Training Amber (4 page)

Was Rio right? Was that what Dennis’s problem had been?

As if sensing her uncertainty, he pressed his slight advantage. “I really do want to get to know you a lot better, Amber. To spend time with you. The sex was—well, nothing less than spectacular—but I want to know you out of bed as well. Find out what makes you tick.” He brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. “You’re a lot more than a hot body, Amber McCloud. And I think we might have something very special here.”

“But how can you be sure?” she asked.

“By spending time together. And trusting my instincts.” He leaned closer to her. “All those toys you stumbled on this morning? They’re a part of my life as much as anything else is, and I want the chance to introduce you to them. To show you exactly how they can increase the intensity of sexual arousal. Do you think you’d like that?”

Yes, yes, yes!

“
M-maybe.”

“Think about it. All of it. I will call you later. I’d like to take you to dinner. Don’t say no.”

As if she could.

But what she said was, “I’ll think about it.”

“Good.” He traced the outline of her lips with just the tip of his tongue.

Amber melted, leaning toward him as much as the console allowed. She was breathless when he finally lifted his head.

“Later,
querida,
” he told her. “We’ll talk about what comes next.”

She climbed out of the car and watched as he backed around and sped down the driveway. Then she turned toward the house. She didn’t even have to reach for the doorknob before Molly yanked the door open and stood there grinning at her.

“I’m dying of curiosity. Nick’s gone into town for a meeting so we’re all alone. I made fresh coffee and I want details.”

Amber felt idiotically like a virgin doing the walk of shame. But laughter danced in Molly’s eyes and a smile teased at her lips.

“I can imagine what you must think…” Amber began.

Molly held up a hand. “What I think is I’m damn glad you spent the evening with a totally hot man. Definitely preferable to hiding in your room. Come on. Let’s go have that coffee.”

When they were seated at the table Molly looked at her and grinned. “So tell me. Is he as hot in bed as the rumors say he is?”

“Molly!” Amber’s eyes widened. Even with Molly she wasn’t used to sharing her intimate activities. Although she had finally told her the truth about Dennis. Then she giggled. Yes, giggled. “But I have to say, he lived up to his reputation, whatever that is.”

Molly sat back with a satisfied look on her face. “I knew it. And I knew the two of you would be perfect for each other.”

“You do know he’s ten years younger than I am?”

“And you know there’s a significant age difference between Nick and me. Which, by the way, he gets furious if I even mention.”

“Why? Is he sensitive about it?

Molly shook her head. “On the contrary. He thinks
I’m
too conscious of it and he’s constantly telling me age is a state of mind. And after four months of marriage I’m finally beginning to believe him.” She looked down into her coffee cup. “I couldn’t ask for a better lover. Or a more attentive husband. And it’s real, Amber. None of it’s fake. Believe me, I’d know.”

Amber ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “I just, you know, find it hard to believe that…”

“That a sexy, good-looking
younger
man would have the hots for you?” Molly grinned. “Believe me, I struggled with the same thing. But, honey? Just go with it. If it turns out to be nothing more than a good time between two people who have an attraction for each other, it’s still okay.”

“There’s something else.” Amber stared down at her coffee, unable to look at her friend.

“Something else?” Molly was puzzled. “Something bad?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She sighed. “I opened one of the drawers in his bedroom to get a T-shirt and found…stuff.” Heat crept up her cheeks as she remembered the array of toys and implements.

“Stuff?” Molly’s tone was curious. “Enlighten me here, girlfriend. What kind of
stuff
?”

Still keeping her eyes averted, Amber quickly described the things she’d seen in the drawer. When Molly didn’t say a word, she finally looked up to see her friend with a strange expression on her face.

“Sh-should I be afraid? Was that some kind of sign I should stay away from him?”

“I don’t know, Amber. Have you ever fantasized about BDSM? About the erotic world of dominance and submission?”

Again Amber’s face heated and she dropped her gaze. “Truthfully? Yes.” She was almost whispering. “Does that make me a terrible person?”

