Page 150 of Entering Stronghold

“I’m Olivia.”

“Oh!” The connection lit up in Maria’s brain and she smiled as Olivia released her hand. Although Rick had never described his friends physically, the aura of authority and confidence around Olivia was just what she had always pictured. “Rick’s told me about you.”

“Well that’s good, considering what he hasn’t told you,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes. Wide and gray, they were like calm, reassuring pools. Somehow, even though no one had said anything, Maria got the feeling they were all deferring to Olivia in some way. Rick had said she was a ballbuster. That confident gaze regarded her thoughtfully, reminding her a bit of the way Jared had looked her over when she’d first come in, but in a decidedly more friendly manner. “So you want to know about Rick’s kinks?”

“Yeah... I know it’s not like any of you have had sex with him, so you won’t know personally, but anything…” Maria’s voice trailed off as every head turned towards Jessica. Who had turned a beet red.

Her mouth hanging open, Maria tried to stamp down the jealousy suddenly flooding her stomach. Jessica had had sex with Rick? Dammit, she liked Jessica. She didn’t want to feel like suddenly clawing the other woman’s big brown eyes with their extravagantly long lashes out. Something hard settled in the pit of her stomach, it roiled and churned, making her feel nauseous.

“Well... um, you know that school I mentioned?” Jessica asked, her hazel eyes big in her face, silently pleading with Maria not to be upset with her. “I met Rick there too, he was an instructor. It wasn’t...” She sighed and looked at the others as if appealing for help. “It was just part of class. I never thought I’d see him again, and even when I did… there’s nothing between us. It’s always been Justin and Chris for me. Rick and I have never been anything but friends.”

“I see,” Maria said carefully, pushing down the bile in the back of her throat. She was not going to be that girl. There was no reason to think Jessica was lying to her. Not to mention, she was in a monogamous relationship. Well, as monogamous as someone could get with two men. But they’d both seemed possessive of her, like they weren’t willing to share her with anyone else. Jessica had been nothing but friendly to her, and surely she wouldn’t be like that if she had anything but friendly feelings for Rick.

“You’re going to run into more people who have had sex with Rick if you date him,” Olivia said bluntly. Maria got the impression Olivia didn’t often sugarcoat her words. “Although not as many as these three do. Rick just moved up here recently and he didn’t come as much before that. People here scene together, and that sometimes includes sex. Some submissives can get attached to dominants they’ve scened with, and vice versa, but the boundaries are pretty clearly spelled out.”

“Which is why I don’t make friends with the other subs,” Angel said under her breath, avoiding Olivia’s amused gaze. She winked at Maria, returning her voice to speaking volume. “Most of them are nice enough though, no one’s out to steal anyone’s man. They want their own. Doesn’t make them like me, but they respect the relationship.”

“Except Marissa.” Jessica made a face as if the name left a bad taste in her mouth. That was another name Maria recognized, and not in a good way. Interesting how Rick’s opinion of Marissa was definitely backed up by the females in the group.

“Let’s not talk about Truckstop,” Olivia said, waving her hand as if to ward off bad spirits. Her expression was completely blank, as if she was holding back her distaste by sheer effort of will. “The point is, the club is kind of incestuous in a way. If you come here often, and you aren’t in a relationship, you’re going to scene with the other singles. That’s just something you’ll have to get used to and accept, if you decide you want to be with Rick.”

Well at least Olivia didn’t just assume Maria was going to want to be with him. Sure he was drool-worthy, fun, funny, sensitive, sexy as all get out, and she had a lot of fun being around him, but she was more than a bit pissed about how he’d handled tonight. It also didn’t help her uncertainty that she would be able to deal with everything being thrown at her. Yeah, she’d had so-called meaningless sex before. It could be a lot of fun, but it wasn’t like she spent time around the guys after they were done with each other. Or introduced her boyfriends to them.

Then again, since Jessica was dating his friends, it’s not like Rick would have much of a choice about hanging out with her. And Jessica was really nice. And in a committed relationship. So did it matter?

