Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
Serena hesitated when the elevator opened. Could she actually give up all control and play with the events of this morning still in her head?
“Sugar? You okay?” Noah took her hand in his and lifted it to brush a kiss over the back of her knuckles. “We don’t have to do this right now if you don’t want to. We can come back later. Or we don’t have to go downstairs at all.”
Taking a breath, Serena shook her head as she stepped onto the elevator, pulling Noah along behind her. “No, Sir. We’re going down. Right now. I refuse to be kept out of the Dungeon just because of a mistake.”
When Ford and Noah said, “Good girl,” in unison, a familiar shiver of warmth raced through her and her pussy clenched in response.
When the elevator doors slid open, she pushed her shoulders back and followed Noah off the elevator. She was able to take three steps away from the elevator door before she froze. Even though she knew she was fine and that Les had not harmed her in any way, the fight or flight compulsion was still strong.
“Serena? Look at me. You’re not in a nightmare or a foster home. You’re with us,” Ford stepped close, bending and getting in her face until his nose was an inch from hers. “Look around and see. There’s no one here but us and the guard who won’t hurt you.”
She could do this. She had her men on either side to hold her up. Besides, she really did want to visit the Dungeon, even if it was just to look around, though she suddenly wished Ford had brought his bag so they could play. Breathing deeply, Serena nodded. “I’m okay.”
Stepping away from Ford, she took a moment to look around the Dungeon’s reception area. The focus of the space was a beautiful set of highly polished double doors that appeared to glow in the lowered lighting. Bright copper circular insets formed a giant X on each door, making her think of a St. Andrews Cross.
The guard at a wooden podium smiled as they approached. “Gentlemen, Miss, welcome to the dungeon. Your timing is perfect. We close from seven to nine every morning and evening so the Dungeon can be cleaned and restocked. If you don’t have toys, the armoires are well-stocked. Just leave whatever you use in the baskets beside them when you finish.”
“Thank you,” Ford said as Noah led her toward the double doors. “We’re just here to look around this morning.”
“Very well, enjoy,” the guard said with a smile. “If you run into any problems, just let me know.”
Serena squeezed Noah’s hand as he pulled the door open. They stepped through together, entering a lounge area with tables, chairs, and a bar along the wall to their left.
“Good morning,” the female bartender stepped out from behind the bar. “Can I fix you a drink? Or coffee, tea, juice, soda?”
“No thanks,” Ford said as he stepped up on her other side. “Could you possibly take a moment to give us a quick tour?”
“Oh, sure. It’s not like we’re busy right now. Things will pick up as the day goes on.”
Serena followed her with her men close enough behind her that she could feel the warmth of their bodies. Now that they were past the reception area, she relaxed and felt her shoulders unknot and settle.
“This hallway has changing rooms and restrooms along with the themed playrooms. You need to sign up for those ahead of time,” the woman waved at a hallway just inside the door they’d just come through. She then walked to the center of the bar area. “This is obviously the bar, where guests meet and negotiate scenes before and relaxing and talking afterwards. We have some guests who come for a drink and may not play at all, but just watch the various scenes going on below in the Dungeon’s play area .”
Serena turned and looked out over the empty Dungeon. Overhead lights glowed amber, purple, and white, giving a magical appearance to the space while flecks in the stone floor glimmered.
She recognized the various pieces of wood and black leather furniture that were widely spaced around the area. She recognized the spanking bench and St. Andrew’s cross as well as a chain station from their club back home. There were a couple of things she’d never seen before but knew Ford and Noah would be happy to introduce her to them. All she had to do was ask.
When a couple entered from the other side of the Dungeon, she turned to Ford and hid her face against his chest, her fingers gripping his shirt. The flare of pain at the pressure had her sucking a breath and dropping her hold before she tilted her head back. “Can we go now, please Sir?”
Ford nodded immediately. “Of course, subbie.”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he held her close as they left the Dungeon. It took a few minutes for the elevator to respond, so she used that time to look around the reception area from the safety of Ford’s embrace.
By the time the doors slid open, Serena felt that she was fully past the morning’s incident.
“All better?” Noah asked as they stepped into the elevator.
Serena nodded. “Yes, Sir, I think I am.”
“Good, now you can help us figure out what to tell a bunch of Littles about our job.”
Serena giggled at the tone of fear she heard in his voice. She knew it was put on because these two men loved doing school visits.
“I’d recommend you treat them like you do any other group of kids who visit the station on school fieldtrips. These Littles are just in bigger bodies,” she advised sagely.