Molly put her cool hand on Amber’s wrist. “I think it makes you adventurous. Look at me, Amber. I’ll tell you something and hope it doesn’t make you see me differently.”

“Tell me something?” She frowned. “What could you possibly say that would do that?”

Molly cleared her throat. “Shortly after Nick and I met I discovered that BDSM played a large role in his sexual preferences.”

Amber’s eyes widened. She didn’t know if she was shocked or intrigued. Molly and Nick were into that? “You’re kidding me.”

“Nuh-uh. At first I didn’t know how to react, but he took me to a very private club he belongs to, Peregrine. Which, by the way, is owned by a woman who is older than her husband. I think he wanted me to see both the lifestyle and their situation.”

“And?”

Molly shrugged. “And here I still am, happier than I ever thought I could be. And loving my husband and our life together.”

Amber sipped her now cooling coffee. “I have to think about this.”

“When are you seeing Rio again? And I know you are. I saw the look on his face.”

“He’s calling me later. He wants to take me to dinner.”

“Go,” Molly urged. “And ask him about the club. He’s a member too. He can make the introduction to the lifestyle very appealing and easy.”

Later, as Amber dressed for dinner, she found herself daydreaming. A montage of erotic images swirled in her mind. She had the feeling she was about to make big changes in her life. She didn’t know if she should be afraid or excited.

Chapter Four

“I need to go shopping,” Amber announced to Molly the next morning when Rio brought her home.

It had been well after ten by the time she’d finally made it out of bed, pleasantly exhausted from another night of intense lovemaking with Rio. The man certainly had an inventive mind. Already he was teaching her things that brought her untold pleasure and took her to heights she’d never dreamed possible.

“Let me bring you into my world,” he’d said when he dropped her off. “You told me you discussed this with Molly—and that’s fine,” he’d added hastily. “And she told you about Peregrine. I would love to take you there. Let you immerse yourself in the experience.”

She had finally agreed, riding the edge of anticipation that he would take her there tonight.

“Ask Molly about appropriate dress,” was the last thing he’d said before he drove away.

Appropriate dress? Obviously not the button-down wardrobe she’d brought with her.

“For anything in particular?” Then Molly snapped her fingers as a light dawned in her eyes. “Rio’s taking you to Peregrine. Right?”

Amber nodded. “I don’t think I have anything appropriate to wear.”

“Not to worry. I have just the place to shop.”

Claudine, the woman who owned the boutique where Molly had bought her first outfit for Peregrine—and several more after that—smiled when they came through the door. She made them comfortable in a small lounge area in the back. Before Amber could blink, a girl set a silver tray with two glasses of chilled wine and an assortment of tiny sandwiches on the low table in front of them.

“Please relax,” Claudine told them. “I will bring you a selection of items from which to choose. Then it will be time to try them on.”

“It took me four glasses of wine to buy what I needed the first time I shopped here,” Molly confided. “I was so nervous I was afraid I’d spill something on the clothes.”

“That makes me feel a lot better.” Amber leaned back in the chair. “What do I wear to a bondage club, anyway? Leather? Nothing?”

Molly laughed. “Something very, very sexy with almost nothing underneath it.”

Three hours later, only slightly tipsy from the wine, they made their way back to Molly’s car carrying shopping bags with the purchases discreetly tucked inside and concealed with tissue paper. When Amber, after getting over her initial nervousness, had actually found three outfits she liked, Molly had insisted she buy them all.

“But tonight you wear the red,” she told her friend. “Don’t argue.”

When Rio arrived to pick her up at seven she was wearing a soft, knitted dress that barely came to the tops of her knees and had a neckline that draped below her collarbone at the front but dipped way below her waist at the the back. The design didn’t allow for a bra, so beneath it she wore only a matching red thong and sheer thigh-high hose. On her feet were a pair of red stilettos, courtesy of Molly, and red crystal earrings hung almost to her shoulders. Her hair was piled with studied carelessness on top of her head and held in place with a red-and-gold clip.

It was worth all the effort when she opened the door for Rio and saw the stunned look on his face.

“Holy shit!” was all he could manage.

