A Starlet in Venice (3 page)

Liam:

It was a Monday. Casanova wasn’t open. I punched in my access code in the usual side door I used, and gestured for her to go ahead of me.

Antonio did his managers well; my apartment was on the top floor. In between though, there were four floors of decadence, of pleasure and pain that Tia had never seen.

I was going to take her to the basement, which was set up like a creepy dungeon, for those who liked their punishment laced with dark and damp. I was hoping she’d back out when she saw it. If you were a novice, the dungeon should have made you bolt.

The trembling in her body increased, but she didn’t pull her hand away from mine. “Rabbit,” I said again. “Walk away.”

“Should I get naked, Liam?”

Fuck. “Rabbit,” I said once again. “In this dungeon, I’m a different person.”

In response, she pulled her sweater over her head. Underneath, she wore a white t-shirt that hugged every inch of her beautiful breasts, and I gulped.
Fine. She wanted to play, my little rabbit? We were going to play.

“At any time,” I said, a definite bite to my voice, “you say stop, and we stop. Do you understand?”

I could see her swallow. She just nodded.

“In this space,” I continued. “I want my instructions acknowledged vocally.”

“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes round and wide and on my face.

“Until your punishment is done, you will call me Sir.”

Another tiny nod. “Yes Sir,” she said, swallowing. My cock was a steel rod. The woman I was in love with, the woman who was constantly in my thoughts, and here she was in my dungeon.

“Drop the skirt, Tia,” I said.

“Yes, Sir,” she replied, trying on the words. A look of surprise flashed over her eyes. Why?

***

Tatiana:

There was only one place where I ever truly dropped my walls, where I ever truly felt safe. That place of perfect security was when I was acting.

There was a shitload of crap in my life, and the only way I survived all of it was to block it off. But when I was acting, I dropped my barriers, and I drew from the emotional storms in my life, and it made everything I did more real. Oddly, though all my walls were down when I acted, I never felt vulnerable. Instead, in front of the cameras, I felt invincible. Though I was completely exposed, nothing could hurt me.

Liam was my friend, and with him, I tended to drop most of my barriers. But I always still felt vulnerable, not because I ever thought Liam would ever hurt me, because he never would. Instead, it was because it was completely nerve wracking to let someone so whole and perfect come close to my own flawed imperfection.

Yet, when I looked at Liam and I said
Yes Sir,
I didn’t feel vulnerable. I felt warm and tingly and safe.

I pulled my skirt down my hips, and I watched Liam take a deep breath. I was wearing a black thong underneath the skirt, and his eyes filled with immediate heat. My hands reached for my t-shirt, to draw it over my head, but he shook his head at me in rebuke. “Only do what you are told,” he ordered.

“Yes Sir,” I said again. Goose bumps rose in my skin as that feeling of perfect security enveloped me again.

He noticed the goose bumps. “Are you nervous, rabbit?” he asked. His eyes glinted, but his voice was level.

I shook my head. No. I was safe and secure, and I was incredibly turned on. My eyes feasted on Liam’s body, in a casual grey t-shirt and faded jeans.
What was I doing? Liam was my friend.

Yet, I wanted this. I wanted him. I didn’t want to lie anymore.

I waited.

***

As I remembered from the other night when I’d watched Liam punish Simona, the wall had paddles and crops and whips hanging from it. I expected him to walk over and grab something. My body was quivering with a mixture of nervousness and desire. I wasn’t sure what lay ahead for me, but as I watched the man standing in front of me with narrowed eyes, I felt
safe.

“Spread your legs,” he ordered and I obeyed.

“Wider,” he said. He had a riding crop in his hand –
when did he get that?
- and with it, he punctuated his desire on my inner thigh. I tensed, waiting for a spank, but he just ran the crop against my legs. “Wider, Tia,” he ordered.

I spread my legs as far as they would go, and I struggled for balance. “Liam,” I cried, startled, as I teetered and almost fell, but my chest met his hard body.

