Page 42 of Whatever Lola Wants

“Do you think you’d be here if I wasn’t?”

He chuckled. “Guess not.” He smoothed his thumbs over her nipples again before sliding his hands to her upper arms and squeezing. “Strong. Answer a question for me.”

“Sure.”

“You knew I’d beat you.”

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Yes.”

“So why’d you make the bet?” He slid his hands to her shoulders, kneading the muscles there. “You don’t like winning?”

“Sure, I like winning,” she replied, her eyes drifting closed in pleasure as her muscles went loose under his hands. “But I don’t mind losing.”

“Really.”

“Mmm.” She opened her eyes to smile at him. “Especially under those circumstances.”

He continued to knead her shoulders while he studied her face. “Michael says you’re filling out the submissive form for the club.”

“Yes.” She read the unspoken question in his eyes. “I don’t mind bottoming in public.”

“You say topping or bottoming rather than dominating or submitting. Why is that?”

“Because they’re different,” she replied. “I’m not a submissive, and I’m not a dominant. Not in the traditional D/s sense of those words, so it feels disingenuous to use them. I like to dominate, but I’m not a Dominant. Likewise, my submission is confined to a scene.”

“Hmmm.” His strong fingers moved up to her neck. “Did you finish them?”

“Yes.”

“Would you mind if I read them?”

“I’ll send you a copy.” She arched into his touch. His thumbs were sweeping up the sides of her neck, strong enough to make her moan as he worked the tired muscles. “But you got the hands-on version already. What we did tonight? That’s pretty much how I bottom.”

“You mean the fight.”

It wasn’t a question. “I like to fight.”

“And you don’t mind if you lose.”

“In these circumstances, I want to lose.”

He tilted his head, studying her. “Why not lose on purpose?”

“That would be cheating.” Seeing his frown, she elaborated. “If I have to lose on purpose, then you haven’t earned it. If you haven’t earned it, you don’t get it.”

“That simple, is it?”

“Pretty much. I don’t do a lot of bottoming. Most tops—most Doms—don’t want a combative play partner.”

He chuckled. “Combative?”

“A fight has to start somehow. Tonight, with you, it was the bet.”

“Simple and straightforward,” he said, and she nodded.

“But in a negotiated scene, I have to do something to start it. Like escape from someone’s bondage, undo the cuffs. Verbal sparring works as a catalyst sometimes.”

Surprise sharpened his voice. “You’ve tried to escape someone’s bondage as they were tying you up?”

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