Camellia (2 page)

"And what is your experience with BDSM?" Lucy continued, not missing a beat.

Okay, now
that
wasn't a standard question Danny'd heard so far, although given the job description it was one that she should have been ready for. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt for a moment but quickly pulled her hands away from the fabric, not wanting to appear nervous. "Like kinky stuff? Not a whole lot. I know I wasn't your first choice for this job, so thank you for giving me a chance, and I did read about what you need. From what I remember my agency sending me, it's a two day kink event next weekend and, if you like me, I'll be wearing different custom-made outfits while doing some demonstrations."

Lucy pulled her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment. Danny found herself tracking that movement despite trying not to, and told herself that yeah, Lucy was freaking gorgeous, but totally off-limits.

"BDSM is a spectrum, everything from couples wanting to try something new for the weekend to exclusive clubs set up to host the darkest carnal pleasures a mind can imagine. Many people think there has to be an element of pain involved, but I prefer to use a light tap for correction, as, if you agreed to do this, I would be doing with you. I prefer to delve into the more psychological side of such a relationship, and though I'm not involved in the local scene as I prefer to have privacy when it comes to my activities, I don't judge those who feel comfortable expressing themselves in any way they choose. Do you?"

Danny blinked at her, wondering which part of that she was supposed to respond to as her mind swirled around the idea of Lucy somehow lightly correcting her. "Do I what?"

Lucy's lips thinned into a tight smile and her gaze sharpened. "Do you judge those that you see openly involved in the BDSM lifestyle?"

"No. I try not to judge anyone," Danny replied hastily as a faint blush crept over her cheeks. With her friends and family, her sexuality wasn't a secret, but she knew how bad it felt to be judged for the things she liked, for things she couldn't help.

"I realize you only received this job offer and the video along with it this morning, but did you happen to have a chance to watch it?" Lucy asked her, apparently moving on.

Danny nodded, feeling some relief at the new question. "Yeah, I did. Though it was only briefly. I'm sorry, but I didn't have time to do more with it than that."

"Understandable. What did you think of it?" Lucy asked, trailing one finely manicured hand over the brass buttons going down her corset.

Danny became aware she was staring and tried to fight it. She needed to refocus. "It was fine. Easy enough, I think."

Lucy smiled. "I'm pleased that you think so. It was the simplest form of the Japanese tea ceremony that I had video for, and I thought it would make for an adequate test of how much you actually want the job. Ah, Dalton, lovely." She looked over as he entered and gestured to the low table between them. "Set the tray down here, please."

The tray wasn't the gaudy, silvery kind Danny had been expecting. It looked like bamboo, and the implements on top of it weren't delicate cups and saucers. Instead there was a squat iron pot with a bamboo ladle and a pale pink silk cloth beside it, a black lacquered round box decorated with golden cranes, and a slender bamboo scoop. Finally there was a bamboo whisk that look like it would break if worked too vigorously, and a bowl that was black on the outside, dark red on the inside.

"It's hardly everything we would need for a proper tea ceremony, but this contains the most important pieces," Lucy said, rearranging the tray so that the implements faced Danny. "Do you recall these from the video?"

"Yes … ?" Honestly, Danny had spent a few minutes stuck at red lights glancing at the thing on the way over. How was she supposed to know she'd be tested on it? What did making tea have to do with modeling?

"You sound rather uncertain." There it was, that note of disapproval, almost dismissal. Like Danny wasn't good enough to make her tea. "Perhaps I should go back to the agency and request someone with specific knowledge of this ceremony, though I do appreciate your time."

"You haven't even given me a chance," Danny snapped. Lucy's pale gaze instantly zeroed in on her face, and Danny unconsciously shrank back into her chair. That was a look that she recognized, a look Danny had seen a thousand times over in her life from everyone from her father to her agent; a look of intense scrutiny and expectation. Danny had stopped letting it affect her by the age of five, but for some reason she wasn't able to do that with Lucy. Instead she just felt breathless with nervousness.

"I'm more than happy to give you a chance," Lucy said after a moment. "You only have to grasp it. Go on then, prepare the tea. Reproduce as much of the content from the video as you can, and feel free to ask for direction as you proceed."

