“Ok,” I breathe.
“We’ll only go back there if you’re comfortable and we can leave the moment you say stop. This is about you, not me. Don’t ever hesitate to say stop.” He raises his brows and gives me a pointed look as I nod. Giancarlo places the drink down in front of him and he takes a long sip without breaking eye contact.
“Ok,” I repeat. “So, you’re like my… sex sherpa?”
He laughs and the sound lights up my whole body.
“Sure. Your sex sherpa. Your voyeur valet.” He gives me a sexy grin and leans in to brush his lips over mine. I sigh into the kiss. The martini is kicking in and I’m starting to feel slightly fuzzy around the edges. It’s probably a good thing that Salt has a two-drink limit. I drain the last of it and stand as he does the same.
He offers his arm.
“Shall we?”
He leads me back through the curtain and I feel the butterflies start back up in my stomach. The lighting back here is so soft that I have to blink to let my eyes adjust. We’re in a wide corridor with rooms off to the side and a small crowd gathered in the middle. Plush seats have been laid out facing a window which is currently hidden by a heavy curtain.
Luke tugs on my hand and pulls me down onto a soft velvet two-seater at the back, just as the curtains are drawn back to reveal the playroom before us. There’s a soft “ooh” from the small crowd and I stare, transfixed, at the scene that unfolds before us.
A redhead with pale skin, freckles, and generous sweeping curves is led towards the bed in the centre of the room by a tall, well-set Black man. She’s wearing lingerie, stockings, and a thin black band around her neck. It takes me a moment to realise it’s attached to a lead and that her partner is holding the other end. My lips part in surprise and I watch as she kneels before him at the foot of the bed. He reaches out a hand to caress her jaw. I’m barely breathing.
Her eyes go molten as he taps her cheek and she parts her lips. He pushes his thumb in between her lips and she sucks. I can feel Luke’s eyes on me as I watch the couple in front of us but I can’t take my eyes off them. A few moments later, the manpulls his thumb out and she tugs down his boxers, revealing his long, thick cock. He pulls her towards it by the collar and she begins a messy blowjob while he coos praise at her.
It takes me a beat to realise the room is wired, every sound, every word, every groan, piped to the audience in the corridor. It’s unbelievably hot and it feels soforbiddenthat I’m watching them do this right before my eyes. The telltale flicker of arousal starts to build in my abdomen just as a warm hand skates up the naked skin of my back.
My nipples instantly tighten as Luke begins to trace slow, lazy circles across my skin. He leans over to press a kiss to my shoulder and I’m toast. Heat is pooling in my core and as I stare at the couple, I let out a needy sigh and feel him smile against my skin. The man in the playroom pulls his partner up and splays her out on the bed, peppering her thick, luscious thighs with kisses and whispering filthy things to her. The microphones don’t capture it all but I hear the words “beg for it, whore” more than once and bite my lip.
Watching the redhead give herself over to him so completely doesn’t make me feel like a creep – it makes me feel oddly emotional. The tenderness between the two of them, the trust that’s clearly surrounding their every move is showing me something I’ve spent years pretending I didn’t want. There is adoration and reverence in every motion, even with the dirty talk that punctuates the scene.
“Degradation can be a form of worship,” Luke whispers in my ear before he kisses me just below it. I close my eyes.
I am transported, very briefly, to the moment six years ago when I first asked Colin to try out handcuffs and talking down to me in bed. I’d read him a passage from one of my favourite spicy books and asked if he’d act out a similar scene. You’d think from his reaction that I’d just suggested he stick a cactus up his own arse. He was horrified and told me that women who were turnedon by that were sick. He said if I wanted someone to disrespect me in bed, then I probably ought to be in therapy. And we never spoke of it again.
As I shake off the memory, I smile and lean into the sinful safety of Luke’s arms, watching one of my fantasies play out in front of me.
As I soak up his warmth, watching the redhead give herself over completely, something sharp twists inside me. It isn’t just the filth that makes my pulse race, it’s the tenderness, the way she’s worshipped even as she’s undone. I realise with a jolt that this is what I’ve been starving for all along: the safety to be vulnerable, the trust to hand it all over to another person and know that you’re cherished.
Colin never gave me that. He never even tried. Here, though, I feel the freedom to want and to be wanted. To exist inside my own hunger without shame. And that terrifies me almost as much as it thrills me. Because this thing with Luke was supposed to be just physical – a list, a fling, a body to learn with. But if intimacy like this is already bleeding through, then I’m in far more danger than I thought.
CHAPTER 24
Luke
Emmy’s staring,open mouthed, at Rose and Nate as their scene continues to unfold. I had a sneaky feeling she’d enjoy a bit of voyeurism. It helps that the couple before us is stunning, but I hoped theirtastesmight give me a bit more insight into what else I can help Emmy explore.
Judging by her reaction, her interest is most definitely piqued by what we are witnessing tonight. Nate’s an expert soft dom, the ideal mix of commanding while being absolutely intoxicated by his submissive. They’ve been married for 20 years and come to Salt most weeks to play in front of a crowd. Exhibitionism at its finest.
This evening, I want to test Emmy’s boundaries on that side of the coin too. It’s clear that she’s never had the opportunity to explore her sexuality in a safe and judgement-free way. I hate that she wasted so much of her life on that fucking weasel when she could have been out here being worshipped in a community that welcomed her with open arms. And legs.
Her list is remarkably wholesome by Salt’s standards and I have to keep reminding myself to take things slowly. But the truth is that I haven’t felt this excited by anything since I firststarted Salt. Watching Emmy explore this world for the first time is like breathing sea air after years spent inland.
Rose and Nate’s scene is reaching a crescendo and as I feel Emmy fidget next to me, I decide to test her boundaries a little. I slide my fingertips up her inner thigh and she gasps and turns to me as I near the soft flesh at the very top. I give her a little nod and she parts her thighs, her eyes wide and glassy, as I trail my fingers right to her centre. I’m expecting to find underwear and my own eyes widen as I make direct contact with the wetness at her core. A growl leaves my throat as she gives me a small, mischievous smile.
She looks at me, mouth still slightly open, as I stroke my fingers through her centre. Fuck me, she’s so turned on. I have to pause to adjust myself.
“Keep watching them,” I whisper, turning my own gaze back on Rose and Nate as he begins a punishing rhythm on the bed in front of us. Rose’s head is tipped back in bliss as Nate grips her hip and tilts her legs wider so we can all see his cock hammering into her.
Emmy’s breath catches the first time I dip my fingers inside her. Jesus Christ, she’s so wet. I swirl her arousal around her cunt, circling her clit in a move that makes her buck against my hand. She glances around us to see if anyone’s watching but the crowd is either transfixed by Rose and Nate or already engaged in their own intimate distractions. She’s chasing sensations while keeping her eyes locked on the bed and I build a rhythm that echoes Nate’s as Emmy’s inner walls flutter around my fingers.
I use her distraction to really stare at her, shamelessly, as she unravels before my eyes. God, she’s beautiful. She’s all shiny-eyed and breathless, biting her lip in a way that looks coy but I know is entirely unconscious. The trust she’s put in me to help her explore her sexuality is like a drug I can’t get enough of. Iwant to unwrap her petal by petal, to show her how to demand what she wants, even if she’s on her knees.
