Chapter 6
Considering this was an all-night, horror movie session, Malachi wasn’t surprised at the crowd in the foyer. Some of them had even brought pillows and sleeping bags. The monthly movie marathon had skyrocketed in popularity since they’d started a year ago. Something about watching three or four crazy B horror movies in a row with your friends appealed to people in Cobalt Harbor.
Maybe there was something in the water? He checked his tickets. Screen Four. Several teenagers wormed past and when he looked up, there they were – the two women he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind since his little session as their kinky therapist – Scarlet and Reece. Hard to forget them. For a while afterward, he’d wondered if men got menopause because the memory of them together invariably gave him hot flashes.
The girls finished talking to, or possibly flirting with, some middle-aged guy over the counter of the concession stand then headed his way with their popcorn and drinks, still talking animatedly, with Scarlet’s hand at Reece’s back. Briefly he considered putting a hit on the middle-aged guy. Then they saw him and waved.
Well, Scarlet waved. Reece shot him a dubious yet contemplative look. He nodded and waved back.
Just to draw it out, since they were coming to him anyway, he stayed put and did some admiring. He didn’t believe in denying natural urges too much. Scarlet was in loose jeans and sweatshirt, while Reece wore skintight jeans with a long black sweater that went low enough to cover her butt, yet high enough to show off her legs. Any man with an ounce of testosterone in his blood would itch to see either of them naked.
“Hi again.” Scarlet smiled and wedged her unoccupied hand in her pocket.
Reece, amazingly, shifted her drink between her arm and body then held out a free hand for him to shake. “Hi.”
He shook it, appreciating the feel of her long slender fingers in his. “Great to see you again. I get the privilege of a handshake today?”
She shrugged. “I’m in promo mode. Brett, the program manager, is donating some of the night’s sales to disadvantaged kids and we happen to be getting part of that.” At his raised eyebrow, she added, “I help redo donated dresses for girls who can’t afford to go to proms. It’s...just a thing I do.”
Scarlet winked. “Don’t let her be all humble. I’m proud of her. You hear that Reece?” She nudged her. “Be proud of what you’re doing.”
“Sure. Sure.” But her eye roll said she’d rather keep it low key. “Shush about it now though.”
“She’s right,” Malachi agreed. “It’s impressive. I like people who go out of their way to help others. You get my do-gooder of the week award. It’s invisible but highly sought after.” He grinned. “Are you two staying for the movies?”
“Just the first one.” Scarlet took a sip of her drink. “What is it? Zombocalypse ? Or Dead People 3 ? For a fashionista my girl has the most appalling taste in movies. If you’re seeing them, we could sit together? As long as you don’t mind my shrieks.”
The offer set him back on his heels, but then Reece quirked an eyebrow for a second. One was a yes, one was a no. He could take a hint.
“No. I don’t want to butt in. Nice of you to...” The pained expression on Scarlet’s face made him pause.
“I’d like to talk some more.”
“Scarlet!” Reece shook her head then glanced about. “Not here.”
“I’m being discreet. Come on, they’re going in. Please?”
Malachi thought. She must have her reasons. “Sure. Tell me to go if you change your mind.”
“We will. Ow!” Reece hissed and shot a glare at Scarlet. That had to be a pinch. She lowered her voice. “You know not in public.” Holding popcorn and a drink cup, she was helpless to do anything in return.
Scarlet’s reply was equally quiet but her eyes gleamed. “Shush, kitten. Move it or I’ll do it again.”
“Ugh. I’m getting even when we get home.”
“Sure. Just try it and see what it gets you.” She looked back at him. “You coming?”
Why miss a chance to be with them? He strolled up beside Scarlet. “I’ll come as long as you pinch me too.”
She snorted a laugh and they walked into the theater.
The movie, Zombocalypse , turned out to be less interesting than Scarlet. She’d sat in the middle between him and Reece. Even in the dark he could see the tips of her white-blond hair almost glow and the side of her neck flowed with light when she turned. So pretty.
At first she was quiet, as if wondering how to broach the topic she had in mind. Reece happily munched on popcorn while chortling at the crazier antics onscreen.
“Enough fake blood being thrown about to feed a city of vampires,” he whispered. There was no one close to them. They’d found front seats while most had crowded into the back half of the cinema.
The screams grew louder. “Oh my god! That must have hurt.” Reece coughed as if a handful of popcorn had gone down the wrong way. “Can you walk without a top half? I mean, normally?”
“Yuck.” Scarlet grimaced. Then she ducked her head as if looking at the boot of her foot where she’d propped it on her opposite knee. “Malachi, are you okay to talk right now?” She peeked at him.
“Sure. I’m not missing any great moments of cinema. I come to laugh and relax.”
“Well, I’m depriving you of that then.”
“No. I’m happy. Just sitting with both of you has made my night. Swear it on a stack of bibles.” More screams, more blood. He frowned. “Or a stack of bodies. When will they ever learn not to separate when a monster is after you?”
Scarlet chuckled. “Silly, Malachi. Staying together would mean that people are smart and smart people don’t die blood gruesome deaths.”