Amber gave him a shy smile. “Am I all right?”

“All right?” he shook himself. “If I had any brains I‘d throw a big blanket over you so no one else could see how magnificent you are.”

Nick and Molly hovered in the foyer, Nick’s arm draped carelessly over his wife’s shoulders.

“Have fun, kids,” Nick teased. “And behave yourselves.”

Rio finally managed a laugh as he ushered Molly out of the door. “There’s no fun in that. And by the way, don’t wait up for us.”

During the drive to Peregrine, Amber sat erect in her seat, her fingers twined together, doing her best to relax.

“Easy,
querida.”
Rio reached a hand over and covered both of hers, the warmth of it seeping into her system. “This is just to give you a taste. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, we’ll leave. No problem.”

“I have such mixed feelings,” she told him. “I’m fascinated by this but—”

“No buts. We’ll have dinner and take it one stage at a time. This should be pleasure, not torture, Amber.”

“But I want to share this with you.”

“I want that too. But only if it gives you pleasure. So relax. We’re almost there.”

They were passing a long, high-walled fence now and within seconds Rio turned in to an entrance with an iron gate. Lowering his window he reached out and pressed a code into the security box. The gates slid open silently and he pulled through onto the smoothly paved driveway. Oak trees like those at Molly’s dotted the meticulously landscaped grounds that surrounded the massive two-story Spanish-style house.

A valet met them at the bottom of the steps and a butler in full black tie opened the door and greeted them.

“Good evening,
Señor
Negron.
Señorita
.”

Amber stared openmouthed at the opulence of what looked like an old-money mansion. Fine art decorated the walls of a short hallway and bulbs shaped like candles shone dimly in sconces. The hallway quickly split off in different directions but Rio urged her straight ahead and through a glass door, into what appeared to be an exclusive restaurant.

The hostess, also in formal attire, smiled at them.

“I have your table ready,
Señor
Negron. Right this way, please.”

She seated them in an alcove next to a window that overlooked the vast sweep of the mansion’s grounds. Tiki torches flickered here and there. Amber could just make out the shapes of couples, some obviously engaged in conversation, others even more obviously in other activities.

She leaned across the table and whispered, “Rio? There are naked people out there.”

He grinned. “Yes,
cariña.
There usually are.”

“D-do I have to get naked too?” God, did she sound like an idiot or what? Whatever sophistication she had seemed to be lying around her in tatters.

He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Amber. This is just so you can dip your toe in the waters, so to speak, and see if you want to pursue it further. With me.” He looked up as a waiter approached the table. “Ah. Just in time. Would you like a glass of sparkling water with a twist of lime? The club forbids alcohol. People can lose control too easily. But the sparkling water is flavored.”

“Yes. That’s fine.”

The waiter nodded, handed them menus and glided away to fill their drink orders.

“How long have you been a member here?” Amber asked, curious.

“A little over eight years. A woman I met at another private club in San Antonio—not nearly as exclusive as this—brought me as a guest.”

“But you were already into BDSM, right?” And just how did one get into this? she wondered.

He smiled. “You want to know how I discovered a penchant for this, right? When I was in college my roommate and I happened to go to a bondage club by mistake one night. They were very gracious and, after making us fill out reams of papers, gave us a guest pass for one night with very specific restrictions.”

“And you liked what you saw.”

He nodded. “But I didn’t think any of the females I was dating at the time would be quite so fascinated by it. I discovered you could go to a club and hook up with someone just for the evening.” He paused as the waiter returned and set their wine in front of them. “The more involved I became the more I enjoyed it.” He studied her face. “I find extreme satisfaction in BDSM, emotionally as well as sexually.”

Amber took a slow sip of her sparkling water. “I’m guessing since you have your own collection of toys and implements that the women you date now are also into it.”

He lifted one of her hands, caressing the knuckles with the pad of his thumb. “Only a few,
querida
. A very few. And none that touched my heart the way you do. I look in your eyes and while I see self-doubt I also see the same feelings returned. Am I right?”

