Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Penelope Darling

A sh circled the X-cross and inspected Nora's body. "She wasn't exaggeratin' when she said she loved pain."

No kidding.

We'd learned that she was a teeth-gritter. At least so far. No crying, no screaming, no gasping. She gritted her teeth and breathed heavily through each impact. She had only panties and a sports bra covering her, and I was officially obsessed with watching the marks appear on her perfect body. Her toned stomach, her soft thighs, the gorgeous curves of her hips, her arms…all flushed, all red with welts, all exquisite.

I picked up a new whip, this one a cat-o'-nine tails with tiny stainless-steel balls at the ends, and I noticed we'd garnered a bit of an audience in the club area. River and Reese both sat at the bar, eating their dinner and watching, and Shay was blindfolded and kneeling by River's feet. Standing a little closer to the small demo stage were Beau, Walker, and Santiago.

I turned away from them again, and I watched Ash go through his inspection. He was really good with her, and I was looking forward to seeing them at the event. He pinched her flesh in different places to gauge her sensitivity level because, as we all knew…at some point, you stopped registering pain. But Nora was highly alert, highly sensitive, and she squirmed when he hit the jackpot around her thighs.

"Ow." She sucked in a couple quick breaths and screwed her eyes shut.

God, I wanted to see the moment she broke.

"Green? Yellow?" Ash asked.

"Green," she gritted out.

"All right—let's proceed." Ash checked her restraints and then returned to my side, and I stepped forward and eyed the soft flesh of her stomach.

How her muscles contracted with each heaving breath was fucking mesmerizing.

With the distance closed between us, I ran the ball-tipped ends of the whip over her skin, and she tensed up before exhaling shakily. I knew the metal would feel cold to her heated-up flesh.

I leaned in and kissed her jaw. "I will break you, baby girl."

Her eyes flashed open, and the burning desperation seared into me. I had to kiss her. I kissed her hard, with all the promise I was dying to give her. Fuck, she was bringing me back to life, this girl.

I eased back and gave her cheek a light smack, and then I got in position while she caught her breath and squeezed her eyes shut once more.

After that…I let the pain rain down on her.

In complete silence, I was lulled into my own rhythm, reminding me of how much I needed this place. It wasn't the parties or the big events; it was this right here. A few friends watching because they shared similar interests. A beautiful girl being beaten, taking my pain, suffering for me— wanting me. Only me. And fuck if I wasn't falling into her trap, hook, line, and sinker.

The day I got to chase her down in a proper primal event, I might keel over. Or fucking propose.

The heavy leather strands whipped through the air before the tips smattered across her skin, and a light sheen of sweat had started dampening her face. She wasn't far away from tears now. Over and over, I whipped her stomach, and she writhed fruitlessly against the shackles.

When I took a break to throw her off, she drew a raspy breath and blinked hard. Tears clung to her lashes, but so far, not a single one had trickled down her cheeks.

I went over to my toy bag and dug out a blindfold.

Deep breaths.

Her breaths came out more rapid and shallow for every minute that went by, and I was sure I saw a flash of both determination and surrender in her eyes before I blindfolded her. Christ, to be in her head now…? To watch the battle unfold—give in or fight, give in or fight, scream or suck it up a while longer.

Time for a new toy.

I settled on a small switch that Walker had made me once. The ten-or-so-inch-long strands of the implement were harder, leather woven with wire, ends knotted, producing the stingiest of sting-y pain.

Ash extended a half-full water bottle and kept his voice down. "Throw it on her."

Good idea. It should provide a nice shock to her flushed body.

With a tight grip on the switch, I got ready and approached her a final time. Because this was gonna do it—I was so sure. I knew just how, too.

In a swift movement, I squeezed the bottle and threw the water over her face and upper body, and the second she gasped, I flicked the switch with as much force as my wrist could pack. The strands slapped against the underside of her left arm, and I didn't stop. I went for every sensitive area, from her underarms and stomach to the insides of her thighs and her feet.

Her mouth was open in a silent scream, and then it finally came. A piercing yet hoarse, choked-out scream that racked her body.

I continued.

She screamed.

I shifted the impact to her tits, right across her nipples, and the scream morphed into sobbing.

