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  She realized Sir was right in front of her. He cradled her face in his hands, looking deep in her eyes. “Jessica,” he murmured in a low voice the audience couldn’t hear, “you are a lovely woman with a gorgeous body. Although there may be some fools who want skinny women, I don’t. There are many others here who share my preference and adore your type of body.”

  He’d said that before, but now, with all these people, he must be ashamed of her. “Are you sure?” she whispered.

  Shaking his head in obvious exasperation, he pressed her hand against him, against a rock-hard erection. “This is what seeing you naked does to me.”

  He liked her body. The glow of that kept her buoyed up as she removed the thong, as she climbed up onto the table. The leather was cold against her bare skin. She glanced at the people crowding the windows and then couldn’t pull her gaze away.

  With a huffed laugh, Master Z stepped directly in front of her, blocking her view. “Look at me—only at me,” he ordered. Her eyes met his, his so very dark and gray, crinkling at her, and she felt better. A little better.

  “That’s right. In fact, I think we’ll blot those people out altogether,” he murmured. “Close your eyes.”

  She hesitated.

  He growled, “Jessica.”

  She swallowed and complied. He put something soft over her eyes, tying it in back—a blindfold—and held her hands firmly when she instinctively reached up to tear it off. After a minute, she regained her control and put her hands in her lap.

  “Lie down, little one,” he said, moving to a position beside her. One arm behind her back and a hand between her breasts, he pressed her flat onto the table. Her legs dangled off the end. “Are you comfortable?”

  No, she wasn’t; oh, she really wasn’t. She managed a nod.

  Silence.

  Moistening her lips, she whispered, “Yes, Sir.”

  He chuckled. “Let me rephrase that so you can be honest. Aside from being terrified and embarrassed, are you comfortable?”

  The room was warm enough, the table cushioned. “Yes, Sir.”

  He took one of her hands, kissed the knuckles. “Very good, kitten. I’m proud of you and how brave you’re being. I know this isn’t easy.” The enjoyment of his praise lasted only seconds, until he said, “Now, being a good doctor, I’m going to make sure you don’t move.”

  Expecting him to put her feet into the stirrups, she was shocked when a strap was cinched across her body, just below her breasts, pinning her arms to her sides. Heart pounding, she yanked at the restraints. She couldn’t move. “Sir!”

  “Shhh, little one.” His hands came down on her shoulders. “Nothing here will hurt you. What is your safe word?”

  She could feel little quivers running up and down her whole body as her breath came fast and shallow. He waited, his hands resting on her shoulders, the warmth, his presence so reassuring. He wouldn’t hurt her. She was all right, and she was stronger than this. She couldn’t back down now and disappoint him. She managed a deeper breath. “Red. It’s red.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  She gave a little nod.

  His hand cupped her cheek. “Brave kitten.”

  “This lesson covers one way to introduce a novice to public scening,” he said, his voice louder, like an instructor. “In Jessica’s case, she is very new, and I’m proud to be awarded her trust. Trust or not, with a new sub, shyness can be difficult to overcome. One type of inhibition is the focus of tonight’s lesson.

  “We, of course, begin with a breast exam.” His fingers lifted her breasts, stroking in circles, massaging. “Healthy breasts, as you can see.”

  Okay, she was good. She’d been expecting something like this.

  His fingers found her nipples, stroked them to hard points, pinching hard enough to make her squirm, never quite hard enough to hurt.

  “And sensitive also.”

  Each pinch woke more nerve endings in her breasts, in her core. She couldn’t see him, couldn’t see where his hands were, and her skin grew acutely sensitive as if anxious for the next touch of his fingers.

  His hands ran down her torso, stroked her stomach. She heard him move from her side toward the end of the table, then the squeak of the rolling stool. She knew what was coming next. Her legs closed involuntarily before she forced herself to relax. A ripple of laughter came from the spectators.

  “Because our little sub here is a novice, for her comfort, I will ask for quiet during the demonstration.”

  The noise of people dropped to whispers. Firm, warm fingers closed around her right ankle, and he ordered, “Give me your foot, Jessica. Now.”

