Page 69 of What About Love

“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m afraid my hello will also be my goodbye because come tomorrow I hope to be running home to Texas with my tail between my legs.”

His kind brown eyes and warm smile made his handsome face even more attractive.

“Eric sent me to escort you to T when it’s time.” He offered his arm.

“It’s time, huh?”

“Yes, little one.” When she didn’t move, he took her arm and helped her from the booth. Then he folded her hand in the crook of his elbow, like he was escorting her to a formal event rather than a debauched theater in the round. “You can trust him, brave girl.”

Taking a long, indrawn breath to settle her quivering insides, she nodded and walked with him to the center of the room. Because being carried kicking and screaming would be undignified.

They passed a placard on an easel. Her name in bold letters jumped out at her. Alongside it was her offense: disobeying the master dom. Holy shit!

She quickly scanned the list of the other subs’ offenses. She saw blatant disrespect once, disobeying a dungeon monitor listed twice, and the last two stated volunteer.

It seemed so inconceivable, she asked Master Jerry for clarification. “You mean submissives actually volunteer for this?”

“Believe it or not, what you dread others crave. Some subs wait months for a ride. We have had a lot of naughtiness lately—intentional or not. This was an unusually slow week. Perhaps the tragic events have changed some attitudes. In any case, with two openings to fill, two lucky volunteers on the waiting list get to take a bench along with you.”

Lucky? Was he nuts? She glanced up to see if he might be pulling her leg, but he nodded, seeming completely sincere.

“And here I thought I was brave when I volunteered to give blood. This is taking it to a whole new level.”

As he moved them along, his laugh rumbled in his chest, quiet and low like thunder in a retreating storm. He was charming, the big warm hand covering hers comforting in a sense. The reprieve from her anxiety lasted only an instant, however.

“Here we are, love.” As he pulled her to a stop, he gave her an encouraging smile. “When it’s done, I hope to find you and discover if your reality was as bad as you built it up to be in your head. I’m hoping it isn’t.”

With a little squeeze, he removed her hand from his arm and passed her off to another. This time when she looked up, mocha-brown eyes stared down at her intently.

“Are you absolutely sure about this?”

She took a moment to breathe, gathering her strength. A spanking and a blow job were nothing in the scheme of things, not when a psychopath like dastardly Dick was kidnapping, raping, and killing women. Besides, this was T.

Cap, Eric, Val, and Master Jerry had all assured her he was trustworthy. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t dreamed of him or fantasized about touching him, or of T returning the favor, and most recently of taking him into her mouth. If it was someone else, she doubted she’d have the courage.

With unwavering determination—or supreme idiocy—she looked up at him and affirmed, “I’m sure.”

“It’s never too late. At any point you want to stop, say red. I’ll support your decision 100 percent, whether you whisper or scream it to the rafters.”

“He’s done this because of me. This is my fault.”

The concern on his face morphed into anger as his brows slammed together. His hand caught her jaw, tipping her head back.

“Wrong,” he bit out. “You do not take on his shit, Angie. You have no blame in this.”

“I provoked him.”

“He’s a prick, decades in the making. Although you may have incited his anger, you didn’t make the bastard kidnap, rape, and kill. That’s on him. Am I clear?”

She peered up at him, knowing he was right, yet being the prototype for a deranged killer made it hard to believe. Still, she nodded. “You’re clear, T. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me too soon because what I have to say next you won’t like.”

She caught her lip between her teeth in both apprehension and confusion. What now?

“Strip, darlin’. It’s carousel time.”

With a bravado she didn’t feel, she pulled the tie at the back of her neck. The slick material slithered down her chest where it gathered at her hips. With a little shimmy, she helped it along, and it soon whooshed down her legs and pooled around her bare feet. She kicked it away and waited for more instructions.

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