“That shouldn’t be hard for you since there are some days you’re still a little kid,” Ford said with a snicker that caused Serena to giggle as well.
* * *
After seating Serena at the back of the room, Ford threaded his way through the whispering, giggling, wiggling bodies seated on the floor to join Noah and Nanny J in the front.
“Littles, please settle down,” Nanny J said in such a strict voice that Ford straightened up and snapped his mouth closed.
He watched as the Littles in the room did the same and in seconds there was silence.
“Thank you. Now, little ones, we have special guests visiting us this afternoon. Master Ford and Master Noah are guests here at the Ranch. Back where they live, they are firefighters. They have agreed to visit us today and answer any questions you might have about being a firefighter. Now, who would like to ask a question?”
Ford was not surprised when every hand in the room went up. He looked to Nanny J, but she simply smiled, nodded and stepped back, giving control of the room over to them.
“All right let’s start with you.” He pointed to a young man wearing a green t-shirt with a dancing frog on it.
“Have you ever had to rescue a cat out of a tree?”
Ford thought for a moment and decided to give the Littles a bit of a thrill. “Yes, about once a month we get called to rescue something out of a tree. Sometimes we rescue cats, and sometimes we have to get kids down who climbed up and got stuck. One time we got a call to rescue a baby bear.”
“A bear? A real, live bear?”
“Yes, a real, live, black bear. His mama and two siblings were watching but didn’t interfere when we got there. Once we got him back on the ground, he ran to join them and they went on their way back into the woods.”
After the class settled down again, Noah took the next question. They continued back and forth for nearly an hour, each choosing a different Little until they came to the only one who’d yet to ask at least one question.
“What would you like to know?” Ford asked the Little girl.
Instead of answering him, the Little turned to look at the back of the room and pointed at Serena. “Can she talk too?”
Ford chuckled and nodded. “Of course she can. Serena, could you come join us, please?”
Serena stood from where she’d been watching at the back of the room. After joining her men, she was soon fielding a round of questions about being a female firefighter. The questions were both insightful as well as silly. She, Noah and Ford answered each with patience and a sense of humor. Like most teachers, Ford thought that there was never a stupid question, and Serena loved how he tried to turn even the silly ones into teaching moments.
Finally, Nanny J stepped forward. “All right, little ones, its snack time. How about showing Master Ford, Master Noah, and Miss Serena some appreciation.”
The crowd clapped and there were even some whistles and calls of “yippee” and “hurray” before about half the group stood and filed out of the room and the rest moved to sit at low tables.
Nanny J then turned to them. “Thank you so much. They’ll be talking about you for days.”
“Thank you for inviting us to speak. I can say that I’ve never had such an interesting group to speak before,” Ford said as he shook her hand.
After they left the room, it didn’t surprise him to find Master Derek in the hall just outside the door.
“Sounds like you were a hit,” he said as they all moved down the hall toward the lobby.
“I hope the kids had as much fun as I did,” Serena joked before blinking and looking at him. “I’m sorry.”
He slid an arm around her back with a chuckle. “Nothing to be sorry for. We don’t do high protocol outside the Dungeon, remember?”
“Oh. Okay,” she said, appreciating the small hug as if to reassure her all was well.
“So, what’s up, Master Derek?” Noah asked once they were back in the lobby.
“I was wondering if we could call on your assistance with a possible search and rescue. A couple of Little guests didn’t return from a picnic lunch. Master Travis is away for the day and he’s our resident tracker.”
“I’ll help,” Serena offered without waiting for either of her Dominants to respond.
Master Derek glanced at her but then focused on him and Noah instead. Ford understood even though she was looking a little put out. High protocol or not, she was the submissive in this throuple and while she was as qualified to do everything as they were, as well as a few extra tasks, they were the ones in ultimate charge. They were the ones who would make the decision.
Ford looked at Noah who dropped his chin in agreement. He then met Master Derek’s concerned gaze.
“We’ll be glad to help in any way we can. While we’re all qualified to lead search and rescue, Serena is the best tracker of the three of us.”
Master Derek sighed in relief and nodded. “Thank you for your help. Come to my office and we’ll look at the maps. I have a feeling these two might have gone into an area we’ve deemed off limits to everyone. Problem is we haven’t fenced the area off yet. I’ve put a call out for anyone who can help with the search to join us at the stables in a half hour.”
Ford nodded as they followed Derek into his office. “Sounds like you’ve got things covered.”
“Maybe, but I’m never hesitant to use the best resources at my disposal. I’m not a tracker or a first responder,” Derek said. “I am hoping that as trained experts you might take over.”