“So,” she said, taking a deep breath. She was already in the pool, might as well hit the deep end while she was here. Who knew if she’d have the opportunity to ask the questions again? Pushing down her jealousy, she forced a calm expression onto her face when she looked at Jessica. “What are Rick’s kinks?”

“Oh, I haven’t actually experienced them firsthand,” Jessica said, looking somewhat alarmed. “He just taught the Basic Intercourse class at the Venus School.”

“There’s a Basic Intercourse class? Man... maybe I should just go to the school,” Maria said, laughing and feeling some knots in her shoulders loosen. Strangely, knowing Jessica hadn’t had kinky sex with Rick, indulging in all the things he wanted, somehow made her feel a little better. Even though she didn’t know much about BDSM, it seemed like fulfilling each other’s fantasies would be more intimate than just regular sex.

“I wanted to go too, but Adam said no,” Angel said with a little sigh, although it wasn’t really regretful. Kind of smug actually.

“Spanked your ass for even thinking about it, didn’t he?”

Angel’s smile was like the Cheshire cat’s after licking a bowl of cream. “I’m just going to say it was a good night.”

“We’re getting off-track ladies,” Olivia said, although her smile was indulgent. It suddenly struck Maria that Olivia’s position in the group was incredibly familiar; that of the big sister. A protective leadership role, but the kind of leader who knew when to step aside and let someone make their own mistakes. A guiding hand, but not a prohibitive one. Those gray eyes found their way back to Maria’s, still contemplative, but kind. As if she already considered Maria to be one of her own. Was this how Maria’s little sisters felt? It was distinctly odd to be in the receiving position. “Rick likes and a bit of impact play—spanking and flogging—but his biggest fetish is orgasm play.”

“Orgasm play?”

Angel made a face and Jessica shuddered. Hilary just shrugged slightly, although her own expression wasn’t entirely serene. Apparently orgasm play wasn’t necessarily the fun thing it sounded like.

“Usually denial of, sometimes forced orgasms. Although he’s not extreme with it, like some people can be.” The little smile hovering on Olivia’s lips seemed to indicate it was something she enjoyed as well; she had a slightly faraway look in her eyes, as if she was picturing something else. Or someone else. “It’s more about control than anything else. The knowledge that they are willing to withhold their own pleasure in an attempt to please you. Having that kind of control over another person. Keeping your partner just on the brink of pleasure, keeping them from actually crossing the edge... and then when they do, it’s... beautiful.”

Pressing her thighs together, Maria sternly told herself it probably wasn’t as pleasant as Olivia made it sound. Jessica was looking at Olivia like she was crazy.

“It’s also hell when you’re the one not allowed to cum.” Jessica snorted. “Trust me, I’ve thought about safe wording more than once when Justin and Chris are making me hold back.”

“But you haven’t, have you? And it’s been worth it, hasn’t it?” Olivia asked in a superior tone. That’s when Maria realized, Olivia wasn’t a submissive like Angel, Jessica, or Hilary. She was dominant. Like Rick was. Maybe that’s why the others deferred to her so easily.

Looking at her, she definitely seemed to have the same confidence and aura his male friends did. Kind of nice seeing it in another woman. The others were confident, but this was a different kind of power.

“Yeah, once they finally let me cum, it’s awesome,” Jessica said, although her tone was a bit derisive, like she still wouldn’t choose the experience on her own. Maria could understand that. But it really did sound kind of hot... being tied up while Rick played with her until she was begging him to let her cum. Her thighs pressed together again as something wild and needy surged in her pussy.

A lot of the things she’d seen and heard about tonight didn’t appeal to her, but that image did.

Still... that didn’t make up for she was hearing about what Rick wanted in bed from other women. One of whom had actually slept with him. If someone had told her that was going to happen tonight, she would have never come. Now that she was here it kind of made sense, but it was still something which would have normally been a major warning signal to stay away.

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