“Right.” He nodded. “So what’s up? What did you want to talk about?”
“Well, Reece insists she isn’t really a sub and she’s fighting it hard.”
“Shh.” Reece leaned across. “I can hear you two, you know. I’m in my element organizing and taking charge, Malachi. I have more Domme in me than anything. If, I say, if , we have to get your advice again, then I’m going to be the one you teach.”
Before he could answer, Scarlet spoke. “I haven’t asked him to do anything like that yet. This was just talking, but...I agree.” She turned to him and, just for a moment, touched his arm. “If you can help us with anything, I’d be grateful. I’m a little frustrated. Maybe you can show her how to top me?”
He couldn’t see their faces well, but their words sank in. This was still like being the third wheel on a bicycle. It was a little awkward too. But two beautiful women getting kinky in front of him? Why was he even thinking about saying no? The last bit of his resistance snapped. “Okay. When? Today is Saturday so I don’t know that I’ll be able to come over until next weekend. That good for you?”
“No.” Slowly, Scarlet shook her head. “That’s not going to be good for either of us. I’m interviewing with Jude. Thanks for the tip by the way. And Reece is away that weekend.”
“Hmm. I work late most weekdays...”
“I don’t suppose you’re busy tonight? After the movie?” Hope lilted endearingly in her voice.
“Tonight?” Well, why not? He rubbed his chin. “Let me think, watch a bunch of crap movies...help you two get all kinky. Hard to decide.”
“Is he saying he wants to come over tonight?” Reece demanded.
He held out both hands as if they were at each end of a scale. “Crap movies. Kinky women. Hmm.”
Scarlet sighed. “Maybe. Who knew Doms could be such smartasses?”
“Aw. Guess we’re seeing only one then?”
“It’s all my stomach can handle, kitten.”
Reece glared at Malachi for a moment, then seemed to reach some conclusion. “Fine. Just don’t expect me to get all enthusiastic about hurting my girlfriend. But I will try.”
Malachi settled back in the seat.
The rest of the screams and carnage faded as he considered her words and what they expected of him. Their idea was great. The lack of enthusiasm was not.
***
When they walked into the condo, they were silent until they reached the living room.
“Tell me what you want to do first. I’ll add suggestions.” Malachi waited, figuring it was their call how to get this rolling.
Like an awkward store manikin, Reece leaned her hand on the back of an armchair. “So. What do you want to try?” Her mouth twisted. “Nothing too severe, please.” With her eyes, she appealed to Scarlet.
“I guess, if you want to top me, then we can use a cane? I bought that –”
“Uh uh.” Brow wrinkled, she held up her hand, palm outward. “That’s too much.”
“Can’t you try it? For me? I need harder pain or you may as well swat me with cotton candy, and that –”
Reece hung her head, shook it. “Please don’t make me start with the cane.”
“Why did you ask me then?”
Time he stepped in. “Okay. Do you have a crop? Because that’s a good versatile implement. I can show you how to ramp up the pain if she wants you to.”
“Yeah, we have one. Can I just use that, Scarlet?”
Scarlet sighed. “Fine. I don’t want to stress you. The crop is fine.”
“I’ll go get it.” Reece hurried down the hallway as if she had far better places to be than near him, or maybe it was all the talk of hurting her girlfriend? This was going to be like herding cats.
And he was sure he’d read somewhere that when women said fine they meant World War Three was around the corner. But maybe these two were different? “Next decide where you want to do this. Here or the bedroom?”
“Here?” The blonde looked about. “Um. This isn’t where we normally get kinky.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t. Variety is the spice of kink. Doing it in the bedroom all the time can get to be as bad as doing it vanilla style.” He shrugged and grinned to defuse the dogma he was spewing. “Trust me. I’ve done it most places.”
“It?” She cocked her head. “Okay. For once I’ll trust you then. Let’s try here.”
“Good. And my next instruction...take off your jeans and either put on a thong or go without panties. If you want pain, you don’t want anything between you and the crop.”
Reece strolled back into the room with the aforementioned crop tucked under her arm. “Don’t think you’re getting me undressed. But you...” She smiled and grabbed the handle of the implement then waggled the crop at her girlfriend. “You made me miss my movies so it serves you right. Hmm. I wonder. Does this make you my bitch?”
In two strides, Scarlet was in her face and holding the tip of the crop. “What do you think?”
The stare she hit Reece with was intimidating enough to reinforce his idea of their real dynamic. When Reece quivered, but managed to return the stare, her neck still bowed backward a fraction. From the tension lines of her muscles and the widening of her eyes, the girl seemed to be responding as submissively as he’d expect her to when they hadn’t established rules. The two of them had chemistry all right. It just needed clarifying.
This whole crop thing might backfire.
“Are you going to call me your bitch?” Scarlet asked, still glaring.
“Uhhh, no?” She backed up and gently tugged the crop away from Scarlet. “I guess not. Not if you’re so darn determined about it. I was joking!”
