He let all the students take a try with the whip, including Shayla. She liked that she was the only student he pressed his body up against as he guided her through the motions.

“Another reason not to start with a longer whip,” he explained as he uncoiled one, “is that you’re more likely to hurt yourself with it. You can easily have it come back and wrap around you, or put out an eye. In fact, wearing eye and ear protection when you’re first learning isn’t a bad idea.” He shook the whip out to its full length. “This one’s eight feet long. Everyone stand way back, and plug your ears with your fingers.”

They did.

He slipped a pair of foam ear plugs into his ears. Shayla guessed he considered his glasses adequate eye protection. Then he changed his position, judged the distance to the target, and threw the whip.

The loud crack exploded through the play space like a gunshot. The target, which he’d reset with a fresh napkin, barely moved.

But a fresh slice had appeared in the bottom of it.

He looked at them as he removed his earplugs. “Like that. Yes, shorter whips can make loud cracks, too. Usually, however, they aren’t that loud. But how would you like to be scening and be deep in subspace just to be blasted out of it by that?”

Everyone nodded.

“When you’re using a whip on a person, make sure you’ve done plenty of practice on inanimate objects first. It’s way too easy to cut a person with a whip. You can snag piercings, wrap it and dig into flesh, cause permanent injury and scarring. Not exactly the kind of pain and marks most bottoms are looking for. If in doubt, stand farther away, and always throw gently until you can absolutely control every swing.”

He coiled the whip and put it away. “Any questions?”

He spent the next half of the class working with students. Some had brought their own whips with them, some used ones he had available as loaners. Shayla’s job was to go around and keep everyone supplied with fresh napkin targets, in addition to keeping track of the loaner whips. Every available piece of play equipment that was at least four feet tall had been put into use as target holders.

Leah and Seth arrived five minutes before the class was scheduled to end. She walked over to Shayla and gave her a hug. “How’s it going? Looks like a full class, huh?”

She nodded. “Indiana Jones makes this crap look easy.”

Leah laughed. “Seth, Tony, and Sully make Indiana Jones look like a damn puss.”

At the end of class, Shayla helped Tony retrieve and account for all his loaner whips as well as make sure all the little bits of napkin targets were picked up.

“So does she get volunteered as a demo dolly today?” Seth joked with Tony.

He smiled. “Nope. I’m going to play along with the class and tie her up myself.” He winked at her, sending her heart into an overdrive of fluttering. “I’ll stick a ball gag in her mouth if she starts moaning too much.”

“Good deal. I’m going to get my rope bag. I’m guessing you have your own?”

He smiled. “Yep. I packed the pink rope especially for her.”

* * *

The rope class was just as full as the whip class. Five of the students from the whip class were also taking the rope class. They moved a giant wooden A-frame off a large carpeted section to use the carpet to sit on, everyone gathered on the floor in a wide semicircle around Seth and Leah.

“Today’s class is literally a basic overview,” Seth told them. “I don’t want to hear about any of you going out and trying to suspend someone tonight. We’re starting a biweekly series of rope classes if anyone’s interested in taking things further. Suspension without proper training and practice can be downright dangerous, if not deadly.”

He started by demonstrating a basic series of wraps which, surprisingly, didn’t involve any knots. Each student wound up creating a short wrist gauntlet that ended halfway up their forearm.

Except Shayla. She found her arms bound together in front of her in an arm binder tie using the same series of wraps Seth had explained to the class.

Seth laughed and pointed it out to everyone. “This is an example of what you can do with that same technique. I should add, for those of you who don’t know him, Tony’s advanced beyond basic rigging and has been doing it for a while.”

Shayla marveled at how comfortable the tie felt. Unlike what she’d thought from some of the pictures she’d seen on the Internet, while restrictive, it didn’t cut off her circulation or even cut into her skin. It felt firmly wrapped around her flesh, warming to her skin the longer it stayed on.

Tony had left a tail of rope by her hands. He grabbed it and raised her hands above her head. Leaning in, he whispered into her ear, “Now, just imagine being bound like this and me doing to you what I did earlier.”

She let out a soft whimper she hoped the rest of the class couldn’t hear.

