Free Red Handed by Shelly Bell Page B

me.”
    â€œBelieve me, I am.” He cupped her face in his hands, swiping his thumb over her cheekbone. “And I’m not giving you an option. I’m telling you. You will model for me. Tomorrow. I’ll come for you.”
    As he walked away with a hint of a grin on his lips, her stomach did a slow somersault, and she had to grip the wall so she didn’t fall. Model for him? Was he insane?
    Tonight’s performance for the camera had been an aberration, no matter how much she’d enjoyed it. Even if she could relax in front of Cole to take the photographs, no one would want to see them. She could barely tolerate to see herself in pictures, most of the time shunning the camera at public events and avoiding family photos by being the one behind the lens. Mirrors and cameras had been her enemy for as long as she could remember, but it seemed as though she couldn’t escape them in Benediction.
    From across the room, she spotted Gracie speaking with the small blonde—Kate—whose scene Danielle had interrupted earlier. Both of them were looking straight at her, and her cheeks turned hot at the assumption they were talking about her.
    Cole may have punished her for the mistake, but she still owed the woman an explanation for her outburst. Choking down her pride, she picked up a few pieces of chocolate from a bowl and sashayed her butt over for an apology. “I’m really sorry about interrupting your scene. I didn’t realize you—”
    â€œEnjoy getting beaten?” Kate said, accepting the candy from Danielle and unwrapping it. She laughed. “Yeah, I can see how it would look to an outsider. Don’t worry about it. I assume you’re new to the lifestyle?”
    That was it? The girls Danielle had grown up with would never have accepted an apology so quickly. “Yeah. Brand new.” She popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth. “Like fresh out of the womb new.”
    â€œI’m relatively new as well,” Kate said, “but I’ve got about a year and a half under my belt now. If you have any questions, I’m available. I don’t know everything, but I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
    â€œAnd you know I will too,” Gracie said. “But everyone has a different story. I’ve been in the lifestyle a long time and a staple at Benediction for years. In fact, I was here the first night Kate came here with Jaxon. You should have seen her. You think you were shocked, I think Kate wanted to sock me in the mouth for propositioning Master Jaxon in front of her. She’s more of a masochist than a full-out kinky slut like me.”
    Danielle winced, uncomfortable with the disparaging term. “You’re not a slut.”
    Gracie waved her hand in the air. “Yes, I am, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I love sex, and I refuse to apologize for it. For years, men were not only expected to sleep around before marriage, they were applauded for it, while women were supposed to remain pure for their husbands and ignore their sexual urges. When they didn’t, society shamed them and branded them a slut.” She covered her heart with her palm. “BDSM is my scarlet letter, and I wear it proudly.”
    Danielle scanned the dungeon, taking in the scenes all around her. A wave of envy crashed over her. Everyone seemed so comfortable in their skin and free with their sexuality. She was nothing like them. Was she? “How do you know if you’re submissive?”
    â€œI’m not sure there’s a list you can check off to tell you whether you’re a submissive,” Kate said, “and in my opinion, it’s not something you can force. It’s part of you, like your eye color.”
    She bit the inside of her cheek as she considered it. She knew without a doubt she wasn’t dominant, but was she truly a submissive? “Is everyone in BDSM either a Dominant or submissive?”
    Gracie