Page 36 of Left of the Slash
“Well, I didn't build it to use it on my own,” she says, a growing level of aggression in her voice. She clears her throat again as I walk over to the black bench with pink leather straps all over it. “Okay, I'm sensing a strange energy shift that I don't like.”
“Oh?” I say, fiddling with the straps.
“When you ask about whether I've used this stuff with someone else, it sounds an awful lot like judgment and jealousy, and I don't like either. I'm a grown woman who enjoys a certain kind of sex, and I'm picky about who I choose to engage in it with. I don't feel bad about it, and whoever I do choose doesnotget to judge me for who I chose before them. You're not exempt from that, Quinn. All you need to concern yourself with is the fact that I have chosen you now. I want it to be younow, so don't worry about who I knew before I ever met you, and certainly don't judge me for enjoying the types of things that men get a pat on the back for enjoying. If a man can have a sex dungeon in his basement and be thought of as a badass for it, then so can a woman. If you don't vibe with that, then please tell me now so I know not to waste my time.”
I pull my eyes away from the bench and find Olivia standing near the stairs with her head tilted. She has the same fiery look in her eyes that I've come to know in the office, but she never had it aimed at me before. Now I understand why people have always been intimidated by her. The look in her eyes is so intense I feel like I might spontaneously combust if I don't cool her off with a splash of reassurance.
Forgoing the rest of my tour of Olivia’s playhouse, I walk over to her in a bee line, taking her hands in mine and looking her in the eye so that she knows what I'm about to say is sincere.
“You're right,” I start, choosing my words carefully. “I'm not trying to judge you, and I apologize for coming off that way. That wasn't my intent. You have all the right in the world to do whatever you want, with whoever you want, whenever you want. I guess I was just a little caught off guard. All of this is very new to me, and I've never met someone who is so open about stuff like this, but I like that about you. I love the way you communicate and how you don't give a fuck what anybody thinks. That shit is so fire to me, and I'm following your lead on this. I don't want you to think that I'm offended or disgusted by any of this, because the truth is you're speaking my language. You tap into something inside of me that I have never felt comfortable with letting out before. Everything about this room makes me feel more free. It shows me that it’s okay to be myself with you, and that you're okay being yourself with me. That’s all we want, right? To be with someone that we’re completely comfortable around? That's what it’s all about. So, please don't feel judged. Judging you would be judging myself, because I'm right here with you.”
Olivia scrunches her forehead like she's struggling to come up with a response, which is pretty rare for her. She's usually so quick-witted that it’s hard to keep up. Now, she only glares up at me, her eyes roaming my face like she's searching for the truth in it. After a moment she nods and lets out a breath that sounds like it was being held for an hour.
“Okay,” she says. “Thank you.”
I shake my head. “No need to thank me. I should be thanking you for showing me all of this—for introducing me to this world I feel so at home in.” I turn around, still holding one of her hands as I gesture toward the basement with the other. “It’s like you're holding up a mirror and showing me myself for the first time, and telling me that I'm perfect the way I am—that it’s okay toembrace the darkness. I can't believe you have all of this. I feel like a kid in a candy store. I want to try every fucking thing.”
I feel Olivia tug her hand away from mine as she steps in front of me, her face finally relaxed. “Good. Out of everything here, what intrigues you the most?”
Ignoring the way she pulled away from me, I take a hard look around the room again, eyeing each toy I see. I let my dark devil out of its cage, allowing it to roam around the room like a lion on all fours, then my eyes settle to my left and I smile big. Instead of saying it, I walk over to Olivia and place my hands on her waist, gently pushing her to the center of the St. Andrew’s cross, and no matter how much she tries to fight it, I clearly see the smirk pulling at her lips.
“I want you right here,” I say, with a new, devilish smile forming.
“Okay,” she says innocently. “And what do you want to do to me while I'm here?”