  She heaved in a breath, let him lift one leg and place her right foot into a stirrup. She gritted her teeth when a strap closed around her ankle, pinning her foot to the cold metal. Dammit, her doctor never used straps—restraints made it way more nerve-racking.

  He grasped her left foot. Drawing her legs apart, he set it in the other stirrup. The air felt shockingly cool against her heated tissues. Another strap over her foot. She was restrained—arms, feet. Blind.

  Her hands closed into fists as she tried not to panic.

  And he waited, one warm hand running up and down her calf. “With new subs, the experience of being in a scene can be overwhelming. The embarrassment, even the fear, can keep them from moving into arousal or achieving release. As a result, often the regular amount of stimulation will not achieve its purpose for first-timers.”

  Her muscles loosened as she listened to his warm, deep voice.

  Then he grasped her hips, slid her toward the end of the table. “Positioning is very important with the exam table,” he said. “The patient’s ass must be well over the edge.” He let go.

  “And with what I’ll be doing, allowing too much movement wouldn’t be good.” Something was fastened across her lower abdomen. A strap, holding her firmly in that place.

  He pushed the stirrups sideways, widening her legs until she was gaping open. Oh, God. She could do this. She must. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably.

  Something scraped across the floor. A click. She could feel the heat of a lamp between her legs—on her private areas—and she gritted her teeth.

  She heard someone move, heard Sir’s voice next to her. His fingers stroked down her face, and his lips brushed over hers gently. “Easy, little one, no one will hurt you. Are you in pain?”

  She managed to say, “No, Sir.”

  Then he said, “Start very slowly, softly,” and she didn’t understand what he meant until hands settled on her breasts. Not Sir’s hands.

  She arched in the air, shaking her head. “No.”

  “Jessica.” Sir’s voice was quiet, but firm. Implacable. “You do not have permission to speak. Can you be silent?”

  Gags—she’d seen pictures on the Internet. His voice said he would do that; he didn’t lie. She gave a jerky nod.

  “Excellent.” His steps sounded, moving toward the end of the table. “Continue, please.”

  The stranger’s hands moved, softly stroking breasts already sensitive from Sir’s attentions earlier. She tried not to pay attention, to ignore them, but the fingers were callused and excitingly rough against her tender skin. She could feel her nipples tightening in betrayal.

  “Very nice,” Sir murmured. “And down here, we’ll start here with a surface examination. Pretty pink lips.” A finger stroked down through her folds, making her jerk in shock. He touched her lower, against her rectum, and she tried to not cringe away. “Healthy little ass, never been used.”

  His fingers touched her core.

  “Good lubrication, nice and slick,” Sir announced, then gently pulled her outer lips apart, exposing her more fully. She tried to pretend it was just a regular exam. She’d had them before.

  “For those who haven’t had their anatomy lessons,” Sir said, “this is a pretty pussy. The vagina extends upward from here.” A finger stroked her folds, and then slid into her, and she gasped as heat shot through h
er. She couldn’t be getting turned on in front of these people; she couldn’t.

  He removed his finger, slid back up through her folds. “And this is the clitoris, or clit, extremely sensitive. It must be kept slick with juices.”

  His finger swirled inside her, making her hips wiggle and then up, up onto her clit, sliding over and around until need tightened inside her.

  “Nipples,” he murmured, leaving her confused until the stranger’s fingers circled her tight nipples, fingering each little pebble, pulling gently until her back was arching.

  Sir’s fingers were suddenly gone, leaving her empty and needy. “Now, let’s go over some methods to overwhelm resistant subs.” The sound of a package being ripped open. “I have a fondness for this little toy. Three speeds. Again, sufficient lubrication is mandatory.”

  A squirting sound then fingers at her asshole. She shook her head wildly, trying not to yell in horror as something was pushed up and into her rectum. Something slick and hard and foreign. This was no doctor’s exam. She strained against the restraints, hands and feet. Nothing gave.

  “Are you hurting, Jessica?” Sir asked, stroking her leg. Waiting for her answer.

