Page 53 of Dance for Me

She knows.

Shaking her head in denial, she yanked at her hand, but the Mistress was a lot bloody stronger than she appeared.

“Bodie, sweetheart,” Connie soothed in a firm, calm tone not unlike Braun’s Dominant resonance. It lacked the depth, the masculinity, but it appeared it had the same effect on her. “It’s okay. You’re not in trouble. This explains one hell of a lot.”

“It explains nothing. You don’t know anything!” Her voice cracked at the end, but she held it together. Nobody knew her secret; Connie was just grasping at straws. “Don’t say another fucking word!”

“Baby,” the Mistress murmured, reaching out and cupping Bodie’s cheek with such tenderness, Bodie wanted to lean into her and bawl her eyes out. “Why the hell didn’t you say you’re a virgin?”

Just like that, with one sentence, Connie sucked the fight from her bones and deflated the terrified anger gnawing through her body. The horrible, dirty secret she harbored was no longer hers alone, but rather than relief coursing through her veins, there was just an imposing sense of ominous dread.

The Mistress had the power to destroy her now. She could use the knowledge however she wished, to hurt and destroy if that was what she desired. Or maybe she’d take advantage of it, blackmail Bodie into doing unspeakable acts in exchange for Connie’s silence.

There was only one thing left to do, and that was salvage anything she could from this rollercoaster of a night. Bodie forced air from her dying lungs in a scoff. “Oh, please. That’s ridiculous. I’m no more a virgin than you are.”

“Sweetheart, Diskit is a village in India. It’s not part of the female anatomy; the bundle of nerves I asked you about is called the clitoris.”

Damn it. “So I suck at anatomy. Never planned on being a brain surgeon.”

“I’m relieved to hear it. Do you feel ashamed of your virginity, Bodie? Is that what this is all about? The attitude, the mood swings, your reluctance to commit to Braun?” Connie lifted her free hand and winked. “No pad, no pen. Girl talk only from here on.”

Bodie laughed miserably. “Like you ever put the shrink away. I know how shrinks work. Even if they don’t have something to write on in their hands, they squirrel away information to use later. Nothing I talk about is safe from scrutiny.”

“Not a good side effect of the job,” the Mistress agreed amiably. “How about this? Whatever we talk about now, I will try my hardest not to bring it up in future chats unless you specifically mention it first.”

God, the woman was tenacious. Too exhausted, mentally and physically, to continue fighting with someone who had the strength and stamina to tangle her up in emotional knots. “Whatever, fine. Get it over with.”

“Pinky swear?” Playfully, Connie offered her little finger, slightly curved.

“I don’t know what that is, but...” Bodie mirrored the gesture, nonplussed when the Mistress hooked them together firmly but briefly. “O-kay, then. If that’s what makes you happy, I guess.”

Connie shuffled and made herself comfortable on the couch, keeping Bodie’s hand in hers. “Talking makes me happy. I’m a simple soul really—all I need in life is to please people and have a sub who craves attention. How about you, Bodie? What does happiness mean for you?”

Braun. He personified everything that made her feel giddy and excited. When he smiled at her, her world brightened, elevating from the gloom of her existence. When he told her he was proud of her, that she was his clever girl, something dead inside her came back to life for a few moments.

Bodie said that to Connie, feeling like a moron, but her new tentative friend smiled knowingly.

“That’s lovely, sweetheart. Do you think that will change if you tell him you’re a—”

“Can we please stop using that word? It doesn’t define me. I don’t want everyone to know me as the dumb virgin who attached herself to the first guy to show her any affection. That’s a cliché, right?”

“Isn’t Liam the first man to love you?”

“Liam?” Honestly shocked by the question, Bodie stared at Connie. “Well sure, I suppose. He’s been my best friend forever, since we were kids. But he doesn’t think of me that way. I’m his annoying pseudo kid sister. There’s nothing...romantic between us. And he’s never indicated any interest in me.”

She must be mistaken, thinking she heard the woman whisper, “Not that you paid attention to.”

“In high school, he was all about the guys. For every crush he had on a girl, he had one for two guys as well. I never showed up on his radar, not that it would’ve made a difference to this situation.”

“Have you spoken to him about this?”

“God, no. He'd be busy setting me up with everyone and anyone he could find to rectify the issue. If my parents find out I’m...inexperienced, my life as it is would crash and burn in a fiery level of hell. To them, I’ll be a valuable commodity. My father would probably rape me for the shits and giggles, just so he could brag about bagging a virgin. If my mother could stop him, they’d auction me off to the highest bidders. They like money and an orgy of men paying for a woman’s virginity would really bring in the cash.”

The Mistress became unnaturally still. The air hummed dangerously with silent tension. “I’m sorry, your parents would what?”

“Oh, too much information. Sorry, I’m not used to this talking thing. Just forget that, it doesn’t matter.” Flushing violently, she tried to pull free the hand still in Connie’s grasp.

“I don’t think we will. Explain that. Your blood parents would sell you for sex if your father didn’t take a fancy to you first? What kind of family do you come from?”

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