I push Olivia backward until her back is flat against the wood, then I reach over and pull a toy off the wall that I've never used in my life. Just touching it sends lightning dancing through my veins.
“I think,” I begin, inspecting the toy before looking at her, “I want to find out what happens when the tails of this flogger splash across your skin.”
TWENTY-TWO - Quinn
I've never done anything like this before, and my heart responds accordingly. It pounds like a sledgehammer driving a spike as I secure Olivia’s hand to the top of the X with a silver handcuff. I can smell her intoxicating perfume from here, and it acts as fuel for the fire already raging inside me. When I step back, I pause to appreciate the work I've done so far, excited that there is so much more to get to.
Olivia stands in front of me, completely naked, with her arms and legs secured to the St. Andrew’s Cross, essentially spread eagle while upright Her tanned skin is unmarred, as perfect as fresh snow in the winter, and I find myself more in awe of her impeccability now than I ever have been. This is my first time seeing her stripped of all her clothes, and she is beyond exquisite. Every curve. Every so-called flaw. Every single inch of her is on display now, and her beauty stuns me into silence.I simply stand in front of her, shaking my head as if what I'm seeing can't be real, and I realize that I'm in the presence of a goddess.
She stays in place, unmoving with her eyes following me, waiting for me to decide what to do now that I have her in this position of vulnerability. She has given herself to me more tonight than any of the times before, and now that I have this new power, I almost don't know what to do with it. Pitch black thoughts rattle around my head, bouncing off the inside of my mind and birthing new, darker desires every second. I want to make her come and scream in agony. I want to ravage her body until she can no longer take it, her knees trembling as she struggles to hold up her own body weight, relying on me to carry her to her next destination. Somehow, I have to find a way to do it all. Not just for her. For me, too. For my dark devil.
“Do you trust me?” I ask, looking into Olivia’s brown eyes.
She nods. “More and more every day.”
“Good. I've said this before, but I want to again now that we’re about to begin and you're tied to this cross. I understand that you used the wordsredandyellowas safe words, but I don't intend to ever put you in a position to have to use them. That will require learning about you and understanding not just what you like and dislike, but also the kind of person you are on the inside. You will have my full attention from now on. You've brought me into your world, and I want to be your protector when we’re together, but also, I want to be your worst nightmare. I find myself teetering back and forth on exactly the kind of Dom I want to be for you, but I think in order for us both to get what we want out of this, I need to just let go. You want relief through submission, I crave control through dominance and a desire to inflict pain, and something deep within me tells me that we’re going to be a perfect match. So, breathe deeply, Olivia, becauseI'm about to do whatever it takes to quench this thirst inside of me. Are you ready?”
Olivia smiles like she just heard her native tongue for the very first time—finally communicating with someone who speaks her language.
“Yes, Sir,” she says, and my stomach quivers.
She called me Sir once before but it barely registered then. Now I realize how much I love that shit. She's my boss, but I'm the one who’s in charge now. I'm her Sir. Yeah, I like the sound of that.
“Say that again,” I demand, stepping a little closer to her.
She looks me in the eye and doesn't blink. “Yes, Sir.”
I bite my lip, feeling like those two words just activated something inside of me. Then, I remove the mask that I wear to hide my true identity from the world, and let my dark devil step forward. The real Quinn King.
Leaving Olivia strapped to the X, I turn around and walk over to a small table to the right of the stairs with an assortment of nipple clamps neatly on display in straight lines. There are clamps of all kinds, all of which I have never used before, so I grab the ones that look the simplest and easiest to apply. They're burgundy with rubber ends and a screw that can be turned to increase the pressure. I grab them both and go back to Olivia, who is waiting patiently, her eyes having never left me even when my back was turned.
Without speaking, I place a clamp on Olivia’s right nipple, watching her face slowly morph into a wince as I turn the screw, tightening it in place. I move to the next clamp and secure it like the first, and feel my heart flutter when she sucks in air through her teeth, her eyes still on me.
