Top Student: Come Again, Book 3.5 (4 page)

“Awesome.” He handed her the books. “A little bedtime reading for you. I stuck my card in one of the books. Text me at nine tomorrow night, and we’ll get started.”

She nodded, and he kissed her cheek then gently placed the helmet over her head. He guided her through the bar and out the front door, where he helped her into a waiting taxi. “Sweet dreams.”

Chapter Three

By nine o’clock the next evening, she’d worked her way through three BDSM craft books and one work of erotic fiction. She’d processed enough information about endorphins, safe words, SSC, RACK and BDSM in general to understand what had happened last night, and she hungered to experiment. As she well knew from acting, an intellectual understanding of methods was vastly different from the reality of performing. Destiny and Johnny had made it look easy, effortless, but Kat knew it was a challenge to make any dramatic art look real. Since Bonita was way ahead of her in knowledge and practice, Kat was determined to catch up—fast.

She picked up her phone and texted one word.
Ready.

His response was instantaneous.
Come to Downtown. Destiny will meet you out front with a costume.

She stared at the screen.
Costume?
Uncertainty ruffled her nerves. Was Johnny fucking with her? Having some fun with Kat St. James, the famous movie star? Would he dress her up, put her in an embarrassing situation and then call the local news station? Maybe this wasn’t a brilliant idea.

Another text signaled from her phone.
If you’ve done your reading, you’ll understand you just have to trust me. ;-) Bar is hopping. Can’t chat now.

Her nerves calmed.

Oddly, she did trust him. Destiny, too. God knew her instincts had guided her pretty well through her life so far. Her phone chirped again.
Get your ass down here.

She laughed and slid out of bed. She stared into her suitcase, trying to figure out how to blend into the crowd without drawing attention. She finally settled on jeans and a red tank top. She added heavy silver jewelry and black boots. After twisting her hair into a braid, she stared into the mirror, wondering what sort of costume Destiny would supply. Would it cover her face? Tingles shot through her as she tried to imagine what might qualify as a costume at Johnny’s Downtown, or “Upstairs”, as the kink club seemed to be called. The books she’d read suggested a whole range of possibilities, some of which appealed to her, but most of which did not, unless someone else was wearing them. She’d just have to…trust them.

Easier said than done.

Destiny was waiting as promised when the taxi pulled up in front of the bar. Before Kat could get out, Destiny got in.

“It’s fetish night at Upstairs,” she said by way of greeting. “Did you read through one of the surveys in the books and think about your hard and soft limits?”

Kat nodded. She’d thought about it but hadn’t written anything down. Trust was one thing, but her bucket list of kink in the wrong hands would destroy her career.

Destiny raised her eyebrows, waiting. The other woman’s peremptory demeanor instantly rubbed Kat the wrong way, and judging from her smug smile, Destiny knew it. Being at a disadvantage was new to Kat. It had been years since anyone had denied her anything…except Bonita, of course. She growled under her breath.

A sunny smile broke across Destiny’s face. “It is so goddamn much fun to fuck with you I can barely stand it. Thank you for coming to Norton and making my year.”

“What?” Kat glared at her.

“Would you submit under normal circumstances?”

The answer was immediate and came from the depths of her soul. “Hell no.”

“Exactly. But you are going to. Tonight. Right now. To me. In public. In front of God and at least fifty witnesses. It’s going to be awesome.”

The idea made Kat feel violent. Her hands fisted. Every muscle in her body turned to iron. No fucking way. “I thought I was submitting to Johnny.” Which was bad enough, but give control to Destiny, who delighted in tormenting her? Impossible.

“Surprise.” Destiny was still grinning. “Johnny doesn’t bottom, so if you want to learn how to do this, it will have to be with me. The only man I submit to is Johnny. The rest of the time I top, but I’m willing to be your training sub this week—mostly because he wants to watch. However, there is no way on earth I will turn you loose on my body with a flogger, crop or cane—hell, I wouldn’t even let you use a feather on me—unless you have a firsthand understanding of what it feels like to be on the bottom. Got it?”