There we go, sweetheart.

Waterdrops rolled down her abused flesh, as did tears down her face.

I drew a deep breath, power and control surging within me.

"Give me your color, Nora," I ordered.

"G-greeeeen!" she wailed brokenly. "God-fucking-dammit, det g?r s? j-j?vla ont !"

In English, please?

"You fucking Sadist!" she sobbed.

That's better.

I grinned, out of breath, and peered back at Ash.

He nodded once, satisfied.

We'd gotten our answers.

The whole experience was so fucking elating that I hadn't even begun to process what I was feeling. I was riding a strange high, and it was time to come back down from it.

While Ash did away with the implements we'd used, I focused solely on Nora.

I removed the blindfold first.

"You did so well, baby." I kissed her tear-streaked cheek and eased my hands along her arms, a silent way of preparing her for the restraints to come off. One by one, I undid the shackles, and her arms fell heavily.

I gathered them around my neck, and Ash was quick to release her ankles.

Nora whimpered and cried, her body trembling against mine, and I decided to change our plans. Aftercare in the cabin would have to come after a shower upstairs.

"Can you meet us back at the cabin?" I asked Ash. "I'm gonna take her upstairs first."

"Yeah, of course." He dipped down and pressed a quick kiss to Nora's temple. "I'll see you soon, kiddo. You in the mood for cocoa or Coke?"

I wasn't surprised one bit to discover he'd already quizzed her about aftercare preferences.

"Coke, please," she cried.

"I'll get shit sorted. She'll need some extra energy too," Ash said.

I nodded, and then we parted ways.

She didn't have much strength at the moment, so I activated the wheelchair lift on the stairs and held her close to me the whole way up.

"Such a good girl." I pressed kisses to the side of her head and gently rubbed her arms. "Tell me what you need the most right now."

She sniffled and wiped fruitlessly at her cheeks. "I don't know. I-I can't stop crying."

"Let it all out. You don't have to decide anything—but if you think or something, you'll let me know?"

She nodded.

"Good. In the meantime, I'll take over," I murmured, ushering her off the lift and into the nearest shower room. "We're gonna take a nice, lukewarm shower, and you tell me when we get to the perfect temperature."

"Yes, Ma'am," she whimpered. "On the cold side, please."

I'd figured. Those welts had to feel like a blaze of fire by now.

After stripping her down, I guided her to one of the showers. We had no stalls here, just one shower after another on both sides. All white tile.

I held the showerhead away from her until the water was a cold-ish lukewarm, and then I held out her hand.

"Wanna try this first?" I asked.

She answered silently by stepping closer, so I slowly moved the gush of water over her body, and she shivered violently.

"Too cold?"

She shook her head. "N-no, it feels good." Even so, she was trembling quite a bit, so I'd be careful. "That was so sadistic with the water you splashed on me."

I smiled and winced simultaneously. "I had a feeling it would do the trick, but I can't take credit. I think Ash wanted to see how you responded to shock."

"Credit or blame?" she grumbled.

I laughed softly and hugged her to me, effectively soaking my top and my shorts.

She was a competitive girl. She'd received the shock at a good time, in my opinion. It was possible her stubbornness wasn't always her friend. If someone pushed themselves too far, they invited more risks.

Ash had undoubtedly drawn the same conclusion.

Reaching for one of the two soap dispensers nearest us, I made sure to pick the one for sensitive skin. It was literally made for babies with diaper rashes, and Tate and the other masos swore by it. There were no suds. Just a gentle cream with a cooling agent.

"Is it a habit of yours to prove to yourself how much pain you can take?" I murmured.

She hesitated before she shook her head. "It used to be, but not anymore." Her blue eyes flashed with uncertainty. "I swear it's not. I was about to reach my limit anyway. Limit for what made me cry, I mean. The pain wasn't too much."

I nodded and carefully rubbed some soap over her arms where I brushed my fingertips over so many welts. Thin and thick, barely there and definitely there.

Complete trust would settle over us like a comforting blanket with time, but I did trust her to safeword and be 100% honest in a scene.

Moments later, we were back in my cabin, and I had her cuddled up in my arms on the couch, dressed in a skimpy pajama set, while she sipped on Coke and ate ice cream.