“Not Liam,” was all that he said. “Sir.”

“Yes Sir,” I responded, with a twinge of self-disappointment. I should have remembered that.

“You steady now, Tia?” he asked with a familiar grin, and I nodded.

Something stirred in me at that smile. My pussy had been aching ever since he looked at me and told me to call him
Sir
. But this ache was well north of my pussy. This ache was in my heart.

Liam had sex with many willing submissive women at Casanova. Women who know what they were doing, women who wouldn’t trip and almost fall when they spread their legs apart. He wasn’t interested in me that way. He’d never been interested in me that way. And even if his urges overwhelmed him and we slept together tonight, Liam would be able to move on after that.
And you can too,
I told myself firmly.

He had noted my inattention. “Stay with me, rabbit,” he urged. He knelt at my feet and buckled my legs into cuffs that were attached to heavy chains, which were in turn attached to iron rings set in the floor. I swayed a little as he buckled me, but his body was in front of me, and I placed my arms on his shoulders to steady myself.

“So rabbit, you want to be punished?” he asked, amusement in his eyes.

I nodded.

“I expect you to answer me, Tia.” His eyes narrowed, and another flare of heat engulfed my body.

“Yes Sir, I want to be punished.”

“Why are you being punished, Tatiana?” He rarely called me Tatiana. I felt the caress in his voice as he spoke each syllable.

“Because I spoke about Casanova,” I replied.  

He laughed and it wasn’t a reassuring sound. Liam was a very different person in this space.

He took my hands and tied them together at the wrist, and then attached them to a chain dangling from the ceiling. I should have been terrified about being tied up, but I wasn’t. And strangely, it helped to have my hands tied up and my arms above my head. I relaxed my body, and the chain yanked at my shoulders, keeping me from falling. I could tell that soon enough, my shoulders would feel like they were on fire. But for the moment, I was fine.

He came to stand next to me, and suddenly, all my calm vanished. He was so close to my body. “Little rabbit,” he said, his voice a dark caress that sent nervousness skittering all down my back. His nails scratched at my skin, all the way from the back of my knees to my ass. “So eager to get punished.” His hands lingered on my ass, and I fought hard to prevent leaning back into his body.

I couldn’t. It would reveal too much of my hidden longing for Liam.

I thought you said you want him,
I mocked myself.
I thought you were done lying to yourself.

And I thought I was. But when push came to shove, I found I wasn’t bold enough. My glib words, spoken a year ago were the foundations for an impenetrable wall that has been built in the intervening months. To this man, I was a friend. Someone to watch movies with, and not much else.

“Stay with me, rabbit,” he said again. His fingers traced the line of my panties, and my breathing hitched. This time, I couldn’t stop myself; I curved into him.

“No,” he said flatly. “Stand up straight.”

“Yes Sir,” I said tonelessly. Rejection clawed at my insides, until I chanced a look at his crotch. His erection was clearly visible under his jeans. I breathed slightly easier.

“Normally, Tia,” he said, “I’d choose a paddle or a flogger for your pretty ass. But,” his voice thickened, “I’m only human, and I need to smack that ass with my palm.” He wrapped one arm around my waist, holding me steady for him, and he brought his other hand down in a sharp swat.

I inhaled. I had definitely felt that.

“You mark easy,” he said, his voice husky. I felt his palm rub the sting away, but then, his hand came down again, in exactly the same spot.

“Ow,” I yelled. “Why’d you hit me again at the same spot?”

“Let’s try this again, Tia,” he said sternly. “This time, think first before you speak.”

“I’m sorry Sir,” I whispered, and as I spoke those words, I felt like I was walking into an ocean of warmth and safety. “I’m yours to punish.” I didn’t know why, but those were the words that shaped their way out of my mouth.

