31. Chapter 31
Lili
I spot Grace at the bar in the main dungeon, bent over her laptop. I cross to her and slide onto the stool beside her.
She doesn’t look up right away. Her fingers still on the home row, then drift to the trackpad. There’s a flutter at the corners of her mouth. She’s caught up in whatever she’s writing, drowning everything else out. I hate to interrupt her, but I have questions.
“Working on your book, or schoolwork?”
Grace lets her gaze drift from the screen, and she looks at me with a mixture of embarrassment and pride. “Book. It’s making me happy right now, and I’m questioning my choice to go back to school.”
“I don’t blame you for that. Graduation day couldn’t come fast enough when I was in college,” I say, teasing her gently as I lean in, elbows resting on the bar.
“Did you know Victor’s birthday is coming up?”
Grace grins and nods. “Of course, I know. He hates celebrating, but I always get him a little something. I’m surprised you heard about it. He usually tries to hide it.”
“Tyson spilled the beans,” I say with a smirk. “Vic wasn’t too happy about it.”
That makes Grace laugh, and my heart warms. Her melodic little giggle is quickly becoming one of my favorite sounds.
Grace’s hands rest lightly on the keyboard as she glances back at the screen.
“He doesn’t like birthdays. They were a big deal in his family, but not the way a birthday should be.
Each one was a milestone that took him deeper into cartel life.
He refused to celebrate his twenty-first with us, and he tries to act like they don’t matter, so I try not to make a huge fuss about it even though I love birthdays. ”
“But you always get him something,” I say.
She nods. “Yeah. I always find a small gift. Something he’d never buy for himself.
Sometimes it’s just food. One year I got him butterfly cufflinks because of his nickname for me.
Another year, it was a signed copy of a book he loves.
Nothing flashy. Just something to let him know that even if he doesn’t think so, his birthday is important to me.
” She glances around. “If you make it a show, he gets a little pissy.”
“Have you figured out his gift for this year?” I ask.
Grace shakes her head. “Not yet. Things have been so chaotic that I haven’t had a chance to figure it out.”
“What if I said I have an idea for what we can get him?”
Grace pushes the laptop closed and turns to face me. “I’m all ears. Considering how well you did suggesting a date for Victor to take me on, I can see you being good at gifts.”
I nod toward the laptop. “You ready to take a break from the book, pretty girl?”
She smiles and nods. “I’m at a good stopping place.”
I pick up her hand. “Good. Come with me.”
She follows after me, never letting go of my hand as I tug her along. “Where are we going?”
“To talk to Zara.”
Grace frowns as we stop in front of Luke’s door.
“I think he had to go to his office at the transport company.”
I knock anyway, and Zara opens the door a minute later. Her eyes widen in surprise, but the expression quickly morphs into a smile.
“Are you looking for me or Luke?”
“You,” I say confidently. “We have an idea we want to run past you.”
Zara’s smile turns conspiratorial, and she motions us inside. “Let’s hear it.”
“Victor’s birthday is coming up, and I think it would be fun for Grace and me to give him some boudoir photos.”
Grace
Zara claps when Lili tells her she wants to do a sexy boudoir shoot with me for Victor’s birthday.
I, on the other hand, just stare blankly.
“You want to what?”
“Come on. It will be fun. And no one but Victor has to see the photos.”
Zara reaches over and pats my leg where I’m sitting on the sofa.
“We can make it really tasteful. That’s what I like about boudoir.
It’s not the same as the porn or the kind of adult content I make for my customers.
It can be as revealing or as teasing as you would like it to be.
And you’re comfortable with me. I promise you’ll have fun, Grace. ”
I chew my bottom lip as I think about what it would be like to pose for the camera, knowing Victor will see these photos.
“Where would we get the lingerie? I have some things, but most of them are in my apartment.”
Zara grins. “I have an entire closet full of costume pieces in all different sizes at the studio. It’s one of the perks of shooting with me.”
Lili grabs my hand. “Please, Grace? I don’t want to do this without you.”
Her pleading makes me smile, and I slowly nod. “OK. Let’s do it.”
Zara claps her hands together again. “Excellent. When would you like to do this?”
“His birthday is next weekend. How much time do you need to edit once we do the shoot?”
“A few days, and I have some client work to catch up on as well, so we probably want to do it as soon as possible. Let me find out if Luke can help distract Victor long enough for us to spend a few hours in the studio tonight or in the morning, deal?”
We agree, and Zara walks us to the office door where she gives us each a big hug. “I’m so excited about this. Thank you for asking me to help, Liliana. It means a lot.”
Lili gives her a practiced smile and kisses her cheek. “Thank you for being so willing to accept me as part of this group.”
Zara glances at me and winks. “We wouldn’t dare not accept a woman Victor is so madly in love with. Especially when his Grace is clearly just as smitten.”
My face heats, and I back into the hallway before this conversation can get any more embarrassing.
As we’re walking down the hall, Luke appears, and smiles at both of us. “Uh Oh. The two of you look like you’re up to trouble, lasses. Shall I alert Victor?”
“You’ll do no such thing you big Irish oaf,” Zara calls from the doorway leading into his play space and office. “Get in here and I’ll fill you in.”
Luke winks at me. “She sure is bossy for someone who lets me do what I want with that perfect little body.”
“Lets you being the operative word there, Mr. Bowden.”
It’s always struck me as funny that she won’t call him Sir or Master. In fact, she won’t refer to any of the club owners by their usual honorifics because of strong feelings and past trauma, but Luke always puffs up a little when she calls him Mr. Bowden, and it’s cute.