“That’s what I thought.” Scarlet smiled on an otherwise unamused face. She turned to him. “I’ve got a thong on. Let’s do this.”
While she unbuttoned and slipped off her jeans, Malachi attempted nonchalance. Down boy, down . Long legs...long naked legs. Women had sure been given all the pretty when god had doled it out.
“Just, uh, bend over the arm of the couch?” Reece indicated where with the crop.
“No.” After looking around, Scarlet strode to a blank section of wall. “I’ll lean on this. You won’t hit anything here, other than me.”
He went and perched on the armrest of the sofa. “You’ve used it before, Reece? On her? You know where it’s safe to hit?”
“Yes. Her ass. Her thighs. Upper back, but not too hard. And yes, I know you can use either the rectangle at the end or the stick bit. That’s what she likes more.”
Her frown said that maybe she didn’t like using the shaft, which was understandable. Her whole attitude sucked for someone who claimed to be a top. But who knew? She might get the hang of it.
“Good. Get into position, Scarlet.” He pointed, watching as she put both hands to the wall with her body angled out so her butt was a good target. He spoke to Reece. “Now remember, she wants you to do this. She likes pain. Do you have a safeword, Scarlet?”
“Just red for stop, and green for go, and yellow if I want it harder.”
“Really? Yellow usually means the opposite. Slower or less painful.”
“I know.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Reece knows why.”
“Shush. I can do this. Ready?”
“Do it.”
He nodded too then folded his arms.
“I’ll do ten warm-up ones. Here we go.” She sucked in a breath. The first hit barely made a sound and Scarlet didn’t move at all.
After five hits he figured maybe he needed a hearing aid because he could barely hear a thing. Scarlet sighed. “Yellow. Harder, please. On my thighs.”
“Okay.” The next five were harder, but still Scarlet looked bored and exasperated while Reece was clearly not using much muscle.
He shoved to his feet. “Show me the crop.”
She handed it to him.
“You know you can use a wrist flick with this, or just brute force. But a flick can gain so much speed that it’s invariably better and more painful, as well as more accurate.” Then without much more warning than moving his stance, he smacked one onto Scarlet that cracked.
“Uh!” Reece flinched and stepped away. “That hard?”
“Yes.”
He noted Scarlet had shuffled her feet out a few inches, sticking her ass out further, making a nice round, perfectly feminine target.
Mmm. Though she wanted it on her thigh, he had an exquisite and sudden need to hit that roundness.
“Again.” The next five went to the left cheek then five on the right cheek. She was breathing faster and the last one made her gasp. Good. Malachi eyed the rectangles of red that were appearing where once had been white. Nice. He resisted stepping in and caressing the welts.
Damn this was hard. He could feel those welts almost. The heat, the softness of her skin.
“Three more. Watch, Reece. I think this?” He used the length of the stick and laid these three in a descending row across the crease of her backside. “Plus one,” he breathed, whacking the last on her upper thigh. Scarlet gave a high-pitched noise and shuddered.
“More. Please,” she rasped.
“Your turn again, princess.” He offered the crop handle. “Can you see that she likes it?”
Reece swallowed. Though she took the crop, her arm trembled. “Yeah, but...” Frowning, she looked up from her girlfriend’s ass and into his eyes. “That was so hard. I don’t know...”
He cocked his head. “Do it. No thinking anymore except for where and how hard. Just do.”
After sucking in a big lungful of air, Reece drew back her arm and swung. The crack as it hit Scarlet’s bottom made her jump and Scarlet shriek. Eyes widening, Reece put the back of her crop-wielding hand to her mouth. “Oh god.” Hesitantly she went to Scarlet. “Was that too much?” She swiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Head down, Scarlet grated out. “That was good. But more. A lot. More.”
“That hard?” She leaned into her girlfriend’s back and he heard her sniffle as she tentatively hugged her. “Oh, Scarlet, I can’t do this. I really can’t do it.”
Oh crap. He realized the last words had quavered. Scarlet was slow in responding so he stepped up and took the crop away before he placed his hand on Reece’s shoulder. “Hey. It’s okay. She’s not going to make you.”
“What?” Scarlet turned slowly but wrapped her arms about Reece and hugged her back. “Oh, kitten. No, I won’t. You’re crying? My poor girl, I never would have asked if I knew it would make you this upset.” Over the top of her girlfriend’s head, she eyed him. Then she shook her head in a little negation.
He knew when he wasn’t needed and backed away, mouthing, “I’ll go.”
She smiled weakly, smoothing her hand down Reece’s glossy tangle of brown curls.
The last he saw as he closed the door was the two of them still cuddling.
He leaned against the wall outside, thinking. That hadn’t gone well, but at least they knew Reece wasn’t a top. He ached inside. Funny how, for a second, he’d felt so lost, looking at them. It wasn’t just the crying though, it was an odd loss, like he’d missed an opportunity, or like maybe he wanted to be there with them. That was it. He’d wanted to be in on it – wanted to join in on that hug.
“Fuck.” He straightened and ran his hand through his hair. “I need to find a new girlfriend. I’m pathetic.”