His body tensed, but his hold on my waist didn’t change. “In order to prevent you from shouting out something quite rude again,” he said smoothly, “let’s give you something to do. Count out each spank for me.”

“Yes Sir,” I said peacefully.

I counted each spank as it fell, my voice soft and breathy. Every spank on my ass hurt, but it was also such a warm haze. I felt my pussy clench in response to the strokes, but that was muted too. In the here and now, I was in Liam’s arms, and I was perfectly safe.

At the twentieth stroke, he stopped. “Such a brave rabbit,” he said quietly, his fingers wiping the tears I didn’t realize I had shed. “Such a good girl.” He undid all my bindings, and I fell into his arms, leaning against him.

***

Liam:

My favorite dessert was crème brûlée.  There was a sweet yet brittle shell, slightly burnt, and underneath, there was just soft creaminess.

That had always been how I’d thought of Tia. She kept her walls up as a function of her upbringing. I had no idea how hard she had had it; she rarely talked about growing up in an orphanage. I was self-aware enough to know that my life had been immeasurably easy in comparison. I had a family that loved me. I really loved to write and was lucky enough to be able to make an extremely comfortable living as an author. And when I was looking for inspiration in the swirling emotions of a sex club, where people’s innermost selves were on display, Antonio Moretti offered me a job managing Casanova. I lived a good life.

Not so Tia. She had reasons for her barriers. Every so often, she lowered them and revealed the creamy softness underneath, but never like this. Never had her shields been down so much as in this moment, when she nestled in my arms, exhausted, mascara streaks down her cheeks, but so relaxed.

Oh, and speaking of creamy? She was wet, my sweet rabbit. I felt the heat emanate from her. I told myself desperately that was a common response to a spanking, and it was.
It doesn’t have anything to do with you, Callahan,
I reminded myself harshly. It was the situation, the setting, the dungeon and the bondage and the idea of a safe punishment. It had nothing to do with me.

And then my rabbit looked at me. She didn’t pout or lick her lips or toss her hair, or do anything that had the slightest bit of artifice. She just looked into my eyes with her luminous blue ones, and she whispered, “Liam, will you make love to me?”

Tatiana:

I was floating in a peaceful haze. It seemed like the most natural thing to look at Liam and ask him to make love to me.

“Are you sure, Tia?” he asked me, very, very quietly. “There’s no going back from this.”

“I’m not afraid,” I whispered. In that moment, nothing could hurt me.

Something flickered in his eyes. “Not here,” he said. “Upstairs. In my bedroom.”

“Yes, Sir,” I whispered.

He picked me up as if I were a feather, and he carried me to the elevator, angling me towards the buttons. I hit his floor, and entered the code, smirking a little as I punched it in from memory. “What if I suddenly become your stalker, Liam?” I teased him. I expected a typically smart ass comment in reply, but he just looked at me seriously. “You can stalk me anytime, rabbit.”

***

I’d had sex with many men, but I’d never had my body worshipped. He pulled my t-shirt over my head, his fingers unhooked my bra and I slid my panties down my hips, more impatient than I’d ever been. He put me on his bed, and lowered the tailored woolen cream blinds. His bedcover was cream as well. Everything looked pristine.

“Hold on to the bed rails,” he directed me, and I obeyed, pouting slightly. I wanted to touch him. But more than that, I wanted to do as he said, and find out where he would take me.

I held on to the rails, and he kissed me, and everything melted at that kiss. He started gently, but I groaned and writhed, and that served as his signal to deepen the kiss. His lips nibbled and sucked and his tongue danced with mine. I was moaning; my legs alternately parting and clenching together.

He noticed, and placed a firm hand on my thigh. “None of that, rabbit,” he said sternly. “No making yourself come.”

“Please,” I begged and his eyes darkened. He kissed me again. “Beautiful rabbit,” he said quietly. His mouth kissed a trail of light kisses down my neck and throat, before he flicked a tongue over my nipple. I watched, intently, as it engorged from his touch.

