Free Controlling Interest by Francesca Hawley Page B

the pillow he’d placed by his feet and bowed her head. The big man
caressed her hair, which hung loose and wild, then he met Tor’s gaze. When Tor
just matched his stare, Drago nodded once and began the class.
    “Good evening, everyone, and welcome. Tonight’s class will
cover introducing a novice to the BDSM lifestyle and public scenes. I am Master
Drago and my submissive this evening is Mouse.” He eyed the audience. “She is
new to this lifestyle and newbie submissives need to be protected by those of
us with experience. Teaching you about that will be one of the goals of this
class.”
    As Drago continued to outline the goals of the class, the
females in the audience—and a few males—sighed as he spoke. If Mouse weren’t
involved, Tor would grin at the way his friend could sway his audience using
only his deep voice. But Tor’s concern right now was Mouse and she looked
tense.
    His gut tightened when she looked up once to meet his gaze
before quickly looking back at Drago’s feet. Fear. He saw fear in her eyes. It
tore him up because this whole damn thing was his fault, but unless she safe
worded, he couldn’t intervene. God damn it.
    Tor barely heard Drago’s words as he watched the scene
unfold because his attention was devoted entirely to Mouse. When her ass was
shown off to the crowd so Drago could explain where it was appropriate to
deliver blows and where it wasn’t, Mouse went a brilliant red.
    He loved her ass, but he knew she had some body image
issues, so this had to be torture for her. Tor was torn between admiration for
her strong spirit and a desire to cover her until she was truly ready for this
kind of play. Drago assisted her onto a spanking bench and bound her then set
his hand on the small of her back. She flinched. Her buttocks clenched in
anticipation of blows soon to be delivered as the Dominant described proper
spanking technique before delivering blows to her ass. She jumped with every
blow but remained silent.
    Shit, this wasn’t right. With him, she’d relaxed into the
spanking and eventually lifted her ass for more. With Drago, nothing. She just
knelt on the padded bench…waiting. Why the hell didn’t she safe word? When the
master picked up a large leather paddle, Tor’s gut tightened. She couldn’t handle
that. Not now. Her endorphins hadn’t kicked in and she wasn’t enjoying this at
all. Fuck.
    As Drago drew back, the world seemed to flow into slow
motion. He saw the paddle swing forward to connect with Mouse’s quivering
buttocks, and for the first time since this started, she made a noise.
    “Oh God,” she squeaked.
    Tor closed his eyes briefly, opening them when Drago asked,
“Are you all right, Mouse?” She nodded vigorously. “Are you ready to continue?”
Again she nodded.
    Another blow fell. Another gasping squeak. Again Drago
checked on her and had her consent to continue. Tor grabbed the chair he leaned
against, but holding onto it wasn’t enough truly to anchor him because he
desperately wanted to stop this. But it was her choice. Submissives gave
their trust and consent to a top, and Mouse indicated she wanted to continue.
Another blow. This time he heard a sob. Shit.
    Safe word, Mouse. Please, honey. It’s okay. He wished
he had the right—the privilege—to protect her. Wished he hadn’t been such a
fucking asshole two months ago. She lifted her head and her hair fell away from
her red, tear-streaked face. Her eyes destroyed him. Accused him. She glared at
him as if to say See? I can do this! I’m worthy, you son of a bitch.
    Clarity struck him straight in the chest. She was doing this
solely to prove him wrong, and that was a bullshit lousy reason to let someone
beat her ass. Not when she wasn’t into it. Another blow fell against her ass
and she continued to glare at him as the tears streaked her face and she bit her
lip to endure the pain.
    Tor knew that nothing would induce her to stop now. She
wouldn’t safe word even if Drago took a whip