Page 45 of Ravish

“You don’t have to go topless; it’s all up to you.” Colby reached over and took her hand.

“I know, but I’d like to try.” She forced her mother’s nagging words that appearances were everything to the back of her mind. This was for her and Colby.

Colby turned down the driveway and stopped at the gate. After punching in a code, the gate opened, and Colby drove through. They parked and made their way into the club. “Go put your things away; I’ll be in the club waiting for you.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Once inside the ladies’ bathroom, Lara took a deep breath. Okay, she could do this. She put her jacket and purse inside a locker and shut it. Lara checked her hair and makeup before leaving the room.

Colby was just inside the club doors when she walked in. The second the music reached her ears, her body settled. The music had a primal beat to it.

His gaze went from her head to her toes, to come back and linger at her top. “Nice top.”

Her face flushed. “I hope you approve, Sir.” She began to lift her arms then dropped them back to her sides. This was going to be hard for her.

Colby’s lips twitched, and she glared at him, then realized he was only wearing a pair of pants, no shoes and no shirt. “Won’t you get cold, Sir?”

“With you in the room, the temperature is always hot.” He captured her wrist before she could curve her arm over her chest as another Dom walked by with a glance at her.

“Lara.” His warm fingers cupped her chin and lifted her face. “I can’t stop anyone from looking at my beautiful partner, but I can promise you no one else will touch you.”

Air rushed out of Lara’s lungs. She hadn’t even realized she was afraid of someone else touching her until Colby said it. “Thank you, Sir.”

“You’re mine, sweetheart. No one else’s.” He brushed a kiss over her forehead, then looked around the room. “There’s a flogging scene going on; would you like to go watch?”

“Yes, Sir.” Maybe if she focused her attention elsewhere, she’d forget how exposed she was in this lacy top. Colby led her over to the scene and found a place for them to sit. Or should she say he sat and pulled her into his lap. Her back was against his chest, and his arms rested around her waist.

Lara kept her concentration on the couple on stage instead of Colby’s arms around her or the heat coming from his body, seeping into her skin. The sub on the stage was tied to a St. Andrew’s Cross, nude. The Dom had on pants and loafers. What was it about these men going shirtless?

“See the flogger in his hand?” Colby whispered. She nodded. “That one has more tails—or falls—to it. It will create a thuddy feeling. It’s a good one to warm up with.”

The Dom brought his arm back and let it fly. Lara flinched when the flogger made contact with the sub’s ass.

“That’s got to hurt, Sir.”

Colby tapped his fingers against her arm, not hard, but the impact was there. “Did that hurt?”

“No, Sir.”

“That’s what the sub is feeling. Both are experienced with flogging.”

“But...” Lara shook her head. “I’m sorry, Sir; I just don’t get it.”

“Think of it this way, how did my fingers feel against your skin were when I tapped you?”

“Soft and gentle, Sir.”

“Now think about how it feels when someone pinches you or snaps a towel that hits your butt. What’s the difference?”

“Oh.” She tilted her head. “So what you did with your fingers is considered thuddy, but a snap of towel would be stingee, Sir.”

“Simplified, but yes. The heavier the flogger is and the wider the tails or the number of tails, the more thuddy it will be. Some subs like both, some only thuddy, some only stingee.”

“Why do I have a feeling stingee, even though you said like a snap of a towel, is so much more than that, Sir?”

“It can be. It all depends.”

Lara considered his words. “It sounds like you’ve tried it, Sir.”