She did. She understood. The books had mentioned it was a good idea to walk on the other side, but she’d glossed over those parts, trying to learn as much as she could about Dominance. Now she wished she’d paid more attention.

“Oh, shit,” she sighed, nodding. “I am going to suck at this.”

“Nope,” Destiny’s voice was sure, much more certain than Kat felt. “Anyone can be a good submissive. You just have to want to be.”

Johnny had said the same thing last night, but Kat wasn’t so sure. She had fought tooth and nail to get to a place where no one could tell her what to do. The idea of taking orders made bile rise in her throat. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and if she’d had hackles they would have risen as well. Her jaw was tight, shoulders tense, thighs clamped. Even her feet curled in her boots. There was no way she could submit to Destiny, who would so obviously enjoy dominating her.

“I feel for you. I truly do. When Johnny and I first hooked up, I felt like my world turned on end, did flips and exploded. Trust me, I know how hard it is to give up control. Ask yourself if what you learn will be worth it. If you consent—and I’m not just talking about saying yes—you have to mean it, too. If you consent, I promise to teach you things you cannot learn from books. Things you cannot understand about power exchange unless you experience it. You can trust me. I will keep you safe in every way. Anonymous, disease-free and with no lasting marks on your perfect body. Next to Johnny, I am the most experienced Dominant in Norton. I will not abuse the power you give me, although I will absolutely enjoy playing with you. I will love it. If you give me control, I will take it, relish it, exult in it, because to do less would be disrespectful of the privilege you have given me.”

Kat felt understanding tease the edges of her mind. “You want me to play a role, to perform a scene.”

“For our purposes—your purposes—yes. Bonita craves submission. If you explore that desire, you can find endless ways to satisfy it, satisfy her. Luckily, it’s fetish night. I imagine having an audience will make it easier for you since you’re used to performing. The crowd is going to go nuts.”

“No one is going to believe me as a submissive.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. I bet you’d be amazing working out of your comfort zone.”

Kat felt her jaw drop. “Really?”

“Are you fucking kidding me? If you commit to your role, the dramatic tension will draw every eye in the room.”

“Are you trying to appeal to my ego?”

“You bet your ass I am. I want you to say yes. I want Kat St. James crawling at my feet. Just the thought gives me chills.” Destiny’s grin was pure cheek. “Be a sport.”

Kat had barely even admitted to herself she wanted to tackle more challenging roles. She was so tired of her sexpot siren image she wanted to scream, but at least she was good at it. What would it be like to stretch beyond her proven limits and try something new? There was only one way to find out.

“You’re on.”

“Fabulous.” Destiny fished a long blond wig out of the shopping bag. “I have a thing for blondes. Not quite a fetish, but it will be an excellent disguise for you. What you have on will be fine until we get into the club. Then we’re going to make some adjustments.”

Kat’s heart beat furiously, and she could feel a light sweat break out all over her body. It was difficult to hold still as Destiny arranged the wig on her head. How on earth was she going to let her do other, more personal things? She was
not
a sub. It took everything she had not to jerk away, and she couldn’t prevent a sound of disgust.

The wig was pinned so securely to her head, it didn’t budge when Destiny grabbed a double fistful of hair and pulled. “Do you think you’re better than me?”

Surprised at the sudden attack, Kat tried to rear back but found she couldn’t move.

Destiny continued, “Do I look weak to you?”

“No.”

“What about last night? Did I look weak then?”

Kat told the truth. “You looked beautiful.”

“Thank you.” The hard glint in Destiny’s gaze softened, and she let go of the wig. “You will look beautiful, too. All you have to do is allow yourself to sink. Subspace is an amazing place, but you can’t get there unless you let go of your own desires. I’ll keep it simple, a very basic demonstration of the most popular implements of erotic torment.” Another sunny smile. “I’m a firm believer in the carrot and the stick. If you perform well, perhaps I’ll let you use your favorites on me tomorrow.” She fit an elaborate feathered mask over Kat’s face. “Ready?”

