Chapter 5
Polina
If art were a physical manifestation of every desire known and unknown in the human psyche, then I’d just become it.
I understood how bondage worked. I enjoyed both the restrictions and the freedoms suspension provided.
But I’d never fully appreciated the dance between the restraint of the ropes and the subtler manipulations that could be achieved with the lightest touch.
The man who had taken me to a new level of awareness, submission, and freedom was a master in every sense of the word. He worked me like he’d created me and that thought was terrifying. How could he know all the places that needed unlocking and get so close to laying me bare?
Not physically, undressing before the growing crowd had been easy and done with a practiced grace, one I’d developed for my very public life.
Milan runways and mirrors in my extensive walk in closet, had given me all that was needed to enter a room and own it.
Not because I wished to be the center of attention but to have the armor firmly in place against a world where every move I made was examined and judged.
He had lifted my carefully concealed cover and examined me in ways that held no judgment, no remorse for his surprise partner for the evening.
There was no overt claim in his touch. No possessiveness.
Nothing I could point to and name. Yet with every brush of his fingers, something between us had shifted.
His words belied his tone, he enjoyed the control yes, but controlling me set him off. And, in and as much as I’d enjoyed letting go, giving myself over to him created an itch so deep within, I wasn’t sure a hundred scratches would satisfy it.
My tip off the orgasm edge into a pool of delirium had been the best I’d ever had.
My appetite could be insatiable when I was partnered with someone hungry and gifted in delivering the O’s, but not this time.
Hours had passed and the need coursing through me had been extinguished, satiated, leaving me full and relaxed.
I’d been able to process during the untying of the ropes but as Loki scooped me up, I was viscerally aware of that magnetic pull between us.
A connection that scared me. He must feel it too.
Which meant he was probably already putting distance between us.
I abhorred the idea of being blown off and made the decision right there and then to make sure I was the one doing the blowing.
I had to. I couldn’t fathom potential play dates, or mind boggling sex for us in the future, as my ability to get away and live my life was tenuous at best. If there were an opportunity, I would want to.
See him, feel him, again. A risk that seemed unlikely given my circumstances, but holding this unexpected gift in my memory was something no one but me had access to or could take from me.
Loki would be fodder for nights when I was left to my own devices.
This thought curbed the turmoil in my veins and the thumping of my heart.
I felt him flinch, an almost imperceptible movement. “Are you overthinking, Hecate? Or just admiring my firm grasp.”
A slight blush, one he couldn’t witness, gently burned my cheeks. We entered the aftercare space and he gently placed me on a luxurious couch. A dungeon monitor passed him a blanket and a bottle of water. This was my cue. I stood, albeit a bit unsteadily, but quickly found my balance.
“Thank you for a lovely scene, Master Loki, but”—I glanced at my wrist to an imaginary watch—“this goddess needs to get home before she gets turned into a pumpkin. A mix of stories and possibly metaphors, I realize, but you get the picture.” Before he could reply, I turned on my heel with the intention of leaving as quickly as possible but not making it appear so.
“Now, now, lovely Hecate.”
I was scooped back into his arms and had to admit, I fit there far too well.
“You may have a curfew, for lack of a better word, but I have my protocol. You wouldn’t deny me my rightful role in our get-together this evening, would you?” He arched a single brow as if daring me to challenge him.
I gazed at those nearby to see if there were any witnesses. To my annoyance, we were popular and more than a few heads had turned our way. Inwardly, I sighed; outwardly, I smiled seductively. “Albeit for a goddess to break the ego so easily of the mighty trickster.” He placed me on my feet.
“So, you’ll stay?”
“No. I was simply stating that I’m sure you have others… partners whom you can amuse yourself with.“ His eyes darkened although his expression didn’t alter in the slightest. Still, I’d gotten to him which had been my plan. Maybe now he would see that keeping me here was a mistake.
A grin tugged at the corner of his lips, giving him a mischievous appearance, one that matched his club name perfectly. “I’ll make it worth your while, Hecate. Surely such a gracious goddess as yourself will give your humble servant this evening a few more minutes of her time.”
Again, I sighed inwardly, smiling on the outside. “With an invitation like that, how can I say no?”
“How indeed.” He sat down and tugged me onto his lap, wrapping me in a blanket with a tenderness that had me give, just a little.
He uncapped the bottle and held it close to my lips, waiting for me to open and allow him to hydrate me.
It was custom and I’d done it many times in the past. Now, however, I was reluctant.
His eyes held a question that went beyond a mere watering of my body and pierced me somewhere lower.
His message was clear. Loki was far from being done with me.
His game was one I could play all day long, however, so I parted my lips, my eyes expressing humor, a far cry from what I was feeling.
He wasn’t fooled by my actions. His eyes looked equally amused before running down my body.
The electric heat I’d felt earlier under his touch returned.
Without meaning to, I opened my mouth. His eyes snapped back up.
His gaze was intense. I licked my lips. Damn it!
Why was I succumbing to him so easily, giving him what he wanted?
It would make me vulnerable in a way I couldn’t afford to be. Not just with him, but with any man.