Her skin smelled like my body butter.

Ash sat on the other side of the coffee table, and he was making notes in his notepad. He had Paws on his lap too, and the little thing was finally tired.

"In that case—what Penelope said—as long as you don't try to prove anythin', I'll trust you to speak your mind on Saturday," he said, jotting down a few more things. "So, you'll grab my hand if you wish to say somethin', and I'll be the benevolent Master King Owner that I am."

I grinned, and Nora giggled.

"Do you not identify as a Master normally, Sir?" she wondered. "You seem to know a lot about this high-protocol stuff."

"Years of observing," he answered. "I don't really have a title beyond Sir."

"He's total Daddy material," I felt the need to say. But given his and Nathan's history, neither of them had found a good way to experience the best of both worlds. They'd had casual play together with others, and that didn't always result in hearing a specific title.

I was the same way. Mistress was a title that would come down the road, once Nora and I were fully established.

"Yeah, you definitely strike me as a primal Daddy," Nora noted.

Ash smirked faintly but said nothing. He kept writing things down.

It wasn't his favorite subject.

"Okay, I think that's it—no, wait. Touching. We gotta cover that as well," he said. "What level of touching are you comfortable with durin' the Game?"

Nora shrugged and scrunched her nose. "It's gonna be nonsexual for both of us, so I'm not fussed. Do whatever the event requires, or…however I should put it."

We understood what she meant, and it was a reasonable boundary.

"There won't be any requirements for anything intimate," I said. "One exception might be if bondage is involved. To create a harness for a girl, you kinda need to go near her breasts."

"Breasts scare me less than bondage," Ash joked. His forehead creased, and he glanced my way. " Will there be ropework? My version of restraints is using my hands or shackles."

Unfortunately, I couldn't say. I pretended to zip my mouth shut and throw away the key. But he had nothing to worry about. Rope would be a feature one could pick. It wasn't mandatory.

"You're real helpful," he deadpanned.

I blew him a kiss.

"But what about you, Sir?" Nora asked. "Are you comfortable with everything we've agreed on?"

"Absolutely." He nodded with a dip of his chin. "Honestly, I'm just lookin' forward to getting back to kink. It's gonna be fun. Despite the theme."

I chuckled. "I'm sure we'll do a primal event soon enough. Too many of us are into that."

"True." He pocketed his notepad and finished his coffee. "Maybe this will take the edge off, at least. I have two neighbors drivin' me batshit with ideas, and…" He shook his head.

Wait, what?

"What neighbors?" I asked. "You haven't told me anything about any neighbors."

"I haven't told anyone ." He shrugged. "It's a married couple—and they're kinky. Submissive Daddy-type, switchy Little. What's worse, the Daddy works for me."

Whoa. Nora and I exchanged a look of surprise.

"Uh, we're gonna need you to spill the beans," I stated.

Nora nodded.

Ash chuckled. "Ain't much to spill. This guy—James. My brother and I hired him last winter, and I was bitching about my apartment one day. He said the house next to the one he lives in with his husband was on the market. Turned out it was perfect for a big family, so I bought it. Then I started pickin' up cues from them. I watched them interact, and I put two and two together." He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Shit was fine till a few weeks ago—right before the cruise…? We took a day off work, all of us, like we sometimes do. Team building, but in a way that doesn't make you wanna shoot someone in the face. We played golf and basketball, we went to a nice steakhouse, and we spent the night at some spa hotel where they had a sauna and everything."

"Oooh, things can happen in saunas," Nora teased.

I smiled, though it left me with a pinch of unease. Ash was big on loyalty, so I assumed this couple was looking for a third rather than one of them going behind the back of the other.

Ash lifted his brows. "That fucker certainly tried , but he was awkward about it. Nothin' happened, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Did he, though?

As much as I hoped he and Nathan would find their way back to each other, I felt the need to point something out.

"You're single, honey."

He shook his head and rose to his feet with Paws in his grasp. "You know I'm not. I've tried, but…"

I understood. Being technically single didn't mean things felt that way.

"Just putting this out there," Nora said, sitting forward. "You and Nathan—two Doms. Your neighbors, a sub and a switch…? Can we do the math?"