Kat took a deep breath. “Ready.”

“Strip.”

Kat had agreed to submit, but word and deed were two separate things. She was nowhere close to ready to take off her clothes in a roomful of strangers. In fact, she would kill to have her body double walk in the room right now. The hysterical thought choked a giggle from her tight throat.

“I’m not joking.” Destiny put her hands on her hips.

Even as Kat tried to summon submission, she stood straighter, challenging Destiny’s command. Across the room, Kat could see Johnny sitting in a chair, watching them with a smirk. She closed her eyes and dug as deep as she could, sifting through her emotions, looking for a shred of something that would help her do this well.
Resentment. Frustration. Fear. Failure.
Fake it ’til you make it
might work with the spectators, but Destiny would see right through her.

In her mind’s eye she saw the crowd gathered around them. The disco ball was gone, and the strobe were lights off, but all the other lights were on, illuminating every detail of the room. The corner where they were standing held a large desk, a dry-erase board covered with writing and a smaller, student-style desk with an armrest. The rest of the room held tons of comfortable-looking furniture, but everyone stood near them, clearly waiting for the action to begin. The crowd wore costumes that ranged from nothing at all to elaborate latex catsuits. Each person seemed eager and at ease.

Sweat soaked her shirt.

Kat opened her eyes, ready to quit, to use her safe word
. Crap.
She didn’t have one yet. Was there a record for failure at Upstairs? Quitting before getting a safe word should be it.

Destiny laid a gentle hand on her jaw, looking at her with understanding, not the derision she was expecting. Kat gritted her teeth as tears prickled her eyes.

Destiny spoke quietly. “Remember why you are doing this. Feel the hunger, the need. Do you love her enough to walk in her shoes? It isn’t hard to do as you’re told. Give it a shot. Take off your boots.”

Slowly, Kat bent and pulled her boots from her feet.

“Unbutton your jeans. Now the zipper, too. Push them over your hips and step out of them.” Kat complied and Destiny continued. “Good. Now let’s play a little game.”

Kat jerked in surprise. Destiny couldn’t possibly know about the childhood games Kat and Bonita used to play, but her lucky guess brought back fond memories and renewed Kat’s resolve. She would do this for Bonita.

Destiny gave her an encouraging nod as she met her gaze. “I am Mistress Destiny, an exquisite teacher of pain, and you are my latest protégée. Today’s demonstration will cover the basics of a good ass-beating. Your safe word is ‘lonely’ because that is what you will be if you fail to learn your lessons. Use your safe word if you want everything to stop, you’re in unbearable pain or you lose faith in yourself. Any questions so far?”

“What if I lose faith in you, Mistress Destiny?” Kat heard a gasp from the crowd, and a furtive glance around the room showed several shocked faces. She felt heat in her cheeks and hoped Destiny could hear the real question beneath her words:
I want to do this, but I’m afraid I can’t. Can you make me?

Destiny shook her head. “It’s the same thing. We do this together or we don’t do it. That’s the way it works.”

Destiny reached into a drawer of the big desk and pulled out a pair of orange-handled scissors. “We’ll master the basics before we move on to more advanced principles. I expect you to be obedient and vocal. You will be graded on class participation, so you better get that hand up when I ask a question.”

Destiny approached with the scissors. “Fear is fun. You don’t know what I’m going to do with these. You might wonder if I’m going to cut your hair…or skin. And once I do this”—she tugged the bottom of Kat’s tank into the air and began to cut it up the middle—“you might wonder if I’ll cut off your bra next. If I’ll snip your cute little black thong at each hip and let it fall to the floor. Then you might wonder how it would feel to be completely naked in front of a crowd of fellow students. Some subs have an exhibitionist streak. Some don’t. Some Dommes love to humiliate and display their subs. Some don’t.”