“That’s a good girl,” he said soothingly as he placed the bottle between my parted lips and gently tilted it. Cool, soothing liquid trickled down my throat. Water had never tasted this good.
My eyes closed involuntarily, allowing him to control the flow of liquid he gave me. I was completely gone and desperately needed to rein myself back in. When the water stopped, I closed my lips and opened my eyes.
“How are you feeling?” he asked his question in that no nonsense tone he’d used during our Q & A prior to our scene.
“Wonderful. I thank you for your care, but I really should get going.” I didn’t look at the imaginary watch this time nor make another goddess comment.
Instead, I stood up and held out my hand to shake his.
He bypassed the hand, standing as well before drawing me against his hard body.
“I want to see you again,” he whispered softly.
“I’m sorry. My life is complicated.”
His arms around me were firm. I knew he wouldn’t let me go until I gave him the answer he sought.
How could I, knowing it was next to impossible to plan anything?
What he wanted and what I could give were not on the same plane, but how could I explain that to a man who knew my body better than god but didn’t know a thing about me as a person?
“Even for Hecate? Come now, I believe you can make anything you want happen. Say you’ll meet with me again?
It doesn’t have to be here, we do have another club and then of course there is my private dungeon.
You find a time you can make work, and I’ll ensure it’s worth whatever magic rabbit you need to pull from your hat. ”
His grin was infectious and for the first time in my adult life, I relented. “Fine. Let’s exchange numbers and I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.”
“I can live with that.” Loki pulled his phone from his back pocket and added my phone number.
“I need to go.” My tone held a quiver, wholly unwanted for its vulnerability.
In another place and time, where autonomy existed for me, leaving would have been questioned.
I suppose, in this case, not having that served a purpose.
My legs were shaking as I let the blanket slide from my shoulders.
Naked, with my dress and shoes in hand, I made my way toward the changing rooms behind the aftercare area.
I felt his eyes searing me with each step and resisted the urge to rush through the door and escape his scrutiny.
Once safely ensconced in the changing room, I slid onto a bench and took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart.
After a few minutes, I stood, used the restroom, and checked myself out in the mirror.
Azure blue eyes stared back from a pale face.
How could I look the same now as when I’d carefully dressed earlier this evening, when everything felt different?
After peeling my gaze from the mirror, a quick scan showed Loki was no longer in the dungeon.
With a sigh of relief, I made my way through the club toward the exit.
“Girl, that was hot! Even from here I could feel the sparks fly between you two.”
Mmm, did she? Maybe Dottie could be of some help to me.
“Really? I was so caught up in the moment I felt only what was supplied to me.”
Dottie grinned from ear to ear. “You’re a hard sell, I can see that.” She laughed out loud and I found myself grinning in response to her joviality.
“Dottie, would you perhaps be interested in lunch and shopping? I’m new here and don’t know anyone.”
“Girl, you got it! I’d love to. Maybe I’ll bring my best friend along, Raia, another beauty. Her man owns this club along with Master Loki and a few others, best friends since their college days.”
Dottie was a wealth of information. “I’d love that. Shall we say Monday?”
“We shall indeed!”
This time I couldn’t hold back the chuckle, imagining Dimitri and Vlad’s faces when they saw my lunch date was the very expressive, flamboyant, Dottie. Since Little Missy had claimed my bag, my phone was still in the coat check area, I took Dottie’s and entered my number.
Handing it back, I watched as she typed in a message and hit send before she looked back at me with a smile. “So with that out of the way. How did it go with Master Loki?”
“I don’t like to kiss and tell, but, as we’re new friends, it was electric and the best shibari scene to date for me.” It hadn’t been just the shibari that had the experience of charting the top of my list. It was him.
Dottie squealed excitedly. “I had a feeling it would be awesome and, honestly, I’ve never seen him in the aftercare section before.”
“What?” The word was out before I could counsel myself to a state of casualness.
Dottie appraised me. “He usually runs for the hills. The fact he not only went there with you but stayed says a lot about how much he enjoyed his time with you. Count yourself lucky, he is the very best at what he does. Anyone who’s had the chance to play with him agrees.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Dottie, and we’ll see you Monday.” After retrieving my coat and bag, I pulled my phone free. Before I could check to see what Dottie had sent, a beep told me another message had come through. Swiping the screen, I saw it was from Master Loki.
Thank you, lovely Hecate, for a memorable evening. Yours, Master Loki (Jared)
I sent back a quick message.
You’re welcome, trickster. I look forward to our next engagement. Not yours, Hecate.
There was too much risk involved in giving him my name.
I placed my phone back in my bag,
Before turning down the hall to reception, I spotted Loki in the bar having a serious conversation with another man. His mien was all darkness. Whatever the base of the discussion, he didn’t like it.
His brow furrowed for only a moment. His smoky gaze alighting on me and traveling down and up one last time, as if memorizing me, before pulling himself back to the conversation left me weak-kneed.
Outside in the cool Philadelphia evening, I took deep lungsful of air, finally able to breathe. My Uber was ready, and with one last backward glance, I climbed in and headed back to my gilded cage.