"And that's the fuckin' idea I don't need in my head," Ash told her. "I gotta get home. You text me if your mood tanks, understood? You're obligated to tell Penelope everything, but I gotta know too."

She nodded and smashed her lips together. It was clear she wanted to press the issue, but it wasn't wise. I knew firsthand how he could withdraw from a situation if shit got too personal.

"I understand, Sir," she replied.

"I'll keep an eye on her." I didn't want him to feel like he was bailing. The beating hadn't been part of our original plan, and he was needed at home. But Nora wasn't alone, and Ash had already gone above and beyond to make the Game a fun experience for Nora.

Friday flew by in a whirl of event preparations and processing my developing feelings. Part of me thought it was going too fast, but then I looked around the property and saw all the friends who'd found new partners this year. They hadn't hesitated to run with it.

I opened up to some of them about it too, and I could always count on Colt to spread his wings of wisdom.

"Hon, you're trained to spot red flags. If she ain't raisin' any, fuckin' go. That's what Luke and I did with Kit. Some call it a gut feelin', some call it chemistry—but you feel when it's right."

It did feel awfully right with Nora.

It was like I could breathe for the first time in I didn't know how many years.

River's advice was as brief as it was solid—as usual.

"Fuck it. No risk, no reward."

There was one more friend I wanted to talk to, though, and I caught up to him as he was heading down to his cabin.

For some reason, Greer was on his own today—or maybe his partners were arriving later. Greer had shown up in his utility kilt, which explained the catcalls from the pool. Every year, it was like this. When he came here straight from work—in the warmer months—he wore a kilt, and it never got old with the brats.

"At long last, kilt season is here!" Tate applauded.

"Keep it up!" Greer hollered back toward the pool. "Check out my calf game too!"

"Woo-woo! Where do I stick the singles?" Noa yelled.

I snorted in amusement and skipped onto his little porch. "Hi, friend."

"Hey, shortcake." He unlocked the door and nodded in What's up .

"Quick question," I said. "When you reunited with Archie, you pretty much went for it right away. Within a few days, you were trying out a TPE dynamic that included him staying at your place. Did you ever feel like it was going too fast?"

He grinned, part confused. "Me, thinkin' somethin' was goin' too fast? That's funny. I'm the family bulldozer, Pen. You know that."

Fair point, but still.

"This about you and Nora?" he asked.

I sighed. "Yes."

"And you think it's goin' too fast?" He headed inside and motioned for me to follow.

"I have an annoying voice in the back of my head telling me it's too fast," I admitted. "I'm not exactly agreeing with that, but it's hard to ignore."

He grunted and shrugged out of his work tee, tossing it on the couch. Archie had really fixed this place up. Before he'd entered the picture, Greer had used books as furniture. Countless stacks of books. Now, they'd put up shelves along the slanted walls, and Archie had added his Downton Abbey touches, Corey's love for frogs, and Sloan's artwork. It was a mismatched mess, but it worked.

"I have a few years on you, but I reckon this still applies to you," he said, giving his armpits a whiff. I scrunched my nose. "We're not twenty anymore. It's one thing to be mindful, but I don't have time to be cautious. That voice bitchin' at you is probably the part of you that's jaded. Trust, I had that voice too."

That did make sense.

He walked into his little bathroom, where he looked like a giant. He soaked a towel, presumably to wash up.

"And you told that voice to pipe down," I guessed.

"With a swift kick to the nuts," he confirmed. "Take it from me, hon. I spent years mopin' and grumbling to myself, but when push comes to shove—I don't wanna live with regrets. I'd rather have my heart stomped on, as long as I gave it a go."

All the lovesick idjits were saying the same damn thing.

And they were right. Not an ounce of me wanted to slow things down with Nora. Hell, the opposite. I wanted to ask her to spend more time with me out here. I could drive her to work in the mornings, and then we could stay in my cabin while I sorted out my vanilla life. I had work lined up. I just had to find a new home.

A house with a big backyard, maybe…

Once Greer was done, he applied deodorant and came back out. He grabbed a clean tee from a bag on the kitchen table.