He growled and bent his head again. His lips squeezed around my nipple, and his fingers moved to the other one. He rubbed that tender nub between his thumb and forefinger, and I whimpered in response. His fingers tightened, and now they pinched, and my pussy throbbed in resonance with the ache his fingers caused. “More,” I said, my voice husky with need, and he laughed.

I’d heard Liam laugh many times before, but I’d never heard this laugh. This was dark and wild, proud and free.

“Tia,” he whispered. He whipped his own t-shirt over his head, and tossed it across the room. His jeans and boxers followed. His cock jumped out, long and thick and erect, with a glistening drop of precum at the head. I licked my lips, hoping he’d let me suck it.

No. He just lowered himself back down on my body, propping himself up on one elbow. His mouth bent to the other nipple, and I shuddered as lightning bolts of pleasure ran through me. I could feel his cock nudge at the space between my legs, and I parted them in invitation and arched my hips upward, hoping I could somehow maneuver his dick into me.

He laughed again. “Rabbit,” he warned through his smile. “Behave, else I’m going to tie you down.”

The idea of that should have sent fear spiking through my body, but it didn’t. It just sent tremors of need vibrating through me. To be tied down and helpless, while Liam feasted on my body as if he were a starving man suddenly confronted with food?  Goosebumps rose on my skin at that thought.

His large hand cupped my breasts and he bent his mouth again towards my nipples. He sucked and nibbled and bit, and I heard myself make little keening mewls of need. “Please, Liam,” I begged, barely coherent. My body squirmed in need, but he was unrelenting.

“Patience, rabbit,” he urged, lowering his mouth on to my other breast. Once that breast received its allotment of attention, he kissed his way down my stomach, stopping to flick his tongue in my belly button. I shifted restlessly. “Liam,” I moaned again, and he raised his head and smiled at me. “If you tell me to be patient again, I’ll smack you,” I threatened him, and he chuckled.

“In that case, I should indeed tie you down.” I heard the amusement in his voice, and saw the twinkle in his eyes. “We’ll get there, rabbit,” he soothed. “What’s the hurry?”

The hurry was that I couldn’t take this heat rising in me. I’d never felt this burning need, this restless ache, this sense that I would fall apart if he didn’t enter me. Everything he was doing, every slow, deliberate touch was stoking a fire in me, and I was almost about to be consumed.

He parted my legs and kissed my inner thighs, and I whimpered again. “Let’s keep those legs parted wide, Tia,” he ordered.

“Yes Sir,” I said, responding to his tone, and his lips twitched.

“So eager to obey, Tatiana?” he asked me, and I smiled back at him. I wondered if I should be uncomfortable in this moment, but I wasn’t.

“If I say yes, will you continue?” I asked boldly.

“Ah, Tia,” he growled, “you have no idea how much I want to do this.”

He kissed his way to my center with painful slowness. My hips thrust mindlessly in the air, and I wanted to grab his head and push him into me, except I was pretty sure that wasn’t allowed by Liam’s rules. I wasn’t sure why I was even obeying his rules, until I remembered how peaceful I had felt downstairs when I surrendered to his will.

His tongue snaked a path up my slit, moving over my clitoris with the softest of touches and I moaned in need. “Liam,” I groaned, my hands clutching at the sheets on his bed.

He didn’t reply, he just repeated the motion.

***

Liam:

For all that was good in the world, crème brûlée. She was soft and sweet and oh so wet, and I dived into her creaminess, and each time my tongue flicked her clitoris, she made this little whimper in her throat.

I was so hard. Every little noise she made went straight to my groin, and it took all the self-control I possessed not to find a condom and plunge into her sweet snatch.

But I forced myself to be patient. From everything Tia has left unsaid, I got the sense that sex has never been that rewarding for her. She seemed to have slept with mostly assholes, men who had never taken the time to find out what made my rabbit quiver. But with each twitch she made, each little purr I heard, each catch of breath – I found myself more and more patient. Tia was so responsive, and I wanted this to be just for her.