Oh, like
that
was going to happen. After being doubted already, Danny wasn't about to ask her for help, even though part of her wanted to, just so she could hear that low, lovely voice for longer. Fine, making tea. It couldn't be that hard, could it?

Start with the water. Danny went to lift the top off the pot, then gasped and snatched her hand back at the incredible heat of the iron lid. Hot, shit, there was
hot
water in there. Danny cursed herself for her own stupidity, though in all fairness she'd thought it would have cooled down some by now. When she nuked her instant coffee in the mornings, it didn't stay hot as long as this pot seemed to. She picked up the cloth, letting the ladle slide off it, and used that to remove the top. Then she picked up the ladle, scooped out a steaming cup of water, and brought it over to the bowl. Danny was so focused on trying to remember the next part of the video that she tried to pour it too quickly, and the stream of water overshot the bowl and splashed onto the tray.

"Shit." Danny put down the ladle and mopped up the water with the silk cloth, feeling her face heat. She didn't look over at Lucy. She didn't dare. Danny cleaned up the tray, then added the rest of the water to the pot. It was about a third of the way full—that wasn't enough, was it? She added another ladle's worth more carefully before setting it aside.

Okay, tea. Which could only be in the black lacquered box, so Danny pulled the top off and looked inside. It was full of green powder—right, this stuff was done with powder, not normal tea. Which was kind of gross as far as Danny was concerned, but it was the only option. She picked up the bamboo scoop and dipped it into the powder, then dumped that into the bowl of water. Hmm … probably not enough. Danny added a second scoop, then a third. The tea clumped awkwardly, and Danny knew she should mix it in, but the whisk wasn't long enough to reach the bottom of the bowl with this much water in it; when she'd tried to use the whisk her fingertips were scalded. So Danny used the scoop instead, mixing the powder in as best she could. The tea stayed clumpy, and Danny knew that she had screwed this process up royally. She put the scoop back down on the tray, wincing at the trail of sludgy green it left in its wake, and finally looked over at Lucy.

Lucy met her gaze with a steady derision that made Danny flinch before hastily looking away. "I realize that you are inexperienced in many things here, but I don't suppose I need to tell you that you didn't do well, correct?"

Pursing her lips, Danny nodded and tilted her head back, cracking her shoulders to release some of her frustration. "Yeah. I got that."

"Good. Dalton, please escort Miss Breaker out," Lucy said softly.

Turning, Danny looked at her. "Wait. I need another chance. That was just the practice round. Right?" A nervous laugh escaped her lips, and she quickly pressed a hand over her mouth to cut off any more sounds that might come out of it on their own.

One of Lucy's perfectly trimmed brows lifted as she raised her hand, halting Dalton's approach. "If I permitted you to do this ceremony again, what would that accomplish?"

Flushing, Danny forced herself to meet Lucy's stony gaze, despite how much she wanted to look away. "I'd get it right."

Lucy smiled tightly. "Are you so sure of yourself? You have a very long way to go from what you just performed to the kind of competence I expect. It seems to be a nearly impossible task."

Danny swallowed thickly. She'd known she had screwed it up, of course, it would be difficult not to realize that. But the way Lucy said it made it seem like Danny would have done better to just stay home. She knew that she was out of her element here, but she really wanted the job. "I can do it," she replied, cringing when her voice shook. She'd never been this nervous in an interview. And she'd never done this horribly before, either. Admittedly, she'd never been asked to do much besides walk around a room, twirl to show off all her angles, and smolder with her eyes, but Danny despised the thought that she was failing badly enough to be asked to leave. She didn't want to leave.

Nodding, Lucy slowly got to her feet, the heels of her boots clicking on the hardwood floor as she rose. "Is that so?"

"Yes." Danny watched as she went over to an antique looking dresser that hugged the wall closest to the doorway Dalton was currently filling.

Lucy had her back to her but spoke anyway as she opened a drawer and pulled something out. "Do you believe that you deserve another chance? Or will you simply be wasting my time again?" When Lucy turned around, Danny's mouth fell open at the sight of the leather-handled riding crop held between her hands. She remembered Lucy mentioning she would be lightly correcting her, but she hadn't thought it would start so soon.