"Are your other three coming out later?" I asked.

"Just Archie today," he replied. "Sloan's kids are hoppin' on a flight tomorrow to go see their mom in Chicago, so he and Corey are staying back to spend the evening with them."

"The kids are flying on their own?" If I wasn't mistaken, the two youngest were under four.

"No, their mom's parents are takin' them, thank fuck. Ever since she started her job in Chicago, it's clear her priorities have shifted." He was visibly annoyed by that. Couldn't blame him. "To be honest, I'm not sure she's comin' back. It's supposed to be for one year, but…" He shrugged and dug out a pair of jeans next. The kilt-loving brats would be so sad. "Fuck it, I'd rather have the kids with us full time. They're finally happy again."

I smiled. I knew how much those children meant to Greer.

"Speaking of kids, I heard Reese talking about a few new cabins out front, where members can bring their kids," I said.

He nodded with a dip of his chin. "Aye, he asked me about it. It's a good idea as long as we make sure the kids don't stumble upon anything they shouldn't see." He scratched his jaw. "We talked about an age limit too. Kids older than three shouldn't be here. You never know where they might run off to."

That was true. Greer and Archie had brought their daughter a couple times, but she was just a year old, and they kept her in here where things couldn't be more vanilla. If Archie wasn't with her, Greer was. Or Corey or Sloan, of course.

"Three is a good limit." I nodded. And the front of our property was so large. We usually compared it to a football field, and we didn't use it one bit. But plant some bushes, transplant some trees, build a picket fence around a new area, and we could create a kid-safe zone in there. We already had a group online for kinksters with children; they met up for their own munches in the city from time to time.

It gave me butterflies to think I might be one of those one day. I honestly wasn't sure if it was what I wanted, but now I had the choice, and it meant a lot.

"Pen, I know that stupid smile," Greer chuckled.

"What?" I composed myself and scrubbed a hand over my mouth. Fuck.

He grinned. "Nothin'. It's just good to see."

I huffed.

Saturday morning, I didn't get much time with Nora either. We were in full-on Game mode, and all participating members had been banned from the backyard. No pool fun for them. Instead, they were using the shitty little grill on the front porch to make lunch—and they were sending the brats to run through the sprinklers.

I heard bets were being made…

Because so many dynamics had signed up for the event, we'd had to ask for more volunteers, and Reese was now going to run his mascot competition as a sidetrack station so that the groups weren't too large.

For several hours, it was me, Reese, Jack, August, and our volunteers, Santiago, Franklin, Lucas, Beau, Ivy—who couldn't do anything strenuous—Gretchen, and Sierra running around to set everything up.

We cleared the deck of all outdoor furniture, because that would be Jack's station. Left behind were the two hot tubs and a long table that Gretchen and I began filling with coolers. It was too warm to leave the food out for hours.

Said coolers were packed with all kinds of food, from fruit and vegetables to bread and toppings, from pastries and cookies to beef jerky and chips. Plus beverages—which reminded me, I had to prepare a thermos or seven. Most Tops loved their coffee.

Meanwhile, Reese's station would be out on the lawn, beyond the pool. He and Franklin were setting up kinky furniture where slaves would prove they could suffer for their Owners.

August and I were sharing the club area. He had one half reserved for the bake-off, and I had the stage area dedicated to ceremonial poses. Poses with a twist. Jack, ever the humiliator, had put his creativity to work.

The poses were meant to look hysterical—at least some of them—but the sub wasn't allowed to laugh.

"Can someone help me grab the antique-looking chairs from the supply room next to the dojo?" Jack called, jumping up onto the deck.

"Sure thing." Santiago and Lucas trailed after him.

"Here are the silver trays, Ma'am." Ivy came out from the club with a stack of trays.

"Thank you, pet." I met her halfway and accepted them. "Go have a seat for a moment."

"I just rested!" she protested.

"I wasn't asking," I sang. "Do you want me to call your Owners?"

She retracted her claws damn quick.

Attagirl.

But now I kinda wanted to see my own hothead. It was bizarre, wasn't it? We'd had breakfast together three hours ago, and I already missed her. Every now and then, I heard her laughter from the other side of the house, and I just wanted to run to her.