“Liam, please,” she begged me, her eyes wild. She was so close, Tia. I felt the tremors run through her body, I felt her thighs clench and quiver. I slid a finger into her, and was rewarded when she groaned. “Liam,” she said again, and god, the sound of her voice, ragged with lust, saying my name was almost enough to send me over the edge.

Self-control
, I chided, yet I tested myself by easing her hood back. Her clitoris jumped out eagerly, juicy and oh so engorged, and I growled in my throat and licked that hot pulsing knob of need.

She hissed and her legs started to clamp shut, and I spanked her inner thighs in a wordless reminder that she needed to keep herself open for me. She moaned at the spanks, and her pussy gushed some more, and I just lapped her up. Everything about this woman was sweetness and perfection, and I couldn’t believe that after a year of wanting her, she was actually here, in my bed, moaning my name as I led her towards her climax.

I lapped at her clitoris with the flat of my tongue; I added another finger in her pussy, and I rotated it to find her g-spot, pushing firmly when I got there. That was it. She moaned, and her hands reached forward and fisted in my hair, and she pushed her pussy in my face and exploded.

I had never been so turned on in my life.

When her tremors finally eased, I pulled my fingers out of her pussy, and licked her slit softly. She was tight and puffy from her orgasm, and I needed to be inside her. I kept my eyes on her as I reached to the nightstand to grab a condom, waiting to see if there was any hesitation from her.

“Finally,” she growled, and I laughed. My rabbit had a feisty side, and I loved it.

I rolled the condom on, and she never took her eyes off my dick. I tried to hold back the smirk. Her attention was seriously flattering, made so much more special because I was completely in love with her. I nudged at her entrance, and her eyes narrowed. “Liam,” she started, and there was a definite note of warning in her voice. “If you keep teasing me, I won’t be responsible for the consequences.”

I laughed. “Tia,” I replied, “you keep speaking to me in that tone, and I will tie your hands and legs up, and I promise you, I’ll keep you at the edge of orgasm for hours.” My cock hardened further at the idea of Tatiana, all soft and wound up and so close to her climax.

Heat flashed in her eyes. “Is that a promise?” she asked me sweetly, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I plunged into her wet, willing pussy.

Oh god. She was perfection, and all I wanted to do was fuck her hard, to piston in and out of her at a furious pace, until I exploded.
Self-control,
I reminded myself again. I alternated the hard strokes with slower ones, and I was rewarded by her moans, by the way her nails raked down my back, by the way she entwined her legs around my hips and drew me into her body. Each whisper of my name was music to my ears. Each quiver of her pussy went through my body and hammered in tune with my heart.

My strokes were faster and deeper now, and as she held me in her sweet embrace, I exploded into her. When my breathing quieted, I rolled over and looked at her. She was relaxed and content, and I pulled her into my arms.

***

When I was younger, in my mid-twenties, making my way through a string of willing, available women, none of us looking for any more than precisely what was on offer, a few hours of pleasure and nothing else; my Uncle Gareth came to visit.

He’d been married for forty years. We were sitting one night, just the two of us in the yard, determinedly working our way through a bottle of whiskey. He was getting quite maudlin, and I remember asking him how it worked. What that mysterious thing was that made someone want to stick around for the long haul.

“Liam,” he had said, his eyes shining with whiskey induced tears. “The first time I made love to your Aunt, I knew. When she called my name, it spoke to my soul. And every single time since. When it is the woman you love, it isn’t just sex that matters. It’s intimacy.”

I’d looked at him, not discounting the truth of what he said, but wondering if I’d ever feel that way about anyone.

At this moment, with Tia in my arms, I remembered his words, and I felt the weight of truth of them. Because this woman spoke to something in my soul and I never wanted to let her go.