Page 58 of Master Cole

“Yes, Master. I’m still green.”

“Such a good girl,” Master Keith said as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. “But before I start.” He reached around his sub. Janie could only see what he was doing on one side. His fingers were on the nipple clamps. “Get ready.” That was the only warning his sub received as he removed the clamps.

“Ow, ow, ow.” The sounds escaped her lips, and her entire body stiffened.

“Breathe, sweetheart.” Master Keith rubbed her back in a soothing motion until she relaxed back against the bondage horse. “Very good. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Master Keith.”

“This time I’m going to use the braided with tails flogger.”

The sub’s eyes widened and her head came up. But Master Keith kept his gaze steady on her face. She took a breath and said, “Yes, Master.”

Master Keith smiled, then leaned down and said something that caused the woman to smile before he picked up the wicked-looking braided flogger.

Janie took a minute to glance around the room. There was a good size crowd watching the scene. Even Alicia and Mistress Gem were watching. Janie sucked in a breath. Most of the Dom and subs were ... she grappled to find the right word. Loving was the word she wanted, but it was more than that.

The men or women held their subs close to them, and the subs were relaxed against their dominants. There was an inherent trust and caring apparent in what she was seeing. Something that was missing between her and Cole. She shifted in Cole’s embrace. Cole didn’t react at all.

The whoosh of the flogger had her gaze going back to the stage. This time Janie was aware of the way Master Keith handled the flogger. He was careful not to hit the same space twice, but the power behind it was different, as if he was holding back so as not to hurt his sub.

His sub cried out with each slap of the flogger. Master Keith paused, rubbing the areas he hit with the flogger. “How are we doing, pet?”

“Green, Master.”

“Very good, pet. Just a few more, I want to see you fly apart.” With that his sub let out a cry and jumped. “For those of you watching, I just turned on a bullet that is built into her thong.”

An “oooh” went up from the audience, then Master Keith turned back and started flogging his sub again. But this time he was even more gentle. While the tails left marks, and you could hear them hitting skin, the marks faded within seconds.

Master Keith moved around his sub’s body very carefully while she squirmed on the horse. He would flog her once or twice, then stop. Then do it again.

“Please, Master, can I come?”

“No.”

After another four swats and pauses, Master Keith stood back. “Come for me, pet.”

Janie saw the subtle change in Master Keith’s sub as she let herself climax, but it was after her orgasm that her body went lax and her eyes glazed over.

Master Keith grinned. He set the flogger aside and grabbed a blanket. Gently, he wrapped her in the blanket and lifted her off the horse. Cradling her in his arms, he strode over to the small sofa and sat down. All the while he was murmuring to his sub.

There was a true power exchange. Janie’s heart began to pound. This was what she wanted with Cole, and he couldn’t give it to her. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them away. Cole didn’t care about her, didn’t love her, not as she loved him.

She stiffened the second the words registered in her brain. She loved Cole. She’d probably always loved him. But it was only now, when she was aware he didn’t love her, she allowed herself to acknowledge the truth.

Cole held Janie loosely in his arms. Master Keith and his sub were a matched set. His sub trusted him not to go beyond her boundaries, but also to take her higher than she’d ever been. That’s what Cole wanted.

Glancing around the room as the couples moved away, he realized many of them were in committed relationships, and the scenes they experienced affected all of them. The Doms were holding their subs close, some caressing them in a loving manner, others talking softly to them.

So why wasn’t he doing that to Janie? Because he was still protecting her from him. How the hell was he going to get past what had happened with Sally? Because that was what was holding him back.

“I need to go sit down for a bit, Sir.” Janie’s soft voice broke into his thoughts.

“Of course.” He led her over to one of the empty love seats and guided her down onto the fabric. He sat beside her, idly playing with her hair. “Do you want to go home?”

“Actually, I would like to.”

Cole frowned, Janie wouldn’t look at him. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the people milling around. “Let me go find Alicia and Mistress Gem.”

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