Luke bows dramatically towards us before disappearing with Zara, and Lili and I find ourselves alone again.
I opt to read my Kindle, while Lili does yoga in the suite.
Neither of us are entirely sure where Victor is, which isn’t my favorite feeling, but Luke being so calm, and Owen still being at work tells me that everything is probably fine, and I need to not worry so much.
An hour later, Zara knocks on our door. “You two up for a little fun? Luke is meeting Victor and Owen at Pink Sapphire for a meeting with Hunter, and it sounds like it’s going to take a while.”
Lili stands up from the yoga mat behind me and grins. “Is Mrs. Novak still here?”
Zara nods. “She is, and she’s going stir-crazy. What did you have in mind?”
“I thought maybe she would like to join us at the studio?”
Zara’s eyes light up. “That’s a great idea. I’ll ask Samuel to arrange it for us. Why don’t the two of you shower and do whatever basic makeup you like. I can add more dramatic stuff once we get to the studio. We’ll head over in half an hour.”
Suddenly I’m nervous, and I express as much to Lili who immediately pulls me up and into the bathroom.
“Put your hair up so we don’t get it wet,” Lili commands, taking on a no-nonsense tone that she knows will prompt my obedience.
When I’m naked with my hair up, Lili cups me between my thighs and backs me into the spacious shower where the water is running and warm.
“Be a good girl for me and stop thinking,” she murmurs against my ear before sinking her teeth into my neck.
I gasp as she slides two fingers into my slick opening. “Goddess,” I breathe.
“Don’t even think about coming, lover. You know Victor controls that, and he’s not here for you to ask.”
I whimper as she continues to work her fingers in and out of me, finding my g-spot in seconds.
“Such a needy little toy, aren’t you?” she whispers.
“Yes, Goddess,” I moan.
She keeps me this way for a long time, pushing me to the brink and pulling me back several times before she pulls her hand free and tucks a hand under my chin.
“Now, you’re going to wash this pretty little body and make yourself gorgeous for him, and you’re going to stay needy and horny for us. Once we’re done with pictures, if you’ve behaved, we’ll find Victor and I’ll tell him what a good girl you’ve been and let him decide if you get to come or not.”
I pout, and she smacks my pussy hard. “Does he own your pleasure?”
“Yes,” I whimper.
“Then no pouting, sweet girl. Carry yourself with pride over being denied for him. You look radiant this way.”
Lili steps back and grabs her body wash, running it all over my body, giving me a show designed to drive me wild.
“Please let me touch you, Goddess,” I whimper, craving the feel of her skin beneath my hands.
“We’ll save that energy for the camera,” she tells me with a wink.
Then she steps out of the shower, having rinsed the soap away, and grabs a towel.
“Finish up but keep your hands off what doesn’t belong to you, Grace,” she orders, tucking the towel around her damp body.
“Yes, Goddess,” I whisper, just barely audible over the shower spray.
I take my time washing, as I listen to Lili moving around in the other room getting ready.
It’s always so surprising that I’m the first person she’s ever topped, given how natural she is at it.
Every day, I find myself more and more excited to go down this power exchange path with her.
In the bedroom after my shower, Lili hands me a robe.
“Just that for now. Keep it loose so that you don’t have lines on your skin.”
I slip the robe on and loosely knot the belt before reaching for my makeup bag. “How do you know that?”
She gets quiet as she brushes a mascara wand over her lashes, and her facial expression is pained. “This isn’t my first boudoir shoot, remember?”
Then it hits me. The shoot she did for her bastard of a husband. And now I’m determined to make this shoot everything Liliana wants it to be. Hopefully, it will be healing for her.
I squeeze her shoulder, then dig out a lipstick I like. “This is a good idea for all of us then,” I murmur as I twist the bottom of the tube.
When we’re ready, we meet Samuel, Zara, and Trinity in the main dungeon.
“Thank you for inviting me, Liliana,” Trinity says warmly as Samuel pushes her wheelchair toward the hidden corridor that will take us to Zara’s studio.
I’m still feeling the effects of Lili’s hands on me as we step into the cozy studio space and Zara begins flipping on lights.
Samuel insists on doing a full walkthrough of the space to get a feel for how to keep us safe before allowing us to get settled.
Trinity doesn’t complain, seeming to be used to the man’s protective nature.
But Liliana rolls her eyes several times as he does his methodical search of the space and lays down ground rules for staying away from doors and windows.
Zara, meanwhile, begins digging through a closet, pulling out lingerie, satin sheets, and other accoutrement to use. She holds up a purple lace teddy that has delicate butterflies along the edges and grins. “This is for you, Grace.”
My eyes light up when I see the garment, and suddenly I’m even more excited to be doing this.
“And for Lili, I thought we could start with something edgy like…” she trails off as she slides hangers across the rack.
“This.” She holds up a daring black corset and matching thong panties.
“With heels, I think. Grace could be barefoot. I really want to play with your differences first. Then do something that meshes your styles together a little more seamlessly.”
Lili beams as she reaches for the corset and slides the robe off, not caring that Samuel, Trinity, and Zara can see her naked.
Zara points to some screens set up in the corner as she hands me my lingerie. There, I slip into the gorgeous lingerie, grinning when I realize it fits just right.
“Let’s get some makeup on you both and talk about hairstyles.”
“Oh, I love doing hair. Please let me play with Grace’s curls,” Trinity says with excitement.
We spent the next fifteen minutes getting ready for the first set of photos, then Zara is placing us on a low black velvet bench.
At first, I’m stiff and nervous as Zara fires test shots and adjusts the lighting to her satisfaction.
But soon I only have eyes for Lili, and I barely register that the camera is there.