submissive. It also represents my commitment to her, as her Dom, that I’ll never abuse the gift of her surrender, and I’ll always make sure she gets what she needs from our dynamic.”
“When you go these clubs.”
“Most of the time, yes.”
Dante couldn’t help slashing an incisive stare at his friend. “And she’s fine with all this?”
“Kid in a candy store is more like it.” Mark chuffed and chucked a wadded cocktail napkin at him. “Don’t snort, asshole. I’m serious. Last month, she even surprised me for my birthday by securing an overnight suite at Dark Escape. It’s become her favorite club, I think. She likes the eucalyptus in the aftercare lotions.”
“Aftercare.” Dante leaned close again. “That sounds key. Explain.”
Mark paused, seeming to read him. Definitely knowing, as his best friend, that he didn’t bother to pick apart something with a hundred questions unless the subject was important. Really fucking important.
“All right, let me ask you this. What did you do for Celina when you were—er—finished
“Doesn’t fly in my book, Tieri. Look at the woman who put this bastard’s ring on her finger.” He thumbed his chest.
“Yeah but you didn’t throw Rose over the bed and whack her ass to—” He stopped when he focused enough on Mark’s face to see the affirmative glints in his eyes and the growing grin beneath his gold beard. “Holy shit.” Both words came out as growls. “Hell. We’re a couple of goddamn perverts.”
“No, my friend. We’re a couple of Doms.”
He raised a brow. “What?”
“Doms, Dante. Dominants . People who enjoy being in control. Men who like nothing better than taking the lead during a sexual sequence and controlling every second of a woman’s pleasure. And for many of us, when that woman makes us earn the privilege of her submission, the experience is even more…errmm…addicting.”
Dante dug a hand into his hair again. He stopped when his palm hit his forehead. “Addicting,” he echoed. “Jesus. That’s a good way of putting it.” And a lousy way too. He needed another hit of Celina Kouris and highly doubted there was a detox program for shit like this.
“I’m just a little stunned you didn’t know this about yourself until now.”
“And how long have you been doing this shit then, spanky?”
Mark shrugged. “I was about twenty-two when I discovered the lifestyle. I was just damn lucky Heather liked it too. Of course, the Dom/sub world wasn’t what it is today. Clubs were still in people’s basements. There wasn’t as much education about things, and—”
“Wait. Back the truck up. Clubs? There are clubs for this stuff?”
Mark chuckled. “Yes, my friend. With my public profile, Rose and I can’t exactly keep a spanking bench and a St. Andrew’s cross in the corner of the bedroom. We’re fond of a few private places in town known for their discretion and private rooms.”
Dante let that sink in while he ordered a glass of water. Sobering up fast became a priority. He was exhilarated and perplexed at the same time. So much of the way he was wired now made sense. He was Italian, for Christ’s sake; sex had been part of his vernacular since he was a kid. But until Friday with Celina, it had also been a simple physical act he could leave behind as easily as a used condom. Now, he couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d done and how they’d done it. With this new chunk of knowledge, he felt like Columbus in the New World. Terrified to stay. Terrified to leave.
“And Rose goes to these places with you?” he queried. “Willingly? Knowing what she’s going to let you do to her?”
“What I’m going to do with her, yes. She’s my collared submissive as well as my wife.”
“Collared…” Recognition flared. “You mean that little choker she wears around the house—”
“Signifies that she’s committed to me as a sexual submissive. It also represents my commitment to her, as her Dom, that I’ll never abuse the gift of her surrender, and I’ll always make sure she gets what she needs from our dynamic.”
“When you go these clubs.”
“Most of the time, yes.”
Dante couldn’t help slashing an incisive stare at his friend. “And she’s fine with all this?”
“Kid in a candy store is more like it.” Mark chuffed and chucked a wadded cocktail napkin at him. “Don’t snort, asshole. I’m serious. Last month, she even surprised me for my birthday by securing an overnight suite at Dark Escape. It’s become her favorite club, I think. She likes the eucalyptus in the aftercare lotions.”
“Aftercare.” Dante leaned close again. “That sounds key. Explain.”
Mark paused, seeming to read him. Definitely knowing, as his best friend, that he didn’t bother to pick apart something with a hundred questions unless the subject was important. Really fucking important.
“All right, let me ask you this. What did you do for Celina when you were—er—finished
Similar Books