  At his calm voice, she stopped pulling at the straps, tried to think. The thing pushed up in her felt strange. Wrong. Horrible. But there was no pain. “No, Sir,” she whispered.

  “Honest little one,” Sir murmured. She felt his fingers between her buttocks, and the thing moved within her. “I’ll set this to slow.”

  Vibrations started in her ass, the sensation startling. Gritting her teeth, she tried to rub her bottom against the table to dislodge it, to make it stop, only her butt was too far out over the edge, and the stomach strap kept her in place.

  “Then we have this little toy,” Z said. Another paper-ripping sound. “Personally, I prefer quiet in the center with vibrations front and back. So rather than a vibrating dildo, I often use this. Also on slow.”

  Something touched her clit, settling so gently onto her that she didn’t react at first. Then a tiny hum sounded, and the thing was vibrating right on top of the sensitive tissues his fingers had already aroused. Her hips jerked upward as every nerve in her body jolted into awareness. She moaned.

  “Excellent.” Z chuckled. The vibrations on her clit somehow made the ones in her ass even more arousing. Between the sensations, she felt his finger stroke around her pussy, teasing her until her inner leg muscles spasmed. “Mouth, please.”

  Suddenly a hot mouth closed on one breast, sucking her nipple up, tonguing it firmly. She arched with a cry that rang through the room.

  “Finally, for the coup d’état, you see the everyday dildo. This one is soft latex with gentle ribbing.”

  She felt just the touch of teeth on her nipples, the vibrations in her, on her clit. Her core tightened. She was shaking, coiled tightly, hurting, needing just that little more to send her over—only she didn’t want that. Orgasming here, in this room? She didn’t want to lose control in front of these people. No, no, no.

  Panting, she started going through the multiplication tables in her mind. Eleven times eleven is one hundred twenty-one. Concentrate, dammit. She felt the horrible urge to climax recede.

  Sir chuckled, murmured, “Well, there’s a stubborn sub.”

  To her surprise, the vibrations stopped on her clit, stopped in her rectum. The mouth left her aching nipples, leaving them wet, the air cool.

  Sir was silent; only his hand running up and down her calf let her know he was there.

  Was she done? Was it over? Her head spinning, she sighed in relief, then started to worry. Sir had obviously wanted more than just a medical exam-type scene; he’d wanted her to have an orgasm. Here, in front of all these people. And now he’d be disappointed in her. The thought hurt, but she just couldn’t—

  Then the vibrations started up again, now hard and fast on her clit, in her ass. A hot, wet mouth closed on one nipple while fingers pinched the other. Gasping, she went rigid, shot back into shocking arousal.

  And then something hard and thick slid into her vagina, engorging her as it was thrust in and out, pushing her tissues harder against the vibrations on each side. Her hips jerked uncontrollably as it slid in and out, and suddenly every sensation combined all over her body. She couldn’t stop it. Bright lights exploded behind her eyes as massive spasms enveloped her. She screamed, screamed again and again, her body jerking as her vagina contracted and billowed around the hard intrusion in her body.

  Everything seemed to go dark, still for a moment. Then she realized people were cheering, applauding. She gasped and jerked as the dildo was removed, leaving her empty. The vibrators had stopped; gentle hands removed them from her sensitive clit and asshole. She lay limply on the table, her heart hammering. Hands gently stroked her breasts. She could feel Sir’s rough cheek against her tender inner thigh, then his lips.

  “As you can see,” Sir said, “the vibrators are an excellent tool for novice play; the combination of the three will compel an orgasm that a shy person would inhibit otherwise.

  “And”—his fingers began to stroke her down below, one finger sliding between her swollen folds—“once that barrier is broken, the next climax is easier to induce.”

  The finger, two fingers, set up a hard stroking into her pussy, curling up and hitting a spot where she suddenly felt need flowing over her, her hips jerking in time.

  “A woman can easily come again if you find the G-spot. And, of course, in this position, her clit is nicely available.”

