Page 106 of Truth

“She was scared for you.”

“Yes. I didn’t understand it at the time, though.” She seemed sad. “I found out later her husband had tried something like that with her once and she’d freaked out on him. She thought Logan was forcing me to do something I didn’t want to do, and when I told her he wasn’t, she couldn’t wrap her mind around why or how I could want something like that.”

“Stephan has ropes. He hasn’t used them on me, but... but I told him he could.” It felt strange admitting that, even to Lily.

She smiled. “I love ropes. They make you feel helpless, yet centered at the same time.”

“I don’t know if I’ll like them.”

Lily cocked her head to the side, studying me. “And you’re afraid if you don’t like them you’ll upset Stephan?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be. Stephan’s a big boy. He’ll get over it.”

“But...”

“But?”

“I want to like it.”

“Because he does?”

I nodded.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. When I first started playing, I was eighteen. During my first experience, my boyfriend at the time, Danny, put these nipple clamps on me. They were the adjustable kind, but he tightened them as far as they would go. After that, I swore I’d never let another set of nipple clamps near me again.” She moved to sit back on the bed. “But do you know what? Now I love them. Danny had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He’d never used clamps before, and it showed.”

“What changed your mind?”

“After we broke up, I realized a couple of things. First, I craved domination, especially in the bedroom. Sex was okay without it, but with it I’d experienced some of the most intense orgasms in my life.” She shifted again, this time to face me. “So when I went looking for another relationship, I searched out the local BDSM community and started going to munches.”

“What are... munches?”

“They’re social events. Nothing fancy. Usually just dinner at a restaurant.”

So people who liked ropes and nipple clamps and... well, I didn’t know what else... all met for dinner and... what?

“A few months later, I started going to some of the play parties. That’s where I met my first experienced Dom. He was older than I was and had been in the lifestyle for ten years. It took him about six months to get me to the point where I was willing to try clamps on my nipples again, but I will forever be grateful. It was amazing.”

She told me a little more about this Dom and how he’d opened her eyes to many things. By the time he’d moved away for his job, her list of limits had become more defined. “It all came down to communication. He was willing to talk to me, explain things. Danny wasn’t.”

We talked a little more before she glanced up at the clock. “We should get out there. They’re going to think something’s wrong and come back to check on us soon.”

Lily stood and slipped on a pair of heels.

I stood with her and walked toward the door.

She turned, reached for my hand, and squeezed. “I’ll be okay, Brianna. I promise.”

I nodded and hoped she was right.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Stephan

“She seems nervous.”

I watched until I could no longer see Brianna before answering Logan. “She is.”

---