Page 32 of Delicious Surrender
“Five?” She gulped.
He looked pointedly at her. “You are lucky. Bill pulled the sheet down early so it wouldn’t exceed a manageable number for your first time.”
“Th-thank you for that.”
Gage watched her chewing on her bottom lip. “Don’t thank me yet. Each one gets five strokes.” He ran a hand through his hair and continued, “Bill will discreetly let them know to be in the Pareo play area at nine thirty p.m. If the dinner party isn’t finished, Bettie will cover.”
She was fidgeting with the chain, looking pensive.
“If you want to back out and quit, now is your chance.”
“No, sir. I earned this punishment. And someone will supervise, right?”
He got the feeling that her stubborn pride regularly got her into trouble, and he wondered what she had to prove. “I’ll be overseeing your punishment. And if you use your safe word, itstops.”
“I understand.”
“The dinner party has already gathered in the Veni Vidi Vici room, so check in upstairs and get your bearings. Garrick will let Bettie know of the switch. You will owe her one and should share your tips with her. The parties usually net a tidy bonus.”
“Absolutely I will. What kind of party is it?”
He watched her face transform. Uncertainty gave way to curiosity, lighting her darkened pupils with excitement. Without a doubt, she would be lousy at poker.
“A small dinner celebration for one of our most esteemed members from Scotland Yard. That’s all you need to know. They have hired a couple of subs to entertain, and the dining room staff will bring dinner in. You will just need to run the bar, keep the wine flowing throughout dinner, and clear a few dishes.”
“Okay, got it. I’ll head up.”
“One more thing, Red.”
Brynne looked expectantly at him. He drew her wrists forward and unbuckled the cuffs and then the collar.
“You won’t be needing these until later.”
Her irises had turned to the color of espresso and that pouting bottom lip was begging to be nibbled.
“Go,” he growled. “And for god’s sake, try to stay out of trouble.”
It took every ounce of self-restraint he had not to watchher go up the steps. He headed to his office cursing Garrick, his mother, his ex-fiancée and his libido, which chose this moment to come out of hibernation.
9
Private Party, Public Performance
Her pulse was racing, and her body was hot all over when she reached the third floor—and it wasn’t from sprinting up the stairs. When Gage closed the distance between them and took the cuffs off, his scent hit her like a psychedelic drug. She knew nothing about LSD, but guessed it was similarly mind altering.
Aunt Josie’s voice kept replaying in her head: “Be careful what you wish for, sweetie.” She was getting what she had long fantasized about, and it scared her shitless. There was no turning back now—her education was getting a jumpstart, thanks to Dimitri. Access to a private party so soon! It would be a boon if she got to witness an actual scene.
She wandered down the wide corridor, noticing the Latin names in decorative brass script above each entrance. Each door was upholstered in dark green leather, accented with lacquered strips of wood and black iron rails. They looked just like the oldsteamer trunk she had discovered as a young girl in Aunt Josie’s house.
Brynne remembered that first summer she spent with her aunt on Skye. Josephine Lamond was a trailblazer in her time. She never married, but she had countless male friends and admirers. She was Brynne’s idol. Josie wrote racy historical romances. The covers featured beautiful heroines held possessively in the arms of a larger-than-life hero in tight white breeches. She was an overly curious twelve-year-old and almost fell off a ladder attempting to get to the top shelf of the bookcase. However, her grandest discovery came a few years later when she found the trunk in the closet under the stairs.
She tried the lock multiple times, knowing there had to be something interesting inside. When her aunt went to town on Saturday afternoons, she searched every corner of the little cottage. It took weeks to unearth the skeleton key taped to the back of a picture frame. Brynne would never forget the strange feelings that came over her when she found the magazines. The black-and-white photographs from the 1950s featured the famous pinup queen, Bettie Page…in vintage lingerie and bondage. They were her first exposure to that world, and they left an indelible mark.
Garrick came up from behind, startling her. “So, Dimitri is at it again?”
“I’m afraid so. Did Gage fill you in?”
“I didn’t get any details. He just said we needed to move you from the lounge and reduce the chances of a brawl breaking out.”