He quickly unbound her as the class moved on to a different skill. By the time they finished with that, Shayla wore an intricate chest harness over her sundress. The ropes pushed and pinched her breasts, making them stand out and strain against the fabric.

Tony once again leaned in. With his body blocking her from view of the class, he brushed his fingers against her nipples where they stood out in stark relief through the fabric. “Poor, bound pet,” he whispered. “Imagine if I had you tied like this, naked, and could torture your breasts and nipples. Along with a nice hip harness, with a couple of ropes rubbing against your clit.”

She let out another soft whimper. Her pussy already cramped, aching for another round with the vibrator.

* * *

Tony hoped he didn’t end up with a wet spot on the front of his jeans. He enjoyed the glazed look that had returned to Shayla’s eyes upon starting the rope class.

It was like Christmas had arrived and brought him a shiny new toy to play with.

One he didn’t ever want to let go.

Patience.

Not necessarily one of his strong suits when faced with something he badly wanted. He hated it when people were labeled, by themselves or others, as a “natural submissive.” Yes, some people took to certain aspects better and more quickly than others.

Shayla, he could see, had readily taken to sensual play. He suspected their night in the dungeon would bring a lot of eye-opening experiences for her. If all went well, he planned on asking her over to his house for more private play on Sunday.

He’d already told Jenny he wouldn’t be able to DM that night because of Shayla, so his time was free.

By the time the class ended, he’d put her in two more basic ties, mercilessly teased her sexually until he knew she had to be hornier than hell, and suspected he might need to run to the men’s room again to rub another one out when they finished.

Why did I take sex off the board? Oh yeah, because I’m an idiot, apparently.

No, he wouldn’t ask her to put sex back on the table. Wouldn’t even mention his condition to her. Tonight was about her and letting her experience what the BDSM world had to offer while building her trust in him. Patience was hard, but worth it.

She was most definitely worth it.

No one he’d played with in the past several years made him feel like this regardless of the level of play. The pure wonder on her face as she discovered new things, and he got to experience them along with her, reminded him of all the good there was in this lifestyle he’d chosen.

And for the first time in a long time, he realized he didn’t feel the aching loneliness that had plagued him for so long.

Chapter Fifteen

Seth slung the rope bag over his shoulder and headed out to their car. “Are you guys coming to dinner with us?” Leah asked.

“Yes,” Tony said before Shayla could answer. “We’re taking my car. We’ll be along shortly.”

“Okay. See you there.” Leah left the play space.

Tony looked at her. “How are you feeling, pet?”

She nodded. “Good, Sir.”

“You don’t mind we’re driving over alone, do you?”

Shayla suspected he wanted to talk in private. “No, Sir. I don’t mind.”

“Good girl. Go get cleaned up. I’ll get my bags loaded.”

She headed to the bathroom, marveling at the already fading ligature marks left on her flesh from the pink rope. It hadn’t been frightening at all. Not with Tony’s skilled hands winding the rope around her…and teasing her into a sexual frenzy.

She looked herself in the eye in the mirror.

I’m going to take this all the way. No matter what else he wanted to do to her that night, she’d do her best to go along with it. His enthusiasm had proven infectious, and she didn’t want it to end.

She gathered her things, including her glasses, which she’d almost forgotten, and met him out at his car, where she found her hunch had proven correct.

“Why did you move to Florida so suddenly?” he asked once they were underway.

She took a deep breath. “I needed a fresh start.”

“A breakup?”

“Yeah. Yes, Sir, I mean.”

He didn’t take his eyes off the traffic. “I need you to be able to talk to me. To confide in me,” he said. “No matter how uncomfortable it feels. I need to know these things so I don’t accidentally do something douchey along the way and trigger you.”

She was letting him have unfettered access to her lady parts. If she couldn’t talk to him, she was seriously fucked in the head. “I caught my ex downloading porn. Most of it extreme BDSM porn. He downloaded it to my computer at home. He used his laptop for work and apparently didn’t want to risk it. He thought since he’d set up a different user account on my computer that it wouldn’t show up. I found out he’d spent about a thousand dollars on it.