  As the fingers inside set up an urgency, a coiling she couldn’t evade, Master Z’s mouth settled on her clit. His tongue ran over her; his lips closed around her as he sucked her clit into his mouth. She bucked uncontrollably against his mouth, yanking on the restraints with a high scream as he forced her into a long, hard orgasm.

  He stroked her inside and out until her muscles were too weak to spasm further before withdrawing his fingers. The stool squeaked as he rose. “And that brings this lesson to a close. Come and talk with me later tonight if you have questions.”

  The sound of the whispers diminished until the area was quiet, and Jessica could hear her own gasping breaths.

  “Easy, kitten, it’s over. You’ll be free in a moment.”

  Heart pounding, trembling all over, Jessica couldn’t seem to move as Sir unfastened the straps on her feet and arms. When he pulled the blindfold off, she blinked in the light and focused on Cullen’s face. Cullen?

  “You, sweet sub, have lovely breasts,” he rumbled, planting a hard kiss on her lips, and then walked out of the room.

  Her shaking increased as Master Z helped her to sit up. Without speaking, he wrapped a thick, soft blanket around her, picked up her nightie, and carried her out into the noisy bar.

  Chapter Eleven

  Zachary found a fairly deserted corner and settled onto a couch with his shaken little sub in his lap. Club members walked past, occasionally nodding with a smile, none speaking. James gave him a grin and a thumbs-up.

  Jessica still hadn’t spoken when he leaned back with her huddled against his chest.

  “You were wonderful,” Zachary murmured, holding her firmly in his arms, letting her return to the world in her own time. “I’m very proud of you, little one.”

  She was shivering, a continuous trembling through her whole body, and he wrapped the blanket tightly around her, settling her more comfortably against him. He rested his cheek on top of her head, content to relax with her. For a Dom, the intense focus required for a scene, especially with someone so new, was exhausting but exhilarating at the same time.

  For a sub… Forced past her inhibitions, Jessica had given freely of her responses, holding nothing back. Yet for someone with her personality—modest, controlled, reserved—to be so abandoned in front of strangers would be a shock to her very system.

  If she needed to spend the rest of the night just being held, then so be it.

  As her trembling slowed, she could hear a slow thudding i
n her ear, more real than the music playing elsewhere. The fragrance of citrusy soap mixed with a man’s musky scent surrounded her, and she realized her cheek rested on skin and springy chest hair. There were arms around her.

  She blinked, feeling snuggled and warm. Safe. A blanket covered her from toes to shoulders, hiding her from others. Her gaze lingered on the people walking past, people who glanced, but didn’t speak.

  She just lay for a time, unable to get her thoughts to gather quickly enough to want to move. She was in her happy place, her little nephew would have said.

  Sir—and it was Sir, she recognized his scent and his arms—didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. Eventually, she managed to pull in a deep breath and lift her head.

  His hand stroked up and down her arm. “Welcome back, little one,” he murmured, his voice sending a funny quivering through her. She could feel his lips touch her hair.

  She pushed herself up a little, turned so she could watch him, feeling like she was seeing him for the first time. He was so…male, so in control. He had lines at the corners of his eyes; his beard-shadowed jaw was strong, his face lean and hard. Black eyebrows quirked up now as she touched his chin. When his lips curved up into that faint smile of his, she ran her finger across his lower lip, noting the velvety softness overlaying the firm. Very much like him, so smooth on the surface, but unyielding—demanding—underneath.

  “I don’t remember leaving that room.” Her voice was hoarse, a little raw, and she frowned. “I don’t remember a blanket.”

  He lifted his hand from her shoulder to caress her face. “When a sub experiences something so intense, it’s not unusual for her to retreat inside, into her own head. We have blankets in all the rooms.”

  “Oh.” Wow. But being held like this was wonderful. She let her mind drift back to what had happened, the helplessness, the sensations that had grown more and more overwhelming until she couldn’t stop herself from coming. She remembered Cullen’s hands, mouth on her. She shivered.

  People watching.

  She stiffened a little. “You told them how to handle a novice… How did you know I’d let you…?”