Page 175 of Masters of Secrets

“So, you believe that I love you?” A smile toyed at the edges of her lips. She was enjoying herself.

Connor smiled back, happy warmth spreading through his chest.

“Yes, Mistress.”

Fuck. She loved him.

And they were going truly public with their relationship. With his submission. Then he was going to give himself to her, fully. His cock, already half-hard, began to lift to full height as she went up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

The kiss had barely started when it was interrupted by a knock on the door and the sound of the door opening before they had a chance to answer.

“Hey, you two, five-minute warning,” Olivia said.

“Thank you, five,” Julie replied with a sigh, pulling away from Connor. He frowned at her in confusion, and she laughed. “That’s how you acknowledge that you heard the warning… by repeating the number back. Angel taught us all the backstage protocol.”

Connor nodded. “Got it. Thank you, five.”

Chuckling, Olivia closed the door behind her, giving them privacy again.

Julie ran her hands up his chest. “Ready?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Julie

Shows at Marquis were always as much about the theatrics as they were about the sensuality. Yesterday, she and Connor had done a very brief run-through of how the scene would go, though without the actual flogging. She was going to be doing the two-handed Florentine method for the show—which was quite beautiful to watch and should be highly enjoyable for their audience—then they’d depart to go to their private room for the pegging.

Her body hummed just thinking about it.

The only thing that had thrown her off was Connor’s declaration of love. Mostly because he’d said the exact words she’d been thinking at that moment and trying to find the courage to say. He’d done it first, and she’d been so thrown off by the coincidence that she had responded reactively instead of with the smooth, calm, assured response she wished she had.

Yet she had no regrets.

It had been very them.

She was still floating high off the emotions.

The lights on the stage went down, and she and Connor moved to it. They’d been waiting in the darkness, so their eyes didn’t take much adjusting. The large wooden frame—like a huge doorway with braces on either side—stood in the center of the stage with two chains hanging down, cuffs attached to the end of them.

Luke and Olivia were right behind them—they were the ones who actually put Connor in the cuffs while Julie got into place behind him with her floggers. One in each hand, she hefted the weight, watching as Olivia and Luke’s shadows moved away from her man.

They retreated from the stage, and the lights began to come up again, along with a throbbing base beat that pulsed through her body. With the way they were positioned, it was impossible to see into the booths. Julie had no idea who was watching them. She wasn’t sure whether that would make things better or worse for Connor.

Slowly circling around him, she swung the floggers a few times for dramatic effect, not actually touching his skin with them.

Although her circling was part of the show, part of the build, she was also using it to make sure he was okay. All signs pointed to yes—his breathing was even and steady, his muscles were relaxed, and the bulge at the front of his pants said he was already hard.

Of course, that last could happen even if he was uncomfortable, but combined with the other signs she was looking for, it was pretty telling.

Breaking from what they’d rehearsed for just a moment, she stepped forward to go up on her toes and press her lips to his for a swift kiss before stepping back again. Connor grinned at her, his eyes shining. He was enjoying himself.

Julie felt the last of her tension, her nerves, relax. Now, she’d be able to enjoy herself, too.

Moving back around behind him, she swung one of the floggers, sweeping it outward in a pretty spray of multi-stranded leather before she took her place to make sure she knew the length of her reach.

The music started to swell as she lifted her hands and began to move them in the figure-eight pattern that pattered against Connor’s back. She couldn’t hear him groan, but she knew he did as his muscles flexed, his body arching against the sensation of leather falling against his skin. Breathing in time with the bass, Julie let herself fall into the rhythm of the flogging, her entire focus narrowing to what her hands were doing and how Connor was reacting.