"I ..." Danny licked her lips. "I do. I'll do it right this time. I promise."

The corners of Lucy's mouth turned up into a faint smile, and she tilted her head to look at Dalton over her shoulder. "We require a bit of privacy. Please close the door behind you and make sure that we aren't disturbed."

As Danny sat staring at them both, Dalton nodded and did as he was told, leaving her alone with Lucy, who only stepped away from the dresser when the door had closed behind him. "The tea ceremony is immensely important. It is dignified. It is grace incarnate. Do you understand?"

Danny wanted to say that sure, of course she did. But that would be a lie, and she had the feeling that lying to Lucy would be a very bad idea. So she went with the truth. "No, not exactly."

"Honesty is a refreshing quality. Don't lose it. In the future, should we continue, use it often and ask for help when you need it. There is no shame in asking. Tell me now, Danny, what did you think when you watched the video?" Lucy asked, slowly walking around her as if circling.

Danny tried not to let the predatory action bother her as she came up with an answer that was both honest but also one that she thought would please Lucy. "It was pretty."

"But?" Lucy asked her, apparently catching the doubt in Danny's tone that she'd tried to hide.

Knowing her cheeks were getting pink, Danny shrugged and met Lucy's gaze. "It seemed like a lot of work for a cup of tea. I mean, most people just nuke a cup of water and drop in a bag, right? Presto, instant tea."

Lucy chuckled, but whether the sound was the result of actual happiness or if Lucy was laughing at her, Danny had no idea, and it unsettled her. She hoped it was happiness, though, since she hadn't been laughed at in years. Not since ninth grade, when she'd been told to climb the rope ladder in gym and cried when her fear of heights had caught up with her a foot off the ground.

"If all I wanted was a cup of tea, there are faster ways to accomplish such a thing. But I find that the simplicity of the movements calms me. Each action has its own part to play, its own purpose in the ritual. Together they combine to make something beautiful, something so much more than a simple cup of tea." Lucy sounded almost wistful describing it. Danny really had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe Lucy just had far more time on her hands than anyone should. If she did this tea ceremony as often as Danny drank coffee, she must have had hours to kill each day, because she was pretty sure it took a lot of time when done correctly.

Lucy paused in her slow circling when she was directly behind Danny's chair. "I would like to begin again and, if you're agreeable to it, I would like to give you some of the light corrections I mentioned before. I won't hurt you and you may stop me at any time. Saying no to my crop now or during the ceremony will not change the outcome of this interview, but the crop is something that will be used at the convention as we will be expected to portray some physical attributes of BDSM while we are performing. Do you understand?"

Danny looked over her shoulder at Lucy and nodded. "Yes."

"Are you agreeable to being corrected with the crop?" Lucy asked her.

Danny had already thought she'd agreed to that with her previous answer, but maybe Lucy was looking for something more concrete. "Yeah." The riding crop in Lucy's hand settled against her thigh. Danny followed that movement with her eyes. "Are you going riding later?" she asked Lucy, knowing that she sounded dumb even as the words left her mouth.

Lucy shook her head and indicated the low table. "Please remove your jacket and kneel at the table, hands on your thighs, back straight, chin parallel to the floor."

Shrugging out of her jacket, Danny quickly moved onto her knees. The bare floor felt a bit too hard for comfort, so she started to reach for a pillow, but her hand stopped halfway toward it. "Can I use a cushion?" she asked Lucy, not entirely sure why she just didn't take it.

Lucy nodded and gave her a small smile. "Yes, you may. And thank you for asking. I realize that you are inexperienced with BDSM on the whole, so please listen to me closely now. If at any time you feel uncomfortable during this interview, please feel free to leave. If you have any pain, either emotional or physical, you must tell me instantly. Anything less is unacceptable. Questions asked of you will be answered with either a yes or a no. Do you understand these rules as I have stated them for you?"

"Sure," Danny replied instantly, not thinking much of Lucy's words as she got as comfortable as she could on the pillow under her legs. The sharp sting of something hitting her butt startled her, and she jumped, quickly looking over her shoulder at Lucy in time to see her pulling back the crop. "Did you just smack me on the ass with that thing?" Danny snapped at her.