Amber felt her own heart somersault. It was just so hard for her to believe, after Dennis had left her doubting her own femininity, that this vital, sexy,
younger
man could have such strong feelings for her so quickly.

“Yes.” She let out a breath. “I just didn’t think things could happen this fast. Especially not after—”

He held up a hand. “Let’s make a pact. We’ll consign Dennis McCloud to the garbage heap and wipe him from our minds. Everything started new and fresh when we met the other night. Agreed?”

Could she?

Amber, don’t be a fool. You might never have a chance like this again.

“Yes. All right. I want to.”

His smile warmed her clear to her toes and set every pulse in her body throbbing with an insistent beat. Cream flooded her thong and her nipples hardened to such a point that she thought they might poke through the fabric of her dress.

Rio shifted in his chair slightly and gestured to a full glass wall on the other side of the room.

“If you like, after dinner we can move to a table over there. Many people who come here prefer to play only in private but others are willing to perform for the members. For some it’s even a necessity. Do you think you’d like to watch?”

Amber’s heart rate sped up at the thought of actually viewing live people performing acts she’d only read about. Her body heated with unexpected anticipation.

Rio winked at her. “I take that as a yes.”

How could she tell him that suddenly she was no longer hungry? That the lure of the exotic and forbidden had wiped away any appetite for food and enhanced her sexual hunger?

Rio’s dark gaze took in the expression on her face and he rose from his chair.

Are we leaving? Did I say or do something wrong?

But he simply brushed a kiss over her forehead, murmured “Be right back” and headed toward the hostess. In moments he was back and urging her up from her chair.

“I have a different table for us, Amber. One that will give you a better idea of what people are here for and why it fascinates them.”

This time they sat at the glass wall he’d indicated before. When she looked she realized there were two rooms below and beside the restaurant, with their ceilings retracted. The floors were highly polished wood and the walls painted a soft cream. But that’s where all similarity to any other rooms ended. Against the walls in both rooms were racks of instruments and toys, many of which Amber had never even seen or heard of. There were tables with more articles on them and various pieces of strange-looking furniture.

In one room a woman stood with arms and legs outstretched, wrists and ankles manacled, her body glistening with some sort of oil. Her head hung back, her entire posture that of someone who had mentally gone to a different place. Behind her stood a lean, muscular blond wearing tight leather pants and nothing else. When he moved his arms, powerful muscles flexed in his shoulders and back.

Rio pulled his chair close to Amber’s, his arm draped across her shoulders, his head leaned close to hers.

“She is in what we call subspace,” he explained, nodding at the woman. “It is a place where subs learn to go mentally, removing themselves from the actuality of the scene. In subspace everything is surreal. The sub is separating herself from the environment in order to fully experience the effect of what is happening.”

“Like zoning out?” Amber asked.

“Sort of. But she is still intensely aware of what her Dom is doing, of the pain he inflicts and the pleasure she derives from it.” He inclined his head toward the room. “Watch. In a moment he is going to flog her and her entire body will respond sexually.”

“Why are there so many people in the other room?”

She stared at the four people arranged in a sort of tableau. All of them were naked. The woman, a lush blonde, was tethered to what looked like a wooden cross, arms outstretched and ankles chained to the platform. But her entire body was exposed to the men standing around her.

“That’s Lili. She loves performing and she loves multiple partners. One man will pay attention to her breasts, one to her pussy and one to her ass. The orgasm they give her will be a powerful one.”

Amber didn’t know where to look first. She was at once embarrassed and intensely aroused. Her thong was already soaked. When Rio slid his hand beneath the soft fabric of her dress and along her thigh to her crotch he hummed with satisfaction at what he found.

“My instincts never fail me,” he murmured in her ear. “I knew from the very beginning that you would enjoy this.”

“I-I’ve read about it,” she told him in a low voice. “In erotic romance novels.” She looked down at her hands, clutched together in her lap. “How pitiful that they were better than my actual sex life.”

“But all that is in the past,
cariña.
” His fingers insinuated themselves between her thighs and slipped beneath the tiny triangle of satin covering her pussy.

Amber shivered at his touch.

“Look.” He nodded toward the first room.